Wikipedia:WikiProject Astronomical objects/Did you know

Transcluding 10 of 666 total
 * ... that in fiction, supernovae are induced to serve as weapons, power sources for time travel, and advertisements? (2024-07-19)
 * ... that Pharos, the largest impact crater on Neptune's moon Proteus, is more than half the diameter of Proteus itself? (2024-07-16)
 * ... that the Radcliffe Telescope was the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere when it was completed in 1948? (2024-07-12)
 * ... that Voyager 2 has been transmitting data for more than 46 years, making it the oldest active space probe in history? (2024-06-30)
 * ... that Dick Walker discovery of Saturn's moon Epimetheus was only realized twelve years later? (2024-06-26)
 * ... that the first model of cosmic inflation was formulated by a Soviet physicist but initially remained unknown outside the Soviet Union? (2024-06-10)
 * ... that on June 30, 1973, scientists set the record for the longest observation of a total solar eclipse, at 74 minutes of totality? (2024-05-27)
 * ... that Plato and Aristotle both opposed the idea of extraterrestrial life? (2024-05-23)
 * ... that a large basin on Neptune's moon Triton may have once been filled with liquid water cryolava, similar to how liquid silicates fill lava lakes on Earth? (2024-05-22)
 * ... that ice in outer space is an amorphous solid, and this may be the most common phase of ice in the universe? (2024-05-18)
 * ... that Triton, a moon of Neptune, has thin clouds that are likely made of nitrogen ice crystals? (2024-05-15)
 * ... that the COSMOS field (pictured) is the largest contiguous survey of the universe ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope? (2024-05-12)
 * ... that the Skyrocket Galaxy has been described by NASA as looking like a "July 4th skyrocket"? (2024-05-10)
 * ... that G299.2-2.9 (pictured) is one of the oldest known supernova remnants in the Milky Way? (2024-04-29)
 * ... that in many works of fiction, the asteroid belt is the remnants of a destroyed planet? (2024-04-23)
 * ... that an unusual mountain on Pluto may have once erupted water instead of lava? (2024-04-18)
 * ... that as part of the Apollo 17 Biostack experiment scientists found that cosmic rays could cause brine shrimp larvae to grow two abdomens or have short limbs? (2024-04-10)
 * ... that as part of the Apollo 17 Biological Cosmic Ray Experiment, the heads of five mice were each cut into 1600 slices to look for brain lesions? (2024-04-08)
 * ... that the Mars Society founding conference included a rancorous debate about the ethics of terraforming? (2024-04-04)
 * ... that Apollo 17 carried a 6-pound (2.7 kg) explosive charge as part of the Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment? (2024-03-29)
 * ... that in accordance with Hale's law, sunspot groups have magnetic fields that align in opposite directions on opposite sides of the Sun's equator? (2024-03-29)
 * ... that Halley's Comet (pictured) is a living creature in several works of fiction? (2024-03-24)
 * ... that lenses for telescopes are being designed using optics inspired by lobster eyes? (2024-03-07)
 * ... that the injuries Anthony W. Case suffered in a school shooting led him to give up baseball and turn to astrophysics as a career? (2024-02-21)
 * ... that the Apollo 16 Heat Flow Experiment was disabled when astronaut John Young tripped over a cable and tore it from its connector? (2024-02-09)
 * ... that the Lunar Ejecta and Meteorites Experiment continuously overheated and had to be switched off during lunar noon? (2024-01-27)
 * ... that the book A City on Mars covers sex in space, raising children in low gravity, space law, and space cannibalism? (2024-01-25)
 * ... that the Apollo 12 Solar Wind Spectrometer detected a gas-ion shockwave produced by the impact of the Apollo 13 S-IVB stage on the lunar surface? (2024-01-19)
 * ... that Susan Murabana created Africa's first permanent planetarium? (2023-11-18)
 * ... that a newspaper in Kentucky reported that the solar eclipse of November 22, 1900, would pass over Austria instead of Australia? (2023-11-09)
 * ... that scientists traveled thousands of miles to observe the solar eclipse of September 10, 1923, from Santa Catalina Island, but saw only clouds? (2023-11-02)
 * ... that Premana Premadi is the first Indonesian female astronomer to have an asteroid named in her honor? (2023-10-30)
 * ... that the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed Curiosity (pictured) as it landed on Mars? (2023-09-24)
 * ... that C/1990 K1 (Levy) was the first comet observed by the Hubble Space Telescope, but only short exposures were obtained as the telescope was not yet able to track Solar System bodies? (2023-09-04)
 * ... that as an undergraduate, battery engineer Celina Mikolajczak discovered a supernova? (2023-08-12)
 * ... that the active galaxy 3C 120 was given the variable-star designation BW Tauri because of its variability in the visible spectrum? (2023-08-04)
 * ... that fictional life on Pluto has included mist creatures and crystals? (2023-07-31)
 * ... that the weather forecast for HD 189733 b (pictured) is "Westerly winds at 2000 m/s, with molten glass showers"? (2023-07-26)
 * ... that scientists shooting lasers at a mirror on the Moon (pictured) discovered that their telescope was not where it should be? (2023-07-21)
 * ... that the quasar 3C 345 has a jet (pictured) that appears to move five to fifteen times faster than the speed of light? (2023-07-19)
 * ... that the Passive Seismic Experiment Package (pictured) recorded one of the first instances of humans littering on another planetary body? (2023-06-01)
 * ... that scientists initially could not determine which direction Weywot was orbiting? (2023-05-28)
 * ... that English-speaking elephants can be okay on Neptune in fiction, but a solid surface is not? (2023-05-12)
 * ... that the 1961 film Barabbas portrayed a solar eclipse (pictured) by shooting during a real one? (2023-05-07)
 * ... that in early depictions of Uranus in fiction, the planet was portrayed as solid (example pictured)? (2023-05-05)
 * ... that the star TRAPPIST-1 has seven planets, several of which may have temperatures that would allow the existence of liquid water (artist's impression depicted)? (2023-04-28)
 * ... that the periodic comet 323P/SOHO approaches the Sun at a distance of 0.04 AU, nearer than any other numbered comet, every 4.15 years? (2023-04-19)
 * ... that the comet C/1963 A1 (Ikeya) was discovered by 19-year-old amateur astronomer Kaoru Ikeya using a self-made telescope? (2023-03-21)
 * ... that physicist Sabine Hossenfelder's book Existential Physics discusses whether free will, the multiverse, the existence of God, and the meaning of life are topics that science can answer? (2023-03-18)
 * ... that al-Battani was one the first astronomers to observe that the distance between the Earth and the Sun varies during the year? (2023-03-16)
 * ... that French astrochemist Christine Joblin co-created a webcomic to popularize her research on the origins of cosmic dust? (2023-03-15)
 * ... that the visual appeal of its rings (pictured) has made Saturn popular in fiction? (2023-02-24)
 * ... that Winston Churchill published an essay on extraterrestrial life during the Second World War? (2023-02-10)
 * ... that the first fictional depiction of the moons of Mars predates their discovery by a century and a half? (2023-01-01)
 * ... that the axial parallelism (diagram pictured) of the Earth's tilted axis is the reason we have winter, spring, summer and fall? (2022-12-21)
 * ... that in 2021, two asteroids hit Mars, each leaving craters over 100 meters (330 feet) across and being felt as marsquakes by the InSight mission thousands of kilometers away? (2022-11-09)
 * ... that some scientists believe we may live in a "dark forest"? (2022-11-02)
 * ... that Kohoutek (pictured) was the first comet to be proven a dirty snowball? (2022-09-21)
 * ... that fictional depictions of Jupiter have portrayed human habitation on the planet and its moons both by altering the environment to suit humans and altering humans to be suited to the environment? (2022-09-06)
 * ... that getting the James Webb Space Telescope into orbit (launch pictured) consumed far less fuel than was planned, effectively doubling its expected operational life? (2022-09-02)
 * ... that as the reality of Venus's harsh surface conditions became known from the mid-20th century, the early tropes of adventures in Venusian tropics gave way to more realistic stories? (2022-08-28)
 * ... that amateur astronomer A. O. Granger expanded his home to include the largest observatory and telescope in the southeastern United States? (2022-08-26)
 * ... that it was Caltech experimental physicist Rana X. Adhikari idea to build a gravitational-wave observatory in India? (2022-08-25)
 * ... that many fictional depictions of Mercury feature the now-disproven belief that it always points the same side towards the Sun (actual orbital resonance pictured)? (2022-05-21)
 * ... that LACE found a pre-dawn breeze on the Moon? (2022-05-08)
 * ... that a NASA essay collection said ancient carvings "might have been made by aliens"? (2022-04-01)
 * ... that the ice mound (pictured) at the center of the crater Louth is the warmest permanent body of water on the Martian surface? (2022-02-27)
 * ... that HALO will orbit the Moon? (2022-02-14)
 * ... that Jupiter is sometimes called a "cosmic vacuum cleaner" because of frequent impacts from asteroids and comets (example pictured)? (2022-01-29)
 * ... that fiction about journeys to the Moon has been written since at least the second century? (2022-01-08)
 * ... that the 40-foot radio telescope (pictured) at Green Bank Observatory was the first automated telescope? (2022-01-03)
 * ... that the Soviet rover PrOP-M (pictured) was intended to be the first rover on Mars in 1971, 26 years earlier than NASA's Sojourner? (2021-11-23)
 * ... that the Space Launch System rocket will generate nearly nine million pounds of thrust at liftoff? (2021-11-16)
 * ... that the first pendulum clock was invented in 1657 by Christiaan Huygens? (2021-11-12)
 * ... that SpaceX's reusable Starship launch vehicle has twice as much thrust as the Apollo program's Saturn V? (2021-11-09)
 * ... that it took five years of observations to find the planet orbiting the star HD 175167? (2021-11-01)
 * ... that the first successful Mars rover, Sojourner (pictured), was named after the Civil War–era African-American abolitionist and women's rights advocate Sojourner Truth? (2021-10-27)
 * ... that Pierre Kaufmann helped install the first radio telescope in Brazil, which was later destroyed by cows? (2021-08-21)
 * ... that when Ruth Stokes defended her dissertation on the theory of linear programming in 1931, she became the first person to earn a doctorate in mathematics from Duke University? (2021-05-07)
 * ... that NASA scientist Scott Sandford wrote that apples and oranges can be compared? (2021-04-17)
 * ... that the principles of quantum mechanics have been demonstrated to hold for complex molecules with thousands of atoms? (2021-04-13)
 * ... that a number of live grenades remain on the moon as part of the Active Seismic Experiment, flown on Apollo 14 and Apollo 16? (2021-04-13)
 * ... that TIC 168789840 is the first known six-star stellar system in which the stars can be observed eclipsing one another from Earth? (2021-03-14)
 * ... that solar radio emission was first observed in 1942 during World War II by British radar operators? (2021-02-10)
 * ... that See You in the Cosmos, published as a children's book, has adult themes throughout? (2021-02-04)
 * ... that in The Trouble With Gravity, Richard Panek suggests that our universe's gravity originates in a parallel universe and is leaking into our own? (2021-01-08)
 * ... that NGC 4848 (pictured), a spiral galaxy, lost most of its hydrogen gas as it passed through the Coma Cluster due to ram pressure? (2020-11-26)
