We all know that barns are usually red. But why? Well, the answer is a little more complicated than you might think, but basically it's because of nuclear fusion. Read More >>

French astronomers think they found Tatooine in real life and we didn't even have to travel to a galaxy far, far away (well, it's still kind of far). The fictional home of Luke Skywalker is called 2MASS0103(AB)b in real life and it revolves around two suns that move relatively close together. Basically, this planet is in the binary star system just like Tatooine. Read More >>

Looking up into space, it's hard to really imagine the other stars, worlds, and solar systems out there; that's probably why Star Trek captured my imagination so much. So it's awesome when someone puts together proper astronomically-accurate 3D fly-throughs, showing you just what space really looks like. Sit back and watch this stunning render of our nearest solar neighbours from the 100 Year Starship project. [100 Year Starship via Dvice] Read More >>

The universe is a big, ancient place, and we've barely scratched the surface of what it contains. We've also found some real gems, like this one: a star that's almost as old as the universe itself. Read More >>

We all have that friend who seems more interested in the rest of the universe than our home planet. They're glued to space documentaries, they're awed by every new image from the Hubble telescope, and nothing makes them happier than a clear, cloudless night. If there's someone on your list fascinated by the stars, here are some great suggestions to help get your shopping done early. Read More >>

Yesterday afternoon saw the sad demise of the living-legend that was Sir Patrick Moore, instantly recognisable to any fans of amateur astronomy as the host of BBC's long-running The Sky at Night, not to mention GamesMaster. Over here at Giz UK, we're deeply saddened to hear of his passing. To remind you all what a wonderful man he was, we've gathered a collection of his best moments; what are yours? Read More >>

If you're stuck in a big city with no hopes of seeing more than a handful of lights in the night sky, you'll more than get your fill of celestial bodies with this mind-blowing site that puts 100,000 stars in your browser. For full enjoyment you'll need a capable system with a decent graphics card, and about three hours of free time tonight to fully explore the wonders in our local galaxy. [100,000 Stars via The Awesomer] Read More >>

You are looking at more than 84 million stars, the largest ever catalogue of the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Astronomers at the Paranal Observatory in Cerro Paranal, Chile, stitched the 9 gigapixels of the original image from thousands of individual infrared pictures.You can see the full, zoomable version here. Read More >>

The answer to that question seems easy: Because it's night, duh. But on second thought, you'll remember the sky is actually littered with stars, and even though our sun is pretty close, it seems like a few hundred thousand (Hundred million? Hundred trillion?!) other stars should at least put out a better glow. Read More >>

Like NASA says, these stars look like the thousand bright flashes of people taking photos just before a big rock concert. In reality, they are the oldest stars in our very own Milky Way, captured by Hubble. Read More >>

Images of deep space are serenely beautiful. So much so that it's easy to forget just how immensely violent and massive everything is out there. Over at the Bad Astronomy Blog, Phil Plait shares an incredible image of the Carina Nebula, a window into the heart of the Milky Way: Read More >>

Canon's latest DSLR update is being aimed at those who like to sit outside with a flask of tea all night, waiting for the clouds to go away. It's for Brian Cox enthusiasts who take photographs of the stars. Read More >>

No one asked James Cameron to trot out Titanic again with an annoying 3D makeover. But at least this time around the stars in scenes where the night sky is visible will all be in the right place. Read More >>

You're looking at the heart of the most powerful X-Ray laser machine ever created by humans, billions of times stronger than anything before it. It's the Linac Coherent Light Source and it has created something that nobody has made before on this planet: the kind of matter that you can only find in the heart of stars and giant planets. Read More >>

Our Sun's energy is the source of all life on the planet, sure. But what if it was also the source of the first organic compounds that gave rise to life itself? A team of Hong Kong researchers believe they've proved just that. Read More >>