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Editors of EarthSky

The Local Group is our galactic neighborhood

What is the Local Group? It's a collection of the nearest galaxies in space. Read more about these neighbors of our home Milky Way galaxy.

Riding Light: Tour the solar system at light speed

Tour the solar system at the speed of light in the video Riding Light. This video represents a photon leaving the sun and traveling past the inner planets to Jupiter.

Annular solar eclipse today: All you need to know

The October 14, 2023 annular solar eclipse will cross the US, Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Brazil. Maps and more here.

Which bird migrates the farthest?

Which bird migrates the farthest? Over its lifetime of about 30 years, an Arctic tern can fly nearly 3 times the distance from the Earth to the moon.

Why is the Pleiades star cluster called the 7 Sisters?

To most people,, the Pleiades cluster looks like a tiny misty dipper of six little stars. Yet the Pleiades is sometimes called the Seven Sisters. Why?

Best twilight photos from our community

Enjoy twilight in some of the best photos shared by the EarthSky community. Have a great photo of your own to share? Send it to us!

The Great Moon Hoax of 1835: Would you have believed it?

On today's date in 1835 a newspaper claimed a famous astronomer had found life on the moon. The Great Moon Hoax was widely read and believed.

Pluto became a dwarf planet on today’s date

Pluto is the largest of many small bodies in the outer solar system. That's partly why it was demoted from major planet to dwarf planet in 2006.

Voyager 2 confirms Neptune’s rings on this date in 1989

NASA's Voyager 2 confirmed the discovery of Neptune's rings on August 22, 1989, when it took images of a faint, continuous ring system around the planet.

Observing meteors: Top 10 tips for the Perseids

The 2021 Perseid meteor shower is rising to its peak and many are observing meteors. Here are our best 10 tips for watching this shower, or any other!