Astronomy

Star-gazers unable to catch the once-in-a-lifetime sight in the sky Monday night known as the ‘Christmas star’ will still have a chance to see a version of the exciting event this week.

A Great Conjunction is when the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn appear close together when viewed from Earth. On Dec. 21, the planets will appear so close together that they will almost look like one point of light to the unaided eye. The two planets will be just above the horizon, and will set a few hours after the Sun.

A phenomenon called the “Christmas Star,” which has not been seen for nearly 800 years, will light up the sky tonight just in time for the holiday season. NASA scientist and astronomer Dr. Kelly Fast joined LX News to explain what it is and how to see it.

The monthly post is full of astro-awesome events, the sort of cosmic happenings we can appreciate from our own digs.

Watch Jupiter and Saturn “meet” during an online event hosted by Mt. Wilson Observatory, Carnegie Observatories, and Glendale Community College.

A rare celestial event is just days away. David Biggar explains what’s behind the Christmas Star.

Southern California won’t be treated to the daytime sky show, but the Carnegie Observatories director will host a live, info-packed webinar.

This year has already brought several firsts for much of the world, but as 2020 comes to a close, a once-in-a-lifetime sight will appear in the night sky just in time for the holidays.

Throughout the afternoon, there were 90 reports of a bright white fireball with shades of yellow being seen from Ontario to Virginia, with most reports of the loud boom coming from the Syracuse area.

The 2020 event, which went virtual, is over, but you can still peruse the astronomically awesome content for months to come.

Explore a “supermassive black hole” with the UCLA Planetarium via a virtual event.

The two-day Perseid meteor shower offers one of the most spectacular shooting star displays.

NASA announced that the annual Perseid meteor shower, one of the most highly anticipated showers of the year, will peak on the morning of August 12. We’ve rounded up some times you might want to have your eyes on the skies this month, for the Perseids and otherwise. Aug. 9: Grab a pair of binoculars before dawn and look toward…

An image of a mesmerizing cosmic spiral, twisting and swirling around a galactic maw, may be the first direct evidence of the birth of a planet ever captured by humanity. The European Southern Observatory released a picture Wednesday of what astronomers believe shows the process of cosmic matter in the midst of a gravitational tipping point, collapsing into a new…

Astronomers have discovered the closest black hole to Earth

An asteroid discovered by researchers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena more than two decades ago whizzed past Earth early Wednesday morning in what is considered a “close approach,” but it was expected be more than 3.9 million miles away. The asteroid, dubbed 1998 OR2, is roughly 1.5 miles wide, and JPL officials said they’ll take advantage of the flyby…

If you like shooting stars, you’re in luck. The annual Lyrid meteor shower, which is active from April 16 to April 25, is expected to peak late Tuesday night and into early Wednesday morning.

The nature-amazing event returns in September for three starry nights of mooning over the Milky Way (and more).