Astronomers Discover a Possible Dwarf Planet Far Beyond Neptune, Where There Should Have Only Been Empty Space
As it orbits the sun once every 25,000 years, the celestial body 2017 OF201 travels beyond the Kuiper Belt into a region thought to be largely devoid of objects
Should Scientists Inject Saturn’s Moon Enceladus With Life?
A new study proposes that seeding the orb’s underground ocean with microbes might help us learn how to make other worlds habitable
The U.S. Ran Its First Space Weather Preparedness Drill—Here’s How It Went
Ironically, the exercise last May was interrupted by a real scenario, when Earth was hit by the strongest solar storm in two decades
These Scientists Say They’ve Identified the Oldest Known Star Chart in the World
A new preprint suggests that an ancient Chinese star catalog dates to 355 B.C.E. But other researchers aren’t convinced, arguing that the original coordinates are misaligned by one degree
NASA Engineers Revive Long-Dormant Thrusters on Voyager 1, the Farthest Spacecraft From Earth, in a ‘Miracle Save’
In the nick of time, NASA teams addressed clogging issues in the probe’s backup roll thrusters, before the only antenna capable of sending commands to it went offline
Sun Launches Its Strongest Solar Flare of the Year So Far, Causing Radio Blackouts Around the World
The new sunspot responsible for this powerful blast is rotating into view, which could bring more solar activity—and potential aurora-causing coronal mass ejections—to Earth in the coming days
See the First Visible Auroras Captured on Mars, Glowing a Hazy Green Above the Planet
Scientists directed NASA’s Perseverance rover to take an image of the Martian sky after a solar storm in hopes that an aurora would show up
Check Out Jupiter’s Stunning Auroras, Which Are Hundreds of Times Brighter Than Earth’s, in the James Webb Telescope’s Latest Images
The infrared views, captured in 2023, shed light on the giant planet’s atmosphere and magnetosphere—but they also reveal something unexpected
Astrophysicists Track Down the Mysterious Cosmic Origins of Gold and Other Heavy Metals in Our Galaxy
Researchers suggest powerful bursts from magnetars—collapsed stars with strong magnetic fields—may have contributed up to 10 percent of all elements heavier than iron in the Milky Way
How to Watch the Peak of the Spectacular Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower
The shower will peak during pre-dawn hours in early May, as fast-moving meteors trail across Earth’s atmosphere, thanks to debris left behind by Halley’s Comet
Astronomers Discover a Giant, Glowing Molecular Cloud Hidden in Earth’s Cosmic Neighborhood
The cloud, named Eos after the Greek goddess of dawn, had eluded researchers because it contains very little carbon monoxide
A Soviet Spacecraft Is About to Crash Back to Earth After Being Stuck in Orbit for 53 Years
The Cosmos 482 lander was intended to reach Venus, but it has instead been circling Earth since 1972
Astronomers Discover a Doomed Exoplanet That’s Crumbling Away and Leaving Behind a Comet-Like Tail
The planet orbits its host star in just 30.5 hours, losing a mass of material roughly equal to Mount Everest each time
A Gold Watch That Belonged to Astronaut Neil Armstrong Sold for $2.1 Million at Auction
The commemorative timepiece is similar to the one that Armstrong and other NASA astronauts wore in space
NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Just Flew by a Strange, Peanut-Shaped Asteroid. See the New Images From the Approach
The close-up views of asteroid Donaldjohanson are a preview of what’s to come for Lucy on its 12-year quest to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids
Sunscreen, Clothing and Caves May Have Given Modern Humans an Edge Over Neanderthals When Earth’s Magnetic Field Wandered
A new study suggests the extinction of Neanderthals nearly coincided with a shift in Earth’s magnetic field that let more radiation reach the ground. Our species might have adapted more easily
How to Watch the Lyrid Meteor Shower at Its Dazzling Peak
The annual spectacle, which is happening now, will last until around April 25—but the best viewing will fall between the 21 and 22
Fusion Rockets Could Theoretically Cut Our Travel Time to Mars in Half. This U.K. Startup Wants to Give It a Try
The company’s ambitious new Sunbird design aims to harness nuclear fusion in space, despite the fact that commercializing such energy on Earth remains a faraway dream
Chemical Hints on a Distant Planet Offer ‘Strongest Evidence Yet’ for Life Outside Our Solar System, Astronomers Say
The James Webb Space Telescope spotted possible signatures for life in an exoplanet’s atmosphere. Still, researchers caution it’s far too early to call the findings definitive
The Moon’s Far Side Is Strangely Dry—Lunar Samples Suggest It’s Much More Parched Than the Side That Faces Earth
Chinese researchers analyzed the first-ever soil samples returned from the far side of the moon, but further samples will be needed to verify their findings
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