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Outer Space

An artist’s vision of what the night sky would look like from a planet at the heart of an ultracompact galaxy

New Research

These Super-Dense Galaxies Are Bursting With Stars

Life in these systems would have trouble starting, but the night skies would be spectacular to behold

Philae snapped this image of 67P over a mile from the comet's surface.

New Research

Philae Proves There’s More to Comets Than Dust and Ice

The lander found organic compounds on comet 67P

Astrophysicist Dr. Brian May is recognized during a July 17, 2015 New Horizons science briefing at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. May spent a long birthday weekend with the science team, attending two morning science plenaries, a meeting with the Student Dust Counter group, and working on stereo images of Pluto with the Geology, Geophysics and Imaging (GGI) team.

Cool Finds

Queen Guitarist Brian May is Now a New Horizons Science Collaborator

As new images were transmitted from Pluto, the rock-star-turned-astrophysicist rubbed shoulders with his heroes

The Virgin Galactic SpaceShip2 (VSS Enterprise) glides toward Earth on its first test flight after being released from its WhiteKnight2 (VMS Eve) mothership over Mojave, California October 10, 2010. The craft was piloted by engineer and test pilot Pete Siebold from Scaled Composites.

Trending Today

Here’s What Caused a Catastrophic Virgin Galactic Crash

Investigators say space plane didn’t have enough safeguards

New Horizons snapped this parting shot of Pluto on July 15, 2015.

New Horizons Snaps a Final Shot of Pluto

So long, dwarf planet!

Silly humans, Pluto is a dog, not a planet.

Of Course Some People Think NASA’s Pluto Pictures Are Fake

Or at least doctored to exclude evidence of alien life.

Mission operations manager Alice Bowman shares the real secret behind the Pluto flyby in December 2014.

These Pictures Give a Rare Glimpse Into the Heart of the Pluto Flyby

Spanning the full 9.5 years of the mission to date, the images by Michael Soluri capture the people behind the epic close encounter

Turns out Pluto is covered in ice mountains up to 11,000 feet high.

Behold, the First Closeup Pictures From the Pluto Flyby Are Here

From fresh-faced moons to ice mountains, these are the visual surprises that hit the ground the day after the Pluto flyby

Exaggerating the colors on Pluto and Charon helps mission scientists see distinct terrains on each icy world.

Where Will the New Horizons Probe Go After Pluto?

The historic flyby may be over, but the spacecraft should still go on to study even smaller bodies on its path through the Kuiper belt

A color image of Pluto and its moon Charon captured on July 11, 2015 by New Horizons

New Research

New Horizons Probe Reveals That Pluto is Bigger Than Expected

But so far it still won’t be considered a “planet”

Swiss researchers want to build a spacecraft to eat their tiny satellites after they stop working.

Cool Finds

This Pac-Man Spacecraft Will Devour a Satellite

Swiss researchers are designing a tiny satellite to eat their defunct cube satellite and clean up space junk

The hydrophobic bacteria that coat the ceilings of some dark lava caves produce a gorgeous golden sparkle.

How Bacteria Make This Underground, Awe-Inspiring Cave Shine Gold

These underground tubes at Lava Beds National Monument include sparkling gold ceilings that even NASA wants to study

NASA is starting to brainstorm where humans should land on Mars.

Cool Finds

Where Should Humans Land on Mars? NASA Wants to Hear Your Suggestions

In October, the agency will hear proposals on where to put a Mars base

This artist's rendering shows New Horizons encountering Pluto and its largest moon, Charon.

Seven Surprises From the First Flybys of Each Planet in the Solar System

As the New Horizons probe approaches Pluto, find out what wonders were uncovered by the first spacecraft to zip past other worlds

Scientist know that Venus' surface, depicted here based on radar data, was shaped by volcanoes, and a new study suggests they may still be active.

New Research

Venus (Probably) Has Active Volcanoes

And they’re (probably) erupting!

A composite image of the Philae lander on comet 67P.

Comet Lander Philae Wakes Up From Nap

“Are you there, Rosetta? It’s me Philae”

Saturn’s largest ring as spotted by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope in 2009

New Research

Saturn’s Rings Extend Farther Than Thought — Nearly 4 Million Miles From the Planet

The outermost ring is dark and dusty

A mosaic image shows magnetic activity on the solar disk, which is surrounded by the relatively faint corona.

New Research

A “Mangrove Forest” of Magnetism May Help Heat the Sun’s Corona

New simulations might explain why the sun’s atmosphere is bizarrely millions of degrees hotter than its surface

An artist's rendering of the Pluto system seen from the surface of one of its moons.

New Research

Weird Orbital Behaviors Offer Clues to the Origins of Pluto’s Moons

Solving the mystery of these satellites could help astronomers understand “Tatooine” exoplanets that orbit binary stars

Graphic design student Oskar Pernefeldt envisions a blue and white flag to symbolize Earth's presence on far off planets like Mars.

Does Planet Earth Need Its Own Flag?

Some think we need a universal flag to stake our claim in space

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