Ice on the moon may be billions of years old, new study shows
An important step toward more long-term manned missions to the moon is locating a source of water. A new study has investigated the age and origin of lunar water and found it could have multiple different sources. Some of the ice deposits seem to be billions of years old, while others are more recent.
Help tackle light pollution by identifying photos of cities taken from the ISS
Light pollution is an environmental issue that you might not think much about, but it can have serious consequences. To understand the scale of the problem, the European Space Agency is promoting a program to catalog images of cities taken from space and is asking for the public's help in the project.
New images reveal more about the history of water on Mars
Two new images reveal more about the history of water on Mars. Scientists believe that billions of years ago, Mars had a thick atmosphere that trapped heat and allowed liquid water to exist on the surface. They want to learn more about this period to see if liquid water might still exist there today.
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover practices its crucial descent separation
When the Mars 2020 spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere in two years' time and prepares to land, the rover will need to detach from the rocket-powered descent stage. This delicate operation was recently practiced here on Earth, with engineers at NASA performing a successful separation test.
NASA uses a plane to launch a craft to the very edge of space
NASA has launched a new spacecraft, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON), for exploring the border between our planet's atmosphere and space. The ICON spacecraft was carried aboard a Stargazer L-1011 aircraft, which took it to an altitude of 39,000 feet. The craft was then deployed on a rocket.
Scientists discovered 20 new moons around Saturn, and you can help name them
Astronomers using the Subaru telescope in Hawaii have discovered 20 news moons in orbit around Saturn. This brings the total number of moons discovered orbiting Saturn to 82, making it the planet in our solar system with the most known moons. It has surpassed Jupiter, which has 79 known moons.
Can you locate India’s crashed lunar lander in this image?
Last month, the Indian Space Research Organization attempted to land the Vikram lander on the moon but lost communication during the final descent. Now, NASA's orbiting lunar spacecraft, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has snapped a picture of the area where the crash is believed to have occurred.
China grows a cotton plant on the far side of the moon in a biological first
China has broken new ground, successfully growing cotton on the moon for the first time. The experiment was part of the Chang'e 4 project, in which China is exploring the far side of the moon with a lander. The cotton plant was one of several organisms encased in a mini biosphere aboard the lander.
Spitzer Space Telescope sees cosmic bubbles forming around young stars
Astronomers have imaged a region of the Milky Way using the Spitzer Space Telescope and observed beautiful bubbles surrounding clusters of stars. The region is full of young stars, with new stars being born when dense clouds of dust and gas come together under gravitational pressure.
Scientists spot first alien gases from interstellar comet
In September an interstellar visitor was discovered in our solar system -- the comet 2I/Borisov. Now, a new study has looked at what the comet is made of. Studying interstellar objects gives us the chance to see how planets are formed in other areas of the galaxy.
The Medusa merger galaxy is the site of a galactic mystery
A new Hubble image features a legendary monster who gave her name to the merging of two galaxies, the Medusa merger. Located 130 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major, this merger was created when a large galaxy collided with a smaller system rich in gas and devoured it.
First all-female spacewalk is back on for ISS astronauts this month
Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Christina Koch and Jessica Meir, are set to perform the first all-female spacewalk in history later this month. Their work will be part of a slew of upcoming spacewalks in an ongoing project to upgrade the batteries on the space station.
Juno performs longest-ever propulsive maneuver in a race against the sun
NASA's Juno mission, launched in 2011, has collected a wealth of information about Jupiter since it arrived in 2016. And this week the craft it pulled off a feat of precision engineering, performing its longest-ever propulsive maneuver in a race against the setting sun.
Planet Nine could be a miniature black hole hiding in our solar system
The concept of a ninth planet in our solar system captured the public's imagination and gained steam when astronomers found more evidence in support of its existence. Now, a different team has suggested that the strange body we're seeing evidence of is not a planet but a miniature black hole.
How facial recognition is helping astronomers reveal the secrets of dark matter
Could the same A.I. technology that is used to unlock people’s smartphones also help unlock the potential secrets of the universe? It sounds crazy, but that’s exactly what researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland are working to achieve. Here's what they have developed.
Strange radio bursts shed light on mysterious galactic halos
In a galactic version of killing two birds with one stone, astronomers have come up with a way to investigate two puzzling cosmic phenomena at the same time. They observed a fast radio burst from a distant galaxy which passed through a galactic halo, shedding light on both the bursts and the halo.
SpaceX shows off its new Starship tonight. Here’s how to watch
Today we should get a first look at SpaceX's Starship project, a reusable rocket for carrying cargo and crew "to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and anywhere else in the solar system." We're expecting an announcement from Elon Musk tonight, and you can watch the livestream here from 8 p.m. EST.
