Astronomy

Gauging the mass of a black hole is tricky, but astronomers have devised multiple methods to measure the heft of these galactic gluttons

A swarm of galaxies called the Bullet Cluster is the biggest, best natural laboratory for studying dark matter that astronomers have ever seen

A monumental sign of an atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1e could be the precursor to finally finding a living world around another star

Our understanding of cosmology hinges on how well we know our own local universe, which remains poorly mapped and poorly understood

Superluminal velocities are common but illusory

Overcoming three recent failed tries, Elon Musk’s rocket company successfully flew its reusable jumbo booster and upper-stage Starship spacecraft

Fresh results from near-infrared instruments foretell a bright future for finding life elsewhere in the Milky Way

The 60-meter asteroid 2024 YR4 has a 4 percent chance of hitting the moon. Could such a lunar collision create a dangerous new meteor shower?

Using the powerful James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have spotted a moon nestled near Uranus’s rings that’s so small you could walk around it

The search for extraterrestrial life has periodically been turned upside down

Neptune’s discovery was a race that ended not long after this magazine came to be

The Perseids are the best annual meteor shower, but this year’s show will be dimmed by a bright gibbous moon