Phil Plait

There are parts of the universe, and of the electromagnetic spectrum, that we’re not covering with our telescopes—but not as many as you might think!

Our galaxy and its nearest large companion, Andromeda, may be headed for a collision on a cosmic scale. What happens then?

Deep surveys of the sky have turned up galaxies vastly larger than our own. Are there even bigger ones yet to be seen?

Here’s a hand-wavy attempt: a galaxy is a collection of stars, gas, dust and dark matter all held together by mutual gravity. At the lower end of the scale, some very small galaxies could be mistaken...

Planets might exist in the least likely place you’d imagine—around the outskirts of supermassive black holes

Planets might exist in the least likely place you'd imagine—around the outskirts of supermassive black holes

Instead they circled a pulsar, the dead remains of an exploded star. Clearly nature excels at making planets, even under extremely hostile conditions. Planets like those in our solar system form fro...

Meteor camera networks can reveal the hidden history of the solar system, and you can assist from your own backyard

The James Webb Space Telescope has found nearby brown dwarfs masquerading as far-distant galaxies. The discovery reinforces how, in astronomy, what you see isn’t always what you get

The James Webb Space Telescope has found nearby brown dwarfs masquerading as far-distant galaxies. The discovery reinforces how, in astronomy, what you see isn't always what you get