DESI’s 3D map of the universe is complete!

This visualization shows how DESI’s 3D map of the universe accumulated over 5 years. It begins with DESI’s tiles on the night sky, each observing around 5,000 galaxies. As we move out to see the observations in 3D, we see how DESI maps the cosmic web of filaments and voids. Earth is at the center of the wedges, and every dot represents a galaxy. Image via DESI Collaboration and DESI Member Institutions/ DOE/ KPNO/ NOIRLab/ NSF/ AURA/ R. Proctor.

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• The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument has created one of the most extensive surveys of the cosmos ever conducted. The five-year survey is now complete.
• DESI has mapped more than 47 million galaxies and quasars. This is the largest high-resolution 3D map of our universe to date.
• DESI will continue observations into 2028 and further expand the map. The observations will help astronomers understand how dark energy works in the universe.

NOIRLab published this original story on April 15, 2026. Edits by EarthSky.

DESI’s 3D map of the universe is complete!

On Tuesday night, April 14, 2026, the 5,000 fiber-optic eyes of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) swiveled onto a patch of sky near the Little Dipper. Roughly every 20 minutes, it locked onto distant pinpricks of light, gathering photons that had traveled toward Earth for billions of years. When the sun rose, the instrument had completed a major milestone. It had successfully surveyed all areas in a planned 3D map of the universe.

The five-year survey, finished ahead of schedule and with vastly more data than expected, has produced the largest high-resolution 3D map of the universe ever made. Researchers use that map to explore dark energy, the fundamental ingredient that makes up about 70% of our universe and is driving its accelerating expansion.

View larger. | This is a small portion of DESI’s 5-year map. You can see the large-scale structure of the universe, created by gravity. Each dot represents a galaxy. The denser areas indicate regions where galaxies and galaxy clusters have clumped together to form the strands of the cosmic web. You can also see large voids between the filaments. Image via DESI Collaboration and DESI Member Institutions/ DOE/ KPNO/ NOIRLab/ NSF/ AURA/ R. Proctor. Image processing: M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab).

The mission of DESI

DESI’s quest to understand dark energy is a global endeavor. The international experiment brings together the expertise of more than 900 researchers (including 300 Ph.D. students) from over 70 institutions. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) manages this project. And the instrument was constructed and is operated with funding from the DOE Office of Science. DESI is mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Arizona, a program of NSF NOIRLab.

By comparing how galaxies clustered in the past with their distribution today, researchers can trace dark energy’s influence over 11 billion years of cosmic history. Surprising results using DESI’s first three years of data hinted that dark energy, once thought to be a cosmological constant, might be evolving over time.

With the full set of five years of data, researchers will have significantly more information to test whether that hint disappears or grows. If confirmed, it would mark a major shift in how we think about our universe and its potential fate, which hinges on the balance between matter and dark energy.

A successful universe-mapping project

Stephanie Juneau, associate astronomer and NSF NOIRLab representative for DESI, said:

It’s impossible to capture everything that went into making DESI such a successful experiment. From instrument builders and software engineers to technicians, observatory staff, and scientists – including many early-career researchers – it truly took a village. Ultimately, we are doing this for all humanity, to better understand our universe and its eventual fate. After finding hints that dark energy might deviate from a constant, potentially altering that fate, this moment feels like sitting on the edge of my seat as we analyze the new map to see whether those hints will be confirmed. I’m also very intrigued by the many other discoveries that await in this new dataset.

Kathy Turner, Program Manager for the Cosmic Frontier in the Office of High Energy Physics at the Department of Energy, said:

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument has truly exceeded all expectations, delivering an unprecedented 3D map of the universe that will revolutionize our understanding of dark energy. From its inception, we envisioned a project that would push the boundaries of cosmology, and to see it come to such a spectacularly successful completion for its initial survey, ahead of schedule and with such rich data, is incredibly rewarding. The dedication and ingenuity of the entire DESI collaboration have made this world-leading science a reality, and I am immensely proud of the groundbreaking results we are already seeing and the discoveries yet to come as we continue to explore the mysteries of our cosmos.

What’s next for DESI?

DESI has now measured cosmological data for six times as many galaxies and quasars as all previous measurements combined. The collaboration will immediately begin processing the completed dataset, with the first dark energy results from the full five-year survey expected in 2027. In the meantime, DESI collaborators continue to analyze the survey’s first three years of data, refining dark energy measurements and producing additional results on the structure and evolution of the universe, with several papers planned later this year.

Michael Levi, DESI director and a scientist at Berkeley Lab, said:

We’re going to celebrate completion of the original survey and then get started on the work of churning through the data, because we’re all curious about what new surprises are waiting for us.

The plan was to capture light from 34 million galaxies and quasars (extremely distant yet bright objects with black holes at their cores) over the five-year sky survey. DESI instead observed more than 47 million galaxies and quasars, as well as 20 million stars.

Expanding the 3D map of the universe

DESI will continue observations through 2028 and grow its map by about 20%, from 14,000 square degrees to 17,000 square degrees. (For comparison, the moon covers approximately 0.2 square degrees, and the full sky has over 41,000 square degrees). The extended map will cover parts of the sky that are more challenging to observe. These are areas that are closer to the plane of the Milky Way, where bright nearby stars can make it harder to see more distant objects. It also includes areas farther to the south, where the telescope must account for peering through more of Earth’s atmosphere.

The experiment will also revisit the existing area of the map to collect data from a new set of galaxies: more distant, fainter luminous red galaxies. These will provide an even denser, more detailed map of the regions DESI has already covered, giving researchers a clearer picture of the universe’s history.

Researchers will also study nearby dwarf galaxies and stellar streams, bands of stars torn from smaller galaxies by the Milky Way’s gravity. The hope is to better understand dark matter, the invisible form of matter that accounts for most of the mass in the universe but has never been directly detected.

Bottom line: Astronomers have completed the largest, most detailed 3D map of the universe ever made. It charts tens of millions of galaxies and quasars to help reveal how dark energy shapes the cosmos.

Via NOIRLab

The post DESI’s 3D map of the universe is complete! first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/TgVntla

This visualization shows how DESI’s 3D map of the universe accumulated over 5 years. It begins with DESI’s tiles on the night sky, each observing around 5,000 galaxies. As we move out to see the observations in 3D, we see how DESI maps the cosmic web of filaments and voids. Earth is at the center of the wedges, and every dot represents a galaxy. Image via DESI Collaboration and DESI Member Institutions/ DOE/ KPNO/ NOIRLab/ NSF/ AURA/ R. Proctor.

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

• The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument has created one of the most extensive surveys of the cosmos ever conducted. The five-year survey is now complete.
• DESI has mapped more than 47 million galaxies and quasars. This is the largest high-resolution 3D map of our universe to date.
• DESI will continue observations into 2028 and further expand the map. The observations will help astronomers understand how dark energy works in the universe.

NOIRLab published this original story on April 15, 2026. Edits by EarthSky.

DESI’s 3D map of the universe is complete!

On Tuesday night, April 14, 2026, the 5,000 fiber-optic eyes of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) swiveled onto a patch of sky near the Little Dipper. Roughly every 20 minutes, it locked onto distant pinpricks of light, gathering photons that had traveled toward Earth for billions of years. When the sun rose, the instrument had completed a major milestone. It had successfully surveyed all areas in a planned 3D map of the universe.

The five-year survey, finished ahead of schedule and with vastly more data than expected, has produced the largest high-resolution 3D map of the universe ever made. Researchers use that map to explore dark energy, the fundamental ingredient that makes up about 70% of our universe and is driving its accelerating expansion.

View larger. | This is a small portion of DESI’s 5-year map. You can see the large-scale structure of the universe, created by gravity. Each dot represents a galaxy. The denser areas indicate regions where galaxies and galaxy clusters have clumped together to form the strands of the cosmic web. You can also see large voids between the filaments. Image via DESI Collaboration and DESI Member Institutions/ DOE/ KPNO/ NOIRLab/ NSF/ AURA/ R. Proctor. Image processing: M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab).

The mission of DESI

DESI’s quest to understand dark energy is a global endeavor. The international experiment brings together the expertise of more than 900 researchers (including 300 Ph.D. students) from over 70 institutions. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) manages this project. And the instrument was constructed and is operated with funding from the DOE Office of Science. DESI is mounted on the U.S. National Science Foundation Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Arizona, a program of NSF NOIRLab.

By comparing how galaxies clustered in the past with their distribution today, researchers can trace dark energy’s influence over 11 billion years of cosmic history. Surprising results using DESI’s first three years of data hinted that dark energy, once thought to be a cosmological constant, might be evolving over time.

With the full set of five years of data, researchers will have significantly more information to test whether that hint disappears or grows. If confirmed, it would mark a major shift in how we think about our universe and its potential fate, which hinges on the balance between matter and dark energy.

A successful universe-mapping project

Stephanie Juneau, associate astronomer and NSF NOIRLab representative for DESI, said:

It’s impossible to capture everything that went into making DESI such a successful experiment. From instrument builders and software engineers to technicians, observatory staff, and scientists – including many early-career researchers – it truly took a village. Ultimately, we are doing this for all humanity, to better understand our universe and its eventual fate. After finding hints that dark energy might deviate from a constant, potentially altering that fate, this moment feels like sitting on the edge of my seat as we analyze the new map to see whether those hints will be confirmed. I’m also very intrigued by the many other discoveries that await in this new dataset.