Stunning image shows astronaut’s-eye view of rocket approaching the ISS
This week a new group of astronauts headed for the International Space Station. Astronaut Christina Koch was looking forward to being joined by her best friend and fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, so she decided to capture an image of the incoming craft from her perspective on board the ISS.
Two new images show Mars’ icy poles and pockmarked surface
The European Space Agency has captured a stunning image of Mars from top to bottom with its Mars Express craft which is currently in orbit around the planet. The slice shows Mars from its north to its south pole, with frozen ice caps on top and bottom and a boundary of rock formations between them.
NASA’s troubled next-generation rocket is finally assembled
NASA's Space Launch System should be the next generation of rocket, suitable for launching heavy payloads and traveling to deep space. But the project has been troubled, suffering from delays and ballooning costs. Progress is being made, however, and recently NASA shared an update on the rocket.
Was hellish hothouse Venus once a temperate planet covered in water?
It sounds outlandish, but according to new research, the scorching planet of Venus could once have been habitable. The average surface temperature on Venus today is 863°F, but a new study claims that millions of years ago, the planet could have been a temperate place with liquid water on its surface.
Only about 75 people actually made it to the viral Area 51 raid
Only about 75 people with dreams of seeing aliens showed up at the gates of Area 51 on Friday, a far cry from the millions who had said they were going to attend the Area 51 raid. That said, at least one of them actually managed to Naruto Run nearby, and only two people were detained.
First images of mysterious interstellar comet Borisov show familiar features
Astronomers have gotten their first glimpse at an interstellar comet -- and it might be more similar to comets from our solar system than we had originally thought. The first images suggest C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) has a similar composition to comets found in our solar system.
Astronomers have found the most massive neutron star ever detected
Astronomers at West Virginia University have found the most massive neutron star ever recorded, located about 4,600 light-years from Earth. The neutron star, which has been dubbed J0740+6620, is exceptionally dense -- it's about 2.17 times the mass of the sun packed into a sphere that's only 15 miles across.
The supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way is getting hungrier
Last month, we learned that the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy was flaring, although no one was sure why. Now, astronomers from the University of California, Los Angeles have revealed more about what they think may be driving this unprecedented event.
Hubble scientists find new way to measure the age of star clusters
A new Hubble image shows a scene within the bounds of our galactic neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. This particular object, NGC 1466, is a type of star cluster called a globular cluster -- a group of stars that are held together by gravity and which move together through the edges of the LMC.
Astronomers found a comet that may have come from another solar system
An interstellar object from outside of our solar system has been spotted casually passing through our neck of the universe. The comet's name is C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), and it’s only the second interstellar object ever to be seen passing through our solar system, the first being ‘Oumuamua back in 2017.
Baby black holes chirp as they’re born, just as Einstein predicted
MIT scientists testing Albert Einstein's no-hair theorem have heard a “baby” black hole for the very first time, and found it produces gravitational waves that sound like a chirp.
Hubble space telescope finds water vapor on ‘Super-Earth’ exoplanet
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has discovered water vapor in the atmosphere of a distant Earth-like exoplanet known as K2-18b, meaning it might be habitable. The so-called "Super-Earth" is located about 110 light-years away in the Leo constellation.
India loses communication with Chandrayaan-2 moon lander
India's space agency lost contact with its Chandrayaan-2 moon lander Friday as it attempted to do what it was made for: land on the moon. It's not clear if the lander crashed or if there was simply some kind of communication error. Its mission is to explore the moon's south pole and search for signs of water.
Watch India’s historic Chandrayaan-2 mission land a spacecraft on the moon
India is hoping to become the fourth nation make it to the moon when it attempts to land its Chandrayaan-2 robotic spacecraft on Friday afternoon -- and you can watch the historic event live. If successful, the mission will operate on the moon's surface for about a year.
First-ever image of a black hole wins scientists a $3-million prize
The team of scientists who worked to capture the first-ever image of a black hole 55 million light years from Earth is to receive a $3 million prize for its efforts. The image was unveiled in April 2019 after decades of work to build a powerful virtual telescope spanning eight countries.
NASA teams with European counterparts to stop asteroids from hitting Earth
Asteroid researchers and spacecraft engineers from around the world are meeting in Italy next week to discuss plans for an ambitious space mission that aims to test technology designed to change the orbit of a large asteroid. If successful, it could form the basis of a system to protect Earth from such a threat.
CIMON the flying brain is back on Earth after 14 months in space
A robotic assistant called CIMON recently returned to Earth after spending 14 months on the ISS. The floating robot uses artificial intelligence to interact with astronauts, helping them with tasks and generally behaving like a regular crew member. A more advanced version is now being developed.