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In some planetary systems, the direction that a star spins and the direction its planets orbit don’t always line up. A new study explores what we can learn from these nonconformists. The post A Pileup of Perpendicular Planets appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

See photos — some familiar and some rarely seen — from the Apollo 15 mission, which launched place 50 years ago today. The post Fifty Years Ago in Photos: Apollo 15 Astronauts Explore the Moon appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Asteroids of different sizes crashing on Earth originated from different parts of the main asteroid belt, researchers say; the finding has implications for how often such collisions happen. The post How Often Do Chicxulub-level Asteroids Hit Earth? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have made the first clear detection of a dusty disk surrounding an exoplanet, which could eventually go on to form moons. The post Astronomers Detect Potential Moon-forming Disk around an Exoplanet appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Saturn and Jupiter shine in the southeast by late evening. The bright Moon passes them on the 24th through 26th. Venus continues to sit patiently, changelessly, low in the west in twilight. Bootes and the Big Dipper mark the western sky after dark; the Summer Triangle emblazons the east. The post This Week’s Sky at a Glance, July 23 – 31 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Insight mission science team has used about 10 deep marsquakes to take stock of the planet’s anatomy. The post NASA’s Insight Reveals First Look Inside Mars appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Perseverance will soon collect the first of many samples from the Martian surface in a quest to answer whether the planet once hosted life. The post NASA’s Perseverance to Collect First Sample from Mars appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A Milky Way magnetar surprises astronomers by burping up gamma rays right when their predictions anticipated. The post Milky Way Magnetar Spits Gamma Rays on Schedule appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Observations of the nearest radio galaxy, Centaurus A, provide the highest-resolution look at the long jets shooting from the galaxy’s supermassive black hole. The post Event Horizon Telescope Reveals Curious Jet Structure from Black Hole appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

After a tense month, the Hubble Space Telescope resumed operations this past weekend. The post NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Is Back in Action appeared first on Sky & Telescope.