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Editors of EarthSky

Exocomets may be as common as exoplanets

The discovery of six likely comets around distant stars suggests that comets -- dubbed "exocomets" -- are just as common in other stellar systems with planets.

NASA’s 3-minute solar cycle primer

NASA's solar cycle primer illuminates mysteries of the sun.

Dinosaur shook tail feathers for mating show

Examination of fossilized dinosaur tail bones has led to a breakthrough finding: some feathered dinosaurs used tail plumage to attract mates.

At least 100 billion planets populate our galaxy

Look up at the night sky and you'll see stars, sure. But you're also seeing planets—billions and billions of them. At least.

Shifts in food supply sparked our evolution

An environment that shifted between open grassland and closed woodland in East Africa roughly 2 million years ago may be responsible for driving human evolution.

Ancient piranha bit with more force than even T. rex

Taking into consideration its size, an ancient relative of piranhas weighing about 20 pounds delivered a bite with a force more fierce than prehistoric whale-eating sharks, the four-ton ocean-dwelling Dunkleosteus terrelli and – even – Tyrannosaurus rex.

View from space: US city lights

Here's a satellite image of the United States at night.

NASA researchers strike scientific gold with April 22, 2012 meteorite

Scientists found treasure when they studied a meteorite that was recovered April 22, 2012 at Sutter's Mill, the gold discovery site that led to the 1849 California Gold Rush.

Clays on Mars: More plentiful than expected

A new study indicates that clay minerals, rocks that usually form when water is present for long periods of time, cover a larger portion of Mars than previously thought.

Ultramassive black holes: How big can a black hole get?

A survey of 18 giant black holes shows that at least ten may weigh between 10 and 40 billion times the mass of the sun. Astronomers have dubbed these "ultramassive" black holes.