Astronomy

Less than a decade since the first detection of gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime itself—proposed budget cuts threaten to silence this groundbreaking science

Scientists are racing to learn as much as possible about the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS before it fades from view forever

Observations of a baby star may show the earliest stages of planet formation that astronomers have ever seen

The future is bright—too bright—for life as we know it once the sun transforms into a red giant star

This planet triggers flares on its star—spelling its ultimate doom

Astronomers have never had this much data available this quickly before

Close stellar encounters could change the structure of our planetary system, potentially dooming Earth or other worlds to oblivion

Recent observations have revealed carbon monoxide venting from the largest comet ever seen, providing clues about its origins in the mysterious depths of the outer solar system

Astronomy fans can zoom in practically forever into the stunning first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory

Gaia, Europe’s Milky Way–mapping spacecraft, shut down earlier this year. It was arguably the most important—and most overlooked—astronomy project of the 21st century

After black holes devour stars, sometimes the feast comes back up

A near-complete census of our interstellar neighborhood hopes to answer how stars, brown dwarfs and rogue planets form throughout the universe