 * ... that astrophysicist and space-weather specialist Professor Peter T. Gallagher led the building of Ireland's first serious radio telescope, the 3,000-antenna I-LOFAR, at Birr Castle? (2020-10-26)
 * ... that (523764) 2014 WC510 is a binary, trans-Neptunian object that orbits the Sun only once every 245.8 years? (2020-10-14)
 * ... that Muhammad al-Qunawi wrote a Turkish edition of Al-Khalili's tables because, according to him, "some of our sons wanted, from this poor man, to learn about sine tables"? (2020-08-10)
 * ... that Apollo flight director Pete Frank was a finalist for NASA Astronaut Group 5? (2020-08-02)
 * ... that astronomer Mustafa ibn Ali wrote mostly in Ottoman Turkish rather than Arabic, in order to make his field more accessible in the Ottoman Empire? (2020-07-21)
 * ... that today at 09:27 UTC, the direction to Mecca can be determined by looking at the shadow cast by a stick (diagram pictured)? (2020-07-15)
 * ... that the 1970 spoken-word poem "Whitey on the Moon" by Gil Scott-Heron (pictured) critiques the Moon landings carried out by the United States? (2020-06-18)
 * ... that the spiral galaxy NGC 3393 hosts the nearest known pair of supermassive black holes? (2020-05-31)
 * ... that up to 75 percent of the surface of Pluto is both tropical and arctic? (2020-05-29)
 * ... that the State Emblem of India was embossed on the wheels of the Chandrayaan-2 mission's lunar rover to leave behind patterned tracks on the lunar surface? (2020-05-16)
 * ... that Muhammad and his followers in Medina originally faced Jerusalem as their direction for prayer? (2020-05-08)
 * ... that religious timekeepers employed by the Umayyad Mosque (pictured) in Damascus included a 14th-century astronomer who proposed geocentric models mathematically identical to those later proposed by Copernicus? (2020-02-06)
 * ... that  is the first asteroid discovered to have an orbit completely within Venus's orbit? (2020-01-31)
 * ... that in the Apollo 11 spaceflight, Neil Armstrong brought two pieces of the Wright Flyer to the Moon in his personal preference kit? (2020-01-28)
 * ... that the 14th-century manuscript The equatorie of the planetis, sometimes ascribed to Chaucer, describes an equatorium (example pictured)? (2020-01-09)
 * ... that Indian choreographer Mrinalini Sarabhai suggested the egg-shaped Kuiper belt object 20000 Varuna be named after the Hindu deity Varuna? (2020-01-04)
 * ... that the Soviet probe Luna 2, the first human-made object to make contact with the Moon, began a trend of crash landing missions that continued even after soft landings were mastered? (2019-07-21)
 * ... that in 2018, an asteroid measuring 12 meters (39 feet) across exploded in an air burst over the Bering Sea near the Kamchatka Peninsula with the force of 173 kilotons of TNT? (2019-06-22)
 * ... that the first detailed maps of the quadrangles of Mars were assembled not by NASA but by geologists, mostly at the United States Geological Survey? (2019-06-21)
 * ... that imaging scientist Katie Bouman first learned of the Event Horizon Telescope in 2007, while still in high school, and joined the project six years later? (2019-05-10, 2019-08-10)
 * ... that despite having large molecular gas reservoirs, NGC 3665 has a less than expected star formation rate? (2019-03-29)
 * ... that spiral galaxy NGC 765 features a hydrogen disk that at 240,000 parsecs diameter is the largest in the local universe? (2019-03-13)
 * ... that four Apollo 11 Fiftieth Anniversary commemorative coins were issued in 2019 to commemorate the first landing on the Moon? (2019-03-06)
 * ... that the penumbral lunar eclipse originally predicted to occur on 18 August 2016 did not happen? (2019-02-09)
 * ... that NASA exobiologist Darlene Lim studies underwater volcanoes and desert stations in the Canadian High Arctic to prepare humans for missions to Mars? (2019-02-07)
 * ... that the Northeast Syrtis region on Mars once had flowing water, and has sulfate and carbonate minerals? (2019-02-05)
 * ... that the space climate discipline researches how solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field fluctuations can affect Earth over timescales ranging from a few weeks to more than 1,000 years? (2019-01-27)
 * ... that a star system located around 8,000 light years from Earth may produce a gamma-ray burst? (2018-12-18)
 * ... that a record-breaking solar storm of August 1972 is thought to have caused the spontaneous detonation of numerous U.S. Navy sea mines in North Vietnam? (2018-12-15)
 * ... that the Hyperion proto-supercluster was discovered using astroinformatics? (2018-11-22)
 * ... that Donald Liebenberg experienced 74 minutes of totality aboard a Concorde during the solar eclipse of June 30, 1973? (2018-10-31)
 * ... that Project Harvest Moon intended to commercialize space by selling moon rocks to pay for further lunar experiments? (2018-10-08)
 * ... that the blazar TXS 0506+056 is the first identified source of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos? (2018-08-10)
 * ... that the ninth-century astronomer Al-Mahani claimed his estimates of the start times of three consecutive lunar eclipses were accurate to within half an hour? (2018-07-04)
 * ... that, using data collected from the Dark Energy Survey, a team of researchers led by David Gerdes discovered a new dwarf planet nicknamed DeeDee? (2018-05-12)
 * ... that the search for near-Earth asteroids large enough to cause a global catastrophe (example pictured) is almost complete, and efforts now focus on smaller asteroids? (2018-03-23)
 * ... that Greek legends claim Pythagoras (pictured) had a golden thigh, could fly thanks to a magic arrow, was greeted by name by a river, and when bitten by a snake, bit it back and killed it? (2018-03-18)
 * ... that the solar eclipse of May 20, 2012, began on a Monday and ended on the previous Sunday? (2018-03-16)
 * ... that David Meade prediction of a hidden planet named Nibiru hitting Earth on September 23, 2017, was based on what he says are coded messages hidden in the Giza Pyramids in Egypt? (2018-03-09)
 * ... that François Noël translations of classic Chinese texts were banned in the Papal States and Germany but praised by historian Jean-Baptiste Du Halde? (2018-01-22)
 * ... that Google Earth was originally developed for use by various agencies of the United States government, including the CIA? (2018-01-10)
 * ... that Mars' gravity is affected by many negative free air gravity anomalies on its surface? (2017-12-21)
 * ... that NASA engineer John Hirasaki says he read The Andromeda Strain prior to being quarantined with the returning Apollo 11 astronauts? (2017-11-12)
 * ... that Abbie Hutty hopes there really is life on Mars? (2017-10-25)
 * ... that extraterrestrial diamonds (pictured) in meteorites preserve their history from before the Solar System formed? (2017-10-21)
 * ... that the Martian dunes of Ogygis Undae consist of two different sand types, and look similar to the dunes in Grand Falls, Arizona? (2017-09-26)
 * ... that astronomer Alan Duffy is constructing a dark matter detector 1 km underground in a gold mine? (2017-09-26)
 * ... that Rupes Tenuis (pictured), the Martian north polar scarp, may have been in retreat since the Late Amazonian period? (2017-09-23, 2017-10-24)
 * ... that the Martian wedge-shaped mound Abalos Mensa has been described as "an enigmatic wedge of material"? (2017-09-22)
 * ... that some of the mounds of the Martian formation of Abalos Colles are similar to volcanoes in Iceland? (2017-09-22)
 * ... that the Martian dunes of Aspledon Undae may have formed due to erosion of part of the Planum Boreum? (2017-09-21)
 * ... that the two distinct forms of the Martian dunes of Hyperboreae Undae apparently cannot coexist? (2017-09-19)
 * ... that the Martian dunes of Siton Undae are mostly composed of volcanic glass? (2017-09-10)
 * ... that the Martian dunes of the Abalos Undae (pictured) may have formed from erosion of Rupes Tenuis, the polar scarp? (2017-08-23)
 * ... that the star S Coronae Borealis has been estimated as having around 1.34 times the Sun's mass but 308 times its radius? (2017-08-14)
 * ... that the dunes of the Hagal dune field on Mars (detail pictured) look like dots and dashes, and are called the "Martian Morse Code"? (2017-08-11)
 * ... that the Nili Patera dune field (detail pictured) was the first location on Mars where evidence was obtained of dune movement of a minimum of 1 m? (2017-07-27)
 * ... that Mayda Insula on Titan is the first named island beyond the Earth? (2017-07-20)
 * ... that astronomer Sidney C. Wolff was the first woman to direct a major observatory in the United States? (2017-05-17)
 * ... that Ed Krupp has been director of Griffith Observatory for more than half of its existence? (2017-04-27)
 * ... that a protostar in the Sh2-297 nebula is driving an outflow of gas more massive than the Sun? (2017-03-20)
 * ... that more than 300 young stars in RCW 36 have been detected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory? (2017-02-21)
 * ... that the Professor Aristóteles Orsini Planetarium in São Paulo, opened in 1957, was the first planetarium in Brazil? (2017-02-16)
 * ... that the Very Large Array (pictured) observed nearly one million radio sources during the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters survey? (2017-02-15)
 * ... that the Carmo Planetarium (pictured) in São Paulo, Brazil, uses 9,000 optical fibres and 109 lenses to portray the night sky? (2017-02-12)
 * ... that the constellation Frederici Honores was established to honour Frederick the Great? (2017-02-11)
 * ... that historical comet observations in China as far back as 12 BC have been used to study changes in the brightness of Halley's Comet? (2017-02-09)
 * ... that when amateur astronomer Thomas Bopp co-discovered comet Hale–Bopp (pictured), he had never seen a comet before and was using a borrowed telescope? (2017-01-16)
 * ... that the constellation Corvus was depicted as a raven as early as 1100 BCE in Babylonia? (2017-01-13)
 * ... that, unusual for a constellation, the five brightest stars of Apus are red-tinged? (2016-12-24)
 * ... that the components of the TV Corvi system orbit each other every 90 minutes? (2016-12-08)
 * ... that Sairecabur has the world's highest submillimetre telescope and is adjacent to a peak that may have been one of the world's highest volcanoes at over 7000 m? (2016-11-29)
 * ... that argonium, an ion composed of an argon atom and a proton, was the first noble gas molecular ion to be found in interstellar space? (2016-10-28)
 * ... that Alan Hale, who discovered Comet Hale–Bopp (pictured), said that he "predicted" its appearance would trigger suicides—‌and it turned out he was right? (2016-10-19)
 * ... that Anders Planman was one of the first people to make systematic astronomical observations in Finland? (2016-09-29)
 * ... that Swedish astronomer Anders Spole, by the order of King Karl XI, travelled to Torneå and Kengis with Johannes Bilberg to study the midnight sun? (2016-09-11)
 * ... that NASA helped in the development of The Martian? (2016-08-15)
 * ... that S-type stars have bands of zirconium monoxide in their spectrum? (2016-07-11)
 * ... that Chi Cygni is a variable star that is over 10,000 times brighter at its maximum than at its minimum? (2016-07-10)
 * ... that the star S Doradus was calculated to have ranged between 100 and 380 times the radius of the Sun? (2016-06-23)
 * ... that Kepler-1647b (pictured) is the largest, and has the longest year, of any known planet orbiting two suns? (2016-06-22)
 * ... that S/2015 (136472) 1 is the only known moon of the dwarf planet Makemake? (2016-05-22)
 * ... that the minimum mass of an exoplanet can be calculated with the binary mass function using the velocity of its host star? (2016-04-29)
 * ... that the obsolete constellation Telescopium Herschelii commemorated Herschel's discovery of Uranus? (2016-03-29)
