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Articles on Astronomy

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NASA’s Juno probe will be the fastest object humanity has ever created when it approaches Jupiter. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Exploring the solar system: the best of what you can look out for in 2016

From the high-speed journey to Jupiter to solar eclipses, meteor showers and planetary alignments visible in the skies above – add these space highlights to your 2016 calendar.
A brilliant fireball lights up the sky above the Southern Ocean at the 12 Apostles National Park on the Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia. Alex Cherney

Look up! Your guide to some of the best meteor showers for 2016

Many meteor showers are a regular annual event, but what you can see varies from year to year. So which showers will be the best for 2016?
A highlight of 2015 was the number of weird and wonderful exoplanets that were found. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Space in 2015 was out of this world

From a flyby of Pluto to the search for extrasolar planets and gravitational waves, 2015 was a monumental year for space news.
‘What difference would it make to human life if a celestial event were unequivocally linked to the very night of Jesus’ birth?’ Nathan Rupert/Flickr

Does it matter if there was really a Star of Bethlehem?

What difference would it make to human life if a celestial event were unequivocally linked to the very night of Jesus’ birth?
The Dreamtime constellation of The Emu rises out of the glow of Sydney, 350km away from the Australian Astronomical Observatory. David Malin

Darkness is disappearing and that’s bad news for astronomy

Darkness is precious to astronomers, but it’s also good for everybody. We should ensure we preserve the dark by using the latest technologies responsibly.
A telescope can open up on the wonders of the heavens. Grand Canyon National Park/Flickr

What to look for when buying a telescope

Stargazing in your back yard or on a camping trip can amaze and inspire. If you’re thinking of buying a telescope, here are a few key things you should look out for.
The light shining through an exoplanet’s atmosphere can give us a hint of whether the planet supports life. NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)

Cloudy with a chance of life: how to find alien life on distant exoplanets

A hint of oxygen and a whiff of methane in a distant exoplanet’s atmosphere may be the first evidence we discover of alien life.
Is this what we’re seeing around KIC 8462852 - a colossal megastructure built by alien intelligence? Probably not. The reality might be even more interesting. Kevin Gill/Flickr

Whatever the strangest star in the galaxy is, it’s sure to be amazing

There’s a lot of speculation about a star behaving strangely in our galaxy. But even if it’s not evidence of alien intelligence, it’s sure to be an amazing discovery.
Why should astronomy be different from any other field when it comes to sexual harassment? Flickr/PROnate

Change is possible when sexual harassment is exposed

The reaction has been swift since a high-profile astronomer’s legacy of sexual harassment against his students was exposed.
Supermassive black holes, containing as much mass as millions or billions of suns, exist at the centre of all galaxies, including our own Milky Way. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Speaking with: Meg Urry on supermassive black holes

Tanya Hill speaks with Meg Urry about distant galaxies and the supermassive black holes that lurk in their centres.
Unlike science fiction films featuring grotesque aliens and faraway galaxies, Ridley Scott’s The Martian depicts a sci-fi space mission that could soon be science fact. 20th Century Fox

How close are we to actually becoming Martians?

NASA has set a target date of 2030 for a manned mission to Mars. With no real scientific breakthroughs needed, success depends on developing the proper technology.

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