Astronomy

Astronomy

how many planets
From size to mass to density and more, each world in our Solar System is unique. When we compare them, the results are truly shocking.
Dark matter's hallmark is that it gravitates, but shows no sign of interacting under any other force. Does that mean we'll never detect it?
perseid meteor shower mt lemmon adam block
Peaking on the night of August 11/12, up to 100 bright meteors per hour will be visible. Here's how to make the most of it.
lunar horizon glow clementine
Earth, the only rocky planet with a large, massive satellite, is greatly affected by the Moon. Destroying it would cause 7 major changes.
Image of a galaxy cluster with a purple haze showing dark matter, surrounded by numerous distant stars and galaxies against the dark backdrop of space.
How do normal matter and dark matter separate by so much when galaxy clusters collide? Astronomers find the surprising, unexpected answer.
Illustration of radio telescopes detecting propylene oxide molecules in space, against a star-filled galaxy background.
Such discoveries help researchers better understand the development of molecular complexity in space during star formation.
Webb’s image of NGC 1512 shows a face-on barred spiral galaxy anchored by its central region, which is circular and shows a bright white point at the center with blue and yellow circles around it. The galaxy’s large bar is crossed by filamentary dust lanes that extend diagonally to the top left and bottom right. The bar is connected to a dense oval-shaped ring of orange spiral arms that start at the edges of the bar
In July of 2022, the first science images from JWST were unveiled. Two years later, it's changed our view of the Universe.
JWST deep field vs hubble
From inside our Solar System, zodiacal light prevents us from seeing true darkness. From billions of miles away, New Horizons finally can.
A large astronomical observatory, featuring the futuristic dome structure of an ELT, stands majestically in a desert landscape. A small red vehicle is visible near the base of the observatory.
The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will have a light-collecting power 10 times greater than today's best telescope.
Black and white sketch of a bald man with a long beard, wearing a suit and bow tie, looking to his left.
Adams was infamously scooped when Neptune was discovered in 1846. His failure wasn't the end, but a prelude to a world-changing discovery.
For its 2-year science anniversary, JWST has revealed unprecedented details in "the Penguin and the Egg." Here are the surprises inside.
dark energy accelerated expansion
Just 13.8 billion years after the hot Big Bang, we can see objects up to 46.1 billion light-years away. No, this doesn't violate relativity.
An illustration of a black hole surrounded by countless colorful stars in space, with several green lines indicating orbital paths around the black hole.
We know of stellar mass and supermassive black holes, but intermediate mass ones have long proved elusive. Until now.
Voyager 1
On a cosmic scale, our existence seems insignificant and inconsequential. But from another perspective, humans are completely remarkable.
A bright star shining in a dark sky filled with numerous smaller stars. The larger star appears at the center with a noticeable twinkle effect.
The standard picture of our Universe is that it's dominated by dark matter and dark energy. But this alternative is also worth considering.
fireworks
From the explosions themselves to their unique and vibrant colors, the fireworks displays we adore require quantum physics.
5000 exoplanets
The structure of our Solar System has been known for centuries. When we finally started finding exoplanets, they surprised everyone.
Einstein with his class of students in 1896
There are many things that separate science from ideology, politics, philosophy, or religion. Follow these 10 commandments to get it right.
The last infant stars are finishing their formation inside these pillars of gas. The evaporation of those columns is almost complete.
A series of sun positions during sunset over a landscape, with trees in the foreground and mountains in the background, creating a pattern of glowing points in the sky.
Sure, there's less daylight during winter than summer, as your hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun. But darkness goes deeper than that.
moon two faces
The near and far sides of the Moon are so different from each other, and no one is sure why. New lunar samples could confirm a wild theory.
A spacecraft hovers near a bright ring of light in space, surrounded by misty rays and a vast, dark background.
This research team is working out how to detect extraterrestrial cells in the liquid water ocean hidden beneath Enceladus’s icy crust.
All telescopes are fundamentally limited in what they can see. JWST reveals more distant galaxies than Hubble, but still can't see them all.
An artist's impression of a cluster of stars.
There was a time where no starlight was visible throughout the entire cosmos. That time was short-lived: shorter than astronomers imagined.
Image of a large industrial machine with a green cylindrical component and a long metal rod inside a red and gray structure.
CERN's NA64 experiment used a high-energy muon beam technique to advance the elusive search for dark matter, offering new hope for solving one of astronomy's greatest mysteries.
The sharpest optical images, for now, come from the Hubble Space Telescope. A ground-based technique can make images over 100 times sharper.
how many planets
From the coldest planets to spacecraft that have exited the Solar System, these little-known facts stump even many professional astronomers.
universe temperature
Although the Big Bang occurred at an instant in time long ago, we still see the light from it. Will the evidence ever disappear completely?
Known as hypervelocity stars, we originally thought just one would be ejected every 100,000 years. The real number is much greater.
A vibrant solar flare erupts from the Sun's surface, showcasing sun activity in 2024 and emitting bright ultraviolet light in this detailed astrophotograph.
Northern lights in the American South, clusters of huge geomagnetic storms—the Sun is throwing a tantrum right on schedule.