Space

The coldest place in the universe exists some 5,000 light-years from Earth. Do you know where it is and what it's called?

By Valerie Stimac

Researchers at Australian National University studied 5,000 star-eating behemoths to find out.

By Christian Wolf

February is a cold time of year, and the snow moon nickname pays homage to that. What are some other names for February's full moon and what do they mean? Plus, when can you see the snow moon?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

News headlines talk about a rare green comet appearing in the sky. The comet itself is rare, but green comets, not so much. What makes some comets appear green?

By Valerie Stimac

NASA's missions in 2022 were remarkably far-ranging – from practicing how to protect Earth to prepping for the first manned mission to Mars. An astronomer sums up the year.

By Chris Impey

Head's up, stargazers! Mark your calendars for the 22 must-see events this year.

By Martha Sandoval

January's moon is called the wolf moon, but it's also known as the center moon and the freeze up moon (among other names). Here's why.

By Valerie Stimac

This doughnut-shaped ring around the sun is home to millions of comets, moons, dwarf plants and other celestial objects.

By Valerie Stimac

When December's moongazing rolls around, you'll want to take a look at the cold moon, an appropriate moniker if there ever was one.

By Valerie Stimac

Blood moons always bring out the stargazers though they aren't that rare. So what makes blood moons red? And do they differ from lunar eclipses?

By Valerie Stimac

The two passengers might not be human, but they have a job to do. They're manning Artemis I to be zero gravity indicators.

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

UFOs and UAPs both refer to unidentified objects in the sky, but scientists prefer the term UAP. And that's because when we hear UFO, we automatically assume aliens.

By Allison Troutner

In 2022, the full moon, called the hunter's moon, will occur Oct. 9. Why is it called that and when can you see it?

By Valerie Stimac

Debris on Mars comes from three main sources: inactive spacecraft, discarded hardware and crashed spacecraft. What risk does this trash pose to current and future missions?

By Cagri Kilic

The solar system's largest planet will pass closest to Earth at the same time it's at opposition. That means it will be the biggest and brightest it's been in the sky in decades.

By Patty Rasmussen

There are eight phases in the lunar cycle and the moon is in one of them every night. What are these phases of the moon?

By Valerie Stimac

After two failed launch attempts, NASA's Artemis I finally took flight early in the morning Nov. 16, 2022 after years of anticipation.

By Patrick J. Kiger

The August 2022 full moon is known as the sturgeon moon and it's extra-special this year as it's also a supermoon.

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

Nope, the "dog days" have nothing to do with your pooch lying around panting, but everything to do with the dog star, Sirius.

By Patty Rasmussen

And this month's buck moon is extra-special because it is a supermoon!

By Valerie Stimac

The first image released by President Joe Biden shows a galaxy cluster as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago. But the telescope will look back billions more, even as far as the Big Bang.

By Sarah Gleim

Do you love looking at beautiful pictures of the night sky? How do space photographers get those shots? And could you join their ranks?

By Valerie Stimac

Surprisingly, the solar system isn't odorless — it has a distinct scent that some astronauts like and others think is stinky. So, what does it smell like and why?

By Valerie Stimac

The Tau Herculids meteor shower was made of debris from the broken comet SW3 and produced a lot of shooting stars, but not quite the meteor shower that was hoped for.

By Valerie Stimac

University of Florida scientists used lunar soil collected during Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions to successfully grow plants from seed. It's a first in human history and could help future space colonists grow food on the moon.

By Kimberly M. S. Cartier