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SpaceX Mars rocket prototype explodes during test flight

The Worm Supermoon will peak Sunday afternoon and is the fourth closest supermoon of 2021.

See the 'Worm' supermoon glow in the sky this weekend

IN SPACE - JULY 12: In this handout photo provided by NASA, Expedition 44 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is seen inside the Cupola, a special module which provides a 360-degree viewing of the Earth and the International Space Station July 12, 2015 in space. Kelly is one of two crew members spending an entire year in space. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images)

This is how the human heart adapts to space

Ingenuity Mars helicopter to take flight and 5 other top space and science stories this week

The Ingenuity helicopter carried a piece of Wright brothers history to Mars

Mission to clean up space junk with magnets set for launch

There is little research to back reports of northern lights sounds. So what are people hearing?

Astronauts relocated a spacecraft outside the International Space Station

Ingenuity Mars helicopter prepares for the first flight on another planet

Ingenuity Mars helicopter: The historic journey to fly on another planet

Scientists have discovered X-rays coming from Uranus

Watch yet another SpaceX prototype explode

NASA's tiny helicopter is ready to make history on Mars

Artist rendering of a touchdown impact event over Antarctica.

A meteorite exploded in the air above Antarctica 430,000 years ago

VSS Imagine, the first SpaceShip III in the Virgin Galactic fleet.

Virgin Galactic unveils mirror-coated space plane known as 'Spaceship III'

Watch the Perseverance rover's first footage of Mars

A rendering of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars. The probe is due to arrive at the red planet in February 2021.

See NASA's big plans for its new Mars rover, Perseverance

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover used two cameras to create this selfie in front of Mont Mercou, a rock outcrop that stands 20 feet (6 meters) tall.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Mars Curiosity rover takes selfie with 'Mont Mercou'

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is giving astronomers a view of changes in Saturn's vast and turbulent atmosphere as the planet's northern hemisphere summer transitions to fall as shown in this series of images taken in 2018, 2019 and 2020 (left to right).

Hubble spies colorful change of seasons on Saturn

These images represent radar observations of asteroid 99942 Apophis on March 8, 9, and 10, 2021, as it made its last close approach before its 2029 Earth encounter that will see the object pass our planet by less than 325 000 kilometres.
NASA Deep Space Network's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, and the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia used radar to precisely track Apophis' motion, gathering data that rules out any chance of Earth impact for at least a century.

Asteroid Apophis won't impact Earth for at least a century, NASA finds

From ESO: The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, who produced the first ever image of a black hole, has today revealed a new view of the massive object at the centre of the Messier 87 (M87) galaxy: how it looks in polarised light. This is the first time astronomers have been able to measure polarisation, a signature of magnetic fields, this close to the edge of a black hole. The observations are key to explaining how the M87 galaxy, located 55 million light-years away, is able to launch energetic jets from its core.

New image reveals supermassive black hole's swirling magnetic field

This image shows an artist's impression of what the surface of the 2I/Borisov comet might look like.

2I/Borisov was a visitor from another planetary system that passed by our Sun in 2019, allowing astronomers a unique view of an interstellar comet. While telescopes on Earth and in space captured images of this comet, we don't have any close-up observations of 2I/Borisov. It is therefore up to artists to create their own ideas of what the comet's surface might look like, based on the scientific information we have about it.

Pristine interstellar comet came from a system containing giant planets

Do octopuses dream? Maybe. But they definitely change colors while they sleep

Wonders of the universe

This image was taken during the first drive of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars on March 4, 2021. The team has spent the weeks since landing checking out the rover to prepare for surface operations.

Photos from Perseverance's mission to Mars

This photo shows the view from inside the dome of NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility during a night of observing. The 3.2-meter (10.5-foot) telescope atop Hawaii's Mauna Kea will be used to measure the infrared spectrum of asteroid 2001 FO32.

Largest asteroid to pass by Earth this year will be moving unusually fast

NASA successfully tests SLS rocket that will help Artemis astronauts reach the moon

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its onboard left Navigation Camera (Navcam). The camera is located high on the rover's mast and aids in driving. This image was acquired on Mar. 7, 2021.

Hear the Perseverance rover's wheels crunch across the Martian surface

Artist's concept of the 'Oumuamua interstellar object as a pancake-shaped disk.

Interstellar object ʻOumuamua may be a fragment of Pluto-like planet

Scientists were stunned to find twigs, leaves and mosses among the dirt drilled up from beneath mile-thick ice in northwestern Greenland in the 1960s.

Top secret Cold War project turned up plants that once thrived beneath mile-deep Greenland ice

Early Archean Earth Caption: An artist's rendition of the early Earth environment. Lightning generated by storms and volcanic plumes frequently strikes volcanic rocks. The lightning strikes create fulgurites which contain phosphorus in a form that can be dissolved in water and concentrate in waters like volcanic ponds. Here, the phosphorus is able to form biomolecules which help lead to the emergence of life.

Lightning may have sparked life on Earth

Amara Mustard plants are pictured growing inside the Veggie space botany research facility aboard the International Space Station. The Veg-03 investigation is exploring how to grow food in space and assesses the impact of space gardening on crew morale and mood.

Previously unknown bacteria discovered on the space station could help grow plants

Galaxy J0437+2456 is thought to be home to a supermassive, moving black hole.
Credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)

Supermassive black hole spotted wandering through space

NASA astronauts conduct fifth spacewalk of 2021

$The hazy atmosphere of the Earth-size rocky exoplanet GJ 1132 b contains a toxic mix of hydrogen, methane, and hydrogen, methane, and hydrogen cyanide. These gasses may come from molten lava beneath the planet's thin crust. The gravitational pull from another planet in the system likely fractures GJ 1132 b's surface to resemble a cracked eggshell.$

This planet morphed from one type to another — and formed a second atmosphere

Combining two images, this mosaic shows a close-up view of the rock target named "Yeehgo" from the SuperCam instrument on NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars. The component images were taken by SuperCam's Remote Micro-Imager (RMI) on March 7, 2021 (the 16th Martian day, or sol, of Perseverance's mission on Mars). To be compatible with the rover's software, "Yeehgo" is an alternative spelling of "Yéigo," the Navajo word for diligent.

