Astronomy, Venus | featured news

Many skywatchers go through their entire lives without ever seeing the elusive planet of Mercury. Thursday morning, Aug. 16, is one of the rare opportunities when you can catch a glimpse of  it.

Contact! For the last time in 105 years, Earthlings are watching the planet Venus creep across the surface of the sun during a scientifically significant transit that lasts almost seven hours.

It's your last chance to catch one of the rarest cosmic spectacles - Venus slowly crossing the face of the sun. Weather permitting, the transit of Venus will be visible from much of Earth - Tuesday from the Western Hemisphere and Wednesday from the Eastern Hemisphere. This sight won't come again until 105 years from now - in 2117....

A number of groups were setting up viewing sites in New York for the transit of Venus, an astronomical event that occurs in pairs about once every century.

It's a spectacle that won't repeat for another century - the sight of Venus slowly inching across the face of the sun....

Scientists discover that Venus has an ozone layer high its its atmosphere, overturning the long-held view that it did not.

A Japanese probe reached Venus on Tuesday and prepared to enter orbit on a two-year mission that would mark a major milestone for Japan's space program and could shed light on the climate of Earth's mysterious neighbor....

After Venus sets, it's Jupiter that takes over for the rest of the night, outshining everything in the night sky but the moon.

Japan's space agency is launching a mission to Venus to study its weather and hunt for signs of lightning and volcanoes.

Astronomers calculate there is a tiny chance that Mars or Venus might collide with Earth - though not for at least a billion years.