Kathy Turner, Program Manager for the Cosmic Frontier in the Office of High Energy Physics at the Department of Energy, said:

The Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument has truly exceeded all expectations, delivering an unprecedented 3D map of the universe that will revolutionize our understanding of dark energy. From its inception, we envisioned a project that would push the boundaries of cosmology, and to see it come to such a spectacularly successful completion for its initial survey, ahead of schedule and with such rich data, is incredibly rewarding. The dedication and ingenuity of the entire DESI collaboration have made this world-leading science a reality, and I am immensely proud of the groundbreaking results we are already seeing and the discoveries yet to come as we continue to explore the mysteries of our cosmos.

What’s next for DESI?

DESI has now measured cosmological data for six times as many galaxies and quasars as all previous measurements combined. The collaboration will immediately begin processing the completed dataset, with the first dark energy results from the full five-year survey expected in 2027. In the meantime, DESI collaborators continue to analyze the survey’s first three years of data, refining dark energy measurements and producing additional results on the structure and evolution of the universe, with several papers planned later this year.

Michael Levi, DESI director and a scientist at Berkeley Lab, said:

We’re going to celebrate completion of the original survey and then get started on the work of churning through the data, because we’re all curious about what new surprises are waiting for us.

The plan was to capture light from 34 million galaxies and quasars (extremely distant yet bright objects with black holes at their cores) over the five-year sky survey. DESI instead observed more than 47 million galaxies and quasars, as well as 20 million stars.

Expanding the 3D map of the universe

DESI will continue observations through 2028 and grow its map by about 20%, from 14,000 square degrees to 17,000 square degrees. (For comparison, the moon covers approximately 0.2 square degrees, and the full sky has over 41,000 square degrees). The extended map will cover parts of the sky that are more challenging to observe. These are areas that are closer to the plane of the Milky Way, where bright nearby stars can make it harder to see more distant objects. It also includes areas farther to the south, where the telescope must account for peering through more of Earth’s atmosphere.

The experiment will also revisit the existing area of the map to collect data from a new set of galaxies: more distant, fainter luminous red galaxies. These will provide an even denser, more detailed map of the regions DESI has already covered, giving researchers a clearer picture of the universe’s history.

Researchers will also study nearby dwarf galaxies and stellar streams, bands of stars torn from smaller galaxies by the Milky Way’s gravity. The hope is to better understand dark matter, the invisible form of matter that accounts for most of the mass in the universe but has never been directly detected.

Bottom line: Astronomers have completed the largest, most detailed 3D map of the universe ever made. It charts tens of millions of galaxies and quasars to help reveal how dark energy shapes the cosmos.

Via NOIRLab

The post DESI’s 3D map of the universe is complete! first appeared on EarthSky.

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Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to our sun

Our sun’s closest neighbors, including Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri. Image via NASA PhotoJournal.

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter.

Alpha Centauri is often said to be the closest star to our sun. It’s true that when you look at this star – the 3rd-brightest star in our night sky – you can think of it as the closest star.

But, really, it’s the closest star system to our sun. The single star we see as Alpha Centauri becomes two stars through a telescope. This pair is just 4.37 light-years away from us. A third star in the system, Proxima Centauri, orbits around the two larger stars.

And, at 4.25 light-years away, Proxima is the closest known star.

The 2 main stars of the Alpha Centauri system

The two sunlike stars that make up Alpha Centauri are Rigil Kentaurus and Toliman. Rigil Kentaurus, also known as Alpha Centauri A, is a yellowish star. It’s slightly more massive than the sun and about 1.5 times brighter. Toliman, or Alpha Centauri B, has an orangeish hue. And it’s a bit less massive and half as bright as the sun. Studies of their mass and spectroscopic features indicate that both these stars are about 5 billion years old. That makes them slightly older than our sun.

Alpha Centauri A and B are gravitationally bound together. They orbit a common center of mass every 79.9 years at a relatively close proximity, varying between 11.2 to 35.6 astronomical units. That is, 11.2 to 35.6 times the distance between the Earth and our sun.

Alpha Centauri, the 3rd-brightest star in the sky, photographed in Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia. A faint swarm of stars to the right is the star cluster NGC 5617. Across the field, patches of dark interstellar dust clouds obscure stars in our Milky Way galaxy. Image via Alan Dyer/ AmazingSKY. Used with permission.

Meet Proxima Centauri

In comparison, Proxima Centauri is a bit of an outlier. And this dim reddish star, weighing in at just 12% of the sun’s mass, is currently about 13,000 astronomical units from Alpha Centauri A and B. Recent analysis of ground- and space-based data, published in 2017, has shown that Proxima is gravitationally bound to its bright companions. It has about a 550,000-year-long orbital period.

Proxima Centauri belongs to a class of low-mass stars with cooler surface temperatures. They are known as red dwarfs. Additionally. it’s also what’s known as a flare star. Flare stars randomly display sudden bursts of brightness due to strong magnetic activity.

Hubble Space Telescope image of Proxima Centauri, the closest known star to the sun. Image via Hubble/ ESA.

The search for planets

So, in the past decade, astronomers have been searching for planets around the Alpha Centauri stars. Of course they are the closest stars to us, so the odds of detecting planets, if any exist, would be higher. So far, three planets have been confirmed orbiting Proxima Centauri, one in 2016 and another in 2020. And in 2022, a smaller planet, only about 25% of Earth’s mass, was found orbiting very close to the star. Then in 2025, the James Webb Telescope announced it found evidence of a gas giant planet around Alpha Centauri A. But so far, it has not been definitively confirmed.

View larger. | A small red circle indicates the very faint Proxima Centauri, which is gravitationally bound to Alpha Centauri. The 2 bright stars are Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. Image via Skatebiker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

How to see Alpha Centauri

Unluckily for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Alpha Centauri is located too far south on the sky’s dome to see. So most North Americans never see it. The cut-off latitude is about 29 degrees north, and anyone north of that is out of luck. So in the U.S. that latitudinal line passes near Houston and Orlando, but even from the Florida Keys, the star never rises more than a few degrees above the southern horizon. Things are a little better in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, where it can get 10 or 11 degrees high.

But for observers located far enough south in the Northern Hemisphere, Alpha Centauri may be visible at roughly 1 a.m. (local daylight saving time) in early May. That is when the star is highest above the southern horizon. By early July, it reaches its highest point to the south at nightfall. Even so, from these vantage points, there are no good pointer stars to Alpha Centauri. For those south of 29 degrees north latitude, when the bright star Arcturus is high overhead, look to the extreme south for a glimpse of Alpha Centauri.

Skywatchers in the Southern Hemisphere have a better view of Alpha Centauri, in the constellation Centaurus the Centaur. Image via International Astronomical Union/ SkyandTelescope.com/ Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0).

Look for the Southern Cross

Observers in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere can find Alpha Centauri by first identifying the distinctive Southern Cross, also known as Crux. A short line drawn through the crossbar (Delta and Beta Crucis) eastward first comes to Hadar (Beta Centauri), then Alpha Centauri. Meanwhile, in Australia and much of the Southern Hemisphere, Alpha Centauri is circumpolar, meaning that it never sets.

In this image taken at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, the Southern Cross is clearly visible, with the yellowish star closest to the dome marking the top of the cross. Drawing a line downward through the crossbar stars takes you to the bluish star Beta Centauri, and then to the yellowish Alpha Centauri. Image via ESO/ Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

The mythology of Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri has played a prominent role in the mythology of cultures across the Southern Hemisphere. For the Ngarrindjeri indigenous people of South Australia, Alpha and Beta Centauri were two sharks pursuing a stingray represented by stars of the Southern Cross. Some Australian aboriginal cultures also associated stars with family relationships and marriage traditions; for instance, two stars of the Southern Cross were through to be the parents of Alpha Centauri.

Astronomy and navigation were vital in the lives of ancient seafaring Polynesians as they sailed between islands in the vast expanse of the South Pacific. These ancient mariners navigated using the stars, with cues from nature such as bird movements, waves, and wind direction. Alpha Centauri and nearby Beta Centauri, known as Kamailehope and Kamailemua, respectively, were important signposts used for orientation in the open ocean.

For ancient Incas, a llama graced the sky, traced out by stars and dark dust lanes in the Milky Way from Scorpius to the Southern Cross, with Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri representing its eyes.

A plaque at the Coricancha museum showing Inca constellations. Coricancha, located in Cusco, Peru, was perhaps the most important temple of the Inca empire. Image via Pi3.124 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Ancient Egyptians revered Alpha Centauri, and may have built temples aligned to its rising point. In southern China, it was part of a star group known as the South Gate.

How it got its name

Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus the Centaur, named after the mythical half human, half horse creature. Also, it represented an uncharacteristically wise centaur, Chiron, that figured in the mythology of Heracles and Jason. Hercules accidentally killed Chiron, who was placed in the sky after death by Zeus. Alpha Centauri marked the right front hoof of the centaur, although little is known of its mythological significance, if any.

A depiction of the Centaur by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his atlas of constellations, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, sive uranographia. Image via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Alpha Centauri’s position is RA: 14h 39m 36s, Dec: -60° 50′ 02″

Bottom line: Alpha Centauri is two binary stars that are sunlike stars. Plus, there’s a third star that’s gravitationally bound to them named Proxima Centauri. In fact, it’s the closest star to our sun.

