NASA Announcement About a Newly Discovered Moon...

The NASA Webb Mission Team has announced (↗) the peer-review pending discovery of a moon near the planet Uranus. Click or tap the link for more details, an image, and a video about this detection found by astronomers using the James Webb Telescope.

Since we are on the topics of moons, the Amazing Astronomy Blog's Moon Page (↗) is comprehensively updated! I did not include the moon above in my page update because the findings have not yet been analyzed through the peer review process. It is admittedly difficult to keep up with all the new cosmic and astronomical discoveries, but I try to keep you informed of particularly interesting current events!

My Photos of Comet A3

Spectacular! I have never seen a comet with a tail like that! When I spotted the comet in the west-southwest sky, Comet A3 was relatively dim but notable with my eyesight. Thanks to modern camera technology (night mode, to be exact), these images easily depict the comet. The first three images were taken on Wednesday, October 16th after 8 P.M. Eastern Time. The last image with a shorter and compact comet tail was taken on Friday, October 18th after 7 P.M. Did you take photos of Comet A3, otherwise known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS? I would love to see your photos if you don't mind! Please consider emailing by clicking the Email tab at above right, then click the large "Email Me!" button. If you don't mind me sharing your photos on this Amazing Astronomy website (or maybe you just want to share with me), please let me know either way. I will be sure to respect your choice and give you credit if you would like to share.

Some facts about this comet: it was visible to the naked eye since September 2024 but now might be visible (but not for long) with a telescope. It was in the constellation Leo then Virgo, Serpens Caput, and Ophiuchus, and now it is likely in the constellation Serpens Cauda. The Oort cloud originating comet was discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, China in January 2023. The Sutherland Observatory in Cape Town, South Africa spotted the comet a month later in February 2023. The comet later became visible to the naked eye in late September of 2024 and reached its top brightness (-4.9 magnitude) on October 9th. Comet A3 won't return to our Solar System for another 80,000 years or so!

First Photograph from the James Webb Telescope!

As the “author” and updater of the Amazing Astronomy Blog, I am astounded by the amount of advances related to astronomy and space exploration. The world of science is progressing with such a plethora of discoveries and breakthrough innovations that it is hard to keep up with everything going on — and that’s definitely a good thing!

One major news story that I had to mention: NASA revealed the first publically released photograph captured by the James Webb Space Telescope on Monday, July 11th, 2022 at about 6:30 P.M. Eastern Time. The exciting unveiling occurred during a virtual conference call — livestreamed on various websites and YouTube channels — with United States President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and several scientists patiently waiting for the first peek at the telescope’s imaging capability. The dazzling and seemingly bejeweled infrared image below is currently showing the farthest visible reach of space from our perspective! The photo depicts a Deep Field galaxy cluster known as SMACS 0723, which is situated in the constellation VOLANS the Flying Fish. The busy snapshot’s extent in the universe is equivalent to a speck of sand on Earth — indicating an immense number of cosmic wonders in a relatively small area!

Commenting on the telescope’s potential to enrich our knowledge of the universe, 14th NASA Administrator Bill Nelson notes that the photographic resolution of images taken by the telescope “is going to be so precise you are going to see whether or not planets, because of the chemical composition...of their atmospheres..., are habitable. And when you look at something as big as this is, we are going to be able to answer questions that we don't even know what the questions are yet. This is what's happening, and it's because of this wonderful team” involved with the creation, maintenance, testing, and operation of the James Webb Space Telescope.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s latest orbital telescope is named after James Edwin Webb, the NASA Administrator who served in the timeframe of 1961 to 1968. On December 25th, 2021, the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana propelled an Ariane 5 rocket containing the telescope — a thoughtful (and shiny) Christmas present gifted to outer space! NASA provides a webpage to house the telescope’s first images (↗). Let the James Webb Space Telescope and its future discoveries be a reminder that there are good things happening in our world and beyond!

Corona Borealis Constellation Map

Greetings! There is a new constellation map of CORONA BOREALIS the Northern Crown. Created by me at Amazing Astronomy, the new image features plenty of galaxies; if you have a decent telescope, see if you can find some (or all?) of these cosmic wonders! View the Corona Borealis post (↗) to see the map!

Cygnus and Lacerta Constellation Map

Above is a new constellation image I drew recently this year. It features CYGNUS the Swan, a sprawling constellation known for straddling the Milky Way galaxy's star-studded band in the night sky. LACERTA the Lizard may not be as notable in the night sky, but the zigzagged constellation offers a few notable cosmic wonders.

Discover more about Cygnus with my blog post! Amazing Astronomy will post about Lacerta at a later date, keeping with the alphabetical order of constellation posts.

Hydra Post Coming Soon

The next constellation gearing up for an Amazing Astronomy post is HYDRA the Sea Serpent, a winding constellation truly resembling its name. Stay tuned for that post, feel free to look around for other posts in the meantime, and thank you so much for visiting Amazing Astronomy today!

