ASTRONOMY

The Northern Lights Could Be Visible Over Parts of the U.S. This Week

Recent solar activity could make the northern lights visible at lower latitudes than usual May 15 to May 17.

An image of a different asteroid, called Lutetia

Mark Your Calendars: An Enormous Asteroid Will Fly Past Earth on April 13, 2029

The good news: The asteroid Apophis isn't going to wipe out life as we know it, so we can sit back, relax, and enjoy the celestial show!

Astronomers Want Your Help Naming the Largest Unnamed Dwarf Planet in the Universe

The icy rock planet in the Kuiper Belt has gone 12 years without a name, but now people can cast a vote to give it an official identity. Just not Boaty McBoatface.

Event Horizon Telescope collaboration et al.

First-Ever Photo of a Black Hole Unveiled

The moment astronomy and sci-fi lovers have long awaited is finally here. That's an actual black hole you're looking at.

An artist's rendering of a growing supermassive black hole

We Could Be Just Days Away From Seeing the First-Ever Photo of a Black Hole

Capturing an image of the distant, supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy has been compared to “standing in New York and counting the individual dimples on a golf ball in Los Angeles."

A Full Pink Moon Is Coming in April

A full pink moon isn't actually pink—but it's so important that it helps determine when Easter will occur each year.

NASA astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann at an event in August 2018

First Person on Mars Will Likely be a Woman, Says NASA Boss

The human-led mission isn't expected to happen until at least 2030, but when it does, a woman will likely be the first person to set foot on the Red Planet.

A Super Worm Moon Is Coming on the First Day of Spring

The third and final supermoon of 2019—the super worm moon—will appear on the vernal equinox in March. Here's the best time to watch it.

15 Facts About Nicolaus Copernicus

He sat on his heliocentric theory of the universe for 30-some years, and only published his ideas on his deathbed.

Galileo Galilei in an oil painting by an Italian painter, 18th (?) century.

15 Fascinating Facts About Galileo

Galileo Galilei, the father of modern astronomy, probably never dropped anything off the leaning tower of Pisa, and he didn't actually invent the telescope. But he did change history with his discoveries about the cosmos.

A Snow Moon—the Year’s Brightest Supermoon—Will Be Visible Next Week

The next supermoon will light up skies on Tuesday, February 19. This one will be a snow moon, a full moon that comes only at this time of year.

11 Photos From the Opportunity Rover's Mission on Mars

In 2004, the rover Opportunity landed on Mars. Originally intended to serve a mere 90-day mission, the rover instead beamed back scientific discoveries for more than a decade—and now its groundbreaking mission is over.

How Many Light Years Away From the Sun Are We?

Astronomical distances are very specific, but estimating lights years without a calculator isn't impossible (even if there are dozens of zeros involved).