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solar eclipse

Look up throughout the year to catch a wide array of astronomical sights.

Don’t Miss These Ten Celestial Events in 2026, From Aligned Planets to a Total Solar Eclipse

The upcoming year will offer a blood-red moon, spectacular meteor showers and the first glimpse of the sun’s corona since April 2024

Concentric star trails glow behind a single dragon's blood tree, an otherworldly species native to Yemen's Socotra island.

Check Out Ten Spectacular Space Images From the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Contest

The annual competition for professional and amateur astrophotographers released its shortlisted images, which capture the beauty of the cosmos seen from Earth

The sun’s corona on May 23, 2025, as imaged by the ASPIICS coronagraph aboard Proba-3. The hair-like structures appeared with the help of an image processing algorithm.

See the Beauty of an Artificial Solar Eclipse, Created With a First-of-Its-Kind, ‘Perfect’ Satellite Formation

Two satellites’ highly precise alignment allows scientists to study the sun’s outer atmosphere like never before

Divers found the Antikythera mechanism in a shipwreck in 1900.

New Research

How Well Did the Mysterious Antikythera Mechanism Actually Work?

Historians think the 2,000-year-old device was used to predict the positions of celestial bodies. A new digital simulation suggests that its gears may have frequently malfunctioned

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

A "diamond ring" appears around the Earth, as seen by the Blue Ghost lander on the moon.

See Last Week’s Stunning Eclipse From the Moon in Photos Captured by the Blue Ghost Lander, Now at the End of Its Mission

The spacecraft carried out the longest commercial operation on the moon to date—and also made history during its rare chance to document this celestial event

Athena launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday.

Athena Spacecraft Launches to the Moon, as Intuitive Machines Aims for Historic Second Lunar Landing

The American company achieved the first successful moon landing by a private spacecraft last year. Now, it has sent a new mission to the south pole, carrying science instruments for NASA

Blue Ghost captured an Earth "selfie" from its orbit.

See the First Stunning Images Taken by the Blue Ghost Lunar Lander on Its ‘Scenic Route’ to the Moon

The lander built by Firefly Aerospace has captured incredible views as it orbits Earth. Its next phase is an engine burn that will propel it toward lunar orbit

Find your nearest dark-sky site and mark your calendars for these stunning astronomical spectacles in 2025.

11 Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2025, From a Total Lunar Eclipse to Rare Planetary Alignments

Keep your eyes on the sky this upcoming year for a chance to spot breathtaking meteor showers, a special view of Saturn and a blood-red moon

Stories in a wide variety of scientific disciplines made our list this year.

The Ten Most Significant Science Stories of 2024

From a total solar eclipse that captivated our continent to record temperatures that scorched the planet, these were the biggest moments of the year

One of the four newly translated cuneiform tablets

Newly Deciphered, 4,000-Year-Old Cuneiform Tablets Used Lunar Eclipses to Predict Major Events

Ancient Babylonians linked astronomical phenomena to pestilence, the death of kings and the destruction of empires

Tens of millions of people watched Monday's total solar eclipse.

When Are the Next Solar Eclipses? 2026 Promises Totality in Europe, While Much of America Has a Decades-Long Wait

The next total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous U.S. won’t take place until August 23, 2044—but eclipse chasers will have other opportunities to experience totality before that

The diamond ring effect is seen as the moon eclipses the sun over Fort Worth on April 8.

These 15 Photos Show How the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Captivated the Nation

From Texas to Maine, millions of Americans looked up and were spellbound by the spectacular phenomenon

Phases of the 2017 total solar eclipse, captured from Farewell Bend State Recreation Area in Oregon.

Watch the Total Solar Eclipse From Your Home With These Live Streams Online

Not in the path of totality? See the moon blot out the sun, revealing its magnificent corona, from your computer or phone

Wide-ranging anecdotal reports and studies suggest many animals respond to a total solar eclipse, whether by showing anxiety, performing nighttime behaviors or doing something unexpected.

How Do Animals React to a Total Solar Eclipse? Scientists Document Strange and Surprising Behaviors

Nature enthusiasts work with researchers to figure out how creatures respond to the celestial phenomenon

The six inmates who filed the lawsuit come from different religious backgrounds but agree that the total solar eclipse is significant to their beliefs.

Six New York Inmates Successfully Sue to Watch the Total Solar Eclipse

The state’s prison agency settled a lawsuit with the incarcerated men, allowing them to watch the eclipse on religious grounds. But for now, the rest of New York’s correctional facilities will remain locked down on April 8

American video artist Brian Fridge created a five-billboard series in Dallas called View Finder that portrayed a solar eclipse.

The Long History of Art Inspired by Solar Eclipses

For centuries, curious artists have been trying to make sense of the celestial event

Approaching a total eclipse in Queensland, Australia, November 2012

What Indigenous Cultures From Around the World Believe About Eclipses

A Smithsonian folklorist looks back and finds stories that explain how a darkening of daytime skies provokes a foreboding of evil

Furnished with permission from the British to cross into their waters, Samuel Williams set sail for Penobscot Bay in south-central Maine, which he thought was within a solar eclipse's path of totality.

Untold Stories of American History

The Eclipse Chaser Who Led an Expedition Behind Enemy Lines During the Revolutionary War

In 1780, astronomer Samuel Williams journeyed to British-controlled territory to view a total solar eclipse

The solar eclipse’s path of totality stretches across North America in a roughly 115-mile-long band, from Mexico to Canada.

Listen Live to the Total Solar Eclipse, Transformed Into a Real-Time Musical Composition

A composer based at San Francisco’s Exploratorium museum will use data coming from the eclipsed sun to create an out-of-this-world “sonification” on April 8

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