Astronomy

The northern lights, seen from Alaska on October 7, 2024

You Could See Dazzling Auroras Tonight as 'Strong' Solar Storm Hits. Here's What to Know

Predicted to bring the northern lights as far south as parts of California and Alabama, a large coronal mass ejection from the sun collided with our planet Thursday morning

An illustration of a nova similar to T Coronae Borealis shows a binary system of a white dwarf and a red giant orbiting each other.

Astronomers Are Watching for a Once-in-a-Lifetime Nova Explosion. When Will We See It?

A recurrent nova, known as the Blaze Star or T Coronae Borealis, is predicted to soon appear in the night sky. But the exact timing of the rare eruption remains unknown

A Draconid meteor streaks across the sky as the northern lights glow, as seen from north of Stockholm on October 8, 2011.

How to Catch a Glimpse of the Draconid Meteor Shower

While the annual shower usually makes for a sleepy showing, it has been known to produce fantastic outbursts in the past

An illustration of the newly detected exoplanet Barnard b, with the red dwarf Barnard's star in the background.

Astronomers Discover a Small Exoplanet That's Our Cosmic Neighbor at Just Six Light-Years Away

Orbiting Barnard's star, the nearest solo star to Earth, the world is too hot to be habitable—a scorching 257 degrees Fahrenheit

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) on September 28, 2024.

Two Comets Could Be Visible to the Naked Eye This Fall. Here's How to Get the Best View

While expectations are high for some special sightings, experts warn that comets are notoriously fickle and unpredictable

The Milky Way lights up a night sky accented by the bright stars of the “summer triangle.”

How to Find the Ten Brightest Stars in the Night Sky

From Aldebaran to Vega, these gleaming beacons dazzle Northern Hemisphere viewers at various times of the year and provide a useful entry point into amateur astronomy

An illustration of an asteroid and the moon orbiting Earth.

Earth Is Getting a New 'Mini Moon' for the Next Two Months, Astronomers Say

A roughly 33-foot-long asteroid called 2024 PT5 will chart a horseshoe-like path around our planet

An artist’s illustration of the Porphyrion jet pair escaping a black hole and passing through voids in the cosmic web.

Astronomers Discover Record-Breaking Jets Escaping a Black Hole, the Longest Ever Seen

The energetic streams are together 23 million light-years in length—roughly as long as 140 Milky Way galaxies lined end to end

An illustration of Earth with a ring.

Did Earth Once Have a Ring Like Saturn? Geologists Find Evidence for a Halo of Orbiting Space Rocks 466 Million Years Ago

A ring could explain a mysterious arrangement of impact craters near the equator and might even have caused an ice age, according to a new study

Another partial lunar eclipse, like this one from October 2023, will take place in September.

How to See a Stunning Supermoon and Partial Lunar Eclipse on Tuesday

September’s full moon delivers a rare trifecta for lunar enthusiasts: a supermoon, a partial eclipse and a harvest moon

Venus, seen in three views as it approaches a conjunction with Earth and the sun, won the planets, comets and asteroids category.

See 11 Breathtaking Space Images From the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Contest

From a solar eclipse to a dolphin-like nebula, these winning shots by astrophotographers from around the world depict the cosmos in sharp detail

An artist’s concept of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in Earth orbit.

How to Spot NASA's Solar Sail Demonstration Streaking Through the Night Sky

Amateur astronomers can use NASA's mobile app to find the ACS3 for themselves—a reflective satellite that could appear as bright as the star Sirius

The spacecraft offered a clear view of Mercury's south pole while completing its fourth of six flybys.

See New Detailed Photos of Mercury From a Spacecraft's Closest Flyby Yet

BepiColombo, a joint European-Japanese mission, completed its fourth close pass of the innermost planet last week, and it will enter Mercury’s orbit in 2026 to learn more about its mysteries

Jupiter's moon Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and is even wider than the planet Mercury.

An Ancient Asteroid Smashed Into Jupiter's Moon Ganymede and Tipped It Over, Study Finds

The cataclysmic impactor was 20 times the size of the rock that wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth

Catalina Sky Survey's images identifying Asteroid 2024 RW1.

An Asteroid Hit Earth's Atmosphere Today—Here's Why Astronomers Say That's a Good Thing

Asteroid 2024 RW1 was discovered early this morning, marking the ninth time in history that humans have detected an approaching space rock before its impact

The Milky Way lights up the sky over Cathedral Rock in the Coconino National Forest in Sedona, Arizona.

How to See the Milky Way This Weekend

Late August is a great time to observe the dazzling core of our galaxy, and with the upcoming new moon, viewing conditions should be ideal—as long as you're in a very dark area

The remains of the observatory at the ancient Egyptian city of Kafr El-Sheikh

This Massive Egyptian Observatory Is Unlocking Celestial Secrets of an Ancient Culture

The 2,500-year-old building with roots in both science and religion helped track the movement of the sun and stars

An artist's rendition of a magma ocean on a volcanic planet. Scientists have theorized that our moon was covered in a magma ocean for millions of years after it formed.

Our Moon Was Likely Covered in a Magma Ocean Long Ago, and New Data From India's Lunar Rover Supports That Theory

Soil composition measurements from the Chandrayaan-3 mission reveal white rock called ferroan anorthosite, which would have floated to the surface in an ocean of magma

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is seen docked at the ISS. After helium leaks and thruster issues, the craft will make an uncrewed return to Earth.

NASA's Starliner Astronauts Will Return on SpaceX Craft in February, Turning an Eight-Day Mission Into Eight Months on the ISS

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft no longer meets safety standards after experiencing technical issues in June, and it will return to Earth uncrewed, the space agency announced

A scan of a color copy of the original computer printout bearing the Wow! signal, taken several years after the signal's 1977 arrival.

Mysterious 'Wow!' Radio Signal Might Finally Have an Explanation—and No, It's Not Aliens

The infamous signal recorded in 1977 might have been a laser-like beam of radiation from a hydrogen cloud energized by a powerful, magnetic star, preliminary research suggests

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