Outer Space

A STEVE lights up the night over British Columbia.

STEVE the Purple Beam of Light Is Not An Aurora After All

In a second study of mysterious phenomena, researchers discovered that solar particles hitting the ionosphere do not power the violet, vertical streaks

Throughout the mid-1800s, improvements on the spectroscope allowed physicists to more accurately measure the wavelengths of light and identify new elements—like helium.

How Scientists Discovered Helium, the First Alien Element, 150 Years Ago

First found only on the sun, scientists doubted the mysterious element even existed for more than a decade

Why Astronomers Want to Look for Earth's Mini-Moons

A new, powerful telescope in Chile will be able to detect tiny asteroid chunks circling our planet, which could be a goldmine for researchers

Betsy Congdon, lead engineer for Parker Solar Probe’s heat shield, looks on as technician Tony Ahan attaches the interface plates that will allow the heat shield above them to eventually be installed onto the spacecraft.

Behind the Scenes With the Spacecraft That Will Soar Through the Sun's Atmosphere

The probe, which launches Sunday, will attempt to solve enduring mysteries about the sun

The Air Force's X-37B space plane.

The U.S. Military Has Been in Space From the Beginning

While the proposed branch of the armed forces may be controversial, the history of the so-called "Space Force" is longstanding

A view of the Perseid meteor shower over Northern Ireland in 2017.

Why This Year's Perseid Meteor Shower Promises to Be Especially Dazzling

Thanks to the moon’s conspicuous absence, those looking up at peak viewing hours will see 60-70 shooting stars every hour

An eroded area of the Medusae Fossae Formation.

Most of Mars' Dust Comes From One Place

Erosion of the Medusae Fossae Formation has, over billions of years, likely covered the entire planet in 10 feet of volcanic dust

Prototype for a Nonfunctional Satellite (Design 4; Build 4), 2013, a mixed media installation at a hangar in Nevada by Trevor Paglen.

This Artist Dwells in the Clandestine World of Classified Secrets and Surveillance

MacArthur Award recipient Trevor Paglen is launching his own satellite into space this fall—as a work of art

Andromeda

The Andromeda Galaxy Ate The Milky Way's Lost Sibling

New simulations show Andromeda absorbed the large galaxy M32p about 2 billion years ago

Total lunar eclipse photographed near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in 2007.

The Century’s Longest Lunar Eclipse Will Shroud the Moon This Week

Including phases where the moon is partially masked, the event will last nearly four hours total

Jupiter Officially Has 12 New Moons

The new satellites are mostly tiny and include one oddball that is on a collision course with some of the 78 other moons orbiting the planet

Scientists Explain The Thrill of Detecting a Neutrino From a Far-Off Galaxy

For the first time, the IceCube observatory has triumphantly tracked a neutrino back to a massive blazar

Marc Fries examines a magnetic board looking for iron particles recovered from the sea floor.

A Research Ship Is Hunting Meteorite Fragments Off the Coast of Washington

The research ship E/V Nautilus is combing through samples and sediment hoping to recover the first space rock from the ocean floor

Our Galaxy Is Really Greasy and Smells Like Moth Balls

A new study estimates that a quarter to half the carbon in interstellar space is in the form of greasy aliphatic carbon

Do Marine Mammals Yawn and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

A 2018 colorized image of Jupiter's south pole created by citizen scientist Gabriel Fiset, using data from NASA's Juno spacecraft.

How Jupiter May Have Gifted Early Earth With Water

A new model of the solar system suggest we have gas giants to thank for our watery world

These two views from NASA’s Curiosity rover, acquired specifically to measure the amount of dust inside Gale Crater, show that dust has increased over three days from a major Martian dust storm. The images were taken by the rover’s Mastcam.

Massive, 'Unprecedented' Dust Storm Puts Mars Rover at Risk

Engineers have not received any transmissions from the Opportunity rover since Sunday

Say hello to SMAP

This NASA Satellite Can Map the Planet's Soil Moisture Content In Just Three Days

The speedy collection of this data will help with crop management and flood prediction

An illustration of lightning on Jupiter's northern hemisphere, using an image from the JunoCam.

Jupiter's Lightning Is More Earth-Like Than We Thought

Juno is providing scientists with new insights into the gas giant's flashes of light

The imagined surface of Kepler-186f, an Earth-size planet orbiting a small red star.

NASA's New Exoplanet Travel Bureau Lets You 'Tour' Far-Distant Planets In 360 Degrees

Eager space tourists can now visit sunny Kepler-186f, a moon of Kepler-16b or the Earth-like TRAPPIST-1e virtually

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