Your Guide to the Universe

Current Issue: July/August 2020

The Secret of Life (on Mars)

A flotilla of new spacecraft scheduled for launch in July and in 2022 will dig into the Red Planet’s surface, skim through its atmosphere, and plot its magnetic field as the search for life continues.

Jupiter’s Incredible Shrinking ‘Eye’

The Great Red Spot has lost some of its might, but the solar system’s biggest storm probably isn’t doomed.

Sky Highlights

While the Summer Triangle and the other signature star patterns of the season continue their climb across the night sky, the solar system’s giants stage a dazzling show. Both Jupiter and Saturn are at opposition, so they shine at their brightest for the year. Mars shines brightly, too, while Venus dazzles as the Morning Star. Follow them across the night sky in the Sky Calendar.

Merlin

Merlin provides a glimpse into the workings of other star systems and talks about a “wobble” in the Moon’s appearance. Pose your own question for future issues.

AstroNews

An artist’s concept envisions the view from the surface of Kepler-1649c. [NASA] A giant star narrowly escaped a black hole, although not unscathed, while astronomers discovered a black hole that’s closer to Earth than any other yet seen, and we describe both of those in our AstroNews pages. We also have news about a disappearing planet, new discoveries from old data, and more.

AstroMiscellany

A new NASA app highlights the work of pioneering women in the fields of science, engineering, and exploration, and we point the way. We also detail a book that offers a 3D look at giant clouds of gas, and show how Hubble Space Telescope offers birthday greetings.

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In the Next Issue

The International Space Station hosts several telescopes and other instruments for studying the universe, and we’ll fill you in on the details. We’ll also tell you about an organization that helps people around the world get in touch with the stars.

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