Astronomy

Interstellar xenia, or the welcoming of cosmic strangers, could solve this mystery

A privately funded telescope called Toliman will seek habitable worlds in our nearest neighboring star system, potentially sparking a new wave of exoplanetary exploration

The space agency is working to bring the observatory’s science instruments back online

The observatory must complete about 50 major deployments after liftoff

Four candidate worlds found via flashes of radio emission may be the first of many revealed by a new planet-hunting technique

The agency found no evidence that the flagship observatory’s namesake was involved in anti-LGBT+ activities, but some say that Webb bears responsibility

Before it can study the first stars and galaxies, the observatory must endure a sea voyage, a rocket launch and an all-or-nothing deployment sequence in deep space

A chance celestial alignment is allowing astronomers to witness a distant star’s explosive death, again and again

Years of weather monitoring suggest a high-altitude locale in Qinghai Province could host future telescopes

A battle for the future of American stargazing is about to begin—and the stakes are sky high

The groundbreaking scientist ushered in a revolution in how we think about the universe. She also lived by a set of principles that made her an exceptional human being

With nearly $2 million in private funding, the controversial new initiative is targeting unidentified phenomena in Earth’s skies and beyond