The Universe

Supermoons are popular in the media, but are they really so different from how our extraordinary moon ordinarily appears?

Wispy whorls on the moon’s surface are as lovely as they are strange. Scientists are starting to unravel their origins

Even Earth’s mightiest telescopes aren’t up to the task of imaging Apollo lunar landing sites. A lack of resolution is the biggest reason why

Andromeda and the Milky Way may collide, or they may safely swing past each other. Time will tell

Surging solar activity means enormous sunspots are in the space-weather forecast. Here’s how to view them safely

Reports of Earth-orbiting astronauts glimpsing the Great Wall of China and many other artificial structures are wildly exaggerated, but humanity’s planetary influence isn’t entirely invisible from afar

There’s more than one way for a star to die. Some go with a whimper, and some go with a very, very big bang

It’s possible to see celestial objects during the day, but it’s not always easy

Material from the moon’s far side collected by China’s Chang’e 6 spacecraft could solve a long-standing lunar mystery

New research suggests the Great Red Spot we see on Jupiter today is an entirely different giant storm from the one astronomers observed more than three centuries ago

Almost everything we know about the cosmos is conveyed by photons traveling across vast distances

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