The Universe

Twenty years ago today a magnetar’s epic tantrum made our planet ring like a bell from tens of thousands of light-years away

With billions of stars in the Milky Way, some nomenclature standardization is necessary

The celestial equivalent to latitude and longitude lets astronomers find their way across the heavens

Barnard 68 is often mistaken for a hole in space, but it’s actually a dense, opaque cloud of dust—for now

“Twilight rays” are but one of several viewing treats for the liminal time between day and night

Called Olbers’ paradox, the seemingly simple mystery of the sky’s darkness is something that stumped astronomers for centuries

Finding a perfect sphere is actually pretty difficult

The Martian new year arrives with the Red Planet’s vernal equinox. Explaining why requires a deep dive into celestial mechanics and Earth’s calendrical history

At dusk and dawn, the sky dances with three phases of in-between light

If you’ve ever seen faces in clouds, these heavenly entities will leave you haunted

The rising moon looks huge on the horizon, but it’s all in your head

The famous exploding star T Coronae Borealis is due to detonate any day now, but it’s running a little late