astronomy

Astronomers have recently witnessed a rare occurrence in the universe: a star devouring one of its own planets. Scientists think that this event provides us with a glimpse of what might happen to our planet Earth approximately 5 billion years...

Researchers have discovered fragments of the Star Catalog authored by the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus. It was composed in the second century BC and is the first known comprehensive star catalog in the Western world. The fragments of Hipparchus' Star...

A planetary ring system recently discovered by scientists calls into question the current theories of how ring systems are formed.

An asteroid, dubbed 2023 BU, is set to pass over the southern tip of South America just after midnight GMT on January 26, 2023. The space rock is about the size of a minibus and might approach as close...

Did the ancient Greeks look up at the night sky and ask "are we alone?" As it turns out, ancient Greek philosophers also asked this existential question. One such philosopher, Anaxagoras, proposed that alien life might exist on the...

More than 200 RR Lyrae stars—distant variable stars—have been found by astronomers in the Milky Way's stellar halo. Over a million light-years separate us from the furthest of these stars. This is roughly half the distance to our nearest...

The peoples of the world, or at least those in the Northern Hemisphere, look forward to the Winter Solstice, which marks the shortest day of the year but brings hope for longer, brighter days ahead. After the passage of six...

Aliens haven't contacted earth because there is no sign of intelligence on Earth, a recent paper has concluded. Our planet is too primitive to be of any interest to advanced extraterrestrial species; thus, aliens' search for intelligent life will...

Since the beginning of time, people have turned their eyes to the sky and discerned the shapes of animals and objects in the stars.

The wise men were likely accomplished astrologers, watching the stars for signs of a king’s birth. Technical terms used in the Bible’s description point to a real astronomical event that could explore the origin of the star of Bethlehem.  By...