Free Astronomy Magazine May-June 2026

36 ASTRO PUBLISHING MAY-JUNE 2026 Extremely rare second-generation star in Pictor II by NOIRLab Josie Fenske T he Milky Way arches high over the Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile. Blanco began operating in 1976, providing astronomers with a world-class observatory in the southern hemisphere, and it continues to produce cutting-edge science. [CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/D. Munizaga]