Outer Space

An artist's impression of the gas being stripped away from spiral galaxy NGC 4921

Dark Matter Could Be Destroying Distant Galaxies

The mysterious substance may suck gas from the galaxies—and a gasless galaxy is a dead galaxy

Apollo 17 mission commander Eugene Cernan inside the lunar module on the moon after his second moonwalk of the mission. His spacesuit is covered with lunar dust.

Eugene Cernan: The Last Man on the Moon and So Much More

His experience helped make spaceflight safer

A special fish tank designed for experiments aboard the International Space Station.

Fish Don’t Do So Well in Space

The International Space Station’s resident fish shed light on life in microgravity

SpaceX Gets Back in Orbit: Watch Its Latest Rocket's Remarkable Landing

After successfully deploying ten satellites into orbit, the rocket's first stage adeptly landed on a floating platform

New Hubble Image Captures the Collision of Two Galaxies

A beautiful look at a violent event

Three of Saturn's moons photographed by the Cassini spacecraft

Earth's Moon Could Be Made From 20 Mini Moons

Our celestial buddy could have formed after multiple impacts—not one giant smash up

The asteroid Vesta, explored by NASA's Dawn spacecraft in 2011 and 2012

A Sneaky Asteroid Buzzed By Earth Yesterday

The space rock passed by at about half the distance between our planet and the moon

A model of the binary star system KIC 9832227, which could explode around 2022.

Catch a Star Exploding in Action in 2022

Just five years from now a pair of stars are predicted to merge, forming a glittery and bright new point in the sky

Jeanette Epps tries on a space suit

The International Space Station Will Finally Welcome a Black Astronaut

In May 2018, flight engineer Jeanette J. Epps will begin her mission on the ISS

An artist’s conception of the Lucy spacecraft flying by the Trojan asteroid Eurybates (left) and Psyche, the first mission to a metal asteroid (right).

NASA Just Announced Two New Missions, But Shelved Others

Though the new missions have exciting prospects, some scientists aren’t thrilled by the decision

Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdušáková as seen in October 2011

Fireworks Not Your Thing? Then Look Out For a Comet on New Year’s Eve

With a telescope in hand, you can watch a comet zoom past the Earth tomorrow night

Vera Rubin makes observations through the Flagstaff Telescope.

Five Things to Know About Boundary-Breaking Astronomer Vera Rubin

Her observations confirmed the theory of dark matter, and her activism helped open science to more women

Score was a tiny communications satellite attached to a really big rocket.

Celebrate Christmas With the First Voice Ever Broadcast in Space

Eisenhower kicked off the space race with a goodwill wish

New asteroids are detected every day surrounding Earth, most of which are harmless.

Sure, Earth Could Get Hit by a Deadly Asteroid—But There’s an Upside

Con: Devastating outer space impacts. Pro: Global unity!

Check Out NASA's Picks for This Year's Best Images of Earth

From sunsets to city lights, the images capture the beauty of our ever-changing planet

Illustration of NASA's 2005 Deep Impact mission

Scientist Warns We're Unprepared for a Comet Strike

NASA researcher Joseph Nuth proposes that we build and store two spacecraft to deal with potential comet or asteroid strikes

A Geminid meteor streaks through the sky.

The Full Moon May Dull the Dazzle of this Year's Geminid Meteor Shower—But You Can Still Catch a Glimpse

With just the right timing, stargazers could catch a few of the sparkling streaks

Artist's rendering of KITE

Japan Testing "Space Tether" to Knock Junk Out of Orbit

The KITE experiment will use a half-mile long cable to guide some of the 500,000 chunks of space junk out of orbit

John Glenn, standing top right, looks at a model of the ship that took him to space with other astronauts from the Mercury space program in an undated photograph.

For a Larger-Than-Life Space Icon, John Glenn Was Remarkably Down-to-Earth

Friends and colleagues recall his abiding love for Smithsonian’s work, the history of spaceflight and peanut butter buckeyes

This collage of images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows Saturn's northern hemisphere and rings as viewed with four different spectral filters. Each filter is sensitive to different wavelengths of light and reveals clouds and hazes at different altitudes.

Check Out New Pictures of Saturn From Cassini’s Latest Orbit

New images of the ringed planet herald the spacecraft’s demise

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