What happens to a galaxy when it runs out of the stuff needed to forge new stars?
- Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria Research Institute
- Honorary Fellow, Astronomy, The University of Melbourne
A total lunar eclipse will be visible from across all Australia this Saturday, April 4. But it will be a quick one. Rather than passing deep into the Earth’s shadow, the moon is skimming close to the shadow’s…
A new light in the southern night sky is thought to be an exploding star. It comes as astronomers reveal an ancient nova explosion is now thought to have been two stars colliding.
The past week saw a fantastic treat for aurora watchers. Generally it is the southern part of the country, Tasmania in particular, that sees the most impressive displays. But this aurora has been so intense…
When NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is captured into orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres on Friday, March 6, there will be no fanfare in mission control. In fact, the spacecraft won’t even be in radio contact…
Over the past few weeks, Venus and Mars have been drifting closer together in the evening sky and this weekend the two will meet low in the west. What’s more, on Saturday February 21, the thin crescent…
Two white dwarfs found orbiting each other at the centre of a planetary nebula are now known to have enough mass that they will eventually trigger a special kind of supernova, according to research published…
Meteors have been seen since people first looked at the night sky. They are comprised of small pieces of debris, typically no larger than a grain of dust or sand, which continually crash into the Earth’s…
This month is a great time to catch Jupiter shining brilliantly in the evening sky. And for the next few weeks it will be its best and brightest for the year. The planet reaches opposition at 5:09am on…
Watching meteors in the night sky can be fun, although typically you only see a few flashes an hour. But there are certain times of the year when you can see many more – events known as meteor showers…
If you are away from the bustle of the city these holidays, then try your luck at spotting a faint comet in the northern sky. Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2 is the fifth comet to be discovered by Brisbane amateur…
The best meteor shower of the year should put on an impressive display this weekend – weather permitting – with the annual Geminids poised to light up the sky with bright, long meteors visible as frequently…
What a success! Right on track, confirmation was received just after 3am AEDT this morning that Philae had successfully landed on Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It is the first time that a craft has landed…
The first ever attempt to land on a comet is set to be carried out by the European Space Agency (ESA) this Wednesday evening (AEDT). It is part of an exciting and highly successful space mission, which…
How many stars can you see at night? Right now people all over the world are being asked to go out and count them! It’s part of a dark-sky awareness campaign that’s been held each October for the past…
A detailed study of comets orbiting the young nearby star Beta Pictoris is published today in the journal Nature, and it reveals striking similarities to the comets found in our solar system. Over the…
Each month, at the time of new moon, the sun and moon are together in the daytime sky. Most of the time the moon passes by unnoticed. But at least twice a year, somewhere on Earth will see the moon pass…
As Earth orbits the sun, it continually ploughs through dust and debris left behind by passing comets and asteroids. On any night of the year, a keen-eyed observer might see five, or even ten, meteors…
Astronomers world-wide are gearing up for what NASA calls a “once in a lifetime” event: the Comet Siding Spring will swing past Mars on its maiden voyage through the solar system in the early hours next…
At least twice a year, Earth comes between the sun and the moon. The result is a lunar eclipse, where we see the splendid sight of Earth’s shadow falling across the moon. Lunar eclipses are wonderful to…
Look up towards the east on Wednesday night (October 8) and a total lunar eclipse will be visible from across Australia. The moon will slowly move through Earth’s shadow, as the sun, Earth and moon fall…
Looking west after sunset on Friday September 26, the thin waxing crescent moon forms a triangle with Mercury and Spica, the brightest star in the constellation of Virgo. You can see how far Mercury has…
It’s the time of the equinox or more specifically the spring equinox for us in the southern hemisphere. The equinox is a midpoint. It’s around now that day and night become equal in length (but more about…
As another, hopefully sunny, weekend rolls around it’s a great time to get out and spot some planets. Around an hour before sunrise, you can catch Jupiter with the moon. The moon is a thin waning crescent…
During the early hours of this morning (3:42am AEST) our sun released a strong solar flare. It follows right on the heels of a more moderate flare that was released from the same region of the sun on Tuesday…
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