Perseverance rover sends back sounds of zapping rocks on Mars

Rare meteorite that fell on UK driveway may contain 'ingredients for life'

Elysia cf. marginata sea slugs can decapitate their head and regrow their body in a matter of weeks.

These sea slugs can self-decapitate and grow a new body

siberia craters permafrost Gray intl ldn vpx_00001410.png

Scientist explains how massive Siberian craters are formed

This artist's impression shows how the distant quasar P172+18 and its radio jets may have looked. To date (early 2021), this is the most distant quasar with radio jets ever found and it was studied with the help of ESO's Very Large Telescope. It is so distant that light from it has travelled for about 13 billion years to reach us: we see it as it was when the Universe was only about 780 million years old.

Most distant cosmic jet discovered 13 billion light-years away

Within the Mobile Quarantine Facility, Apollo 11 astronauts (left to right) Michael Collins, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. and Neil A. Armstrong relax following their successful lunar landing mission. They spent two-and-one-half days in the quarantine trailer enroute from the USS Hornet, prime recovery ship, to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. The Hornet docked at Pearl Harbor where the trailer was transferred to a jet aircraft for the flight to Houston.

The Apollo 11 astronauts quarantined after returning to Earth. Here's why

This image was taken during the first drive of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars on March 4, 2021. The team has spent the weeks since landing checking out the rover to prepare for surface operations.

Perseverance rover takes its first drive on Mars, sends back image

This image was taken during the first drive of NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars on March 4, 2021. The team has spent the weeks since landing checking out the rover to prepare for surface operations.

NASA releases stunning new images from Mars

(Feb. 28, 2021) --- NASA astronaut Kate Rubins is pictured during a spacewalk to install solar array modification kits on the International Space Station. The maintenance work will support new, more powerful solar arrays that will be delivered on upcoming SpaceX Dragon cargo missions.

Astronauts Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi conduct 4th career spacewalk

The best time to view the Jupiter-Mercury conjunction is early Friday morning in the Southern Hemisphere.

See Jupiter and Mercury align in the sky and an asteroid flyby this weekend

The seven-member Expedition 64 crew poses for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Module). From left are, NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover and Kate Rubins; Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov; NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins; and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi. Glover and Hopkins are wearing white uniforms that commemorate the NASA human spaceflight programs Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Apollo-Soyuz, Space Shuttle, Shuttle-Mir, International Space Station and Commercial Crew.

NASA astronaut launches stop for nothing -- not even a pandemic. Here's how they did it

As part of a Mars sample return mission, a rocket will carry a container of sample tubes with Martian rock and soil samples into orbit around Mars and release it for pick up by another spacecraft. This illustration shows a concept for a Mars Ascent Vehicle (left) releasing a sample container (right) high above the Martian surface.
NASA and the European Space Agency are solidifying concepts for a Mars sample return mission after NASA's Mars 2020 rover collects rock and soil samples and stores them in sealed tubes on the planet's surface for potential future return to Earth.
NASA will deliver a Mars lander in the vicinity of Jezero Crater, where Mars 2020 will have collected and cached samples. The lander will carry a NASA rocket (the Mars Ascent Vehicle) along with an ESA Sample Fetch Rover that is roughly the size of NASA's Opportunity Mars rover. The fetch rover will gather the cached samples and carry them back to the lander for transfer to the ascent vehicle; additional samples could also be delivered directly by Mars 2020. The ascent vehicle will then launch from the surface and deploy a special container holding the samples into Mars orbit.
ESA will put a spacecraft in orbit around Mars before the ascent vehicle launches. This spacecraft will rendezvous with and capture the orbiting samples before returning them to Earth. NASA will provide the payload module for the orbiter.
Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech

Perseverance will search for ancient life on Mars. These places are next

Neanderthals could hear and make the same sounds as humans, new research suggests

NASA spacewalker and Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Victor Glover works to ready the International Space station's port-side truss structures during a spacewalk on Jan. 27, 2021, in preparation for upcoming solar array upgrades.

Astronauts Kate Rubins and Victor Glover conducted a Sunday spacewalk

This annotated image was taken by a parachute-up-look camera aboard the protective back shell of NASA's Perseverance rover during its descent toward Mars' Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021. Using binary code, two messages have been encoded in the neutral white and international-orange parachute gores (the sections that make up the canopy's hemispherical shape).

'Dare mighty things': The man behind the secret message in the Mars rover's parachute

The Snow Moon can be seen annually in February and marks important holidays in the Lunar calendar.

Full moon in February 2021: When to see the Snow Moon

Hungry teenage tyrants help explain puzzling fact about dinosaur diversity

New Mars image from rover landing site shows the red planet in high definition

When flying past Venus in July 2020, Parker Solar Probe's WISPR instrument, short for Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe, detected a bright rim around the edge of the planet that may be nightglow — light emitted by oxygen atoms high in the atmosphere that recombine into molecules in the nightside. The prominent dark feature in the center of the image is Aphrodite Terra, the largest highland region on the Venusian surface. Bright streaks in WISPR, such as the ones seen here, are typically caused by a combination of charged particles — called cosmic rays — sunlight reflected by grains of space dust, and particles of material expelled from the spacecraft's structures after impact with those dust grains. The number of streaks varies along the orbit or when the spacecraft is traveling at different speeds, and scientists are still in discussion about the specific origins of the streaks here. The dark spot appearing on the lower portion of Venus is an artifact from the WISPR instrument.