 * ... that the luminous barred spiral galaxy NGC 1614 is undergoing a minor merger event which has triggered a starburst region around the galactic core? (2016-03-28)
 * ... that Johannes Hevelius declared that one needed the eyes of a lynx to see Lynx? (2016-03-21)
 * ... that between 1489 and 1491, the doctor and astronomer Johannes Engel worked as a proofreader for the printer Erhard Ratdolt of Augsburg? (2016-02-09)
 * ... that the Great Comet of 1819 was the first comet analyzed using polarimetry, by François Arago? (2016-02-04)
 * ... that one of the first women to work in radio astronomy, Elizabeth Alexander, actually preferred geology? (2016-01-30)
 * ... that astrophysicist Naomi McClure-Griffiths discovered a new spiral arm in the Milky Way? (2015-12-14)
 * ... that Vera Fedorovna Gaze, who discovered around 150 emission nebulae, had a minor planet and a crater on Venus named for her? (2015-12-08)
 * ... that WT1190F was a small satellite that impacted the atmosphere near Sri Lanka on November 13, 2015? (2015-11-19)
 * ... that the Kepler space telescope has seen unusual patterns in the light from KIC 8462852? (2015-11-11)
 * ... that Garni Crater (pictured), which provides evidence of liquid water on Mars, is named after a village in Armenia? (2015-10-18)
 * ... that Destination Moon was serialised weekly in the newly established Tintin magazine starting from March 1950? (2015-09-30)
 * ... that the star 51 Eridani hosts a Jupiter-like planet, the smallest extrasolar planet ever directly imaged? (2015-08-26)
 * ... that Pluto's heart (pictured) has been provisionally named after Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh? (2015-08-25)
 * ... that a jet from the star V380 Orionis is thought to have blown a hole in the surrounding nebula NGC 1999? (2015-08-21)
 * ... that Heino Falcke proposed that blitzars occur when neutron stars turn into black holes? (2015-08-19)
 * ... that Breakthrough Listen is supported by Stephen Hawking and has been described as the most comprehensive search for alien communications to date? (2015-08-14)
 * ... that a 1654 catalog of celestial objects was forgotten until 1985? (2015-08-12)
 * ... that in his house on Pluto, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming? (2015-08-03)
 * ... that surface features of Pluto have been informally named for underworld deities from the peoples of southern Iraq, eastern Nigeria, Guatemala, and China, as well as creatures from Western fiction? (2015-08-02)
 * ... that the north celestial pole is located in Ursa Minor? (2015-07-13)
 * ... that the constellation Norma depicts a set square and/or ruler? (2015-07-11)
 * ... that Voyager 1 (artist's impression pictured) is expected to reach the Oort cloud in around 300 years? (2015-07-07)
 * ... that the open cluster NGC 6067 is 15 to 20 times as rich as the Pleiades? (2015-06-26)
 * ... that the star HD 115600 had its debris disk (pictured) imaged in 2015? (2015-06-17)
 * ... that the star R Sagittae has 90% of the mass and 10,000 times the luminosity of the Sun? (2015-06-11)
 * ... that the star S Sagittae changes its radius, temperature, luminosity, and colour over an eight-day period? (2015-06-07)
 * ... that EGS-zs8-1 is the oldest and most distant galaxy ever observed? (2015-05-19)
 * ... that secondary crater formation requires a primary crater, sufficient gravity, and enough velocity in the ejected material? (2015-05-18)
 * ... that the surface features of Venus include volcanoes, impact craters and aeolian landforms? (2015-05-12)
 * ... that an interdisciplinary team of scientists is working with NASA to search for life on exoplanets? (2015-05-05)
 * ... that the Chaac-Camaxtli Region of Io contains a variety of different surfaces, including bright floor material (pictured) probably made of solid sulfur dioxide? (2015-05-04)
 * ... that the appearance of bright spots in Ganiki Chasma suggests there is active volcanism on Venus? (2015-05-01)
 * ... that Ovda Regio (pictured), Venus' largest crustal plateau, covers an area of about 15000000 km2? (2015-04-27)
 * ... that tesserae on Venus are areas of high radar reflectivity? (2015-04-22)
 * ... that shield volcano outflows cover 48% of Lada Terra on Venus (pictured)? (2015-04-21)
 * ... that the Zamama volcanic center on Io had an average output power of 139.6 gigawatts between 1996 and 1999? (2015-04-19)
 * ... that the solar eclipse of 1 May 1185 gave rise to the first known description of flame-like tongues of live embers? (2015-04-19)
 * ... that five galaxy clusters within the Corona Borealis Supercluster are in the process of collapsing and merging to form a single massive cluster? (2015-04-17)
 * ... that several star-forming regions lie projected in or near the Serpens-Aquila Rift (pictured)? (2015-04-06)
 * ... that the W Ursae Majoris variable star system V1191 Cygni has one of the highest known rates of mass transfer? (2015-03-26)
 * ... that the Northern Crown constellation was seen as an eagle's nest or boomerang by Indigenous Australians? (2015-03-18)
 * ... that the molecular cloud in the Westerhout 40 nebula is shaped like a shepherd's crook and it is forming new stars? (2015-03-15)
 * ... that two circumpolar stars known as The Indestructibles marked heaven as a destination for the Ancient Egyptian pharaohs? (2015-03-13)
 * ... that Warrick Couch has spent his career researching how galaxies form, evolve with time, and are organised in the universe? (2015-03-03)
 * ... that the 1990 Earth-grazing meteoroid above Czechoslovakia and Poland was captured from two sites, which for the first time enabled geometrical calculations of the orbit of such a body? (2015-02-23)
 * ... that if the solar storm of 2012 (pictured) had hit Earth, it might have taken several years to recover from the resulting widespread destruction of electronic equipment? (2015-01-24)
 * ... that magnesium monohydride is a molecule known only as a gas and is found on the sun and other stars? (2015-01-22)
 * ... that the book The 4 Percent Universe discusses how visible matter makes up only four percent of the matter in the universe? (2014-12-16)
 * ... that the radial velocity of the star Epsilon Coronae Borealis had been observed for seven years before the discovery of its planet was announced? (2014-12-13)
 * ... that over half a million glass photographic plates of the night sky are being scanned by the Digital Access to a Sky Century @ Harvard project? (2014-12-11)
 * ... that the Sigma Coronae Borealis star system is composed of three sun-like stars and two red dwarfs? (2014-12-04)
 * ... that the main star of the Theta Coronae Borealis system spins at 393 km per second at its equator? (2014-11-25)
 * ... that Lem, Poland's first artificial scientific satellite, sees blue stars while Heweliusz, its second, sees red stars? (2014-11-24)
 * ... that some kinds of supernova may create zombies in space? (2014-11-03)
 * ... that solar activity and related events (solar flare pictured) have been recorded since the time of the Babylonians in the 8th century BCE? (2014-09-21)
 * ... that Bart Bok and his wife Priscilla, who were both astronomers, worked together so closely that it was "difficult and pointless to separate his achievements from hers"? (2014-09-11)
 * ... that on a sunny day, one can tell the time on Sutton High Street in London despite not having a watch? (2014-09-01)
 * ... that the Lake Murray Meteorite, discovered in 1933, is the largest Class IIAB octahedrite found in Oklahoma and the fifth largest found in the world? (2014-09-01)
 * ... that the massive blue giant star 68 Cygni is surrounded by a ring-shaped nebula? (2014-08-17)
 * ... that David Friesenhausen, an astronomer and rabbi, was one of the first Jews to support the Copernican heliocentrism? (2014-08-15)
 * ... that Bevan Sharpless` observations of the orbital decay of Phobos led to speculation it was a hollow sphere created by Martians? (2014-08-12)
 * ... that BL Boötis (or BL Boo) in Boötes is not a binary but a BL Boötis variable? (2014-08-12)
 * ... that the Degree Angular Scale Interferometer was the first instrument to detect polarization anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background? (2014-08-10)
 * ... that protogalaxies (pictured) are thought to have been formed by matter falling onto denser regions of dark matter formed by quantum fluctuations in the early universe? (2014-08-08)
 * ... that the star RY Sagittarii is periodically dimmed by clouds of carbon dust most likely ejected by the star itself? (2014-07-28)
 * ... that the main star of FF Aquilae is a pulsating supergiant 39 times the diameter of the Sun? (2014-07-25)
 * ... that over 500 comets, asteroids, and novae have been discovered by three members of the Astronom­i­cal Society of New South Wales? (2014-07-24)
 * ... that at the time of its discovery, had the shortest period of any known variable star? (2014-07-18)
 * ... that the runaway binary star system BL Telescopii is 11,000 light-years off the galactic plane? (2014-07-17)
 * ... that the Sun-like star HD 41248 may have two super-Earths in a 5:7 orbital resonance? (2014-07-13)
 * ... that W Serpentis is a binary star system in which one star is transferring large amounts of material to the other? (2014-07-11)
 * ... that slowly pulsating B stars change in shape, not volume, as they pulsate? (2014-07-06)
 * ... that the young star PZ Telescopii has a debris disk and a companion that is either a brown dwarf or a giant planet? (2014-07-03)
 * ... that the star BH Crucis has become redder and (on average) brighter since it was discovered in 1969? (2014-06-28)
 * ... that the William Brydone Jack Observatory in Fredericton, New Brunswick, was the first astronomical observatory in British North America (modern Canada)? (2014-06-20)
 * ... that in the last ten years, Lisa Kewley has won a Hubble postdoctoral fellowship, the Annie J. Cannon Award, the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize, and been elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science? (2014-06-09)
 * ... that astronomer Adelaide Ames joined the Harvard College Observatory as a research assistant because she could not find any jobs in journalism? (2014-06-07)
 * ... that the star T Ursae Minoris is thought to have undergone a helium flash in 1979? (2014-05-26)
 * ... that the Martian soil simulant (pictured) used by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is made from Hawaiian volcanic ash? (2014-05-23)
 * ... that Canis Major (depicted) contains the brightest star in the night sky? (2014-05-22)
 * ... that inter-crater plains form the oldest surface on Mercury? (2014-05-19)
 * ... that many mountains on Io (example pictured) have straight margins? (2014-04-28)
 * ... that geological activity on Venus is concentrated along its rift zones? (2014-04-22)
 * ... that chloride-bearing deposits on Mars appear as irregularly shaped fractures on the surface? (2014-04-21)
 * ... that until the results from the Magellan mission, the impact crater Cleopatra Patera on Venus was believed to be a volcano? (2014-04-18)
 * ... that ghost craters on Mercury contain both graben and wrinkle ridges? (2014-04-17)
 * ... that the minor planet Chariklo has a ring system (artist's rendering pictured), making it the smallest body known to be surrounded by rings? (2014-04-16)
 * ... that the meteorite EETA 79001, recovered from the Elephant Moraine, was found to have come from Mars? (2014-04-16)
 * ... that, according to the Blood Moon Prophecy, tonight's eclipse could be a sign that the end time is near? (2014-04-15)
 * ... that 7th-grade science students at Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, California, helped researchers discover a new series of Martian lava tubes (pictured)? (2014-04-13)
 * ... that Guinevere Planitia, a lowland plain on Venus, has three main volcanoes: Atanua, Tuli, and Var Mons? (2014-04-11)
 * ... that Innes' star is a red dwarf star with a super-Earth in orbit? (2014-04-03)
