Solar system

The “magnitude scale” for measuring stellar brightness also reveals the limits of naked-eye stargazing

Scientists are gearing up for a high-stakes finale to OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to snare a sample from an asteroid

Revisiting the precious lunar samples on Earth suggests that some areas of the moon’s surface might be older than scientists once thought

This week—and any time there’s a new crescent moon—the lunar night is a little less dark, thanks to the bright reflected light of Earth

Get to know the stellar trio behind one of the most iconic sights in summer’s night sky

“If, by some chance, there’s another being out there that might connect to it, I wanted them to know that regardless of how it may seem sometimes, we love this Earth,” says poet Ada Limón about her poem

Our planet’s not-quite-circular orbit means that on July 6 we’ll be about 2.5 million kilometers farther from the sun than average—but we won’t feel any colder

For most of us, aliens are a source of mystery and fun, which keeps them forever in vogue

Privately owned space colonies are more likely to be totalitarian nightmares than libertarian utopias

Professional and amateur astronomers alike are hoping that Comet C/2023 A3 will sparkle in Earth’s skies in the fall of 2024, although comets are notoriously difficult to predict

The wildfire smoke that smothered the U.S. Northeast last week has surprising connections to astrophysics—and to the historic search for our place in the cosmos

Here’s how the winners of NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge are making food out of thin air