Galaxies

Growing swarms of spacecraft in orbit are outshining the stars, and scientists fear no one will do anything to stop it

Revised calibrations for the James Webb Space Telescope’s instruments are bedeviling researchers studying the distant universe

A controversial new theory suggests the Milky Way galaxy’s arms sent comets hurtling toward early Earth, where impacts built new continental crust

The James Webb Space Telescope’s first images of the distant universe shocked astronomers. Is the discovery of unimaginably distant galaxies a mirage or a revolution?

“Decolonizing” the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) could boost its chances of success, says science historian Rebecca Charbonneau

Webb sees through dust and gas into regions out of reach of optical telescopes such as Hubble, revealing new galaxy views

Astronomers and the public alike are delighting in the glittering depths of the universe revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope

Deep-field images of “empty” regions of the sky from JWST and other space telescopes are revealing more of the universe than we ever thought possible

Breathtaking pictures that include the deepest-ever infrared view of ancient galaxies offer a preview of the spectacular science in store for the most powerful space observatory in history

A new galaxy-packed picture from the James Webb Space Telescope offers a chance to rekindle our wonder about the universe

Jane Rigby, Webb’s operations project scientist, discusses how NASA plans to wring as much science as possible from the $10-billion observatory

The latest data release from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission is sparking a frenzy of exciting new astrophysics research