Back in the 1980’s, a now-defunct magazine called Science Digest held a contest to name Planet X — the still-undiscovered world that astronomers believed might lie out beyond Pluto. One of the best ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

This morning at 9:00 am PT, the SETI Institute will announce the new names of Pluto’s smallest known moons. “Vulcan” and “Cerberus” were the public’s choices earlier this year, following a ...

Planets, moons and other celestial bodies are named according to rules established by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Pluto did not have any rules for naming surface features because, ...

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto that is inserted beneath the Short Wave logo. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the ...

(Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated how far Pluto is from the sun. The correct number is 3.7 billion miles.) What was discovered in Flagstaff, Arizona, and killed off in Prague? If ...

Even the best telescopes can’t see exoplanets. It’s all about watching for jiggly stars, blue shifts, and transits.

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Pluto may have lost its status as a full-fledged planet in 2006, but that doesn't mean it's a joke of a world this April Fools' Day and the folks behind Pluto TV want to make that clear. On April 1, ...

Venetia Burney Phair, 90, who as a child in England was credited with providing the name for Pluto, long regarded as the ninth planet, died April 30 at her home in Epsom, a town south of London. No ...

Arizona has a new state emblem — and it's one that has been a source of controversy among scientists for years. Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill on Friday designating Pluto — once considered the ninth ...