After 30 Years of Discovery, These Are Astronomers’ Top Five Exoplanetary Systems
Space scientists look back on three decades of exoplanet discoveries—from rows of massive ‘super-Earths‘ to worlds with perfectly synchronized orbits
NASA’s First-Ever Alien-Hunting Space Telescope Could Enlighten Our New Dark Age
The Habitable Worlds Observatory is poised to tell us whether Earth-like planets are common—if it can get off the ground
Asteroid ‘Families’ Reveal Hidden Histories and Impact Risks across the Solar System
Many asteroids are related, but their family trees can be hard to trace
Astronomers’ Exoplanet Haul Tops 6,000 Alien Worlds
It’s a crowded galaxy, the latest exoplanet tally shows
How Do You Weigh a Black Hole?
Gauging the mass of a black hole is tricky, but astronomers have devised multiple methods to measure the heft of these galactic gluttons
Mesmerizing New JWST Image Sharpens Our View of Dark Matter’s Intergalactic Playground
A swarm of galaxies called the Bullet Cluster is the biggest, best natural laboratory for studying dark matter that astronomers have ever seen
Hints of Atmosphere on Earth-Sized Exoplanet Raise Hopes for Life
A monumental sign of an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1e could be the precursor to finally finding a living world around another star
A Cosmic Void May Be Skewing Our Understanding of the Universe
Our understanding of cosmology hinges on how well we know our own local universe, which remains poorly mapped and poorly understood
How to See Faster-Than-Light Motion
Superluminal velocities are common but illusory
SpaceX Successfully Launches Starship Spacecraft after String of Mishaps
Overcoming three recent failed tries, Elon Musk’s rocket company successfully flew its reusable jumbo booster and upper-stage Starship spacecraft
New Instrument Checks on Proxima Centauri’s Planets
Fresh results from near-infrared instruments foretell a bright future for finding life elsewhere in the Milky Way
If This Asteroid Hits the Moon, Watch for Shooting Stars and Stricken Satellites
The 60-meter asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 4 percent chance of hitting the moon. Could such a lunar collision create a dangerous new meteor shower?