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Instruments onboard NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory study the sun in a range of different wavelengths to learn more about the star. This image of the transit of Mercury was captured by the satellite's Atmospheric Imaging Assembly instrument.

The Mercury Transit of 2019 in Photos! The Best Views Until 2032

By Tariq Malik

On Nov. 11, 2019, the planet Mercury crossed the face of the sun in a rare Mercury transit. See amazing photos of the transit, the last until 2032, from NASA and around the world!

Pictures from Space! Our Image of the Day

By Space.com Staff

The tiny planet Mercury scoots across the sun's hot corona and onto its bright disk to mark the beginning of the planet's rare transit this morning.

A photo of Mars taken by the Curiosity rover shows a bleak landscape of hills and hazy crater mountains.

The Curiosity Rover Just Took a Very Emo Photo of Its Rocky Martian Prison

By Brandon Specktor

Curiosity is the last functioning rover on Mars, and its lonely mission has taken the robot to a steep mountain in the middle of a vast crater.

The planet Mercury transiting in front of the sun in 2003, as captured by a NASA satellite.

Mercury Transit 2019: The Astronomical History of This Rare Celestial Event

By Joe Rao

A photograph showing SpaceX's first batch of Starlink satellites during launch on May 23, 2019.

Why Astronomers Worry About the Brightness of SpaceX's Starlink Satellite Megaconstellation

By Meghan Bartels

SpaceX is planning to launch the second installment of its Starlink megaconstellation on Monday (Nov. 11), and astronomers are waiting to see — well, precisely what they will see.

Cartoon cat peering at its shadow

Physicists Can Finally Peek at Schrödinger's Cat Without Killing It Forever

By Dana Najjar

At last we can sneak a peek at the dead-and-alive cat.

Immunofluorescence imaging of heart cells grown on the International Space Station.

Top Space Stories of the Week!

By Doris Elin Urrutia

These are the top space stories this week from Space.com.

The May 9, 2016, transit of Mercury.

Teach Your Kids About the Mercury Transit of 2019 with This NASA Guide

By Elizabeth Howell

Mercury will fly across the sun (from Earth's perspective) on Monday, and NASA has a whole lot of kids' materials ready for the occasion.

This artist's impression shows a view of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the solar system.

NASA's TESS Spacecraft is Finding Hundreds of Exoplanets — And is Poised to Find Thousands More

By Daniel Apai, Benjamin Rackham

Over 99% of these alien worlds remain undiscovered — but this is about to change.

Mercury as seen passing between Earth and the sun during a transit.

The Science of the 2019 Mercury Transit: How Astronomers Will Study the Rare Celestial Event

By Nola Taylor Redd

On Monday, students across the U.S. will use Mercury's transit to measure the distance between Earth and the sun.

Earth's layers shown in this modified NASA image.

Earth's Mantle and Crust Are in a Fiery Battle to the Death … of Supercontinents

By Stephanie Pappas

A new model of the whole Earth shows how the mantle and crust drive the movement of tectonic plates as well as the creation and destruction of supercontinents.

A poster for the potential Interstellar Probe mission, which would seek to lay the foundation for future journeys to other star systems.

Scientists Chat Interstellar Probe Project in New York City

By Doris Elin Urrutia

Sending scientific instruments to the edge of the heliosphere, or the sun's region of influence, is like going to the edge of the fish bowl.

prime numbers

Mathematicians Solve 'Twin Prime Conjecture' — In an Alternate Universe

By Rafi Letzter

Mathematicians have uncovered a big new piece of evidence for one of the most famous unproven ideas in mathematics, known as the twin prime conjecture.

A thermonuclear blast on a pulsar called J1808 resulted in the brightest burst of X-rays seen to date by NASA's Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) telescope. The explosion occurred on Aug. 20, 2019, and released as much energy in 20 seconds as our sun does in almost 10 days.

NICER Telescope Spots Brightest X-Ray Burst Ever Observed

By Chelsea Gohd

The brightest X-ray burst ever observed by NICER released as much energy in 20 seconds as our sun does in about 10 days.

An image of Venus based on data from Akatsuki, the Japanese spacecraft currently orbiting our neighbor.

India Has a New Planetary Target in Mind: Venus

By Meghan Bartels

India has launched just three planetary-science spacecraft, but the country is already eyeing a new destination: Venus.

A dark nebula is a type of interstellar cloud that is so dense that it obscures the light from background stars.

Is a New Particle Changing the Fate of the Universe?

By Paul Sutter

A brand-new particle has possibly emerged and is altering the future destiny of our entire cosmos, a physicist says.

A Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image of the surface of the moon.

Record-Holding Moon Mission Marks a Decade in Orbit

By Meghan Bartels

Among the dozens of spacecraft that have visited the moon, none can come close to the tenure of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which recently marked a decade studying our sibling world.

SOFIA flies during the day with the door to its main instrument open.

NASA's SOFIA Observatory: The Flying Telescope

By Charlie Wood

Flying at the very tip-top of Earth's atmosphere, SOFIA has almost as clear a view as space-based telescopes.

Apollo sample processors Andrea Mosie (left), Charis Krysher and Juliane Gross unseal Apollo 17 previously-untouched lunar sample 73002 inside a science glovebox at Johnson Space Center's Lunar Curation Laboratory in Houston on Nov. 5, 2019.

NASA Opens Untouched Apollo Moon Rock Sample for First Time in 40 Years

By Robert Z. Pearlman

NASA has opened one of its last pristine samples of Apollo moon rock to prepare for the return of new material by future lunar missions.

Wormholes have been proposed as one possible means of traveling through time.

Where Does the Concept of Time Travel Come From?

By Adam Mann

When did time travel stories first appear, and what makes them so popular?