Astronomy

X-ray spacecraft finds supermassive black hole stirring up the 'red potato' galaxy: 'There may be a cook in this cosmic kitchen'

By Robert Lea Published 27 July 26

Using the Chandra X-ray spacecraft, astronomers have seen a jet from a feeding supermassive black hole churning gas surrounding a galaxy nicknamed the "red potato."

A seed that flew around the moon grew into this tree in NYC

By Joanna Thompson Published 27 July 26

The Madison Square Park Conservancy unveiled its moon tree at a smoky birthday party.

An off-the-shelf camera could help us find more black holes smashing together

By Sharmila Kuthunur Published 25 July 26

"It doesn't require any new technology development, which is almost unheard of for solving a LIGO instrumentation problem."

What lurks beneath the volcanoes of Jupiter's moon Io? NASA's Juno probe just took a peek

By Samantha Mathewson Published 24 July 26

The subsurface findings could transform how scientists study volcanoes across the solar system — including those on Earth.

This Week In Space LIVE: The Viking Mars landings 50 years later

By Tariq Malik Published 24 July 26

Tune in today, July 24, at 1:30 p.m. ET for a LIVE This Week In Space taping to mark the 50th anniversary of the Viking landings on Mars.

Hubble telescope watches unique nova explosion fire cosmic 'bullets' through the Milky Way at 20 million mph

By Robert Lea Published 24 July 26

Using Hubble, astronomers have discovered that the only known "helium nova" in the Milky Way is riddling our galaxy with cosmic bullets travelling at 20 million mph.

Scientists may have finally solved the mystery of the sun's missing silver

By Rahul Rao Published 23 July 26

Scientists say the sun has a little more silver than we thought.

Satellite spots a 'hummingbird' in Antarctica | Space photo of the day for July 23, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published 23 July 26

A hummingbird shape in satellite data from NISAR is actually a mountaintop spotted in Antarctica.

The James Webb Space Telescope's disappearing 'Little Red Dots' may lead to another cosmic puzzle

By Robert Lea Published 23 July 26

Just as the dinosaurs didn't disappear but rather evolved into birds, cosmic dinosaurs in the form of the JWST's Little Red Dots may fade away completely.

After nearly 30 years, NASA realized this near-Earth asteroid is actually a comet. The discovery may help us defend the planet some day

By Samantha Mathewson Published 22 July 26

Astronomers discovered that a near-Earth asteroid is actually a comet that could help scientists identify more hidden comets and improve planetary defense.