Staring up into the night sky, it's easy to be overwhelmed by the seemingly infinite expanse of space, with every pinprick of light in the vast canopy of darkness a star holding secrets forged by 13.8 billion years of the universe's existence. And yet, despite its great age and the unfathomable distance between us and even our nearest neighbor, through the study of astronomy we are able to understand more about the world beyond our atmosphere.
Join our expert writers and editors as we reveal the greatest mysteries in cosmology, such as how black holes form, and explore celestial bodies like exoplanets and nebulas, that are scattered throughout our universe. You will also discover how scientists are pushing the boundaries of space exploration using observatories like the James Webb Space Telescope with the latest astronomy news, features and articles.
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Latest about Astronomy
NASA's Hubble and Chandra telescopes discover a strange 'sideways' black hole in a cosmic crime scene
What knocked this black hole over onto its side? It's a cosmic "whodunnit" that NASA scientists using the Hubble and Chandra space telescopes are trying to solve.
The fabric of the universe is 'lopsided', huge gravitational wave mapping study finds
A new effort to map the rumblings in spacetime caused by enormous black hole collisions paints a surprisingly loud and lopsided picture of the universe.
Astronomers spot an enormous explosion from the 1st black hole ever photographed
A massive, energetic jet from Virgo A could help scientists understand how matter behaves around a black hole.
Auroras could light up the skies on Christmas, thanks to a powerful solar flare heading toward Earth
A display of auroras is expected to light up the skies on Christmas Day, thanks to a powerful M8.9 solar flare enroute to Earth.
'Like nothing we've seen before': James Webb telescope spies a mysterious asteroid-comet hybrid lurking past Jupiter
The James Webb telescope has focused its attention on an oddball space rock lurking between Jupiter and Neptune. The unusual "centaur," named 2060 Chiron, has features of both comets and asteroids.
Is the moon a planet?
The moon is a round, rocky body, but is it a planet? The answer, scientists say, is complicated.
'There's no real competitor': Theoretical physicist Marika Taylor on how black holes could help us to find a theory of everything
An artist's abstract illustration of cosmic strings.
10 supercharged solar storms that blew us away in 2024
The sun's most active phase, solar maximum, officially arrived in 2024, triggering some explosive solar storms and colorful auroras. Here are 10 of our favorite solar outbursts this year.
'Mathematically perfect' star system discovered 105 light-years from Earth may still be in its infancy. Could that change its prospects for life?
Once thought to be 8 billion years old, the star HD 110067 — famous for its six synchronized exoplanets — may be only 2.5 billion years old, new research suggests.
