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A mass of gravel and dirt ejected from the surface of asteroid Bennu by the touchdown of NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe.

NASA spacecraft touched an asteroid, and the surface was 'fluffy'

By Tereza Pultarova published

Asteroid Bennu nearly swallowed the OSIRIS-REx probe when it touched down on the rock to collect a sample, revealing that the space rock's nature was much different than scientists had thought.

This engineering image captured by the Fine Guidance Sensor reveals the deepest view of the universe in infrared light to date. The false-color image reveals a handful of stars and hundreds of galaxies scattered across the distant universe.

New James Webb Space Telescope test image reveals deepest ever glimpse into the infrared universe

By Tereza Pultarova published

An engineering image acquired during testing of one of James Webb Space Telescope's instruments reveals hundreds of distant galaxies in the deepest ever glimpse into the infrared universe.

An artist's impression of exoplanets orbiting a red supergiant. The bright light in the distance represents a faraway star of a similar size.

Red supergiant stars 'dance' because they have too much gas

By Harry Baker published

The light they produce wobbles around, making them hard to pin down.

An artist's impression of a near-Earth asteroid.

Scientists just detected a bus-sized asteroid that will fly extremely close to Earth tonight

By Brandon Specktor published

Astronomers detected a small asteroid called 2022 NF that will pass within 23% of the distance from Earth to the moon tonight.

Physicists and engineers replaced the heart of the CMS experiment in 2017 to improve its ability to make precise measurements.

Large Hadron Collider switches on at highest ever power level to look for dark matter

By Ben Turner published

Physicists say the third run will collect more data than the previous two combined.

NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins on a spacewalk in 2013.

Astronauts suffer decades of bone loss from months in space, study reveals

By Ben Turner published

Only 1 out of 17 astronauts made a full recovery.

Moon (black circle) passing in front of the sun (a fiery yellow circle).

Stunning solar eclipse caught by NASA in incredible closeup

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in outer space spotted a solar eclipse when the moon passed in front of the sun on June 29, 2022.

The new double crater was spotted by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Mystery rocket that smashed into the moon left 2 craters, NASA says

By Ben Turner published

It took NASA two months to find the object after the impact.

Sun emits a solstice flare. Image from June 20, 2013. Source: NASA/SDO

What are solar flares?

By Giles Sparrow published

High-energy eruptions of radiation from the sun's atmosphere can sometimes launch blobs of plasma toward Earth.

A stream of supercharged partciles from the sun recently crashed into Earth with no prior warning.

Surprise solar storm with 'disruptive potential' slams into Earth

By Harry Baker published

A surprise solar storm hit Earth on June 25 causing unexpected auroras that lit up the sky during a rare 5-planet alignment.

An 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' star in a distant galaxy survived its own supernova explosion, appearing again even brighter than before.

Rare 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' star survives death by supernova, returns stronger and brighter

By Brandon Specktor published

A white dwarf star exploded in a supernova and survived, reappearing even brighter than before. In a new study, scientists hypothesize why.

A sample of moondust extracted from the stomachs of cockroaches, and the remains of one of the roaches from the experiments.

NASA called. They want their moondust and cockroaches back.

By Jennifer Nalewicki published

NASA is trying to reclaim its "one-of-a-kind' Apollo rarity" — an auction lot containing moondust and cockroaches.

Polygons crack across the Martian surface as hidden ice expands and contracts with the seasons.

Bizarre 'polygons' are cracking through the surface of Mars

By Brandon Specktor published

A new image from NASA's HIRISE camera reveals strange 'polygons' cracking open the surface of Mars. It's just a typical sign of spring, scientists say.

the antennas of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), set against the splendour of the Milky Way

Why do stars twinkle?

By Colin Stuart published

Stars appear to twinkle because the light from these distant objects passes through wobbly air in the atmosphere.

The two massive sunspot groups, known as AR 2993 and AR 2994, became visible a few days ago at the northeast limb of the sun after becoming active while still hidden by the sun's disk.

Giant sunspot doubled in size in 24 hours, and it's pointing right at Earth

By Ben Turner published

The sunspot is caused by the knotting of powerful magnetic-field lines.

Planets Venus, Mars and Jupiter align over the Isle of Portland Dorset England in the U.K.

This is the best time to spot a rare alignment of five planets. Here's how to watch it.

By Stephanie Pappas published

The five visible planets in the solar system are lined up against the predawn sky. Here's how to see them.

A diagram showing the locations of five bright planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, in the predawn sky on June 17, 2022. (Image credit: Starry Night)

The best-ever view of an epic 5-planet alignment is happening this week

By Brandon Specktor published

Earth's moon will join a rare 5-planet alignment in the predawn hours of June 23 to 25, for the first time in more than 150 years.

This artist rendering shows an aerial view of the liftoff of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

NASA suddenly aborts moon rocket test launch with 29 seconds on the clock

By Brandon Specktor published

NASA aborted the 4th consecutive rehearsal launch of its powerful SLS rocket on Monday, citing a hydrogen leak.

Auroral images taken over New Zealand, showing a red auroral arc (left), the skyglow called STEVE (middle), and a partial arc with green picket fence structures (right).

Blood-red aurora transforms into 'STEVE' before stargazer's eyes

By Brandon Specktor published

New footage shows the mysterious auroral phenomenon called STEVE emerging from a blood-red arc of light in New Zealand in 2015.

An illustration of the mysterious spiral's history, showing (from bottom to top) its evolution 12,000 years ag, 8,000 years ago, 4,000 years ago, and today.

Bizarre spiral object found swirling around Milky Way's center

By Brandon Specktor published

A large star surrounded by a spiral-shaped disk of dust could be the result of an ancient near-miss collision at the Galactic Center.