When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndicate partners may earn a commission. Our solar system is mostly arranged along a plane in space, as in this artist’s diagram that is not to scale. . | Credit: NASA/JPL, CC BY If you saw illustrations or models of the solar systemyou may … Read more
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndicate partners may earn a commission. Credit: Robert Lea (created with Canva) Space fans hoping that the intruder from beyond the solar system known as Comet 3I/ATLAS is actually an alien spacecraft may be disappointed by new research that could close the book on … Read more
The most sensational story of the year for astronomers was the discovery of comet 3I/ATLAS, which was first observed on July 1, 2025 by NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). Although comets pass by Earth regularly, the most famous being Halley’s Comet, there is something extra special about this new discovery. Halley and other … Read more
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndicate partners may earn a commission. Map of local interstellar clouds just outside Earth’s solar system, with blue arrows showing which directions these clouds are moving. The yellow arrow indicates the direction of the sun’s own movement. | Credit: NASA/Adler/U. Chicago/Wesleyan Astronomers have discovered … Read more