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Outer Space

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

Several private companies are designing space stations that may eventually orbit Earth.

The ISS Will Fall From the Sky After the End of the Decade. What Will Replace It?

As NASA plans to retire the orbiting laboratory, these four privately owned and operated space stations are under development

Skywatchers can see five planets this week.

How to Watch Five Planets Align in the Night Sky This Week

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus will appear as if in a parade in the Western sky on Tuesday

An illustration of exoplanet VHS 1256 b, which is surrounded by clouds of hot silicate particles.

James Webb Telescope Spots Raging Dust Storms on an Exoplanet

The far-off world also has signs of water, methane, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide

This computer-generated image shows objects in Earth's orbit. The majority—around 95 percent—are bits of space junk.

Burning Space Junk Creates Mysterious Lights in California Sky

Bright streaks observed Friday were jettisoned equipment from the International Space Station re-entering Earth’s atmosphere

This composite image of the WR 124 star combines observations from Webb's Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).

See the James Webb Telescope’s Rare New Image of a Dying Star

The star is on the cusp of exploding in a supernova and may offer insights into the universe’s so-called “dust budget crisis”

During World War II, Executive Order 9066 authorized the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans (above: In Los Angeles in April 1942, dozens of families wait for a train to Manzanar War Relocation Center in Owens Valley, California).

Japanese American Artists Recall the Trauma of Wartime Incarceration

Smithsonian podcasts explore the legacy of Executive Order 9066 and the camera that almost didn’t make it to the Juno spacecraft launch

After returning to Earth, EpiPen solution sent into space showed no signs of containing epinephrine, the life-saving drug that reverses the effects of a severe allergic reaction.

Kids Discover That EpiPens May Not Work in Space

After returning from space, the life-saving drug epinephrine had partially changed into poisonous benzoic acid

Astronomers and musicians have developed “sonifications” to bring the symphony of the cosmos to a wider audience.

What Does the Universe Sound Like?

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and other researchers have melded astronomy and music to offer a new oeuvre

Time moves more quickly on the moon than on Earth because of gravity.

Space Officials Want a Time Zone for the Moon

Lunar timekeeping could help with navigation and communication, but experts say it will be difficult

Images of the six objects thought to be massive galaxies from the early universe

Webb Telescope Finds Evidence of Massive Galaxies That Defy Theories of the Early Universe

The six “universe breakers” appear much larger than what scientists thought was possible at that time

NASA’s Space Launch System sent the uncrewed Orion spacecraft into orbit around the moon in November 2022.

The Revolution in Moon Exploration

How Loud Was NASA’s Artemis 1 Launch?

The Space Launch System rocket produced crackling sounds 40 million times louder than a bowl of Rice Krispies cereal in milk, researchers say

Whales are tricky to see from a satellite. Belugas, with their light skin standing out against the water, are a bit easier to spot.

Can Satellites Really Detect Whales From Space?

Distant identification of whales is improving rapidly, but finding the behemoth creatures is still surprisingly tricky

Artist's concept of a spacecraft that will test a nuclear thermal rocket engine.

Nuclear-Powered Rockets Might One Day Carry Astronauts to Mars

NASA and DARPA are building a nuclear thermal rocket engine that could slash the time it would take to reach the Red Planet

Sacha Jafri's We Rise Together—With the Light of the Moon is designed to endure on the moon’s surface.

Art Meets Science

One Small Step for Space Art

A new artwork by Sacha Jafri could travel to the moon next month

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie with some of the sample tubes it left on the Red Planet's surface using the camera at the end of its robotic arm.

Perseverance Rover Completes Depot of Mars Rock Samples

The collection is a failsafe for the Mars Sample Return project, which aims to deliver Martian rocks to Earth

A meteor streaks across the sky near Lone Pine, California, during the annual Perseid meteor shower in 2022.

Ten Dazzling Celestial Events to See in 2023

Stargazers can look forward to watching a rare comet, a super blue moon and several spectacular meteor showers

An orbital diagram shows that 2023 BU's trajectory (in red) passed closer to Earth on January 26, 2023 than the orbits of geosynchronous satellites (in green). 

An Asteroid Just Passed Very Close to Earth

The truck-sized space rock came within 2,200 miles of our planet, closer than some satellites

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