Descriptions of the Coma Cluster of galaxies sound like bad car-dealership commercials. The cluster contains more than a thousand galaxies. Theyre bound together by their mutual gravitational pull. T

A sprinkling of faint stars stands in the east a few hours after sunset right now. Its to the upper right of brilliant Arcturus, the brightest star in that part of the sky. Those ribbons of stars are

All stars are big balls of glowing gas, powered by nuclear fusion. But stars come in many different sizes, masses, and colors. And theyre put together in different ways.The Sun is in the middle rang

The night sky plays tricks. Objects that appear close together in the sky can actually be far apart. As an example, look at the Moon and the star Antares before dawn tomorrow. Theres almost no separa

Many bright stars highlight the sky this evening: Sirius, the brightest of them all; Regulus, the heart of the lion; several sparklers in Orion, and more. Astronomers know a lot about these stars. But

The remaining dates of 2024 will take a big leap. Theyll jump over a day of the week. Thats because this is leap year, and today is leap day extending the year from 365 days to 366.Leap years ar

Depictions of the sky have been found on walls and ceilings that date back thousands of years. Other depictions are encoded in the layouts of monuments and burial sites. The oldest known portable view

When youre headed toward the Moon or planets, there are no signposts to keep you on the right track. Fortunately, nature provides its own markers: the stars. Spacecraft orient themselves by sighting

Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, is in the south at nightfall. If you keep your eye on it for a few seconds, though, youll see that Sirius isnt steady. It twinkles fiercely. It gets brig

The brightest star of Orion stands due south at nightfall, marking one of the hunters feet. Rigel shines blue-white a dramatic contrast to orange Betelgeuse, Orions second-brightest light.Both st