Still from simulation of two supermassive black holes merging

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Video: The Glow of Spiraling Black Holes

New calculations reveal what two supermassive black holes about to merge would look like in ultraviolet and X-rays.

MASCOT

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

MASCOT Deploys from Hayabusa-2, Lands on Ryugu

The boxy robotic lander MASCOT delivered photos and other data from asteroid Ryugu during a brief 17-hour stay on the asteroid's surface.

Explore the Night with Bob King

The Outer Planets Move In, plus an "Old Moon" Observing Challenge

As the bright planets march westward, Uranus and Neptune become the fresh new faces of fall. And if you've never seen an ultra-thin lunar crescent, here's your chance.

Cosmic Relief with David Grinspoon

Variations on a Theme: What Do Earth and Pluto Share in Common?

Nature loves to riff on existing motifs, even in the most unearthly of environments.

Explore the Night with Bob King

The Sacred Hour Before Dawn and an Evening Comet Surprise

Silence can sometimes be in short supply, but one sure place to find it is under a starry sky before the first blush of dawn. Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann erupts again!

Hayabusa 2 shadow

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

Touchdown: Hayabusa 2 Deploys Rovers to Explore Ryugu

The Japanese Hayabusa 2 spacecraft dispatched the first of a set of smaller missions that will explore asteroid 162173 Ryugu.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Here Comes the Harvest Moon!

This month's Harvest Moon will be up early to light the night as well as act as a beacon for watching the annual fall bird migration through a small telescope.

Ahuna Mons

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

Dawn Probes Role of Cryovolcanism on Ceres

A recent analysis of data from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveals the role of cryovolcanism past — and likely present — on the giant asteroid Ceres.

Imaging Foundations with Richard Wright

Choosing the Best (Good Enough) ISO for Astrophotography

Astrophotographer Richard S. Wright, Jr. shares an easy way to test your DSLR camera to find its best low-light ISO performance.

Horses head to head

Explore the Night with Bob King

Equuleus, the Constellation Nobody Knows

Often passed over, the constellation of the Little Horse has charms of its own, including double stars, galaxies, and asterisms. Let's saddle up and go for a ride.

Saturn's hexagon

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

NASA's Cassini Sees Saturn's Towering Polar Hexagon

Cassini's legacy sheds more light on the strange mystery of Saturn's northern polar hexagon.

Simply extraordinary

Explore the Night with Bob King

Explore the Veil Nebula

The Veil Nebula, the tattered remains of an ancient supernova explosion, is one of the most spectacular objects in the night sky. Did you know it has two dozen parts visible in amateur telescopes?

Pretty package

Explore the Night with Bob King

Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner Shines in September

Watch a binocular-bright comet leapfrog across Auriga in the next few weeks before a remarkable conjunction with the bright star cluster, M35.

Asteroid Bennu

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

Osiris-REX's First Views of Asteroid Bennu

NASA's Osiris-REX asteroid sample return mission spies target Bennu for the first time. Now the spacecraft is setting up for its close approach in December.

Eight planets await

Explore the Night with Bob King

See All Eight Planets in One Night

Four planets are great, but how about eight? You can see them all in a single night in the next couple weeks — if you play your cards right.

Imaging Foundations with Richard Wright

Tips for Shooting the Milky Way

It’s summer time, and the Milky Way is beckoning. Here are a few tips to help get you started photographing our galaxy.

Explore the Night with Bob King

Shadow Play — Summertime Dark Nebulae for Binoculars

Using only binoculars, we explore a host of inky dust clouds, the dark nebulae that smudge the Milky Way on late summer nights.

Parker Solar Probe launch

Astronomy in Space with David Dickinson

NASA's Parker Solar Probe Launches to "Touch the Sun"

The unique Parker Solar Probe launched on Sunday, August 12th, set to fly faster and come closer to the Sun than any spacecraft before it.

Crown in the western sky

Explore the Night with Bob King

R Coronae Borealis Awakes and Pluto Blocks a Star

Sometimes, it's just as exciting to watch a celestial object fade or disappear as it is to see it explode. We celebrate the "return" of a mysterious variable star and prepare for Pluto to occult a star.

Explore the Night with Bob King

The Fun Begins at M22

Add a dash of random to your night sky viewing plans and you're guaranteed an adventure. We'll start ours with the famous globular M22 and see where it takes us.