Why Do Stars Twinkle?
Stars twinkle because their light crosses turbulent layers of Earth’s atmosphere whose temperature and density are constantly changing. Those moving pockets bend the light…
Oct 3, 2026 • 13 min readThe latest stories, clear explanations and essential discoveries from Astronomy.

A neutron star compresses more mass than the Sun into a sphere the size of a city, turning its interior into a laboratory for matter beyond terrestrial reach.
Sep 13, 2026 • 11 min readRead the discovery →New stories, explanations and research from Astronomy.
Stars twinkle because their light crosses turbulent layers of Earth’s atmosphere whose temperature and density are constantly changing. Those moving pockets bend the light…
Oct 3, 2026 • 13 min read
Stars twinkle because their light crosses turbulent layers of Earth’s atmosphere. Pockets of air with different temperatures and densities bend the narrow beam by…
Oct 3, 2026 • 12 min read
Mercury is closer to the Sun, but Venus is hotter because its massive carbon-dioxide atmosphere traps outgoing infrared energy. Venus averages about 464°C at…
Oct 1, 2026 • 14 min read
Rapidly rotating neutron stars sweep radio or high-energy beams past Earth with extraordinary regularity, making them tools for studying gravity and interstellar space.
Sep 30, 2026 • 12 min read
Astronomers combine precisely timed signals from separated antennas to synthesize the resolving power of a much larger telescope.
Sep 30, 2026 • 12 min read
Rapidly rotating neutron stars can sweep radio beams past Earth with extraordinary regularity, allowing astronomers to test gravity, map interstellar matter and search for…
Sep 28, 2026 • 12 min read
Stars begin inside cold molecular clouds when regions become dense enough for gravity to overcome support from gas pressure, turbulence and magnetic fields, producing…
Sep 28, 2026 • 12 min read
Mass bends spacetime and therefore the paths of light, allowing galaxies and clusters to magnify, distort or multiply the images of more distant objects…
Sep 24, 2026 • 12 min read
The Moon does not physically change shape. Half of it is illuminated by the Sun at almost all times, and its phases occur because…
Sep 23, 2026 • 14 min read
The northern lights form when energetic charged particles guided by Earth’s magnetic field collide with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere. Those gases…
Sep 23, 2026 • 14 min read
Kilometre-scale laser interferometers measure minute changes in spacetime and reconstruct mergers far beyond the Milky Way.
Sep 21, 2026 • 12 min readOne remarkable idea at a time—nature, science, history and beyond.