Neutron Star Collisions Create Gold
Astrophysicists searching for gravitational waves have finally learned what happens when you crash two neutron stars together--and it's very, very shiny.
Stories by Lee Billings
Gravitational Wave Astronomers Hit Mother Lode
Spacetime ripples from a stellar cataclysm in a distant galaxy help explain the cosmic origins of gold, and chart the course for a new age of “multi-messenger” astronomy
Astronomers Are Finally Mapping the “Dark Side” of the Milky Way
Half of our home galaxy is terra incognita. That will soon change
China's Huge Investments in Science Are Starting to Pay Off
Seeing a chance to lead, China is deploying clean energy, quantum satellites and genomics
New Telescope "Gives Back the Sky" to City-Dwellers
Any astronomy buff will tell you about the first time they looked through a telescope. What many of them won’t say, though, is how disappointing those first looks can be.
The Future of Gravitational Wave Astronomy
Fully opening this new window on the universe will take decades—even centuries
Galaxies Far, Far Away Send Us Highest-Energy Cosmic Rays
A new study hints that the most energetic particles ever seen come from far beyond the Milky Way.
Cassini's "Grand Finale" Will Be a Blaze of Glory
The Cassini orbiter will burn out, but its legacy won’t fade away
James Webb Space Telescope Surrounded by Rising Floodwaters
Isolated in a giant thermal vacuum chamber, NASA’s $8.6 billion next-generation observatory is riding out the worst of Hurricane Harvey
"The Farthest" Brings NASA's Voyager Missions Back to Earth
A new documentary marks the 40th anniversary of humanity’s most audacious interplanetary spacecraft
The Air out There: Astronomers Aim to Find Atmospheres of Alien Earths
Is our nearest neighboring exoplanet, Proxima b, an "Earth next door," or is it a lifeless rock?
Witness the Solar Eclipse without Frying Your Eyes or Your Camera
America is preparing for a sea-to-shining-sea solar eclipse. Here’s how you can watch the spectacular display, and maybe even snap a photo to commemorate the event, without burning your retinas or damaging your camera’s optics...
Reaching for the Stars, Breakthrough Sends Smallest-Ever Satellites into Orbit
Despite technical glitches and regulatory hurdles, nanosatellite swarms could someday be the cornerstone for revolutionary interplanetary or even interstellar space-science missions
Wandering in the Void, Billions of Rogue Planets without a Home
New results suggest free-floating giant planets are less common than previously believed, but hint at vast numbers of smaller castaway worlds
Juno Delivers Stunning New Views of Great Red Spot
Scientists and the public are dazzled by images from the spacecraft’s close encounter with Jupiter’s largest—and the solar system’s most famous—storm
LHC Physicists Unveil a Charming New Particle
The discovery could offer fresh insight into how fundamental forces bind together subatomic particles
China Shatters "Spooky Action at a Distance" Record, Preps for Quantum Internet
Results from the Micius satellite test quantum entanglement, pointing the way toward hack-proof global communications—and a new space race
LIGO's Latest Black-Hole Merger Confirms Einstein, Challenges Astrophysics
New results from the gravitational wave observatory hint that black holes move in mysterious ways
Who Will Build the World's First Commercial Space Station?
A start-up aims to add new construction to the International Space Station to prep for a private sector orbital outpost
An Alternate History of the Atomic Age
Scientist and author Gregory Benford discusses his latest book, The Berlin Project
