News from Astronomy

Your source for the latest news on planets, stars, galaxies, cosmology, observing events, space missions, and more.

Latest Astronomy News

An image of a pile of rocks on Mars. The soil around the rocks is a terra cotta color and the rocks in the middle of the image feature yellow crystals on the edges.

Robotic Spaceflight, Space Exploration

A lucky break revealed a surprise inside a martian rock

Eileen Collins, mission commander, looks over a checklist on the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1999. Credit: NASA.

Human Spaceflight, Science, Space Exploration

Eileen Collins burst through the glass ceiling aboard the space shuttle

A Full Moon in July, 2016.

Observing, Science, The Moon

2024 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases

The gegenschein rests at the tip of the dimmer pyramidal-shaped false zodiacal light.

The mysteries behind the gegenschein

This artist’s impression shows a Jupiter-like exoplanet that is on its way to becoming a hot Jupiter — a large, Jupiter-like exoplanet that orbits very close to its star. Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da SilvaCredit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva.

Exoplanets, Science

Astronomers catch a planet changing into a hot Jupiter

A composite image of Titan taken by Cassini. Credit: NASA.

Science, Solar System

Oceans on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, likely have tiny waves

LHC at CERN

Is there a hottest temperature possible in the universe?

Folklore meets science in this search for the ‘sounds’ of the northern lights

A portion of the Large Hadron Collider. Credit: ATLAS Experiment at CERN/Flickr.

How to reboot the Large Hadron Collider

Neutron stars are incredibly dense objects about 10 miles (16 km) across. Only their immense gravity keeps the matter inside from exploding; if you brought a spoonful of neutron star to Earth, the lack of gravity would cause it to expand rapidly.

Exotic Objects, Science

What would happen if a tablespoonful of a neutron star was brought to Earth?

Omega Centauri

Hubble spots likely intermediate-mass black hole in Omega Centauri

An artistic impression of a terraformed Mars. Credit: National Geographic/YouTube.

Human Spaceflight, Science, Space Exploration

Is it possible to make Mars like Earth?

The Mare Tranquillitatis skylight spans 65 meters and clearly shows the rubble strewn floor 120 feet (36 meters) below the surface. Credit: Arizona State University.

Science, Space Exploration

Lunar lava tube could shelter a future Moon base

Johnstown meteorite

Science, Solar System

Colorado town throws 100th birthday party for pet space rock

The vendor room at AIC was always an exciting place where amateur astronomers could ogle the latest in imaging technology. Credit: Michael E Bakich.

The legacy of the Advanced Imaging Conference

A colorful shot of the Orion Nebula, created by blending multiple sets of long exposures. Credit: Alan Dyer

Science, Telescopes and Equipment

The best telescopes for deep space viewing

Science, Solar System

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9: The backstory and its impact

galaxy cluster Abell 2744 as seen by JWST and the Chandra X-ray Observatory

Cosmology, Exotic Objects

Astronomers say they’ve spotted the oldest, most distant black hole. How do they know this?

Human Spaceflight

Astronaut and accomplished pilot Joe Engle dies at 91

Human Spaceflight, Science, Space Exploration

Ways to achieve interstellar travel, ranked from least to most likely

NASA FLUTE telescope

Robotic Spaceflight, Science

This NASA project could create staggeringly powerful telescopes

Browse by category

This artist’s conception illustrates one of the most primitive supermassive black holes known (central black dot) at the core of a young, star-rich galaxy. Astronomers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope have uncovered two of these early objects, dating back to about 13 billion years ago. The monstrous black holes are among the most distant known, and appear to be in the very earliest stages of formation, earlier than any observed so far. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Science

Explore the science of space, from the astrophysics of stars to the ultimate fate of the universe.

Credit: Tim Doucette.

Observing

Learn about upcoming observing events such as eclipses, meteor showers, comets, conjunctions, and more.

This 2016 Curiosity rover selfie shows the vehicle at the “Okoruso” drilling site on Mount Sharp’s Naukluft Plateau. The Martian scene is a mosaic of images taken with the arm-mounted Mars Hands Lens Imager (MAHLI). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Space Exploration

Human and robotic missions are helping humanity explore our solar system and beyond.

Sky This Week

Full Buck Moon

The Sky This Week from July 19 to 26: Stand under the Full Buck Moon

Sky This Month

Mars and Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) in Taurus

What’s in the sky this month? Look for Mercury and Venus in the evening, then Neptune, Mars, Uranus, and Jupiter

Picture of the Day

Bird of many names

Katelyn Beecroft from London, Ontario, Canada

M17 in Sagittarius is popularly called the Swan Nebula or the Omega Nebula, though it also goes by Checkmark Nebula and the Horseshoe Nebula. The resemblance to a swan is much stronger with visual observations, yielding an unmistakable swanlike profile. This SHORGB image was taken over 4.5 hours with a 2.8-inch f/5.6 refractor.

Product Recommendations

Visit The Space Store