Dark storm on Neptune changes direction, escapes deadly fate

Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe unusual weather on the planet Neptune, not observed until now. They saw a large, dark storm on Neptune unexpectedly changing direction, thereby saving itself from looming destruction and possibly producing a smaller companion storm.

New sunspot cycle could be among strongest on record

A study of oppositely charged magnetic field bands, moving in the sun's northern and southern hemispheres, suggests the coming sunspot cycle - Cycle 25 - will be a particularly strong one. This result contradicts an earlier expert forecast, suggesting a weak Cycle 25.

Watch a Saturn moon ballet

A new spin on the Nutcracker Suite, featuring the moons of Saturn.

Was this mystery radio signal really from Proxima Centauri?

Astronomers with Breakthrough Listen have detected a mysterious radio signal coming from the direction of the nearest star to the sun, Proxima Centauri. But is it really an alien signal or something more terrestrial?

Space weather in Proxima’s vicinity dims hopes of habitable worlds

Astronomers used radio waves to study conditions in the vicinity of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our sun. The results suggest Proxima's 2 known planets are likely bathed in intense radiation from this star, casting doubt on the planets' potential for life.

China’s Chang’e 5 moon craft begins extended mission

China's robotic Chang'e 5 launched successfully last month atop a Chinese Long March 5 rocket. Now it's returned to Earth, loaded with moon rocks - the first since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 mission in 1976.

Venus was once more Earth-like, but climate change made it uninhabitable

A severe climate change event on Venus may have transformed an Earth-like climate to the current uninhabitable-to-humans state.

C1-23152: An ancient galaxy that built itself

A popular theory of galaxy formation suggests that small galaxies merged to form larger ones. But galaxy C1-23152 - 12 billion light-years from Earth - apparently formed itself from gas in the early universe, via exceedingly rapid star formation.

Want to find life on Mars? Look deep underground

A new study from researchers at Rutgers University suggests that the best place to look for evidence of life on Mars is deep underground, where geothermal heat melted subsurface ice.

Is that a UFO?! There’s probably an explanation

Most Unidentified Flying Objects aren't actually unidentified. Here's a list of phenomena, either natural or human-made, that people often mistake for UFOs.