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The northern lights shimmered in the night sky over Tromsø, Norway, on Jan. 9, 2014, after a coronal mass ejection arrived in near-Earth space, following a two-day journey from the sun.

Northern lights (aurora borealis): What they are & how to see them

By Stefanie Waldek published

REFERENCE Learn all about the northern lights, including the science behind their colors, the display's ancient history and how to see the phenomenon.

REFERENCE
The Hubble Space Telescope launched to Earth orbit in April 1990.

1 billion seconds in space! NASA's Hubble Space Telescope surpasses major milestone

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has reached a major milestone: one billion seconds in the final frontier.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (known by its French acronym, CERN) manufacturers antimatter in a dedicated antimatter factory.

Matter and antimatter respond to gravity in the same way, study finds

By Tereza Pultarova published

Matter and antimatter behave the same under the influence of gravity, a new study found, leaving scientists no wiser as to what makes the two different.

An artist's depiction of a red supergiant star within the last year before it explodes.

Death star: In cosmic first, scientists observe red supergiant just before it explodes

By Meghan Bartels published

It's much easier for scientists to see the messy aftermath of stellar explosions than to watch the prelude to the drama.

An image taken by the Dark Energy Camera in Chile shows TIC 400799224.

NASA's TESS exoplanet mission reveals mystery of strange signals from dusty object

By Meghan Bartels published

The universe is full of mysteries.

The Milky Way galaxy, as seen from Earth. Astronomers believe there are around 1 billion stars in the galaxy.

Does every star have planets?

By Ashley Hamer published

Some stars don't have planets orbiting them. Here's why.

Coathanger asterism

Asterisms: Definition, facts and examples

By Robert Lea published

Reference These unique star patterns aren’t as big as constellations. How else do they compare and what are some recognized examples?

Reference
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope separates from its Ariane 5 rocket with the bright blue Earth in the background in this view captured after its launch on Dec. 25, 2021.

This amazing HD video is the last view we'll ever have of the James Webb Space Telescope

By Elizabeth Howell published

A newly released HD video shows the James Webb Space Telescope flying away from its rocket toward deep space.

Milky Way

The Milky Way's outer reaches may have lumpy, choppy arms

By Elizabeth Howell published

The new model presents a contrast to the traditional long, sleek arms presented in images of our galaxy.

The Planck time originated with German physicist Max Planck in 1899

What is the Planck time?

By Andrew May published

Reference All about the Planck time: where it came from, what it is, and what it might reveal about the way the universe works

Reference
This artistic visualization shows Earth today (right) vs Earth 4.5 billion years ago (left).

How did Earth form?

By Nola Taylor Tillman published

Earth and other planets could have formed according to two different theories.

An animation of the deployment of the secondary mirror on the James Webb Space Telescope.

James Webb Space Telescope nails secondary mirror deployment

By Tereza Pultarova published

The James Webb Space Telescope successfully extended its secondary mirror as it continues to sail seamlessly through its never-before-conducted deployment sequence on the way to its destination.

The targeted landing zone for Ingenuity’s 19th Mars flight can be seen in this image, which the helicopter captured during its ninth sortie on July 5, 2021. The targeted landing spot is in the center of the image, just below the Perseverance rover tracks.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity gearing up for 19th Red Planet flight on Friday

By Mike Wall published

The 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) Ingenuity's next Mars sortie will take place as early as Friday (Jan. 7). The little chopper will cruise over a ridge and onto a plateau.

This new image from ESO's Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) radio telescope captures the Flame Nebula, which is the large cosmic feature on the left, and its surroundings within the Orion Constellation.

'Orion's Fireplace': Flame Nebula is ablaze with color in stunning new image

By Samantha Mathewson published

Orion's Flame Nebula rings in the New Year in a blazing new photo from the European Southern Observatory (ESO).

One manifestation of general relativity is gravitational waves, depicted here as created by two colliding black holes.

Einstein's theory of general relativity

By Nola Taylor Tillman, Meghan Bartels, Scott Dutfield published

Reference Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity is based on the idea that massive objects cause a distortion in space-time, which is felt as gravity.

Reference
Where do black holes lead to?

Where do black holes lead to?

By David Crookes, Daisy Dobrijevic published

REFERENCE If you could journey through the cosmos' most monstrous objects, what tales — if any — would you be able to tell?

REFERENCE
A view of Comet Leonard as seen over Australia.

Comet Leonard puts on a final, spectacular display with ion tail in solar wind

By Meghan Bartels published

Comet Leonard is slipping out of view, but not without putting on one last show.

The atomic structure of magnesium-18, just created inside a giant atom smasher, is shown in this illustration.

Scientists create never-before-seen isotope of magnesium

By Tom Metcalfe published

Scientists have just created the world's lightest form of magnesium — a never-before-seen isotope with just six neutrons in its atomic nuclei.

The James Webb Space Telescope's 21.3-foot-wide (6.5 meters) primary mirror is seen here during testing on Earth.

With James Webb Space Telescope's huge sunshield in place, focus shifts to big mirrors

By Mike Wall published

The Webb team can now turn to the next big-ticket item on its list: getting the telescope's secondary and primary mirrors into the proper configuration.

The Earth reached its perihelion, its closest point to the sun for 2022, on Jan. 4, 2022.

Happy perihelion 2022! Earth reaches its closest point to the sun for the year

By Elizabeth Howell published

The sun is just a little bit closer in Earth's sky right now.