For thousands of years, comets have fascinated us, filled us with dread, and, in some ways, made us who we are.#history #superstitions #stargazing #astrology #astronomy #wondersky #section-Articles
Long Seen as Omens, Comets Do Tell Us Something About Ourselves
Long Seen as Omens, Comets Do Tell Us Something About Ourselves

For thousands of years, comets have fascinated us, filled us with dread, and, in some ways, made us who we are.

Atlas Obscura

Our 'Mini-Moon' 2024 PT5 Is Mini—But It's Not a Moon

The space rock taking a surprise swing around our planet is just visiting from Earth's asteroid belt.#satellite #space #asteroids #astronomy #moon #wondersky #columns #section-Articles
Our 'Mini-Moon' 2024 PT5 Is Mini—But It's Not a Moon

Our 'Mini-Moon' 2024 PT5 Is Mini—But It's Not a Moon

The space rock taking a surprise swing around our planet is just visiting from Earth's asteroid belt.

Atlas Obscura

Moon Time Is a Thing Now—Here's Why It Matters

Physicists recently created Coordinated Lunar Time, a time zone for our Moon.#navigation #space #spaceexploration #time #columns #wondersky #moon #section-Articles
Moon Time Is a Thing Now—Here's Why It Matters

Moon Time Is a Thing Now—Here's Why It Matters

Physicists recently created Coordinated Lunar Time, a time zone for our Moon.

Atlas Obscura
What you see overhead is a combination of where you are, how our vision evolved, and that flimsy layer of atmosphere that keeps us all alive.#darkskies #color #stargazing #wondersky #columns #section-Articles
What Color Is Night?
What Color Is Night?

What you see overhead is a combination of where you are, how our vision evolved, and that flimsy layer of atmosphere that keeps us all alive.

Atlas Obscura
Northern lights in the American South, clusters of huge geomagnetic storms—the Sun is throwing a tantrum right on schedule.#columns #stargazing #northernlights #auroras #science #wondersky #astronomy #sun #section-Articles
Why Is the Sun So Active Right Now?
Why Is the Sun So Active Right Now?

Northern lights in the American South, clusters of huge geomagnetic storms—the Sun is throwing a tantrum right on schedule.

Atlas Obscura

Colorado's Pikes Peak Is an Eclipse Hot Spot (for 2045)

The Mountain West helped put American science on the map during the 1878 total solar eclipse, and it's the place to be for the next big American eclipse.#history #eclipse #countdowntotheeclipse2024 #columns #wondersky #section-Articles
Colorado's Pikes Peak Is an Eclipse Hot Spot (for 2045)

Colorado's Pikes Peak Is an Eclipse Hot Spot (for 2045)

The Mountain West helped put American science on the map during the 1878 total solar eclipse, and it's the place to be for the next big American eclipse.

Atlas Obscura
During the 1869 total solar eclipse, astronomers thought they had discovered a new element. They were wrong, and the truth was much weirder.#sun #countdowntotheeclipse2024 #eclipse #science #astronomy #wondersky #section-Articles
Coronium, One of the Most Enduring Mysteries (and Mistakes) in Eclipse Science
Coronium, One of the Most Enduring Mysteries (and Mistakes) in Eclipse Science

During the 1869 total solar eclipse, astronomers thought they had discovered a new element. They were wrong, and the truth was much weirder.

Atlas Obscura

In Mesopotamia, Being 'King for a Day' Could be Deadly

Total solar eclipses were an omen of death for rulers of the Assyrian Empire. The fix? Install a fake king and then kill him.#science #countdowntotheeclipse2024 #royalty #eclipse #astronomy #humansacrifice #ancient #wondersky #section-Articles
In Mesopotamia, Being 'King for a Day' Could be Deadly

In Mesopotamia, Being 'King for a Day' Could be Deadly

Total solar eclipses were an omen of death for rulers of the Assyrian Empire. The fix? Install a fake king and then kill him.

Atlas Obscura

How One of Science's Biggest Errors Persisted for 1,500 Years

Ptolemy's compendium, later known as the Almagest, dominated Western astronomy for 15 centuries. It was also wrong, and it took the fall of an empire to fix it.#solarsystem #sun #moon #mathematics #physics #astronomy #history #stargazing #columns #wondersky #section-Articles
How One of Science's Biggest Errors Persisted for 1,500 Years

How One of Science's Biggest Errors Persisted for 1,500 Years

Ptolemy's compendium, later known as the Almagest, dominated Western astronomy for 15 centuries. It was also wrong, and it took the fall of an empire to fix it.

Atlas Obscura
Many of us see a face or a rabbit in the Moon—examples of pareidolia that, when conditions are right, also include the letters X and V.#stargazing #astronomy #moon #wondersky #section-Articles
How to See Where Lunar X Marks the Spot on a First Quarter Moon
How to See Where Lunar X Marks the Spot on a First Quarter Moon

Many of us see a face or a rabbit in the Moon—examples of pareidolia that, when conditions are right, also include the letters X and V.

Atlas Obscura