Amazing close-up of Venus captured by NASA Parker Solar Probe

NASA spacewalker and Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Victor Glover works to ready the International Space station's port-side truss structures during a spacewalk on Jan. 27, 2021, in preparation for upcoming solar array upgrades.

Astronauts will conduct a spacewalk this Sunday

This annotated image was taken by a parachute-up-look camera aboard the protective back shell of NASA's Perseverance rover during its descent toward Mars' Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021. Using binary code, two messages have been encoded in the neutral white and international-orange parachute gores (the sections that make up the canopy's hemispherical shape).

The inspiring hidden message in the Mars Perseverance rover's parachute

Two teens discovered four new exoplanets and wrote a peer-reviewed paper — all before graduating from high school.

How 2 teenagers discovered 4 scientifically valuable exoplanets

A Martian experiment in our sky: Earth microbes could temporarily survive on Mars, study says

NASA shares first video and audio, new images from Mars Perseverance rover

Traditional Owner Ian Waina inspecting a painting of a kangaroo that we now know is more than 12,700 years old, based on the age of overlying mud wasp nests.

Kangaroo painted over 17,000 years ago is Australia's oldest known rock art, scientists say

Traditional Owner Ian Waina inspecting a painting of a kangaroo that we now know is more than 12,700 years old, based on the age of overlying mud wasp nests.

Kangaroo painted over 17,000 years ago is Australia's oldest known rock art, scientists say

Ingenuity helicopter phones home from Mars

This shot from a camera on Perservance's' "jetpack" captures the rover in midair, just before its wheels touched down.

Incredible new images shared by Perseverance rover after Mars landing

Members of NASA's Perseverance rover team react in mission control after receiving confirmation the spacecraft successfully touched down on Mars, Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet's geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Mars rover landing was the happy moment we all needed

Swati Mohan, NASA's Mars 2020 guidance and controls operations lead, sits in mission control at the Jet Propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, California. The Perseverance rover landed on Mars successfully on Thursday.

The face of the Perseverance landing was an Indian American woman

An illustration of NASA's Perseverance rover landing safely on Mars. Hundreds of critical events must execute perfectly and exactly on time for the rover to land safely on Feb. 18, 2021.

Perseverance rover has successfully landed on Mars and sent back its first images

nasa mars perseverance rover landing ron garan nr vpx_00001530

NASA team cheers after successful Mars rover landing

This illustration shows NASA's Perseverance rover casting off its spacecraft's cruise stage, minutes before entering the Martian atmosphere. Hundreds of critical events in the rover's Entry, Descent, and Landing sequence must execute perfectly and exactly on time for the rover to touch down on Mars safely on Feb. 18, 2021.

After years of prep, NASA's Perseverance rover is ready to land on Mars Thursday

NASA's Perseverance rover deploys a supersonic parachute from its aeroshell as it slows down before landing, in this artist's illustration. Hundreds of critical events must execute perfectly and exactly on time for the rover to land safely on Feb. 18, 2021.

How to watch the Mars rover landing today

A piece of space debris crashed into Earth 66 million years ago, and a new theory hypothesizes it was a comet.

Dinosaurs may have been killed off by a comet instead of an asteroid

The illustration represents a reconstruction of the steppe mammoths that preceded the woolly mammoth, based on the genetic knowledge we now have from the Adycha mammoth. Illustration: Beth Zaiken/Centre for Palaeogenetics

World's oldest DNA sequenced from a mammoth that lived more than a million years ago

Mysteries of massive holes forming in Siberian permafrost unlocked by scientists

Krispy Kreme celebrates Mars landing with new doughnut

Krispy Kreme is offering a limited-edition Mars doughnut to celebrate NASA's rover landing

An illustration of NASAÕs Perseverance rover exploring inside MarsÕ Jezero Crater. The 28-mile-wide (45-kilometer-wide) crater is located on the western edge of a flat plain called Isidis Planitia, which lies just north of the Martian equator. NASA believes the ancient lake-delta system there is the best place for Perseverance, in its hunt for signs of past microscopic life, to find and collect promising rock and regolith (broken rock and dust) samples for a possible future return to Earth.

Explore Jezero Crater, the future home of NASA's Perseverance rover

Antarctic sponges discovered under the ice shelf perplex scientists

NASA's Perseverance rover will land on Mars this week. Here's what to expect

This artist concept shows the MAVEN spacecraft and the limb of Mars.

Meet the orbiters that help rovers on Mars talk to Earth

This image made available by the China National Space Administration on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020 shows the Tianwen-1 probe en route to Mars. China's duo _ called Tianwen-1, or "Quest for Heavenly Truth" _ will remain paired in orbit until May, when the rover separates to descend to the dusty, ruddy surface. If all goes well, it will be the second country to land successfully on the red planet. (CNSA via AP)

Tianwen-1, China's mission to Mars, has entered orbit

The larger of Mars' two moons, Phobos, is seen in 2008 from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Martian moon Phobos could tell us what Mars was like in the past

Orbiters could find ice on Mars for future human missions

In a case of potential mistaken mummy identity, scientists uncover clues

HiRISE camera view of Krupac crater on Mars featuring gullies along the rim and RSL lower down the crater wall.

Martian landslides may be caused by melting ice and salt under the surface

These dinosaurs may have used their frills to flirt

The vicinity of the Tucana II ultra-faint dwarf galaxy, as imaged with the SkyMapper Telescope

Dark matter halo found around ancient 'cannibal' galaxy

cricket mating study scn

In the name of cricket sex, humans need to stop making noise

NASA astronauts conduct the second spacewalk of the year

This illustration shows the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft departing asteroid Bennu to begin its two-year journey back to Earth.

