Astronomy News - Space Science - Articles and Images

CAPSTONE in its halo-shaped lunar orbit.

Why it'll take NASA's tiny CAPSTONE probe so long to reach the moon

By Mike Wall published 28 June 22

NASA's 55-pound (25 kilograms) CAPSTONE cubesat launched toward the moon today (June 28), but it won't get there until Nov. 13.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected rock samples from the Yellowknife Bay formation of Gale crater.

Rock samples from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover contain key ingredient of life

By Samantha Mathewson published 28 June 22

Martian rock samples collected by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover show signs of key ingredients of life as we know it on Earth.

White dwarf seen to survive its own supernova explosion

By Keith Cooper published 28 June 22

Astronomers have spotted a white dwarf that miraculously survived its own thermonuclear detonation, raising questions over how and why these stars create supernovas.

James Webb Space Telescope scientists prepare for 1st operational images: Listen in Wednesday

By Elizabeth Howell published 28 June 22

Join in for free Wednesday (June 29) as NASA celebrates the forthcoming end of commissioning for its $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope.

Polygons crack across the Martian surface as hidden ice expands and contracts with the seasons.

Bizarre 'polygons' are cracking through the surface of Mars

By Brandon Specktor published 28 June 22

A new image from NASA's HIRISE camera reveals strange 'polygons' cracking open the surface of Mars. It's just a typical sign of spring, scientists say.

Rocket Lab Electron launching at night carrying CAPSTONE cubesat to the moon

NASA's tiny CAPSTONE cubesat launches on pioneering moon mission

By Mike Wall published 28 June 22

NASA's tiny CAPSTONE spacecraft has begun its long, history-making journey to the moon.

Humankind has been fascinated by time-travel for centuries.

Can we time travel? A theoretical physicist provides some answers

By Peter Watson published 28 June 22

Can we time travel like they do in the movies? The laws of physics might forbid it.

European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti posing at the hatch between the International Space Station at the Cygnus cargo capsule ahead of the capsule's departure in June 2022.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff published 28 June 22

European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti posing at the hatch between the International Space Station and the Cygnus cargo vehicle, which is expected to depart on Tuesday (June 28).

A Rocket Lab Electron booster on the launch pad with the CAPSTONE mission and purple clouds.

Watch NASA's CAPSTONE cubesat launch to the moon today to test unique lunar orbit

By Tariq Malik published 28 June 22

Rocket Lab will launch NASA's CAPSTONE cubesat to the moon from New Zealand atop an Electron booster, and you can watch it live online.

Satellites zoom in on cities' hottest neighborhoods to help combat the urban heat island effect

By Daniel P. Johnson published 27 June 22

Landsat satellites have been pinpointing risks of extreme heat within cities.

The James Webb Space Telescope is completing commissioning in deep space.

James Webb Space Telescope team clears 1st instrument for science observations

By Elizabeth Howell published 27 June 22

An exoplanet hunter and first-light detector on the James Webb Space Telescope is ready to do science, six months after the observatory launched to space.

Mercury's crater-covered surface in an image captured by the BepiColombo spacecraft during its second flyby at the planet.

Watch Mercury roll by as BepiColombo probe makes superclose flyby (video)

By Tereza Pultarova published 27 June 22

A new video shows the crater-riddled surface of the solar system's smallest planet Mercury as captured during a super close flyby of the BepiColombo spacecraft.

Celebrate Asteroid Day 2022 with free online broadcast this week

By Samantha Mathewson published 27 June 22

Asteroid research and planetary defense is of great interest to scientists around the world, which is why June 30 marks international Asteroid Day.

Alien super-Earths may get a habitability boost from hydrogen-rich atmospheres

By Charles Q. Choi published 27 June 22

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 53 Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on May 14, 2022.

Coming increase in rocket launches will damage ozone, alter climate, study finds

By Tereza Pultarova published 27 June 22

The projected growth in the number of rocket launches will have a detrimental impact on Earth's climate and its protective ozone layer, a new study has found.

Artist's illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: The ultimate guide

By Elizabeth Howell, Daisy Dobrijevic published 27 June 22

Reference Everything you need to know about the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA's Big Bang-probing space observatory.

Reference

A golden ring representing Sagittarius A*

James Webb Space Telescope will study Milky Way's monster black hole

By Meghan Bartels published 27 June 22

Next time the Event Horizon Telescope turns to study the monster black hole at the center of the Milky Way, it will have help from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Did a giant radio telescope in China just discover aliens? Not so FAST…

By Danny C Price published 27 June 22

We should be intrigued, but not too excited (yet). Any interesting signal has to go through a lot of tests to check whether it truly carries the signature of extraterrestrial technology.

The Large Hadron Collider occupies a circular underground tunnel nearly 17 miles (27 kilometers) in circumference.

The Large Hadron Collider: Inside CERN's atom smasher

By Andrew May, Daisy Dobrijevic published 27 June 22

Reference The Large Hadron Collider is the world's biggest particle accelerator. It's located at the European particle physics laboratory CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland.