Space, Sun | featured news

Astronomers trawling through a mess of stellar data discover that Tau Ceti, our nearest single Sun-like star, hosts five planets - one in its "habitable zone".

A heavy-duty solar flare erupted on the surface of the sun midmorning Thursday, and it appeared from early data that a solar storm from the X-class eruption was headed toward Earth.

A star already known to host five alien planets may actually be home to a whopping nine full-fledged worlds - a planetary arrangement that, if confirmed, would outnumber our own solar system and set a new record for the most populated system of extrasolar planets yet found.

A glimpse beyond our solar system reveals the neighborhood just outside the sun's influence is different and stranger than expected, scientists reported Tuesday....

A huge sunspot unleashed a blob of charged plasma Thursday that space weather watchers predict will blast past the Earth on Sunday. Satellite operators and power companies are keeping a close eye on the incoming cloud, which could distort the Earth’s magnetic field and disrupt radio communications, especially at higher latitudes.

Earth braces for cosmic tsunami Tuesday night as tons of plasma from massive solar flare heads directly toward the planet ...

A rare sun-like star that is both young and relatively close to Earth has been found to be harboring an even weirder object - a failed star locked in a close orbit around its host, according to a new study.

Astronomers announced this week they found a water-rich and relatively nearby planet that's similar in size to Earth.

A distant "sun" residing in the constellation Aquila has become the smallest star known to host a planet.