If you look across space with a telescope, you'll see countless galaxies, most of which host large central black holes, ...

Across the galaxy, astronomers now see that planetary systems fall into four broad classes, and our own solar system, part of the rare Ordered group, is only one of them. At the same time, discoveries ...

The universe is full of wonders, but some worlds are downright deadly. From searing heat to violent storms, these planets make Earth look like a paradise. Many of them challenge everything we know ...

Astronomers have discovered that "super-Earth" planets may exist on wider orbits than previously thought — and this implies these rocky, or "terrestrial," worlds are far more common than was suspected ...

A starshade is nothing more than a material structure with a hole in the middle. It can be placed in front of a telescope to allow it to focus on its target without being blinded by the light of the ...

As J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in The Fellowship of the Ring, “Not all those who wander are lost.” But in the case of planets, it’s possible that most of them are. Rogue planets—planets that are adrift in ...

About 4.6 billion years ago, a celestial cloud collapsed, paving the way for our solar system to form. Then, a nebula with strong gravitational pull took shape, kick-starting the birth of the sun. But ...

"It represents a major step forward in how we think about the search for distant worlds capable of hosting life." Water isn't just delivered to planets by comets and asteroids — it can also be forged ...

For centuries our solar system was the only planetary system known to humans. We had no proof other worlds existed beyond those in our own cosmic backyard, and we imagined that if other planetary ...