Stellar magnetic activity presents a challenge to the habitability of planets around M dwarf stars, the most abundant type of star. These stars have relatively low masses and small radii...

We're pleased to announce that the full schedule of upcoming public programs is now available. This spring's Observatory Night talks will explore black holes and what happens when they co...

The supermassive black hole candidate at the center of our Galaxy (associated with the radio source Sgr A*) is a prime candidate for studying the physical phenomena associated with accret...

Many people associate the Smithsonian Institution with a handful of museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., when, in fact, the Smithsonian consists of 19 museums, 9 research cen...

Cambridge, MA - The Pan-STARRS project at the University of Hawai'i Institute for Astronomy (UH IfA) is publicly releasing the world's largest digital sky survey today from the Space T...

A spinning solid disk, like a CD in its player, obviously moves faster at its outer edge than at its inner radii. A Keplerian disk, made up not of a single solid body but of many bodies o...

Cambridge, MA - Antarctica might be one of the most inhospitable regions on the planet, but it is a mecca for astronomers. Its cold, dry air enables observations that can't be done els...

Eeriness creeps in. Colors change and shadows sharpen. The last minutes before a total solar eclipse trigger a primal reaction in the human psyche, says astronomer Jay Pasachoff."You don'...

Our Sun vibrates due to pressure waves generated by turbulence in its upper layers (the layers dominated by convective gas motions). Helioseismology is the name given to the study of the...

New observations from a NASA spacecraft could help solve a persistent mystery — why the sun's atmosphere is so much hotter than its surface. While the sun's visible surface is about 10,00...