A Potentially Spectacular Comet Will Fly by Earth Next Year
Professional and amateur astronomers alike are hoping that Comet C/2023 A3 will sparkle in Earth’s skies in the fall of 2024, although comets are notoriously difficult to predict
This Astronomer Discovered What the Stars Were Made Of, and Few Believed Her Discovery
Nearly 100 years ago a young astronomer named Cecilia Payne changed the way we see the stars in the sky because she was able to look into their burning heart and see something no one else ever had
JWST’s Hunt for Habitable Exoplanets Finds Disappointment, Again
Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest that TRAPPIST-1 c, the second world in a seven-planet system, lacks an atmosphere
Why Does Smoke Turn the Sky Orange?
The wildfire smoke that smothered the U.S. Northeast last week has surprising connections to astrophysics—and to the historic search for our place in the cosmos
Have Astronomers Seen the Universe’s First Stars?
The James Webb Space Telescope is giving us our first glimpse of stars in the early universe.
At Last, Astronomers May Have Seen the Universe’s First Stars
Telltale evidence gathered by the James Webb Space Telescope suggests we’re closer than ever before to finding elusive Population III stars
Why Venus Is So Bright Right Now
Our planetary neighbor Venus becomes a brilliant beacon in the sky each time it reaches its greatest orbital distance from the sun
Scientists Solve Star Spin Mystery
Magnetic fields help to explain why some stars are spinning more slowly than astronomers thought they should
Astronomers Have Spotted a Once-in-a-Decade Supernova—and You Can, Too
The death throes of a massive star in the galaxy M101, located just 21 million light-years away from Earth, are entrancing professional and amateur astronomers alike
Saturn’s Youthful Rings and Newfound Moons Put It in Stargazing Spotlight
Saturn’s surprisingly young rings and record-breaking bounty of moons make the planet a ripe target for springtime sky watchers
JWST Will Hunt for Dead Solar Systems—And Much More—In Its Second Year of Science
White dwarfs, Earth-sized exoplanets, early galaxies and even Saturn’s moon Enceladus are on the agenda for JWST’s second year in space, but exomoons and others miss out
What Created This Mini Book-Shaped Rock on Mars?
A book-shaped rock spotted by the Curiosity rover on Mars is the result of an interplay of wind, water—and the human brain