The post Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to our sun first appeared on EarthSky.

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Our sun’s closest neighbors, including Alpha Centauri and Proxima Centauri. Image via NASA PhotoJournal.

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter.

Alpha Centauri is often said to be the closest star to our sun. It’s true that when you look at this star – the 3rd-brightest star in our night sky – you can think of it as the closest star.

But, really, it’s the closest star system to our sun. The single star we see as Alpha Centauri becomes two stars through a telescope. This pair is just 4.37 light-years away from us. A third star in the system, Proxima Centauri, orbits around the two larger stars.

And, at 4.25 light-years away, Proxima is the closest known star.

The 2 main stars of the Alpha Centauri system

The two sunlike stars that make up Alpha Centauri are Rigil Kentaurus and Toliman. Rigil Kentaurus, also known as Alpha Centauri A, is a yellowish star. It’s slightly more massive than the sun and about 1.5 times brighter. Toliman, or Alpha Centauri B, has an orangeish hue. And it’s a bit less massive and half as bright as the sun. Studies of their mass and spectroscopic features indicate that both these stars are about 5 billion years old. That makes them slightly older than our sun.

Alpha Centauri A and B are gravitationally bound together. They orbit a common center of mass every 79.9 years at a relatively close proximity, varying between 11.2 to 35.6 astronomical units. That is, 11.2 to 35.6 times the distance between the Earth and our sun.

Alpha Centauri, the 3rd-brightest star in the sky, photographed in Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia. A faint swarm of stars to the right is the star cluster NGC 5617. Across the field, patches of dark interstellar dust clouds obscure stars in our Milky Way galaxy. Image via Alan Dyer/ AmazingSKY. Used with permission.

Meet Proxima Centauri

In comparison, Proxima Centauri is a bit of an outlier. And this dim reddish star, weighing in at just 12% of the sun’s mass, is currently about 13,000 astronomical units from Alpha Centauri A and B. Recent analysis of ground- and space-based data, published in 2017, has shown that Proxima is gravitationally bound to its bright companions. It has about a 550,000-year-long orbital period.

Proxima Centauri belongs to a class of low-mass stars with cooler surface temperatures. They are known as red dwarfs. Additionally. it’s also what’s known as a flare star. Flare stars randomly display sudden bursts of brightness due to strong magnetic activity.

Hubble Space Telescope image of Proxima Centauri, the closest known star to the sun. Image via Hubble/ ESA.

The search for planets

So, in the past decade, astronomers have been searching for planets around the Alpha Centauri stars. Of course they are the closest stars to us, so the odds of detecting planets, if any exist, would be higher. So far, three planets have been confirmed orbiting Proxima Centauri, one in 2016 and another in 2020. And in 2022, a smaller planet, only about 25% of Earth’s mass, was found orbiting very close to the star. Then in 2025, the James Webb Telescope announced it found evidence of a gas giant planet around Alpha Centauri A. But so far, it has not been definitively confirmed.

View larger. | A small red circle indicates the very faint Proxima Centauri, which is gravitationally bound to Alpha Centauri. The 2 bright stars are Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri. Image via Skatebiker / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

How to see Alpha Centauri

Unluckily for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Alpha Centauri is located too far south on the sky’s dome to see. So most North Americans never see it. The cut-off latitude is about 29 degrees north, and anyone north of that is out of luck. So in the U.S. that latitudinal line passes near Houston and Orlando, but even from the Florida Keys, the star never rises more than a few degrees above the southern horizon. Things are a little better in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, where it can get 10 or 11 degrees high.

But for observers located far enough south in the Northern Hemisphere, Alpha Centauri may be visible at roughly 1 a.m. (local daylight saving time) in early May. That is when the star is highest above the southern horizon. By early July, it reaches its highest point to the south at nightfall. Even so, from these vantage points, there are no good pointer stars to Alpha Centauri. For those south of 29 degrees north latitude, when the bright star Arcturus is high overhead, look to the extreme south for a glimpse of Alpha Centauri.

Skywatchers in the Southern Hemisphere have a better view of Alpha Centauri, in the constellation Centaurus the Centaur. Image via International Astronomical Union/ SkyandTelescope.com/ Wikimedia (CC BY 3.0).

Look for the Southern Cross

Observers in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere can find Alpha Centauri by first identifying the distinctive Southern Cross, also known as Crux. A short line drawn through the crossbar (Delta and Beta Crucis) eastward first comes to Hadar (Beta Centauri), then Alpha Centauri. Meanwhile, in Australia and much of the Southern Hemisphere, Alpha Centauri is circumpolar, meaning that it never sets.

In this image taken at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, the Southern Cross is clearly visible, with the yellowish star closest to the dome marking the top of the cross. Drawing a line downward through the crossbar stars takes you to the bluish star Beta Centauri, and then to the yellowish Alpha Centauri. Image via ESO/ Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

The mythology of Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri has played a prominent role in the mythology of cultures across the Southern Hemisphere. For the Ngarrindjeri indigenous people of South Australia, Alpha and Beta Centauri were two sharks pursuing a stingray represented by stars of the Southern Cross. Some Australian aboriginal cultures also associated stars with family relationships and marriage traditions; for instance, two stars of the Southern Cross were through to be the parents of Alpha Centauri.

Astronomy and navigation were vital in the lives of ancient seafaring Polynesians as they sailed between islands in the vast expanse of the South Pacific. These ancient mariners navigated using the stars, with cues from nature such as bird movements, waves, and wind direction. Alpha Centauri and nearby Beta Centauri, known as Kamailehope and Kamailemua, respectively, were important signposts used for orientation in the open ocean.

For ancient Incas, a llama graced the sky, traced out by stars and dark dust lanes in the Milky Way from Scorpius to the Southern Cross, with Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri representing its eyes.

A plaque at the Coricancha museum showing Inca constellations. Coricancha, located in Cusco, Peru, was perhaps the most important temple of the Inca empire. Image via Pi3.124 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Ancient Egyptians revered Alpha Centauri, and may have built temples aligned to its rising point. In southern China, it was part of a star group known as the South Gate.

How it got its name

Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus the Centaur, named after the mythical half human, half horse creature. Also, it represented an uncharacteristically wise centaur, Chiron, that figured in the mythology of Heracles and Jason. Hercules accidentally killed Chiron, who was placed in the sky after death by Zeus. Alpha Centauri marked the right front hoof of the centaur, although little is known of its mythological significance, if any.

A depiction of the Centaur by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in his atlas of constellations, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, sive uranographia. Image via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Alpha Centauri’s position is RA: 14h 39m 36s, Dec: -60° 50′ 02″

Bottom line: Alpha Centauri is two binary stars that are sunlike stars. Plus, there’s a third star that’s gravitationally bound to them named Proxima Centauri. In fact, it’s the closest star to our sun.

The post Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to our sun first appeared on EarthSky.

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Hidden soil fungi stole bacterial DNA to control the rain

A new study has revealed that soil fungi can cause clouds like these to release their rain. Image via Raychel Sanner/ Unsplash.

• Most rain starts as ice. Water in clouds needs to freeze into ice crystals before it can then fall as rain.
• Certain forms of bacteria are able to trigger this process by traveling into the clouds and making water freeze at higher temperatures.
• A new study says soil fungi do this too, having ‘stolen’ the genetic ability from bacteria.

By Diana R. Andrade-Linares, University of Limerick

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place.
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Hidden soil fungi stole bacterial DNA to control the rain

Tiny organisms on the ground – bacteria and fungi – have a superpower that allows them to reach up into the atmosphere and pull down the rain, according to a recent study.

To understand how a microbe can control a storm, we first have to look at how clouds become rain. High up in the atmosphere, water doesn’t always freeze at 0 degrees C (32 F). Temperatures are normally much lower at cloud level but pure water can stay liquid down to a bone-chilling -40 degrees C (-40 F).

Most rain starts as ice. In the atmosphere, clouds are full of supercooled water: liquid that is colder than freezing but hasn’t turned to ice yet because it has nothing to hold onto.

And for a cloud to turn into rain or snow, it needs a “seed”: a tiny particle for water molecules to grab onto so they can crystallise into ice, then fall from the clouds as rain. Dust, soot and salt – swept into the clouds by wind – can do this, but they aren’t very good at it. They usually require the temperature to drop significantly before they start working. This is where biology enters the frame.

Meet the ice-makers

For decades, scientists have known about ice-nucleating proteins (INpros) found in certain bacteria like Pseudomonas syringae. Bacteria travel from plant leaves into the clouds to trigger rain. They use special proteins to force water to freeze at temperatures as high as -2 degrees C (28 F). Remember, water freezes at a much lower temperature in the clouds).

But the recent discovery published in the journal Science Advances has revealed a new player in the climate game: fungal ice-nucleating proteins. While bacteria keep their ice-making proteins tucked away on their “skin”, fungi (mainly Fusarium and Mortierella) secrete these proteins into the soil around them. Their structure makes these fungal proteins water soluble and smaller than the bacterial ones, and with a high ice seeding activity which makes them more effective cloud seeds.

In soil like this, fungi can release proteins that help clouds turn to rain. Image via Andrew Tom/ Unsplash.

Making it rain

This leads us to the bio-precipitation cycle. Imagine a forest floor covered in these fungi. As the wind kicks up, their microscopic ice-making proteins are launched into the clouds. Once there, they act as powerful seeds.

