Latest Night sky Stories

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) was recently awarded a grant from the Uwingu Fund in support of the organization's new program called "Save Our Stars." According to IDA, Save Our Stars (SOS) is a program aimed to work with amateur astronomers and other groups to educate about light pollution, provide information about how it can be diminished, and educate about the importance of limiting sky pollution to protect the dark...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online International Dark Sky Week (IDSW) is kicking off this weekend in an attempt to show the world just how dark our skies can be without light pollution. The International Dark-Sky Association’s (IDA) week long festivities began on April 5 and continue through April 11. The week is designed to promote ways to help put a dent in light pollution, such as directing light downward instead of up towards the sky, which washes out the stars at...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) announced this week that Death Valley National Park is being designated as the largest International Dark Sky Park in the world. The association said that the park offers views similar to what could have been seen before the rise of cities, due to its seclusion from other towns. Death Valley earned a "Gold Tier" status from the sky pollution watchdog, a status awarded to only those places...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Back before technology emerged into everyone's pockets, sailors used the stars as their GPS system when navigating the seven seas. While that way of navigation is a little outdated for humans, it’s still a modern technology for dung beetles. Scientists wrote in the journal Current Biology about how dung beetles guide their way through even the darkest of nights by the soft glow of the Milky Way in the sky. Researchers say that...

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Update: January 19, 2013 On Monday evening, astronomers (both amateurs and pros) across the country will be looking up to the skies to witness the super close dance between Jupiter and the Moon. Slooh Space Camera will also be there broadcasting live feeds of the event, giving everyone a shot at seeing the chance encounter. The waxing gibbous moon will appear about one degree south of Jupiter on Monday night, January 21. This...

[ Watch the Video: ScienceCasts: Christmas Sky Show ] April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online What Christmas celebration could be complete without beautiful lights? This Christmas, the light show will not just be in your neighbor's yard, but in the sky as well. On the evening of December 25, Jupiter and the Moon are having a Christmas conjunction, which will be visible around the globe. Normally cut off from astronomical displays because of light pollution, even city...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Light pollution has been a growing problem recently, and as skylines continue to grow, the night sky becomes dimmer and dimmer. A new shift is taking place in lighting though, and researchers estimate that the color of the night sky may be changing as well. Scientists writing in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society said they have used a new instrument to study how clouds affect sky brightness in urban areas,...

Thousands of people across Texas and Oklahoma reported seeing a flash of light streaking across the night sky Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the light people saw at about 8 p.m. central time was in fact a meteor. However, the thousands who reported the flash as an unidentified flying object do not have to feel inadequate when it comes to spotting meteors.  This meteor was unusually large, and it created a sonic boom as it passed by residents. “We know it...