Space / Telescopes

"Dead" Galaxies Live On

Even in the oldest, deadest galaxies out there, young stars continue to be born. 05.07.2012

Russia's New Super-sensitive Radio Telescope Is a Wee One: 8,000 Pounds; 33-Feet Wide

Only in the Brobdingnagian world of radio telescopes could RadioAstron be considered something of a runt. 11.05.2011

One Giant Leap for Machine Kind

While human explorers remain stubbornly stuck in Earth orbit, robotic space probes are preparing for the next great age of exploration: drilling, rolling, sailing, and prospecting where nobody has gone before. 10.31.2011

Next-Generation, Honking-Big, Recession-Proof Alien Hunting

The Square Kilometre Array should be able to pick up signals coming from aliens living halfway around the galaxy. 10.15.2011

Cosmic Eye Exam Shows Jaw-Dropping Accuracy of Webb Telescope's Optics

The scope's main mirror must hold its shape even down to temperatures near absolute zero. 09.03.2011

NASA's Inspiring, Enlightening, and Successful Search for New Earths

The Kepler space telescope, NASA’s first mission 
dedicated to the 
search for planets 
beyond our 
solar system, has 
produced a 
gusher of strange 
new worlds. 
If astronomers are 
right, many of them will prove to be habitable.
 08.29.2011

How to Build a Telescope Even More Powerful Than Hubble

NASA is building the James Webb Space Telescope, which will be humanity's premier eye in the sky when it launches later this decade. Here's a sneak peek at the telescope that will take the universe's baby pictures. 02.15.2011

Is Anybody Out There?

As astronomers uncover a bewildering array of planets orbiting distant stars, four top researchers in the field reveal their plans to study these exotic worlds and search for signs that we are not alone in the universe. 01.27.2011

11 Space Missions That Will Make Headlines in 2011

This year, space exploration will bring news of expeditions to distant planets, the quest for life-friendly star systems, and the bold efforts of commercial space companies. Here's a preview of what to look forward to. 01.06.2011

The Alien Seekers of SETI Are Just Getting Started

For 50 years a devoted group of scientists has been listening for signals from intelligent life. Despite all the dead air, the true believers say the odds of success are now better than ever. 01.03.2011

The 100 Top Science Stories of 2010

Every year DISCOVER sorts through the scientific accomplishments of the past 12 months, and assembles a list of the coolest experiments, most brilliant discoveries, and most world-changing events. As you page through the countdown to the #1 science story, we think you'll come to the same conclusion we did: 2010 was quite a year. 12.16.2010

The Tricked-Out 747 That Peers High Into the Heavens

The SOFIA flying observatory soars above 99.8 percent of the water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere, allowing extremely crisp images of distant objects. 10.22.2010

The Mystery of the Rocketing Particles That Shouldn't Exist

From deep space, cosmic rays come fast and pack a heck of a punch. They may also carry clues to the most vexing mysteries in the universe. 09.23.2010

Scientists Are Ready to Build Some Galaxies

Thanks to recent observations and telescopes that will come online soon, a detailed account of the 13.7-billion-year history of the cosmos is finally within reach. 08.04.2010

10 Science Hotspots—Where Mother Nature Reveals Her Secrets

From glaciers to undersea vents to tornado-wracked plains, these are the locations that draw boatloads of scientists from all over the world. 06.30.2010

Field Notes: The Revolution of the Moons

When Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter, he gave evidence for what Copernicus had merely intuited: Not all heavenly bodies circle Earth. 04.26.2010

Happy Birthday, Hubble: The Telescope's Most Underrated Images

Of the vast library of amazing Hubble images, a few hog all the glory. So for the telescope's 20th anniversary, we bring you 10 pictures that deserve more love. 03.30.2010

Astronomers Discover 2 Shortcuts for Locating Earth-Like Planets

Stars orbited by planets are a little bit different than other stars, and scientists can use that to quickly home in on new planets. 03.23.2010

The Coolest Science Experiments in Antarctica

Researchers go neutrino-hunting and penguin-watching at the South Pole. 02.25.2010

Are Black Holes the Architects of the Universe?

Long known for their obliterating power, black holes may also have been a creative force: New evidence suggests that they gave order to the chaotic mess produced by the Big Bang. 01.04.2010

#59: Amazing Images of the Heart of the Milky Way

Earth's placement on one of the outer arms of the galaxy gives us a view of what's happening in the center. 12.29.2009

#100: Hubble's New Mind-Blowing 'Scopes

The Hubble Space Telescope's new equipment, including the Wide Field Camera 3, provide even better images of the heavens. 12.16.2009

A Yardstick for the Universe

The Hubble Space Telescope is helping to improve our understanding of the expansion of space, dark energy, and the fate of the cosmos. 11.10.2009

The NASA School of Art

For 50 years, artists have had up-close, insider access to the space program. Here are the results. 10.16.2009

Staring at the Sun, Just as Galileo Did

Astronomers at the Mount Wilson Observatory sketch sunspots every day, continuing a tradition started by Galileo. 05.27.2009

