Space

Explore Space

Editor's Picks

Any asteroid larger than 165 feet (50 m) across is capable of breaching Earth's atmosphere and striking the ground. The sun's glare could be blinding us to thousands of them.
'Planet killer' asteroids are hiding in the sun's glare. Can we stop them in time? In the glare of the sun, an unknown number of near-Earth asteroids move on unseen orbits. A new generation of space telescopes could be our best defense against potential disaster.
Check out our best binoculars for stargazing. In this image, a man is standing behind his car using a pair of binoculars to look at the stars.
Best binoculars for stargazing 2023: Spot stars and galaxies View our top picks of for the best binoculars for stargazing and astronomy, and peer into the cosmos whilst staying grounded.
Illustration of tractor beam in space
Sci-fi inspired tractor beams are real, and could solve a major space junk problem Researchers are developing a real-life tractor beam, with the goal of pulling defunct satellites out of geostationary orbit to alleviate the space junk problem.

Latest about Space

An artist's illustration of the aurora-like emission from the surface of the sun.

Astronomers spot aurora on the sun for the 1st time

By Ben Turner published

Scientists have spotted an aurora signal caused by electrons accelerating through a sunspot on our star's surface for the first time ever.

The Sun
SpaceX's Starship at the launch pad against a yellow clouded sky,

How to watch SpaceX's Starship launch for 2nd time ever on Saturday, Nov. 18

By Elizabeth Howell published

Liftoff of SpaceX's enormous Starship is currently scheduled for Nov. 18, during a 20-minute window that opens at 8 a.m. ET.

Space Exploration
Artist's impression of WASP-107b and its parent star, orange, red and yellow gaseous masses in the universe.

James Webb telescope detects 'fluffy' alien planet that rains sand

By Conor Feehly published

Clouds of silicate sand exist high in exoplanet WASP-107b's atmosphere, new James Webb Space Telescope observations reveal.

Exoplanets
A distant galaxy with energy jets coming out of it, with a close-up image of a black hole inlaid

1st black hole to be imaged is spewing 'lightsaber' energy jets larger than the Milky Way, and scientists think they know why

By Harry Baker published

Researchers may have finally figured out how fast-spinning black holes lose energy in the form of enormous energy jets after taking a closer look at the supermassive black hole M87*.

Black Holes
An illustration of rocky terrain on Mars with an eerie green sky in the background

Astronauts on Mars may see a green sky, eerie new study suggests

By Stefanie Waldek published

Scientists just observed Mars' eerie green nightglow in the visible light spectrum for the very first time.

Mars
A microscopic metal ball slitters with various elements

'Alien' spherules dredged from the Pacific are probably just industrial pollution, new studies suggest

By Joanna Thompson published

Last summer, a Harvard professor claimed tiny pellets of iron came from beyond our solar system. But new analyses suggest that they likely originated much closer to home.

Extraterrestrial Life
An astronaut tool bag dropped during a spacewalk can be seen orbiting Earth on Nov. 2, 2023.

Astronauts accidentally dropped a tool bag on a spacewalk, and you can see it with binoculars

By Robert Lea published

A tool bag that gave astronauts the slip during a spacewalk at the International Space Station is surprisingly bright and can be seen from Earth with binoculars.

Space Exploration
An illustration shows a powerful blast of gamma-rays disturbing Earth's atmosphere.

Brightest gamma-ray explosion of all time scrambled Earth's upper atmosphere

By Robert Lea published

Dubbed the "brightest of all time," or the BOAT, a gamma-ray burst detected in 2022 continues to astound astronomers, revealing severe effects in Earth's atmosphere.

Black Holes
This artist conception illustrates a storm of comets around a star near our own, called Eta Corvi. Evidence for this barrage comes from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope infrared detectors.

'Bouncing' comets may be delivering the seeds of life to alien planets, new study finds

By Joanna Thompson published

Researchers have simulated how comets pinballing from one planet to another could deliver critical organic molecules to exoplanets.

Comets
A mosaic of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) images showing the lunar swirl Reiner Gamma. The “eye” of the swirl can be seen in the center left, while other bright markings of the swirl extend to the lower left and upper right of the image.

Mysterious 'lunar swirls' that perplexed scientists for decades may be close to an explanation

By Briley Lewis published

No one knows what causes lunar swirls, but new evidence shows they may be tied to certain elevations on the moon's surface.

The Moon
123456789Archives