Articles tagged as Outer Space | Smithsonian Magazine

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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

November 2, 2016

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

November 1, 2016

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

October 27, 2016

Gemasolar Thermasolar Plant, 37.560755°, –5.331908° This image captures the Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant in Seville, Spain. The solar concentrator contains 2,650 heliostat mirrors that focus the sun’s thermal energy to heat molten salt flowing through a 140-metre-tall (460-foot) central tower. The molten salt then circulates from the tower to a storage tank, where it is used to produce steam and generate electricity. In total, the facility displaces approximately 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

Art Meets Science

These Photographs From Space Show What Humans Have Done to the Earth

In new book, vivid satellite images of the planet evoke what astronauts call “the overview effect”

October 26, 2016

First photo from space, 1946

American Scientists Took the First Photo of Earth From Space Using Nazi Rockets

70 years ago, researchers at White Sands Missile Base strapped a movie camera to a V2 rocket to get a bird’s-eye view of our planet

October 24, 2016

A new map reveals the most detailed picture of hydrogen atoms in the Milky Way ever made.

This Breathtaking Map Traces Hydrogen Throughout the Milky Way

Scientists have made the most detailed map of our home galaxy’s hydrogen currently possible

October 20, 2016

Schiaparelli Mars Lander Likely Crashed on Descent

The European Space Agency lost contact with the Schiaparelli probe after it jettisoned its heat shield and deployed its parachute

October 20, 2016

Life in the Cosmos

Did a Comet Set Off Global Warming 56 Million Years Ago?

Tiny glass beads found in New Jersey and Bermuda suggest this dramatic warming period began with an impact

October 18, 2016

Uranus May Have Been Hiding Two Moons

Researchers spotted ripples in the planet’s rings, which may be tracks left from two tiny moons

October 18, 2016

An illustration of the Schiaparelli lander detaching from the Trace Gas Orbiter as it makes its way to the surface of Mars

Five Things to Know About the Schiaparelli Probe Heading for a Touchdown on Mars

A lot is riding on the European Space Agency’s first Mars lander

October 17, 2016

A before-and-after composite shows the lunar surface with a surprising starburst-like jet pattern.

Craters Are Forming on the Moon Faster Than Anyone Predicted

New research digs into the changes on the pockmarked lunar surface

October 17, 2016

Hubble's eXtreme Deep Field Image

There Are Ten Times as Many Galaxies as Previously Thought

By these latest estimates, two trillion galaxies are scattered throughout the vast universe

October 14, 2016

Commercial Modules Are Coming to the International Space Station. But You Can’t Visit Anytime Soon

Small, slow steps for private spaceflight

October 14, 2016

Space Shuttle Atlantis lifts off on NASA's final space shuttle mission from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on July 8, 2011.

Many of NASA’s Recent Successes Actually Date Back to the Bush Administration

Some leaps, launches and grand plans for the future

October 13, 2016

The new dwarf planet—too small to join the ranks of our solar system's eight planets—orbits the sun roughly twice as far away as Pluto.

Say Hello to Our Solar System’s Newest Dwarf Planet

Spotting the dwarf planet could help in the search for Planet Nine

October 13, 2016

Two 2001 images from the Mars Orbiter Camera on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter show a dramatic change in the planet's appearance when haze raised by dust-storm activity in the south became globally distributed. The images were taken about a month apart.

Major Martian Dust Storms Might Soon Envelope the Red Planet

A plus for meteorologists but perhaps bad news for rovers

October 11, 2016

October Skies Herald Meteor Showers Throughout the Month

The Draconid and Orionid meteor showers will streak across night skies this month

October 6, 2016

Mission Complete: Rosetta’s 12 Year Journey Is Over

In the early hours of the morning, Rosetta crashed into comet 67P in style

Updated: September 30, 2016 | Originally Published: September 29, 2016

Our part of the Milky Way is more impressive than anyone thought.

Our Galactic Neighborhood Is Bigger Than Scientists Once Thought

Goodbye spur, hello spiral arm

September 30, 2016

Mercury still has a molten core, like Earth does. As Mercury's core slowly cools, the density of that core increases and it gets slightly smaller.

Mercury Is Tectonically Active, Making It Uniquely Like Earth

A whole new picture of Mercury’s geologic history emerges, showing its crust is being thrust up and its surface is changing over time

September 29, 2016

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