Sources and method
Where our information comes from, and the rules we follow before anything is published.
Primary sources first
Every paper page links to the original publication, with its DOI or arXiv identifier when one exists. Every news story links to the release or paper it is based on.
Verified, or left out
Identifiers, dates, numbers and links are checked against the source before publishing. If something cannot be verified, it is not on the page.
Our words, not theirs
Summaries are written from scratch in plain English. Short quotations are marked and attributed.
Corrections in the open
When we get something wrong we fix it and note the change on the page.
Space agencies
- NASA
The US space agency's main newsroom, with official releases on science missions, human spaceflight and aeronautics.
- NASA Science
The portal of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, covering astrophysics, heliophysics, planetary science and Earth science.
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
NASA's research center managed by Caltech, which builds and flies robotic planetary and deep space missions.
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
NASA's center in Greenbelt, Maryland, which managed the James Webb Space Telescope project and manages the Roman Space Telescope.
- NASA Webb Telescope news
NASA's official news feed for the James Webb Space Telescope, the infrared observatory launched in December 2021.
- NASA Hubble Space Telescope news
NASA's official news feed for the Hubble Space Telescope, which has been in orbit since 1990.
- European Space Agency (ESA)
Europe's intergovernmental space agency, with programs in space science, Earth observation, human spaceflight, launchers and navigation.
- ESA Science & Exploration
ESA's space science newsroom, covering Euclid, Gaia, Solar Orbiter, JUICE and ESA's share of Webb and Hubble.
- JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
Japan's national space agency, behind missions such as Hayabusa2, XRISM and SLIM and the H3 rocket.
- Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
Canada's space agency, which supplied Webb's FGS/NIRISS instrument and is a partner in the International Space Station.
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
India's national space agency, responsible for Chandrayaan-3, the Aditya-L1 solar mission and the AstroSat observatory.
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- China National Space Administration (CNSA)
China's national space agency, which oversees the Chang'e lunar program and the Tianwen planetary missions.
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Journals
- Nature Astronomy
A monthly Nature Portfolio journal publishing research across astronomy, astrophysics and planetary science.
- Nature: Astronomy and astrophysics
Nature Portfolio's subject page collecting astronomy and astrophysics papers and news from Nature and its sister journals.
- Science
The weekly multidisciplinary journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
- The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ)
The American Astronomical Society's flagship research journal, published by IOP Publishing and open access since 2022.
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters (ApJL)
The American Astronomical Society's journal for short, timely astrophysics results, published by IOP Publishing.
- The Astronomical Journal (AJ)
An American Astronomical Society journal for observational astronomy, including exoplanets, the Solar System and stars, published since 1849.
- The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (ApJS)
The American Astronomical Society's journal for long papers such as large catalogs, surveys and data releases.
- The Planetary Science Journal (PSJ)
An open access American Astronomical Society journal devoted to planetary science, launched in 2020.
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS)
The Royal Astronomical Society's journal, published since 1827, now open access and published by Oxford University Press.
- Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A)
A European journal for theoretical, observational and instrumental astronomy, published by EDP Sciences.
Preprints
- arXiv astro-ph (all astrophysics)
The astrophysics section of arXiv, Cornell's open preprint server, where most new astronomy papers appear before peer review.
- arXiv astro-ph.CO (Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics)
The arXiv category for cosmology, large-scale structure, dark matter, dark energy and the cosmic microwave background.
- arXiv astro-ph.EP (Earth and Planetary Astrophysics)
The arXiv category for exoplanets, planet formation, the Solar System and planetary science.
- arXiv astro-ph.GA (Astrophysics of Galaxies)
The arXiv category for galaxies, the Milky Way, the interstellar medium and galaxy evolution.
- arXiv astro-ph.HE (High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena)
The arXiv category for black holes, neutron stars, gamma-ray bursts, cosmic rays and gravitational-wave sources.
- arXiv astro-ph.IM (Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics)
The arXiv category for telescopes, detectors, data analysis methods and astronomical software.
- arXiv astro-ph.SR (Solar and Stellar Astrophysics)
The arXiv category for the Sun, stellar structure and evolution, star formation and variable stars.
Observatories
- European Southern Observatory (ESO)
The intergovernmental organization that runs the Very Large Telescope at Paranal and is building the Extremely Large Telescope in Chile.
- NSF NOIRLab
The US national center for ground-based optical and infrared astronomy, operating Kitt Peak, Cerro Tololo and Gemini, and Rubin with SLAC.
