Behold, the Mind-Blowing Bubbles of Betelgeuse
Giant bubbles erupting across this red supergiant star’s surface could solve a lingering astrophysical mystery
Optics
First-Ever Magnetic Map of Milky Way’s Black Hole Reveals a Mystery
Polarized light from Sagittarius A*, our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, shows swirling magnetic fields that may hint at the presence of an unseen jet
A Dead Star Will Soon Spark a Once-in-a-Lifetime Display in Earth’s Skies
A nova called T Coronae Borealis spectacularly erupts every 80 years. Your only chance to see it will come any day now
The Sophisticated Threads behind a Hat That Senses Traffic Lights
A new technique to make electronic fibers could help solve wearable technology’s flexibility problem
How Far Away Is the Horizon?
The edge of the world is closer than you think, and simple geometry proves it
Here’s What I Learned as the U.S. Government’s UFO Hunter
A forthcoming investigational report from an office of the Pentagon has found no evidence of aliens, only allegations circulated repeatedly by UFO claim advocates
Bizarre Dark Object Could Be First-Known ‘Empty’ Galaxy from the Early Universe
A serendipitously discovered object nearly as massive as the Milky Way appears to be made of primordial gas that has formed almost no stars
Uranus and Neptune Have Similar Hues, New Study Shows
A new analysis finds that images from Voyager 2's close encounter with Neptune show the planet as being far too blue
How to See Halos, Sun Dogs and Other Delights of the Daytime Sky
Ice crystals suspended in the air put on a gorgeous show if you know when and where to look
Light Can Travel Backward in Time (Sort Of)
Light can be reflected not only in space but also in time—and researchers exploring such “time reflections” are finding a wealth of delightfully odd and useful effects
Astronomy Is Facing an End of the Era of Monster Telescopes
Money, engineering and sheer geometry may mark an end of the line for building ever larger astronomical telescopes
Euclid Space Telescope Releases Stunning First Science Images
Fresh images show off the Euclid space telescope’s ability to capture crisp pictures of vast swaths of sky