Rosetta sets sights on destination comet

The Rosetta spacecraft has caught its first glimpse of comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko since waking up from deep-space hibernation in January.

Comet Siding Spring barrels toward sun, sprouts multiple jets

On October 19, 2014, Comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring will sweep closer to Mars than our moon is to Earth. Dust shed by the comet could endanger spacecraft orbiting Mars.

Miss the moon and Venus this morning? Photos here

Photos from friends around the world of the March 27 and March 28 pairing of the moon with Venus. Thank you, everyone, for posting!

Theory suggests source of white dwarf pollution … and ominous fate for Earth

A new theory, advanced to explain how the atmospheres of collapsed stars become polluted, points to ominous fate awaiting planet Earth.

Astronomers discover first asteroid with rings

This is the smallest object by far found to have rings and only the fifth body in the solar system - after planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - to have rings.

New solar system edge and speculations on an undiscovered planet

The new most-distant object in our solar system is 2012 VP113, whose closest point to the sun is about 80 times the Earth-sun distance.

World’s first robotic planet hunter

Every night, the Automated Planet Finder checks the weather, decides which stars to observe, and moves the telescope from star to star, looking for distant planets.

Night sky as Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies merge

As seen on Cosmos ... the collision and merger between our Milky Way galaxy and the nearby Andromeda galaxy 4 billion years from now.

Close-up of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot

Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a raging storm in the planet's southern hemisphere. It's more than three times the size of Earth!

Video: Big Bang breakthrough explained with a towel and an apple

Two-minute video explanation of this week's announcement about gravitational waves and the Big Bag - using a towel, an apple and a ping pong ball.