Glowing Planets
An artist’s concept shows what the planets of a system known as Trappist-1 might look like. The system contains seven…
Martian Whirlybird
The next Mars rover, scheduled for launch in 2020, will carry a small helicopter, as depicted in this artist’s concept.…
Solar Discovery
Three sketches depict the total solar eclipse of August 18, 1868. During the eclipse, French astronomer Pierre Janssen observed the…
Stellar Lab
A myriad stars sparkle in this Hubble Space Telescope view of NGC 6397, a globular cluster in the southern constellation…
Cold Fire
IceCube, a “telescope” at the south pole, recently detected a source of powerful cosmic rays, as depicted in this composite…
Dark Rift
A lane of dust and gas known as the Dark Rift slices through the glowing band of the Milky Way.…
Pioneering Astronomer
Maria Mitchell, shown in this 1851 portrait by H. Dassell, was the first American woman to become a professional astronomer.…
Hot Destination
This artist’s concept shows a new spacecraft, Parker Solar Probe, peering at the Sun from far closer range than any…
Colorful Beak
The stars of Albireo, which represent the beak of Cygnus, the celestial swan, show off their colors in this view…
Brilliant Mars
Mars stages its most brilliant showing in 15 years during late July and early August. The planet is at opposition,…