Space
- Planets
Defining planethood
Did Pluto deserve to be demoted from the rank of planet in the solar system?
By Emily Sohn - Space
A dead star’s dusty ring
Astronomers have observed the dusty remains of a planetary system around a dead star.
By Emily Sohn - Space
Space Camera Glitch
The sharpest, most sensitive camera on the aging Hubble Space Telescope has stopped working.
By Emily Sohn - Planets
Strange Neptune
From giant storms and icy geysers to tilted orbits and weird spins, Neptune and its moons have many surprising features.
By Emily Sohn - Planets
A star’s belt of dust and rocks
Astronomers have obtained hints of a dusty asteroid belt around a nearby star.
By Emily Sohn - Space
Titan’s Massive Mountains
The Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft has spied a chain of large mountains on Titan.
By Emily Sohn - Planets
Back to the moon
NASA unveiled its plans for establishing a base on the moon by the year 2024.
By Emily Sohn - Space
Red dwarfs in the neighborhood
Astronomers have found 20 previously unknown star systems in Earth's galactic neighborhood.
By Emily Sohn - Space
Secrets of an ancient computer
A 2000-year-old astronomical computer could calculate planetary positions and predict eclipses.
By Emily Sohn - Space
Sharp Eye on the Sun
An X-ray telescope aboard the recently launched Hinode spacecraft is capturing detailed images of the sun.
By Emily Sohn - Space
Dwarf planet discord
A dwarf planet at the fringes of the solar system finally gets an official name.
- Planets
A Puffy Planetary Puzzle
Astronomers spot an unusual object orbiting a nearby star.
By Eric Jaffe