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Outer Space

Mercury's Munch crater, as viewed by the MESSENGER probe.

Trending Today

The Messenger Probe Will Soon Crash Into Mercury

As NASA’s probe runs out of propellant, it will crash into the planet’s surface at 8,750 MPH

Yum! A candy-colored view of the planet Mercury shows differences in its chemical makeup.

New Research

Earth May Have Become Magnetic After Eating a Mercury-Like Object

Swallowing a sulfur-rich protoplanet could help explain two lingering mysteries in the story of Earth’s formation

The blobs, colored to show motion, are G2 as it approaches and passes the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy

New Research

Escape From the Black Hole’s Abyss!

An object called G2—previously believed to be a gas cloud—narrowly slipped from the clutches of a supermassive black hole

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Best Space Photos of the Week

An Einstein Ring and an Asteroid “Dart” Are Among These Space Stunners

A lensed galaxy and a mission to manipulate a space rock feature among our picks for this week’s best space images

When young planets collide.

New Research

The Moon Was Formed in a Smashup Between Earth and a Near Twin

But solving one puzzle of lunar origins has raised another linked to the abundances of tungsten in the primordial bodies

Trending Today

Could NASA Stop on the Moon on the Way to Mars?

NASA’s chief of human exploration thinks we’ll need a pit stop en route to the fiery planet

Best Space Photos of the Week

An Easter Typhoon and Galactic Ghosts Are Among These Spacey Visions

Astronauts spy a colossal eye and Hubble sees echoes of quasars past in our picks for the week’s best space images

Best Space Photos of the Week

A Rocket Blessing and a Cubist Planet Are Among These Celestial Sights

Russia sends off the one-year crew and a Saturn probe gets artistic in our picks for this week’s best space-related pictures

The Asteroid Redirect Vehicle gets ready to push off from the asteroid after grabbing a boulder in this artist’s interpretation

Trending Today

An Asteroid Boulder Will Be A Stepping Stone on the Journey to Mars

NASA announces details in its plan to capture an asteroid and bring it into lunar orbit

This Week in Crowdfunding

A Moon Landing in Virtual Reality, Bookniture and Other Wild Ideas That Just Got Funded

Could a new material that uses static charge to stick to any surface spell doom for Post-it notes?

Best Space Photos of the Week

A Rainbow Eclipse and X-Ray Fireworks Are Among These Cosmic Treats

A solar eclipse painted the cloudy U.K. skies and an explosion rocked a stellar corpse in our picks for this week’s best space images

Trending Today

Here’s What The Solar Eclipse Looked Like From Space

As they orbited the earth, a satellite and an astronaut captured another side of the sun’s disappearing act

"The show was another spectacular one! Reds and greens and yellows! The sky has just been on fire!" the photographer enthuses on Spaceweather.com.

Severe Solar Storm Paints the Sky Green on St. Patrick’s Day

A burst of particles from the sun is hitting our atmosphere and lighting up the night as far south as Illinois

The colorful salt terraces in the Dallol region of Ethiopia are hot targets for astrobiologists seeking extreme microbial life that could resemble extraterrestrials.

New Research

This Alien Color Catalog May Help Us Spot Life on Other Planets

A digital library of reflectance spectra from microbes could be a powerful tool for spotting signs of extraterrestrials

Best Space Photos of the Week

A Solar Flare and a Volcano Blizzard Are Among These Stellar Shots

An X-class explosion and a snowy satellite image feature among our picks for the week’s best space images

A view of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.

New Research

The Galaxy May Be Way Bigger Than We Thought

New data analysis suggests that the Milky Way may be 50-percent larger than previously believed

The zodiacal light.

Cool Finds

Catch a Glimpse of the Zodiacal Light Show This Month

For some in the northern hemisphere, a celestial treat sometimes referred to as “false dusk” is lighting up the night

Best Space Photos of the Week

These Cosmic Visions Include a Mars Ocean and a Supernova Quartet

The red planet’s deep blue sea and a rare Einstein cross feature among the week’s best space images

Artist’s conception of Dawn entering orbit around Ceres

Trending Today

Dawn Has Arrived at Ceres

Downlink connection confirms that the spacecraft is in orbit around the dwarf planet

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