Our sun now has a brother star, the first one ever found

These astronomers say there's a “small, but not zero” chance that brother stars to our sun could host planets that harbor life.

Star clusters form from outside in, not inside out, study says

Astronomers studied two clusters where sun-like stars are still forming. Both clusters had older stars on their outskirts than toward their centers.

Nearest hypervelocity star found speeding through space at 1 million mph

Astronomers think hypervelocity stars happen when the galaxy's central back hole captures one of two stars in a binary system and slingshots the other out of the galaxy.

Rainbow rings of Saturn

Turquoise-hued rings of Saturn contain particles of nearly pure water ice, while reddish rings contain ice particles with more contaminants.

Are we ready for contact with extraterrestrial intelligence?

Do we need a greater or different kind of awareness of the cosmos in order to make contact with extraterrestrial civilizations?

U.S. Northeast already hit by climate change, says major report

New U.S. government report on climate change - first in five years - due out May 6. It outlines ongoing effects of a warming climate in the U.S. Northeast.

Bloated dead whale might explode in Newfoundland town

A bloated carcass of a blue whale that washed ashore near the town's boardwalk could explode at any time, residents fear.

See Uranus from Saturn

Looking beyond the rings of Saturn, Uranus is that tiny blue dot in the upper left in this first ever image of the planet, taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Entire star cluster thrown out of its galaxy

Galaxy M87 has thrown an entire star cluster toward us at two million miles per hour. The cluster's fate, scientists say, is to drift through the void between the galaxies for all time.

View from space: Arkansas tornado track

A violent tornado touched down in Arkansas on April 27, 2014, killing as many as 15 people. In an April 28 satellite image, you can see the tornado's track. Compare it to a satellite image of the same area taken before the tornado.