space-astronomy

A super blue moon is the coincidence of a full moon with two astronomical conditions: it is both a blue moon and a supermoon. A blue moon is the modern calendar label for the se...

The Perseids peak time usually occurs in mid-August each year, when Earth passes through the dense trail of debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. During the peak, sky watchers unde...

At dusk, the planet in the western sky is most often Venus, Mercury, or Mars, depending on the time of year and the planetary alignment. Venus appears as the brightest starlike...

A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with or is very near lunar perigee, the point in the Moon’s elliptical orbit closest to Earth. This proximity makes the Moon appe...

Venus is frequently the third-brightest natural object in the sky after the Sun and Moon, and it is usually the brightest planet. Its intense visible shine comes from a combinat...

When a meteor passes by Earth today, it usually refers to a space rock visible as a bright streak in the sky, often harmlessly burning up in the atmosphere or continuing on its...

The next very bright comet will be a naturally bright visitor from the outer Solar System, not a manufactured spectacle. These icy bodies brighten as they approach the Sun, rele...

In 2025, Saturn reaches its closest point to Earth during its yearly oppositions and near approaches, a geometry called opposition when Earth lies roughly between Saturn and the...

The Moon does not remain fixed in the sky; it is in a constant, well-understood dance with Earth. Its changing geometry produces orbit variations, apparent size and brightness s...

The next solar eclipse depends on where you stand on Earth and what kind of eclipse you mean, because there are two to five solar eclipses each year. For most places, the next w...

As of authoritative astronomical consensus, there is no officially recognized new major planet added to our solar system in the last century. Observatories and sky surveys have...

The Moon today goes through the same phases that have guided timekeeping, navigation, and ceremony for millennia, and knowing how to read those phases helps you plan evening sky...

A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon fully covers the Sun’s bright disk, revealing the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona. The timing of this event matters whether you...

Around December 12, skywatchers may see increased meteors from the constellation Gemini. This activity is commonly linked to the Geminids, whose peak typically occurs in mid-Dec...

The Perseid meteor shower in 2014 was a classic example of an annual meteor display, reliable and rich in moderate rates. Unlike some years, the 2014 peak occurred near a very t...

A new moon happens when the Moon sits between Earth and the Sun, with its unlit side facing us. This alignment makes the Moon largely invisible from Earth and defines the start...

A star dies when it exhausts the nuclear fuel that presses outward against its own gravity. The exact path and outcome depend primarily on mass: low-mass stars like the Sun beco...

The Trappist-1 system contains seven temperate, rocky planets discovered around an ultracool dwarf star. They follow a consistent naming pattern: Trappist-1b through Trappist-1h...

Katy Perry has not flown in space. She has participated in space-related outreach and training experiences, such as zero-gravity flights and simulated missions, but she has not...

Trappist One is a planned space mission designed to study exoplanets around nearby ultracool dwarf stars, with a focus on small, rocky worlds in or near the habitable zone. It i...