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Editors of EarthSky

First sex-determing genes appeared 180 million years ago

The Y chromosome, which distinguishes males from females at the genetic level, appeared some 180 million years ago, according to a new study published in Nature.

Is spacetime like a liquid?

A very slippery superfluid, that’s what spacetime could be like, say physicists.

A dance of supermassive black holes

This is the first time a pair of orbiting, supermassive black holes has been found in an ordinary galaxy.

Whoa! 26 atom-bomb-scale asteroid impacts since 2000

Most exploded over an ocean, and too high in the atmosphere to do damage, but evidence is mounting that asteroid impacts are more frequent than once believed.

MESSENGER completes 3,000th orbit of Mercury, sets mark for closest approach

MESSENGER has been getting closer to Mercury since March. It's now closer to the planet than any spacecraft has been before.

Make a #GlobalSelfie with NASA on Earth Day, April 22

Step outside and take a picture of yourself. Then post it to social media, using the hashtag #GlobalSelfie. NASA will use your photos to create a mosaic image of Earth.

7 ways to celebrate International Dark Sky Week

International Dark Sky Week runs April 20-26, 2014. Learn how to help celebrate and preserve the beauty of the night.

More, bigger wildfires burning western U.S.

New research suggests that the trend could continue as climate change causes temperatures to rise and drought to become more severe in the coming decades.

New image of red nebula 7,300 light-years from Earth

In the middle of little-known nebula Gum 41, brilliant hot young stars are giving off energetic radiation that causes the surrounding hydrogen to glow red.

First potentially habitable Earth-sized planet discovered

The first Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting within the habitable zone of another star has been confirmed. The new planet, dubbed Kepler-186f, was discovered using NASA’s Kepler telescope.