Astronomy

Latest about Astronomy

An orange/yelow image of the sun with a sunspot near the center. Seven scale-sized Earths are lined up next to the sunspot to show its enormity.

You can see a huge sunspot 7 times wider than Earth right now — but be careful!

By Robert Lea published

A massive sunspot is crossing the face of the sun, but if you aim to catch it before it disappears on Sunday (July 2), ensure you protect your eyes.

The Sun
graphic illustration of the Boötes constellation

Boötes constellation: Location, stars and mythology

By Tim Childers, Rebecca Sohn last updated

Refrence Boötes is a constellation in the northern hemisphere containing one of the brightest stars in the night sky, Arcturus.

Refrence
a red planet in space

Bizarre object hotter than the sun is orbiting a distant star at breakneck speed

By Joanna Thompson published

Scientists have discovered a weird celestial object that's blurring the line between planet and star.

Stars
two constellations in a richly illustrated night skyscape. one is a square with several lines leading out from it. another appears to be a serpent, enclosed by the boundaries of a constellation

Watch these One Sky Project films to explore Indigenous astronomy from home for free (videos)

By Elizabeth Howell published

Seven award-winning films about Indigenous sky stories are now open for personal downloads, or for planetariums to share the traditional knowledge with students.

The Universe
satellite dishes at the bottom of the image are pointed toward a star-studded sky with the bulge of the Milky Way stretching across the center of the image.

AI is helping astronomers make new discoveries about the universe faster than ever before

By Chris Impey published

AI has now spread into every field of astronomy and is helping astronomers learn more about the universe at an astonishing rate.

The Universe
a half-lit moon in the night sky

The moon: Everything you need to know about Earth's companion

By Charles Q. Choi last updated

Reference Learn how the moon formed, how its orbit affects Earth's tides, why solar and lunar eclipses happen and the history of lunar exploration.

Reference
The far side of the Moon is an attractive place to carry out astronomy.

Building telescopes on the moon could transform astronomy – and it's becoming an achievable goal

By Ian Crawford published

Lunar exploration is undergoing a renaissance. Dozens of missions, organized by multiple space agencies – and increasingly by commercial companies – are set to visit the moon by the end of this decade.

Space Exploration
A monstrous cluster of galaxies lurks at the heart of this Hubble Space Telescope image.

Hubble Telescope gazes into the heart of a monstrous galaxy cluster (photo)

By Robert Lea published

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope gazes into the lair of a cosmic leviathan, a monstrous cluster of galaxies located nine billion light-years away in the constellation Draco.

Hubble Space Telescope
This illustration is based on Hubble Space Telescope images of gas and dust discs encircling the young star TW Hydrae. We have an oblique view of three concentric rings of dust and gas. At the centre is the bright white glow of the central star. The reddish-coloured rings are inclined to each other and are therefore casting dark shadows across the outermost ring.

Hubble telescope spies 'peek-a-boo' exoplanets amid star's tilted dust rings

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers are watching a shadow sweep across the face of a vast disc of planet-birthing gas and dust surrounding the star TW Hydrae.

Hubble Space Telescope
dark matter map showing magenta fuzzy sections in the center and to the sides of the sky map with a bright arc flowing the through the middle of the sky map.

If dark matter is 'invisible,' how do we know it exists?

By Robert Lea published

Despite making up most of the matter in the universe, dark matter doesn't interact with light. So how do astronomers know it is there?

The Universe
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