- ALMA Observatory
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, a 66-antenna radio interferometer in Chile run by ESO, NSF (via NRAO) and NAOJ with Chile.
- NSF National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO)
The US radio astronomy observatory that operates the Very Large Array and the Very Long Baseline Array and is North America's partner in ALMA.
- W. M. Keck Observatory
Operator of the twin 10-meter Keck telescopes on Maunakea, Hawaii, among the largest optical and infrared telescopes in the world.
- International Gemini Observatory
Twin 8.1-meter optical and infrared telescopes on Maunakea and Cerro Pachon, run by NSF NOIRLab for an international partnership.
- Vera C. Rubin Observatory
The observatory on Cerro Pachon, Chile, running the Legacy Survey of Space and Time with an 8.4-meter telescope and the largest camera built for astronomy.
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- Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
The Baltimore institute that runs science operations for the Hubble, Webb and Nancy Grace Roman space telescopes.
- ESA/Hubble
ESA's site for the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, with science and image releases and a searchable image archive.
- ESA/Webb
ESA's site for the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, with science and image releases and a searchable image archive.
- Chandra X-ray Observatory
NASA's flagship X-ray space telescope, launched in 1999 and operated from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
- Carnegie Science
A private research institution whose Observatories run Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, home of the Magellan telescopes.
- Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA)
A joint research center of the Harvard College Observatory and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Caltech
The California Institute of Technology, which manages JPL for NASA, runs Palomar Observatory and operates the LIGO Laboratory with MIT.
- Subaru Telescope (NAOJ)
The 8.2-meter optical and infrared telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, on Maunakea, Hawaii.
- LIGO Laboratory (Caltech/MIT)
Operator of the two LIGO gravitational-wave detectors in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana, which made the first detection in 2015.
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- LIGO Scientific Collaboration
The international collaboration that analyzes LIGO data and, with Virgo and KAGRA, publishes gravitational-wave discoveries.
- Event Horizon Telescope
A global network of radio telescopes working as one Earth-sized instrument, which imaged the black holes in M87 (2019) and Sagittarius A* (2022).
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News
- Quanta Magazine (Physics)
The Simons Foundation's editorially independent science magazine, whose physics section covers astrophysics and cosmology in depth.
- Sky & Telescope
An astronomy magazine founded in 1941, covering research news, observing guides and equipment.
- Astronomy Magazine
A monthly astronomy magazine founded in 1973, covering research news, observing and space exploration.
- Universe Today
A long-running independent space and astronomy news site founded by Fraser Cain.
- Space.com
A high-volume commercial news site covering space exploration, astronomy and skywatching.
- Phys.org Space News
The space section of a science news aggregator that republishes institutional press releases and reports on astronomy research.
- The Planetary Society
A nonprofit space advocacy group cofounded by Carl Sagan in 1980 that publishes articles on planetary science and exploration.
- AAS Nova
The American Astronomical Society's site highlighting recent research published in the AAS journals.
- Astrobites
A site run by graduate students, with AAS support, that summarizes new astrophysics papers from arXiv for undergraduates.
- EarthSky
A science news site known for its skywatching guides, with a space section covering astronomy news.
- Scientific American
A popular science magazine founded in 1845, whose Space & Physics section covers astronomy and cosmology.
- New Scientist: Space
The space section of the weekly science magazine New Scientist.
Databases
- NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)
A NASA-funded digital library run by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory that indexes astronomy and physics papers with citation data.
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- NASA Exoplanet Archive
The Caltech/IPAC catalog of confirmed exoplanets and their host stars, with data tables, an API and Kepler and TESS mission data.
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- SIMBAD Astronomical Database
The CDS Strasbourg reference database of identifications, measurements and bibliography for astronomical objects beyond the Solar System.
- Minor Planet Center (MPC)
The IAU's clearinghouse at the Center for Astrophysics that receives and publishes positions and orbits of asteroids and comets.
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- HEASARC
NASA's archive at Goddard for data from X-ray and gamma-ray missions.
- JPL Small-Body Database
JPL's lookup tool for the orbits and physical properties of known asteroids and comets.
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- JPL Horizons
JPL's system for computing precise positions of Solar System bodies and spacecraft, available on the web, by API and by telnet.
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- CNEOS (Center for Near Earth Object Studies)
The JPL center that computes orbits and impact risk for near-Earth objects for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office.