 * ... that Emily Lakdawalla of The Planetary Society has identified places where Martian drones can land on Earth? (2014-04-01)
 * ... that Biden is believed to be an eccentric frozen pink dwarf? (2014-04-01)
 * ... that FS Canis Majoris is a star surrounded by a compact shell of dust? (2014-03-29)
 * ... that a jet from one of the component stars of Z Canis Majoris is over 11 light-years long? (2014-03-23)
 * ... that there are four blue stragglers in Caroline's Cluster? (2014-03-23)
 * ... that the Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey episode "Standing Up in the Milky Way" was opened with a brief introduction by the President of the United States Barack Obama? (2014-03-16)
 * ... that the four member stars of the QZ Carinae star system are (combined) 94 times as massive as our Sun? (2014-03-15)
 * ... that the mystery of who came up with the idea behind Urania's Mirror (extract pictured) took over a hundred and seventy years to solve? (2014-03-12)
 * ... that the black hole inside RX J1131 was the first black hole to have its spin directly measured? (2014-03-11)
 * ... that Robert F. Christy used knowledge gained designing atomic bombs to explain Cepheid variable stars (RS Puppis pictured)? (2014-03-03)
 * ... that the asteroid 2011 XC2 missed the Earth by less than 1 lunar distance on 3 December 2011? (2014-02-28)
 * ... that Omicron1 Canis Majoris is a star 65,000 times as bright as our Sun, and has 530 times its diameter? (2014-02-26)
 * ... that the star system RR Caeli consists of a red dwarf and white dwarf, with a planet orbiting around both of them? (2014-02-21)
 * ... that Musca is the only official constellation that depicts an insect? (2014-02-21)
 * ... that the primary star of the binary system Theta Tucanae has absorbed much of the mass of its once-larger companion? (2014-02-19)
 * ... that RZ Gruis is a cataclysmic variable star, a type which the American Association of Variable Star Observers recommends be watched in case it becomes a nova? (2014-02-18)
 * ... that AG Pegasi has been described as the slowest nova ever recorded? (2014-02-17)
 * ... that when astronomer Lacaille originally charted the constellation Caelum, it was recognized as an "engraver's chisel"? (2014-02-11)
 * ... that during World War I, magazine editor Octavian Codru Tăslăuanu first served in the Austro-Hungarian Army, but later deserted to join the Romanian Army after that country entered the war? (2014-02-05)
 * ... that American astronomer Pamela L. Gay has directed citizen science projects enabling people to help map the surface of the Moon through an online mapping interface? (2014-02-02)
 * ... that the star BX Circini is thought to have formed from the merger of two white dwarfs? (2014-01-27)
 * ... that the spectrum of the red star Pi1 Gruis shows the presence of such elements as technetium, zirconium, lanthanum, cerium and yttrium? (2014-01-24)
 * ... that the Lyman-alpha blob 1 is a blob of gas 300,000 light-years across located some 11.5 billion light-years from Earth? (2014-01-23)
 * ... that 2013 YP139 is the first discovered asteroid from the NEOWISE program, and is considered potentially dangerous? (2014-01-16)
 * ... that multi-award winning solar astronomer John Wainwright Evans chose the name for the town of Sunspot, New Mexico? (2014-01-15)
 * ... that C-Band All Sky Survey (C-BASS South pictured) aims to map the entire sky with two telescopes? (2014-01-12)
 * ... that the asteroid 2014 AA entered Earth's atmosphere on the early morning of January 2, 2014, less than a day after it was discovered? (2014-01-09)
 * ... that V603 Aquilae has been the brightest nova recorded, outshone by only Sirius and Canopus? (2014-01-08)
 * ... that the two stars of TU Muscae are so close they are in contact with each other? (2014-01-01)
 * ... that Judith Pipher has been referred to as the "mother of infrared astronomy"? (2013-12-31)
 * ... that the star Theta Muscae turned out to be a triple system whose central star has blown off its outer hydrogen layer? (2013-12-16)
 * ... that the galaxy pair Arp 147 contains a ring of nine black holes? (2013-12-07)
 * ... that the constellation Tucana was the site of the Hubble Deep Field South in 1998? (2013-11-18)
 * ... that the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, is the oldest continuously existing scientific institution in South Africa? (2013-11-16)
 * ... that Alexander Stewart Herschel helped identify the connection between comets and meteor showers? (2013-11-12)
 * ... that the white dwarf star GD 61 was once likely orbited by a rocky planet or asteroid with water? (2013-11-03)
 * ... that the star RR Telescopii increased in brightness by several magnitudes beginning around 1944, but the increase was not noticed until 1948, when it was designated Nova Telescopium 1948? (2013-10-27)
 * ... that the Daniel S. Schanck Observatory, Rutgers University's first astronomical observatory, was designed after the Tower of the Winds in Athens' ancient agora? (2013-10-20)
 * ... that Harold Urey showed that Earth's early atmosphere might spontaneously produce amino acids, commonly considered the building blocks of life? (2013-09-29)
 * ... that in the constellation Hydrus there is a star with a possible nine planets? (2013-09-18)
 * ... that Joel Stebbins discovered that Beta Aurigae and Delta Orionis were eclipsing binaries? (2013-09-05)
 * ... that the constellation of Pavo was named for a Green rather than a Blue Peacock? (2013-09-02)
 * ... that NGC 6752, containing 100,000 stars, is the third brightest globular cluster in the sky? (2013-08-27)
 * ... that 18th-century astronomer Edmund Weaver was once called "a very uncommon genius"? (2013-08-10)
 * ... that widespread permafrost explains why the whole landscape in the midlatitudes of Mars appears softened? (2013-08-03)
 * ... that the atmospheric composition of an alien planet may signal the presence of an extraterrestrial civilization? (2013-07-31)
 * ... that the star cluster NGC 6811 has been described as looking like "a jeweled mask a woman might wear at a masquerade ball"? (2013-07-10)
 * ... that the Lone Signal project sends messages by ordinary citizens to extraterrestrial civilizations using the Jamesburg Earth Station? (2013-07-06)
 * ... that Steven Balbus and John F. Hawley shared a US$1,000,000 prize for their astronomical discovery? (2013-06-26)
 * ... that Verdi, like Brahms and Scarlatti, lies within Shakespeare? (2013-05-24)
 * ... that Phil Plait, the author of Bad Astronomy, attempts to explore common fallacies and popular misunderstandings within the field of astronomy? (2013-05-23)
 * ... that the galactic habitable zone (pictured) may encompass our entire galaxy? (2013-05-16)
 * ... that NASA has plans to tug an asteroid to the Moon? (2013-04-20)
 * ... that the spiral galaxy NGC 5585 contains a supernova remnant that is over 650 light-years long, 300 light-years wide and still expanding? (2013-04-03)
 * ... that Wikipedia was discovered in 2008 between Mars and Jupiter? (2013-04-01)
 * ... that NGC 2467 (pictured) is also known as the "Skull and Crossbones nebula"? (2013-03-02)
 * ... that HD 140283 is thought to be the oldest known star, being nearly as old as the universe itself? (2013-02-28)
 * ... that micrometeorites contribute most of the extraterrestrial material that comes to Earth? (2013-02-24)
 * ... that coronal clouds from the Sun can damage electric devices, even destroy whole grids, when they reach Earth? (2013-02-24)
 * ... that Pope Benedict XIV arranged for Jonathan Sisson instruments to be installed in the Bologna Academy? (2013-02-14)
 * ... that Helen Wright researched the history of telescopes? (2013-01-24)
 * ... that Kepler-47c is a circumbinary planet orbiting in the habitable zone of Kepler-47, a binary star system? (2013-01-17)
 * ... that highly charged HZE ions make up just 1% of galactic cosmic rays, but they cause as much biological damage to astronauts as protons, which make up 85%? (2013-01-14)
 * ... that the rovers of the planned Phobos Surveyor are known as "hedgehogs"? (2013-01-13)
 * ... that Northwest Africa 7034 (pictured) is a type of Martian meteorite never before seen, and has more water in it than any other yet discovered? (2013-01-11)
 * ... that HD 179821, a bright star in the Aquila constellation, is a supernova candidate? (2013-01-03)
 * ... that NASA has considered sending Mars rock samples to Earth from its next planned rover mission launching in 2020? (2012-12-12)
 * ... that extreme mass ratio inspirals are one of the most promising detectable sources of gravitational waves for the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA/eLISA/NGO)? (2012-12-05)
 * ... that Kappa Andromedae b, despite being only 12.8 Jupiter masses and located about 170 light years away, has been directly imaged by astronomers? (2012-11-28)
 * ... that Ida Barney was given the 1953 Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy for measuring the positions of over 150,000 stars? (2012-11-23)
 * ... that samples of moon rock and lunar dust soil from the Apollo 11 and Apollo 17 missions, mounted on wooden plaque displays especially for Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Honduras, Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Romania, Spain, and Sweden, plus the states of Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii (pictured), Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, and West Virginia, were later reported missing by many of the recipients? (2012-11-17)
 * ... that British astronomer Isis Pogson was probably named after a river, and an asteroid was probably named after her? (2012-11-15)
 * ... that British mathematician Margaret Meyer was the first woman to be elected to the Royal Astronomical Society? (2012-11-05)
 * ... that the millisecond pulsar PSR J1311–3430 has the shortest known orbital period among pulsars in binary systems, but that it may eventually vaporize its companion? (2012-11-02)
 * ... that star trail observations of Polaris (example pictured) have been used to measure the vibrations in telescope mounting systems? (2012-10-29)
 * ... that the stars of the binary system EK Trianguli Australis orbit around a common centre of gravity every 1.5 hours? (2012-10-29)
 * ... that within the painter's easel lie a relativistic jet 800,000 light years long and a galaxy cluster with a mass equivalent to 800 trillion suns? (2012-10-20)
 * ... that Pre-Tolstojan refers to the oldest period in the history of planet Mercury from its moment of formation? (2012-10-13)
 * ... that the Eltanin Impact of a small asteroid in the Pacific Ocean resulted in the highest density of deposited meteoritic material on Earth? (2012-10-12)
 * ... that the constellation of Pyxis represents a ship's compass? (2012-10-11)
 * ... that Rogelio Bernal Andreo was the first amateur astronomer to win the Discover Bad Astronomy image of the year with his image "Orion, from Head to Toe" (pictured)? (2012-10-09)
 * ... that the constellation Telescopium has shrunk since its creation in the 1750s? (2012-10-02)
 * ... that when the newly discovered comet C/2012 S1 reaches its perihelion on 28 November 2013, it may appear brighter than the full moon? (2012-10-02)
 * ... that an asteroid that Swiss physics teacher Michel Ory thought he had discovered in 2008 turned out to be a periodic comet as big as Earth, and the discovery earned him an Edgar Wilson Award? (2012-09-29)
 * ... that a minimal surface of revolution can be visualized as soap film stretched between two circular wires, and C. W. B. Goldschmidt discovered mathematical solutions describing cases in which the film breaks? (2012-09-07)
 * ... that the Teen Age Message was sent by Russian scientists from the Eupatoria radio telescope (pictured), and was humanity's first musical Active SETI broadcast? (2012-09-04)
 * ... that the ancient Arabs saw Phoenix as a boat? (2012-08-31)
 * ... that the red supergiant NML Cygni is the largest star currently known, at about 1,650 times the Sun's diameter? (2012-08-30)
