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Outer Space

The planets in our solar system all orbit the Sun in one shared plane.

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Why Do the Planets All Orbit the Sun in the Same Plane?

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Border collie Chaser had the largest tested word memory of any animal (other than a human).

The Most Famous Dogs of Science

These iconic canines have helped scientists make key discoveries, from archeological finds to cures for disease

The spinning magnetar transferred a remarkable amount of energy to the debris created by the collision, heating the material up and generating a bright glow.

In a First, Astronomers Witnessed the Birth of a Supermassive Magnetar Following a Glorious Kilonova

The scientists originally thought that the cosmic crash would create a black hole

Astronaut Luca Parmitano uses a sample-spinning centrifuge on the I.S.S. to expose the bacteria to the equivalent of Mars' gravity.

New Research

Space Station Experiments Show How Microbes Could Be Used for Mining on Mars

Researchers sent bacteria and basalt rock to the ISS to figure out which microscopic organisms can extract useful metals in reduced gravity

The only photograph of Neil Armstrong on the moon resurfaced in the 1980s after years of obscurity.

You Could Own the First Space Selfie, Only Photo of Neil Armstrong on the Moon

Online Christie’s sale features 2,400 photographs from “the golden age of space exploration”

Laboratory tests reveal that ice blocks containing different salts glow differently after being exposed to radiation.

New Research

Radiation Might Make Jupiter’s Salty, Icy Moon Europa Glow

Europa is one of Jupiter’s four largest moons and a prime candidate for finding life beyond Earth

This artist's rendering shows the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample.

NASA Snags Its First Asteroid Sample

On a mission more than 200 million miles away from Earth, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft grabbed rocks from Bennu

This visualization shows the merging of two black holes, which emit gravitational waves.

New Research

Scientists Are Detecting More Gravitational Waves Than Ever Before

The LIGO and Virgo teams have spotted 50 total cosmic signals since 2015

Scientists have known about ice in the dark, deep craters at the moon's poles, some of the coldest known places in the universe, but voyaging into one just wouldn't be likely.

New Research

The Moon Has More Water and Ice Hidden All Over Its Surface Than Originally Predicted

Scientists discovered that water is stored in tiny patches all across the moon’s surface, not just in the deep, freezing craters of its south pole

The moon seen from the International Space Station.

Future Moon Walkers Will Get 4G Cell Reception

NASA taps Nokia to install the first ever cellular network on the moon as part of a plan to establish long-term human presence on the lunar surface by 2030

The meteor shower is named for the Orion constellation because that’s where the meteors seem to emerge from.

How to See the Orionids Meteor Shower Peak Tonight

The meteor shower reaches peak visibility just before dawn on Wednesday morning but will last until November 7

This illustration depicts a star (in the foreground) experiencing spaghettification as it's sucked in by a supermassive black hole (in the background) during a 'tidal disruption event'.

New Research

Astronomers Capture Best View Yet of a Black Hole Spaghettifying a Star

The star was compressed and stretched out like a long noodle and when the ends collided, half of its mass ejected into space

Bennu is shaped like a three-dimensional diamond and seemingly smooth from far away. OSIRIS-REx is in the foreground of this artist’s replication. The spacecraft will gather a sample from Bennu next week.

Smithsonian Voices

What an Asteroid Could Tell Us About Ancient Earth

Knowing those rocks’ origins will help scientists learn more about the composition of objects in the solar system and asteroid belt

In 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong took this photo of Buzz Aldrin on the first-ever moon walk. Humans haven't walked on the moon since 1972.

Eight Countries Sign NASA’s Artemis Accords, New Legal Framework for Maintaining Peace on the Moon

Nations must sign and uphold the agreement if they plan to join NASA’s mission to send astronauts back to the moon

This mosaic of Bennu was created using observations made by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft that was in close proximity to the asteroid for over two years.

New Research

Asteroid Bennu Could Shed Light on How Ingredients for Life Reached Earth

New, detailed imagery of the asteroid’s surface show that it’s covered in boulders and carbon-containing molecules

NASA's new $23 million Universal Waste Management System

NASA Just Sent a New $23 Million Space Toilet to the International Space Station

Astronauts will test out the expensive commode, which is better designed for “dual ops,” before its eventual use on deep space missions

The contributions of the three Nobel laureates proved that black holes exist and unveiled the nature of these supermassive objects.

Trending Today

Three Scientists Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for Breakthrough Black Hole Discoveries

These Nobel laureates helped discover and describe the mysterious cosmic voids in our universe

The moon at night, as seen from Germany

Why Astronomers Want to Build a SETI Observatory on the Moon

Researchers say the location would offer a quiet spot from which to hear a signal from an intelligent civilization

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is name after NASA's first chief of astronomy.

How NASA’s New Telescope Will Help Astronomers Discover Free-Floating Worlds

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will be able to detect small, distant planets without stars

The fact that Mars' south pole holds many underground lakes suggests that they might be the last remnants of the planet's ancient oceans.

New Research

Briny Underground Lakes May Be All That Remain of Martian Ocean

New data confirm the 2018 discovery of a lake under Mars’ south pole and point to three smaller water features around it

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