Artificial intelligence tools are making waves in almost every aspect of life, and astronomy is no different. An astronomer explains the history and future of AI in understanding the universe.
For decades physicists have argued over the nature of the elusive dark matter that pervades the Universe. A clever new study uses gravitational lensing to bring new evidence to the debate.
An asteroid ‘the size of 33 armadillos’ might be a flight of fancy, but real astronomers measure celestial objects with units that are just as strange.
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer and Europa Clipper missions will arrive at Jupiter in the 2030s and provide researchers with unprecedented access to the icy moons orbiting the gas giant.
History might give you the impression astronomical discoveries were only done by men. But women were participating in scientific expeditions of eclipses too, even though it wasn’t easy.
Medieval monks recorded hundreds of lunar eclipses. Centuries later, their descriptions are helping scientists unravel the role of volcanoes in historical climate change.
A US-led coalition and China are both planning to establish bases on the Moon. How the two nations will navigate actions on the Moon and how other countries will be involved is still unclear.
Tens of thousands of satellites orbiting Earth will hamper astronomers’ efforts to study the Universe and spot dangerous asteroids, as well as brightening the sky and hiding stars from the rest of us.
Beyond just looking at black holes, the next-generation Event Horizon Telescope collaboration is the first to bring together perspectives from across the sciences and humanities.
Astronomers have long known where water is first formed in the universe and how it ends up on planets, asteroids and comets. A recent discovery has finally answered what happens in between.
The newly discovered comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is anticipated to be spectacularly bright late next year. But it’s important to temper our expectations.
With more than 5,000 known exoplanets, astronomers are shifting their focus from discovering additional distant worlds to identifying which are good candidates for further study.
Many telescopes use the radio spectrum to learn about the cosmos. Just as human development leads to more light pollution, increasing numbers of satellites are leading to more radio interference.