 * ... that Renoir, a crater on Mercury, is one of two with a volcanic plain inside its central peak ring? (2012-08-27)
 * ... that Adam Steltzner (pictured), the lead engineer of the Mars Curiosity rover landing, said he spent high school "studying sex, drugs and rock and roll"? (2012-08-26)
 * ... that "perhaps one of the most beautiful and enigmatic places to be found in Machu Picchu" is its Intihuatana, a solar clock stone? (2012-08-02)
 * ... that American astronomer Mark R. Showalter has discovered five moons and three planetary rings in our solar system? (2012-07-30)
 * ... that as of 2011, Catequilla is said to be "the only important pre-Inca site in Ecuador to have been commercially exploited"? (2012-07-26)
 * ... that the constellation of Microscopium can't be seen from locations affected by light pollution? (2012-07-21)
 * ... that the constellation of Corona Australis contains one of the closest star-forming regions (pictured) to the solar system? (2012-07-11)
 * ... that when Christopher Wren was appointed to rebuild St Paul's Cathedral, London, he was Savilian Professor of Astronomy at the University of Oxford? (2012-07-05)
 * ... that the constellation of Circinus depicts a pair of drafting compasses? (2012-07-05)
 * ... that the Southern Triangle can't be seen from Europe? (2012-06-11)
 * ... that many geographic features on Campbell Island, New Zealand, were named for members of the French 1874 Transit of Venus astronomical expedition? (2012-06-06)
 * ... that the transit of Venus of 1639, predicted by self-taught astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks, was only seen and recorded by himself and his friend William Crabtree? (2012-06-05)
 * ... that although ROCOSes are visible astronomical objects, it is impossible to determine whether or not they belong to our galaxy? (2012-06-01)
 * ... that among the mythical owners of Canis Minor (pictured) were Orion, Icarius and Tobias? (2012-05-30)
 * ... that the extrasolar planet KOI-872.02 was discovered in a similar fashion to Neptune? (2012-05-22)
 * ... that the Christmas-colored Ghost Head Nebula has "eyes" because of new stars? (2012-05-19)
 * ... that N44 (pictured), an emission nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, has a superbubble structure due to radiation pressure from its powerful stars? (2012-05-16)
 * ... that the Compton–Belkovich Thorium Anomaly is a thorium-rich hotspot on the back of the moon? (2012-05-13)
 * ... that navigational instrument maker William Spencer signed a contract in which he agreed not to fornicate for seven years? (2012-04-29)
 * ... that inventor John Browning provided the first electric lights in London, for the occasion of the visit of the Shah of Persia to Queen Victoria? (2012-04-28)
 * ... that a Spencer, Browning & Rust sextant (pictured) is one of the oldest items in the collection of the United States Geological Survey Museum? (2012-04-27)
 * ... that ice XI, one of the fifteen known phases of ice, may be present on Pluto and Charon? (2012-04-24)
 * ... that the GLOBE at Night project enables ordinary people to become citizen scientists by quantifying light pollution where they live? (2012-03-17)
 * ... that Carl Friedrich Gauss is credited with a proposal to signal aliens by drawing a massive representation of the Pythagorean theorem on the Siberian tundra using pine trees and fields of wheat? (2012-02-26)
 * ... that the Materials Adherence Experiment on the Mars Pathfinder examined the effects of Martian dust on solar cells? (2012-01-30)
 * ... that one of the two theories about the Christmas gamma ray burst places it just 10,000 light years from Earth, but the other theory indicates a distance of 5.5 billion light years? (2012-01-04)
 * ... that the galaxy Markarian 501 produces very high energy gamma rays? (2011-12-19)
 * ... that ultrahigh energy gamma-rays can be detected by MAGIC? (2011-12-06)
 * ... that the North geomagnetic pole is not the same as the magnetic North Pole, and that a compass points at neither? (2011-10-09)
 * ... that Leonard Reiffel helped Enrico Fermi build a cyclotron, studied launching a missile at the Moon, and won a Peabody Award for his radio show? (2011-10-07)
 * ... that the star IRAS 17163-3907, the closest yellow hypergiant ever found, is said to resemble a fried egg? (2011-10-07)
 * ... that the Indian astronomer Chinthamani Ragoonatha Chary discovered the variable star R Reticuli in 1867? (2011-09-23)
 * ... that astronomers have discovered a real-life "Tatooine"? (2011-09-21)
 * ... that Eris is the first successful detailed simulation of a Milky Way-like galaxy? (2011-09-16)
 * ... that Carl Sagan worked with the US Air Force on detonating a nuclear device on the Moon? (2011-09-15)
 * ... that AP Columbae, the closest young star known, formed after the dinosaurs became extinct? (2011-09-13)
 * ... that the extrasolar planet HD 85512 b is one of the best candidates for habitability ever discovered? (2011-09-06)
 * ... that both the Spitzer and the Hubble Space Telescopes have probed SN 1961V to check Fritz Zwicky's 1964 claim that it's a supernova impostor? (2011-08-07)
 * ... that the fall of the Hraschina meteorite in 1751 was the first witnessed fall of an iron meteorite? (2011-07-28)
 * ... that data from Mariner 10 (pictured) led to the discovery of Mercury's magnetic field in 1974? (2011-07-27)
 * ... that during the Hesperian, Mars changed from a wet, warm world to today's dry, cold, and dusty planet? (2011-07-16)
 * ... that medieval scholar and astrologer David ben Yom Tov refused to contemplate a divorce until his wife had all of his books and instruments taken away and hidden? (2011-06-24)
 * ... that planet WASP-13b, despite a radius 25% larger than Jupiter's, has less than half the mass? (2011-06-12)
 * ... that asteroid 16113 Ahmed was named for a high school student from New York? (2011-06-11)
 * ... that WASP-44b, an extrasolar planet the size of Jupiter, orbits the star WASP-44 every 58 hours? (2011-06-10)
 * ... that because of its elongated orbit, the maximum surface temperature of the extrasolar planet HD 205739 b is thought to vary by about 100 °C? (2011-06-03)
 * ... that a planet was discovered around the star MOA-2009-BLG-387L after it eclipsed a background star, refracting the star's light in a process called gravitational microlensing? (2011-05-29)
 * ... that the orbit of WASP-43 one planet, which has the smallest orbit known amongst planets of its kind, has been attributed to the star's unusually low mass? (2011-05-28)
 * ... that star WASP-15 has a planet whose large radius cannot be explained without some other factor, such as some form of internal heating? (2011-05-25)
 * ... that the characteristics of the extrasolar planet MOA-2009-BLG-387Lb are difficult to estimate because data on its host star's characteristics are not well-constrained? (2011-05-22)
 * ... that the anomalously high radius of extrasolar planet WASP-15b is thought to be caused by some form of internal heating? (2011-05-19)
 * ... that Kepler-5b extreme temperature, small orbit, and large size have brought attention to the extrasolar planet as a possible case study into similar extreme planets? (2011-05-18)
 * ... that extrasolar planet WASP-43b was, at the time of its discovery, the most closely orbiting Hot Jupiter known? (2011-05-16)
 * ... that, at the time of its discovery, KOI-428 was the largest and most evolved star known to host a transiting planet? (2011-05-14)
 * ... that the Atlas Coelestis (pictured) is a star atlas published posthumously in 1729, based on the First Astronomer Royal's observations? (2011-05-14)
 * ... that extrasolar planet KOI-428b was confirmed as a planet after astronomers compiled the equivalent to one night of observations on the planet using a 1.93m telescope? (2011-05-13)
 * ... that GJ 3634 b, a recently discovered Super-Earth in orbit around a red dwarf star, is estimated to be over eight times more massive than Earth? (2011-05-09)
 * ... that although Charles Messier discovered the galaxy M91 in 1781, it was added to his catalogue only two centuries later? (2011-04-26)
 * ... that the star cluster Messier 103 (pictured) can be observed with the use of binoculars? (2011-04-24)
 * ... that The Man in the Moone, a 1638 book (frontispiece and title page pictured) by the English bishop Francis Godwin, is considered one of the first science fiction books? (2011-04-12)
 * ... that the mass of the extrasolar planet Kepler-11g could not be determined because its orbit is too far from those of its sister planets? (2011-04-07)
 * ... that the orbits of exoplanets Kepler-11b, Kepler-11c, Kepler-11d, Kepler-11e, and Kepler-11f (artist's depiction pictured) can fit within the orbit of Mercury? (2011-03-31)
 * ... that the Brown Willy Cairns (pictured) are two man-made rock piles situated on the highest ridge in Cornwall? (2011-03-29)
 * ... that the small extrasolar planet Kepler-9d orbits its host star every 1.59 days? (2011-03-27)
 * ... that Soviet astronomer Pavel Petrovich Parenago was the first to teach a course on galactic astronomy in the Soviet Union? (2011-03-23)
 * ... that the Out Of The Ordinary Festival celebrates the autumn equinox in England with a variety of live music and talks about prehistoric culture and earth mysteries? (2011-03-21)
 * ... that the exoplanet Kepler-9b "year" becomes four minutes longer every time it completes an orbit around its star? (2011-02-22)
 * ... that in 1999, a giant planet was hypothesized to exist in the outer Oort cloud of the solar system, but most astronomers are skeptical of its existence? (2011-02-21)
 * ... that exoplanet Kepler-9c has an orbit that decreases by 39 minutes every time it circles its star? (2011-02-20)
 * ... that the Hubble Bubble was a mysterious Local Void sphere, centered on Earth, predicted from redshift velocities of Type Ia Supernovae (pictured at lower left of NGC 4526)? (2011-02-10)
 * ... that hydroxyl megamasers were used to make the first detection of Zeeman splitting in a galaxy other than the Milky Way? (2011-02-06)
 * ... that lunar lava tubes could provide natural shelters for manned lunar habitats? (2011-02-04)
 * ... that the lunar crater Hell is named after a priest? (2011-01-29)
 * ... that, in 2004, Paolo Padovani and a team at the European Astrophysical Virtual Observatory (AVO) discovered 30 supermassive black holes which were previously obscured by dust clouds? (2011-01-21)
 * ... that Kepler-10b is the first definitively confirmed rocky exoplanet? (2011-01-18)
 * ... that Vikings may have navigated using a light-polarizing mineral they called a sunstone to locate the sun in cloudy skies? (2010-12-31)
 * ... that Sotra Facula (pictured), a prominent feature on Saturn's giant moon Titan, is thought to be an ice volcano that may have erupted water, methane, polyethylene, paraffin waxes or even asphalt? (2010-12-22)
 * ... that Sextans B is one of the smallest galaxies in which planetary nebulae have been detected? (2010-12-01)
 * ... that HIP 13044 b (artist's impression pictured), discovered in November 2010, is the first known case of a planet which originated outside of our galaxy, but then got absorbed into it? (2010-11-22)
 * ... that the most massive known neutron star is approximately 10 km in diameter, but has a mass twice that of the Sun? (2010-11-06)
 * ... that the Antlia Dwarf galaxy may have distorted the shape of its neighbour NGC 3109 one billion years ago? (2010-11-03)
 * ... that the Tucana Dwarf galaxy is located on the opposite side of the Milky Way to most of the rest of the Local Group? (2010-11-02)
 * ... that Howard Russell Butler, who persuaded Andrew Carnegie to build Princeton's rowing lake, was later employed to paint a solar eclipse in 1918? (2010-10-29)
 * ... that the Earth's shadow (pictured) can be observed during twilight hours? (2010-10-26)
