PhotoCreditEvent Horizon Telescope Collaboration, via National Science Foundation
Darkness Visible, Finally: Astronomers Capture First Ever Image of a Black Hole
Astronomers at last have captured a picture of one of the most secretive entities in the cosmos.
By Dennis Overbye
PhotoCreditJames D. Lowenthal/Smith College Astronomy Department
What Is a Black Hole? Here’s Our Guide for Earthlings
Welcome to the place of no return — a region in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape it. This is a black hole.
By JoAnna Klein and Dennis Overbye
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How They Took the First Picture of a Black Hole
A planet-sized network of radio telescopes has assembled the first image of a black hole.
By Jonathan Corum
PhotoCreditESA/ATG medialab
A Gas Could Hint at Signs of Life on Mars. Why Hasn’t a New Spacecraft Found It?
Two spacecraft have detected methane in the Martian air. But the Trace Gas Orbiter, with more sensitive instruments, has come up empty.
By Kenneth Chang
PhotoCreditAgence France-Presse â Getty Images
Israel’s Beresheet Lunar Lander Moves Into Moon Orbit
Next week, the robotic probe built by the nonprofit SpaceIL is to attempt to land on the lunar surface.
By Kenneth Chang
PhotoCreditVictor Zelentsov/NASA
First All-Female Spacewalk Canceled Because NASA Doesn’t Have Two Suits That Fit
The astronauts, Anne McClain and Christina Koch, will both walk in space — just not together, because only one medium-size torso component is available.
By Jacey Fortin and Karen Zraick
Out There
PhotoCreditSky & Telescope Magazine
When Sky & Telescope Had No Limit
A venerable astronomy magazine goes on the auction block, and a writer who grew up there reflects on its influence.
By Dennis Overbye
PhotoCreditRozette Rago for The New York Times
Space Is Very Big. Some of Its New Explorers Will Be Tiny.
The success of NASA’s MarCO mission means that so-called cubesats likely will travel to distant reaches of our solar system.
By Shannon Stirone
PhotoCreditProject Apollo Archive/NASA
Sealed Cache of Moon Rocks to Be Opened by NASA
A half-century ago, three containers of lunar samples were set aside, to await study by more advanced technology. Their time has come.
By Shannon Hall
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NASA’s Opportunity Rover Dies on Mars
Fifteen years and 28 miles on the red planet.
By Jonathan Corum
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Chang’e-4 Studies the Moon
China’s Chang’e-4 became the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the far side of the moon.
By Jonathan Corum
PhotoCreditMichael Soluri
Sync your calendar with the solar system
Never miss an eclipse, a meteor shower, a rocket launch or any other astronomical and space event that's out of this world.
By Michael Roston
Profiles in Science
PhotoCreditJenna Schoenefeld for The New York Times
How Do You Find an Alien Ocean? Margaret Kivelson Figured It Out
For forty years, the physicist at U.C.L.A. has been uncovering the outer solar system’s secrets. Few scientists know more about the mysteries of Jupiter and its icy moons.
By David W. Brown
PhotoCreditCooper Neill for The New York Times
Neil Armstrong Walked on the Moon. To These Boys, He Was Just Dad.
With an upcoming auction of the astronaut’s keepsakes, his sons reflect on an unusual childhood.
By Kenneth Chang
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PhotoCreditNASA Goddard
Cut the Science Budget? Not So Fast
Contrary to first impressions, Congress has stood up for scientific research.
By Dennis Overbye
PhotoCreditYin Bogua/Xinhua, via Getty Images
In Science, as in Sports, the Sidelines Matter
Tomorrow’s Nobel prizes are won today off-season and in the back office.
By Dennis Overbye
PhotoCreditNASA
Apollo 8’s Earthrise: The Shot Seen Round the World
Half a century ago today, a photograph from the moon helped humans rediscover Earth.
Stephen Hawking’s Final Paper: How to Escape From a Black Hole
In a study from beyond the grave, the theoretical physicist sings (mathematically) of memory, loss and the possibility of data redemption.
By Dennis Overbye
PhotoCreditAntara Foto/Reuters
Mars Is Frigid, Rusty and Haunted. We Can’t Stop Looking at It.
An oasis in the sky inspires the imagination. A series of discoveries refreshes our yearning for the red planet.
By Dennis Overbye
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Falcon Heavy Launch Postponed by SpaceX
The most powerful rocket now available on Earth will wait another day for its next journey to orbit and back.
By Kenneth Chang
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Expected Soon: First-Ever Photo of a Black Hole
Have astronomers finally recorded an image of a black hole? The world will know on Wednesday.
By Dennis Overbye
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For Deeper Insights, Japanese Space Mission Bombed an Asteroid to Make a Crater
The Hayabusa2 spacecraft aimed to advance its study of the rock called Ryugu by making a hole on its surface with a copper projectile.
By Michael Roston and Kenneth Chang
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Watch Two Tiny Moons Eclipse the Sun on Mars
Phobos and Deimos, the two Martian moons, got between the red planet and the sun in March.
By Kenneth Chang
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Apocalypse Next? Astronomers Find a Chunk of Planet Around a Distant, Dead Star
A disk of debris around a faraway white dwarf offers a glimpse of our own planet’s eventual fate.
By Dennis Overbye
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Israel Wants to Land on the Moon. First Its Spacecraft Needs to Stick the Orbit.
“It’s not a complex maneuver. It’s just not a time to have a sudden small problem. We’ll be nervous.”
By Kenneth Chang
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NASA Says Debris From India’s Antisatellite Test Puts Space Station at Risk
India’s test launch last week “is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight that we need to see have happen,” the space agency’s administrator said.
By Kai Schultz
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Something on Mars Is Producing Gas Usually Made by Living Things on Earth
Mars emits methane, a European orbiter has confirmed. But scientists can’t say yet whether the source is geological or biological.
By Kenneth Chang
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Saturn’s Rings Are Sculpted by a Crew of Mini-Moons
Data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft are helping to explain how Atlas, Daphnis, Epimetheus, Pan and Pandora are distinctive among Saturn’s many satellites.
By Nadia Drake
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India Shot Down a Satellite, Modi Says, Shifting Balance of Power in Asia
The test could destabilize the balance of power between India and Pakistan and escalate the rivalry with China. With elections near, Mr. Modi played the news for maximum effect.
