Stories by Phil Plait

It’s certainly possible to consume water sourced from the icy rings of Saturn, but doing so safely may require extra steps

A new global overview of Mars suggests dust, rather than water, is the source of mysterious streaks there

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

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

Spacecraft can get a significant boost by stealing energy from planets

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

A curious celestial phenomenon known as the analemma is a reflection of Earth’s orbit and tilted axis

Telescopes in space give us a view we literally cannot get from the ground

Some stars streaking through the Milky Way at millions of kilometers per hour probably trace back to a supermassive black hole in a neighboring galaxy

The quirks of light moving through gas are the cause of stellar twinkling, which can be a bane—and sometimes a boon—for astronomers

Galaxies come in many shapes and sizes, and trying to define them is difficult

Stars like the sun might erupt with extreme explosions about once per century

It seems contrary to common knowledge, but sound can travel through some parts of space quite well

ORCs—odd radio circles—are one of the weirdest recent discoveries in the heavens above

At the lower end, and to the bitter end, defining a star is tougher than you might expect

According to new simulations, many, even most, planets get ejected from their star early in their history

Evidence of alien worlds goes back farther than you think

Defining the word “moon” is harder than you might think

In colorful photographs of galaxies, stars, planets, and more, what you see isn’t necessarily what you get

The March 13–14 lunar eclipse will be an all-night affair you won’t want to miss

The question of whether aliens can detect our modern civilization depends on what signs they’re looking for—and, crucially, their distance from us

With radio and infrared telescopes, astronomers can pierce the dusty veil of our galaxy and map its farthest reaches

It’s neither fast nor food, but a spectacular object called HH 30 looks appetizing for astronomers in a new image from the James Webb Space Telescope

“Keep your eye on the ball” is a motto for many athletes—and for astronomers trying to find Earth-threatening space rocks