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.
Discover more about astronomy
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—Best telescopes 2024: Beginner and advanced scopes for stars, galaxies and nebulas
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'Never been seen before': First images from new ISS solar telescope reveal subtle 'fluctuations' in sun's outer atmosphere
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A cotton candy nebula glows in Vera C. Rubin Observatory's first close-up image: Space photo of the week
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Does Mars have a moon?
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Farthest 'mini-halo' ever detected could improve our understanding of the early universe
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Listen to the Andromeda galaxy's stars played as musical notes in eerie NASA video
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Why does Mars look purple, yellow and orange in ESA's stunning new satellite image?
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'City killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 could shower Earth with 'bullet-like' meteors if it hits the moon in 2032
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'City killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 could shower Earth with 'bullet-like' meteors if it hits the moon in 2032
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James Webb telescope ups the odds that 'city-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 will hit the moon in 2032
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An 'invisible threat': Swarm of hidden 'city killer' asteroids around Venus could one day collide with Earth, simulations show
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US Representatives worry Trump's NASA budget plan will make it harder to track dangerous asteroids
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NASA's Lucy spacecraft snaps first close-ups of weird peanut-shaped asteroid
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Asteroid 2024 YR4 surprises scientists with 'unusual' shape and could slaphsot the moon
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James Webb telescope takes emergency look at 'city-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 ahead of close encounter in 2032
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'Potentially hazardous' pyramid-size asteroid will make its closest flyby of Earth for more than 100 years this Wednesday
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'That's Zero Folks!': Asteroid 2024 YR4 is no longer a hazard
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This supermassive black hole is eating way too quickly — and 'burping' at near-light speeds
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'Artificial intelligence is not a miracle cure': Nobel laureate raises questions about AI-generated image of black hole spinning at the heart of our galaxy
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Monster black hole jet from the early universe is basking in the 'afterglow' of the Big Bang
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Astronomers discover most powerful cosmic explosions since the Big Bang
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Astronomers simulate a star's final moments as it's swallowed by a black hole: 'Breaks like an egg'
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Monster black hole M87 is spinning at 80% of the cosmic speed limit — and pulling in matter even faster
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Facing steep funding cuts, scientists propose using black holes as particle colliders
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Astronomers discover black hole ripping a star apart inside a galactic collision. 'It is a peculiar event'
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James Webb telescope uncovers new, 'hidden' type of black hole never seen before
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Newly discovered comet SWAN just 'erupted' with a bright, icy burst. Is it a cold volcano?
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Amateur astronomer discovers bright green comet SWAN25F — and you can see it too
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Space photo of the week: The last view of the 'Great Comet of 2025' for half a million years
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Comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS' 'near-death encounter' with the sun may have blown it apart, new photos suggest
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'Totally amazing' astronaut photo captures comet C/2024 G3 ATLAS shooting past Earth from the ISS
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Rare comet could shine bright as Venus as it falls toward the sun: What to expect from Comet ATLAS (C/2024) G3
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Comets played a 'major' role in making life on Earth possible, new study hints
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Mysterious, city-size 'centaur' comet gets 300 times brighter after quadruple cold-volcanic eruption
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'Crumb trails' of meteoroids could reveal potential 'planet-killer' comets years before they reach Earth
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Did light exist at the beginning of the universe?
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James Webb telescope unveils largest-ever map of the universe
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What if the Big Bang wasn't the beginning? New research suggests it may have taken place inside a black hole
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Catastrophic collision between Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies may not happen after all, new study hints
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When will the universe die?
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Gamma-ray bursts reveal largest structure in the universe is bigger and closer to Earth than we knew: 'The jury is still out on what it all means.'
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Universe may revolve once every 500 billion years — and that could solve a problem that threatened to break cosmology
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The universe's 'missing matter' may have finally been found
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Rare quadruple supernova on our 'cosmic doorstep' will shine brighter than the moon when it blows up in 23 billion years
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Ancient meteorite discovered in Antarctica could reveal the true origins of Earth’s water, new study claims
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Eta Aquariids peak tonight: How to see remnants of Halley's comet
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Ancient zircon crystals shed light on 1 billion-year-old meteorite strike in Scotland
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Lyrid meteor shower peaks after Easter: How to spot the most 'shooting stars'
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How a 'mudball' meteorite survived space to land in the jungles of Central America
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'It was so simple': How Antarctica's missing meteorites were discovered using a block of ice, a freezer and a lamp
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Quadrantid meteor shower: How to watch the first 'shooting stars' of 2025 rain over Earth tonight
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Meteor strikes on the moon! Astronomer captures possible Geminid lunar impacts
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Ursid meteor shower 2024: Where and when to see the final meteor shower of the year
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Does Mars have a moon?
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Why does Mars look purple, yellow and orange in ESA's stunning new satellite image?
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James Webb telescope discovers its first planet — a Saturn-size 'shepherd' still glowing red hot from its formation
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Alcohol-soaked star system could help explain 'why life, including us, was able to form'
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Mars rover captures first close-up photos of giant 'spiderwebs' on the Red Planet
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Is Mars really red? A physicist explains the truth.
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JWST spies frigid alien world on bizarre orbit: 'One of the coldest, oldest and faintest planets that we've imaged to date'
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James Webb telescope discovers 'a new kind of climate' on Pluto, unlike anything else in our solar system
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NASA spots Martian volcano twice the height of Mount Everest bursting through the morning clouds: Space photo of the week
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Apollo astronauts discovered the moon is covered in tiny orange glass beads. Now we finally know why.
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'Strawberry Moon' in pictures: Major lunar standstill sees June's full moon hang low in the sky
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When is June's full moon, and why is it called the 'Strawberry Moon'?
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The moon: Facts about our planet's lunar companion
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China is sharing priceless moon samples with international partners, but NASA can't be a part of it
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Our moon may have once been as hellish as Jupiter's super volcanic moon Io
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When is the next full moon?
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China signs deal with Russia to build a power plant on the moon — potentially leaving the US in the dust
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May's full 'Flower Moon' rises tonight
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'Never been seen before': First images from new ISS solar telescope reveal subtle 'fluctuations' in sun's outer atmosphere
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Sun 'hole' expected to produce intense auroras tonight, potentially visible from 15 US states
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Behold! 1st images of artificial solar eclipse captured by ESA's Proba-3 mission
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Summer solstice arrives in North America
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Friday the 13th solar storm could bring auroras to 18 US states this weekend
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Powerful solar telescope unveils ultra-fine magnetic 'curtains' on the sun's surface
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Bottom of the sun becomes visible to humans for the first time in history (photos)
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NASA's Parker Solar Probe spots powerful magnetic explosion aimed at the sun's surface
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The sun: Facts about the bright star at the center of the solar system
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