Space - The Atlantic

Space

October 21, 2023

Science

How We Find Our Place in the Universe

Ross Andersen

October 9, 2023

Photo of the Radioastronomical Observatory Zelenchukskaya at night

Science

You’ve Never Seen a Star Like This

Marina Koren

September 15, 2023

An image from the James Webb Space Telescope of a protostar spewing two jets of luminous cosmic material

Planet

We’re Gambling With the Only Good Oceans in the Universe

Marina Koren

August 2, 2023

A large ship travels across a stretch of ocean that appears red in the sunlight

Science

Scientists Found Ripples in Space and Time. And You Have to Buy Groceries.

Adam Frank

June 29, 2023

Photograph of the night sky over evergreen trees

Science

A Flash of Recognition in a Lonely Universe

Marina Koren

May 18, 2023

An animation of a ring of colorful planets, blinking in the style of a circular loading icon, set against the star-speckled darkness of space

Science

Why Does Contact Say So Much About God?

Jaime Green

April 17, 2023

abstract orange circle with blue center with a scanner

Up for Debate

The Surprising Compatibility of Science and Faith

Conor Friedersdorf

April 3, 2023

Science

Astronomers Were Not Expecting This

Marina Koren

March 4, 2023

A James Webb Space Telescope picture of a nearby galaxy, spiral and sparkling, along with many smaller galaxies in the dark background

Science

The Universe Is More in Our Hands Than Ever Before

Adam Frank

January 3, 2023

A bright-green laser beaming through a white cosmic swirl on a black background

The Wonder Reader

How Vast Is the Cosmos, Really?

Isabel Fattal

December 3, 2022

Thousands of pink, purple, and orange stars

Ideas

The People Cheering for Humanity’s End

Adam Kirsch

January/February 2023 Issue

painting of translucent human figure walking through field of purple flowers with bright blue sky and trees in background

Science

The Infinite Possibilities in a Tiny Smudge From Outer Space

Marina Koren

October 20, 2022

A black-and-white view of a planetary system in the making from afar, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope

Science

Should We Be Searching for Smart Aliens or Dumb Aliens?

Adam Frank

September 12, 2022

A Hubble Ultra Deep Field image of space overlaid with a GIF of concentric circles expanding outward, representing radio signals

Science

Life Is an Accident of Space and Time

Alan Lightman

September 8, 2022

Illustration of a galaxy shaped like a human eye

Science

The Webb Space Telescope Is a Time Machine

Marina Koren

July 22, 2022

An animation featuring the rewind symbol, which appears to be "turning back the tape" on the universe

Science

The Coolest Space Picture I’ve Ever Seen

Marina Koren

July 12, 2022

The James Webb Space Telescope's infrared view of the Carina Nebula, a luminous star-forming region

Science

This Is the Picture Astronomers Have Been Waiting For

Marina Koren

July 11, 2022

A deep-field image from the James Webb Space Telescope, sparkling with countless galaxies

Science

The Cutest Thermonuclear Explosion in the Universe

Marina Koren

April 21, 2022

A sparkling Hubble image of white dwarf stars in a cluster about 7,800 light-years from Earth

Newsletters

The Atlantic Daily: Welcome to the Trump Cinematic Universe

Rachel Gutman-Wei

April 18, 2022

A white envelope on a red background with a red Atlantic "A"

Science

We’ve Found 5,000 Exoplanets, and We’re Still Alone

Marina Koren

March 22, 2022

An artist's concept of an exoplanet the mass of Jupiter orbiting a star 10.5 light-years away from Earth

Science

We Have One Shot to See the Universe Like Never Before

Marina Koren

December 20, 2021

An illustration of a window looking out at a simulated Webb view of the cosmos

Science

We’re Gonna Need Another Space Telescope

Marina Koren

November 4, 2021

A picture of the Milky Way stretching across the night sky

Science

Where Science and Miracles Meet

Alan Lightman

March 22, 2021

A burst of orange light with the faint outline of hands around the light burst

Science

A New Era of Black Holes Is Here

Thomas Lewton and Quanta Magazine

February 20, 2021

Book Excerpts

‘It Seems That I Know How the Universe Originated’

Alan Lightman

February 8, 2021

Science

Galaxy Brain Is Real

Marina Koren

December 1, 2020

Science

The Universe Might Be Too Thin

Charlie Wood and Quanta Magazine

September 13, 2020

Science

A Breakthrough Some Cosmologists Thought Would Never Come

Charlie Wood and Quanta Magazine

August 1, 2020

Science

A Burst of Light Unlike Any Captured Before

Marina Koren

June 25, 2020

Artist’s concept of a supermassive black hole and its surrounding disk of gas, with two smaller black holes embedded within

Ideas

The Big Story: The Sprawling Universe of QAnon

May 28, 2020

An illustration of the Atlantic "A" with a microphone on either side

Books

The Pre-pandemic Universe Was the Fiction

Charles Yu

April 15, 2020

Science

A Dazzling Quarter Century of Exoplanet Discovery

Marina Koren

October 8, 2019

An artist's illustration of exoplanet 51 Pegasi b

Science

The Space Between Galaxies Isn’t Empty

Ann Finkbeiner and Knowable Magazine

August 25, 2019

Gas around one of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies glows white.

Science

A Howling Cosmic Signal Came From a Faraway Galaxy

Marina Koren

June 27, 2019

Sections

The Print Edition

Humans Are Ready to Find Alien Life

How We Find Our Place in the Universe

You’ve Never Seen a Star Like This

We’re Gambling With the Only Good Oceans in the Universe

Scientists Found Ripples in Space and Time. And You Have to Buy Groceries.

A Flash of Recognition in a Lonely Universe

Why Does Contact Say So Much About God?

The Surprising Compatibility of Science and Faith

Astronomers Were Not Expecting This

The Universe Is More in Our Hands Than Ever Before

How Vast Is the Cosmos, Really?

The People Cheering for Humanity’s End

The Infinite Possibilities in a Tiny Smudge From Outer Space

Should We Be Searching for Smart Aliens or Dumb Aliens?

Life Is an Accident of Space and Time

The Webb Space Telescope Is a Time Machine

The Coolest Space Picture I’ve Ever Seen

This Is the Picture Astronomers Have Been Waiting For

The Cutest Thermonuclear Explosion in the Universe

The Atlantic Daily: Welcome to the Trump Cinematic Universe

We’ve Found 5,000 Exoplanets, and We’re Still Alone

We Have One Shot to See the Universe Like Never Before

We’re Gonna Need Another Space Telescope

Where Science and Miracles Meet

A New Era of Black Holes Is Here

‘It Seems That I Know How the Universe Originated’

Galaxy Brain Is Real

The Universe Might Be Too Thin

A Breakthrough Some Cosmologists Thought Would Never Come

A Burst of Light Unlike Any Captured Before

The Big Story: The Sprawling Universe of QAnon

The Pre-pandemic Universe Was the Fiction

A Dazzling Quarter Century of Exoplanet Discovery

The Space Between Galaxies Isn’t Empty

A Howling Cosmic Signal Came From a Faraway Galaxy