Science & Astronomy

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Exoplanets circling around the star HR8799 in an animation still.

Exoplanets dance around distant star in stunning 12-year timelapse (video)

By Elizabeth Howell published

A new video shows us 12 years in the lives of orbiting exoplanets, crunched down to just a few dramatic seconds.

An artist's depiction of the James Webb Space Telescope.

James Webb Space Telescope recovers from 2nd instrument glitch

By Elizabeth Howell published

After one of its instruments was briefly knocked offline, the James Webb Space Telescope returned to full science operations on Monday (Jan. 30).

Maps of the sky taken by the Dark Energy Survey telescope in Chile (left) and the South Pole Telescope (right).

New cosmic map reveals the universe's matter isn't as 'clumpy' as it should be

By Robert Lea published

Scientists have released one of the most accurate maps of the universe's matter ever created, featuring precise measurements of its distribution throughout the cosmos.

An artist's depiction of the Green Bank Telescope hooked up to a machine learning system.

Machine learning spots 8 potential technosignatures

By Robert Lea published

Humans have five new leads in the search to find life beyond our solar system.

Hubble Space Telescope photo of the globular cluster NGC 2031, located in the constellation Mensa in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Faraway blue star cluster shines in Hubble Space Telescope photo

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

Stars can come in an array of shapes, sizes, ages and colors. But in the case of NGC 2031, the context doesn't quite match the colors.

An enormous cluster of thousands of galaxies is emerging from a galactic collision in the distant universe.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff published

Three enormous galaxy clusters are caught in the middle of a collision in this image consisting of observations made by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton.

The moon phases of January 2023 with dates.

What is the moon phase today? Lunar phases 2023

By Tariq Malik last updated

Reference See the phase of the moon tonight and the rest of the moon phases for 2023, and when you can see them.

Reference
A galaxy with a large reservoir of dark matter (purple overlay) in its center.

The universe is slightly hotter than it should be. 'Dark photons' could be to blame.

By Paul Sutter published

Intergalactic gas clouds are slightly hotter than they should be, new research claims, and theoretical particles called 'dark photons' could explain it.

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie looking down at one of 10 sample tubes deposited at the sample depot it created in an area nicknamed Three Forks. This image was taken by the WATSON camera on the rover’s robotic arm on Jan. 20, 2023, the 684th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

Perseverance Mars rover stashes 10th sample, completing Red Planet depot

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover just dropped its 10th sample tube, completing a backup depot of material for future return to Earth.

George Carruthers, right, and William Conway, left, examine the golden-hued Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph, which would become the first moon-based observatory.

NASA renames space observatory in honor of moon telescope visionary George Carruthers

By Robert Lea published

A forthcoming telescope that will observe Earth from space has been renamed in honor of George R. Carruthers, a visionary scientist who designed and built a telescope placed on the moon.

Artist's depictions of tThe eight asteroids that NASA's Lucy mission will visit.

Meet the 10 asteroids NASA's Lucy spacecraft will visit

By Doris Elin Urrutia last updated

The Lucy mission launched on Oct. 16, 2021, to study the unique Trojan asteroids, which orbit ahead of and behind the planet Jupiter.

The SOFIA telescope in the sky.

SOFIA: NASA's prematurely canceled airborne telescope that left a gap behind

By Tereza Pultarova last updated

Reference SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy, was a telescope mounted on a Boeing 747 SP aircraft that studied infrared light, essentially heat, emitted by objects in the universe.

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The first publicly released science-quality image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, revealed on July 11, 2022, is the deepest infrared view of the universe to date.

No, the Big Bang theory is not 'broken.' Here's how we know.

By Paul Sutter published

Researchers confirmed that the distant galaxies discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope are, indeed, perfectly compatible with our modern understanding of cosmology.

An image of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) as seen over Italy on Jan. 24, 2023.

The Comet Interceptor probe could visit a stunning object like the green C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

By Meghan Bartels published

Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) is tantalizing to spot through a telescope, but what would it look like up close?

A cracked hillside on Mars looks just like the face of a teddy bear

NASA spies Martian rocks that look just like a teddy bear

By Brandon Specktor published

A broken hill, an ancient crater and the human tendency to find faces everywhere may explain the teddy bear on Mars.

The Soul Nebula, located 7,000 light-years from Earth, is infused with a red glow in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Hubble Space Telescope captures stunning red view of the Soul Nebula

By Robert Lea published

A spectacular new image shows the Soul Nebula infused with red light, highlighting a tadpole-like dense region of gas.

Astronomy has plenty of space for amateurs.

Almost anyone can become an amateur astronomer. What will you find?

By Paul Sutter published

Want to become a published astronomer? All it takes is a spare telescope, or at least a decent internet connection, and plenty of patience.

Artist's illustration of Astrobotic's Peregrine lander on the surface of the moon.

Private Peregrine moon lander completes testing ahead of landmark lunar launch

By Elizabeth Howell published

Astrobotic's Peregrine moon lander wrapped up testing to prepare for spaceflight and is now waiting to be shipped to its Florida launch site.

An artist's depiction of a spider star system, or a star orbiting a rapidly rotating pulsar.

Scientists spot 1st gamma-ray eclipses from strange 'spider' star systems

By Robert Lea published

The European Space Agency's JUICE spacecraft entering thermal testing.

Europe's JUICE mission to Jupiter's moons preparing for April 14 launch

By Andrew Jones published

Europe's mission to explore three icy moons of Jupiter is all set to begin its voyage to the outer solar system.