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Outer Space

Cool Finds

Planet Hunter TESS Is Already Spotting Hundreds of Crazy New Worlds

The first data from the space telescope’s mission tallies more than 200 potential planets, including some just 50 light-years away

A polarized-light microscopy image (in background) of a section from the Allende meteorite is one-thousandth of a millimeter thin.

The Oldest Material in the Smithsonian Institution Came From Outer Space

Decades after the Allende Meteorite plunged to Earth, scientists still mine its fragments for clues to the cosmos

This image taken by the Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) is the most detailed of Ultima Thule returned so far by the New Horizons spacecraft. It was taken at 5:01 Universal Time on January 1, 2019, just 30 minutes before closest approach from a range of 18,000 miles (28,000 kilometers), with an original scale of 730 feet (140 meters) per pixel.

Behold the Most Distant Object Ever Visited by Spacecraft

The New Horizons spacecraft has transmitted images from its New Year’s Day approach back to Earth

Remembering Nancy Grace Roman, Trailblazing Astronomer Known as ‘Mother of the Hubble’

She worked on and advocated for the space telescope, which changed our view of the universe

Artist’s impression of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft encountering 2014 MU69, a Kuiper Belt object that orbits one billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) beyond Pluto, on Jan. 1, 2019. With public input, the team has selected the nickname “Ultima Thule” for the object, which will be the most primitive and most distant world ever explored by spacecraft.

Ring in the New Year With NASA’s Most Distant Planetary Encounter in History

The New Horizons spacecraft is on final approach to the distant Kuiper Belt Object, Ultima Thule, and you can follow along live

1960s science fiction illustration of lunar exploration.

The Missions to the Moon That Never Left the Drawing Board

From pioneers of science fiction to the height of the space race, these are the ideas for lunar flight that never launched

An artist's conception of the view from Farout.

Cool Finds

Meet Farout, the Solar System’s Most Distant Minor Planet

Observations suggest the object is 300 miles in diameter, pinkish-red and 3.5 times as far away from the sun as Pluto

Corona image from the Parker Solar Probe

Trending Today

Solar Probe Sends Back First Image and Data From the Sun

The Parker Solar Probe survived its first swoop around our star and will get even closer on its next two dozen trips

“Everyone involved accomplished many, many firsts with that flight,” says Smithsonian curator Teasel Muir-Harmony. of NASA's near-perfect mission, (above: Apollo 8 command module).

How Apollo 8 ‘Saved 1968’

The unforgettable, 99.9 percent perfect, December moon mission marked the end of a tumultuous year

A Geminid meteor shower in 2012.

How to Spot This Year’s Spectacular Geminids Meteor Shower

A beautiful celestial display is due to take place starting on the night of December 13

An artist's rendering of the small rover that will be deployed on the far side of the Moon as part of the Chang'e-4 mission.

China Launches First Mission to Land on the Far Side of the Moon

Not glimpsed by humanity until 1959, the surface of the far side of the Moon has never been visited before

New Research

Satellite Data Detects Hundreds of New Sources of Ammonia Pollution

Detailed data shows livestock operations and fertilizers plants are major sources of the pollutant

The Ten Best Science Books of 2018

These titles explore the wide-ranging implications of new discoveries and experiments, while grounding them in historical context

Extragalactic Background Light

New Research

This Is How Much Starlight the Universe Has Produced

4,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 photons over 13.7 billion years

An artists concept of the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security - Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft collecting a sample from the asteroid Bennu.

Asteroid Sample-Return Mission Arrives to Collect Primordial Rocks of the Solar System

As the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrives at its target asteroid Bennu, scientists on the ground prepare for a new bounty of planetary samples

Drug-Resistant Bacteria Found on International Space Station Toilet

The bacteria do not currently pose a risk to astronauts, but that could change as the microbes adapt to their environment

If Light Can’t Escape Black Holes, How Do We Get Photos of Them… and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

Scott Bolton says he first dreamed of traveling through the galaxy when he was a boy camping out under the stars.

2018 Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards

Meet Scott Bolton, the Visionary Behind the NASA Mission to Jupiter

The Juno project will take on the mysteries of the gas giant that may in turn help us understand our own planet’s origins

Illustration of NASA's InSight lander about to land on the surface of Mars.

Watch NASA Land the InSight Spacecraft on Mars

The InSight lander has successfully touched down on Mars

The Golden Record features images of life on Earth, nature sounds, greetings recorded in 55 different languages

Art Meets Science

New Catalogue Describes Everything We’ve Sent Into Space

Entries include Doritos’ advertisement, Klingon Opera invitation, Beatles song

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