Space
- Planets
A distant crumbling planet spills its guts
Based on the light being emitted by its shed minerals, astronomers can for the first time determine the internal composition of an exoplanet.
- Planets
So many wondrous moons — just a spaceship ride away
Scientists are studying extraterrestrial moons for clues to how planets form, how life began — and whether there’s life out there right now.
- Space
Ancient black holes might solve the mystery of dark matter
Studies of gravitational waves, stars and other features of the universe could reveal whether such “primordial” black holes exist.
- Space
Jane Rigby helped make the James Webb telescope a superstar
The senior project scientist for the JWST, Rigby believes being part of the LGBTQ+ community has made her a better astronomer.
- Space
This zombie star’s spiky filaments are baffling astronomers
The star's odd tendrils were somehow formed by a supernova that skywatchers saw way back in 1181.
- Planets
Scientists Say: Regolith
This sandlike dust blankets planets, asteroids and other rocky surfaces of our solar system, including our own planet.
- Space
The biggest discoveries of Voyagers — NASA’s most distant explorers
Voyager 1 and 2 left Earth in 1977 to fly by the outer planets. Nearly 50 years later, these spacecraft are still transforming our knowledge of space.
- Space
Let’s learn about the International Space Station
Astronauts on the space station have gathered data on everything from climate change to dark matter.
- Planets
A peek into a stellar nursery has revealed six baby giant worlds
Images of six Jupiter-sized worlds taken by the James Webb Space Telescope offer clues to how planets and stars form.
- Space
Let’s learn about supernovas
Supernovas are spectacular stellar explosions that sprinkle heavy elements throughout the universe.
- Space
Microscopic black holes may be flying through our solar system
These flybys could jostle the orbits of planets and satellites as teeny black holes whiz by us once a decade or so.
- Space
The moon has new tales to share, some from its secretive far side
Ongoing observations and new lunar rock samples, including the first from its far side, should point to how both the moon and our Earth evolved.
