Astronomy Magazine: Space News, Observing, Planets, Galaxies

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Our increasingly cluttered skies

$Photograph of two interacting galaxies merging into a single large, glowing white-gray, wing-shaped structure at center, with tidal arcs sweeping to the left and a bright knot of overlapping material at right. Thin orange-brown dust lanes and pink-red star-forming regions trace through the brighter parts. Many white, blue, and orange stars, some with long vertical blue diffraction streaks, and numerous small background galaxies are scattered across the dark field.$

Galaxies, Science

Gemini North reveals Twin Spirits in Pegasus

Astrophotography, Telescopes and Equipment

ZWO introduces the Seestar S30 Plus

Stars

Why are there so many different types of stars?

Picture of the Day

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Soul searching

Mark Killion from Paris, Illinois

The Soul Nebula (IC 1848) is a huge star-forming cloud in Cassiopeia about 7,500 light-years away, carved into pillars and cavities by wind and radiation from the young stars embedded within. The imager took 31⅓ hours of exposure with a 5-inch f/5 refractor operated remotely at a dark-sky site near Beryl, Utah, with a one-shot-color camera and dual-band filter.

In the Sky

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$Photograph of a rich star field centered on the bright, orange-tinted star Mirach, which has prominent diffraction spikes and a broad, warm glow. A faint, fuzzy, round galaxy appears just above and to the right of Mirach. Many white, blue, and orange stars are scattered across the dark background.$

Observing