And even in relatively warm clouds (above -5 degrees C or 23 F), these fungal proteins can force water to crystallize into ice. As these ice crystals grow, they become heavy and fall. Then as they drop through warmer air, they melt and turn into rain.

This consequently creates a loop:

• Fungi grow in the damp soil of a forest.
• Proteins from the fungi are swept into the sky.
• Rain is triggered by these proteins, watering the forest below.
• Growth of more fungi is triggered by the rain, starting the cycle over again.

Unlike the Pseudomonas bacteria, which use ice to “attack” and damage crops to access their nutrients, these Mortierella fungi are peaceful plant partners. They aren’t looking to destroy. Instead, they secrete their ice-making proteins into the surrounding soil, which seems to create a protective shield from harsh conditions and a nutrient-rich environment that helps both the fungus and the plant flourish.

The new discovery about fungi is exciting because it shows that even organisms buried in the soil can influence the atmosphere, adding a new dimension to this ancient partnership between life and the sky.

It’s a missing piece in the puzzle of how life and the global climate shape one another. This ice-making ability probably gives the fungi a survival edge. They use ice to pump moisture toward their mycelia (a vast, underground web of tiny fungal threads), shield themselves from jagged frost damage and hitchhike through the clouds to reach new homes.

The evolutionary heist

The new research also uncovered how fungi of the Mortierellaceae family gained the ability to create ice. When the researchers studied the fungi’s genetic code, they found that these fungi didn’t evolve this trait on their own. Millions of years ago, they “borrowed” the genetic code for it from bacteria, through a process called horizontal gene transfer.

Think of it as a biological copy and paste. While most animals only inherit DNA from their parents, microbes can swap snippets of genetic code with their neighbours, giving them an instant evolutionary upgrade.

But these fungi are much more efficient at making ice than the bacteria. That’s because the fungus secretes (sweats out) these proteins, meaning they can coat the environment around it and stay active in the soil after the fungus has moved on. These proteins are incredibly hardy. They can wash into streams, dry up into dust and get swept into the sky by the wind.

Why this matters?

This discovery could change how researchers view conservation. If we clear-cut a forest, stripping every tree away and leaving the land bare, we aren’t just losing trees. We might be breaking the biological engine that triggers regional rainfall.

As we face a changing climate with more frequent droughts, understanding these fungal ice-nucleating proteins could be vital. We might one day use these natural, biodegradable proteins for cloud seeding to create rain.

Many countries (like the UAE, China and parts of the US) already have cloud-seeding programs to protect crops from frost. But this kind of cloud seeding relies on silver iodide, a heavy metal that can linger in the environment.

The fungal proteins offer a natural, biodegradable alternative. They could also protect crops from frost. By forcing ice to form early and smoothly, they release a tiny burst of heat that acts like a thermal blanket for the plant.

We could use them to make snow on ski slopes with less energy, create better-tasting frozen foods by preventing large ice crystals from damaging food cells, or even develop eco-friendly cooling systems that don’t rely on harsh chemical refrigerants.

Diana R. Andrade-Linares, Postdoctoral Fellow in Microbial Ecology, University of Limerick

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Bottom line: Some soil fungi have a superpower, inherited from bacteria. It means they can reach up into the atmosphere and pull down the rain.

Read more: Could future moon homes be made of fungi?

The post Hidden soil fungi stole bacterial DNA to control the rain first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/C9gxJNa

A new study has revealed that soil fungi can cause clouds like these to release their rain. Image via Raychel Sanner/ Unsplash.

• Most rain starts as ice. Water in clouds needs to freeze into ice crystals before it can then fall as rain.
• Certain forms of bacteria are able to trigger this process by traveling into the clouds and making water freeze at higher temperatures.
• A new study says soil fungi do this too, having ‘stolen’ the genetic ability from bacteria.

By Diana R. Andrade-Linares, University of Limerick

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Hidden soil fungi stole bacterial DNA to control the rain

Tiny organisms on the ground – bacteria and fungi – have a superpower that allows them to reach up into the atmosphere and pull down the rain, according to a recent study.

To understand how a microbe can control a storm, we first have to look at how clouds become rain. High up in the atmosphere, water doesn’t always freeze at 0 degrees C (32 F). Temperatures are normally much lower at cloud level but pure water can stay liquid down to a bone-chilling -40 degrees C (-40 F).

Most rain starts as ice. In the atmosphere, clouds are full of supercooled water: liquid that is colder than freezing but hasn’t turned to ice yet because it has nothing to hold onto.

And for a cloud to turn into rain or snow, it needs a “seed”: a tiny particle for water molecules to grab onto so they can crystallise into ice, then fall from the clouds as rain. Dust, soot and salt – swept into the clouds by wind – can do this, but they aren’t very good at it. They usually require the temperature to drop significantly before they start working. This is where biology enters the frame.

Meet the ice-makers

For decades, scientists have known about ice-nucleating proteins (INpros) found in certain bacteria like Pseudomonas syringae. Bacteria travel from plant leaves into the clouds to trigger rain. They use special proteins to force water to freeze at temperatures as high as -2 degrees C (28 F). Remember, water freezes at a much lower temperature in the clouds).

But the recent discovery published in the journal Science Advances has revealed a new player in the climate game: fungal ice-nucleating proteins. While bacteria keep their ice-making proteins tucked away on their “skin”, fungi (mainly Fusarium and Mortierella) secrete these proteins into the soil around them. Their structure makes these fungal proteins water soluble and smaller than the bacterial ones, and with a high ice seeding activity which makes them more effective cloud seeds.

In soil like this, fungi can release proteins that help clouds turn to rain. Image via Andrew Tom/ Unsplash.

Making it rain

This leads us to the bio-precipitation cycle. Imagine a forest floor covered in these fungi. As the wind kicks up, their microscopic ice-making proteins are launched into the clouds. Once there, they act as powerful seeds.

And even in relatively warm clouds (above -5 degrees C or 23 F), these fungal proteins can force water to crystallize into ice. As these ice crystals grow, they become heavy and fall. Then as they drop through warmer air, they melt and turn into rain.

This consequently creates a loop:

• Fungi grow in the damp soil of a forest.
• Proteins from the fungi are swept into the sky.
• Rain is triggered by these proteins, watering the forest below.
• Growth of more fungi is triggered by the rain, starting the cycle over again.

Unlike the Pseudomonas bacteria, which use ice to “attack” and damage crops to access their nutrients, these Mortierella fungi are peaceful plant partners. They aren’t looking to destroy. Instead, they secrete their ice-making proteins into the surrounding soil, which seems to create a protective shield from harsh conditions and a nutrient-rich environment that helps both the fungus and the plant flourish.

The new discovery about fungi is exciting because it shows that even organisms buried in the soil can influence the atmosphere, adding a new dimension to this ancient partnership between life and the sky.

It’s a missing piece in the puzzle of how life and the global climate shape one another. This ice-making ability probably gives the fungi a survival edge. They use ice to pump moisture toward their mycelia (a vast, underground web of tiny fungal threads), shield themselves from jagged frost damage and hitchhike through the clouds to reach new homes.

The evolutionary heist

The new research also uncovered how fungi of the Mortierellaceae family gained the ability to create ice. When the researchers studied the fungi’s genetic code, they found that these fungi didn’t evolve this trait on their own. Millions of years ago, they “borrowed” the genetic code for it from bacteria, through a process called horizontal gene transfer.

Think of it as a biological copy and paste. While most animals only inherit DNA from their parents, microbes can swap snippets of genetic code with their neighbours, giving them an instant evolutionary upgrade.

But these fungi are much more efficient at making ice than the bacteria. That’s because the fungus secretes (sweats out) these proteins, meaning they can coat the environment around it and stay active in the soil after the fungus has moved on. These proteins are incredibly hardy. They can wash into streams, dry up into dust and get swept into the sky by the wind.

Why this matters?

This discovery could change how researchers view conservation. If we clear-cut a forest, stripping every tree away and leaving the land bare, we aren’t just losing trees. We might be breaking the biological engine that triggers regional rainfall.

As we face a changing climate with more frequent droughts, understanding these fungal ice-nucleating proteins could be vital. We might one day use these natural, biodegradable proteins for cloud seeding to create rain.

Many countries (like the UAE, China and parts of the US) already have cloud-seeding programs to protect crops from frost. But this kind of cloud seeding relies on silver iodide, a heavy metal that can linger in the environment.

The fungal proteins offer a natural, biodegradable alternative. They could also protect crops from frost. By forcing ice to form early and smoothly, they release a tiny burst of heat that acts like a thermal blanket for the plant.

We could use them to make snow on ski slopes with less energy, create better-tasting frozen foods by preventing large ice crystals from damaging food cells, or even develop eco-friendly cooling systems that don’t rely on harsh chemical refrigerants.

Diana R. Andrade-Linares, Postdoctoral Fellow in Microbial Ecology, University of Limerick

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Bottom line: Some soil fungi have a superpower, inherited from bacteria. It means they can reach up into the atmosphere and pull down the rain.

Read more: Could future moon homes be made of fungi?

The post Hidden soil fungi stole bacterial DNA to control the rain first appeared on EarthSky.

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What are waterspouts, and how do they form?

