Have NASA astronomers discovered the black hole in the Milky Way’s center where lost socks turn into X rays? Tune in next week to find out. Ute Kraus (Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik) NASA has found something amazing in our galaxy. Unfortunately, it’s not saying just what it has found — until next week, when it collects enough reporters for a press conference. Or, if you want it from the horse’s mouth, here is the exciting, taunting first...

Yesterday on the Daily Galaxy blog , I read something about renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking that reminded me of the bewitching power of scientific expertise. Just check this out: At an event marking the 50th anniversary of NASA on Monday, Stephen Hawking, Newton's heir as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, answered the question, “Are we alone?” His answer is short and simple: probably not! Next...

As NASA engineers prepare the gamma-ray observatory GLAST for launch in mid-2008, the agency has put out a call for help from the public: Please think of a better name for the high-tech space telescope. “Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope” aptly describes the satellite’s function, but doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue. “We’re looking for name suggestions that will capture the excitement of GLAST’s mission and call attention to gamma-ray and high...

This just in from the hydrocarbon desk at Astronomy.com: Titan’s surface lakes and methane-ice-laden dune seas collectively hold hundreds of times Earth’s bounty of hydrocarbons (oil and gas). It’s a Texas oilman’s dream: hydrocarbons rain from the sky on Titan. To my mind, this could solve a lot of problems. Planetary scientists have been competing with NASA’s fantastically expensive manned space program for decades. Word on the aerospace street...

Duck! There’s another near-Earth asteroid coming! You may have noted the media reports this week about the asteroid 2007 TU24 , which makes a close pass by our home planet next Tuesday (January 29). But don’t worry too much, because I mean “close” in astronomical terms, which in this case is 1.4 lunar distances (334,000 miles). Or perhaps a friend of yours forwarded a goofball hoax e-mail to you about the government conspiracy (only one?) to hide...

From the darkness of Reykjavík, see my report on Iceland's unique riding dogs. See this video here .

Have you ever seen the road to heaven in the sky? Have you ever eaten a rotten fish and lived to tell about it? Here's what it's like .

I'm headed off to Iceland for the Northern Lights and Lava Fields Tour. I'll report from the tour, letting you know about the aurorae we see and the sites we visit. See my video here .

They've discovered Earth ... again. The astronomy blogosphere is abuzz with news of "shrunken versions of our solar system" and "miniature worlds in the making," at least according to the press releases I've been reading. Nobody has called them " Hobbit solar systems" yet, but give them time. Alexander Scholz of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland , and Ray Jayawardhana from the University of Toronto reported...

I am devastated. Our blog didn't win the 2007 Weblog Award for best science blog! The competition was pretty fierce. And the other bloggers blog every day, and post lots and lots of pictures and hot links. Show offs! There were 4,000 nominations in 49 categories. Voting for the 2007 Weblog Awards began in October 2007. The winners received their awards at the Blogworld and New Media Expo in Las Vegas November 9. Of interest to sky fans, the winners...