Aldebaran Occultation - January 19, 2016

Caltech Researchers Find Evidence of a Real Ninth Planet

Well, Pluto may have been demoted, but look here - a possible new ninth planet!

Full story at Caltech

Big Explosion in Space ... Really Big!

What is 10 miles across, but powers an explosion brighter than the Milky Way?

Astronomers studying what may be the most powerful supernova ever seen ...

Supernovas are rare, but not uncommon.  Notable ones have occured a few times in the last 100 years or so.  But this one is big ... really big.  And it may require physical mechanisms that are currently beyond our understanding.  See Science Daily for the details. 

And Now For Something Really Beautiful

New Hubble Image of the Butterfly Nebula

Incredible new image of PN M2-9 shows extraordinary color and detail. Known variously as the Butterfly Nebula, Minkowski’s Butterfly, the Twin Jet Nebula, or PN M2-9, this is a striking example of a bipolar planetary nebula. It lies 2,100 light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus.

Complete story at AstronomyNow.

Pluto like a Lava Lamp!

New Horizons image shows where huge nitrogen ice blobs merged on Pluto's surface

The newest image of Pluto's ice fields offers a fascinating glimpse of what researchers believe is the movement of huge, solid nitrogen ice blobs on the surface of the distant dwarf planet.

For details and 17 new photos from the New Horizons spacecraft, click here.