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An artist's depiction of the Lucy spacecraft studying an asteroid.

Scientists identify tiny satellite around an asteroid NASA's Lucy spacecraft will visit

By Meghan Bartels

NASA's Lucy asteroid mission already faced a busy itinerary with seven different space-rock targets. Now, the team has discovered that one of those asteroids has a tiny companion.

Data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft is still helping scientists to explore Saturn, years after the spacecraft "died."

Dead Cassini spacecraft could solve mystery of Saturn's hot atmosphere

By Elizabeth Howell

A spacecraft that died in 2017 is still providing insights about Saturn, the planet it studied up close for 13 years.

Artist’s illustration of the brown dwarf Luhman 16A. Astronomers have inferred the presence of cloud bands on Luhman 16A using a technique called polarimetry, in which polarized light is measured from an astrophysical object much like polarized sunglasses are used to block out glare. This is the first time that polarimetry has been used to measure cloud patterns on a brown dwarf. 

Turbulent skies of nearby 'failed star' marked by thick cloud bands

By Mike Wall

Scientists have spotted evidence of Jupiter-like stripes in the thick atmosphere of a nearby brown dwarf, a new study reports — and this evidence was gathered in a novel way.

Artist's illustration of the super-hot exoplanet WASP-79b, located 780 light-years away. The planet orbits precariously close to a star that is much hotter than our sun. The planet is larger than Jupiter, and its very deep, hazy atmosphere sizzles at 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit — the temperature of molten glass.

Giant, scorching-hot alien planet has yellow skies

By Mike Wall

We can now add atmospheric craziness to WASP-79b's already substantial exotic appeal.

Using space-based technology, researchers have found a significant loss of ice in Antartica and Greenland's ice sheets.

NASA space lasers track Earth's disappearing ice sheets and sea-level rise

By Chelsea Gohd

Using NASA space lasers, scientists have tracked how ice sheets in Greenland and the Antarctic have changed over the last 16 years, showing the drastic effects of climate change.

Astrophysicist and science communicator Katie Mack will talk about the end of the universe during a webcast on May 6, 2020.

Astrophysicist Katie Mack talks the end of the universe tonight! Here's how to watch live.

By Mike Wall

Astrophysicist Katie Mack will talk about the end of the universe today (May 6), and you can follow the discussion live — and even ask her a question, if you'd like.

This artist's impression shows the orbits of the objects in the HR 6819 triple system. This system is made up of an inner binary with one star (orbit in blue) and a newly discovered black hole (orbit in red), as well as a third star in a wider orbit (also in blue).

Newfound black hole is the closest one to Earth we've ever found

By Hanneke Weitering

A newfound black hole may be the closest black hole to Earth, and you can spot its cosmic home in the night sky without a telescope.

A map showing detections of flashes caused by asteroids impacting the moon. The circled impact is the 100th detected by NELIOTA and the first observed by the Sharjah Lunar Impact Observatory, on March 1, 2020.

The hunt for asteroid impacts on the moon heats up with new observatory

By Meghan Bartels

Sometimes a flash in the night is actually an asteroid slamming into the moon.

Asteroid 2020 HS7, as seen by Tautenburg Observatory in Germany on April 28, 2020, shortly after the space rock was first spotted.

Tiny asteroid's super-close Earth flyby shows planetary protection in action, scientists say

By Meghan Bartels

On April 27, something caught the eyes of astronomers poring through data gathered by the Pan-STARRS Observatory in Hawaii: a previously unknown space rock, and one that was very close to Earth.

Ozone-rich air (red) floods the atmosphere over the North Pole on April 23, closing the single largest ozone hole ever detected in the Arctic.

North Pole's largest-ever ozone hole finally closes

By Brandon Specktor

An unusually strong polar vortex kept an ozone hole open over the North Pole for nearly a month — now, it's finally shut again.

A map of the sky shows the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), a remnant of the period of the early universe when this lost dark matter might have existed.

A long-lost type of dark matter may resolve the biggest disagreement in physics

By Rafi Letzter

Right now, key measurements of the universe's expansion are contradicting each other. A lost form of dark matter could help them agree.

In string theory, tiny bits of string replace traditional subatomic particles.

Is string theory worth it?

By Paul Sutter

After 60 years, this beautiful theory hasn't produced many tangible results.

NASA's Juno spacecraft captured this view of Jupiter's southern hemisphere on Feb. 17, 2020. Jupiter has a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and, while researchers don't think there's life on Jupiter, a new study shows that life can survive in a pure hydrogen environment.

Could life thrive on hydrogen-rich alien worlds?

By Chelsea Gohd

Life can thrive in a 100% hydrogen atmosphere, according to a new study. The finding could completely change our understanding of how (and where) life might exist in the universe.

A region of Europa's surface dubbed Chaos Transition shows messy blocks on the left and long ridges on the right.

Chaos reigns in detailed new views of Jupiter's icy moon Europa

By Meghan Bartels

Scientists have gotten their best look to date at three chaotic patches on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa thanks to decade-old images from a long-defunct spacecraft.

An artist's depiction of the giant stellar-mass black hole suspected by some researchers to be in the binary system LB1 accreting gas from a nearby blue companion star. In a number of studies, researchers have disproven the probability that the black hole in LB1 is ultramassive.

Scientists keep debunking 'monster black hole' discovery. So, what's the deal with binary system LB1?

By Chelsea Gohd

As scientists continue to weigh in, one thing is clear: the "monster black hole" discovered in 2019 doesn't exist.

A panoramic view of the Milky Way's core, captured from the Atacama Desert in Chile. Emission nebulas are shown in pink, and the blue spots are reflection nebulas.

The starry dusty field from the core of our Milky Way galaxy (photo)

By Miguel Claro

A panoramic view of the Milky Way galaxy's dusty core reveals several colorful deep-space nebulas.

The full moon as seen from the Earth, with the Ocean of Storms (Oceanus Procellarum) border structures superimposed in red. Scientists now think this huge feature on the moon was formed by lunar lava early in the moon's formation, and not a cataclysmic impact. New research shows that there could could be active tectonic systems on the moon today.

The moon isn't 'dead': Ridges on lunar surface show signs of recent tectonic activity

By Chelsea Gohd

The moon isn't "dead" after all: Newly discovered ridges on the moon's surface are leading scientists to think that the moon might have an active tectonic system.

Two active regions on the sun with opposite magnetic fields: 2760 matches solar cycle 24 while 2761 matches solar cycle 25.

There are two kinds of sunspots on the sun right now amid solar cycle change

By Meghan Bartels

The sun offers plenty of brainteasers: Right now, for instance, it's sporting magnetic knots formed by two different cycles — simultaneously.

The Hope spacecraft as seen during preparations for launch.

The UAE is going to Mars. Here's the plan for its Hope orbiter.

By Meghan Bartels

The United Arab Emirates had its sights set on Mars the day before it launched its second satellite ever.

This NASA graphic shows the path of asteroid 2020 JA, a newfound bus-sized space rock that will fly safely by Earth at a distance of 148,000 miles on May 3, 2020.

A small asteroid the size of a bus will fly safely by Earth today

By Tariq Malik

A newly discovered asteroid about the size of a bus will zip safely by Earth today (May 3), passing at a distance just over halfway to the moon.