Russia's Dark Horse Plan to Get to Mars

The Fobos-Grunt mission might pave the way for humanity's first permanent space base—on Phobos, Mars' bizarre moon. 05.21.2009

The Frontiers of Astronomy

DISCOVER's panel of top astronomers and astrophysicists discuss some of the biggest questions in the universe. 05.10.2009

The Inspiring Boom in "Super-Earths"

At last we are finding rocky planets like our own. But some are pretty weird: The smallest may have a mineral-vapor atmosphere that condenses as lava rain or rock snow. 05.08.2009

Our Quest to Explore—and Photograph—the Solar System

Each stab outward into space gives us a chance to image some new part of our cosmic neighborhood, from Earth to water on Mars to the strange moons of Jupiter and Saturn. 04.21.2009

Forget Megapixels: Here Comes the Gigapixel Sky Camera

The Pan-Starrs-1 telescope will scan the skies for asteroids and comets that could wipe out life on Earth. 04.03.2009

He Charted the Moon Before Galileo, But You've Probably Never Heard of Him

Did Thomas Harriot keep his great discovery a secret to avoid decapitation? 03.31.2009

The Man Who Made Stars and Planets

Alan Boss has spent a career predicting how stars and planets form—and has often been right. 01.12.2009

Visual Science: A (Dormant) Volcano Is a Great Place to Look at the Sky

Hawaii's Mauna Kea houses the world’s largest astronomical observatory. 01.09.2009

Beyond the Nine Planets

We are only beginning to discover how vast and strange our solar system truly is. 01.06.2009

The Father of Dark Matter Still Gets No Respect

Little-acknowledged Fritz Zwicky got there first on dark matter, neutron stars, and supernovas. 12.31.2008

#27: Astronomers Spy the Youngest Planet Ever Found

The latest, newest protoplanet is a "dusty, rocky, gaseous lump." 12.17.2008

#99: Jupiter Grows (and Loses) a New Spot

The massive planet passed behind the sun and arrived with a brand new decoration. 12.04.2008

How Long Until We Find a Second Earth?

Researchers are racing to find the first planet that might support life as we know it. 10.10.2008

The Solar System Looks Way Better Than It Used To

A comparison of landmark space pictures shows our imaging tech has improved in 40 years. A lot. 10.07.2008

Searching Heaven and Earth for the Real Johannes Kepler

Galileo may be science's most famous martyr, but it was Kepler who solved the mystery of the planets. 10.05.2008

Robert Lanza

08.31.2008

The Race to Save the Hubble Telescope

An inside look at what may be the toughest space mission ever attempted. 08.28.2008

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Telescopes

From Galileo to the Hubble, viewing space has come a long way. 08.27.2008

Is the Universe's Energy Smothered in Dust?

A good dusting of 10,000 galaxies reveals tons of hidden energy. 08.23.2008

Movie Camera to the Stars

The Earth's fastest telescope aims to make the best sky map ever created. 05.13.2008

Battleground Galactica

New tools and techniques reveal space oddities that eclipse everything we've seen. 05.07.2008

The Space Race For the New Millennium

Despite funding concerns, NASA has big plans for moon exploration. 04.23.2008

Inside the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

It starts with water and ends with intelligent aliens—hopefully. 12.25.2007

Good Astronomy at Bad Astronomy

A blog that takes no prisoners in its search for cosmic truth 12.11.2007

Scientist of the Year: David Charbonneau

His research heats up the search for alien life—and finds some amazing planets along the way. 12.06.2007

The Great Leap Forward in Space Imaging

From snapshots developed chemically—in space—to hi-tech digital masterpieces 11.30.2007

Fat times for Planet Hunters

New-found worlds are becoming bigger, hotter, and stranger. 11.27.2007

The Ice-Cream Scoop Taken Out of the Universe

A patch of the heavens that contains far more nothingness than the rest of space 11.21.2007

Quasars Say Earth Is 1/2 a Pinkie Smaller

We now know the planet is quite mushy—but at least we know. 10.12.2007

Map: Alien Weather Report

A planet with supersonic winds, where a day lasts a year 07.16.2007

20 Things You Didn't Know About... Galileo

Einstein's favorite scientist died an ardent Catholic. 07.02.2007

One Spectacular Stellar Death

The biggest recent supernova revealed how stars live and die. 05.22.2007

The Birth of Dark Energy

A dark force that is pulling the cosmos apart 04.16.2007

The Hunt for Other Earths Heats Up

We could hit the jackpot by 2010. 04.10.2007

Sunset over Mars

Requiem for the Mars Global Surveyor 03.14.2007

Cosmic Katrina

NASA's Cassini spacecraft eyes stormy weather at Saturn's south pole. 02.25.2007

World's Biggest Binoculars

Astronomers open a new window onto the universe. 12.10.2006

Map: X-Ray Vision Shows How a Galaxy Cluster Grows

New X-ray data unveils the dynamics of galaxy cluster Abell 3266. 09.01.2006

Map: Earth's Fourth Dimension

A gravitational rainbow points to our planet's invisible topography. 08.14.2006

Life's a Beach on Saturn's Moon

Saturn's biggest moon has giant sand-dune deserts. 08.01.2006

How To Make Anything Look Like a Toy

It's a small world after all that frame tilting. 07.01.2006

The Dark Side of the Sun

Scientists spot solar storms before they spin this way. 06.25.2006

NASA Turns Away From The Final Frontier

Budget cuts rein in explorers. 06.01.2006

Skylights

The cosmos brims with color, but our eyes aren't engineered to see it 04.02.2006

Sky Lights

Scientists celebrate 100 years of understanding cosmic speed limits 12.01.2005

Sky Lights

Stargazers can't fight summer's high humidity, but they can learn to love it 07.24.2005

