Anatomy Of A Satellite

Anatomy Of A Satellite

IT arrived. With little fanfare, an ordinary cardboard box full of packing peanuts has thrown my life into panic and confusion. For the mighty packing slip says it all. "Parts&Packing List".…
Why Do Astronomy?

Why Do Astronomy?

Did you ever wonder why some people become astronomers?  I asked random astronomers at last month's AAS meeting, and in my latest 365DOA podcast, you can find out what each said-- and how each…
Parachute jump from 36 km above the earth.

Parachute jump from 36 km above the earth.

The highest jump ever made was by Joseph Kittinger in 1960--31 km. This year, astronaut Felix Baumgartner will attempt a 36 km jump, and there is talk about Michael Fournier attempting a 40 km jump.…
Hubble Catches Stunning Glipse Of Saturn's Aurorae

Hubble Catches Stunning Glipse Of Saturn's Aurorae

It takes Saturn almost thirty years to orbit the Sun, with the opportunity to image both of its poles occurring only twice in that period. 2009 brought a unique chance for Hubble to image Saturn with…
AGN 3C 33 - Unraveling Black Hole Spin

AGN 3C 33 - Unraveling Black Hole Spin

Every galaxy we know about has a collection of black holes that can each be up to 10 times the sun’s mass. In addition to these black holes, there is one to rule them all; a supermassive black hole…