 * ... that a 1967 appeal by Felix Ziegel on Soviet television led to citizens submitting a barrage of supposed unidentified flying object sightings? (2010-10-22)
 * ... that NGC 3109 (pictured) might be the smallest spiral galaxy in the Local Group? (2010-10-04)
 * ... that the Sun and Pluto are only 11 km apart on the Somerset Space Walk? (2010-10-01)
 * ... that glass discovered in craters at the Descartes Highlands, the landing site of Apollo 16 on the Moon, was described as having the appearance of dried mud by mission commander John Young? (2010-09-26)
 * ... that the JPL Science Division research areas include studying Mars' surface, causes and mitigation of ozone depletion and global warming, search for life in and nature and evolution of the universe? (2010-09-24)
 * ... that the Fenton Hill Observatory is home to the RAPTOR telescopes, which can swivel to any point in the sky in less than three seconds? (2010-09-22)
 * ... that the new Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey lays out a roadmap for exploring extrasolar planetary systems and investigating the nature of dark energy? (2010-09-19)
 * ... that a hydrocarbon lake on Saturn's moon Titan and an active volcano on Jupiter's moon Io are among the Solar System features named after deities from Māori mythology? (2010-09-15)
 * ... that the Craig telescope in Wandsworth Common, London, was once the world's largest refracting telescope? (2010-09-13)
 * ... that the Taurus-Littrow valley, the landing site of Apollo 17 on the Moon, is deeper than the Grand Canyon? (2010-09-07)
 * ... that astronomers have detected as many as seven planets orbiting the star HD 10180, making it the exoplanetary system with the most known planets to date? (2010-09-04)
 * ... that on February 9, 1913, a procession of fireballs seen across Canada to Brazil likely represented the break-up of a short-lived natural satellite of the Earth? (2010-08-31)
 * ... that the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy provides lodging for the 72 astronomers working at the Mauna Kea Observatory? (2010-08-30)
 * ... that Jerry Nelson is the principal designer and project scientist for the Keck telescopes? (2010-08-30)
 * ... that astronomers believe that the Great Comet of 1264 and the Great Comet of 1556 were the same comet? (2010-08-25)
 * ... that the UPRM Planetarium is the only planetarium in Puerto Rico? (2010-08-20)
 * ... that GRB 070714B was the most distant short-duration gamma-ray burst ever detected? (2010-08-11)
 * ... that at first light in 1987, the William Herschel Telescope (pictured) was the third largest single optical telescope in the world, and is still the second largest in Europe? (2010-07-22)
 * ... that GRB 980425 provided the first evidence that gamma-ray bursts and supernovae might be related? (2010-07-17)
 * ... that deuterium burning acts as a thermostat in newly forming stars? (2010-07-13)
 * ... that the asteroid 21 Lutetia discovered by Hermann Goldschmidt is being visited by the ESA spacecraft Rosetta today? (2010-07-10)
 * ... that roughly 1% of all star formation occurs within tidal tails? (2010-06-23)
 * ... that for their peculiar shapes australites (pictured) were once thought to be glass meteorites? (2010-06-21)
 * ... that GRB 030329 provided the definitive link between gamma-ray bursts and supernovae? (2010-06-19)
 * ... that C/2009 R1, one of more than fifty comets known as "Comet McNaught", has been noted for its "impressive green coma and long ion tail", lending it the appearance of an "apple on a stick"? (2010-06-16)
 * ... that the fall of the Neuschwanstein meteorite (computer graphic pictured) in 2002 was observed by the European Fireball Network and outdoor witnesses through most of Central Europe? (2010-06-08)
 * ... that at the time of its discovery in 2003, GRB 031203 was the faintest gamma-ray burst ever recorded? (2010-06-06)
 * ... that at 270 seconds, GRB 011211 became the longest gamma-ray burst ever detected by BeppoSAX? (2010-06-06)
 * ... that if the remote supergiant Delta Canis Majoris were as close to us as Sirius, it would be as bright as a half-full moon? (2010-06-05)
 * ... that over the course of more than 200 years, the Struve family produced renowned scientists including Jacob, Friedrich, Otto Wilhelm, Genrikh, Hermann, Ludwig, George Hermann, Wilfried and Otto Struve? (2010-06-03)
 * ... that the emission spectrum of GRB 020813 confirmed the relation between supernovae and gamma-ray bursts? (2010-05-30)
 * ... that Beta Cassiopeiae is the brightest of the Delta Scuti variables in the sky? (2010-05-28)
 * ... that a lunar eclipse enabled Christopher Columbus to trick the indigenous people of Jamaica into resuming supplying food to him and his crew while they were stranded there? (2010-05-27)
 * ... that at the time of its discovery in 2000, GRB 000131 was the most distant gamma-ray burst ever recorded? (2010-05-20)
 * ... that Hyron Spinrad discovered water vapor in the atmosphere of Mars, and was the first astronomer to identify a galaxy with a redshift greater than one? (2010-05-19)
 * ... that astronomer Ben Gascoigne (pictured) discovered that the Milky Way's nearest galactic neighbours, the Magellanic Clouds, are twice as far away as first thought? (2010-05-17)
 * ... that an antipathy between Paul ten Bruggencate and Karl-Otto Kiepenheuer while they worked at Göttingen Observatory resulted in the creation of the Kiepenheuer Institute for Solar Physics? (2010-05-03)
 * ... that sea interferometry uses radio waves reflected off the surface of the sea to improve the resolution of a single radio detector? (2010-03-21)
 * ... that the "Beethoven Burst" was a powerful gamma-ray burst which occurred on the birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven? (2010-03-21)
 * ... that the Gemini Planet Imager is an adaptive optics instrument being developed to directly image extrasolar planets that will see first light in early 2011? (2010-03-17)
 * ... that NGC 7027 (pictured) is the most extensively studied planetary nebula? (2010-03-16)
 * ... that two high school students used the automated telescope at Leuschner Observatory to record the earliest images of supernova SN 1994I? (2010-03-13)
 * ... that periodic comet 50P/Arend is expected to make its next closest approach to the Sun in 2016? (2010-03-11)
 * ... that The Mars Project, written by Wernher von Braun in 1948, has been regarded as "the most influential book" on manned missions to Mars (artist's conception pictured)? (2010-03-10)
 * ... that in August 2001, the Galileo spacecraft flew through the sulfur dioxide gas plume of the Ionian volcano Thor (Io with Thor pictured)? (2010-03-07)
 * ... that periodic comet 22P/Kopff is expected to next make its closest approach to the Sun on October 25, 2015? (2010-03-05)
 * ... that five supernovae have been found in the Messier 100 spiral galaxy (pictured)? (2010-03-04)
 * ... that the gamma-ray burst (GRB) 090423 (pictured), whose light took approximately 13 billion years to reach Earth, is the oldest and most distant known object in the Universe? (2010-03-04)
 * ... that Messier 58 is one of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster and is 1 of 4 barred spiral galaxies included in Charles Messier's catalog? (2010-03-03)
 * ... that recombination refers to the formation of the first electrically neutral hydrogen atoms in the universe? (2010-02-26)
 * ... that the substellar  object orbiting G 196-3  was the second discovery of a brown dwarf found around a young low-mass star? (2010-02-25)
 * ... that the recently discovered extrasolar planet HIP 79431 b is regarded as one of the most massive planets around M dwarf stars? (2010-02-22)
 * ... that the Magellan Planet Search Program has discovered five eccentric Jupiter-mass extra-solar planets  since the program started gathering data in December 2002? (2010-02-20)
 * ... that the Super-Earth orbiting HD 156668 has an orbital period of less than five days? (2010-02-20)
 * ... that S Ori 70 is a mid-T type astronomical object, discovered in 2002 in the direction of the Sigma Orionis cluster? (2010-02-18)
 * ... that the Ionian volcano Pele, encircled by its own reddish plume deposit (pictured), was named after a volcano goddess in Hawaiian mythology? (2010-02-16)
 * ... that the Ionian volcano Tawhaki Patera and the nearby valley Tawhaki Vallis are both named after the Māori lightning deity, Tāwhaki? (2010-02-13)
 * ... that the Ionian volcano Tupan Patera, whose activity was first detected by Galileo in 1996, was named after the thunder god of the Tupí-Guaraní indigenous peoples in Brazil? (2010-02-12)
 * ... that the Ionian volcano Masubi was first detected by the spacecraft Voyager 1 in 1979 and named after Homusubi, the Japanese deity of fire? (2010-02-12)
 * ... that the Leo IV dwarf galaxy is one of the smallest satellites of the Milky Way? (2010-02-08)
 * ... that Canadian astrophysicist Victoria Kaspi was one of the first to observe the cosmic recycling of pulsars? (2010-02-07)
 * ... that James R. Graham was a member of the team which discovered Fomalhaut b, the first exoplanet directly imaged in visible light? (2010-02-03)
 * ... that it took until 1927 to disprove the discovery of the new chemical element nebulium in the Cat's Eye Nebula in 1864? (2010-01-21)
 * ... that Carl Sagan's book Cosmos, which accompanied the Cosmos television series, became the best-selling science book in 1980? (2010-01-11)
 * ... that neocatastrophism is the theory that life-exterminating events such as gamma-ray bursts (pictured) in the Milky Way have stopped the advent of complex life elsewhere in its Galactic Habitable Zone? (2009-12-18)
 * ... that the globular cluster Terzan 5 (pictured) is likely the core of a disrupted dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way? (2009-12-09)
 * ... that rotating radio transients are among the brightest astronomical sources of radio waves, yet are generally detectable for less than one second a day? (2009-12-01)
 * ... that pictures by amateur astrophotographer Steve Mandel help to explore faint nebulae of the Milky Way? (2009-11-29)
 * ... that the Gnomon of Saint-Sulpice (pictured) was claimed to be "a pagan astronomical instrument" and "an ancient sundial" in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code? (2009-11-23)
 * ... that the Canterbury Astrolabe Quadrant discovered in 2005 is the only known British-made medieval astrolabe? (2009-11-22)
 * ... that with a diameter of 715 km (444 mi), Rembrandt (pictured) is the second largest impact crater on Mercury? (2009-11-13)
 * ... that the Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan enabled astronomers to work out the time of a single year to within 1 minute of modern electronic calculations back in 1437? (2009-11-08)
 * ... that the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex is one of the star-forming regions closest to the Earth? (2009-10-29)
 * ... that the U.S. State Department tried to pressure International Astronomical Union delegate Leo Goldberg into demanding membership for the Republic of China—despite the country having no professional astronomers? (2009-10-28)
 * ... that astronomer Rodger Doxsey was awarded the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for "exceptional accomplishments and contributions to the Hubble Space Telescope" (pictured)? (2009-10-27)
 * ... that the distribution of galaxy types found within the Eridanus Group provides evidence for the theory of cold dark matter? (2009-10-16)
 * ... that 51 Ophiuchi has a disk of dust and gas that is likely a planetary system in the late stages of formation? (2009-10-03)
 * ... that although color-blind, Nicholas U. Mayall was better able to detect faint galaxies than most other astronomers? (2009-09-17)
 * ... that staff members of the Maria Mitchell Association conduct research into topics as varied as exoplanets and the American Burying Beetle? (2009-09-12)
 * ... that Caroline Moore was 14 years old when she discovered supernova 2008ha? (2009-09-11)