How Nature Builds a Planet

A new space telescope tells us we really had no idea what was going on out there. 07.24.2005

Eyeing the Impact

07.19.2005

On Top of Kitt Peak

Seven thousand feet above Arizona's saguaro forests, a unique gathering of observatories probe the universe's darkest secrets 05.01.2005

Sky Lights

Even in the darkest depths of space, there's no escaping light pollution 04.28.2005

X-Ray Vision

A completely different view of ravenous black holes, exploding stars, colliding galaxies, and other wonders of the universe a human eye can't see 02.05.2005

Observer

12.03.2004

New Eye on the Sky

03.28.2004

A Field Guide to the Invisible Universe

At least 96 percent of the cosmos cannot be seen through any telescope, but what we cannot detect may hold the secret of our fate 12.23.2003

Burnout

New images from Hubble preview the death of our sun: swift, colorful, and surprisingly tempestuous 11.09.2003

Aerospace: Ed Weiler

The Hubble Telescope's Best Friend 11.09.2003

Space Scientist: Geoff Marcy and Paul Butler

The Astronomers Who Proved Carl Sagan Correct 11.09.2003

Sky Lights

The sky turns cloudy this month. But even on overcast days, there is still plenty of spectacle to see up above 11.08.2003

The Biggest Chill

05.01.2003

Astronomy

01.01.2003

The Optical Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

The Optical Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence 11.01.2002

The Very Best Telescope

A powerful, new, and rather bizarre collection of six small telescopes atop Mount Wilson is about to change our view of the stars forever 10.01.2002

Science Travel

The narrow road up Mauna Kea leads to the deep sky 08.01.2002

Black Beauty

05.01.2002

Sky Lights

4 banishes blurry pictures from astronomers' photo albums 03.01.2002

Can We Find Another Earth?

NASA is betting that we can, and a team of Princeton astronomers has a clever design for a telescope that could do it within 20 years 03.01.2002

Sky Lights

Nature's blackest creations slowly reveal their true identities 10.01.2001

Sky Lights

Artists boldly go where no telescope has gone before 05.01.2001

Flying Pumpkins

09.01.2000

Sky Lights

Subaru Telescope/NAOJ 07.01.2000

Tuning In To Deep Space

Tuning In To Deep 2 12.01.1999

Planetary Superstars

Time to dust off those forgotten telescopes: There's finally a real spectacle up there 10.01.1999

Sky Lights

Time to dust off those forgotten telescopes: There's finally a real spectacle up there 10.01.1999

Sky Lights

Sorry, the real universe isn't that dramatic 09.01.1999

Sky Lights

Check out dusk's dazzling display of the evening star 06.01.1999

Cosmic Light Show

06.01.1999

From Here to Eternity

Get ready for a new generation of telescopes that can see forever 05.01.1999

Big City Stars

Snow and city lights can make February a sky watcher's washout. Not this year. 02.01.1999

Galaxies in Hiding

11.01.1998

New Scope

10.01.1998

Young Star

Hubble shows the violent birth of a massive star. 10.01.1998

Solar Portrait

09.01.1998

Beyond Hubble

Though our orbiting 2 Telescope is stillgiving us an unprecedented view of the heavens, within a decade or so, accumulated glitches will finally make THE HUBBLE go dark. But don't worry: NASA has a fleet of new telescopes aimed at a universe we can now only imagine. 02.01.1998

The Year in Science: Astronomy 1997

It turns out gama ray bursts are truly titanic. 01.01.1998

The Year in Science: Astronomy 1997

The Pistol Star makes our own sun lookd downright puny. 01.01.1998

The Year in Science: Astronomy 1997

Hubble's New Prism 01.01.1998

Beyond the Soapsuds Universe

The universe is full of patterns, but how did it get that way? 08.01.1997

Star Bright

Hubble catches sight of stars so dim it's like seeing the glow of a single cigarette on the moon. 06.01.1997

Giving Birth to Galaxies

Peering out to the edge of the universe, astronomers catch glimpses of galaxies in the making. 02.01.1997

Secrets of the Deep

01.01.1997

Staring at the Sun

01.01.1997

The Quasars' New Clothes

The more we learn, the less we seem to know about quasars. 01.01.1996

Redemption

04.01.1993

Liquid Eyes

02.01.1993

Island of Stars

10.01.1992

Watery Eyes

03.01.1992