Astronomy

Predicting what the sun will look like during a total solar eclipse is a helpful exercise for scientists in the long quest to understand how our star works

Eclipses bring the future—or at least a tiny sliver of it—into sharp focus

How a total solar eclipse creates connection, unity and caring among the people watching

Just how rare are total solar eclipses, which require a perfect alignment of the sun and moon?

Figuring out whether there are more stars in the universe than sand grains on Earth’s seashores requires math—and imagination

A kite-borne experiment will observe the sun’s mysterious corona during the upcoming total solar eclipse

Quirks of orbital mechanics make a cadre of sun-orbiting asteroids appear to be moons of Earth

The Chandra X-ray Observatory faces a premature end under new funding cuts proposed by NASA—and astronomers aren’t happy

At least one in a dozen binary stars shows signs of eating their planets

Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is hiding a strange spiral in its icy heart—and it may tell scientists about the comet’s innards

Snapshots of a plethora of planet-forming disks offer more than just eye candy—they also reveal some fundamental aspects of how worlds are born

In an era of budget-busting mega-telescopes, we shouldn’t forget the importance of smaller telescopes, more focused missions and the unexpected surprises they reveal about the universe