Outer Space

Jupiter and its Great Red Spot as seen by the Hubble Telescope on June 27, 2019.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot May Not Be Dying Out Just Yet

Earlier this year, the spot appeared to be losing big chunks, but new research suggests it was gobbling up a smaller storm

First Global Map of Saturn's Moon Titan Reveals Secrets of Earth's 'Deranged' Twin

The map showcases the planet's flat plains, sand dunes, hilly terrain and lakes full of liquid methane

An artist's concept showing a "naked-eye" view of a GRB up close. Observations suggest that material is shot outward in a two-component jet (white and green beams). Credit: NASA/Swift/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith and John Jones

Astronomers Detect Record-Breaking Gamma Ray Bursts From Colossal Explosion in Space

A powerful outburst in a distant galaxy produced photons with high enough energies to be detected by ground-based telescopes for the first time

Left to right, top to bottom: Sheperd Doeleman, Michael Johnson, Sandra Bustamante, Jonathan Weintroub, James Moran, Aleks Popstefanija, Daniel Palumbo; Feryal Ozel, Joseph Farah, Neil Erickson, Peter Galison, Katie Bouman, Dominic Pesce, Garrett K. Keating; Nimesh Patel, Alexander Raymond, Kazinori Akiyama, Vernon Fath, Mark Gurwell, Gopal Narayanan, Peter Schloerb

Meet the Global Team That Captured the First Image of a Black Hole

Never before had scientists seen the phenomenon until they rallied colleagues around the world to view a galaxy far, far away

The thread-like structures in this image from the Japanese satellite Hinode are spicules, giant plumes of gas that transfer energy through the sun’s various regions.

Millions of Plasma 'Spicules' Could Explain the Extreme Heat of the Sun's Atmosphere

New observations suggest interactions between opposite magnetic fields cause millions of super hot tendrils to erupt from the surface of the sun

NASA Names Most Distant Object Ever Explored 'Arrokoth,' the Powhatan Word for Sky

The space rock's initial nickname, Ultima Thule, drew criticism for its ties to Nazi ideology

The recently opened Apollo moon sample.

NASA Opens Pristine Tube of Moon Dust From the Apollo Missions

Studying the lunar material will help scientists understand the best way to analyze new samples from future missions to the moon

A composite image of Mercury's 2016 transit.

How to Watch Mercury’s Rare Transit Across the Sun

Step one: Protect your eyes

Five chunks of dough in silicone pouches were sent to the space station, awaiting baking.

With a 'Zero G' Oven, Astronauts Can Have Their Cookies, but They Can't Eat Them Too

The experimental Zero G oven will be able to bake one cookie at a time, and it's possible the treats may come out as cookie balls or cylinders

After two eclipse expeditions confirmed Einstein's theory of general relativity, the scientist became an international celebrity.

One Hundred Years Ago, Einstein's Theory of General Relativity Baffled the Press and the Public

Few people claimed to fully understand it, but the esoteric theory still managed to spark the public's imagination

It’s Death By A Million Cuts on This Slasher Planet!

NASA Celebrates Halloween With These Interstellar Horror Posters

The artwork highlights the weird world of exoplanets where it rains glass and planets circle zombie stars

An artists interpretation of the Yeti Galaxy.

Behold This 'Cosmic Yeti,' a Monster Galaxy From the Beginning of Time

Astronomers recently spotted 12.5 billion-year-old light from the giant galaxy, which helps explains the evolution of the early universe

Plants growing in lunar and Martian soil simulants.

Space Farmers Could Grow Crops in Lunar and Martian Soil, Study Suggests

With a little added organic matter, dusty lunar and Martian soil simulants produced tomatoes, rye, radishes and other crops in the lab

Artist's impression of gas flow in a protoplanetary disk.

To Find Baby Planets, Researchers Chase Waterfalls of Gas

Analysis of data from the ALMA telescope shows gas flows from the surface to middle of protoplanetary discs as new planets form

NASA astronauts Christina Koch (left) and Jessica Meir (right).

Watch the First All-Female Spacewalk

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will exit the International Space Station to replace a power controller that failed last weekend

Illustration of a hot Jupiter planet in the Messier 67 star cluster. Hot Jupiters are so named because of their close proximity — usually just a few million miles — to their star, which drives up temperatures and can puff out the planets.

What Astronomers Can Learn From Hot Jupiters, the Scorching Giant Planets of the Galaxy

Many of the planets that are roughly the size of Jupiter orbit right next to their stars, burning at thousands of degrees

Researchers Discovered 20 Tiny New Moons Circling Saturn

The ringed planet now takes Jupiter's title for the planet with the most moons

Scientists at the University of Central Florida have modeled a path toward self-sufficiency for one million settlers of Mars over the course of 100 Earth years.

What Will Humans Eat on Mars?

Planetary scientist Kevin Cannon talks about the logistics of feeding a population of one million on the Red Planet

Recently Discovered Neutron Star Is Almost Too Massive to Exist

The star J0740+6620 is 2.14 times the mass of our sun but just 12 miles in diameter, approaching the density of a black hole

The Redemption of Vanity, a work of art by MIT artist in residence Diemut Strebe in conjunction with with Brian L. Wardle, MIT professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, along with Luiz Acauan and Estelle Cohen.

There’s a New Blackest Black in Town

Artist Diemut Strebe covered a $2 million diamond with a substance that absorbs 99.995 percent of any incoming light

Page 27 of 70