Astronomy News

Astronomy is as vast as the universe it seeks to study. That's because it has the entire universe to explore. So it's no surprise that astronomy news is so popular. Let's look at some of the more interesting tidbits.

The magazine “Astronomy” is a great source of astronomy news. NASAs IBEX, Interstellar Boundary Explorer, was one exciting story. Just as weatherman study winds in fronts, IBEX studies outer space fronts. To be exact it is the solar wind and how it interacts with space beyond the reach of the sun. IBEX will also accurately map the boundaries of the sun's solar system.

There's also astronomy news about a new aurora on Saturn, unique compared to other auroras we've known. Charged particles interact with the planet's magnetic field to form an aurora. The solar winds create the auroras on earth. Jupiter produces the particles and the magnetic field that creates its auroras. Saturn's aurora, which covers a very large area, has been seen in infrared and will teach scientists a lot about this phenomenon.

Universe today is another source of astronomy news. On November 13, 2008 it carried the story of contact reestablished with the Mars rover. The culprit was a big dust storm. But Spirit recovered from this low-power dilemma. With the dust blocking sunlight from its solar panels, the fear was that it would shut down completely and never recover. But it recovered and now it's back on the job.

Contact with intelligent life may be a matter of less than 15 years thanks to the Allen telescope array, at least that's what's in astronomy news. The array is set to grow up from its current 42 antennas to over 350. Well before 2025 people reached so far into space that it can't help but find intelligence.

There could be no bigger astronomy news than actual contact with intelligence.