Astrophysics

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

Inspired by superconductivity, a strange new theory that seeks to explain dark matter might explain dark energy, too

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

Spacecraft can get a significant boost by stealing energy from planets

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

Researchers have used cosmic explosions called fast radio bursts to illuminate the intergalactic medium

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

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

A celestial object some 15,000 light-years away is emitting bright flashes of radio and X-rays that scientists are struggling to explain

Some stars streaking through the Milky Way at millions of kilometers per hour probably trace back to a supermassive black hole in a neighboring galaxy

The quirks of light moving through gas are the cause of stellar twinkling, which can be a bane—and sometimes a boon—for astronomers