the Sun

miscellanyHubble Space TelescopeMarsclimate changesupernovaeexoplanetscometsgravitational wavessolar systemESA2025Jupiterwhite dwarfsPlutoaliensdustasteroidsneutron starsastrophotographymeteoritesstar clustersvolcanoesmathEarthcosmologyGlobular clusterspulsarsmoonsthe SunscifiFast Radio BurstsVera Rubin ObservatorynebulaAstronomybrown dwarfsNASAPoliticsgalaxy clusterslight pollutionplanetary nebulaerecipedebunkingblack holesHumorphysicsTVnight skygravitational lensingVenusAbout the newsletterspacered dwarfsthe moonActive galaxiesAbout mespace explorationimpactsnovaebinary starsSgr A*starsTNOssciencegalaxiesJWSTGamma-ray burstsdark matterColliding galaxiesstar formationMilky Way GalaxyScientific AmericanillusionsGaia
solar systemsolar system
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Will the dying sun eat Earth or not?

Will the dying sun eat Earth or not?

When the sun becomes red giant, it may not consume our planet after all. Plus: Watch the Perseid meteors shower this week!

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
MarsMars
+7+7
Radioactive cosmic dust is raining down on Earth’s surface

Radioactive cosmic dust is raining down on Earth’s surface

It sounds worse than it is. In fact, it’s really cool and telling us about our local galactic neighborhood

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
supernovaesupernovae
+5+5
Record-breaking JWST observation shows the universe’s first stars were better alchemists than we thought

Record-breaking JWST observation shows the universe’s first stars were better alchemists than we thought

Astronomers find more oxygen than expected in an incredibly distant galaxy

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+7+7
Dimming the sun is probably a very bad idea

Dimming the sun is probably a very bad idea

Global warming is a massive problem, but let’s not play games with our only planet’s ecosphere

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
Hubble Space TelescopeHubble Space Telescope
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The Red Spider Nebula: JWST’s view of gorgeously dying star

The Red Spider Nebula: JWST’s view of gorgeously dying star

In stellar death lies great beauty, and amazing science

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+6+6
The astronomer who discovered what the universe was made of

The astronomer who discovered what the universe was made of

Cecelia Payne-Gaposchkin was an amazing scientist, and her work wasn’t all that long ago

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
Hubble Space TelescopeHubble Space Telescope
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Hubble (accidentally!) catches a comet tearing itself apart

Hubble (accidentally!) catches a comet tearing itself apart

Images show it fragmenting into several smaller pieces. Plus: I’m on EnterpriseSplaining.

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
supernovaesupernovae
+4+4
A red supergiant that isn’t yellow
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A red supergiant that isn’t yellow

WOH G64 has apparently kept its hue. Also, the sun does seem to be able to fry asteroids that venture too close

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
asteroidsasteroids
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Standing up for Science rally, Physics Girl is back, and we need to find more asteroids

Standing up for Science rally, Physics Girl is back, and we need to find more asteroids

I’m angry about anti-science attacks, Dianna Cowern has made a new video, and a graph shows why we need to look for near-Earth asteroids

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
supernovaesupernovae
+7+7
Watch a supernova explosion sweep through space
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Watch a supernova explosion sweep through space

Animation shows X-rays from an exploded star as it expands over the decades

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
the Sunthe Sun
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Solar eclipse seen from space!

Solar eclipse seen from space!

Also, a small galaxy may be currently ramming through the Milky Way, so there’s that too

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
Hubble Space TelescopeHubble Space Telescope
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The most difficult planet Hubble’s ever seen
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The most difficult planet Hubble’s ever seen

In 1995 it slewed almost too close to the Sun

Philip Plait
Philip Plait