NASA mission will zoom by asteroid before returning sample to Earth

The full moon during the penumbral lunar eclipse is seen in Kathmandu on January 11, 2020. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP) (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP via Getty Images)

Full moon in January 2021: When to see the Wolf Moon

After '7 minutes of terror,' NASA's Perseverance rover will begin an 'epic journey' on Mars next month

NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins conduct spacewalk Wednesday

Trappist-1 system

These 7 Earth-size exoplanets named after beer may be incredibly similar

Life reconstruction of a Spinosaurus wading in the wanter and fishing.

'Bizarre' dinosaur Spinosaurus behaved like a giant, flightless stork, study says

A new study shows that dogs migrated with humans from East Asia through the Bering Land Bridge to the Americas.

Dogs likely migrated to the Americas with humans over 15,000 years ago, study says

This artist's impression shows the view from the planet in the TOI-178 system found orbiting furthest from the star. New research by Adrien Leleu and his colleagues with several telescopes, including ESO's Very Large Telescope, has revealed that the system boasts six exoplanets and that all but the one closest to the star are locked in a rare rhythm as they move in their orbits. But while the orbital motion in this system is in harmony, the physical properties of the planets are more disorderly, with significant variations in density from planet to planet. This contrast challenges astronomers' understanding of how planets form and evolve. This artist's impression is based on the known physical parameters for the planets and the star seen, and uses a vast database of objects in the Universe.

5 planets found in unusual rhythmic dance around a star 200 light-years away

Two of the best ever Spacewalkers, each on their 10th EVA today. Congratulations on an amazing accomplishment
@Astro_SEAL and @AstroBehnken!
July 21, 2020

https://twitter.com/Astro_Doug/status/1285676609312301056

Astronauts prepare for 2 upcoming spacewalks

A total of 90 elk teeth were placed next to the hips and thighs of the body in grave 127, possibly attached to a garment resembling an apron. There were elk teeth pendants also on the waist. Red ochre had been sprinkled on top of the deceased.

Burial ground reveals Stone Age people wore clothing covered in elk teeth

Scientists are researching why there is a drop in reported bee species over the past 30 years.

Staggering number of wild bee species unaccounted for since the '90s

Two giant radio galaxies found with the MeerKAT telescope. In the background is the sky as seen in optical light. Overlaid in red is the radio light from the enormous radio galaxies, as seen by MeerKAT. Left: MGTC J095959.63+024608.6. Right: MGTC J100016.84+015133.0.

Newly discovered giant galaxies dwarf the Milky Way

Aldrin salutes the U.S. Flag

Astronaut artifacts on moon -- like Apollo landers and Neil Armstrong's bootprint -- now protected by US law

Glaciers on Mars reveal the planet's many ice ages

Eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) curiously studying something in its hands, Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania | usage worldwide Photo by: Martin Grimm/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

How animals transfer power from one leader to another: Brute force, inheritance and consensus

The Cretophengodes beetle roamed the tropical forests of Southeast Asia nearly 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.

A 99-million-year-old beetle shines light on the evolution of glowing insects

http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1923-ssc2008-10a-A-Roadmap-to-the-Milky-Way

Like early explorers mapping the continents of our globe, astronomers are busy charting the spiral structure of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Using infrared images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists have discovered that the Milky Way's elegant spiral structure is dominated by just two arms wrapping off the ends of a central bar of stars. Previously, our galaxy was thought to possess four major arms.

This artist's concept illustrates the new view of the Milky Way, along with other findings presented at the 212th American Astronomical Society meeting in St. Louis, Mo. The galaxy's two major arms (Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus) can be seen attached to the ends of a thick central bar, while the two now-demoted minor arms (Norma and Sagittarius) are less distinct and located between the major arms. The major arms consist of the highest densities of both young and old stars; the minor arms are primarily filled with gas and pockets of star-forming activity.

The artist's concept also includes a new spiral arm, called the "Far-3 kiloparsec arm," discovered via a radio-telescope survey of gas in the Milky Way. This arm is shorter than the two major arms and lies along the bar of the galaxy.

Our sun lies near a small, partial arm called the Orion Arm, or Orion Spur, located between the Sagittarius and Perseus arms.

A stream of nearly 500 stars in the Milky Way is actually a family

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took this selfie at a location nicknamed "Mary Anning" after a 19th century English paleontologist. Curiosity snagged three samples of drilled rock at this site on its way out of the Glen Torridon region, which scientists believe was a site where ancient conditions would have been favorable to supporting life, if it ever was present.

What Mars sounds like, and the rover's welcome party

Artist's conception of the quasar J0313--1806, seen as it was only 670 million years after the Big Bang.

Oldest quasar and supermassive black hole discovered in the distant universe

This photo shows a phenomenon known as zodiacal light. At lower left, a glowing patch extends to the upper right in the direction of Jupiter, the bright object left of center. Zodiacal light is caused by sunlight reflecting off tiny dust particles in the inner solar system—the disintegrated remains of comets and asteroids. Attempts to measure how dark space is using telescopes like Hubble have been thwarted by this ambient glow.

As a result, astronomers relied on NASA's distant New Horizons spacecraft to observe the sky free from zodiacal light. The faint background they measured is the equivalent of seeing a neighbor's refrigerator light from a mile away.

This very wide, multi-frame panorama was taken in October 2014 at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeast Arizona. The zodiacal light is at left, with the northern Milky Way to the right. The Orion constellation is at top right. Jupiter is the brighter object left of center, while a similarly bright object to the right (below Orion) is Sirius. M44 (the Praesepe Cluster) is just above Jupiter. On the horizon, a yellow glow marks the location of the nearby town of Chinle, Arizona.

There may be fewer galaxies in the universe than we thought

Artist's rendition of TOI-561, one of the oldest, most metal-poor planetary systems discovered yet in the Milky Way galaxy. (W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko)

'Super-Earth' found orbiting one of the oldest stars in the Milky Way

Megalodons can live to be up to 100 years old and swam in the world's oceans millions of year ago.

