Brandon Specktor

The second moon landing attempt by Texas-based Intuitive Machines has ended much like the first, with its Athena lander falling sideways into a crater and shutting down after 12 hours.

In a rare "time-critical" decision, the James Webb Space Telescope will study the true size of the "potentially hazardous" asteroid 2024 YR4 twice over the next few months. The asteroid has a roughly 2.3% chance of impacting Earth in 2032.

A solar explosion called a coronal mass ejection is poised to graze Earth on Friday or Saturday (Jan. 24 or Jan. 25), potentially triggering colorful auroras over the northern U.S.

The enormous near-Earth asteroid (887) Alinda has made its closest approach to our planet in decades, and it's about to peak in brightness in a rare once-in-a-decade event. Here's how to watch it live this weekend.

From solar storms to "shooting stars" over Stonehenge, here are our top 10 favorite space photos of 2024 — and what they told us about our beautiful cosmos.

From the mysterious Planet Nine to the prospect of a "human-caused meteor shower," space and physics editor Brandon Specktor lists his favorite stories of 2024.

An outburst of solar energy looks primed to hit Earth on Thursday, potentially bringing auroras to the northern U.S. on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have spotted a feeding black hole in the early universe that seems to be eating 40 times faster than is theoretically possible.

A shrieking skull, a cackling witch, a ghostly hand and other cosmic illusions haunt our skies. Which do you think is the spookiest object in the universe?

NASA lost contact with the interstellar Voyager 1 spacecraft for nearly a week after a technical glitch shut off the probe's main transmitter. Using Voyager's weaker backup transmitter, engineers are assessing the problem from 15 billion miles away.

The James Webb Space Telescope may have found dozens of elusive brown dwarfs — strange objects larger than planets but smaller than stars — beyond the Milky Way for the first time ever.

From nebulas and black holes to baby star nurseries and ancient collisions, the universe has never looked more beautiful thanks to NASA's $10 billion-telescope.

A powerful solar outburst hit Earth Thursday, triggering a "severe" geomagnetic storm. Auroras could be visible as far south as California and Alabama, NOAA predicts.

On Oct. 2, a partial "ring of fire" solar eclipse was visible from the remote island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, where around 1,000 stone moai statues stand. You can see the whole celestial event play out in this incredible composite image.

The Oct. 2 partial solar eclipse, known as an annular or "ring of fire" eclipse, is about to begin over Easter Island and South America. Watch it for free right here.

On Sunday, Sept. 29, Earth captured a new "minimoon" called 2024 PT5. The bus-size asteroid is expected to orbit our planet for 57 days, but is too small to be visible to amateur skywatchers.

Vibrant auroras could be visible as far south as Oregon and Pennsylvania tonight as Earth reels from a "strong" G3-class geomagnetic storm. However, the nearly full Harvest Moon may complicate viewing opportunities.

The long-sought evidence of alien life could be lurking in Earth's oceans, says Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb. Here is his plan to find it.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a pair of distant galaxies being twisted into a cosmic question mark thanks to a rare form of gravitational lensing.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will return to Earth today after undocking from the International Space Station without its crew. A livestream of the mission begins at 5:45 p.m. ET.