Science & Astronomy

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An artist's rendering of HD 219134b, another "local" Earth-sized exoplanet that could be similar to the newly discovered world K2-415b.

Earth-size exoplanet spotted just 72 light-years away

By Stefanie Waldek published

The newfound exoplanet K2-415b is not within the habitable zone of its red dwarf host star, but it could have a neighbor that is.

The day side of Venus covered in clouds, as seen by Japan's Akatsuki spacecraft.

Chance encounters: Mercury probe and sun spacecraft provide new info about Venus

By Briley Lewis published

Data from BepiColombo and Solar Orbiter during Venus gravity assists reveal how a magnetic field protects the Venusian atmosphere.

The Euclid spacecraft has a white 'tunnel' structure atop a large golden rectangle. It sits against a backdrop of galaxies and stars.

Euclid mission: ESA's hunt for dark matter and dark energy

By Keith Cooper last updated

Reference The European Space Agency's Euclid mission will map 1.5 billion galaxies while searching for dark matter and dark energy.

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Artist's impression of asteroids in the asteroid belt.

What are asteroids?

By Robert Lea last updated

Reference Relics from the birth of the solar system, asteroids provide us with a window into our cosmic neighborhood's violent past.

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Screenshot of a video showing a fireball falling over France Feb. 13, 2023.

Falling asteroid sparks brilliant fireball over Europe just hours after discovery (video)

By Elizabeth Howell published

A space rock transformed into a fireball within view of millions on Monday (Feb. 13) about 10 years after the Chelyabinsk event that saw a small space rock explode over a Russian town.

An X1.1-class solar flare erupts from the sun on Feb. 11, 2023.

The sun just erupted with a major X-class solar flare. Here's what it looked like on video.

By Tariq Malik published

A major solar flare erupted from the erupted from the sun on Saturday (Feb. 11) and a NASA spacecraft caught it on video.

three speakers in a row on a stage. the two on the left are astronauts and wear astronaut suits. one holds a microphone. the last person on the right wears a suit

'Black history is American history': NASA celebrates African Americans and space achievements at Smithsonian event

By Elizabeth Howell published

The Black History Month event Friday (Feb. 10) included astronauts, NASA directors and a discussion of why diversity matters, with high schoolers making up much of the audience.

Artwork of the dwarf planet Pluto (left) and its largest moon Charon.

Cracks on Pluto's moon Charon may be evidence of a frozen subsurface ocean

By Robert Lea published

The icy volcanism of Pluto's moon Charon may be driven by an internal frozen ocean erupted through a thin shell.

an artist impression of our Milky Way galaxy in its youth

The James Webb Space Telescope catches distant young galaxy devouring its neighbors

By Robert Lea published

The James Webb Space Telescope has observed a young, distant galaxy feasting on its neighbors just like the early Milky Way once did.

An image of the spiral galaxy NGC 4303 located 55 million light-years away.

Be hypnotized by this mesmerizing blue and gold spiral galaxy (photo)

By Robert Lea published

The hypnotizing image of the swirling galaxy was taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and the Very Large Telescope.

The NGC 2660 open cluster imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Hubble captures dazzling star cluster that may soon disperse

By Samantha Mathewson published

The Hubble Space Telescope captured an open star cluster known as NGC 2660, which contains hundreds of loosely bound stars in the constellation of Vela.

An illustration of a star slowly evaporating an orbiting planet's atmosphere.

Puffy helium planets could explain exoplanet size mystery

By Keith Cooper published

Gaseous planets close to their star could see their hydrogen atmospheres evaporate, leaving behind helium that could be detected by the James Webb Space Telescope.

Europe's Sentinel-1 satellite reveals two fissures that opened after the devastating earthquake in Turkey on Feb. 6.

Turkey earthquake opened 190-mile-long fissure, satellite images show

By Tereza Pultarova published

Two enormous cracks in Earth's crust opened near the Turkish-Syrian border after two powerful earthquakes shook the region on Monday (Feb. 6), killing over 20,000 people.

Artist rendering of a Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) microsatellite.

Hurricane-tracking satellites can also keep tabs on harmful microplastics in the ocean

By Tereza Pultarova published

A satellite system designed to track hurricanes can reveal where damaging microplastics accumulate in the ocean. A new study now reveals why.

Illustration of a sunset on Mars.

Mars atmosphere mystery could be solved by rocks in Minnesota

By Stefanie Waldek published

We know precious little about how Mars got its atmosphere or how it disappeared. Now, thanks to some rocks from Duluth, Minnesota, scientists have a new theory.

A hibernating Arctic squirrel handled by researchers.

NASA astronauts could hibernate on deep space missions thanks to arctic squirrels

By Tereza Pultarova published

Researchers are studying hibernating Arctic squirrels in order to harness the benefits of this natural state to protect astronauts on long-duration space missions.

Graphic illustration showing large circular clusters of dipole antennas that make up the SKAO.

SKA Observatory (SKAO): A guide to the soon-to-be largest radio telescopes in the world

By Keith Cooper published

Reference What will be the world's most powerful radio telescopes promises to make transformative leaps in our understanding of galaxies, black holes, dark energy, fast-radio bursts and even SETI.

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Long exposure of Andromeda Galaxy

Andromeda galaxy crash triggered a mass galactic migration 2 billion years ago

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers have discovered evidence that the Andromeda galaxy grew by merging with another galaxy, resulting in a mass stellar migration event.

The Jamess Webb Space Telescope's view of the spectacular Phantom Galaxy

12 amazing James Webb Space Telescope discoveries across the universe

By Rebecca Sohn last updated

The James Webb Space Telescope is imaging the universe in unprecedented detail. Stunning photos showcase the observatory's pioneering work in deep space.

illustrated close-up of james webb space telescope with stars in behind

James Webb Telescope question costs Google $100 billion — here's why

By Elizabeth Howell published

A promo ad for Google's unreleased artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot made an embarrassing mistake.