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Bob Kuo captured this waterspout over Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan, from a hotel balcony, on November 16, 2023. Thank you, Bob! Read more about waterspouts below.

A waterspout is just a tornado that forms over open water. A tornado over an ocean, lake – or even a river – is considered to be a waterspout. Waterspouts are typically weaker than most tornadoes. And they’re usually short-lived. But they can be destructive. Let’s look at some images and videos of waterspouts and learn more about how they form.

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

When and where do waterspouts form?

Waterspouts typically occur in tropical regions, but they can form almost anywhere. For example, waterspouts have occurred in the Great Lakes, off the western coast of Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Baltic Sea.

In the U.S., the most common place to see waterspouts is along the Florida Keys and in the Gulf of Mexico. Waterspouts most often happen in the late spring and summer months, generally forming after 2 p.m. in the afternoon. Florida is the most tornado-prone area in the United States, and many of those move on or off shore as waterspouts. It’s not unusual to see 400 to 500 waterspouts a year in this area, with many that go unreported. In rare instances, more than one waterspout can form from a storm offshore.

Catch My Drift Charters captured this image of a waterspout in the Whitsunday Islands of Australia on April 11, 2023. Used with permission.

Can a waterspout be destructive?

Waterspouts are typically weaker than tornadoes. But, as seen in the videos below, they can still cause a decent amount of damage. If you’re boating in the ocean, you’ll want to monitor the weather to avoid waterspouts. For instance, you might avoid being in the ocean around the Florida Keys in the afternoon or evening, when there’s a chance for thunderstorms at the coast. If you’re on a boat or ship and a waterspout develops, try to navigate around the area by going at right angles to its path. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recommends that those on boats or ships monitor special marine warnings issued by the National Weather Service.

And – of course – it’s highly recommended that you avoid navigating through a waterspout. They can cause damage and could hurt or kill you.

In fact, there are two types of waterspouts we commonly see: a fair-weather waterspout and a tornadic waterspout.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mark Rutkowski said on July 3, 2020, that he caught this sunrise waterspout in the Atlantic Ocean near Miami. Thank you, Mark!

Tromba d'água em Manaus. Em frente ao Porto do São Raimundo. #manaus #temporal pic.twitter.com/yLKrfhuLlK

— @realfreitas (@RealFreitas) March 25, 2026

Fair-weather waterspouts

Fair-weather waterspouts form during relatively calm weather. They typically form along the dark, flat bases of a line of developing cumulus clouds. Air begins to circulate at the surface of the water and develops upward. Unlike tornadic waterspouts, which tend to happen in the afternoon, fair-weather waterspouts typically occur in the early to mid-morning hours, and sometimes in the early afternoon. Everyone associates tornadoes and waterspouts with thunderstorms, but when fair-weather waterspouts form, they typically occur during light wind conditions. Because of this, these waterspouts don’t move much.

There are five stages that occur for fair weather waterspouts. Here are the stages:

1. The formation of a disk on the surface of the water, known as a dark spot
2. A spiral pattern on the water surface
3. A formation of a spray ring
4. When the waterspout becomes a visible funnel: the waterspout!
5. The last and final stage of the life cycle is when the waterspout decays. When the waterspout decays, it likely does so because a cool rain falls near the spout. This cool air typically disrupts the supply of warm, humid air that allows the waterspout to keep going.

Tornadic waterspouts

Tornadic waterspouts are simply tornadoes that form over water or move from land to water. They typically occur with afternoon and evening thunderstorms. You need two main ingredients for tornadic waterspouts: warm, moist air and an unstable atmosphere. Trade winds from boundaries can also influence the formation of this kind of waterspout.

Unlike fair-weather waterspouts, tornadic waterspouts typically develop downward in a thunderstorm and begin to appear initially as funnel clouds. The storms that develop these waterspouts are usually non-supercell thunderstorms. According to NOAA, a supercell thunderstorm is defined as:

… a large severe storm occurring in a significant vertically sheared environment; contains quasi-steady, strongly rotating updraft (mesocyclone); usually moves to the right (perhaps left) of the mean wind; can evolve from a non-supercell storm; and contain moderate-to-strong vertical speed and directional wind shear in the 0-6 km [0-3.7 miles] layer.

Supercell thunderstorms are what produce large, violent tornadoes. In non-supercell thunderstorms – like those that produce waterspouts – tornadoes that form are due to a boundary layer. Spin ups that do occur in the storm are generally short-lived. Obviously, every waterspout is different and some could last longer than others.

Waterspout videos

Check out the amazing video below of a waterspout pushing ashore on Grand Isle, Louisiana, on May 8, 2012. There’s spectacular footage of multiple waterspouts and a tornado hitting the coast around four minutes into the video. Scary stuff! FYI: Do not try this at home! If you know a tornado is about to strike near you, go inside and take shelter. It’s not the tornado itself that will hurt or kill you. Instead, it’s the flying debris in the air that’s dangerous.

The video captures an impressive waterspout seen today from the deck of a container ship in the Bermuda Triangle. pic.twitter.com/wD9zaF2JOg

— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) January 31, 2026

Amazing waterspout ?? pic.twitter.com/TyC1kTFzur

— Cosmic Gaia (@CosmicGaiaX) April 12, 2024

Crazy video of a waterspout moving onshore at Fort Myers Beach! Getting reports of minor damage to the Lani Kai resort. #flwx ??? @NWSTampaBay @spann @StormHour pic.twitter.com/LXo9e7dujt

— Dylan Federico (@DylanFedericoWX) March 12, 2022

Bottom line: Waterspouts can be harmless as long as you understand and avoid them. If you live along the coast, you should treat all waterspouts as you would tornadoes on land. Waterspouts form off non-supercell thunderstorms and are often short-lived. Some waterspouts can reach the coastline and become tornadoes, so it is important for everyone to monitor the weather as it evolves.

The post What are waterspouts, and how do they form? first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/LZoB0rN

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Bob Kuo captured this waterspout over Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan, from a hotel balcony, on November 16, 2023. Thank you, Bob! Read more about waterspouts below.

A waterspout is just a tornado that forms over open water. A tornado over an ocean, lake – or even a river – is considered to be a waterspout. Waterspouts are typically weaker than most tornadoes. And they’re usually short-lived. But they can be destructive. Let’s look at some images and videos of waterspouts and learn more about how they form.

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

When and where do waterspouts form?

Waterspouts typically occur in tropical regions, but they can form almost anywhere. For example, waterspouts have occurred in the Great Lakes, off the western coast of Europe, in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Baltic Sea.

In the U.S., the most common place to see waterspouts is along the Florida Keys and in the Gulf of Mexico. Waterspouts most often happen in the late spring and summer months, generally forming after 2 p.m. in the afternoon. Florida is the most tornado-prone area in the United States, and many of those move on or off shore as waterspouts. It’s not unusual to see 400 to 500 waterspouts a year in this area, with many that go unreported. In rare instances, more than one waterspout can form from a storm offshore.

Catch My Drift Charters captured this image of a waterspout in the Whitsunday Islands of Australia on April 11, 2023. Used with permission.

Can a waterspout be destructive?

Waterspouts are typically weaker than tornadoes. But, as seen in the videos below, they can still cause a decent amount of damage. If you’re boating in the ocean, you’ll want to monitor the weather to avoid waterspouts. For instance, you might avoid being in the ocean around the Florida Keys in the afternoon or evening, when there’s a chance for thunderstorms at the coast. If you’re on a boat or ship and a waterspout develops, try to navigate around the area by going at right angles to its path. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recommends that those on boats or ships monitor special marine warnings issued by the National Weather Service.

And – of course – it’s highly recommended that you avoid navigating through a waterspout. They can cause damage and could hurt or kill you.

In fact, there are two types of waterspouts we commonly see: a fair-weather waterspout and a tornadic waterspout.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mark Rutkowski said on July 3, 2020, that he caught this sunrise waterspout in the Atlantic Ocean near Miami. Thank you, Mark!

Tromba d'água em Manaus. Em frente ao Porto do São Raimundo. #manaus #temporal pic.twitter.com/yLKrfhuLlK

— @realfreitas (@RealFreitas) March 25, 2026

Fair-weather waterspouts

Fair-weather waterspouts form during relatively calm weather. They typically form along the dark, flat bases of a line of developing cumulus clouds. Air begins to circulate at the surface of the water and develops upward. Unlike tornadic waterspouts, which tend to happen in the afternoon, fair-weather waterspouts typically occur in the early to mid-morning hours, and sometimes in the early afternoon. Everyone associates tornadoes and waterspouts with thunderstorms, but when fair-weather waterspouts form, they typically occur during light wind conditions. Because of this, these waterspouts don’t move much.

There are five stages that occur for fair weather waterspouts. Here are the stages:

1. The formation of a disk on the surface of the water, known as a dark spot
2. A spiral pattern on the water surface
3. A formation of a spray ring
4. When the waterspout becomes a visible funnel: the waterspout!
5. The last and final stage of the life cycle is when the waterspout decays. When the waterspout decays, it likely does so because a cool rain falls near the spout. This cool air typically disrupts the supply of warm, humid air that allows the waterspout to keep going.

Tornadic waterspouts

Tornadic waterspouts are simply tornadoes that form over water or move from land to water. They typically occur with afternoon and evening thunderstorms. You need two main ingredients for tornadic waterspouts: warm, moist air and an unstable atmosphere. Trade winds from boundaries can also influence the formation of this kind of waterspout.

