Astronomy

As Voyager Exits Solar System, Sole Proof of Humanity a 70s Record

LIU Yang visited the Chinese University of Hong Kong on 12 August 2012

China’s First Woman Astronaut: Progress or Propaganda?

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Your Last Chance to See Venus Pass in Front of the Sun

The transit of Venus is so rare that only 8 transits have occurred since the invention of the telescope

One of the many mysteries baffling astronomers is how galaxies such as the Milky Way are able to form new stars at an unsustainable rate.

Top Ten Mysteries of the Universe

What are those burning questions about the cosmos that still baffle astronomers today?

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Fast Forward: The Dark Energy Camera

Get a sneak peak at the new project that will search for mysterious cosmic energies that drive our universe

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When Runaway Planets Go 30 Million Miles Per Hour

A new discovery indicates some planets may be flung out of our galaxy at velocities a few percent of the speed of light

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Ask Smithsonian: Can Birds Be Identified Just From Their Feathers? Questions from Our Readers

Our new feature, Ask Smithsonian, is all about finding the answers. Do you have a question for our curators?

An artist's rendering of GJ1214b, orbiting a red dwarf star

Scientists Discover a Waterworld Just 40 Light Years Away

An entirely new type of planet is made up mostly of water

How much is the Hope Diamond worth? Ask Smithsonian.

How Much the Hope Diamond is Worth and Other Questions From Our Readers

From American art, history and culture, air and space technology, Asian art and any of the sciences from astronomy to zoology, we'll find an answer

Astronomer Roger Angel is trying to harness the power of the sun with new technology developed for telescopes. The solar tracker pictured currently makes 2 kW of electric power.

An Astronomer’s Solution to Global Warming

The technology developed for telescopes, it turns out, can harness solar power

The Quadrantid meteor shower, as visible at twilight

How To See Tonight’s Meteor Shower

Take advantage of this rare chance to see the Quadrantid meteor shower

A budding star spits out jets of superheated gas and dust in the Carina Nebula

A Guided Tour of the Universe

A new exhibition at the Natural History Museum gives visitors a dazzling view of our evolving universe

A comparison of the two newly-discovered planets with Venus and Earth

What the Earth-Sized Planet Discovery Means

The lead scientist in the new planet discovery explains the significance of the find

Instruments developed at the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, such as this Solar Probe, will go to the Sun in 2018.

New Angles

Dr. Pierre Comizzoli, one of the two Smithsonian scientists to receive the Presidential Award, at work in the lab.

Two Smithsonian Scientists Receive Presidential Award

An astrophysicist and a conservation biologist each receive one of the highest honors in science

Kepler-16b, the first confirmed circumbinary planet

Inside the Double-Sun Planet Discovery

How Smithsonian and Harvard scientists discovered the planet that orbits two stars

The Greensboro lunch counter

Weekend Events: June 17-19: Sun Spots, Tom Hanks, and the Greensboro Lunch Counter

Visit the Smithsonian museums to look at some of the wonders of the universe and dive into the Portrait Gallery for a double feature

The center of our Milky Way galaxy is even more breathtaking when seen as a composite made of data from three space-based instruments sensitive to different wavelengths.

Brilliant Space Photos From Chandra and Spitzer

Two unsung space telescopes create eye-opening images of the universe from light we can't see

Astronomers like Rik Hill scan the heavens from Arizona looking for errant asteroids.

Asteroid Hunters

Astronomers are determined to protect human beings from inanimate outer space invaders

NASA is studying a mission, for launch in the 2020s, that would visit the only moon known to have an extensive atmosphere—Titan, a satellite of Saturn.

What's Next in Space?

Probes and landers sent into the final frontier will bring us closer to answering cosmic mysteries

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