Frosty Drew Clear Sky Chart

Current seeing conditions at Frosty Drew Observatory

The Sun and Moon Today

  • The Sun as seen today from NASA SDO.
  • Waxing Gibbous 84% phase

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Astronomy Picture of the DayAnticrepuscular Rays over Sicily

Satellite Events for Tonight

Celebration of Space - June 19, 2026

Celebration of Space - June 19, 2026

Reported by Scott MacNeill's Columns

On Sunday, June 21, 2026 at 4:25 am ET, Earth will arrive at the point in its orbit where the Northern Hemisphere is at maximum tilt (23.4°) towards the Sun. This is the Summer Solstice and marks the first day of the summer season in the Northern Hemisphe...
  • By: Scott MacNeill
  • On: Fri, 19 Jun 2026 13:30:27 EDT

Magnetic Fields Channel Gas Through Filaments into Star Formation Sites

Reported by Universe Today

Stars form inside molecular clouds where cold gas collapses gravitationally on itself. But there's more to this process than gravity. New research shows how magnetic field lines funnel gas through sub-filaments into star formation sites....
  • By: Evan Gough (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/ion23drive)
  • On: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 18:44 +0000

Millions of Stars in Cigar Galaxy

Reported by NASA

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently observed edge-on starburst galaxy Messier 82 (M82), nicknamed the Cigar Galaxy. Webb’s new view of M82, added to archival data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, gives us a more complete picture of this...
  • By: NASA
  • On: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 16:24 +0000

The Universe's First Stars Were Shaped By Turbulence and Were Not As Massive as Thought

Reported by Universe Today

For a long time, astrophysicists thought that the Universe's first stars, called Population III stars, were uniformly massive. It seemed like the conditions they formed in were calm and serene, which favoured massive stars. But new research based on high-r...
  • By: Evan Gough (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/ion23drive)
  • On: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:41 +0000

NASA to save Swift spacecraft from plunging back to Earth

Reported by Space | EarthSky

The Swift spacecraft is rapidly falling back to Earth. But NASA has a plan to boost the telescope back into orbit, beginning this week. The post NASA to save Swift spacecraft from plunging back to Earth first appeared on EarthSky....
  • By: Space | EarthSky
  • On: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 11:18 +0000

Peanut-shaped asteroid wobbles in 2 directions

Reported by Space | EarthSky

New analysis shows that a peanut-shaped asteroid wobbles in space in 2 directions. Lucy spacecraft now continues its journey toward Jupiter’s Trojans. The post Peanut-shaped asteroid wobbles in 2 directions first appeared on EarthSky....
  • By: Space | EarthSky
  • On: Thu, 25 Jun 2026 08:50 +0000