New Horizons May Have Solved Planet-Formation Cold Case
An encounter with Arrokoth at the outskirts of the solar system offers the best evidence yet for how worlds coalesce from dust
Stories by Lee Billings
Bizarre Cosmic Dance Offers Fresh Test for General Relativity
Scientists have detected relativistic frame dragging, a prediction of Einstein’s greatest theory, around a distant pair of exotic stars
The Curious Case of Proxima C
Astronomers continue to gather evidence for a second world around the sun’s nearest neighboring star
Record-Breaking Gamma Rays Reveal Secrets of the Universe’s Most Powerful Explosions
Two teams of astronomers using ground-based telescopes to study gamma-ray bursts have detected the highest-energy light ever seen from celestial sources
Inside the World’s First Underground Gravitational-Wave Detector
Japan’s KAGRA observatory set to begin operations by the end of 2019
Proposed Interstellar Mission Reaches for the Stars, One Generation at a Time
Starting in the early 2030s, the project could become our first purposeful step out of the solar system—if it launches at all
Space Archaeologist Probes History in Orbit
Alice Gorman argues for preserving more of humanity’s off-world heritage
Astronomers Find Water on an Exoplanet Twice the Size of Earth
Water vapor in the skies of the world K2-18 b may make it “the best candidate for habitability” presently known beyond our solar system
Interview: The Once and Future Moon
Oliver Morton discusses his new book about how art, science and politics have shaped past, present and planned voyages to Earth’s nearest celestial neighbor
Did a Meteor from Another Star Strike Earth in 2014?
Questionable data cloud the potential discovery of the first known interstellar fireball
A Second Planet May Orbit Earth’s Nearest Neighboring Star
Informally called “Proxima c,” the candidate world appears to be six times the mass of Earth and orbits in the frigid outskirts of the Proxima Centauri system
Israeli Spacecraft Fails to Make First Private Lunar Landing
Private organization SpaceIL’s Beresheet lander crashes down on the moon following engine and communications problems
At Last, a Black Hole’s Image Revealed
The Event Horizon Telescope captures one of the universe’s most mysterious objects
Atheism Is Inconsistent with the Scientific Method, Prizewinning Physicist Says
In conversation, the 2019 Templeton Prize winner does not pull punches on the limits of science, the value of humility and the irrationality of nonbelief
‘Oumuamua, Our First Interstellar Visitor, May Have Been a Comet After All
New research flags jets of water vapor—rather than alien technology—as the source of the mysterious object’s anomalous motions
Lunar De-Light! How to View 2019’s Sole Total Eclipse of the Moon
On January 20, stargazers across the Americas will have stunning views of a historic celestial event
Finding Alien Life May Require Giant Telescopes Built in Orbit
Scientific American reports on new efforts from NASA and other federal agencies seeking to service and assemble large structures—such as life-finding telescopes—in space...
A Frozen Super-Earth May Orbit Barnard’s Star
At just six light years away, the candidate planet would be the second-closest world known beyond our solar system—and a prime target for future studies
The Milky Way's Monster, Unveiled
Astronomers have come closer than ever before to seeing our galaxy’s mysterious supermassive black hole
Clara Is a Story of Exoplanets, Existential Longing—and Real Science
A conversation with the director and a science advisor behind a new film on the search for extraterrestrial life
