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Satellites

This satellite image from January 16, 2022, reveals formaldehyde in blue. The volcanic plume from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano traveled over the South Pacific.

Tonga’s Enormous Volcanic Eruption Cleaned Up Part of Its Own Methane Emissions in 2022, Hinting at a Way to Fight Climate Change

Researchers analyzed satellite imagery of the volcanic plume and found evidence that the potent greenhouse gas had broken down. The work could inform artificial interventions aiming to mitigate global warming, scientists say

The Van Allen Probes spent seven years studying two donut-shaped rings of radiation around the Earth.

A 1,300-Pound Spacecraft Might Be Plummeting Through Our Atmosphere Right Now

The debris poses minimal risk of harming anyone

Wetlands like South Sudan's Sudd swamp saw more rainfall in 2020 due to the La Niña climate event, which caused more methane to enter the atmosphere.

When Human Activity Dropped During Covid-19, Methane Levels Surprisingly Spiked. Now, a Study Points to Two Reasons Why

In a paradox of air pollution, a decrease in man-made pollutants led to more methane in our atmosphere. And natural wetlands released more of the planet-warming gas at the same time

The new map revealed tens of thousands of previously undiscovered landforms.

What’s Buried Beneath Antarctica’s Ice? A New Map Unveils the Continent’s Hidden Landscape Like Never Before

A better understanding of the bedrock can help researchers calculate how quickly the continent’s melting glaciers might affect sea-level rise

Shenzhou-15 spacecraft debris streaked across the sky above California in April 2024. 

Sonic Booms and Earthquake Sensors Can Help Researchers Track Space Junk as It Plummets to Earth

Falling debris can travel at about 30 times the speed of sound, creating sonic booms that shake the ground

An image simulating the contamination from satellite trails in observations by ARRAKIHS, a European Space Agency telescope planned to launch in 2030

More Than 500,000 Satellites Are Set to Orbit Earth by 2040. They May End Up Photobombing the Images Captured by Space Telescopes

Fleets of satellites interfere with snapshots taken by Earth-bound observatories. But a new study suggests these orbiters will also contaminate observations by four space telescopes, including Hubble

Earth’s magnetic field surrounds the planet, with illustrated field lines emerging from the north, in orange, and looping around to the south, in blue.

A Weak Spot in Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Growing, but Scientists Say Not to Worry. Here’s a Look at What Shields Us From Space Weather

Our planet’s magnetosphere has seen dramatic shifts across its history—even total reversals—but this recent wrinkle doesn’t pose a threat to life

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The Astronomical Problem of Space Junk

Chunks of satellites and pieces of debris falling from space are causing trouble down here on Earth

A long-exposure view of the Milky Way, seen from Brandenburg, Germany, is cut through by the light trails of passing satellites.

Giant Mirrors in Space Could Bring Sunlight After Dark, One Startup Says—and Astronomers Are Concerned

Critics argue the satellites, billed as a way to harness solar energy at night, could hamper sky observations and may pose a threat to human and animal health

The mysterious object found in Western Australia may be part of a Chinese rocket, experts suggest.

Cool Finds

Miners Discovered a Mysterious Smoking Object in Western Australia. Experts Think It’s Likely Unexpected Space Debris

Some theorize that it’s a piece of a rocket—and part of a growing pile of orbiting space junk

The three missions launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket the morning of September 24.

‘Ultimate Cosmic Carpool’ Sends Three New Missions to Monitor Space Weather and the Protective Bubble Around Our Solar System

The spacecraft will map the boundaries of the heliosphere, study how Earth’s outer atmosphere reacts to solar activity and provide continuous monitoring of space weather

Quasi-moons follow heliocentric orbits, centered around the sun, that are similar to Earth's.

Cool Finds

Astronomers Say Earth Has a Newly Discovered ‘Quasi-Moon,’ a Companion That Shares Its Orbit Around the Sun

Researchers are discussing 2025 PN7, a small celestial body that’s following a similar orbital path to our planet’s without being gravitationally tied to Earth

A coronal mass ejection erupts from the sun in 2013.

How Prepared Are We for a Rare and Powerful Solar Event?

A coronal mass ejection could knock out power and disrupt communication on Earth

A solar flare with the Earth for scale.

Solar Flares May Be Way Hotter Than Researchers Previously Thought

Scientists recalculated the temperature of solar flares using modern data and new models

Bloom patterns resemble flowers as they unfold.

New Research

College Sophomore Discovers New Origami Pattern That Could Be Used to Build Telescopes and Satellites

Based on the work of a student at Brigham Young University, origami theorists have unlocked a new set of patterns that could change space exploration

A glacier in Greenland, pictured in June 2025.

24 Billion Gallons of Water Burst Through Greenland’s Ice Sheet From a Hidden Lake in 2014. Scientists Just Pieced Together What Happened

A new study suggests ice sheet meltwater doesn’t always move downward—sometimes, it can erupt

An illustration shows a satellite damaged by space debris. Objects that don’t burn up in the atmosphere can pose a danger when they fall back to Earth.

With Space Junk on the Rise, Is a Catastrophic Event Inevitable?

Debris from rockets and satellites can fall back to Earth or collide with other objects, and wreckage that burns up can harm the ozone layer

Relay 2 was an American communications satellite launched in 1964.

Astronomers Detected a Mysterious Radio Burst. It Turned Out to Be From a Dead NASA Satellite

The signal detected last year came from Relay 2, a communications satellite that has been defunct since 1967

The Beni River snakes across the landscape in Bolivia, a country that has faced significant deforestation and is among the nations that have experienced the most forest loss globally.

These Colorful Satellite Views Reveal Our Forests in Unprecedented Detail and Showcase the Potential of the New Biomass Mission

The European Space Agency’s satellite will measure trunks, branches and stems in forests to shed light on how much carbon is stored in trees across various continents

The sun’s corona on May 23, 2025, as imaged by the ASPIICS coronagraph aboard Proba-3. The hair-like structures appeared with the help of an image processing algorithm.

See the Beauty of an Artificial Solar Eclipse, Created With a First-of-Its-Kind, ‘Perfect’ Satellite Formation

Two satellites’ highly precise alignment allows scientists to study the sun’s outer atmosphere like never before

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