Space - The Atlantic

Space

April 9, 2026

A blue-tined photo showing the Earth setting behind the moon

Books

What Dante Is Trying to Tell Us

Eric Bulson

February 2026 Issue

black-and-white engraving of two cloaked figures standing before vast concentric rings of thousands of angels spiraling up toward the sun

Science

The Truth Physics Can No Longer Ignore

Adam Frank

December 15, 2025

Collage of a hazy image of a green landscape, a hand drawing lines of chalk on a chalkboard, and an image of cells against a yellow background

Science

A New View Into the Universe

Michael Jones McKean

June 23, 2025

The Trifid nebula (top right) and the Lagoon nebula,

Science

The Nobel Prize Winner Who Thinks We Have the Universe All Wrong

Ross Andersen

May 30, 2025

Photo illustration with Adam Riess behind a schematic representation of the standard model of cosmology

Science

The Most Distant Known Galaxy

Alan Taylor

December 25, 2024

A field of thousands of small galaxies of various shapes and colors on the black background of space

Science

An Energetic Stellar Nursery

Alan Taylor

December 24, 2024

A star cluster is shown inside a large nebula of multicolored gas and dust. The material forms dark ridges and peaks of gas and dust surrounding the cluster, lit on the inner side, while layers of diffuse, translucent clouds blanket them.

Science

A Spray of Glowing Filaments

Alan Taylor

December 23, 2024

A bright binary star surrounded by a nebula. The star, in the center, is a large white spot surrounded by a circular glow. The nebula extends far above, below, left, and right of the star in long, arcing shapes made of thin, multicolored filaments.

Science

The Edge of a Spiral

Alan Taylor

December 22, 2024

A spiral galaxy seen directly from the side, such that its disc looks like a narrow diagonal band across the image. A band of dark dust covers the disc in the center most of the way out to the ends, and the disc glows around that.

Science

Inside a Chaotic Nebula

Alan Taylor

December 21, 2024

Gas, dust, and starlight form a glowing explosion, vaguely shaped like an hourglass lying on its side.

Science

A Galactic Chain

Alan Taylor

December 20, 2024

A pair of interacting galaxies, one smaller than the other. They appear as a broad, soft glow in which individual stars aren't visible. A number of bright stars and smaller, background galaxies are also featured—three such galaxies lie in a vertical line below the right-hand galaxy of the pair.

Time-Travel Thursdays

A Nonreligious Holiday Ritual

John Hendrickson

December 19, 2024

Science

A Beacon in the Clouds

Alan Taylor

December 19, 2024

A bright young star within a colorful cloud-like nebula. The star is the brightest spot, dominating the right side of the image, surrounded by six large spokes of light that cross the image.

Science

An Energetic Protostar

Alan Taylor

December 18, 2024

A bright point of light shines near center-right, surrounded by glowing clouds against black space. A blue jet of material extends roughly through the center of the image, partially obscured by the clouds.

Science

A Gathering of Ancient Stars

Alan Taylor

December 17, 2024

A dense cluster of many thousands of stars, brightening and becoming more dense toward the center of the image

Science

A New View of a Distant Spiral

Alan Taylor

December 16, 2024

A tight view of a face-on spiral galaxy anchored by a central region that has a light-blue haze, surrounded by complex orange-colored spiral arms

Science

Glowing From Within

Alan Taylor

December 15, 2024

A nebula made up of cloudy gas and dust in the form of soft and wispy clouds, dotted with stars

Science

A Sky Full of Stars

Alan Taylor

December 14, 2024

Hundreds of bright and differently colored stars, seen in a cluster, with most stars displaying six long diffraction spikes, artifacts of the telescope's structure

Science

A Cloud in the Deep Sky

Alan Taylor

December 13, 2024

A large dark cloud is contained within the frame. Its top half is textured like smoke and has wispy gaps; at the bottom and at the sides, it fades gradually out of view. On the left are several orange stars.

