Outer Space

A Draconid meteor streaks across the sky as the northern lights glow, as seen from north of Stockholm on October 8, 2011.

How to Catch a Glimpse of the Draconid Meteor Shower

While the annual shower usually makes for a sleepy showing, it has been known to produce fantastic outbursts in the past

An illustration of the newly detected exoplanet Barnard b, with the red dwarf Barnard's star in the background.

Astronomers Discover a Small Exoplanet That's Our Cosmic Neighbor at Just Six Light-Years Away

Orbiting Barnard's star, the nearest solo star to Earth, the world is too hot to be habitable—a scorching 257 degrees Fahrenheit

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) on September 28, 2024.

Two Comets Could Be Visible to the Naked Eye This Fall. Here's How to Get the Best View

While expectations are high for some special sightings, experts warn that comets are notoriously fickle and unpredictable

A rendering of the 3D-printed rounded hotel rooms

Workers Just Started Building the World's First 3D-Printed Hotel in the Texas Desert

In the dusty landscape surrounding the city of Marfa, a huge 3D printer is constructing 43 new rooms and 18 residential homes as part of an expansion of El Cosmico

The Milky Way lights up a night sky accented by the bright stars of the “summer triangle.”

How to Find the Ten Brightest Stars in the Night Sky

From Aldebaran to Vega, these gleaming beacons dazzle Northern Hemisphere viewers at various times of the year and provide a useful entry point into amateur astronomy

Heart tissues within one of the launch-ready chambers

Heart Tissue Shows Signs of Aging After Just One Month in Space, Study Finds

Scientists sent bioengineered heart tissue samples to the ISS to study how to keep astronauts safe during future long-term space travel

An illustration of an asteroid and the moon orbiting Earth.

Earth Is Getting a New 'Mini Moon' for the Next Two Months, Astronomers Say

A roughly 33-foot-long asteroid called 2024 PT5 will chart a horseshoe-like path around our planet

An artist’s illustration of the Porphyrion jet pair escaping a black hole and passing through voids in the cosmic web.

Astronomers Discover Record-Breaking Jets Escaping a Black Hole, the Longest Ever Seen

The energetic streams are together 23 million light-years in length—roughly as long as 140 Milky Way galaxies lined end to end

An illustration of Earth with a ring.

Did Earth Once Have a Ring Like Saturn? Geologists Find Evidence for a Halo of Orbiting Space Rocks 466 Million Years Ago

A ring could explain a mysterious arrangement of impact craters near the equator and might even have caused an ice age, according to a new study

Saturn, the second-largest planet in our solar system, is best known for its layered rings.

The Seven Most Interesting Discoveries We’ve Made by Exploring Saturn

Scientists continue to learn new things about the planet, its sweeping rings and its many moons

Another partial lunar eclipse, like this one from October 2023, will take place in September.

How to See a Stunning Supermoon and Partial Lunar Eclipse on Tuesday

September’s full moon delivers a rare trifecta for lunar enthusiasts: a supermoon, a partial eclipse and a harvest moon

Venus, seen in three views as it approaches a conjunction with Earth and the sun, won the planets, comets and asteroids category.

See 11 Breathtaking Space Images From the Astronomy Photographer of the Year Contest

From a solar eclipse to a dolphin-like nebula, these winning shots by astrophotographers from around the world depict the cosmos in sharp detail

An artist’s concept of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System spacecraft in Earth orbit.

How to Spot NASA's Solar Sail Demonstration Streaking Through the Night Sky

Amateur astronomers can use NASA's mobile app to find the ACS3 for themselves—a reflective satellite that could appear as bright as the star Sirius

Catalina Sky Survey's images identifying Asteroid 2024 RW1.

An Asteroid Hit Earth's Atmosphere Today—Here's Why Astronomers Say That's a Good Thing

Asteroid 2024 RW1 was discovered early this morning, marking the ninth time in history that humans have detected an approaching space rock before its impact

The Milky Way lights up the sky over Cathedral Rock in the Coconino National Forest in Sedona, Arizona.

How to See the Milky Way This Weekend

Late August is a great time to observe the dazzling core of our galaxy, and with the upcoming new moon, viewing conditions should be ideal—as long as you're in a very dark area

An artist's rendition of a magma ocean on a volcanic planet. Scientists have theorized that our moon was covered in a magma ocean for millions of years after it formed.

Our Moon Was Likely Covered in a Magma Ocean Long Ago, and New Data From India's Lunar Rover Supports That Theory

Soil composition measurements from the Chandrayaan-3 mission reveal white rock called ferroan anorthosite, which would have floated to the surface in an ocean of magma

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft is seen docked at the ISS. After helium leaks and thruster issues, the craft will make an uncrewed return to Earth.

NASA's Starliner Astronauts Will Return on SpaceX Craft in February, Turning an Eight-Day Mission Into Eight Months on the ISS

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft no longer meets safety standards after experiencing technical issues in June, and it will return to Earth uncrewed, the space agency announced

A 2023 commemorative stamp from Serbia’s postal service showing Milutin Milanković alongside illustrations of some of his scientific work.

This World War I Prisoner of War Solved the Mystery of the Ice Ages

Serbian scientist Milutin Milanković changed our understanding of Earth’s climate—and did a key part of his work while detained by Austro-Hungarian forces

The Polaris Dawn crew at the Kennedy Space Center, from left to right: Anna Menon, Scott Poteet, Jared Isaacman and Sarah Gillis.

Groundbreaking Mission Attempting the First Private Astronaut Spacewalk Will Target Tuesday Launch

Polaris Dawn is set to be the farthest humans have traveled from Earth since the Apollo program and will test new technology in a "radiation belt" surrounding our planet

A scan of a color copy of the original computer printout bearing the Wow! signal, taken several years after the signal's 1977 arrival.

Mysterious 'Wow!' Radio Signal Might Finally Have an Explanation—and No, It's Not Aliens

The infamous signal recorded in 1977 might have been a laser-like beam of radiation from a hydrogen cloud energized by a powerful, magnetic star, preliminary research suggests

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