Stories by Lee Billings

The problem would likely plague every technological civilization throughout the universe, says astrophysicist Adam Frank

The three-kilometer-wide object is near Jupiter; future spacecraft could visit if its status is confirmed

A disagreement between two canonical measures of intergalactic distances could signal a renaissance in physics—or deep flaws in our studies of cosmic evolution

The InSight Mission will look at Mars's seismic activity and latent heat to find out more about how planets get made--and how humans might live there.

As a major new catalogue of our galaxy's stars from the Gaia space mission reverberates through the scientific community, astronomers are rushing to make revolutionary discoveries

After years of stealthy activity, the start-up is making big moves and revealing its plans to overturn more than a half century of tradition in aerospace manufacturing

Anticipated but never before seen, the existence of tens of thousands of these dark objects at the galactic center could have far-reaching implications for astrophysics

Damaged thrusters and a torn sunshield are keeping the telescope grounded perhaps until May 2020—and throwing astronomy and astrophysics into turmoil

Two years on, the search for our solar system’s missing world is as frenzied as ever—and the putative planet is running out of places to hide

Breakthrough measurements of Jupiter’s hidden interior could revolutionize our understanding of giant planets

The White House’s controversial plans for U.S. space science and exploration could ignite a budgetary battle with Congress

His Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off on the first try, puts a Tesla auto into orbit—and maybe changes the business of space commerce and exploration forever

For most life in the universe, oxygen might be a deadly poison. Surprisingly, that might make such creatures easier for astrobiologists to find

Scientists are peering into the “engines” behind some of the most extreme outbursts in the universe

2017 was a banner year for scientists seeking aliens—even though they (apparently) didn’t find any

General Jay Raymond, Commander of Air Force Space Command, talks about keeping watch over space and cyber.

The era of “multimessenger astronomy” has arrived 

A flying drone to sniff out life on Titan and a spacecraft to return comet samples to Earth are finalists in NASA’s search for its next interplanetary destination

It’s a long shot, but scientists are about to listen very closely for radio signals from our solar system’s first known interstellar visitor

To fully utilize the long-awaited James Webb Space Telescope, researchers will have to squeeze a generation of scientific studies into the multibillion-dollar observatory’s short lifetime

This year’s Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics was awarded to the team behind NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, or WMAP, a space telescope that launched in 2001 to map the cosmic microwave background—the earliest, oldest light we can detect from the universe’s infancy. The WMAP team will split the $3 million award, with its leaders receiving the largest shares. One of those leaders, WMAP’s chief theorist David Spergel, sat down to speak with Scientific American about WMAP’s science and its legacy. 

Most of the alien worlds closest to our own are found around the smallest, dimmest nearby stars

The Executive Secretary of the National Space Council discusses the Trump administration’s plans to “make America great again”—in space

As it departs the inner solar system, scientists are racing to study the object before it fades from view