Cosmic Perspectives from Amid the Stars:
Astronomy Blog

The universe encompasses everything we know to exist. Time itself only has meaning within the universe. It’s impossible to imagine that the universe may have once not existed at all, and yet, that’s the current consensus among cosmologists. The Big Bang is the most widely accepted theory for how the universe began.

The Space Race was the Cold War competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to achieve superior space travel technology, which eventually culminated in the first manned Moon landing and potentially contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Even today, our space programs are built upon the base established during the period. But why was the Space Race so important to both nations, and who ended up winning it?

The solar eclipse is the well-known event when the Moon passes between the Earth and Sun, blocking the Sun from view. Less known is the lunar eclipse, where the Earth passes between the Sun and Moon, blocking the light of the Sun that usually reflects off the Moon. The morning of March 3, 2026, at around 3:00 am PST, will provide this special show of celestial alignment.

Social media is buzzing with news of a so-called “planet parade” on Saturday, February 28. But before you get your hopes up, let’s separate the astronomical reality from the viral hype.

You might have heard before that the nearest star is 4.24 light-years from Earth. Or that the closest galaxy is 2.5 million light-years from the Milky Way. Or even that the most distant observed objects are 33.8 billion light-years away. But how do we measure these distances in space? After all, there’s no such thing as a cosmic ruler. That’s where the cosmic distance ladder comes in.

There is an estimated septillion stars in the observable universe (that’s a one followed by 24 zeroes). They’re everywhere you look and come in all sorts of varieties. Every star is unique, but they all follow a similar life cycle. A star is a ball of gas, usually hydrogen and helium, that is so dense, it can fuse that hydrogen into heavier elements, creating energy. Depending on its size and rate of fusion, a star can live anywhere from a few million years to trillions of

Artemis II is set to bring humans back to the Moon no earlier than February 8. We might be days away from this milestone in space exploration and travel. But what’s the purpose of Artemis II and what’s its mission? Artemis II, the second mission of the Artemis Program, is the first crewed mission to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. While Artemis II won’t be landing on the Moon, it is a pivotal step in our return to the Moon’s surface as well as our travels beyond.

For as long as humans have been telling stories, we’ve dreamed of worlds beyond our own. Today those worlds are no longer mere stories. We live in a golden age of exoplanet discovery. An exoplanet is any planet that exists beyond our Solar System, and since the 1990s, we’ve confirmed over 6,000 of them. It’s safe to assume that planets would exist around other stars. After all, there’s nothing special about the Sun. It’s a very average star.

When you look up at the night sky, you’re not only looking out into space, but also back in time. You’re seeing stars that exist hundreds to thousands of light-years away, and that means you’re looking back hundreds to thousands of years into the past.

The countdown has begun. Part of the groundbreaking Artemis Program, the Artemis II launch is nearly upon us. No later than April of 2026 will Artemis II launch with the first crewed trip to the Moon in over 50 years. Apollo 17 marked the end of an era in 1972 when it departed from the Moon with the final crew to ever make the voyage. Since then, humans have never strayed farther from Earth than low Earth orbit aboard the International Space Station.

Are we alone? It’s a question that humanity has long asked itself. Is the universe beyond this rock we call Earth teeming with life, or is biology a fluke never to be repeated? The only way to know the answers is to hunt for them ourselves.

It’s been over fifty years since the last human set foot on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission. On December 14, 1972, the last ship of the Apollo Program left the Moon, ending the historic three-and-a-half-year era of discovery and exploration. The Apollo Program was the only time in history where humans went beyond low-Earth orbit and set foot on another celestial body. That’s all about to change.

One of the most simultaneously perplexing and fascinating topics in astrophysics is undoubtedly the black hole. They’re holes in the very fabric of space and are famous for how they defy all conventional logic. And, most defining, once something goes in, it’s never coming out. To understand a black hole, you first have to understand gravity. We know the Earth has gravity, but actually, all objects with mass have it as well. The more massive and denser an object is, the more g

Stargazing is a simple pleasure, but also a rewarding one. It is nature’s light show and in its simplicity, it hides realms of complexity. It is simply looking up into the sky that led to many scientific understandings throughout history. But how exactly does one go about stargazing? There’s no right or wrong way. Just look at the stars. But, if you want to enhance your experience, there are factors to consider. The Right Location In the modern age of dense cities and streetl

We live in an age of light. At night, we travel by streetlight and read by lamplight. The dark of night no longer hinders our ability to simply live. As much of a blessing as this feels, it can also be a curse. Less than a hundred years ago, anyone, anywhere, could look up into the sky and see the bright swath of the Milky Way, but that becomes less and less true every day for those living in the modern age of electric lighting.