Like a fork piercing a fried egg, a giant finger of hydrogen gas is poking through our Milky Way Galaxy from outside, astronomers using CSIRO radio telescopes at Parkes and Narrabri have found.

The United Nation has stated 2009 as International Year of Astronomy to motivate worldwide interest in astronomy and science especially among young people under the theme "The Universe, yours to discover,".

A pioneering NASA spacecraft Messenger becomes the first to visit planet Mercury in almost 33 years.

While China, India and Russia Accelerate Space Programs Increased Worldwide Launch Failures Affect Commercial Satellite Launch Schedule.

It’s well known that black holes can slow time to a crawl and tidally stretch large objects into spaghetti-like strands. But according to new theoretical research from two NASA astrophysicists, the wrenching gravity just outside the outer boundary of a black hole can produce yet another bizarre effect: light echoes.

An asteroid could hit the planet Mars by the end of next month.

Enceladus, the tiny satellite of Saturn, is colder than ice, but data gathered by the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan has detected a hot spot that could mean there is life in the old moon after all. In fact, for researchers of the outer planets, Enceladus is so intellectually hot, it's smokin'.

A prototype of the P80 rocket motor, which will power the first stage of ESA's new small launcher - Vega, was successfully tested on 4 December at the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Ignition occurred at 12:35 local time (15:35 UTC/GMT).

Astronomers at the University of Michigan have found what are believed to be some of the youngest solar systems yet detected.

Bill Dillon, an avid amateur astronomer and past president of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) with many years of extensive hands-on experience, created a new first for amateur astronomy.

The People's Republic of China today launched its first moon orbiter as part of the country's lunar exploration program.

There is more to a grain of dust than meets the eye, at least for astronomers as they attempt to probe deeper into distant galaxies. Until now dust has been a nuisance because it has obscured galaxies, and the stars within them, by absorbing the radiation they emit.