6-foot megalodon shark babies were cannibals in the womb, study says

This artist's impression of ID2299 shows the galaxy, the product of a galactic collision, and some of its gas being ejected by a "tidal tail" as a result of the merger. New observations made with ALMA, in which ESO is a partner, have captured the earliest stages of this ejection, before the gas reached the very large scales depicted in this artist's impression.

A distant galaxy dies as astronomers watch

View of Ewass Oldupa in the Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania.

Early humans adapted to major environmental change in 'Cradle of Mankind' 2 million years ago

Ancient finds

New NASA space telescope will explore the Big Bang

Harold Mytum

Archaeologists find 2,000 pieces of plastic at Iron Age site

ISS043E241729 (05/24/2015) --- Expedition 43 commander and NASA astronaut Terry Virts is seen here inside of the station's Cupola module. The Cupola is designed for the observation of operations outside the ISS such as robotic activities, the approach of vehicles, and spacewalks. It also provides spectacular views of Earth and celestial objects for use in astronaut observation experiments. It houses the robotic workstation that controls the space station's robotic arm and can accommodate two crew members simultaneously.

Astronaut Terry Virts shares an 'insider's guide' to life in space

Gray Mouse Lemur, microcebus murinus

Hibernating primates like this tiny lemur could unlock cryogenic sleep for deep space missions

The newly identified Levitonius mirus, also known as Waray Dwarf Burrowing Snake, is native to the islands of Samar and Leyte in the Philippines, an exceptionally biodiverse archipelago that includes at least 112 land snake species.

Scientists discover a new species of snake hiding in plain sight

This is how astronauts celebrate Christmas and other holidays in space

BRILL, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 20: Jupiter and Saturn are seen coming together in the night sky, over the sails of Brill windmill, for what is known as the Great Conjunction, on December 20, 2020 in Brill, England. The planetary conjunction is easily visible in the evening sky and will culminate on the night of December 21. This is the closest the planets have appeared for nearly 800 years. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)

Jupiter and Saturn's great conjunction captured in stunning images

Venus of Willendorf was one of the Venus figurines that was measured in the study.

Stone Age Venus figurines were totems of survival, not sex, study suggests

Saturn, top, and Jupiter, below, are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in Luray, Virginia.

Watch for the 'Christmas Star' as Jupiter and Saturn come closer than they have in centuries

This photo shows a closeup of the wolf pup's head, showing her teeth.

Ancient wolf cub found 'perfectly preserved' in Canadian permafrost. We even know what it ate

The LASCO C2 camera on the ESA/NASA SOHO observatory shows comet C/2020 X3 (SOHO) in the bottom left-hand corner.
ESA/NASA/SOHO/Andreas Möller (Arbeitskreis Meteore e.V.)/processed by Jay Pasachoff and Roman Vanur/Joy Ng. Eclipse image used with permission.

Newly discovered comet photographed during solar eclipse

Saturn, top, and Jupiter, below, are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in Luray, Virginia.

Watch for the 'Christmas Star' as Jupiter and Saturn come closer than they have in centuries

A moonlit nightscape of the badlands loop road in Dinosaur Provincial Park, arcing off toward the Big Dipper in the northern sky Vega is setting at far left Polaris is at top centre Light is from the 8-day waxing Moon A stack of 6 x 15-second exposures mean combined to smooth noise for the ground, and a single 15-second exposure for the sky, all at f/25 with the Rokinon 14mm lens and Canon 6D MkII at ISO 2000. (Photo by: VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Ursid meteor shower peaks this week around winter solstice

Adalatherium - Auchin reconstruction: Life-like reconstruction of Adalatherium hui, a new gondwanatherian mammal from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar.

This 'crazy beast' was a weird early mammal that lived among dinosaurs

Adalatherium - Auchin reconstruction: Life-like reconstruction of Adalatherium hui, a new gondwanatherian mammal from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar.

'Crazy beast' fossil discovery shows the evolutionary weirdness of early mammals

This Hubble Space Telescope snapshot of the dynamic blue-green planet Neptune reveals a monstrous dark storm (top center) and the emergence of a smaller dark spot nearby (top right). The giant vortex, which is wider than the Atlantic Ocean, was traveling south toward certain doom by atmospheric forces at the equator when it suddenly made a U-turn and began drifting back northward.
Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI, M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), and L.A. Sromovsky and P.M. Fry (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Hubble watches massive storm on Neptune reverse course

Stony Brook University School of Journalism; Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science Summer Institute

Alan Alda really wants to talk to you about science

The Hayabusa2 mission successfully collected a sample from the near-Earth asteroid and returned it to Earth, according to JAXA.

Hayabusa2 mission confirms return of an asteroid sample, including gas, to Earth

A Geminid shooting star streaks across the sky in December 2017.

The annual Geminid meteor shower peaks Sunday and Monday

This 11-Jupiter-mass exoplanet called HD106906 b occupies an unlikely orbit around a double star 336 light-years away and it may be offering clues to something that might be much closer to home: a hypothesized distant member of our Solar System dubbed "Planet Nine." This is the first time that astronomers have been able to measure the motion of a massive Jupiter-like planet that is orbiting very far away from its host stars and visible debris disc.

Hubble observes strange, distant exoplanet similar to 'Planet Nine' that may exist in our solar system

It's mission accomplished for Eba the Whale Dog, who tracks the scat of critically endangered orcas in Washington's Puget Sound with research scientists (from left) Samuel Wasser, Deborah Giles and Sadie Youngstrom.

These feces-finding Fidos help save orcas and other endangered wildlife

Shot just east of Davenport, WA

Sun launches explosion of electromagnetic energy towards Earth: Geomagnetic Storm Watch issued

These are the Artemis astronauts that could be among the first to return to the moon

Artist's impression of flare from our neighbouring star Proxima Centauri ejecting material onto a nearby planet.