 * ... that in May 2008, an amateur astronomer discovered an unusual supernova-like object in the galaxy NGC 300 (ultraviolet image pictured)? (2009-09-11)
 * ... that the mass-luminosity relation, first derived by Arthur Eddington in 1924, helps astronomers find the distances to binary star systems? (2009-08-27)
 * ... that asteroids with two moons, like 1994 CC (pictured), comprise only 1% of the near-Earth objects? (2009-08-27)
 * ... that in physics, a Trojan wave packet (animation pictured) is a type of wave packet that is nonstationary and nonspreading? (2009-07-28)
 * ... that the first pulsar was discovered as a result of an experiment designed to study interplanetary scintillation? (2009-07-25)
 * ... that if a supermassive black hole is ejected from a galaxy, it can carry a dense cluster of stars called a hypercompact stellar system? (2009-07-23)
 * ... that the fall of a meteorite (pictured) was first documented in 1766 by Domenico Troili? (2009-07-22)
 * ... that Puerto Rican astronomer Victor Manuel Blanco has the distinction of having a galactic cluster and the largest 4 m telescope in the Southern Hemisphere (pictured) named after him? (2009-07-16)
 * ... that according to Big Bang cosmology, neutrinos, a type of elementary particle, ceased to interact significantly with the other constituents of the Universe about one second after the Big Bang? (2009-07-11)
 * ... that Frank J. Low, an infrared astronomy pioneer, used data from an infrared telescope flown on a Learjet to show that planets Jupiter and Saturn generate and emit internal energy into space? (2009-07-01)
 * ... that SN 2002cx was classified as a type Ia supernova, but does not have some features that define a type Ia supernova? (2009-06-30)
 * ... that the giant pulses of PSR B1937+21, the first discovered millisecond pulsar, are the brightest radio emission ever observed? (2009-05-25)
 * ... that minimum orbit intersection distance is one of the measures used to determine if a near-Earth object, such as (4953) 1990 MU (orbit pictured), is a Potentially Hazardous Object? (2009-05-19)
 * ... that towards the end of the 18th century, the Gotha Observatory became an international center for astronomy, and the most modern astronomical institute specifically for its instruments? (2009-05-19)
 * ... that the plane of the ecliptic (effect pictured) is the imaginary plane of the Earth as it orbits the Sun? (2009-05-17)
 * ... that GRB 050709 was the first short-duration gamma-ray burst for which an optical afterglow was detected? (2009-05-15)
 * ... that the aerial telescope is a type of very long focal length refracting telescope built in the second half of the 17th century that did not use a tube? (2009-05-15)
 * ... that the absence of dark matter halos (example pictured) and elliptical galaxies with axis ratios more extreme than 3:1 is probably due to the firehose instability? (2009-05-09)
 * ... that the extreme luminosity observed for supernova 2005gj could be explained by the incidence of a quark nova? (2009-05-02)
 * ... that over time, comets expel most of the volatile material from their nuclei and become extinct comets, small asteroid-like lumps of rubble? (2009-03-20)
 * ... that GRB 970508 was the first gamma-ray burst to have its redshift measured? (2009-03-07)
 * ... that images of 243 Ida (pictured) returned from the space probe Galileo, and processed on 17 February 1994, provided the first confirmation of a moon orbiting an asteroid? (2009-03-07)
 * ... that Jupiter is the only planet capable of pulling an interstellar comet into a Sun-centered orbit? (2009-03-03)
 * ... that thousands of grooves have been found carved into rock in Northern Europe, but no one knows how or why they were made? (2009-02-19)
 * ... that the Valhalla structure (pictured) on Jupiter's moon Callisto is the largest multi-ring basin in the Solar System? (2009-02-09)
 * ... that until recent XMM-Newton images, the supernova remnant G350.1-0.3 was mistakenly thought to be a distant galaxy? (2009-01-22)
 * ... that the 1811 comet vintage of Veuve Clicquot has been described as one of the first modern Champagnes made according to the méthode champenoise? (2008-12-31)
 * ... that "grand design" spiral galaxy NGC 6118 (pictured) containing Supernova 2004dk is nicknamed the "Blinking Galaxy" for its tendency to flick in and out of view with different eye positions? (2008-12-15)
 * ... that Nicolas Sarrabat, a French scientist and Jesuit, conducted experiments on the circulation of plants, argued that magnetism was caused by a fire at the Earth's centre, and discovered the largest comet ever recorded? (2008-12-02)
 * ... that ATIC, a balloon-borne detector flying over Antarctica, recently found excess cosmic ray electrons that might provide evidence for dark matter consisting of Kaluza-Klein particles? (2008-11-27)
 * ... that Abell 2142, a galaxy cluster, is one of the most massive objects in the universe? (2008-11-27)
 * ... that William Herschel's 40-foot telescope (pictured) was the largest telescope in the world for 50 years? (2008-11-27)
 * ... that C/1743 X1, the Great Comet of 1744 (pictured), is thought to have been the sixth intrinsically brightest on record and went on to develop six tails'''? (2008-11-22)
 * ... that Henry Fitz was the first American to make refractor telescopes and constructed the largest refracting telescopes in America on five different occasions? (2008-11-11)
 * ... that a digital time capsule "A Message From Earth" was transmitted to the planet Gliese 581c and included a message by actress Gillian Anderson consisting of images of George W. Bush and Barack Obama? (2008-11-11)
 * ... that Amasa Holcomb was the first in the United States to manufacture telescopes? (2008-11-09)
 * ... that the green flash (pictured) is a by-product of a corresponding mirage of an astronomical object? (2008-11-07)
 * ... that the DR 6 nebula (pictured) was nicknamed "The Galactic Ghoul" by scientists at NASA because of its resemblance to a human face? (2008-11-01)
 * ... that AMiBA (pictured) is a radio telescope located on Mauna Loa in Hawaii that is being used to observe the Cosmic Microwave Background and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect in clusters of galaxies? (2008-10-27)
 * ... that the Local Void is an empty region of space, devoid of matter, lying adjacent to our own Milky Way galaxy? (2008-10-21)
 * ... that the Sołtan argument as outlined in 1982 suggests that the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy was once a quasar? (2008-09-30)
 * ... that cosmologists C. B. Collins and Stephen Hawking proposed an infinite number of universes to explain the Flatness problem in the curvature of spacetime (three possibilities pictured)? (2008-09-14)
 * ... that the newly discovered Baby Boom Galaxy (pictured) is seen producing stars at a rate of up to 4,000 per year, compared to our own Milky Way galaxy that produces an average of just 10 stars per year? (2008-09-13)
 * ... that the planetary nebula Abell 39 (pictured) is unusually spherical, yet its central star is offset from the center? (2008-09-10)
 * ... that the Archdiocesan Classical Gymnasium in Zagreb, Croatia has an observatory (pictured) on school grounds? (2008-08-30)
 * ... that the Virginids meteor shower can sometimes last between January and May each year? (2008-08-12)
 * ... that there are nine known trans-Neptunian detached objects in our Solar System? (2008-07-17)
 * ... that although chaotic, the Solar System is stable enough that its planets will not collide with each other for a few billion years? (2008-07-15)
 * ... that Charles Thomas Bolton was the first astronomer to prove the existence of a black hole? (2008-07-12)
 * ... that ejecta from the impact that created Zunil crater in Athabasca Valles on Mars is a possible source of Martian meteorites? (2008-07-09)
 * ... that lenticular galaxy NGC 1553 (pictured) is located at the center of the Dorado Group, and has a spiral feature that is only visible in X-rays? (2008-07-09)
 * ... that the Dorado Group is one of the richest galaxy clusters in the Southern Hemisphere and thought to be unvirialized which could explain its abundance of H I and spirals? (2008-07-02)
 * ... that the Tagish Lake meteorite that impacted Canada on January 18, 2000 may be a broken off piece of the 773 Irmintraud asteroid that orbits between the planets Mars and Jupiter? (2008-06-19)
 * ... that Hebrew publisher Hayyim Selig Slonimski (pictured) was awarded the Demidov prize of 2,500 rubles in 1844 by the Russian Academy of Sciences for the invention of a calculating machine? (2008-06-01)
 * ... that QUIET, an astronomy experiment due to start observing in 2008 at the Llano de Chajnantor Observatory, Chile, will make measurements of the polarization of the cosmic microwave background radiation? (2008-05-28)
 * ... that G1.9+0.3 is the youngest known supernova remnant in the Milky Way? (2008-05-19)
 * ... that BY Draconis, a multi-star system in the constellation Draco, includes a binary star system with an orbital period of only 5.98 days? (2008-04-24)
 * ... that Italian Jesuit priest Sabatino de Ursis moved to China in 1607 to assist Matteo Ricci in his astronomical research, and attempted to reform the Chinese calendar? (2008-04-19)
 * ... that the Draco Dwarf spheroidal galaxy is one of the faintest companions of the Milky Way and the most dark matter dominated object known? (2008-04-14)
 * ... that in 1976, people reported feeling a floating sensation as they jumped in the air, caused by a Jovian–Plutonian gravitational effect (Jupiter pictured)? (2008-04-01)
 * ... that in 1669, the Jesuit missionary and astronomer Ferdinand Verbiest (pictured) persuaded the Kangxi Emperor to remove a month from the Chinese calendar? (2008-03-24)
 * ... that the first Dutch satellite, the Astronomical Netherlands Satellite, had the Main Belt asteroid 9996 ANS named after it? (2008-03-08)
 * ... that Gamma, a gamma-ray telescope, was launched in 1990, 25 years after it was originally conceived? (2008-03-07)
 * ... that after spending fifteen years building the largest telescope in the world, scientists in the Soviet Union were dismayed to find that BTA-6 performed much worse than the Hale telescope it was designed to beat? (2008-02-03)
 * ... that in 1968, French astronomer Agop Terzan discovered Terzan 7 (pictured), an unusually young 7.5 billion year old globular cluster of the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy? (2008-02-02)
 * ... that the supermassive black hole at the center of the quasar OJ287 has been measured to be 18 billion times the mass of the Sun, six times heavier than the previous record holder? (2008-01-17)
 * ... that the supermassive black hole at the center of the quasar OJ287 has been measured to be 18 billion times the mass of the Sun, six times heavier than the previous record holder? (2008-01-16)
 * ... that the atmosphere of Triton produces a surface pressure only 1/70,000th of that on Earth? (2008-01-06)
 * ... that the Near-Earth object and Mars-crosser asteroid 2007 WD5 is estimated to have a 1-in-75 chance of colliding with Mars? (2007-12-27)
 * ... that the star Alpha Persei is also known by the traditional name of Mirfak, Arabic for 'elbow', and the name Hinali'i, commemorating a tsunami in Hawaiian folklore? (2007-12-23)
 * ... that Zeta Orionis, or Alnitak, 'the girdle', in Arabic, is the brightest O-type blue supergiant and one of the hottest bright stars in the sky? (2007-12-17)
 * ... that systematic mapping of the Michelangelo quadrangle on Mercury has revealed the presence of four nearly obliterated multi-ring impact basins, possibly the oldest features in the mapped areas of the planet? (2007-12-12)
 * ... that scarps, ridges, and troughs, such as the 650 km long and 2 km high Discovery Rupes cutting through the Rameau crater, are common features in the Discovery quadrangle on the planet Mercury? (2007-12-12)
