Astronomy
How Pluto Got Its Name
New Horizons carries an instrument named for Venetia Burney, the 11-year-old girl who named Pluto
Here’s What the Sun Looks Like Through an X-Ray Telescope
All of the wonder of Earth’s closest star, none of the retinal damage
See Three of Saturn’s Moons Pose in a Family Photo
While in orbit, Cassini captures a stunning shot of three crescents
How Do Scientists Weigh a Supermassive Black Hole?
A new method puts the mass of one black hole at 140 million times the mass of our Sun
There Will Be an Extra Week of Summer This Year
Cultural summer ensures 106 days of fun in the sun
One Man's Lifelong Pursuit of Pluto is About to Get Real
When the New Horizons spacecraft races by the quasi-planetary body, Alan Stern will have finally met his match
Ask Smithsonian: How Many Rings Does Saturn Have?
The age, origin and purpose of Saturn's rings have mystified scientists since the days of Galileo
The Heart of the Hawaiian Peoples' Arguments Against the Telescope on Mauna Kea
Native Hawaiians are not protesting science, but instead are seeking respect for sacred places, and our planet
Behind the Scenes of the Last Mission to Repair the Hubble Space Telescope
Photographer Michael Soluri shares an intimate look at the team that saved the iconic observatory
There Might Really Be a Planet X, Lurking Beyond Pluto
The far reaches of our own solar system could contain worlds undiscovered.
Why Astronomers Are Fighting Back Against Robotic Lawnmowers
It’s a feud fueled by radio frequencies
Escape From the Black Hole’s Abyss!
An object called G2—previously believed to be a gas cloud—narrowly slipped from the clutches of a supermassive black hole
Hawaiians Are Protesting Construction of the World’s Largest Telescope
Native Hawai'ian activists say the volcano-top project is damaging sacred lands
Every Year Spring Gets 30 Seconds Shorter
But the good news is that summer will be that much longer thanks to some peculiarities in how the Earth moves
Catch a Glimpse of the Zodiacal Light Show This Month
For some in the northern hemisphere, a celestial treat sometimes referred to as “false dusk” is lighting up the night
Bet You Didn’t Know About the Earth’s "Second Moon"
Even astronomers didn’t realize it was following the Earth until 1997
Stars Have Womb Siblings
Four baby stars, still gestating in their parental gas cloud, move together - for now at least
Pulsing Stars Flicker in a Pattern Close to the Golden Ratio
The famed ratio, which shows up in art, architecture and nature, can also be found in space
These Five Earth-sized Planets Are Super Old
Kepler-444 is 11.2 billion years old and its five planets could tell us about planet formation in the early universe
Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism, the First Computer
Hidden inscriptions offer new clues to the origins of a mysterious astronomical mechanism
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