Astronomy: News, features and articles

Radio telescope dishes pointing towards the Milky Way galaxy

(Image credit: Haitong Yu / Getty Images)

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

—35 jaw-dropping James Webb Space Telescope images

—What is the hottest place in the universe?

—Best telescopes 2024: Beginner and advanced scopes for stars, galaxies and nebulas

Astronomy news, features and articles

Discover more about astronomy

Latest about Astronomy

See the moon, Venus and Regulus in a rare triple conjunction tomorrow

There's a 90% chance we'll see a black hole explode within a decade, physicists say

'The sun is slowly waking up': NASA warns that there may be more extreme space weather for decades to come

Skyscraper-size asteroid previously predicted to hit us in 60 years will zoom past Earth on Thursday (Sept. 18) — and you can see it live

'A genuine surprise': Near-Earth asteroid Ryugu once had 'flowing water' that transformed its insides

Scientists measure the 'natal kick' that sent a baby black hole careening through space for the first time

James Webb telescope's 'starlit mountaintop' could be the observatory's best image yet — Space photo of the week

Explore Astronomy

Asteroids

Black Holes

Comets

Cosmology

Meteoroids

Planets

The Moon

The Sun

Asteroids

Skyscraper-size asteroid previously predicted to hit us in 60 years will zoom past Earth on Thursday (Sept. 18) — and you can see it live

'A genuine surprise': Near-Earth asteroid Ryugu once had 'flowing water' that transformed its insides

Asteroid Apophis flyby will be 'once in a millennium' opportunity for skywatchers and scientists

Newly discovered bus-size asteroid will zoom close past Earth today — and will not return for exactly 100 years

Bennu sample contains dust older than the solar system itself

Giant space 'boulders' unleashed by NASA's DART mission aren't behaving as expected, revealing hidden risks of deflecting asteroids

Astronomers spot potential 'interstellar visitor' shooting through the solar system toward Earth

The Rubin Observatory found 2,104 asteroids in just a few days. It could soon find millions more

'City killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 could shower Earth with 'bullet-like' meteors if it hits the moon in 2032

Black Holes

There's a 90% chance we'll see a black hole explode within a decade, physicists say

Scientists measure the 'natal kick' that sent a baby black hole careening through space for the first time

Science history: Gravitational waves detected, proving Einstein right — Sept. 14, 2015

Astronomers use rare 'double zoom' to view black hole corona in unprecedented detail

Confirmed! Black hole merger shows Stephen Hawking theory was right

X-ray telescope finds something unexpected with the 'heartbeat black hole'

Scientists think they detected the first known triple black hole system in the universe — and then watched it die

Giant, cosmic 'Eye of Sauron' snapped staring directly at us in stunning 15-year time-lapse photo

Colossal black hole 36 billion times the mass of our sun is one of the largest ever seen in the universe

Comets

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS could be turning bright green, surprising new photos reveal

I watched scientists view the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS in real time. Here's what they saw.

New photos of comet 3I/ATLAS reveal its tail growing before our eyes

James Webb telescope images reveal there's something strange with interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

NASA's Hubble telescope reveals most detailed photos of interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS to date

3I/ATLAS is 7 miles wide — the largest interstellar object ever seen — new photos from Vera C. Rubin Observatory reveal

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS transforms into a giant 'cosmic rainbow' in trippy new telescope image

'Interstellar visitor' 3I/ATLAS could be the oldest comet ever seen — and could grow a spectacular tail later this year

Astronomers are racing to study our solar system's newest 'interstellar visitor.' Here's why.

Cosmology

The universe's first magnetic fields were 'comparable' to the human brain — and still linger within the 'cosmic web'

Astronomers find bizarre 'Cosmic Grapes' galaxy in the early universe. Here's why that's a big deal (photo)

The universe may start dying in just 10 billion years, alarming new model predicts

100 undiscovered galaxies may be orbiting the Milky Way, supercomputer simulations hint

'Time machine' reveals hidden structures in the universe's first galaxies

Echoes from the Big Bang suggest Earth is trapped inside a giant cosmic void, scientists claim

Giant radio telescope in the Nevada desert could reveal hidden corners of the cosmos — and brand-new physics

Did light exist at the beginning of the universe?

James Webb telescope unveils largest-ever map of the universe

Meteoroids

Meteorite that crash landed through Georgia man's roof is 20 million years older than Earth, scientists say

Perseid meteor shower 2025: How to see 'shooting stars' despite the full moon

The Perseids are about to peak — here's how to watch the glorious meteor shower without the full moon ruining the show

2 meteor showers to peak on the same night. Here's how to catch them at their best.

Ancient meteorite discovered in Antarctica could reveal the true origins of Earth’s water, new study claims

Eta Aquariids peak tonight: How to see remnants of Halley's comet

Ancient zircon crystals shed light on 1 billion-year-old meteorite strike in Scotland

Lyrid meteor shower peaks after Easter: How to spot the most 'shooting stars'

How a 'mudball' meteorite survived space to land in the jungles of Central America

Planets

JWST finds planet with all-carbon atmosphere orbiting 'black widow' star

'Incredibly exciting': NASA claims it's found the 'clearest sign' yet of past life on Mars

NASA spots bizarre 'turtle' on Mars

Dozens of mysterious blobs discovered inside Mars may be the remnants of 'failed planets'

New Pluto mission could uncover dwarf planet's hidden ocean — if the 'queen of the underworld' gets to fly

NASA's Perseverance rover spies mysterious 'helmet' on Mars

Uranus has a new, hidden moon, James Webb Space Telescope reveals

A real-life Pandora? Newfound 'disappearing' planet in our neighboring star system could have a habitable moon, just like the Avatar movies

See the final 'planet parade' of 2025, starting this weekend

The Moon