Samantha Mathewson

The "New Years' Eve Comet" that's been streaking across the sky this December isn't the only otherworldly visitor ringing in the New Year in Earth's neighborhood.

A striking new image from the Hubble Space Telescope captures an extremely detailed view of the galaxy NGC 4696 and the tangled, thread-like filaments stretching from its bright galactic core.

A stunning new photo of Saturn's north pole spotlights the planet's bizarre hexagon-shaped vortex and beautiful bands of swirling winds.

A vast tract of space near the center of the Milky Way — in an area called the inner disk — is completely devoid of young stars, new research shows.

Bright blue-white noctilucent clouds danced over the town of Nykøbing Mors in Denmark just before dawn on July 1.