Astronomy

The 2020 event, which went virtual, is over, but you can still peruse the astronomically awesome content for months to come.

Explore a “supermassive black hole” with the UCLA Planetarium via a virtual event.

The two-day Perseid meteor shower offers one of the most spectacular shooting star displays.

NASA announced that the annual Perseid meteor shower, one of the most highly anticipated showers of the year, will peak on the morning of August 12. We’ve rounded up some times you might want to have your eyes on the skies this month, for the Perseids and otherwise. Aug. 9: Grab a pair of binoculars before dawn and look toward…

An image of a mesmerizing cosmic spiral, twisting and swirling around a galactic maw, may be the first direct evidence of the birth of a planet ever captured by humanity. The European Southern Observatory released a picture Wednesday of what astronomers believe shows the process of cosmic matter in the midst of a gravitational tipping point, collapsing into a new…

Astronomers have discovered the closest black hole to Earth

An asteroid discovered by researchers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena more than two decades ago whizzed past Earth early Wednesday morning in what is considered a “close approach,” but it was expected be more than 3.9 million miles away. The asteroid, dubbed 1998 OR2, is roughly 1.5 miles wide, and JPL officials said they’ll take advantage of the flyby…

If you like shooting stars, you’re in luck. The annual Lyrid meteor shower, which is active from April 16 to April 25, is expected to peak late Tuesday night and into early Wednesday morning.

The nature-amazing event returns in September for three starry nights of mooning over the Milky Way (and more).

A rare solar event is taking place early Tuesday morning where the Earth, Mars and the Moon will all align. Anthony Yanez reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. 

It’s a great time to be an early bird because an unusual astronomical sighting called Lunar Occultation can likely be visible right outside your front door early Tuesday morning. From 3:38 a.m. to 4:29 a.m. Pacific Time, the Earth, Mars and the moon will perfectly align. Mars will then fall into the crescent moon’s shadow for more than an...

A science teacher from Santa Clarita is going above and beyond, and will soon fly on the seventh cycle of NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, also called SOFIA.

Science teacher Kathryn Smith from Hart High School was selected to fly on the seventh cycle of NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).

Hawthorne-based SpaceX sent another satellite into orbit Thursday, launching a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and successfully recovering the rocket’s first stage on a floating barge for reuse in future missions. The Falcon 9 rocket — which was previously used in a July 22 satellite-launch mission — launched at 12:46 p.m. California time.

A streak of light that cast a brilliant glow in the night sky was captured on camera late Tuesday in Phoenix.

The usually reliable Geminid meteor shower peaks Tuesday night. The problem this year is the meteors arrive at the same time as the full Supermoon. Most years on a clear night you can see 120 meteors per hour but the moon will hide all but the brightest streaks.