Science

A view of Venus captured by JAXA's Akatsuki orbiter. © PLANET-C Project Team

Venus Astronomers discover evidence of microbial life in planet's clouds

Some of the most famous objects in the Messier Catalogue. Clockwise from top left: M13, M1, M45, M51, M16, M44. Credit: Hannes Bachleitner, Dieter Retzl, Manfred Wasshuber, Günter Kerschhuber / CCDGuide.com

Messier Catalogue: the complete list

Equinoxes occur when the Sun crosses the celestial equator. For Earth, this is the point that the planet’s axis points neither towards nor away from the Sun. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Autumn equinox: when it is and what it means

The orbital path of inferior planets. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine.

Inferior and superior planets: what’s the difference?

The region at the centre of the Milky Way, captured in X-ray by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio by the MeerKAT telescope. (Credit: X-Ray: NASA/CXC/UMass/D. Wang et al.; Radio: SARAO/MeerKAT)

What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

Archive images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC; Ultraviolet: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSC; Optical: NASA/STScI(M. Meixner)/ESA/NRAO(T.A. Rector); Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/K. Su

Eye On The Sky Chandra X-ray images reveal the beauty of the cosmos

The Local Group of galaxies only contains three spirals, our own Milky Way, M31 and M33. Credit: Mark Garlick / Science Photo Library

The Local Group: a guide to our galaxy’s neighbourhood

Astronomy in times of crisis. Credit: Owen Davey / Folio

Opinion Astronomy in times of crisis

Albireo in Cygnus, imaged by Alexander Wilson.

Double stars and binary stars: a guide

The red giant star Betelgeuse (the prominent orange-red star above centre in this image), as it appears in the constellation of Orion. Credit: Rolf Löhr / CCDGuide.com

Track the life and death of stars in the night sky

Active galaxy TXS 0128. Image credit: Lister, et al.; Sophia Dagnello, NRAO/AUI/NSF

Eye On The Sky Active galaxy jets resemble Star Wars TIE Fighter

The far side of the Moon, as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: Credit: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University

What's on the far side of the Moon?

Butterfly Nebula

11 nebulae that look like animals

A Thorne-Zytkow Object: a neutron star trapped inside a red giant. Credit: ESO/L. Calçada,

5 hypothetical stars astronomers have yet to discover

G286.21+0.17. Image credit ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), Y. Cheng et al.; NRAO/AUI/NSF, S. Dagnello; NASA/ESA Hubble

Eye On The Sky The chaos of starbirth captured 8,000 lightyears away