A phenomenon familiar on Earth may be common throughout the galaxy
Space
The Ancient Space Storm That Struck the Earth
More than 1,200 years ago a collision of two dense bodies bathed our planet in gamma rays
Solar Blob Attacks the Earth!
A great eruption known as a coronal mass ejection rattled nerves but did little harm
A Room With a View: Scenes From the International Space Station
The world is a decidedly different place from 250 miles up—one too few of us get to see
Stellar Dust Ring Could Promise Big Things
A familiar formation around the nearby star Vega may herald a solar system much like ours.
Planetary Census: Hundreds of Billions in the Milky Way?
A generation ago he had never detected even a single planet orbiting a distant star. Now the population has exploded
An All-Wet Meteorite Arrives from Mars
An artifact from space provides more evidence of the Red Planet’s watery past
Window on Infinity: Pictures from Space
From a glorious view of Saturn to the Geminid meteor shower, view our monthly roundup of cosmic highlights from December 2012.
Volcanoes on Venus? New Clues, and Mysteries, About Earth’s Boiling Twin
The evidence: A sharp decline in detected sulfur dioxide on the surface of Venus. The culprit: A volcanic eruption, caught in the act?
The Super-Duper, Planet-Frying, Exploding Star That’s Not Going to Hurt Us, So Please Stop Worrying About It
Real astronomy gets mixed up in Mayan silliness—and hilarity ensues