Observations of our closest neighboring star dampen hopes of a potentially habitable planet

This is the first sunspot image taken by the new Inouye Solar Telescope. The image reveals striking details of the sunspot's structure as seen at the Sun's surface.

'Unprecedented' high-res image of sunspot captured by new solar telescope

What Artemis astronauts could learn about the moon when they land in 2024

This asteroid probe is the sequel to the Hayabusa probe, designed for returning asteroid samples. By investigating a different type of asteroid (type C) from the Itokawa asteroid (type S) that was the target of Hayabusa, Hayabusa 2 will explore not only the origins of the planets but also the origin of the water of Earth's oceans and the source of life.
Hayabusa 2 will more or less follow the sample return method carried out by the first Hayabusa. However, many improvements have been made to increase reliability so that missions can be completed with greater accuracy. On the other hand, the probe will be put towards new missions using new technology such as technology for creating artificial craters on the surface of the asteroid and carrying back samples of the underground soil. Improving probe technology for astronomical objects in the solar system is an important goal of Hayabusa 2.
Hayabusa 2 aims to examine the Ryugu asteroid (162173). Ryugu is a type C asteroid, but it is believed that there were organic matter and water on the asteroid when the solar system was created (roughly 4.6 billion years ago) and that these still exist. The second goal of Hayabusa 2 is to solve questions such as where the Earth's water came from and where the organic matter which makes up life was created. Still another goal of Hayabusa 2 is to examine how the planets were created through the collision, destruction, and combination of the planetesimals which are thought to have been created first. In short, Hayabusa 2 is a mission designed to elucidate the secrets of the creation of life and the birth of the solar system.

Hayabusa2 mission lands the first subsurface asteroid sample on Earth

On Nov. 27, 2020, NASA astronaut and Expedition 64 Flight Engineer Kate Rubins checks out radish plants growing for the Plant Habitat-02 experiment that seeks to optimize plant growth in the unique environment of space and evaluate nutrition and taste of the plants.

Astronauts harvest radishes grown aboard the International Space Station

Arecibo Observatory's 305-meter telescope in November of 2020.

Arecibo Observatory collapses ahead of planned demolition

Just in time for Christmas, Jupiter and Saturn will come closer than they have since the Middle Ages

A diagram of the two most important companion galaxies to the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud or LMC (left) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) made using data from the European Space Agency Gaia satellite. The two galaxies are connected by a 75,000 light-years long bridge of stars, some of which is seen extending from the left of the SMC.
Credits: Laurent Chemin for Gaia DPAC and Collaboration

Gaia space observatory maps nearly 2 billion stars in Milky Way galaxy

A vertically exaggerated, false-color view of a large, water-carved channel on Mars called Dao Vallis.

Potential life on ancient Mars likely lived below the surface, study says

TOPSHOT - The moon rises over a pagoda in Naypyidaw on November 30, 2020. (Photo by Thet Aung / AFP) (Photo by THET AUNG/AFP via Getty Images)

See the lunar eclipse during the full beaver moon

TOPSHOT - The moon rises over a pagoda in Naypyidaw on November 30, 2020. (Photo by Thet Aung / AFP) (Photo by THET AUNG/AFP via Getty Images)

The full moon during the penumbral lunar eclipse is seen in Kathmandu on January 11, 2020. (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA / AFP) (Photo by PRAKASH MATHEMA/AFP via Getty Images)

Catch a lunar eclipse during the full beaver moon

Earth is 2,000 light years closer to supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy than we thought

This is how astronauts celebrate Thanksgiving and other holidays in space

The aft segments of the Space Launch System solid rocket boosters for the Artemis I mission prepares to move from high bay 4 inside the VAB for stacking on the mobile launcher inside high bay 3.

NASA begins assembling the rocket for Artemis moon mission

ZHEZKAZGAN, KAZAKHSTAN - MARCH 2: In this handout provided by NASA, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA rest in a chair outside of the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft just minutes after he and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov of Roscosmos landed in a remote area on March 2, 2016 near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Kelly and Kornienko completed an International Space Station record year-long mission to collect valuable data on the effect of long duration weightlessness on the human body that will be used to formulate a human mission to Mars. Volkov returned after spending six months on the station. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

Astronauts experience these key changes in space that could impact their health, new research shows

Astronauts on a Mars mission will need to be 'conscientious' to work well together

This illustration shows the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft in orbit above Earth with its deployable solar panels extended. As the world's latest ocean-monitoring satellite, it will collect the most accurate data yet on global sea level and how our oceans are rising in response to climate change. The mission will also collect precise data of atmospheric temperature and humidity that will help improve weather forecasts and climate models.

NASA launch Saturday: This satellite will track Earth's sea level rise

It's a full house on the International Space Station with 7 people — and Baby Yoda

Arecibo Observatory's 305-meter telescope in November of 2020.

The end is near for famed Arecibo Observatory's damaged telescope

Expedition 64 Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, left, and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, right, of Roscosmos are seen during pressure checks of their Sokol suits during the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft fit check, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins are preparing for launch to the International Space Station in their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 14, Baikonur time. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Russian spacewalk helps prepare space station for new module

Located 6,300 light-years away in the constellation Hercules, the Blue Ring Nebula is thought to be a short-lived phase after the merger of two stars. As debris from the stellar merger was blown outward, it led to the creation of a shock front, in which hydrogen atoms were excited and induced to glow with visible light, shown in pink. The shock front, and a reverse shock wave moving inward from the shock front, also caused hydrogen molecules (as opposed to atoms) to become excited and glow with ultraviolet light, indicated in blue.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/M. Seibert (Carnegie Institution for Science)/K. Hoadley (Caltech)/GALEX Team

Star merger created rare Blue Ring Nebula

'Dueling dinosaurs' fossils show Triceratops, T. rex, may have died after a battle

A Leonid meteor shoots across the sky in Tucson, Arizona, with Jupiter and Venus visible as well.

