Astronomers report on the very distant galaxy XMM-2599. It existed when the universe was very young, yet contains some 300 billion stars. It must have formed stars at a very rapid rate and then stopped. Why?

Recently-discovered fossils shed new light on an enormous horned turtle that roamed South America 5 to 10 million years ago.

The moon will cover Mars 5 times in 2020, but the occultation on February 18, 2020, was the only one accessible to viewers in much of North and Central America. Photos from the EarthSky Community here.

Isn't this cool? Scientists at the famous Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico made this rare find just days after resuming post-earthquake operations. It's a moon orbiting the near-Earth asteroid 2020 BX12.

If you're on the right place on Earth's surface, you can watch the moon occult (cover over) Mars on February 18, and then Jupiter on February 19. We elaborate in our post.

A new tyrannosaur species named Thanatotheristes, which means “reaper of death,” was the apex predator of its time, 79 million years ago in present day Alberta, Canada.

A new study from the Planetary Research Institute suggests that briny water could temporarily form on Mars' surface in the shadows of boulders for just a few days each Martian year.

The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope is in northern Chile. Astronomers used it to capture the unprecedented dimming of Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. The new images show how the apparent shape of this star is changing.

Given clear skies, all of the U.S. (except Alaska and Hawaii) can watch the red planet Mars disappear behind the moon - or reappear, or both - on the morning of February 18, 2020.

Get up early on February 16 and 17, 2020, and let the waning crescent moon point out a parade of three bright planets adorning the east before sunup.