Space

Small telescopes have really come on leaps and bounds in recent years. There was a time when refractors with apertures smaller than 4 inches were seldom to be recommended, but manufacturers have been pushing the capabilities of smaller apertures ever further, with optical coatings and high quality, mass-produced optics helping to eke out every little bit of capability from these pocket-sized…

Satellites high above Earth may soon have fewer places to hide. San Francisco-based company Astranis announced today (Aug. 13) that it’s developing a line of spacecraft called Perceptor, which will keep an eye on satellite activity in geostationary orbit (GEO). GEO lies 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth, an altitude at which orbital speed matches our planet’s rotational…

Today (Aug. 12), millions of people across Greenland, Iceland and Spain will witness a total solar eclipse as the moon completely covers the sun, turning day into night, albeit briefly. It’s Europe’s first total solar eclipse since 1999, and with a maximum of 2 minutes, 18 seconds of totality, it will be worth the wait … weather permitting! Even if you’re not inside the path…

A spectacular total solar eclipse will coincide with the peak of the Perseid meteor shower on Aug. 12-13. But will you be able to spot shooting stars in the false twilight of totality? Perseids appear as Earth plows through the stream of debris shed by comet Swift-Tuttle. Up to 100 shooting stars may be seen each hour around its peak under ideal dark skies, as particles from the ancient comet…