A black hole 12 billion times more massive than our sun - at the heart of the brightest quasar in the early universe - as the dark ages of the universe were just ending.

The comet was 51 million miles from Earth at the time – a short distance for the Dark Energy Camera, which is sensitive to light 8 billion light-years away.

Then stay tuned. This comet - named C/2015 D1 (SOHO) - might become visible in your evening sky. Maybe.

Lucky observers in western North America saw bright lights streaking in the sky Monday night - the disintegration of a Chinese rocket body. Photo and videos here!

As we journey around the galaxy, our solar system might regularly interact with dark matter, which might dislodge Oort cloud comets and boost heat in Earth's core.

Scholz's star passed only 0.8 light-years from our sun, only 70,000 years ago. It came closer than any other known star, sweeping through the Oort comet cloud.

Amateur astronomers spotted them first, but they show up in Hubble images, too. Astronomers are scratching their heads, wondering these mystery plumes are.

It's a fast-rendezvous, six-hour launch-to-dock mission to the International Space Station. Docking will occur later today. Online viewing details here.

New maps from Planck mission support theory of cosmic inflation, the idea that, in the moments following Big Bang, space expanded faster than the speed of light. George Efstathiou - a Planck mission leader - explains more to Kavli Institute's Kelen Tuttle.

The private venture Mars One has announced its selection of 50 men and 50 women who will compete via reality TV for a one-way Mars trip, as early as 2024.