Science

Black holes, dark matter, gravitational waves and exoplanets: find out how astronomy is unlocking the secrets of the Universe.

Aurora over Lough Neagh. Credit: Stephen Wallace/ Hibernia Landscapes

What causes the different shapes and colours of the aurora?

CO2 in Enceladus’s ocean may be controlled by chemical reactions at the seafloor, according to new research. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Saturn’s moon Enceladus: interior could be more complex than initially thought

The Moon’s limb, imaged by the Apollo 10 astronauts in 1969. The largest crater in the picture, upper right, is called Keeler. From features like its terraced walls, scientists have deduced a violent history of meteorite impacts. Credit: NASA/ISC

A complete guide to the Moon

Clyde Tombaugh pictured at a Zeiss Blink Comparator, a machine used in the discovery of Pluto. Credit: Lowell Observatory Archives

Astronomers you should know Clyde Tombaugh

Scientists are watching pulsars carefully to detect the rippling fabric of the cosmos. Credit: dani3315/iStock/Getty Images

Searching for gravitational waves from supermassive black holes

What type of life could there be on an exoplanet? Credit: MPRIV/iStock/Getty Images

Could an exoplanet’s atmosphere indicate the presence of life?

Autumn sees the return of Orion to the night sky. Credit: Bernhard Hubl / CCDGuide.com

Gravitational waves detected in same area of sky as Betelgeuse

NASA’s MESSENGER mission monitored Mercury’s magnetic fields, revealing they flowed down (blue) and up (red). Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

Understanding Mercury’s magnetic poles

An image of Venus created using data from NASA's Magellan spacecraft and Pioneer Venus Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Facts about the planet Venus

Orion A molecular cloud. Credit: ESA/Herschel/Planck; J. D. Soler, MPIA

Eye On The Sky A cosmic cloud full of star-making material

A crescent Venus. Credit: Pete Lawrence

Ashen light: the mystery of Venus’s dark-side glow

An idea crater in Mars's northern polar region, captured by the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter on 21 August 2019. Credit: ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Mars is shedding water far quicker than thought

Hot gas in the Phoenix Cluster. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/MIT/M.McDonald et al; Radio: NRAO/VLA; Optical: NASA/STScI

Eye On The Sky Supermassive black hole aids star formation in the Phoenix Cluster

Two spiral galaxies captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Larson et al.

Eye On The Sky Two spiral galaxies captured by the Hubble Space Telescope

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1706

Eye On The Sky A Christmas galaxy in full view