Astronomy

Galactic starlight will take your breath away | Space photo of the day for May 19, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published 19 May 26

The galaxy M77 looks truly out-of-this-world in a new image by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Watch an asteroid the size of a blue whale hurtle towards Earth live online TODAY

By Anthony Wood last updated 18 May 26

The livestream will begin at 3:45 p.m. EDT on May 18, bringing near real time views of the asteroid from robotic telescopes in Italy, weather permitting.

Watch NASA's new Mars helicopter rotor break the speed of sound (video)

By Josh Dinner published 17 May 26

NASA is testing the limits of future Mars aircraft as it works to develop a next-generation fleet of helicopters that will fly through the thin atmosphere of the Red Planet.

Astronomers find interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS hiding in images taken before its official discovery

By Keith Cooper published 16 May 26

If the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory had begun its science validation phase a few weeks earlier, it might have been up and running in time to discover 3I/ATLAS first.

Mars orbiter captures striking images of 'chaos and craters' carved by ancient floods

By Samantha Mathewson published 15 May 26

ESA's Mars Express orbiter captured dramatic new views of a rugged Martian landscape shaped by catastrophic floods billions of years ago.

Auroras over Australia look like sci-fi from space | Space photo of the day for May 15, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published 15 May 26

An astronaut aboard the ISS captured the brilliant green and pink glow.

James Webb Space Telescope maps our universe's largest structure in unprecedented detail

By Robert Lea published 15 May 26

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have mapped the "cosmic web" of galaxies, the largest structure in the universe, with unprecedented detail.

We still can't see dark matter. But what if we can hear it?

By Robert Lea published 15 May 26

Black holes smashing together may churn dark matter "butter," scientists say.

No, this isn't a solar eclipse. It's an image of Mars, captured by NASA's asteroid-bound Psyche probe

By Robert Lea published 14 May 26

NASA spacecraft Psyche has captured a stunning image of Mars ahead of a flyby on Friday (May 15).

30-mile-high clouds of acid on Venus are made by the largest 'hydraulic jump' in the solar system

By Keith Cooper published 13 May 26

A 3,700-mile-long cloud bank on Venus forms through the same phenomenon that describes how water spreads out in your kitchen sink, scientists say.