Planets
Listen to the crackle of ‘mini-lightning’ on Mars
Scientists suspected Mars had these zaps but had never detected them — until now. NASA’s Perseverance rover recorded them generated by dusty gusts.
By Nikk Ogasa
Space
More Stories in Space
- Space
This cosmologist studies the invisible parts of the universe
Katie Mack started out building solar-powered LEGO cars as a kid. Now she studies dark matter to better understand how galaxies form and evolve.
- Life
Let’s learn about life forms that have survived in space
Moss spores, bacteria and tardigrades have all proved their hardiness outside the International Space Station.
- Space
This is the largest, most detailed radio image yet of our Milky Way
Supernova remnants, stellar nurseries and more populate this new view of our galaxy, as seen from Earth’s southern hemisphere.
- Space
Analyze This: What are the chances of an asteroid hitting Earth?
The odds of a big space rock striking the planet are higher than you might think. But don’t worry — asteroid strikes may be preventable.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Van Allen belts
Astronomers have detected these radiation belts around Earth and beyond. Jupiter’s belt is thousands of times as intense as Earth’s.
- Space
Fast, mysterious clouds swarm around our galaxy
Astronomers want to know the source — and importance — of these faint, fast-moving clouds that zoom beyond and toward our Milky Way’s disk.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Supermoon
This supersized lunar event occurs when a full moon or new moon coincides with the moon’s perigee — the point where it is the closest to Earth.
- Space
Scientists caught a black hole ringing like a bell
Two black holes merged, creating a new, bigger one. This event triggered the clearest ripples in spacetime ever observed.
- Space
Let’s learn about spooky ‘dark energy’
No one knows exactly what this stuff is, but it’s shaping our universe on the largest scales.