Unlike fair-weather waterspouts, tornadic waterspouts typically develop downward in a thunderstorm and begin to appear initially as funnel clouds. The storms that develop these waterspouts are usually non-supercell thunderstorms. According to NOAA, a supercell thunderstorm is defined as:

… a large severe storm occurring in a significant vertically sheared environment; contains quasi-steady, strongly rotating updraft (mesocyclone); usually moves to the right (perhaps left) of the mean wind; can evolve from a non-supercell storm; and contain moderate-to-strong vertical speed and directional wind shear in the 0-6 km [0-3.7 miles] layer.

Supercell thunderstorms are what produce large, violent tornadoes. In non-supercell thunderstorms – like those that produce waterspouts – tornadoes that form are due to a boundary layer. Spin ups that do occur in the storm are generally short-lived. Obviously, every waterspout is different and some could last longer than others.

Waterspout videos

Check out the amazing video below of a waterspout pushing ashore on Grand Isle, Louisiana, on May 8, 2012. There’s spectacular footage of multiple waterspouts and a tornado hitting the coast around four minutes into the video. Scary stuff! FYI: Do not try this at home! If you know a tornado is about to strike near you, go inside and take shelter. It’s not the tornado itself that will hurt or kill you. Instead, it’s the flying debris in the air that’s dangerous.

The video captures an impressive waterspout seen today from the deck of a container ship in the Bermuda Triangle. pic.twitter.com/wD9zaF2JOg

— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) January 31, 2026

Amazing waterspout ?? pic.twitter.com/TyC1kTFzur

— Cosmic Gaia (@CosmicGaiaX) April 12, 2024

Crazy video of a waterspout moving onshore at Fort Myers Beach! Getting reports of minor damage to the Lani Kai resort. #flwx ??? @NWSTampaBay @spann @StormHour pic.twitter.com/LXo9e7dujt

— Dylan Federico (@DylanFedericoWX) March 12, 2022

Bottom line: Waterspouts can be harmless as long as you understand and avoid them. If you live along the coast, you should treat all waterspouts as you would tornadoes on land. Waterspouts form off non-supercell thunderstorms and are often short-lived. Some waterspouts can reach the coastline and become tornadoes, so it is important for everyone to monitor the weather as it evolves.

The post What are waterspouts, and how do they form? first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/LZoB0rN

See Antlia the Air Pump on April evenings

Antlia the Air Pump is a faint constellation that lies between Hydra the Water Snake with its bright star Alphard and the more southerly constellation of Vela the Sails.

Antlia the Air Pump is a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere that people in the Northern Hemisphere can see if they live at more southerly latitudes. And April is a good month to view Antlia, regardless of the hemisphere you’re in. In mid-evening in the Southern Hemisphere, Antlia will pass through the zenith, or the point that’s straight overhead. And for those at southerly locations in the Northern Hemisphere, look for Antlia to pass above your southern horizon in mid-evening.

The constellation of Antlia the Air Pump

To find Antlia from the Northern Hemisphere, look below the belly of Hydra, the long and rambling Water Snake. It’s below the star Alphard in Hydra and east of bright Sirius in Canis Major. Or from the Southern Hemisphere, you can look between Hydra and the flowing form of the Milky Way.

Antlia’s stars are so dim that the constellation didn’t exist until the 18th century. Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, a French astronomer who visited the Cape of Good Hope in the mid-1700s, created 14 constellations out of regions of dark sky. But before then, these were simply parts of older constellations. Lacaille named these new constellations after new or important scientific instruments of his time. Antlia, for example, he named after the air pump, which had been invented in the 1600s and improved in the 1700s.

The stars of the Air Pump

The brightest star in Antlia is Alpha Antliae, which shines at magnitude 4.2. It lies about 320 light-years away.

Astronomers have found a couple of stars in Antlia to have exoplanets, too, but these stars (and their planets) are too faint to be seen with the unaided eye.

Antlia the Air Pump contains only dim stars. You can best see this constellation from a dark location in the Southern Hemisphere. Image via IAU/ Sky and Telescope.

Deep-sky objects in Antlia

While a large swath of galaxies crosses Antlia, these distant island universes are so far away and dim that the majority of amateur astronomers would have trouble locating them. If you’re a telescope owner with lots of experience, you might be able to spot the galaxy NGC 2997. This spiral galaxy is magnitude 10.1 and appears near the border with Pyxis the Compass. William Herschel discovered NGC 2997 in 1793. It lies approximately 40 million light-years away.

The spiral galaxy NGC 2997 in Antlia. Image via Adam Block/ ChileScope/ Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0 US.

Bottom line: Antlia the Air Pump is a constellation that lies in southern skies. It contains dim stars and galaxies, including NGC 2997.

Don’t miss the next unmissable night sky event. Sign up to our free newsletter for daily night sky updates, as well as the latest science news.

The post See Antlia the Air Pump on April evenings first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/6Bi37hz

Antlia the Air Pump is a faint constellation that lies between Hydra the Water Snake with its bright star Alphard and the more southerly constellation of Vela the Sails.

Antlia the Air Pump is a constellation in the Southern Hemisphere that people in the Northern Hemisphere can see if they live at more southerly latitudes. And April is a good month to view Antlia, regardless of the hemisphere you’re in. In mid-evening in the Southern Hemisphere, Antlia will pass through the zenith, or the point that’s straight overhead. And for those at southerly locations in the Northern Hemisphere, look for Antlia to pass above your southern horizon in mid-evening.

The constellation of Antlia the Air Pump

To find Antlia from the Northern Hemisphere, look below the belly of Hydra, the long and rambling Water Snake. It’s below the star Alphard in Hydra and east of bright Sirius in Canis Major. Or from the Southern Hemisphere, you can look between Hydra and the flowing form of the Milky Way.

Antlia’s stars are so dim that the constellation didn’t exist until the 18th century. Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, a French astronomer who visited the Cape of Good Hope in the mid-1700s, created 14 constellations out of regions of dark sky. But before then, these were simply parts of older constellations. Lacaille named these new constellations after new or important scientific instruments of his time. Antlia, for example, he named after the air pump, which had been invented in the 1600s and improved in the 1700s.

The stars of the Air Pump

The brightest star in Antlia is Alpha Antliae, which shines at magnitude 4.2. It lies about 320 light-years away.

Astronomers have found a couple of stars in Antlia to have exoplanets, too, but these stars (and their planets) are too faint to be seen with the unaided eye.

Antlia the Air Pump contains only dim stars. You can best see this constellation from a dark location in the Southern Hemisphere. Image via IAU/ Sky and Telescope.

Deep-sky objects in Antlia

While a large swath of galaxies crosses Antlia, these distant island universes are so far away and dim that the majority of amateur astronomers would have trouble locating them. If you’re a telescope owner with lots of experience, you might be able to spot the galaxy NGC 2997. This spiral galaxy is magnitude 10.1 and appears near the border with Pyxis the Compass. William Herschel discovered NGC 2997 in 1793. It lies approximately 40 million light-years away.

The spiral galaxy NGC 2997 in Antlia. Image via Adam Block/ ChileScope/ Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0 US.

Bottom line: Antlia the Air Pump is a constellation that lies in southern skies. It contains dim stars and galaxies, including NGC 2997.

Don’t miss the next unmissable night sky event. Sign up to our free newsletter for daily night sky updates, as well as the latest science news.

The post See Antlia the Air Pump on April evenings first appeared on EarthSky.

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New meteor shower from an asteroid being eroded by the sun

Here’s a time lapse showing an outburst of Geminid meteors lighting up the sky. Read about a recent study that associated a new meteor shower with an asteroid that was destroyed by the sun. Image via NASA/ JPL.

• A new study finds a meteor shower linked to an asteroid being eroded by the sun.
• Most meteors originate from debris of gas and dust left behind when a comet orbits the sun.
• Some meteor showers, like the Geminids, are the result of debris left behind by an asteroid.

By Patrick M. Shober, NASA

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter.

New meteor shower

Across the Earth, every night, thousands of automated stargazers are waiting to take pictures of shooting stars. I am one of the scientists who study these meteors.

Most movies and news alerts focus on large asteroids that could destroy the Earth. And your phones notify you every few months that an object nine washing machines wide is going to just narrowly skim past. However, the small dust and rubble that enter our atmosphere daily tell an equally interesting story.

My planetary science colleagues and I use camera observations of the night sky to better understand dust, car-sized asteroids and debris from comets in our solar system.

In a study published in March 2026, I searched through millions of meteor observations collected by all-sky camera networks based in Canada, Japan, California and Europe and found a small, recently formed cluster. The 282 meteors associated with this cluster tell the story of an asteroid that got a little too close to the sun.

Meteor formation

When a sand-sized crumb of space rock hits our atmosphere, it heats up almost instantly, vaporizing its surface layer and turning it into an electrically charged gas. The whole fragment starts to glow. This is what we call a meteor. If the object is larger, like a boulder, and brighter, it’s called a bolide or a fireball. On average, these objects hit our atmosphere going over 15 miles per second (24 km/s). For small dust or sand-sized objects, the whole process lasts only a fraction of a second before they completely disappear.

Most of these sand-sized fragments in the solar system originate from comets – cold, icy objects from the outer reaches of the solar system. As comets pass by the sun, their icy components turn to gas, releasing tons of dust. This is why comets are often called “dirty snowballs” and appear fuzzy in telescopic images.