 * ... that the Beethoven crater in the Beethoven quadrangle on Mercury is the eleventh largest named impact crater in the Solar System? (2007-12-12)
 * ... that the Kuiper crater in the Kuiper quadrangle, named after Dutch American astronomer Gerard Kuiper (pictured), has the highest albedo recorded on Mercury? (2007-12-11)
 * ... that the Caloris Basin on Mercury, one of the largest impact basins in the Solar System, is surrounded by a series of geological formations believed to have been produced by the basin's ejecta? (2007-12-11)
 * ... that the south pole of the planet Mercury is located in the Bach quadrangle? (2007-12-11)
 * ... that the planet Mars appears red primarily because of a ubiquitous layer of dust containing nanophase ferric oxides? (2007-12-10)
 * ... that ridges and escarpments in the Victoria quadrangle of the planet Mercury have been associated with the stresses caused by the sun slowing Mercury's rotation through tidal forces? (2007-12-09)
 * ... that the Tolstoj crater, a 400-km (240 mile) wide impact crater on the planet Mercury has an extensive, and remarkably well-preserved, radially-lineated ejecta blanket? (2007-12-09)
 * ... that the dominant feature in the Shakespeare quadrangle is the 1300-km wide Caloris Planitia, the largest and best preserved impact basin on Mercury observed by the spacecraft Mariner 10? (2007-12-09)
 * ... that the north pole of the planet Mercury is located in the Borealis quadrangle? (2007-12-08)
 * ... that Edgar Allan Poe's 1848 essay Eureka presaged the Big Bang theory and black holes? (2007-11-18)
 * ... that the astronomical observatory at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica is named after physicist Martin A. Pomerantz? (2007-11-04)
 * ... that Sagittarius B2 is a giant molecular cloud near the Galactic Center where half of all known interstellar molecules were first discovered? (2007-11-02)
 * ... that the 1997 volcanic eruption of Pillan Patera on Jupiter's moon Io was the largest effusive eruption ever witnessed? (2007-10-25)
 * ... that the French space agency funded the operation of the Soviet space observatory Granat after the dissolution of the USSR? (2007-10-23)
 * ... that gamma ray burst progenitors include massive, rapidly rotating stars that may explode as hypernovae (Eta Carinae pictured)? (2007-10-14)
 * ... that least-squares spectral analysis is a method for estimating a frequency spectrum, based on a least squares fit between data and trigonometric functions? (2007-10-13)
 * ... that Astronomische Nachrichten, founded by H. C. Schumacher (pictured) in 1821, is the world's oldest extant astronomical journal? (2007-10-12)
 * ... that Australian amateur astronomer Gregg Thompson has been acknowledged by supernova hunters for publishing comparison charts of the brightest galaxies? (2007-09-21)
 * ... that the planetary nebula luminosity function is an accurate standard candle (luminosity measurement) outside Earth's home galaxy, the Milky Way, despite an average error factor of two for distance estimates to planetary nebulae within this galaxy? (2007-09-18)
 * ... that water vapor is probably present in the tenuous atmosphere of Mercury, being brought to the planet by comets? (2007-09-08)
 * ... that the first direct observational evidence that Cygnus X-1 was a black hole was discovered at the David Dunlap Observatory (pictured) outside Toronto? (2007-09-07)
 * ... that the Toronto Magnetic Observatory had to be moved as the University of Toronto's electric lighting was interfering with observations? (2007-09-02)
 * ... that Edward A. Halbach was the first official president of the Astronomical League? (2007-08-27)
 * ... that Michiel Daniel Overbeek was the first amateur astronomer to detect supernova-related gamma ray burst effects? (2007-08-21)
 * ... that Oscar Monnig donated one of the largest private collections of meteorites to Texas Christian University? (2007-08-20)
 * ... that Albert F. A. L. Jones, awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1987 for his services to astronomy, is an amateur astronomer in New Zealand? (2007-08-20)
 * ... that Czech amateur astronomer Kamil Hornoch has discovered over 40 extragalactic supernovae? (2007-08-17)
 * ... that astronomer Russell M. Genet founded the first totally automatic robotic observatory? (2007-08-15)
 * ... that Jay U. Gunter, professor of pathology, devoted his life to astronomy after he retired? (2007-08-13)
 * ... that the Galaxy Zoo is an online astronomy project that allows members of the public to help classify previously unseen images of galaxies? (2007-07-18)
 * ... that the rotation of a star slows down as it grows older? (2007-07-01)
 * ... that the Frosty Leo Nebula was so named because it is the only known protoplanetary nebula whose circumstellar outflow is dominated by crystalline ice in the long-wavelength emission spectrum? (2007-06-28)
 * ... that stellar magnetic fields create loops of plasma that arc over the surface of a star? (2007-06-27)
 * ... that 12th-century Muslim scientist Al-Khazini, who proposed a theory of gravitation long before Isaac Newton, was, in his early life, a slave of the Seljuq Turks? (2007-06-15)
 * ... that the Tooting impact crater on Mars was named after the London suburb of the same name because the discoverer "thought [his] mum and brother would get a kick out of having their home town paired with a land form on Mars"? (2007-05-24)
 * ... that the first computer simulations of galaxy mergers were conducted by Alar Toomre in the 1970s? (2007-05-21)
 * ... that stars must have at least 9 times the mass of the Sun in order to undergo a core collapse and become a Type II supernova (example pictured)? (2007-05-06)
 * ... that Doppler spectroscopy was used to discover the first extrasolar planet in 1995 and has since been used to identify more than one hundred exoplanet candidates? (2007-05-03)
 * ... that light echoes appear to exceed the speed of light due to simple interstellar illusions? (2007-04-20)
 * ... that giant diffuse galaxies, located in the centre of galaxy clusters (pictured), often possess a halo of devoured star matter extending as far out as 3 million light years? (2007-04-04)
 * ... that the passing of the Great Comet of 1577 (pictured) caused almost century-long debate, during which Galileo argued that comets were merely optical illusions? (2007-03-30)
 * ... that the Stingray Nebula, discovered in 1987, is the youngest known planetary nebula? (2007-01-22)
 * ... that a protoplanetary nebula is a short-lived phase of stellar evolution? (2007-01-12)
 * ... that approximately one-third of nearby galaxies contain low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions? (2007-01-06)
 * ... that a fossilized delta in Eberswalde crater provides strong evidence for flowing water on Mars? (2006-12-10)
 * ... that the Starshade is a coronagraph designed to aid a space telescope by blocking bright light from stars by a factor of as much as 10 billion? (2006-12-07)
 * ... that the Mark II radio telescope built in 1964 at Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK was the first telescope to be controlled by a digital computer? (2006-11-22)
 * ... that a hurricane-sized cyclonic storm over 1500 kilometres in diameter was spotted near the Martian north pole in 1999? (2006-11-05)
 * ... that Mars' south polar ice cap may be melting due to regional climate change? (2006-10-27)
 * ... that 6Q0B44E, a recently discovered satellite of Earth, is thought to be a large piece of space debris? (2006-09-09)
 * ... that the European and Japanese collaborative BepiColombo mission (pictured) is planned to be the first extensive mission to Mercury since Mariner 10? (2006-09-01)
 * ... that just over 50 kilometres above its surface, the atmosphere of Venus has very similar pressure and temperature as does Earth, making it the most Earth-like area in the solar system? (2006-08-16)
 * ... that by using measurements of the flux of solar neutrinos within the framework of the Standard Solar Model physicists have estimated the temperature of the core of the sun to within 1%? (2006-07-12)
 * ... that although NASA originally thought that there was only one scalloped margin dome on the planet Venus (pictured), they have since discovered hundreds of them? (2006-06-27)
 * ... that CRISM is a spectrometer on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and will be used to find minerals on the surface of Mars? (2006-06-18)
 * ... that NASA terraforming expert Christopher McKay has explored the Gobi Desert, Siberia and Antarctica to study extremophilic life forms? (2006-05-12)
 * ... that from 1858 Sydneysiders could set their clocks by the ball dropped at 1 pm each day at the Sydney Observatory and that the observatory replaced Fort Philip which was never needed to be used for defending Sydney? (2006-02-03)
 * ... that the Virgo Stellar Stream is the proposed name for a stream of stars in the constellation of Virgo which are thought to be the remains of a dwarf spheroidal galaxy that is in the process of merging with the Milky Way? (2006-01-19)
 * ... that the All Sky Automated Survey is a Polish astronomical project based in Chile, controlled remotely from Poland through the Internet, and that it has discovered two comets since 1996 with a tiny budget? (2006-01-10)
 * ... that the asteroid 7796 Járacimrman, discovered in 1996 on Kleť Observatory and named after the famous fictitious Czech genius Jára Cimrman, proved to be the lost asteroid that had already been observed in 1973 on Brera-Merate Observatory in northern Italy? (2006-01-09)
 * ... that Space.com is a space and astronomy news website launched in 1999 by CNN anchor Lou Dobbs? (2006-01-04)
 * ... that the Taurid meteor shower, which peaks every 3000 years, may have been responsible for the Star of Bethlehem? (2005-11-07)
 * ... that the newly-discovered trans-Neptunian object is native to a distant region of our solar system known as the scattered disc? (2005-09-22)
 * ... that there were three more cancelled Apollo missions planned to land on the Moon after Apollo 17? (2005-09-13)
 * ... that three of the stars named after people, often thought to have traditional Arabic names, were in fact named for members of the Apollo 1 crew? (2005-08-19)
 * ... that Yogi Rock is a rock found on Mars by the Mars Pathfinder mission that looks surprisingly like Yogi Bear's head? (2005-07-21)
 * ... that NGC 3314 is a pair of almost perfectly overlapping spiral galaxies, giving astronomers a unique opportunity to observe the properties of interstellar dust? (2005-05-09)
 * ... that a Bok globule is a dark cloud of dense dust and gas, first observed by astronomer Bart Bok in the 1940s, in which star formation is taking place within the H II region? (2005-01-22)
 * ... that Kordylewski clouds are large concentrations of dust that orbit Earth at the distance of the Moon? (2004-12-31)
 * ... that J002E3 was at first thought to be a new moon of the Earth when discovered in 2002 but later found to be the third stage of the Apollo 12 Saturn V? (2004-12-23)
 * ... that Carpenter is a lunar impact crater located in the northern part of the Moon, causing it to appear oval in shape when in fact it's nearly circular? (2004-11-22)
 * ... that most contemporary robotic telescopes are in the hands of amateur astronomers? (2004-09-10)
 * ... that the Milky Way's galactic halo contains many globular clusters? (2004-08-04)
 * ... that the Canis Minor Dwarf Galaxy is our nearest galactic neighbor? (2004-08-04)
 * ... that pole stars change over time because stars exhibit a slow but distinct drift with respect to the Earth's axis? (2004-04-30)
 * ... that gravitational collapse is a leading cause of star death? (2004-04-27)
 * ... that the biggest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere will be the Southern African Large Telescope, opening later this year? (2004-03-17)
 * ... that the Hubble Ultra Deep Field is a Hubble Space Telescope image that contains roughly 10,000 galaxies? (2004-03-15)