Outer Space

Cassini crosses Saturn's F ring once on each of its 20 Ring-Grazing Orbits, shown here in tan and lasting from late November 2016 to April 2017. Blue represents the extended solstice mission orbits, which precede the ring-grazing phase.

In Its Final Hurrah, Cassini Will Swoop Past Saturn’s Rings

The craft will take one last look at the ringed planet before diving into its depths

This vertically exaggerated view shows scalloped depressions in a part of Mars where such textures prompted researchers to check for buried ice, using ground-penetrating radar aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They found about as much frozen water as the volume of Lake Superior.

This Massive Martian Field of Ice Could Fill Lake Superior

The frosty deposit could be a lifeline for future human explorers on the Red Planet

The meteorite sample recovered near Perth in western Australia.

Stargazers Help Track Down a Freshly Fallen Meteorite in Western Australia

A network of cameras and smartphone apps are helping Australian researchers hunt for space rocks

A map of some of the space junk surrounding the Earth.

Adopt a Piece of Space Junk and Learn About Its Dangers

An amusing project about a very real problem

Mercury's Great Valley is the dark blue stripe across the center of the image.

Mercury's Newly-Discovered "Great Valley" Puts Earth's Grand Canyon to Shame

The vast scar across the tiny planet is remarkable in itself—but it also reveals that Mercury may still be tectonically active

Jeff Bezos

Is Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin the Future of Space Exploration?

No one had ever launched, landed and relaunched a rocket into space until the company's historic achievement

Sarah Parcak

Space Archaeologist Sarah Parcak Uses Satellites to Uncover Ancient Egyptian Ruins

The Indiana Jones of low Earth orbit harnesses 21st-century technology to uncover long-buried treasures

LIGO's founding fathers, from left: Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne and Barry Barish. Not pictured: Ronald Drever

Meet the Team of Scientists Who Discovered Gravitational Waves

This year, the geniuses behind LIGO announced that they had finally found what Albert Einstein had predicted a century ago

Sputnik Planitia is a 325,000-square-mile, ice-covered basin on Pluto.

How the Pull of an Icy “Heart” Sent Pluto’s Poles Wandering

Using New Horizons data, scientists determine that the erstwhile planet has a more dynamic past than we thought

Behold: The World's Largest Radio Telescope

The Atacama Large Millimeter Array, located in the Atacama Desert, is the product of a 20-year global effort by Europe, North America, and East Asia

Sylvester James Gates, a theoretical physicist and voice for faith and science.

Why Theoretical Physicist Sylvester James Gates Sees No Conflict Between Science and Religion

“I got used to the idea that questions had answers.”

ALMA Reveals Planets Born Earlier Than We Thought

In 2014, astronomer David Wilmer aimed the ALMA Array at a young star 450 light years away

The Biggest Supermoon in 68 Years Will Leave You “Moonstruck”

It hasn't been this close since 1948 and won't be again for the next 18 years

SPS-ALPHA concept and visualization

What's Next for Solar Energy? How About Space

Scientists are closer than ever to making the far-out concept of a space-based solar collection system a reality

Artist concept of a binary system similar to the one that originated the nova Sagittarii 2015 N.2.

Most Lithium in the Universe Is Forged in Exploding Stars

The recurring explosions of white dwarf stars produce the vast majority of this important element

Region R18 in the Carina Nebula

Stunning Images Capture the Carina Nebula's "Pillars of Destruction"

Caught by ESO's Very Large Telescope, the ten pillars of gas and dust are a hazy star nursery 7,500 light years away

Asteroid 2016 VA just before it passed into the Earth's shadow.

Astronomers Just Watched an Asteroid Skim Through Earth’s Shadow

The short video was tricky to shoot

An artist's rendering of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope atop the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Kea.

Canary Islands Selected as Alternative Spot for the Thirty Meter Telescope

This alternate fate could help smooth tensions over the embattled instrument

This Puerto Rican Telescope Was Built in a Massive Sinkhole

In 1958, the Pentagon wanted to build a 1,000-foot-long telescope for its ballistic missile program

Two natural color images from NASA's Cassini spacecraft show the changing appearance of Saturn's north polar region between 2012 and 2016.

The Swirling Storm Above Saturn’s North Pole Changed Colors

The years-long shift may be a sign of changing seasons

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