Science

A Clash of Titans

Alan Taylor

December 12, 2024

Two spiral galaxies take up almost the entire view and appear to be overlapping. The background of space is black, dotted with tiny foreground stars and extremely distant galaxies.

Science

Gazing Deeply Through Time

Alan Taylor

December 11, 2024

A field of galaxies on the black background of space. In the middle is a collection of dozens of yellowish galaxies that form a foreground galaxy cluster.

Science

The Glow of Hot, Young Stars

Alan Taylor

December 10, 2024

Many small galaxies are scattered on a black background. The image is dominated by an irregular galaxy with a bright central region of white and blue stars appear as two distinct lobes, surrounded by brown dusty filaments.

Science

A Dark and Dusty Galaxy

Alan Taylor

December 9, 2024

A telescopic view of a distant spiral galaxy dominated by thick lanes of dark dust

Science

A Mysterious Nebula

Alan Taylor

December 8, 2024

Colorful swirls and cloudlike structures captured by telescope

Science

A Supernova Seen Thrice

Alan Taylor

December 7, 2024

A view of many galaxies in deep space, with several of them smeared, distorted, and magnified in the center

Science

A Galactic Collision

Alan Taylor

December 6, 2024

A telescopic view of two colliding spiral galaxies, with one tilted and slightly warped

Science

Day 5 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Alan Taylor

December 5, 2024

A telescope view showing a cloud-like structure of gas and dust at the bottom of the image, with distant stars and galaxies visible above.

Science

Day 4 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Alan Taylor

December 4, 2024

A view of the planet Jupiter, showing many broad and multi-colored bands of swirling storms in its atmosphere, and one small moon that casts a shadow

Science

Day 3 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Alan Taylor

December 3, 2024

A telescopic view of a hazy galaxy lined with lanes of dust that form a rough wavy pattern

Science

Day 2 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Alan Taylor

December 2, 2024

The interior of a nebula filled with many stars and clumpy clouds of gas illuminated in shades of blue, orange, and red

Science

On Election Night, Stare Into the Abyss

Ross Andersen

November 5, 2024

Space-telescope image of a star cluster, shown inside a large nebula

Science

For How Much Longer Can Life Continue on This Troubled Planet?

Ross Andersen

October 3, 2024

Science

Totality Is Worth It

Marina Koren

April 8, 2024

The silhouette of two people watching a partial solar eclipse in a deep-orange sky

Science

The Most Dazzling Eclipse in the Universe

Adam Frank

April 1, 2024

Composite image of nine stages of a total solar eclipse

Culture

The Real Issue With Netflix’s 3 Body Problem

Shirley Li

March 23, 2024

A distorted reflection of a gray-haired person

Science

The Universe Is Nothing Without Us

Adam Frank

March 5, 2024

A sketch of a human eye overlaid with a chart of constellations

Sections

The Print Edition

What Will Humanity Do With the Moon?

What Dante Is Trying to Tell Us

The Truth Physics Can No Longer Ignore

A New View Into the Universe

The Nobel Prize Winner Who Thinks We Have the Universe All Wrong

The Most Distant Known Galaxy

An Energetic Stellar Nursery

A Spray of Glowing Filaments

The Edge of a Spiral

Inside a Chaotic Nebula

A Galactic Chain

A Nonreligious Holiday Ritual

A Beacon in the Clouds

An Energetic Protostar

A Gathering of Ancient Stars

A New View of a Distant Spiral

Glowing From Within

A Sky Full of Stars

A Cloud in the Deep Sky

A Clash of Titans

Gazing Deeply Through Time

The Glow of Hot, Young Stars

A Dark and Dusty Galaxy

A Mysterious Nebula

A Supernova Seen Thrice

A Galactic Collision

Day 5 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Day 4 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Day 3 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

Day 2 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar

On Election Night, Stare Into the Abyss

For How Much Longer Can Life Continue on This Troubled Planet?

Totality Is Worth It

The Most Dazzling Eclipse in the Universe

The Real Issue With Netflix’s 3 Body Problem

The Universe Is Nothing Without Us