Astronomy

While headlines around the world claimed that ancient galaxies discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope were "breaking" our understanding of the Big Bang, the truth is much more nuanced — and much more interesting.

Command module pilot Michael Collins took this iconic Apollo 11 photo 55 years ago today, after his historic trip around the far side of the moon made him "the world's loneliest man".

The James Webb Space Telescope has revolutionized astronomy in just two years of operations, but how can it see a galaxy 33.8 billion light-years away in a universe that is only 13.8 billion years old?

NASA's Curiosity rover revealed an 'oasis' of rare elemental sulfur on Mars after accidentally crushing a rock with its tires. The yellow crystals have never been spotted on the Red Planet before.

Astronomers are proposing a new, more quantitative definition of what makes a planet. The new definition looks more directly at the object's mass — but it would still leave Pluto out of the running.

A new paper suggests that comet C/2023 A3, also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, may completely break apart before it reaches its closest approach to Earth in October. If the comet does survive long enough to reach us, it should be bright enough to spot with the naked eye.

Reports of a daylight fireball and loud booms across New York City and New Jersey suggest a meteor entered the atmosphere above the city and traveled west at 38,000 mph, NASA says.

A "guest star," briefly seen in 1181, was created by colliding dead stars, according to new simulations that may finally solve an 800-year-old cosmic mystery.

A strange class of space rock known as a "dark comet" has qualities of both asteroids and comets — and the hard-to-spot objects may pose a larger threat to Earth than we thought, according to new research.

The Delta Aquariid meteor shower begins this week, bringing as many as 20 "shooting stars" per hour to the night sky. Here's why this year's shower offers ideal conditions for stargazers.