All Stories

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how we wonder . . . well, where to even begin? We brought in one of the Museum's astronomy educators for a stellar conversation about the birth, life, and death of stars. 

Over 5,800 exoplanets have been discovered, with more and more being observed almost every day. But what makes these objects planets and not stars? How different are planets and stars, actually?

When the Chandra X-Ray Observatory launched 25 years ago, it showed us our universe in a whole new light (literally). 

A preview of the U.S. National Science Foundation Discovering Our Universe gallery.

Astronomer Phil Plait recently published Under Alien Skies. We caught up with him in this interview.

What’s new in aviation and space.

When you look up you can see the stars, the Moon, and sometimes even other planets! We know what these otherworldly objects are because of centuries of research carried out by curious stargazers before us.  

Most of us live in places that give us a less than ideal view of the stars because of light pollution from our cities and suburbs. But keeping our skies dark is important for so many reasons – for nocturnal animals, for science and astronomy, and for cultural traditions around the world.

Our at home movie mini series continues! Emily, Matt and Nick talk about the Man of Steel in his appearance in this 1978 classic.

If you've wondered what the blue igloo at the Udvar-Hazy Center could be, it's the home of a new planetarium that helps students understand science.