The Universe

Our galaxy and its nearest large companion, Andromeda, may be headed for a collision on a cosmic scale. What happens then?

There are parts of the universe, and of the electromagnetic spectrum, that we’re not covering with our telescopes—but not as many as you might think!

The problem with Pluto isn’t its planetary or nonplanetary status—it’s our insistence on declaring the world must be one or the other

The Kardashev scale is an interesting but flawed gauge of a civilization’s growth

Subatomic black holes from ancient cosmic history could, in principle, make you have a very bad day. But chances are you’ll never encounter one

All the sun’s planets are oddballs. But some are more so than others

NASA plans to launch a wildly ambitious nuclear-powered octocopter to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in 2028

A single subatomic particle from deep space had the same energy as a baseball pitch, and scientists still don’t know how it got here

Long ago, the cosmos might have been a black hole factory—and these primordial objects are even weirder than you think

Just how big can a star become? The answer depends on when in cosmic history you’re asking the question

Despite years of debate and follow-up studies, an odd streak of cosmic light still defies a final explanation. Is it a giant black hole screaming through intergalactic space?

Satellites are wonders of modern technology that have improved all of our lives. But having more than a million of them in orbit could destroy our view of the heavens and seriously damage our planet