Asteroids, on the other hand, are leftovers from the early solar system that formed closer to the sun. They are dry and rocky, and do not have the same ices that give comets their characteristic tails.

What does it mean to be active?

Astronomers call an asteroid or comet “active” when it sheds dust, gas or larger fragments. This activity is caused by some external force on the object in space, like heat from the sun, a small impact, or when asteroids spin too fast and fly apart.

Understanding and identifying activity helps scientists better understand how these objects change over time.

For comets, sublimation of ices – when solid ice turns directly into gas, skipping the liquid phase – is the primary culprit. However, for asteroids, the reason for activity can vary greatly.

For example, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, which launched into space to study an asteroid named Bennu, saw activity from its surface, with heat stress and small impacts among the leading explanations.

Other sources for asteroid activity include breakup when an asteroid spins too fast, tidal forces ripping apart asteroids during close encounters with a planet, or gas release.

Researchers most commonly search for activity using telescopes. Astronomers can look for a “tail” or fuzziness around the object. This tail is a clear sign that there is gas and dust around the body. But there is another way to search for activity – meteor showers.

Finding hidden asteroids via meteor showers

The most famous active asteroid is 3200 Phaethon. It is the parent body of the Geminid meteor shower that occurs every year in mid-December. During past close approaches with the sun, Phaethon released vast amounts of dust and larger fragments. These morsels of Phaethon have spread out along its entire orbit over time, leading to the present Geminid meteor stream.

Each meteor shower we observe occurs when the Earth passes through one of these debris streams. So if astronomers can detect meteor showers, they can also be used to find active objects in space.

At first, debris shed by an asteroid or comet travels closely together. Imagine squeezing a single drop of food dye into a moving stream of water: Initially, the dye stays in a tight, concentrated cloud. But as it flows, the water’s swirling currents pull at the dye, causing it to spread out and fade.

In space, the gravitational tugs from passing planets act like those currents. They pull on the individual meteor fragments in slightly different ways, causing the once-tight stream to gradually drift apart until it completely dilutes into the background dust of our solar system.

The discovery of a rock-comet

In a study published in March 2026 in The Astrophysical Journal, I used millions of observations of meteors to search for recent, unknown activity from asteroids near the Earth. I found one clear cluster of 282 meteors that stood out.

What makes this discovery so exciting is that we are essentially witnessing a hidden asteroid being baked to bits. This newly confirmed meteor stream follows an extreme orbit that plunges almost five times closer to the sun than Earth does.

Based on how these meteors break apart when they hit our atmosphere, we can tell they are moderately fragile, but tougher than stuff from comets. This finding tells us that intense solar heat is literally cracking the asteroid’s surface, baking out trapped gases and causing it to crumble. This is likely a major driver of Phaethon’s past activity and a key reason for the diversity of meteorites found on Earth.

The search for the source

Why does finding a hidden, crumbling asteroid matter? Meteor observations act as a uniquely sensitive probe that lets us study objects that are completely invisible to traditional telescopes.

Beyond solving astronomical mysteries, analyzing this debris helps us understand the physical evolution of asteroids and comets in our solar system. More importantly, it reveals hidden populations of near-Earth asteroids, which is vital information for planetary defense.

The new meteor shower’s parent asteroid remains elusive. However, NASA’s NEO Surveyor mission, launching in 2027, offers a promising solution. This space telescope, dedicated to planetary defense and the discovery of dark, hazardous, sun-approaching asteroids, will be the ideal tool for searching for the shower’s origin.

Patrick M. Shober, Postdoctoral Fellow in Planetary Sciences, NASA

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Bottom line: A new meteor shower has been linked to an asteroid broken up when it passed too close to the sun.

Read more: Spring fireball season is underway! Watch for them

Meteor shower guide 2026: Up next … the Lyrids

The post New meteor shower from an asteroid being eroded by the sun first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/V6Jm29M

Here’s a time lapse showing an outburst of Geminid meteors lighting up the sky. Read about a recent study that associated a new meteor shower with an asteroid that was destroyed by the sun. Image via NASA/ JPL.

• A new study finds a meteor shower linked to an asteroid being eroded by the sun.
• Most meteors originate from debris of gas and dust left behind when a comet orbits the sun.
• Some meteor showers, like the Geminids, are the result of debris left behind by an asteroid.

By Patrick M. Shober, NASA

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter.

New meteor shower

Across the Earth, every night, thousands of automated stargazers are waiting to take pictures of shooting stars. I am one of the scientists who study these meteors.

Most movies and news alerts focus on large asteroids that could destroy the Earth. And your phones notify you every few months that an object nine washing machines wide is going to just narrowly skim past. However, the small dust and rubble that enter our atmosphere daily tell an equally interesting story.

My planetary science colleagues and I use camera observations of the night sky to better understand dust, car-sized asteroids and debris from comets in our solar system.

In a study published in March 2026, I searched through millions of meteor observations collected by all-sky camera networks based in Canada, Japan, California and Europe and found a small, recently formed cluster. The 282 meteors associated with this cluster tell the story of an asteroid that got a little too close to the sun.

Meteor formation

When a sand-sized crumb of space rock hits our atmosphere, it heats up almost instantly, vaporizing its surface layer and turning it into an electrically charged gas. The whole fragment starts to glow. This is what we call a meteor. If the object is larger, like a boulder, and brighter, it’s called a bolide or a fireball. On average, these objects hit our atmosphere going over 15 miles per second (24 km/s). For small dust or sand-sized objects, the whole process lasts only a fraction of a second before they completely disappear.

Most of these sand-sized fragments in the solar system originate from comets – cold, icy objects from the outer reaches of the solar system. As comets pass by the sun, their icy components turn to gas, releasing tons of dust. This is why comets are often called “dirty snowballs” and appear fuzzy in telescopic images.

Asteroids, on the other hand, are leftovers from the early solar system that formed closer to the sun. They are dry and rocky, and do not have the same ices that give comets their characteristic tails.

What does it mean to be active?

Astronomers call an asteroid or comet “active” when it sheds dust, gas or larger fragments. This activity is caused by some external force on the object in space, like heat from the sun, a small impact, or when asteroids spin too fast and fly apart.

Understanding and identifying activity helps scientists better understand how these objects change over time.

For comets, sublimation of ices – when solid ice turns directly into gas, skipping the liquid phase – is the primary culprit. However, for asteroids, the reason for activity can vary greatly.

For example, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, which launched into space to study an asteroid named Bennu, saw activity from its surface, with heat stress and small impacts among the leading explanations.

Other sources for asteroid activity include breakup when an asteroid spins too fast, tidal forces ripping apart asteroids during close encounters with a planet, or gas release.

Researchers most commonly search for activity using telescopes. Astronomers can look for a “tail” or fuzziness around the object. This tail is a clear sign that there is gas and dust around the body. But there is another way to search for activity – meteor showers.

Finding hidden asteroids via meteor showers

The most famous active asteroid is 3200 Phaethon. It is the parent body of the Geminid meteor shower that occurs every year in mid-December. During past close approaches with the sun, Phaethon released vast amounts of dust and larger fragments. These morsels of Phaethon have spread out along its entire orbit over time, leading to the present Geminid meteor stream.

Each meteor shower we observe occurs when the Earth passes through one of these debris streams. So if astronomers can detect meteor showers, they can also be used to find active objects in space.

At first, debris shed by an asteroid or comet travels closely together. Imagine squeezing a single drop of food dye into a moving stream of water: Initially, the dye stays in a tight, concentrated cloud. But as it flows, the water’s swirling currents pull at the dye, causing it to spread out and fade.

In space, the gravitational tugs from passing planets act like those currents. They pull on the individual meteor fragments in slightly different ways, causing the once-tight stream to gradually drift apart until it completely dilutes into the background dust of our solar system.

The discovery of a rock-comet

In a study published in March 2026 in The Astrophysical Journal, I used millions of observations of meteors to search for recent, unknown activity from asteroids near the Earth. I found one clear cluster of 282 meteors that stood out.

What makes this discovery so exciting is that we are essentially witnessing a hidden asteroid being baked to bits. This newly confirmed meteor stream follows an extreme orbit that plunges almost five times closer to the sun than Earth does.

Based on how these meteors break apart when they hit our atmosphere, we can tell they are moderately fragile, but tougher than stuff from comets. This finding tells us that intense solar heat is literally cracking the asteroid’s surface, baking out trapped gases and causing it to crumble. This is likely a major driver of Phaethon’s past activity and a key reason for the diversity of meteorites found on Earth.

The search for the source

Why does finding a hidden, crumbling asteroid matter? Meteor observations act as a uniquely sensitive probe that lets us study objects that are completely invisible to traditional telescopes.

Beyond solving astronomical mysteries, analyzing this debris helps us understand the physical evolution of asteroids and comets in our solar system. More importantly, it reveals hidden populations of near-Earth asteroids, which is vital information for planetary defense.

The new meteor shower’s parent asteroid remains elusive. However, NASA’s NEO Surveyor mission, launching in 2027, offers a promising solution. This space telescope, dedicated to planetary defense and the discovery of dark, hazardous, sun-approaching asteroids, will be the ideal tool for searching for the shower’s origin.

