When you see a photo like this, you stop and look. And you wonder: What’s that guy’s story? Who is this kilt-wearing fellow with the big stone ball on his shoulder? And what does this have to do with astronomy? Let me introduce you to Mike Sidonio, former competitor for the title of World’s Strongest Man and award-winning astrophotographer. (In case you’re wondering, the ball is sandstone and weighs 337 pounds [153 kilograms]). I’ve been working on...

It’s not every day you get a mysterious new celestial object named after you. But that’s what happened to Hanny van Arkel (pictured below), a primary schoolteacher from The Netherlands. And all she had to do was point and click. Van Arkel discovered a glowing green gaseous object, which scientists dubbed “Hanny’s Voorwerp” (Dutch for “Hanny’s object,” pictured at right). It was an early success from the Galaxy Zoo project, one of the biggest-ever...

Have you heard the news? Astronomers have observed the early phase of an exploding star. It’s 2008d, the “ supernova caught in the act .” If you are in the science media, you can’t help having heard about it. For days, we’ve been in the midst of a blitz that would make the Luftwaffe envious. Fortunately, the supernova discoverers are firing press releases at us, not dropping bombs. At one point yesterday, I almost reached for my spam filter. As is...