The astronomical unit (au) — the rough distance from the Earth to the Sun — has been transformed from a confusing calculation into a single number.

Astronomers use astronomical units to describe how far away objects in space are, mostly in relation to the sun or other stars. For instance, Jupiter is about 5.2 AU from the sun, according to NASA.

Next time a 5-year-old asks you how far the sun is, know you have the unanimous support of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in answering clearly and confidently: 149,597,870,700 meters ...

Radio observations of low-mass star formation in molecular spectral lines have rapidly progressed since the advent of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The gas distribution and ...