Stories by Phil Plait

How can the December solstice have the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere but neither the earliest sunset nor the latest sunrise? Earth’s orbital quirks offer answers

Ice crystals suspended in the air put on a gorgeous show if you know when and where to look

No one has ever seen a newborn star feeding on its natal disk anywhere outside our galaxy—that is, until now

Where can you find the best sites for stargazing—and why is a dark sky important?

This beginner’s guide to telescope basics will help make holiday shopping a little more heavenly

Money, engineering and sheer geometry may mark an end of the line for building ever larger astronomical telescopes

Two unusual annual meteor showers come at the end of the year, and each can spark astonishing celestial fireworks

The James Webb Space Telescope’s studies of the Crab nebula may shed new light on the supernova remnant’s origins

The James Webb Space Telescope is gazing across the universe to find galaxies close to the “cosmic dawn”—and you can explore them from the palm of your hand

Increasing NASA’s budget would ease pressure and allow it to dream even bigger

As space agencies turn their gaze to the moon, we need to consider what werewolves might mean for lunar exploration—and vice versa

The James Webb Space Telescope’s infrared gaze sheds new light on the Orion nebula, an icon of the night sky

When the sun gets feisty, Earth’s atmosphere can literally light up. But seeing the resulting aurora isn’t always easy

Of the thousands of stars visible to the eye, only a few hundred are known to have planets. But that number may be far higher in reality

This annular solar eclipse will only reveal its full glory to a select few, but onlookers across much of the Western Hemisphere can catch a partial glimpse of the dazzling phenomenon

The equinox is not when day and night have equal lengths. Instead it’s something more nuanced but no less glorious

Thousands of spacecraft circle Earth. Seeing them from the ground is surprisingly easy—and a lot of fun

Apollo moon landing conspiracy theories were early hints of the dangerous anti-vax, antiscience beliefs backed by politicians today

Earth is bombarded by millions of bits of cosmic debris every day. Here’s how to distinguish between the different types

Yellow, white or maybe even green—the sun’s hue depends on how you see it

From dim red to brilliant blue, stellar colors span the spectrum—and reveal how much any star brings the heat

If you want to make it through the trials and tribulations of Mercury in retrograde, it’s easy: don’t do anything. You’ll be fine

All you need to see one of the year’s best meteor showers is a clear, dark sky—and patience

Marvel for a moment at the Milky Way’s night-sky spectacle—and the scientific revolutions it has sparked