Outer Space

A publicity photo of Carrie Fisher wearing Princess Leia's white gown from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope was on display when the late actress was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May. 

You Can Now Buy Princess Leia's White Gown From 'Star Wars'

Carrie Fisher wore the garment while filming the final scene of "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope"

An image of Mars' surface captured by China's Zhurong rover, which landed in May 2021 and studied sand dunes near its landing site for nine months.

Sand Dune Features Hint at 'Recent' Water Flow on Mars

Between 1.4 million and 400,000 years ago, liquid salt water may have made cracks and crusts near the Martian equator, per data from China's Zhurong rover

One of Cassini's last looks at Saturn and its main rings from a distance, produced by combining images taken in October 2016.

Saturn's Rings May Be Younger Than Thought—and Disappearing

Data from NASA's Cassini mission points to the rings being no more than 400 million years old—quite young in the planet's 4.5-billion-year history

Did lions once live in ancient Greece?

Did Lions Live in Ancient Greece? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Illustration of a black hole pulling in surrounding gas.

Astronomers Identify the Largest-Ever Cosmic Explosion

The burst is ten times brighter than any known exploding star and has lasted for more than three years

Dusty debris discs surround the young star Fomalhaut. The two innermost asteroid belts had never been seen before Webb revealed them.

James Webb Telescope Reveals Asteroid Belts Around Nearby Young Star

The findings suggest the star Fomalhaut may have orbiting planets hidden among its rings of debris

A person who discovered and approached the possible meteorite said it felt warm to the touch.

Possible Meteorite Crashes Into New Jersey Bedroom

The rock broke through the roof and ceiling of a home but did not cause any injuries

Using stereo cameras and lidar, EELS is able to create a 3D map of its surroundings, understanding the environment before navigating through it.

NASA's Snake-Like Robot Could Look for Life on an Icy Saturn Moon

Designed to weather the toughest of terrains, EELS might one day autonomously move through narrow vents on Enceladus

Artist’s rendition of the Rosalind Franklin rover.

The Mission That Could Transform Our Understanding of Mars

A next-generation instrument on a delayed Martian rover may be the key to answering the question of life on the Red Planet

An artist's impression of a doomed planet skimming the surface of its star.

In a First, Scientists Witness a Dying Star Swallowing a Planet

Astronomers believe the doomed world was a gas giant about the size of Jupiter

One of the iterations of the Enterprise that fans can explore on the portal

'Star Trek' Fans Can Now Virtually Tour Every Starship Enterprise Bridge

An interactive web portal explores the vessel's evolution over nearly six decades

The first image to show the shadow of black hole M87 as well as its jet

First-of-Its-Kind Image Captures a Black Hole's Shooting Jet

The finding could help reveal how black holes launch such high-energy ejections

Aurora borealis captured in northern Minnesota on April 23.

Widespread Auroras That Lit Skies This Week Are Getting More Common

The stunning colors that dazzled viewers on Sunday will appear again as the sun's activity builds to a peak in 2025

Mars and Deimos in a high-resolution composite image captured by the United Arab Emirates' Hope probe

See the First Detailed Close-Ups of Mars' Moon Deimos

A United Arab Emirates spacecraft took a high-resolution look at the mysterious moon and uncovered new evidence about its origin

The hybrid eclipse will appear to viewers as a total solar eclipse, annular solar eclipse or partial solar eclipse depending on their vantage point.

How to Watch the Rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse From Your Home

This spectacle in the South Pacific will be visible in online livestreams on Wednesday. It is the last hybrid solar eclipse until 2031

The rocket carrying the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer launches from French Guiana on April 14. 

Juice Mission Launches to Explore Jupiter and Its Icy Moons

The spacecraft will investigate oceans that might lie beneath the moons' surfaces and study whether they could support life

The supernova Cassiopeia A, as imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI)

See the James Webb Telescope's Stunning New Snapshot of an Exploded Star

The supernova, known as Cassiopeia A, is located roughly 11,000 light-years from Earth and could offer insights into cosmic dust and star death

The total solar eclipse of 2017 as seen from Monmouth, Oregon

Everything You Need to Know About the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

A veteran eclipse chaser explains how to get ready for one of the planet’s biggest celestial events

A revolutionary new tool, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and NASA, will monitor the chemistry and changing dynamics of major pollutants (above: an Arizona power generating station).

This Eye in the Sky Promises Major Insights Into the Air We Breathe

The satellite mission TEMPO will detect pollutants at a neighborhood scale across the nation

From left to right: astronauts Jeremy Hansen, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Hammock Koch during a news conference following Monday's announcement.

NASA Announces Crew for Artemis 2 Moon Flyby Mission

These four astronauts are poised to travel farther than any humans have been from Earth since 1972

loading icon