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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
A satellite of U.S. Earth-observation company planet has captured a Falcon 9 rocket booster shortly after its successful tenth landing.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff published

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.

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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?

An image of Halley's Comet taken in 1986.

Halley's Comet: Facts about history's most famous comet

By Elizabeth Howell published

The comet's frequent recurrence has played a part in historical events for millennia.

The Allan Hills 84001 meteorite came from Mars and was found in Antarctica in 1984.

Infamous Mars meteorite contains organic molecules, but they aren't proof of life

By Charles Q. Choi published

Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity holds that massive objects cause a distortion in space-time, which is felt as gravity. This image is an artist's depiction of colliding black holes causing gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of space-time.

Curvature of space-time measured using 'atomic fountain'

By Rahul Rao published

A group of physicists has measured gravity using the effects of time dilation — the slowing of time imparted by increased velocity or gravitational force — on atoms.

An artist's depiction of an exomoon orbiting exoplanet Kepler 1708 b.

The hunt is on for exomoons around alien planets and scientists may have just found one

By Meghan Bartels published

Time for another tantalizing glimpse of what alien solar systems might look like.

Joe Matus, an engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, captured this image of the Great American Total Solar Eclipse from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, on Aug. 21, 2017.

Solar eclipses: When is the next one?

By Joe Rao, Ben Biggs published

REFERENCE Solar eclipses are one of nature's most spectacular events.

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Wormhole

What is wormhole theory?

By Nola Taylor Tillman, Ailsa Harvey published

Reference The wormhole theory postulates that a theoretical passage through space-time could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe.

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An artist's conception of stellar streams orbiting the Milky Way.

Streams of stars orbiting the Milky Way shed light on galaxy’s dark matter

By Samantha Mathewson published

Stellar groupings orbiting the outskirts of the Milky Way shed new light on the elusive dark matter surrounding our galaxy.

A visualization of a superflare on the recurrent nova v2487 Oph.

Powerful superflares discovered erupting from superdense stellar corpse

By Chelsea Gohd published

A rare type of white dwarf star has been erupting in the most extreme superflares of its kind ever seen, researchers find in a new study.

An artists conception comparing a normal supernova to a cow supernova.

'Cow' supernova is brightest ever seen in X-ray observations

By Tereza Pultarova published

Astronomers have spotted the brightest ever 'Ccow' supernova shining in x-rays providing evidence the mysterious phenomenon might be driven by an emerging black hole or a neutron star.

The James Webb Space Telescope's 21.3-foot (6.5 meter) diameter primary mirror.

James Webb Space Telescope begins lining up its golden mirrors

By Elizabeth Howell published

Just weeks after the excitement of launch, the James Webb Space Telescope is already seeking focus in space.