Leonid meteor shower will shoot fireballs across the sky this week

Image of Sphingomonas desiccabilis, the bacterium that was shown to biomine rare earth elements, growing on basalt rock. Microbes are stained to fluoresce green. Scale bar shown.

Bacteria from Earth could potentially be used to mine on the moon or Mars

Taurid fireballs like this one can be seen shooting through the sky this November.

Fireballs will light up the sky during Northern Taurid meteor shower this week

Artist's impression of the lava planet K2-141b: At the center of the large illuminated region there is an ocean of molten rock overlain by an atmosphere of rock vapour. Supersonic winds blow towards the frigid and airless nightside, condensing into rock rain and snow, which sluggishly flow back to the hottest region of the magma ocean.

This lava planet has 'rocky' weather and winds many times the speed of sound

Illustration of female hunter depicting hunters who may have appeared in the Andes 9,000 years ago.

Prehistoric hunters weren't all male. Women killed big game, new discovery suggests

Fast radio burst may have come from the Milky Way

In a delicate operation, a 400-ton crane lifts the new X-band cone into the 70-meter (230-feet) Deep Space Station 43 dish located in Canberra, Australia.
Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

After an antenna repair on Earth, NASA is now able to command Voyager 2 again

On Dec. 24, 2013, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, Expedition 38 flight engineer, participated in the second of two spacewalks, spread over a four-day period, which were designed to allow the crew to change out a degraded pump module on the exterior of the Earth-orbiting International Space Station.

Humans have been living on the space station for 20 years

Halloween full moon: See October's 'blue moon' tonight

An artist's impression of a gravitational microlensing event by a free-floating planet.

Astronomers find smallest 'rogue planet' in the Milky Way

With Halloween just around the corner, NASA has released its latest Galaxy of Horrors posters. Presented in the style of vintage horror movie advertisements, the new posters feature a dead galaxy, an explosive gamma ray burst caused by colliding stellar corpses, and ever-elusive dark matter.

New NASA posters share galactic horrors for Halloween

The left image shows the OSIRIS-REx collector head hovering over the Sample Return Capsule (SRC) after the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism arm moved it into the proper position for capture. The right image shows the collector head secured onto the capture ring in the SRC. Both images were captured by the StowCam camera.

NASA spacecraft safely seals up asteroid sample to return to Earth

Koala populations are in decline due to increased human impacts on nature

How octopuses taste their meals by touching them, according to a new study

These spiders lack ears. But they can hear you, study says

These six infrared images of Saturn's moon Titan represent some of the clearest, most seamless-looking global views of the icy moon's surface produced so far. The views were created using 13 years of data acquired by the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument on board NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The images are the result of a focused effort to smoothly combine data from the multitude of different observations VIMS made under a wide variety of lighting and viewing conditions over the course of Cassini's mission.

Any full color image is comprised of three color channels: red, green and blue. Each of the three color channels combined to create these views was produced using a ratio between the brightness of Titan's surface at two different wavelengths (1.59/1.27 microns [red], 2.03/1.27 microns [green] and 1.27/1.08 microns [blue]). This technique (called a "band-ratio" technique) reduces the prominence of seams, as well as emphasizing subtle spectral variations in the materials on Titan's surface. For example, the moon's equatorial dune fields appear a consistent brown color here. There are also bluish and purplish areas that may have different compositions from the other bright areas, and may be enriched in water ice. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Nantes/University of Arizona_

Unusual molecule found in atmosphere on Saturn's moon Titan

The lightning phenomenon known as a sprite depicted at Jupiter in this illustration. Jupiter's hydrogen-rich atmosphere would likely make them appear blue. In Earth's upper atmosphere, the presence of nitrogen gives them a reddish color.

Juno mission observes 'sprites' dancing in Jupiter's atmosphere

Illustration of the Gateway. Built with commercial and international partners, the Gateway is critical to sustainable lunar exploration and will serve as a model for future missions to Mars.

NASA, European Space Agency to collaborate on Artemis Gateway lunar outpost

The night sky lit up in Michigan on Tuesday. Credit: Mike Austin/YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvFcY9rTPx8 Location: Bloomfield Hills, MI title: Michigan Meteor Jan 16 2018 duration: 00:00:10 site: Youtube author: null published: Tue Jan 16 2018 20:35:40 GMT-0500 (EST) intervention: no description: **Anyone can use this video with credit. "Russian" dash cam for the win! No audio - Didn't hear any loud sounds - Timestamp is off - happened around 8:15PM EST - looked really close - I75 Northbound near Bloomfield Hills

'Fireball' meteorite that fell to Earth in 2018 reveals its secrets

This illustration shows NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft stowing the sample it collected from asteroid Bennu on Oct. 20, 2020. The spacecraft will use its Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) arm to place the TAGSAM collector head into the Sample Return Capsule (SRC).
Credits: NASA/University of Arizona, Tucson

NASA spacecraft will stow asteroid sample to stop it from leaking into space

GLASTONBURY, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 28: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white) The moon is seen prior to the Penumbral Eclipse starting on September 28, 2015 in Somerset, England. Tonight?s supermoon - so called because it is the closest full moon to the Earth this year - is particularly rare as it coincides with a lunar eclipse, a combination that has not happened since 1982 and won?t happen again until 2033. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

NASA mission finds water on the sunlit surface of the moon

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on Dec. 2 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 km).

