Greek ship carrying parts of the Parthenon is giving up more secrets

The latest expedition by divers to the wreck of the Mentor, which sank just off the island of Kythera (also spelled Kithira and Kythira) in 1802, has recovered several pieces of the ship's rigging, coins, the leather sole of a shoe, a metal buckle, a token for playing cards, two chess pieces, fragments of cooking… Continue reading Greek ship carrying parts of the Parthenon is giving up more secrets

What is the Milky Way?

When someone says “Milky Way,” do you think of the starry pathway across our sky, or of the great pinwheel-shaped galaxy in space? Both are correct! Source: https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/what-is-the-milky-way-galaxy…

Can you see Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star?

Here’s how to spot Canopus, the 2nd-brightest star in the sky as seen from Earth, on February evenings. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/few-know-the-second-brightest-star-canopus…

Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids offer surprises

A new study out this month suggests that Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids may be more peculiar than previously thought. The Trojan asteroids are rocky objects which orbit the sun just ahead of and just behind the gas giant, in gravitational sweet spots known as Lagrange points. The swarm ahead of Jupiter, known as the L4 (Greek) group, is slightly larger than the…

Capella the Goat Star is the brightest star in Auriga

The sixth brightest star in the night sky, Capella, is the brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere constellation Auriga the Charioteer. This star is also one of the points in the Winter Hexagon. Source: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/capella-is-the-stellar-beacon-of-auriga-the-charioteer…

Last quarter moon and Spica mornings of January 6 and 7

Use the moon to guide your eye to Spica before daybreak on January 6 and 7, 2021, and look forward to this star’s all-night appearance in April. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-spica-from-late-night-till-dawn…

Bull’s head: The Hyades star cluster

Meet the bright star Aldebaran, part of a V-shaped pattern of stars called the Hyades. This easy-to-find star cluster represents the face of Taurus the Bull. Source: https://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/v-shaped-hyades-star-cluster-easy-to-find…