Astronomy

An artists rendering of how a solar sail might be powered by a radio beam from the surface of a planet

Are Fast Radio Bursts from Alien Spacecraft? It's Unlikely, but Possible

A new paper raises the (distant) possibility that the unusual high-energy bursts from the cosmos are from intergalactic ships

Pluto and its moon Charon

New Definition Would Make the Moon and Pluto Planets

A suggested update to the International Astronomical Union criteria would add over 100 planets to the solar system

Artists rendering of the suspected Planet 9

NASA Wants the Public to Log In to Help Find Planet 9

Citizen scientists can examine photos to help discover a new planet, which recent evidence suggests is hiding at the edge of the solar system

Cunitz was among the few who saw the truth in Johannes Kepler’s laws of planetary motion, which stated that planets moved in elliptical orbits around the sun. Here, a concept drawing of the Earth and moon in orbit around the sun.

The 17th-Century Lady Astronomer Who Took Measure of the Stars

Astronomer Maria Cunitz might not be such an anomaly, were other women given the same educational opportunities

The seven Earth-sized planets orbiting the dwarf star TRAPPIST-1.

Scientists Spot Seven Earth-Sized Planets Orbiting a Nearby Star

This newly discovered solar system presents the best opportunity yet to study potentially habitable worlds, NASA scientists report

An infrared image of 47 Tucanae, a dense globular cluster of stars located roughly 16,000 light years from Earth. A new study has predicted that a black hole lies at its center.

How Astrophysicists Found a Black Hole Where No One Else Could

A new method could help scientists peer inside universe's densest star clusters to find undiscovered black holes

Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková during its last pass in 2011

A Comet, Eclipse and a Full Moon Will Light Up the Skies Friday Night

There will be a lot going on in the night sky, including a pass by the green comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková

Blazing Green Meteor Lights Up Midwest Skies

Early Monday morning, the fireball buzzed Wisconsin before breaking up over Lake Michigan

Astrolabes were astronomical calculating devices that did everything from tell the time to map the stars. This 16th century planispherical astrolabe stems from Morocco.

The Story of the Astrolabe, the Original Smartphone

Prosperous times likely paved the way for this multifunctional device, conceptual ancestor to the iPhone 7

Ancient Asteroid Collision Is Still Raining Space Rocks Down on Earth

A new study shows that today's meteorites considerably differ from those of the ancient past

Scientists Capture a "Sonic Boom" of Light

A new, ultra-fast camera recorded the phenomenon for the first time

An artist's impression of the gas being stripped away from spiral galaxy NGC 4921

Dark Matter Could Be Destroying Distant Galaxies

The mysterious substance may suck gas from the galaxies—and a gasless galaxy is a dead galaxy

The bow-shaped wave on Venus

Scientists Spot Massive Wave in Venus' Atmosphere

The 6,200-mile long bow-shaped wrinkle may have been caused by gravity waves

New Hubble Image Captures the Collision of Two Galaxies

A beautiful look at a violent event

The asteroid Vesta, explored by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in 2011 and 2012

A Sneaky Asteroid Buzzed By Earth Yesterday

The space rock passed by at about half the distance between our planet and the moon

A model of the binary star system KIC 9832227, which could explode around 2022.

Catch a Star Exploding in Action in 2022

Just five years from now a pair of stars are predicted to merge, forming a glittery and bright new point in the sky

CAMS results for November 28 to December 14 from 2010 to 2016. Each point is direction from which a meteor was measured to approach, with red showing faster meteors and blue slower ones.

Introducing the Global Effort to Map the Night Sky

How astronomers around the world are piecing together a patchwork quilt of celestial activity

Artists rendering of all the telescopes that helped track down FRB 121102

Mysterious Fast Radio Bursts Traced to Dwarf Galaxy in the Auriga Constellation

Knowing where they originate will help researchers understand what creates the mysterious high-energy signals

Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková as seen in October 2011

Fireworks Not Your Thing? Then Look Out For a Comet on New Year’s Eve

With a telescope in hand, you can watch a comet zoom past the Earth tomorrow night

We Will Have to Endure 2016 One Second Longer Than an Average Year

It’s not giving up the ghost quite yet

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