17 September 2015
The latest downloads from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft show a hazy nitrogen atmosphere backlit by the setting sun – and a landscape bizarrely resembling Earth
16 September 2015
Scientists are studying the best-ever pictures of the mysterious bright spots on the dwarf planet this week, but we still don't know what they are
16 September 2015
From party planets to egg worlds, astronomers are hunting exoplanets even more bizarre than the ones they have spotted already
9 September 2015
Plus why paper titles should be short and sweet, redefining sex, and the soapy secret of a beauty bestseller
2 September 2015
Fresh off its July fly-by of Pluto, the New Horizons spacecraft is bound for a tiny object even further from the sun
1 August 2015
Looking at how quickly stars form can nail down the galaxies that should be best for life – and our own doesn't come out on top
29 July 2015
A band of strangely tight-knit icy objects in the Kuiper belt has defied explanation. Now a simulation rewinding the solar system to its babyhood has an answer
29 July 2015
The New Horizons spacecraft took a backlit shot of Pluto after its historic fly-by, and saw surprisingly Earth-like features
29 July 2015
Our planetary distinctions are crumbling as we continue to uncover incredible diversity in celestial objects, says Jeff Hecht
29 July 2015
We're fixated on the idea that life can only exist on a planet like Earth – but the most likely habitat might lie elsewhere
