Astronomy

This planet triggers flares on its star—spelling its ultimate doom

Astronomers have never had this much data available this quickly before

Close stellar encounters could change the structure of our planetary system, potentially dooming Earth or other worlds to oblivion

Recent observations have revealed carbon monoxide venting from the largest comet ever seen, providing clues about its origins in the mysterious depths of the outer solar system

Astronomy fans can zoom in practically forever into the stunning first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Gaia, Europe’s Milky Way–mapping spacecraft, shut down earlier this year. It was arguably the most important—and most overlooked—astronomy project of the 21st century

After black holes devour stars, sometimes the feast comes back up

A near-complete census of our interstellar neighborhood hopes to answer how stars, brown dwarfs and rogue planets form throughout the universe

The game-changing Vera C. Rubin Observatory will collect more astronomical data in its first year than all other telescopes combined

A curious celestial phenomenon known as the analemma is a reflection of Earth’s orbit and tilted axis

Scientists are rallying to reverse ruinous proposed cuts to both NASA and the National Science Foundation

Telescopes in space give us a view we literally cannot get from the ground