Space News & Blog Articles

The ecliptic, simply put, is the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. It extends beyond that to include the seven other planets.

Something we take for granted about the crescent Moon's appearance may be nothing more than an optical illusion.

What kind of planets are likely to ensnare comets coming in from the icy outer reaches of a planetary system?

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Blazars, the gas-guzzling black holes at the center of galaxies, could make most of the tiny particles known as neutrinos we catch on Earth.

Scientists have observed pulses from a fast radio burst, suggesting the flash might have come from a neutron star.

Astronomers have found a dormant black hole orbiting a massive blue star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.

It's tiny. It's challenging. But you won't get the chance to see Iapetus transit the globe of Saturn again until 2037!

The waning Moon says hi to late-night Saturn, the Teapot starts tilting, the Great Square thrusts up, and the Milky Way arches high.

Scientists knew the asteroid Bennu was likely a rubble pile rather than solid rock, but OSIRIS-REX's recent visit surprised them in showing just how loosely the asteroid really is.

The James Webb Space Telescope released its first science images today. Here's what these images show us.

The James Webb Space Telescope's first year of observations promises to reveal exoplanet atmospheres and surfaces, infant galaxies, and maybe even the first black holes.

The first run of a new dark matter experiment turns up nothing — but that still tells us something.

July is Scorpius season. Maybe you know of the Cat's Eyes in the Scorpion's tail, but how about the Little Cat's Eyes in the Scorpion's body? The Sagittarius Teapot follows not far behind.

Can stargazing make you a better person?

New research shows how black holes with tens of thousands of Suns' worth of mass can form in the universe's early years.

Pick one or see them all. July offers a potpourri of celestial events for both naked-eye observers and telescope users that include a rare occultation by Saturn's moon Titan, a bright comet, and Mira at maximum.

X-ray observations add to growing evidence that the most massive black holes have a different past than their lightweight peers.

Stellar mergers in quadruple systems might be common, a new study shows.

The Moon waxes across the evening sky from Leo to Scorpius. The five-planet lineup in the dawn is now four. And amateur astronomers plan to be recording as Saturn's hazy moon Titan occult a star about as bright as Titan itself for most of North America.

July offers lots of pretty stars and constellations to check out, and you’ll get a personally guided tour of them by downloading this month’s Sky Tour astronomy podcast.