News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
It will soon be time to bid a fond adieu to an object that has been a fixture in our evening sky since late last summer: the planet Jupiter. Jupiter is leaving our skies after many months of an impressive display. Currently it’s setting just under two hours after the sun and you can still … Read more
We are now at the midpoint of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, and on a clear and cold night the sky is especially transparent, and the faintest stars abound in great profusion. Careful skywatchers can pick out dim borderline stars and nebulas that cannot be seen at other seasons when the air is less clear. … Read more
More than 1500 years ago, a vast culture known as the Hopewell tradition (or Hopewell culture) stretched across what is today the eastern United States. The cause of the culture’s decline has long been debated, with war and climate change two of the possibilities, but now a new avenue of inquiry has opened up: debris from a … Read more
Skywatchers will be treated to a celestial duet tonight (Feb. 2) as the new moon passes near Jupiter. Jupiter will appear very close to, or in conjunction with, the crescent moon, with the moon passing just over 4 degrees to the south of the bright gas giant at 4:10 p.m. EST (2110 GMT). (Your clenched … Read more
The subject of astrophotography – taking photographs of the night sky – is such a broad one that it’s hard to know where to begin. We can help. Here, we’ve concentrated our knowledge into a beginner’s guide to astrophotography that will supply you with both basic techniques and creative ways to capture the night sky. … Read more
Mars and Venus will shine close to the crescent moon 45 minutes before sunrise on Jan. 29, 2022. Look to the southeast on the horizon to see them, weather permitting. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) There’s a cool “close encounter” of worlds happening right against the horizon at sunrise Saturday (Jan. 29). Provided you can see low … Read more
Sirius, also known as the Dog Star or Sirius A, is the brightest star in Earth’s night sky. The name means “glowing” in Greek — a fitting description, as only a few planets, the full moon and the International Space Station outshine this star. Because Sirius is so bright, it was well-known to the ancients. … Read more
(Image credit: Courtesy of Gregory Leonard/Catalina Sky Survey) Comet C/2021 A1 — a.k.a. Comet Leonard — is on a last dash through our solar system before disappearing a little later in 2022. The comet has been a dazzling sight in binoculars or telescopes, appearing with a twisted tail and if you have a great camera, a green … Read more
We know that the climate crisis is already having a profound effect on global weather systems, altering temperatures, rainfall, wind patterns, and more – and a new study predicts likely deluges over the mountainous parts of East Asia in the future. The pouring rain will be brought on by atmospheric rivers, scientists predict. These … Read more
If you are outside doing some stargazing in the Western Hemisphere this evening and are looking up at just the right time, you might catch sight of something that will appear quite strange: a small circular cloud of light that will rapidly expand to roughly the apparent size of a full moon, before finally fading … Read more