Telescope

A team of astronomers has completed a massive survey of the Milky Way’s central bulge, which captured the light fingerprint of over 250 million stars, and could help provide new insights into our galaxy’s history and creation.

The focal plane for what will be the world’s largest digital camera has been used to snap the first ever 3,200-megapixel images, with the team now preparing to install this sensor array into a next-generation telescope to study the universe.

Given how many satellites and bits of orbital debris are now orbiting the Earth, it's becoming increasingly important to keep track of where they all are. A new telescope system allows space agencies and other clients to do so – even in broad daylight.

Astronomers have identified an asteroid that made the closest pass to Earth ever recorded, and it was only spotted after it had passed. The object skimmed Earth’s atmosphere over the weekend, close enough to have its orbit changed by the gravity.

Science operations have been suspended at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico after the radio telescope was damaged on Monday August 10. An auxiliary cable supporting a platform appears to have snapped and fallen, damaging the dish.

The Pentax VD 4x20 WP is an innovative multifunctional optical tool that looks like an unassuming pair of binoculars but splits apart to increase viewing versatility. Share with a friend or fasten the two scopes together to increase magnification.

Balloons may seem outdated, but for high-flying scientific instruments they’re making a comeback. NASA has now unveiled ASTHROS, a new infrared telescope that will be carried to the edge of space by a balloon the size of a football stadium.

A team of astronomers has identified what may be the best spot on Earth to stick a telescope. A high plateau in eastern Antarctica would have an exceptionally clear view of the stars, even outperforming other locations on the polar continent.

NASA and ESA have announced that the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope has been delayed to October 2021. A recently-completed schedule risk assessment recommended the delay, due to challenges raised by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Could there be a tiny black hole hiding in our own backyard? It’s been suggested that the hypothetical Planet Nine is actually a black hole, and now astronomers have proposed how we might find it in the next few years, using an upcoming telescope.

A star that shined with 2.5 million times the light of our Sun has disappeared from the night sky. It is possible that the star collapsed into a black hole without first triggering a supernova – a rare event, even in the context of dying stars.

Astronomers investigating gamma ray emissions have discovered that certain active galaxies are giving off bursts in regular patterns. This, the team says, could be an indication of galaxies harboring two supermassive black holes in their centers.