Jupiter and Saturn Head for Closest Visible Alignment in 800 Years

On Dec. 21, Jupiter and Saturn will appear to be no more than a dime’s width…

Japan's Hayabusa2 Asteroid Journey Ends With a Hunt in Australia's Outback

The Hayabusa2 mission cements Japan’s role in exploring the solar system, but finding its asteroid cargo…

China Moon Mission: Chang'e-5 Launches, Starting Trip Back to Earth

It will soon attempt to dock in lunar orbit with another spacecraft, ahead of returning a…

A ‘Front-Row Seat’ to the Birth of a Comet

Astronomers are watching an object transform into a hyperactive comet that will head toward the inner…

Watch the Moon Landing of China’s Chang’e-5 Spacecraft

Within hours of arriving, it started drilling and scooping lunar rocks and soil to bring back…

The Arecibo Telescope in Puerto Rico Collapses

Astronomers and residents of Puerto Rico mourned as an eye on the cosmos shuttered unexpectedly overnight. …

China Lands Chang’e-5 Spacecraft on Moon to Gather Lunar Rocks and Soil

The mission will now collect samples, aiming to return with them to Earth by mid-December. …

NASA Launched a Rocket 54 Years Ago. Has It Finally Come Home?

Surveyor 2 crashed on the moon in 1966. Astronomers think they’ve spotted a piece of the…

Watch a Lunar Eclipse, or at Least Try To

Penumbral eclipses are subtle, but there are good reasons to try to notice one. …

Can a Computer Devise a Theory of Everything?

It might be possible, physicists say, but not anytime soon. And there’s no guarantee that we…