Space News & Blog Articles

Vega culminates at the zenith around the end of twilight. Arcturus and the Dipper sink through the evening. Saturn and Jupiter rule the late-night hours, and Venus shines at dawn.

Daylight hours are getting shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, which means the hours for stargazing are getting longer throughout September! So stream or download this month’s Sky Tour astronomy podcast for lots of great tips on what you can see this month in the evening sky.

What will the ongoing El Niño event do to the chance of cloud cover along the 2024 total solar eclipse track?

The asteroid Bennu is a so-called rubble pile, but new results from NASA's OSIRIS-Rex mission indicate this heap of rubble has layers.

They’re powerful, they’re fast, and we aren’t sure about what causes them, but astronomers are closer than ever to understanding the source of mysterious fast radio bursts.

Saturn comes to opposition. Vega crests at the zenith, while Arcturus is exploring the lower west. Go out before the first light of dawn now, and there's your New Year's evening view.

Nearly 30 years of observations indicate that Neptune’s clouds and brightness vary with the Sun’s activity.

Comet Nishimura is quickly brightening in the morning sky and may be faintly visible with the naked eye next month. And on August 24th observers in North America will be treated to an occultation of Antares.

In a first, India’s Chandrayaan 3 soft-lands in the lunar south pole region of the Moon.

It’s time to make a plan for totality. On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible from within a path some 100 miles wide across Mexico, 14 […]

Astronomers may have spotted a supermassive black hole in the early universe that formed when a gargantuan gas cloud imploded.

An unusual star system that brightens and fades every month might have giant plasma waves breaking on its surface.

The waxing Moon passes Spica and then will occult Antares for much of North America. Saturn reaches opposition this week. The Andromegasus Dipper scoops up as summer wanes.

Astronomers have found a star that has a magnetic field rivaling the strongest magnet humans have ever built — and it might explain the origin of highly magnetic cinders known as magnetars.

There are two solar eclipses every year — so why are they so rare?

The near-term haze of climate disasters obscures our possible futures. But long-term trends leave room for optimism.

Mud cracks are evidence for sustained wet-dry cycles on ancient Mars, which might have provided conditions amenable to life (with caveats).

The launch of Russia’s Luna 25 lander heralds the nation’s return to lunar and planetary exploration.

The Perseid meteors come rushing in, and peak Perseid night ends with the waning crescent Moon triangulating with Castor and Pollux. Vega and Sagittarius culminate after dark. Scorpius lays itself down.

This week, James Webb Space Telescope reveals new details in the Ring Nebula and shows that the most distant known star isn't alone. Meanwhile, patient astronomers have collected 17 years' worth of images of the super-Jupiter Beta Pictoris b.

The Perseids are here! With no Moon to spoil the show it's time to break out the lawn chairs, sit back, and watch the comet dust fly.