NASA’s Roman Space Telescope will begin its revolutionary mission in September
Ahead of schedule and under budget, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will launch in early September. The mission aims to map the universe in unprecedented detail
The solar system’s first solids formed in a rush
Rather than slowly condensing over millions of years, the first building blocks of Earth and other planets may have formed rapidly in a chaotic disk at the dawn of the solar system
Astronomers witness the birth of a new solar system
The decades since scientists confirmed the first planet around another star have been rich in discovery, but it’s rare to see a new solar system as it forms
How far are we from finding exomoons and exorings?
Although astronomers have found thousands of exoplanets, the number of confirmed exomoons—and exorings—is still zero. But that may soon change
See the rosy glow of Uranus in its full 3D glory
Fresh observations from the James Webb Space Telescope show how vivid auroras surge through Uranus’s tilted magnetic field
‘Inside-out’ planetary system perplexes astronomers
Four worlds around a small, dim star are challenging theories of planet formation
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
Alien Comets Swarm around Other Stars
Comets don’t just orbit our sun. “Exocomets” are common around other stars in the galaxy, too
Have Astronomers Finally Found an Exomoon?
Data from the James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories suggests a supervolcanic exomoon may lurk around the giant exoplanet WASP-39b
After 30 Years of Discovery, These Are Astronomers’ Top Five Exoplanetary Systems
Space scientists look back on three decades of exoplanet discoveries—from rows of massive ‘super-Earths‘ to worlds with perfectly synchronized orbits
NASA’s First-Ever Alien-Hunting Space Telescope Could Enlighten Our New Dark Age
The Habitable Worlds Observatory is poised to tell us whether Earth-like planets are common—if it can get off the ground
This Blazing Exoplanet Breaks All the Rules about Alien Atmospheres, JWST Finds
Hot, small and old—exoplanet TOI-561 b is just about the worst place to look for alien air. Scientists using JWST found it there anyway