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Astronomers

A partial solar eclipse on June 10, 2021, rises at Lewes Beach in Delaware.

How to Watch a Live Stream of the Rare Sunrise Eclipse on Saturday and Catch a Glimpse of Solar ‘Devil Horns’

Early risers can observe a partial solar eclipse in areas of eastern North America on March 29, given clear skies and proper eye protection

Saturn's iconic rings are not always clearly visible from Earth.

Saturn’s Rings Have ‘Disappeared’ in an Optical Illusion. Here’s Why We See This Temporary Vanishing Act

Every 13 to 15 years, Earth crosses through Saturn’s “ring plane,” making the gas giant’s most iconic feature become nearly invisible

An artist’s rendering of Barnard’s Star, as seen from one of the newly discovered exoplanets orbiting it

Astronomers Find Four New Exoplanets Orbiting a Neighboring Star, the ‘White Whale’ of Planet Seekers

More than 60 years after the first debunked discovery of a planet orbiting Barnard’s Star, the closest single-star system to Earth, a pair of telescopes has revealed multiple rocky worlds around it

Cecelia Payne-Gaposchkin at Harvard College Observatory

A Century Ago, Pioneering Astrophysicist Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin Showed Us What Stars Are Made Of

The trailblazing Harvard scientist, who documented the dominance of hydrogen and helium in stars, is still inspiring researchers today

This is the first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) and released in 2022.

This Comprehensive Guide Will Answer the Questions You Have About Black Holes—and Spark Some New Ones

In a new book release, two scientists combine forces to explain the discoveries, developments and theories made in the realm of the densest objects in space

Don’t let the placid and bland surface fool you—Uranus is a singularly dynamic planet.

The Six Most Amazing Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Uranus

Its bland exterior belies a dynamic world full of surprises

The impact risk associated with asteroid 2024 YR4 rose and fell in the months following its discovery. The red dots represent the possible locations of the space rock on December 22, 2032, while the yellow dot represents its most likely location.

The ‘Riskiest Asteroid Ever’ Is No Longer a Threat as Impact Probability Drops to Near Zero

As astronomers predicted, asteroid 2024 YR4 is not expected to hit Earth in 2032. This week, NASA gave the “all clear”

An artist's illustration portrays the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, known as Sagittarius A*.

James Webb Telescope Reveals a Dazzling Light Show From the Milky Way’s Black Hole

Unpredictable bursts of light are pulsing from the debris surrounding Sagittarius A*, offering new insights into the mysterious behavior of the most massive object in our galaxy

Discovery images of asteroid 2024 YR4, which is highlighted in green

Chance of Asteroid Strike in 2032 Drops Sharply After Record-Setting Rise. Here’s Why It Keeps Changing

NASA announced that asteroid 2024 YR4 now has a 0.28 percent chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but that number is expected to continue shifting with further observations

Looking through a telescope or binoculars can help you see Venus in its crescent phase on Valentine's Day—but the planet is visible to the naked eye.

Venus, the Planet of Love, Will Shine Bright on Valentine’s Day. Here’s How to See It

Around the time of your romantic dinner, head outside and look to the southwest to spot the super brilliant planet in the night sky

The MeerKAT radio telescope, part of a 64-antenna array located in South Africa, was used in the recent detection of long-wavelength gravitational waves.

Astronomers Suspect Colliding Supermassive Black Holes Left the Universe Awash in Gravitational Waves

Radio telescopes tracking signals from spinning, ultra-dense stars point to ripples in the fabric of space

An artist's impression of a generic asteroid.

Astronomers Raise Odds of Asteroid Impact in 2032 to 2.3 Percent—Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Panic

The chance of a newly discovered space rock hitting Earth in about eight years was predicted at 1.6 percent last week. Though that number’s rising, experts say further research could bring it to zero

LEDA 1313424, nicknamed the Bullseye, appears next to the small blue dwarf galaxy on its immediate left.

Check Out NASA’s New Image of the Brilliant Bullseye Galaxy, the Aftermath of a Rare Cosmic Collision

After a blue dwarf galaxy shot through it like an arrow, the large Bullseye now has nine rings—six more than any other galaxy known to scientists

The Tesla Roadster and the mannequin "Starman" on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy upper stage, with Earth in background.

An Amateur Astronomer Seemingly Spotted a New Asteroid. It Turned Out to Be a Tesla in Space

The car, launched in 2018 on a SpaceX rocket’s upper stage, is one of many human-made objects in deep space that could potentially be mistaken for natural celestial bodies

An artist’s visualization of WASP-127b

Astronomers Discover Supersonic Winds on a ‘Puffy’ Exoplanet, Forming a Record-Breaking Jet Stream

Moving at roughly 20,505 miles per hour along the distant world’s equator, it’s the fastest known jet stream that wraps around a planet

A section of the new photomosaic of the Andromeda Galaxy, which features 600 fields of view in total from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Check Out the Hubble Space Telescope’s Stunning New View of the Andromeda Galaxy

The full image includes some 2.5 billion pixels compiled from observations spanning more than 1,000 orbits around Earth

Homeowners found star-shaped debris outside their home on Prince Edward Island, Canada, after a meteorite strike in July.

Cool Finds

Meteorite Crash in Canada Is Caught by Home Security Camera in Likely World-First Video Footage

The space rock—recorded with visuals and sound—landed where the homeowner had been standing just minutes earlier

An artist’s concept of a white dwarf orbiting a supermassive black hole and shedding matter

Astronomers Found Strange, Accelerating X-Ray Pulses Coming From a Black Hole. They Might Be a Sign of an Orbiting White Dwarf

The dense stellar remnant would, if confirmed, be the closest known object to any black hole, according to preliminary research

Craters at Mercury's poles contain permanently shadowed areas that are some of the coldest sites in the solar system, despite their proximity to the sun.

New, Stunning Images of Mercury’s North Pole Will Help Scientists Study the Planet’s Mysterious Permanent Shadows

The BepiColombo spacecraft captured the photographs during its last flyby of Mercury, a maneuver necessary to propel the mission into orbit around the planet

The Quadrantids only last for about six hours, but they're known for producing fireballs, or bright, fiery streaks that persist longer than average meteors.

How to Watch the Quadrantid Meteor Shower, an Intense Spectacle With a Short but Strong Peak

The skyward show will produce many shooting stars from the evening of January 2 into the early morning hours of January 3—here’s how to make the most of the fleeting celestial event

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