Patrick M. Shober, Postdoctoral Fellow in Planetary Sciences, NASA

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Bottom line: A new meteor shower has been linked to an asteroid broken up when it passed too close to the sun.

Read more: Spring fireball season is underway! Watch for them

Meteor shower guide 2026: Up next … the Lyrids

The post New meteor shower from an asteroid being eroded by the sun first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/V6Jm29M

Hydra the Water Snake, the longest constellation

You can see the entire constellation Hydra the Water Snake on April evenings. Crater the Cup and Corvus the Crow are 2 constellations that sit upon the water snake. The bright star Spica in Virgo is nearby.

Hydra the Water Snake is the largest of all 88 constellations. It fills the space between zodiacal constellations along the ecliptic on one side and the Milky Way on the other. Hydra’s brightest star is Alphard, which is a sign of spring for the Northern Hemisphere. Moreover, the constellation is home to a variety pack of deep-sky observing targets.

Mythology of Hydra

As you can see from the star chart, two constellations ride upon the back of Hydra the Water Snake: Corvus the Crow and Crater the Cup. One mythological story pairs up these three when the Crow serves the god Apollo a cup of water in which the Water Snake is hiding. Consequently, Apollo, angered by this ruse, throws them all up into the sky.

Drawing from Urania’s Mirror, 1824. Hydra the Water Snake lies in the sky with the Crow and Cup on its back. Image via Sidney Hall/ Wikipedia. Public domain.

Finding the constellation Hydra

Hydra is located low in spring skies for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Indeed, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, Hydra swims overhead. The circlet that forms the head of the Water Snake lies below the constellation Cancer the Crab with its famous Beehive Cluster. The body extends away from the head toward the southeast, all the way to Libra.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Paolo Palma, in Italy, made this collage from 119 images – taken out of focus – and wrote: “Here, at a glance, are the colors of all the stars up to the sixth magnitude in the constellation Hydra, the longest constellation in the night sky. From an overview of its colors, it is clear that the constellation is largely made up of yellow and orange stars. And that the blue and pale yellow ones are concentrated mainly on the head. Then along the body there are numerous red ones, such as U and V Hya, two famous carbon stars, respectively one of the brightest and one of the reddest in the night sky.” Thank you, Paolo!

Stars trace out the Water Snake

Despite its long length, there are only a few stars of note in Hydra. The circlet marking the head of Hydra contains stars from magnitude 3.1 to 4.4. In particular, the brightest in the circlet is Zeta Hydrae at magnitude 3.11. It lies 152 light-years away. Then two degrees away is the next brightest star in this region of Hydra, Epsilon Hydrae at magnitude 3.39, lying 134 light-years away. The 4th magnitude star Rho Hydrae lies between these two, and three other dim stars (Delta at magnitude 4.1, Sigma at magnitude 4.4 and Eta at magnitude 4.2) complete the circlet.

The brightest star in Hydra – Alphard – lies about 16 degrees from the circlet. Additionally, it is 23 degrees south of the bright star Regulus in Leo. Alphard’s other name is Alpha Librae, and it shines at magnitude 1.99. Alphard lies 177 light-years away.

Hydra the Water Snake is the longest of the 88 constellations. It extends all the way from Cancer the Crab, below Leo the Lion, to the end of Virgo the Maiden. Image via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 3.0.

Deep-sky objects in Hydra

There are three Messier objects in Hydra: an open cluster, a globular cluster and a galaxy. In addition, a nice nebula also resides here, giving Hydra one good example of each of the major types of deep-sky observing targets.

M48 is an open cluster on the far western edge of Hydra. It lies 14 degrees from the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor. Comparatively, M48 is magnitude 5.8 and lies about 1,500 light-years away. You can see this open cluster without optical aid under dark skies, but binoculars or a telescope will reveal about 50 of its 80 stars.

Hydra’s exemplary planetary nebula is the Ghost of Jupiter, or NGC 3242. This 9th-magnitude nebula consists of a star at center with a bright nebula and a ghostly cocoon. From our point of view, it takes up about the same amount of sky as Jupiter. The Ghost of Jupiter lies 31 degrees below the body of Leo the Lion.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Faiz Ahmad in Virginia, took this image on May 1, 2020. Faiz wrote: “NGC 3242, the Ghost of Jupiter, is a planetary nebula located in Hydra.” See the video here. Thank you, Faiz!

The globular cluster in Hydra, M68, lies just 3 1/2 degrees below the 2nd brightest star in Corvus. M68 is magnitude 8.19, lying 33,000 light-years away. It’s a good sight through a telescope.

The last Messier object lies 13 degrees east from M68. It’s M83, a magnitude 7.6 barred spiral galaxy. Part of the Centaurus group of galaxies, M83 – aka the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy – is one of the closer galaxies to Earth at 15 million light-years.

Bottom line: April is a good time to view Hydra the Water Snake, the largest of the 88 constellations.

The post Hydra the Water Snake, the longest constellation first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/5i4uaOF

You can see the entire constellation Hydra the Water Snake on April evenings. Crater the Cup and Corvus the Crow are 2 constellations that sit upon the water snake. The bright star Spica in Virgo is nearby.

Hydra the Water Snake is the largest of all 88 constellations. It fills the space between zodiacal constellations along the ecliptic on one side and the Milky Way on the other. Hydra’s brightest star is Alphard, which is a sign of spring for the Northern Hemisphere. Moreover, the constellation is home to a variety pack of deep-sky observing targets.

Mythology of Hydra

As you can see from the star chart, two constellations ride upon the back of Hydra the Water Snake: Corvus the Crow and Crater the Cup. One mythological story pairs up these three when the Crow serves the god Apollo a cup of water in which the Water Snake is hiding. Consequently, Apollo, angered by this ruse, throws them all up into the sky.

Drawing from Urania’s Mirror, 1824. Hydra the Water Snake lies in the sky with the Crow and Cup on its back. Image via Sidney Hall/ Wikipedia. Public domain.

Finding the constellation Hydra

Hydra is located low in spring skies for observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Indeed, if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, Hydra swims overhead. The circlet that forms the head of the Water Snake lies below the constellation Cancer the Crab with its famous Beehive Cluster. The body extends away from the head toward the southeast, all the way to Libra.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Paolo Palma, in Italy, made this collage from 119 images – taken out of focus – and wrote: “Here, at a glance, are the colors of all the stars up to the sixth magnitude in the constellation Hydra, the longest constellation in the night sky. From an overview of its colors, it is clear that the constellation is largely made up of yellow and orange stars. And that the blue and pale yellow ones are concentrated mainly on the head. Then along the body there are numerous red ones, such as U and V Hya, two famous carbon stars, respectively one of the brightest and one of the reddest in the night sky.” Thank you, Paolo!

Stars trace out the Water Snake

Despite its long length, there are only a few stars of note in Hydra. The circlet marking the head of Hydra contains stars from magnitude 3.1 to 4.4. In particular, the brightest in the circlet is Zeta Hydrae at magnitude 3.11. It lies 152 light-years away. Then two degrees away is the next brightest star in this region of Hydra, Epsilon Hydrae at magnitude 3.39, lying 134 light-years away. The 4th magnitude star Rho Hydrae lies between these two, and three other dim stars (Delta at magnitude 4.1, Sigma at magnitude 4.4 and Eta at magnitude 4.2) complete the circlet.

The brightest star in Hydra – Alphard – lies about 16 degrees from the circlet. Additionally, it is 23 degrees south of the bright star Regulus in Leo. Alphard’s other name is Alpha Librae, and it shines at magnitude 1.99. Alphard lies 177 light-years away.

Hydra the Water Snake is the longest of the 88 constellations. It extends all the way from Cancer the Crab, below Leo the Lion, to the end of Virgo the Maiden. Image via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 3.0.

Deep-sky objects in Hydra

There are three Messier objects in Hydra: an open cluster, a globular cluster and a galaxy. In addition, a nice nebula also resides here, giving Hydra one good example of each of the major types of deep-sky observing targets.

M48 is an open cluster on the far western edge of Hydra. It lies 14 degrees from the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor. Comparatively, M48 is magnitude 5.8 and lies about 1,500 light-years away. You can see this open cluster without optical aid under dark skies, but binoculars or a telescope will reveal about 50 of its 80 stars.

Hydra’s exemplary planetary nebula is the Ghost of Jupiter, or NGC 3242. This 9th-magnitude nebula consists of a star at center with a bright nebula and a ghostly cocoon. From our point of view, it takes up about the same amount of sky as Jupiter. The Ghost of Jupiter lies 31 degrees below the body of Leo the Lion.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Faiz Ahmad in Virginia, took this image on May 1, 2020. Faiz wrote: “NGC 3242, the Ghost of Jupiter, is a planetary nebula located in Hydra.” See the video here. Thank you, Faiz!

The globular cluster in Hydra, M68, lies just 3 1/2 degrees below the 2nd brightest star in Corvus. M68 is magnitude 8.19, lying 33,000 light-years away. It’s a good sight through a telescope.

The last Messier object lies 13 degrees east from M68. It’s M83, a magnitude 7.6 barred spiral galaxy. Part of the Centaurus group of galaxies, M83 – aka the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy – is one of the closer galaxies to Earth at 15 million light-years.

Bottom line: April is a good time to view Hydra the Water Snake, the largest of the 88 constellations.

The post Hydra the Water Snake, the longest constellation first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/5i4uaOF