James Webb Space Telescope Made a ‘Puzzling’ Discovery on Jupiter’s Moon Europa—These Scientists May Have an Answer
SWRI experiments could explain puzzling levels of equatorial hydrogen peroxide on Saturn's moon Europa detected by the JWST.
Space
Enter Ammonite: Discovery of Distant Space Object Shakes Up the Hunt for Planet Nine
Astronomers have discovered "Ammonite," a mysterious object on the solar system’s edge whose unusual orbit challenges current theories about a hypothetical ninth planet.
ESO’s Very Large Telescope Spots Newfound Protoplanet Sculpting Patterns in a Distant Star’s Disc
Scientist studying a star over 440 light-years away have spotted a planet creating intricate patterns in the star's protoplanetary disc.
Astronomers Reveal Betelgeuse Has an Elusive Stellar Companion Linked to Star’s Curious Brightness Cycle
Betelgeuse, the red supergiant star closest to Earth, has finally been proven to have a companion star in observations from NASA scientists.
Astronomers Spot Object Locked in an Unusual “Dance” with Neptune That Challenges Past Ideas on the Outer Solar System
In the dark, icy outskirts of our solar system—far beyond Neptune’s orbit—astronomers have discovered a cosmic oddball that appears to be locked in an unusual gravitational dance with the eighth planet. The object, dubbed 2020 VN40, is the first ever...
Satellite Images Reveal Strange Circles, Smiley Faces, and Other Seasonal Curiosities on the Greenland Ice Sheet
With the arrival of summer, the Greenland Ice Sheet has adopted its ‘summer look,’ revealing a few odd shapes and other curiosities.
Look: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Just Had Its Closest-Ever Encounter with the Sun, and Has Historic Pictures to Prove It
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has proven to be an essential tool in understanding space weather, a major potential hazard to life on Earth.
“Everything is Unusual About This Galaxy”: James Webb Space Telescope Uncovers Strangely Shaped ‘Infinity Galaxy’
The Infinity Galaxy is a recent discovery from the James Webb Space Telescope’s COSMOS-Web survey, found in archival data.
James Webb and ALMA Telescopes Spy First-Ever “Dawn” of Planets Forming Around a Sun
Astronomers using ALMA and the James Webb Space Telescope witnessed the dawn of a solar system, including the first stages of planets forming
“It Could Tell Us the Story of Many Other Solar Systems”: Doomed Exoplanet May Change Our Understanding of Planetary Evolution
On a collision course with its star, the Jupiter-like exoplanet TOI-2109b has astronomers keenly observing its unusual orbital decay.
Chang’e-6 Returns First Samples from Far Side of the Moon, Revealing Deep Lunar Secrets
Earth’s Moon always presents us on the surface with the same face, yet its mysterious far side features many significant differences.
“The Secret Might Be Here on Our Own Planet”: This NASA Scientist Is on a Mission to Find Out What Aliens Look Like
NASA has tasked a University of Massachusetts Amherst microbiologist who studies extremophiles with figuring out what aliens probably look like.
‘Interstellar Contamination’ Could Change Which Exoplanets Scientists Search for Extraterrestrial Life
A new analysis of exoplanets has shown interstellar contamination from nearby stars could change where to search for extraterrestrial life.
Astronomers Detect a Mysterious Giant and “Hidden Substructures” Lurking in the Haze Around a Young Star
Shrouded by a swirl of gas and dust, a gas giant, roughly three to ten times the size of Jupiter, was found in a new exoplanet discovery.
A Forgotten Martian Landscape May Hold the Key to Ancient Water on the Red Planet
New evidence for past water on Mars was revealed in research identifying over 15,000 kilometers of dry riverbeds on the Martian surface.
“What Else is Out There?” New Study Reveals Everything We Currently Know About Mysterious Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS
New research has revealed everything astronomers currently know about the mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS.
Have Astronomers Found Signs of Life in Venus’s Atmosphere? UK-led VERVE Mission Aims to Investigate
The VERVE mission seeks to investigate the presence of bacterial life floating in the heavy cloud cover on Venus up close.
Scientists Are Engineering “Moon Rice” for Space Missions That Could Also Feed Earth’s Harshest Habitats
Moon habitation and missions to Mars face resupply challenges, which the Italian Moon-Rice project aims to solve with a bioengineered crop.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Just Solved a Key Mystery Behind the Sun’s Superheated Corona
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has collected data that evidences the theoretical “helicity barrier,” where turbulent dissipation behaves strangely.
‘CosmoCube’ Spacecraft Plans to Listen for Whispers from the Cosmic Dark Ages on the Far Side of the Moon
A proposed satellite mission aims to orbit the far side of the Moon to detect faint radio signals from the universe’s cosmic Dark Ages.
“Something Unknown Is at Work” Behind NASA’s DART Planetary Defense Mission—and Astronomers Are Worried
Planetary defense scientists say NASA’s DART asteroid redirection mission sent space rocks hurtling on unexpected trajectories.
“E-MERLIN is Showing What’s Possible”: UK Telescope Array Captures a Rare Look at Protoplanetary “Pebbles”
New observations from England’s e-MERLIN interferometer telescope array display cosmic pebbles that will one day grow into entire exoplanets.
Discovery of Meteorite From Lost Protoplanet Upends Timeline of the Solar System’s Formation
Ancient meteorite reveals a protoplanet formed in the outer Solar System earlier than thought, reshaping planet formation theories.
Cosmic Mystery Solved? Earth May Reside Within a Huge ‘Void’ in Space
Scientists have proposed Earth is in the middle of a huge void in space, potentially resolving the cosmic mystery known as the Hubble Tension.
