Another Earth or a blip in the data? We may never find out
An exoplanet called HD 137010 b might be the closest thing astronomers have ever seen to “Earth 2.0.” The trouble is that it’s only been seen once—and may never be glimpsed again
After all these years, the Hubble Space Telescope is still awesome
The venerable Hubble observatory is going strong despite its decades in space and the advent of next-generation successors
JWST unveils most intricate map yet of cosmic dark matter
Astronomers puzzled out minuscule distortions in images of faraway galaxies taken by JWST in order to chart the invisible
The biggest explosions in the universe, ranked
From planet-scorching stellar outbursts to cataclysms so powerful they shiver the very fabric of spacetime, these are some of the biggest blasts our cosmos has to offer
New JWST images reveal Helix Nebula’s knots with stunning clarity
A fresh look at the Helix Nebula captures new details of the cycle of stellar life and death
When will we see the universe’s first stars?
The James Webb Space Telescope should soon be able to spot the first generation of stars in space
For Stars, It’s Not Easy Being Green
Stars emit lots of green light, but our eyes don’t let us see them that way
‘Little Red Dots’ Spied by JWST May Be Baby Black Holes in Disguise
Puzzling red spots in images from the James Webb Space Telescope are probably young supermassive black holes obscured by dense cocoons of gas
The Year in the Sky: 2026’s Most Noteworthy Celestial Events
Total eclipses, lunar occultations, planetary conjunctions and meteor showers await stargazers this year
This Newly Discovered Asteroid, Almost Half a Mile Wide, Just Set a New Speed Record
A giant asteroid has sent astronomers into a spin, setting a record for how fast it rotates on its axis
Weird, Wobbling Black Hole Jets Can Shape Entire Galaxies
A wobbling jet from a giant, voracious black hole is suppressing star formation in a distant galaxy—and astronomers have never seen anything quite like it before
The First-Ever Private Space Telescope Could Launch before Decade’s End
Bigger than Hubble and launching as soon as 2029, the Lazuli Space Observatory would be the first-ever full-scale private space telescope