• Binoculars to boost your night-sky viewing
    10 June 2025
    These pocket-sized binoculars transport the observer into a sea of stars covering a wide expanse of space.
  • Lyra’s stunning smoke ring – M57
    10 June 2025
    Messier 57, the Ring Nebula, graces the constellation Lyra as one of the finest planetary nebulae in the night sky. A true summer showpiece, it's remarkably easy to locate and observe—even through modest instruments as small as 80mm (about three inches) in aperture.
  • Is the Hubble Tension Resolved?
    09 June 2025
    New measurements from Hubble and Webb suggest the Hubble tension may be resolved, with expansion rates aligning and the standard model of cosmology remaining intact—for now.
  • Universe’s end – sooner rather than later
    16 May 2025
    The universe may end far sooner than expected—within 10⁷⁸ years, not 10¹⁰⁰—according to Dutch researchers who reinterpreted Hawking radiation, suggesting all massive objects gradually decay over time.
  • Caught in the current of the wonderful Whirlpool
    25 April 2025
    Messier 51 (NGC 5194) in Canes Venatici is the archetypal face-on spiral galaxy. Aptly named and very well known as the Whirlpool Galaxy, this magnificent object has few rivals across the entire sky and, if the sheer volume of images received at Astronomy Now headquarters over recent years is any indicator, only mighty Messier 31 in Andromeda is as popular.
  • A faint star will reveal itself as it throws a hissy-fit
    26 March 2025
    A rare nova explosion, bright enough to see with the naked eye, may be imminent. Astronomers predict the binary star system could erupt as soon as Thursday, March 27.

Current visual surface of the Sun by SDO - Courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.