Look: Stunning First Images from Vera C. Rubin Observatory Reveal the Cosmos Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen
The widely anticipated first images collected by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have been released, offering nothing short of an awe-inspiring view of the cosmos.
Did a Mystery Object Just Hit Saturn? Astronomers Investigating Strange Flash Issue Urgent Call for Images
Astronomers are calling for images of Saturn captured over the weekend that may help document a rare impact event with a mystery object.
‘Space Ice’ Experiments Pour Cold Water on Panspermia Origin of Life Theories
Scientists studying space ice say the amorphous, low-density material's structure decreases the odds of a panspermia origin of life theories.
Theoretical “Dark Dwarfs” Lurking Near the Galactic Center Could Help Reveal Dark Matter’s Secrets
Dark dwarfs, stars composed of dark matter, may be the optimal objects in which to finally discover physical dark matter in the real world.
NASA Reveals New Images of Oddly Shaped Asteroid ‘Donaldjohanson’ Captured by Lucy Spacecraft
NASA has released new detailed images revealing a full-frame view of the peculiarly shaped asteroid Donaldjohanson.
NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Begins Its Groundbreaking Mission to Share All-Sky Mapping Data with the Public
NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope has settled into low-Earth orbit, providing a wellspring of publicly available space data.
Look: NASA Satellite Images Reveal Mysterious Blast Site of 1908 Tunguska Event that Scorched Remote Siberia
The mysterious blast site of the Tunguska Event of 1908 is revealed in satellite images obtained by NASA’s Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8.
James Webb Space Telescope Trains Its Sights on the ‘Bullet Cluster,’ Revealing a Stunning View of Galaxies in Collision
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured high-resolution images of the Bullet Cluster, revealing its complex dynamics.
NASA’s Mars Orbiter Debuts Rolling Maneuvers, Proving You Can Teach an Old Spacecraft New Tricks
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is still doing fresh things, even after close to two decades of service, shown by a new roll maneuver.
Honda Enters the Space Race as New Challenger to SpaceX With Its Successful Reusable Rocket Test
Japan’s Honda is giving American SpaceX new competition in the reusable rocket field with its recent successful test on June 17 in Hokkaido.
A Mysterious Radio Signal from Space Was Traced to an Unexpected Source—and It’s Something Within Our Own Galaxy
An object astronomers initially thought to be a high-speed burst of radio waves from deep space last year has been revealed to be something else entirely.
“You Need H2O and Not Just for Drinking”: Research Suggests an Icy Location for First Crewed Mars Landing
With crewed missions to the Red Planet becoming a realistic possibility for the 2030s, researchers have begun the search for an ideal Mars landing site.
Construction on Mars: NASA Suggests a Synthetic Lichen to Autonomously Convert Regolith into Building Material
On a future crewed Mars mission, explorers may grow their own building materials directly on the Red Planet.
James Webb Space Telescope Captures First Direct Image of Mysterious Alien Exoplanet Lurking in Dusty Debris Disk
In a groundbreaking first, the James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct image of a distant exoplanet unrecognized from past astronomical surveys.
NASA and ESA Are Tracking an Asteroid That Might Collide With the Moon in 2031
NASA and ESA scientists are monitoring asteroid 2024 YR4, which is now projected to have a small chance of impacting the Moon.
How The Giant Magellan Telescope Could Confirm Potential Signs of Life Spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope
The Giant Magellan Telescope team explains how the observatory will help solve the mysteries of the cosmos including the search for life.
ESA Launches Plans for Triple-Spacecraft Mission Using Laser Antenna to “Surf Gravitational Waves”
The European Space Agency’s Laser Interferometer Antenna will be the first space-based observatory designed to study gravitational waves.
X-Ray Telescopes Reveal 23-Million-Light-Year Filament That May Help Solve “Missing Matter” Mystery
A potential solution to the decades-long “missing matter” problem has been uncovered in astronomers' recent analysis of X-ray data.
The Sculptor Galaxy is Detailed in Unprecedented Imagery Combining Over 100 Telescope Observations
The entire Sculptor Galaxy is displayed in thousands of colors observed by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope.
Scientists Are Tracking Mysterious ‘Transient Luminous Events’ from Space Using This Innovative Tech
Scientists are using instruments on the International Space Station to shed light on the mysterious appearances of transient luminous events.
Bacteria Found on China’s Tiangong Space Station Shows Unique Adaptations for Space Survival, Study Shows
A strain of bacteria found aboard the Tiangong space station in 2023 appears to be a variety never previously identified on Earth.
James Webb Space Telescope Has Spotted Something “Abnormal, Chaotic, and Strange” 60 Light-Years from Earth
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has spotted an “abnormal, chaotic, and strange" planetary system 60 light-years from Earth.
James Webb Space Telescope Captures Odd Silicate Clouds and a Rare Moon-Forming Disk
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured high-resolution information on two young exoplanets, providing astrophysicists with fresh details about exoplanet atmospheres and formation.
U.S. Army Secretary Refers to Astronaut “On the Moon Who’s a Soldier,” Igniting Secret Space Program Conspiracies
An odd statement by U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll this week ignited speculations about secretive U.S. military operations on the Moon.
James Webb Space Telescope Spots Source of ‘Extreme’ Redshift 7 Ultraviolet Light Powering Cosmic Reionization
The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted extreme galaxy clusters generating enough ultraviolet light to account for cosmic reionization.
U.S. Naval Research Lab Tracked a Solar Eruption That Sent a Shockwave Toward Earth, Threatening Power and Satellites
The potential effects of space weather were highlighted when a coronal mass ejection resulted in a weather alert covering our entire planet.