Optics

The human brain loves seeing patterns, even when they aren’t really there

Giant bubbles erupting across this red supergiant star’s surface could solve a lingering astrophysical mystery

Polarized light from Sagittarius A*, our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, shows swirling magnetic fields that may hint at the presence of an unseen jet

A nova called T Coronae Borealis spectacularly erupts every 80 years. Your only chance to see it will come any day now

A new technique to make electronic fibers could help solve wearable technology’s flexibility problem

The edge of the world is closer than you think, and simple geometry proves it

A forthcoming investigational report from an office of the Pentagon has found no evidence of aliens, only allegations circulated repeatedly by UFO claim advocates

A serendipitously discovered object nearly as massive as the Milky Way appears to be made of primordial gas that has formed almost no stars

A new analysis finds that images from Voyager 2's close encounter with Neptune show the planet as being far too blue

Ice crystals suspended in the air put on a gorgeous show if you know when and where to look

Light can be reflected not only in space but also in time—and researchers exploring such “time reflections” are finding a wealth of delightfully odd and useful effects

Money, engineering and sheer geometry may mark an end of the line for building ever larger astronomical telescopes