Outer Space

This artist's rendering shows New Horizons encountering Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.

Seven Surprises From the First Flybys of Each Planet in the Solar System

As the New Horizons probe approaches Pluto, find out what wonders were uncovered by the first spacecraft to zip past other worlds

Scientist know that Venus' surface, depicted here based on radar data, was shaped by volcanoes, and a new study suggests they may still be active.

Venus (Probably) Has Active Volcanoes

And they’re (probably) erupting!

A composite image of the Philae lander on comet 67P.

Comet Lander Philae Wakes Up From Nap

"Are you there, Rosetta? It's me Philae"

Saturn’s largest ring as spotted by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2009

Saturn’s Rings Extend Farther Than Thought — Nearly 4 Million Miles From the Planet

The outermost ring is dark and dusty

A mosaic image shows magnetic activity on the solar disk, which is surrounded by the relatively faint corona.

A "Mangrove Forest" of Magnetism May Help Heat the Sun's Corona

New simulations might explain why the sun's atmosphere is bizarrely millions of degrees hotter than its surface

An artist's rendering of the Pluto system seen from the surface of one of its moons.

Weird Orbital Behaviors Offer Clues to the Origins of Pluto's Moons

Solving the mystery of these satellites could help astronomers understand "Tatooine" exoplanets that orbit binary stars

Graphic design student Oskar Pernefeldt envisions a blue and white flag to symbolize Earth's presence on far off planets like Mars.

Does Planet Earth Need Its Own Flag?

Some think we need a universal flag to stake our claim in space

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See a Bubbly Nebula, an Artistic Earth and Other Spacey Treats

A celebratory star nest and a painterly view of home feature among our picks for this week's best space pictures

The Galileo spacecraft's view of the crazy cracks and brown gunk on Europa.

These Instruments Will Help NASA Figure Out If Life Can Thrive on Europa

The space agency has announced the suite of experiments that will fly on a mission to the icy moon of Jupiter

An artist's rendering of WISE J224607.57-052635.0, which was recently spotted by an infrared space telescope.

Found: A Galaxy That Shines With the Light of Over 300 Trillion Suns

A very hungry black hole at the center of WISE J224607.57-052635.0 emits an incredible amount of light

The last of the data from the New Horizons flyby won’t arrive until late 2016.

One Man's Lifelong Pursuit of Pluto is About to Get Real

When the New Horizons spacecraft races by the quasi-planetary body, Alan Stern will have finally met his match

The Atlas V rocket launches the X-37B on a 2012 mission. The craft will launch again Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

A Mysterious Space Plane Will Launch This Week

Though much of the X-37B's mission is top secret, details are emerging about experiments that will go into orbit with the unmanned craft

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Dark Globs, a Salty Moon and More of This Week's Stellar Wonders

Mysterious star clusters and Europa in a can feature in our picks for this week's best space images

University of Vermont engineering student Joseph Maser gazes down at the prototype of the inflatable airlock for space stations and vehicles that he and three other students built.

Made by College Seniors, These Seven Products Give Us a Glimpse Into the Future

Engineering students at universities across the country took these projects from sketch to reality in one year

An artist's vision of a brilliant quasar at the core of a young galaxy.

Rare Quartet of Quasars Found in the Early Universe

The quirky set of extremely bright black holes challenges theories for how the cosmos reached its current structure

How Snow Keeps the World’s Most Powerful Space Telescope Squeaky Clean

CO2 snowflakes are being tested for use with Hubble’s successor

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A Lopsided Supernova, Orbital Espresso and More Cosmic Wonders

An exploding star reveals its secrets and an astronaut takes a coffee break in this week's best space pictures

Mercury as seen by Messenger

Today The Messenger Spacecraft Will Crash Into Mercury

After years of exciting observations and stunning pictures of Mercury, the spacecraft has run out of fuel

An artist's interpretation of the Gaia spacecraft -- mistaken for a small moon this week

The Time a Space Observatory Was Mistaken for a Second Moon

For 13 hours, the space observatory Gaia was misidentified as a natural satellite orbiting Earth

A shuttle astronaut's view of the International Space Station.

To Get Rid of Space Junk, Shoot It Down With Lasers

Proposals to send debris-targeting craft into orbit are piling up, and one mission may soon start test firing from the space station

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