Donate

AstronomyAstronomy

Explore the universe with KQED Science! Dive into the latest astronomy news, discover celestial events, and unravel the mysteries of outer space.

The dark silhouette of a rough-edged tree leans to the left of the image, against an indigo sky whitened with star clusters. A thick streak of light from a meteor drops down on the right side of the image.

How to Watch the Perseid Meteor Shower Now

Save Article
The bright star at the center of NGC 3132, Southern Nebula Ring, while prominent when viewed by NASA's Webb Telescope in near-infrared light, plays a supporting role in sculpting the surrounding nebula. A second star, barely visible at lower left along one of the bright star's diffraction spikes, is the nebula's source. It has ejected at least eight layers of gas and dust over thousands of years.

NASA's James Webb Telescope Captures Groundbreaking Images of Distant Galaxies

Save Article

How to See Five Planets All in a Row, in the Early Dawn Sky

Save Article
A large bright, white moon glows in the sky, hovering between two dark and craggy rock formations shaped like towers. The sky is blue-black.

See Photos of This Week's Strawberry Supermoon From Around the World

Save Article
Five moons move from lower right to upper left, showing the progression of a total lunar eclipse. The first moon is one-half dark gray, with a black bite taken out of the left side, as the moon moves toward Earth's shadow. In the second phase, there's a sliver of bright sunlight on the lower right side of the moon, while most of the moon is dark with a slightly reddish cast. In the third phase, the moon is fully in Earth's shadow and covered in a red/orange light. In the fourth phase, the moon is moving out of Earth's shadow and is dark grey with a reddish cast and pale grey on the right side. In the fifth and final phase, there's a dark shadow on the right quarter of the moon, while the rest is white and grey.

How to See Sunday's 'Blood Moon' Total Lunar Eclipse in the Bay Area

Save Article

This Is the First Image of the Black Hole at the Heart of the Milky Way

Save Article
A golden streak arches across the black sky, with tiny dots of stars in the background. In the foreground, blurred streaks of gold flash through the black space in lines and ovals. This is an image of a Lyrid meteor caught on video camera from aboard the International Space Station.

Here's How to See the Lyrids Meteor Shower Plus a Dramatic Lineup of Planets This Month

Save Article
Artist illustration showing a square white box with large, flat, rectangular blades attached at one side. This cubesat approaches a round grey surface, with the edge of the sun off to the left of the image.

Here's How You Get Ready to Go to the Moon

Save Article
White birds with black-tipped wings launch out of a desert pond.

Here's What We Gain From Preserving Nature's Sounds

Save Article
This is an artist's rendering of the spacecraft Juno, the planet Jupiter, and Jupiter's largest moon, Ganymede. Juno looks like a ceiling fan with three flat blades and a silver cylinder in the center. It's in the foreground, with Jupiter behind it, a planet shown in bands of rust, blue-grey and pinkish brown. To the left of the spacecraft is Ganymede, shown as a planet with dark and light grey patches, pockmarked by craters.

Juno Spacecraft Captures Sounds As It Flies Past Jupiter's Moon

Save Article

Thousands of Asteroids Orbit Near Earth. NASA's Next-Gen Spotter Helps Protect Us

Save Article
A white spacecraft propelled by a red rocket launches above the blue marble Earth.

NASA to Launch a Telescope Bigger and More Powerful Than Hubble

Save Article

More articles

  4. 5
Player sponsored by