Astronomy

The Xuntian Space Telescope is China’s entry in a global race to unlock the secrets of dark energy, and it will now lift off no earlier than mid-2025

Two unusual annual meteor showers come at the end of the year, and each can spark astonishing celestial fireworks

The James Webb Space Telescope’s studies of the Crab nebula may shed new light on the supernova remnant’s origins

Reproducing in space is just one of many reasons we should delay settlements beyond Earth

Fresh images show off the Euclid space telescope’s ability to capture crisp pictures of vast swaths of sky

The James Webb Space Telescope is gazing across the universe to find galaxies close to the “cosmic dawn”—and you can explore them from the palm of your hand

Several unexplained measurements are threatening to upend scientists’ understanding of the universe’s origin and fate

A planet-vaporizing impact is the leading explanation for a distant star’s curiously fluctuating light

Astronomers have found high-altitude clouds formed from quartz crystals on the gas-giant world WASP-17b

The James Webb Space Telescope’s infrared gaze sheds new light on the Orion nebula, an icon of the night sky

The sun’s magnetic poles are about to reverse as part of a regular 11-year sunspot activity cycle

Thirty years ago, astronomer Carl Sagan convinced NASA to turn a passing space probe’s instruments on Earth to look for life — with results that still reverberate today