Astronomers have captured images of a new visitor to our solar system - the first known comet or asteroid to visit us from another star.

Forty years after the launch of the Voyager probes, their mission is winding down - and with it, the careers of the aging engineers who steer them across the universe, writes Kim Tingley

As a child, Emer Reynolds used to stare into the night sky at her uncle’s farm in Mullinahone. It sparked an interest which has culminated in a widely-praised documentary on the journey of the Voyager spacecraft, writes Esther McCarthy.

The problem with planets is that they move.

Life could exist on Saturn's moon Enceladus around hydrothermal vents similar to those found at the bottom of Earth's oceans, scientists believe.

Saturn's moon Titan has land surfaces covered with "electric sand", scientists believe.

There are two main events to keep an eye out for in August — the annual Perseid meteor shower on August 12 and 13, and a “close encounter” between Jupiter and Venus on August 27. 

Although the summer nights are gradually getting longer, they remain short in July and even away from city lights there is a faint glow in the night sky, writes Niall Smith.

Fiery red Mars is approaching its closest point to Earth for 11 years, offering a rare opportunity to sky watchers.

Our solar system is a beautiful place.

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The Ballylickey botanist; the Skibbereen astronomer; the Cloyne caterpillar collector, Madame Dragonfly. Robert Hume highlights the lives and achievements of three female scientists from Co Cork, and the obstacles they faced to achieve recognition of their work

A dazzling conjunction of Jupiter and Venus could lead to a flurry of UFO sightings early on Monday.

The network of controversial new bike lanes in Cork city are to be celebrated and reclaimed as part of an annual cycling festival next week.

A mysterious “magic island” has appeared out of nowhere in radar images of a hydrocarbon sea on Saturn’s giant moon, Titan.

Test your knowledge of science and nature with our tricky multiple choice quiz. Then find out how bright you are. (Answers are at the bottom — but no peeking!

What’s in store for you this year? Quite a lot, says Margaret Neylon, so if things aren’t working out, then it’s time to find the pattern you’ve been following and change it for the better

It's not often you get to see the ringed planet photographed from this angle. In fact, it's not ever before.

Voyager 1 has crossed a new frontier, becoming the first spacecraft ever to leave the solar system, Nasa says.

Voyager 1 has crossed a new frontier, becoming the first spacecraft ever to leave the solar system, Nasa said today.

IT’S been out of this world for 36 years... now it’s leaving the solar system. In doing so, Voyager 1, launched in August 1977, is the furthest man-made object from Earth, almost 18.75bn kilometres from its creators and heading for interstellar space, the space between stars.

I think I can see my house.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens to cops and criminals once their stories are resolved in the traditionally violent climax to a crime flick, then The Place Beyond the Pines (15A) is for you. Ryan Gosling plays Luke, a feckless motorcycle stunt rider who travels from town to town with the carnival.

If Planet Earth was decimated by a series of earthquakes and tsunamis, followed by an alien invasion designed to exterminate the pockets of human resistance, you’d stake money on Tom Cruise emerging unscathed from the melee.

Plans to send an interplanetary pedalo to Saturn’s largest moon Titan have been unveiled by scientists.

Stag parties on Saturn, vacations on Venus — once Neil Armstrong took that one small step back in 1969 the world awaited giant leaps in space tourism. And it’s finally coming.

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As our country celebrates its birthday today, astrologer Margaret Neylonsees hope on the horizon — maybe even a Euro 2012 win

Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has landed robotic explorers on the surface of Mars, sent probes to outer planets and operates a worldwide network of antennae that communicates with interplanetary spacecraft.

ASTRONOMERS have identified two roasted Earth-size planets that survived being engulfed by a swollen dying star.

Astronomy Ireland has set up powerful telescopes around the country to help star gazers catch a glimpse of Saturn and its rings tonight.

SCIENTISTS said they have found the best evidence yet of ice volcanoes on Saturn’s giant moon Titan.

Russia has laid out its ambition to gain an edge in the space race by building a nuclear-powered spaceship.

ENCELADUS was a familiar name in ancient Greece. Gaia, the Earth to you and me, was fertilised by the blood of Uranus and gave birth to children known as the Gigantes, one of whom was Enceladus.

Caverns of liquid salty water which could provide a home for extra-terrestrial life may lie beneath the icy surface of one of Saturn’s moons, scientists believe.

A WOBBLE in the precise clockwork of the solar system could see the Earth collide with Mercury, Mars or Venus, scientists predict.