Latest articles by Robert Roy Britt
What are lunar eclipses and how do they occur?
Reference Lunar eclipses occur when Earth blocks the sun and casts a shadow over the surface of the moon. We explore the different types of lunar eclipses here.
Solar system planets, order and formation: The ultimate guide
Reference Explore the eight (or nine) planets of the solar system in order from nearest to the sun and discover the many wonders of our solar system along the way.
Black Hole Forges Invisible Bubble
Astronomers use the finding to calculate black hole output, and it looks like they are more powerful than expected.
Venus Visible In the Daytime Sky
Venus is so bright you can see it even in the daytime right now — if you know where to look.
Spectacular Meteor Shower and Rare Planet Alignment Coincide
The Perseid meteor shower and a rare planet alignment both occur this week.
First Person: False Alarm Leads to Once-in-a-Lifetime Shooting Star
A bright fireball streaks through the Phoenix sky, spotted fortuitously.
New Sunspots Could Produce Space Storms
A new group of sunspots has produced moderate (M-class) solar flares, but forecasters say it could unleash a large (X-class) flare.
Biggest and Brightest Full Moon of 2010 Tonight
The biggest full moon of 2010 occurs tonight, Friday Jan. 29. What you can see and how best to view the moon.
Hole in the Moon Could Shelter Colonists
The hole in the moon is likely a collapsed lava tube. It could provide shelter as a moon base.
Tonight's Blue Moon: All a Big Mistake
Revelers can ring in the new year with a cosmic flourish tonight, celebrating the first New Year's Eve blue moon since 1990.
Stars Find Fountain of Youth Via Vampirism and Collisions
Some stars rely on vampirism to suck the life out of a companion star, while others are rejuvenated in cosmic collisions.
Best Meteor Shower of 2009 Peaks Tonight
This year's annual Geminid meteor shower is expected to be a doozie, producing up to 140 "shooting stars" per hour.
Strong Leonid Meteor Shower Peaks Early Tuesday Morning
Early Tuesday morning, a better-than-average shooting star show is expected.
150 Years Ago: The Worst Solar Storm Ever
On Sept. 2, 1859, an incredible storm of charged particles sent by the sun slammed into Earth's atmosphere, overpowered it, and caused havoc on the ground.
Newfound Planet Orbits Backward
The star and its planet, WASP-17, are about 1,000 light-years away.
Strong Meteor Shower Expected
In North America, the best time to watch will be between midnight to 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 12.
Saturn's Rings to Disappear Tuesday
In a celestial feat any magician would appreciate, Saturn will make its wide but thin ring system disappear from our view Aug. 11.
New Theory: Galileo Discovered Neptune
It has long been known that Galileo observed Neptune, but it was thought that he discounted the object as a star.
The Sun Has Spots, Finally
After one of the longest sunspot droughts in modern times, solar activity picked up quickly over the weekend.
Wild Fireworks Spotted in Space
New image of a gaseous space nebula reveals tens of thousands of giant comet-like knots raining down.
Space Shuttle and Strange Clouds Key to Mysterious 1908 Explosion
What caused a huge explosion over Siberia in 1908, flattening an area as big as a large city?
