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NASA's New Space Telescope
Will Map the Entire Sky

Mar 13, 2025 8:39 AM CDT

NASA's New Space Telescope Will Map the Entire Sky

SPHEREx will observe glow of 'all light emitted over cosmic history'

(Newser) - NASA's newest space telescope has rocketed toward orbit to map the entire sky like never before—a sweeping look at hundreds of millions of galaxies and their shared cosmic glow since the beginning of time. SpaceX launched the SPHEREx—Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization...

Wildfire Destroys Buildings at Arizona Observatory

Wildfire Could 'Pause the
Progression of Cosmology'

Jun 20, 2022 3:13 PM CDT

Wildfire Could 'Pause the Progression of Cosmology'

Arizona fire destroyed support buildings at Kitt Peak National Observatory

(Newser) - A wildfire has destroyed four buildings at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona—and while the observatory's dozens of telescopes appear to be safe, scientists fear the smoke and heat may have seriously damaged the equipment. The observatory southwest of Tucson says personnel had already been evacuated when...

Famed Telescope
Can't Be Saved

Nov 20, 2020 1:00 AM CST

Famed Telescope Can't Be Saved

Cables are failing at astronomy landmark in Puerto Rico

(Newser) - The iconic radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory is being taken out of commission. Cables hold up a 900-ton equipment platform over the telescope's huge reflector dish, and those cables have begun to fail. One broke this month, after an auxiliary cable had slipped out of its socket in...

Protesters Vow to Stop
Giant Hawaii Telescope

Jul 16, 2019 12:03 AM CDT

Protesters Vow to Stop Giant Hawaii Telescope

They say it is being built on sacred land

(Newser) - Protesters vowed Monday to continue demonstrating against the construction of a giant telescope on top of a mountain some Native Hawaiians consider sacred after they spent the day blocking the road to the project site. About a dozen elders, or kupuna, sat in chairs at the start of the road...

Child Porn Caused Closure
of New Mexico Observatory

Sep 20, 2018 2:28 AM CDT

Child Porn Caused Closure of New Mexico Observatory

After laptop was seized, janitor warned of 'serial killer'

(Newser) - After the Sunspot Solar Observatory in New Mexico mysteriously closed for 11 days , citing unspecified "security concerns," rumors of alien sightings or other strange cosmic goings-on proliferated. But the real reason was apparently the disturbing behavior of an Earthling janitor, reports the Albuquerque Journal . According to a federal...

Observatory to Reopen After
11-Day Closure for Security

Sep 17, 2018 1:12 AM CDT

Observatory to Reopen After 11-Day Closure for Security

NM facility hasn't disclosed nature of threat

(Newser) - An observatory in the mountains of southern New Mexico that had been closed since early September because of an undisclosed security concern is scheduled to reopen on Monday, officials managing the facility said. The Sunspot Solar Observatory no longer faces a security threat to staff, the Association of Universities for...

Hawaiians Block
$1.4B Telescope
Project on
Sacred Land

Jun 25, 2015 9:15 AM CDT

Hawaiians Block $1.4B Telescope Project on Sacred Land

At least temporarily; Board says it will break ground 'when issue is resolved'

(Newser) - Hundreds of protesters on a Hawaii mountain road erupted in cheers yesterday after construction crews turned around and retreated from the site for what would be one of the world's largest telescopes. The $1.4 billion project has drawn intense opposition from Native Hawaiians who say the 18-story observatory...

Thank San Quentin
Ex-Con for Iconic
LA Observatory

Feb 26, 2013 2:22 PM CST

Thank San Quentin Ex-Con for Iconic LA Observatory

Griffith Griffith had it built after shooting his wife, serving time

(Newser) - Movie fans are probably familiar with the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, given that it sits in view of the famed "Hollywood" sign and remains a popular film location year after year. But the Los Angeles Times today offers a interesting peek into the life of Griffith J. Griffith,...

Observatory to
Unveil Search for
Other Earths, Life

Jan 31, 2011 7:09 PM CST

Observatory to Unveil Search for Other Earths, Life

Kepler observatory to release early findings this week

(Newser) - There's a roving eye watching deep space for signs that the truth—or at least other Earth-like planets or even life—is out there, and we're going to get a glimpse this week. The $600 million Kepler observatory is tracking a small piece of sky filled with some 4.5...

32 New Exoplanets Discovered

Oct 20, 2009 3:23 AM CDT

32 New Exoplanets Discovered

New finds signal that cosmos harbors wealth of planets

(Newser) - European astronomers have discovered 32 new planets in other solar systems, bringing the total of known exoplanets to over 400. The planets—which range in size from five times the size of Earth to five times the size of Jupiter—were found circling a variety of stars. The new discoveries...

China Scientists Report UFO

Sep 7, 2009 5:16 AM CDT

China Scientists Report UFO

Researchers analyzing 40 minutes of film during July solar eclipse

(Newser) - Chinese scientists have reported filming a UFO for 40 minutes during the solar eclipse in July, reports the Telegraph. Researchers from the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing said they will study the footage for a full year before they issue any conclusions. Scientists "discovered near the sun an unidentified...

Alaskan Volcano
Ready to Blow Again

May 5, 2009 12:38 PM CDT

Alaskan Volcano Ready to Blow Again

(Newser) - Alaska’s Mount Redoubt volcano is rumbling again, and an explosive eruption could come at any time, the Anchorage Daily News reports. “Seismic and rockfall activity increasing,” warned a volcano observatory. “Eruption likely in coming days; could occur at any time with little or no warning.”...