Email Address

There is now a confidential way to contact me, the Amazing Astronomy blogger! To send an email, just click the button below. My email address should appear in your installed email program's "Send to:" field. Thank you so much for accessing Amazing Astronomy today and always!

Almost 20,000 Page Views

Hello there, thanks for visiting the Amazing Astronomy blog website today! Amazing Astronomy is a resource for pointing out and explaining the amazing cosmic wonders in our universe. Info about moons, nebulae, galaxies, and constellations are scattered across the website to help you find and learn about the fascinating marvels scattered across the night sky. I am honest in admitting that Amazing Astronomy is not one of the most popular astronomy websites out there, but there is a niche to be filled that allows info about astronomy to be enjoyable and accessible to everyone. Since 2009, Amazing Astronomy has slowly and steadily accrued almost 20,000 page views. I know there are at least a few avid astronomers and stargazers out there — you might be one of them — who access Amazing Astronomy on a frequent or occasional basis. Please feel free to reach out with a comment to offer your suggestions and to request coverage of a topic that I have not included on Amazing Astronomy yet. I would like to say a huge thank you to you all!

Sincerely, Zach
(also known as "Wonderful World")

Remembering the Order of the Planets

Since a kid, I lovingly referred to the following mnemonic device when I was trying to remember the physical order of the planets in the solar system:

My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas
Mars, Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto

That's a lot of pizza. Everyone who learned the planetary order in this way must have had a fantastic pizza party! Alas, Pluto is now considered not to be an official planet anymore; it is generally classified as a dwarf or minor planet at best. Therefore, the mnemonic below is now my go-to whenever I think Earth is closer to the Sun than Venus:

My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles*
* Or, depending on where you live in the world, feel free to substitute noodles (or nachos) for any food starting with the letter N!

Horologium Post Coming Soon

Greetings, fellow stargazers of the cosmos! I wanted to let you be the first organism in the universe to know that the HOROLOGIUM (Clock) constellation will be featured in an upcoming, in-depth blog post on Amazing Astronomy!

Stay tuned for this tantalizing post, which shall be published for all the Earthlings to see within a week or so. Want to see more posts of a particular topic? Let me know with a comment! Until next time, please consider traveling back in time to see previous posts, which commenced in the year 2010. Thanks!

Hercules Constellation Map

Above is a new constellation image I finished on October 29th, 2017. It features HERCULES the Hero, a mighty vast constellation usually visible in the Northern Hemisphere. Let me know what you think about this map/sky chart in the comments section ... thanks!

Discover more about Hercules with my blog post!

Participate in Renaming this Blog

Hey everyone! I am pondering on whether or not I should change the name of the Little Astronomy Blog. I believe I originally chose this name because of humility, knowing that this blog is "little" compared to some other astronomy-related websites out there. However, I want to reinvigorate this astronomy news source with a brand-new name, but I want to hear your thoughts first! Should the Little Astronomy Blog be renamed or left alone? Feel free to 1) participate in the blog poll right below the logo, or 2) let me know with a comment below (you can provide a name or even be anonymous if you wanted to). Thanks for your participation! 🌟 🌠 💫

Keep the name

Rename to Amazing Astronomy

Rename to Astronomical Marvels

I have an idea: ________________

Questions or Comments? Let Me Know!

Hey there, thanks for visiting the Little Astronomy Blog today! I apologize for not posting much lately :o Anyways, if you prefer me to post about a particular cosmic topic you love or maybe don't know much about, feel free to send a comment on any post! Suggestions or questions can also be sent privately — just send a message to the GeoFact of the Day Blog Facebook page. Thank you, and keep looking up!

Over 10,000 Page Visits

The Little Astronomy Blog recently reached the milestone of 10,000 page visits. Thank you so very much for visiting my blog today!

Cosmic Images Post Label

The Little Astronomy Blog now has a Cosmic Images post label, which will be applied for all the posts featuring images of nebulae, planets, and other cosmic wonders. Each image will be given a photo credit and will link to a larger image on another website. Thank you for visiting the Little Astronomy Blog today!

Little Astronomy Blog Update

The Little Astronomy Blog currently has two recently updated pages: Galaxies and Nebulae & Star-Forming Regions. The Delphinus constellation post has a new constellation map, and some future constellation posts will have the same map design format. Whether you are here on the Little Astronomy Blog for the first time or been here many times, thank you so much for your readership!

Katy Perry's Star-Studded Super Bowl Halftime Show

In Super Bowl 49's Halftime show, Katy Perry did all sorts of interesting things, from riding on a giant robotic lion to dancing with smiling sharks, beach balls, and palm trees! Another memorable moment involved Perry flying in the air on a platform, on which a pole was attached to two lit-up shooting stars and a mechanism allowing her to fly. Below is a graphic I designed to celebrate her star-studded performance! You may share this image on social media or even another website.