Trending

Science & Astronomy

Latest

The volcanic eruption that tore apart a small island on the Polynesian Kingdom of Tonga was seen by three different weather satellites.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff published

In this image captured Jan. 2 by the Landsat 8 satellite Mount Vesuvius is clearly visible through a circular hole in the clouds.

Striking satellite photo captures Mount Vesuvius peering through a hole in the clouds

By Harry Baker published

A satellite image captured by Landsat 8 shows Mount Vesuvius "peering" through an eerily circular hole in the clouds.

The largest satellite in orbit around Earth is the International Space Station.

What is a satellite?

By Elizabeth Howell, Ben Biggs published

reference Artificial satellites from Earth have only populated space since 1957, but there are now hundreds of thousands of objects from our planet in orbit.

reference
An artist's illustration of terrestrial planets

Terrestrial planets: Definition & facts about the inner planets and beyond

By Katharine Gammon, Scott Dutfield published

Reference Rocky surfaces and molten cores are what the four inner planets of the solar system have in common

Reference
An illustration depicting the gravitational wave background (purple backdrop) manipulating the signals from millisecond pulsars (white circles with lines) as they travel towards Earth (blue orb).

Gravitational waves play with fast spinning stars, study suggests

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

Scientists observed changes in the signals coming from rapidly-spinning stars called pulsars that might point to the existence of subtle space-time ripples vibrating throughout the entire universe.

The view is of stars in a nebula, or gas cloud, known as N44, that is located in a nearby galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud

The best Hubble Space Telescope images of all time!

By Space.com Staff, Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference We explore some of the best Hubble Space Telescope images of all time including nebulas, galaxies, planets and more!

Reference
An artist's depiction of the planet XO-3b on an eccentric orbit around its star.

Scorching alien planet takes seasons to an extreme

By Meghan Bartels published

Scientists have gotten a close look at an extreme case of seasons, thanks to a retired NASA telescope.

Nicolaus Copernicus

Nicolaus Copernicus biography: Facts & discoveries

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Nicolaus Copernicus proposed his theory that the planets revolved around the sun in the 1500s, when most people believed that Earth was the center of the universe.

The moon phases of January 2022 are seen here in a NASA calendar.

Moon phases 2022: This year's moon cycles

By Kimberly Hickok, Tim Sharp published

Learn about the moon phases and when you can see them.

NOAA's GOES West satellite captured this stunning view of an explosive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, located in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga, on Jan. 15, 2022.

Huge Tonga underwater volcano eruption captured in stunning satellite video

By Tariq Malik published

A powerful underwater volcano eruption in Tonga on Saturday (Jan. 15) was captured as it happened in stunning satellite images.

Artist's impression of the exoplanet TOI-2180 b.

Strange and hidden Jupiter-size exoplanet spotted by astronomers and citizen scientists

By Elizabeth Howell published

A group of astronomers and citizen scientists has uncovered a hidden planet the size of Jupiter in a distant solar system.

NOAA's GOES West satellite captured the explosive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, located in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga.

4-foot tsunami hits Tonga after explosive eruption of underwater volcano

By Jeanna Bryner published

A tsunami triggered by the explosive eruption of the underwater Tonga volcano in the Pacific Ocean slammed the shoreline of the Pacific nation Saturday (Jan. 15).

On Jan. 13, 2022, NOAA's GOES West satellite captured a volcanic eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'api volcano in Tonga.

Explosive underwater volcano eruption in Tonga spotted from space in satellite images

By Chelsea Gohd published

Satellites orbiting Earth captured a powerful undersea eruption in Tonga from space on Thursday (Jan. 13).

Star trails are seen over the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope on Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona.

Largest dark energy map could reveal the fate of the universe

By Tom Metcalfe published

A telescope in Arizona modified to measure the true distance of galaxies has produced the largest three-dimensional map of the universe ever.

An artist's depiction of a hot Jupiter-sized exoplanet, like TOI-2337b, TOI-4329b or TOI-2669b, in orbit around an evolved, dying star.

3 newly discovered worlds risk doom orbiting too close to dying stars

By Samantha Mathewson published

Astronomers have spotted three new exoplanets orbiting dangerously close to their parent stars, on the brink of extinction.

Astrophysics covers topics like star formation. This Hubble image depicts areas of star formation. Stars form when clouds of dust and gas collapse, triggering nuclear fusion inside the dense balls of material.

What is Astrophysics?

By Ariel Balter published

Astrophysics is a branch of space science that applies the laws of physics and chemistry to seek to understand the universe and our place in it.

A blood moon taken on 27 July 2018

What is a blood moon?

By Elizabeth Howell, Scott Dutfield published

Reference If the rays of the setting or rising sun hit the moon just right, the blood moon appears.

Reference
Redshift and blueshift describe how light shifts toward shorter or longer wavelengths as objects in space (such as stars or galaxies) move closer or farther away from us.

Redshift and blueshift: What do they mean?

By Elizabeth Howell, Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference Redshift and blueshift describe the change in the frequency of a light wave depending on whether an object is moving towards or away from us.

Reference
A map of tropical water vapor from NASA. Research on water vapor and other climate features suggests that satellite measurements might have underestimated past warming. In Jan. 2022, NASA and NOAA revealed that 2021 was the sixth-warmest year on record.

2021 saw record temperatures and deaths from natural disasters, NASA, NOAA reveal

By Chelsea Gohd published

2021 was another record-setting year, ranking as the sixth hottest year on record. Following a trend, these past eight years have also been the eight hottest years on record.

Artist's illustration of NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which launched on Dec. 25, 2021.

What will the James Webb Space Telescope look at first?

By Elizabeth Howell published

As the James Webb Space Telescope begins the lengthy process of aligning its 18 primary mirror segments, astronomers wonder: What will the huge observatory look at first?