This May Be the First Planet Found Orbiting 3 Stars at Once

It’s called a circumtriple planet, and evidence that one exists suggests that planet formation is less unusual than once believed.

All the World in a ‘Slice’ of Art

The newest painting by Jasper Johns was inspired by a fan letter from an astrophysicist. Here’s a first look.

When the Big Bang Was Just a Theory

In “Flashes of Creation,” Paul Halpern offers a dual biography of George Gamow and Fred Hoyle, two midcentury physicists who debated the origins of the universe.

Where Dark Skies Draw Star-Gazers, Wildfire Smoke Spoils the View

Parts of the Mountain West still largely free of light pollution or cloudy weather are losing their famed spectacular views of the night sky to smoke from fires burning hundreds of miles upwind.

What Animals See in the Stars, and What They Stand to Lose

Humans aren’t the only species that navigate by starlight. Animals from birds to dung beetles may do it, too — and might become disoriented as our city lights drown out the heavens.

Astronomers See Moons Forming in Disk Around Distant Exoplanet

Scientists have never before gotten such a clear view of moons in the making.

A Black Hole Feasted on a Neutron Star. 10 Days Later, It Happened Again.

Astronomers had long suspected that collisions between black holes and dead stars occurred, but they had no evidence until a pair of recent detections.

A Black Hole Feasted on a Neutron Star. 10 Days Later, It Happened Again.

Astronomers had long suspected that collisions between black holes and dead stars occurred, but they had no evidence until a pair of recent detections.

Betelgeuse Merely Burped, Astronomers Conclude

The dramatic dimming of the red supergiant in 2019 was the product of dust, not a prelude to destruction, a new study has found.

Will the Next Space-Weather Season Be Stormy or Fair?

As another 11-year cycle of solar activity begins, scientists debate how violent our stellar friend is likely to be.