Outer Space

DISCOVR captured a glint over South America. Scientists now think that horizontal ice crystals in the troposphere account for the phenomenon, which can be viewed from deep space.

Scientists Finally Figured Out Why Earth Twinkles From Space

Horizontal ice makes the planet sparkle and shine

Image on the original Pioneer 10 and 11 plaques

Now You Too Can Own a Piece of Space History

The engraver who inscribed Carl Sagan's and Frank Drake's 1973 message to extraterrestrials is now taking orders

The tiny creatures can adeptly fold their large wings, tucking them under their spotted forewing.

The Origami-Like Folds of Ladybug Wings Could Lead to Better Umbrellas

Scientists have finally figured out how ladybugs fold their wings

The recently sold bit of Sylacauga meteor, worth 18 times more than gold

Piece of the Meteorite That Struck a Woman Sells for More Than Its Weight in Gold

About the size of a dime, the fraction of the space rock fetched $7,500 at auction

The VLF bubble around Earth

A Human-Made "Bubble" of Radio Waves Could Be Shielding Earth From Radiation

Very Low Frequency radio waves have created a protective bubble around the planet

The Parkes radio telescope in Australia, which discovered the first FRB and the most recent burst

Latest Fast Radio Burst From Space Adds to Their Mystery

Researchers trained 11 telescopes on a recent burst's aftermath, but could find no traces of what caused the high energy signal

Why Morning Glories Could Survive Space Travel

The seed of the common garden flower could survive long journeys in space

Looking toward the sunlit side of Saturn's rings, Cassini captured this image in violet light on Oct. 28, 2016.

Cassini Survives Its Daredevil Plunge Toward Saturn

The craft’s first date with the “big empty” went off without a hitch

Stunning Map Shows Changes in Light at Night Around the World

The satellite images show where the most light is making night skies bright

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captures three of Saturn's moons—Tethys, Enceladus and Mimas—in this group photo.

How and When Did Saturn Get Those Magnificent Rings?

The planet's rings are coy when it comes to revealing their age, but astronomers are getting closer

Scientists Make Sturdy Bricks From Mars-Like Soils

Their findings may be a step forward in the mission to build structures on the Red Planet

Raw image of the storm on Saturn's north pole

Cassini Sends Back First Images From Its Saturn Dives

The stream of raw images include new pictures of the strange hexagonal storm swirling around its north pole

An artist's rendering imagines what Cassini must have looked like as it headed on the first of a series of orbits between Saturn and its rings.

Cassini Makes a Daring Dive

The spacecraft is out of contact as it begins a series of dramatic orbits between Saturn and its rings

An artist's rendering of a meteor passing over the British Isles in 1783. Unlike the L'Aigle meteor a few decades later, the meteorites from this event were not witnessed falling to the ground, and thus meteorites remained a scientific mystery for another 20 years.

Scientists Didn't Believe in Meteorites Until 1803

The l'Aigle meteorite fall involved more than 3,000 pieces of rock and numerous witnesses, and it changed everything

An artist's rendering of the James Webb Space Telescope.

Meet the Successor to Hubble That Will Peer Through Time

NASA’s next giant space telescope is due to launch next year

NASA technicians and engineers place a tent over the folded-up James Webb Space Telescope to protect it from dust and dirt once it leaves the "clean room" and proceeds to acoustic and vibrational testing.

Watch Scientists Freeze and Shake the James Webb Space Telescope

The largest space telescope ever built has a few last tests to pass

An illustration of LHS 1140b orbiting its faint red star

Exoplanet Discovery Arrives in Time for New Telescope Technology

Astronomers call LHS 1140b one of the "best targets" for hunting liquid water with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope

A composite image of asteroid 2014 JO25 created with data from NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar.

Watch a Large Asteroid Streak Through the Night Sky

Only a small telescope will be needed

The super bloom draped California's Walker Canyon in a riot of colors.

California’s Lush Super Bloom Is Even More Stunning From Space

Satellite images captured an explosion of flowers stretching across California’s desert hills

Artist's rendering of what DeeDee may look like

Meet DeeDee, the Solar System's Newest Dwarf Planet (Maybe)

Though the tiny icy orb meets all the criteria, it has yet to receive the official designation

Page 43 of 70