Category Archives: Solar System

The Mysterious Red Planet: Mars

For thousands of years, people have gazed into the night sky and wondered about the planet Mars. It was an object of particular fascination for ancient astrologers who looked to the heavens for guidance about the past and the future. … Continue reading

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Sparkling Spray Of Stars Seen

William Herschel discovered this fascinating object during his great sky surveys in the late 18th century. He first noticed the bright cluster in January 1784 and the brightest part of the visually more elusive smudge of the glowing gas clouds … Continue reading

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Detecting Subtle Changes – ERS-2 & Envisat

The European Space Agency says it has paired its European Remote Sensing-2 satellite with its Envisat satellite in their second tandem operation. ERS-2, the space agency’s veteran spacecraft, and Envisat, the largest environmental satellite ever built, both carry Synthetic Aperture … Continue reading

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Variable Stars

Variable stars are stars that vary in brightness over time. In most cases, these changes occur very slowly over a period of months or even years. In some cases, however, the changes take place in a matter of hours. The … Continue reading

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