Thousands of planets have been discovered beyond our solar system, offering clues to where life might thrive and whether Earth is truly unique.

During early calibration tests, the MOTHRA telescope’s array of lenses, which will soon number 1,140, captured stellar debris dissolving into space around the Helix Nebula.

Amateur and professional astronomers pointed their telescopes at the impact site. Most did not detect anything.

A spacecraft meant to push NASA’s Swift Observatory to a higher orbit malfunctioned and started tumbling several days ago. Engineers think it can still succeed.

Residents fear that the Trump administration’s plans to build a border wall will threaten the region’s spectacular starry skies.

In 1995, he and Thomas Bopp spotted, from different states, the same mysterious object in the sky. What turned out to be a comet was named after them: Hale-Bopp.