Galaxy Chronicle

Supermoon: What It Really Is, Why It Happens, and When to Catch the Next One

A supermoon is a full moon that lines up with the Moon's closest approach to Earth, making it look a little bigger and noticeably brighter than an ordinary full moon. At its best, a supermoon can appear up to 14% larger and about 30%...

What Is a Constellation? A Beginner’s Guide to the Sky’s 88 Star Patterns

A constellation is a group of stars that forms a recognizable pattern in the night sky, one we've given a name, usually after a mythological figure, animal, or object. There are 88 of them officially recognized, and together they map out the entire sky....
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Venus: Size, Distance From the Sun, and Its Backward Orbit

Venus is often called Earth's twin, and on paper, that nickname makes sense, its...

What Is a Magnetar? The Strongest Magnets in the Universe

Somewhere out there sits a stellar remnant so magnetically powerful it could, in theory,...

What Is a Quasar? The Brightest Objects in the Entire Universe

Point a telescope at a quasar and you'd see what looks like an ordinary,...

What Is Dark Energy? The Mysterious Force Pulling the Universe Apart

In just two weeks, NASA is launching a telescope specifically built to chase down...

What Is the Big Bang? The Moment Everything Started

Everything that exists, every galaxy, star, planet, and atom in your own body, traces...

What Is a Neutron Star? The Densest Objects Astronomers Can Actually See

Squeeze the mass of our entire Sun into a sphere about the size of...

What Is a Red Giant? The Bloated Stage Every Sun-Like Star Eventually Reaches

Betelgeuse just made headlines again this July, when astronomers finally captured a direct image...

What Is a White Dwarf? The Compact Corpse of a Dying Star

Most stars don't explode when they die. Instead, they shrink down into something small,...

Sagittarius A*: The Monster Black Hole Hiding at the Center of Our Own Galaxy

Every time you look up at the band of the Milky Way stretching across...

How Many Solar Systems Are in the Milky Way?

It's one of those questions that sounds simple until you actually try to answer...

Neptune: Just How Far Is the Distance From the Sun to Neptune?

Neptune sits so far out in the solar system that it took mathematics, not...

Mercury: A Complete Look at the Closest Planet to the Sun

Mercury doesn't get nearly as much attention as flashier neighbors like Mars or Saturn,...

Latest articles

Supermoon: What It Really Is, Why It Happens, and When to Catch the Next One

A supermoon is a full moon that lines up with the Moon's closest approach...

What Is a Constellation? A Beginner’s Guide to the Sky’s 88 Star Patterns

A constellation is a group of stars that forms a recognizable pattern in the...

How Many Planets Are There? The Real Answer Is Bigger Than Eight

There are eight planets in our solar system: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,...

What Is a Galaxy? A Simple Guide to the Great Islands of Stars

A galaxy is an enormous collection of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter, all...