Hundreds of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have been recorded as part of an enormous global effort so extensive it 'rivals the catalog of deep-sky objects created by Messier 250 years ago', astronomers say.

In 1781, French astronomer Charles Messier published a catalog of 103 objects in the heavens. He was primarily interested in comets, but kept finding fuzzy smudges that did not move against the ...

Star clusters are among the most beautiful objects in the heavens, and the late summer sky features one of the finest of them all. Just to the south of the tail of Aquila, the Eagle, and in the tiny ...

Look low in the western sky around 5 a.m. to see Leo’s brightest star, Regulus, a mere ½ degree (less than one finger at ...

Back in the late 18th and early 19th centuries — long before anyone had any real idea of all that lay out there among the stars — a French astronomer spent his nights scouring the sky for his prey.

Many of the best-loved galaxies in the cosmos are remarkably large, close, massive, bright, or beautiful, often with an unusual or intriguing structure or history. However, it takes all kinds to make ...