Asteroid Bennu has been hanging out with Earth for over a million years

As astronomers search for exoplanets, those planets could have Earth in sight, study says

Captured by the spacecraft's SamCam camera on Oct. 22, 2020, this series of three images shows that the sampler head on NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is full of rocks and dust collected from the surface of the asteroid Bennu. They show also that some of these particles are slowly escaping the sampler head. Analysis by the OSIRIS-REx team suggests that bits of material are passing through small gaps where the head's mylar flap is slightly wedged open. The mylar flap (the black bulge on the left inside the ring) is designed to keep the collected material locked inside, and these unsealed areas appear to be caused by larger rocks that didn't fully pass through the flap. Based on available imagery, the team suspects there is plentiful sample inside the head, and is on a path to stow the sample as quickly as possible.

NASA successfully collected a sample from asteroid Bennu, but some of it is leaking into space

Composite image showing Jupiter's moon Io in radio (ALMA), and optical light (Voyager 1 and Galileo). The ALMA images of Io show for the first time plumes of sulfur dioxide (in yellow) rise up from its volcanoes. Jupiter is visible in the background (Cassini image).
Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), I. de Pater et al.; NRAO/AUI NSF, S. Dagnello; NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

Images reveal new insights about Jupiter's volcanic moon Io

New images show NASA spacecraft's historic landing and sample collection on asteroid

jsc2020e016986 (April 3, 2020) --- At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Expedition 63 crewmembers Ivan Vagner (left) and Anatoly Ivanishin (center) of Roscosmos and Chris Cassidy (right) of NASA pose for pictures April 3 in front of their Soyuz spacecraft as part of their pre-launch activities. They will launch April 9 on the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft from Baikonur on April 9 for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Credit: Roscosmos

The first space station crew to launch during a pandemic has returned to Earth

OSIRIS-REx, asteroid hunter

EDITORS NOTE: PHOTO TAKEN WITH SLOW SHUTTER SPEED A plane and a Satellite pass by as a man stargazes at Brimham Rocks in Yorkshire as the Orionid meteor shower reaches its peak. (Photo by Danny Lawson/PA Images via Getty Images)

Orionid meteor shower peaks tonight

NASA's OSIRIS-REx is ready for touchdown on asteroid Bennu. On Aug. 11, the mission will perform its "Matchpoint" rehearsal -- the second practice run of the Touch-and-Go (TAG) sample collection event. The rehearsal will be similar to the Apr. 14 "Checkpoint" rehearsal, which practiced the first two maneuvers of the descent, but this time the spacecraft will add a third maneuver, called the Matchpoint burn, and fly even closer to sample site Nightingale -- reaching an altitude of approximately 131 ft (40 m) -- before backing away from the asteroid.
This artist's rendering shows OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid's surface.

NASA mission successfully touched down on asteroid Bennu

The red supergiant star Betelgeuse, in the constellation of Orion, has been undergoing unprecedented dimming. This stunning image of the star's surface was taken with the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope in January 2019, before the star started to dim. When compared with the image taken in December 2019, it shows how much the star has faded and how its apparent shape has changed.

Betelgeuse, the unusually dimming star, is smaller and closer than scientists thought

NASA's OSIRIS-REx is ready for touchdown on asteroid Bennu. On Aug. 11, the mission will perform its "Matchpoint" rehearsal -- the second practice run of the Touch-and-Go (TAG) sample collection event. The rehearsal will be similar to the Apr. 14 "Checkpoint" rehearsal, which practiced the first two maneuvers of the descent, but this time the spacecraft will add a third maneuver, called the Matchpoint burn, and fly even closer to sample site Nightingale -- reaching an altitude of approximately 131 ft (40 m) -- before backing away from the asteroid.
This artist's rendering shows OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid's surface.

Asteroid Bennu is about to play 'tag' with a NASA spacecraft

When this creature faces deadly radiation, glowing is the only option

(July 30, 2020) Expedition 64 crew members (from left) NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov pose for a crew portrait during crew training at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

NASA astronaut, Russian cosmonauts launch to the space station

Eight nations sign NASA's Artemis Accords that guide cooperative exploration of the moon

The Bladed Terrain of Tartarus Dorsa.

Pluto's snow-capped mountains look like they belong on Earth, but they're entirely different

Infrared image of Wolf-Rayet binary, dubbed Apep, 8000 light years from Earth.

This rare 'peacock' star system in our galaxy is doomed to explode

Expedition 64 Flight Engineer and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins poses for a crew portrait during crew training at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia.

NASA astronaut Kate Rubins is ready for a 2nd 'bucket list' trip to the space station

Reconstruction of Morganucodon (left) and Kuehneotherium (right) hunting in Early Jurassic Wales 200 million years ago.

Earth's first mammals took it easy and lived far longer than their modern counterparts

This illustration depicts a star (in the foreground) experiencing spaghettification as it's sucked in by a supermassive black hole (in the background) during a 'tidal disruption event'. In a new study, done with the help of ESO's Very Large Telescope and ESO's New Technology Telescope, a team of astronomers found that when a black hole devours a star, it can launch a powerful blast of material outwards.

Astronomers witness 'spaghettification' of star shredded by a black hole

The artist's concept depicts Kepler-186f, the first validated Earth-size planet to orbit a distant star in the habitable zone—a range of distance from a star where liquid water might pool on the planet's surface.

'Superhabitable' planets could be better for life than Earth

How a toothless, parrot-like dinosaur thrived 69 million years ago

$VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA OCTOBER 10, 2018: A meteor streaks across the night sky over Russky Island during the Draconid meteor shower. Yuri Smityuk/TASS (Photo by Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images)$

Draconid meteor shower 2020: How and when to watch

Turning to dirt for antibiotics in the fight against superbugs

The planet Mars

Mars is closer to Earth in October than it will be for another 15 years

iss056e201174 (Oct. 4, 2018) --- The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking. NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and Ricky Arnold and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev executed a fly around of the orbiting laboratory to take pictures of the station before returning home after spending 197 days in space. The station will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the first element Zarya in November 2018. Credit: NASA/Roscosmos

New toilet designed using astronaut feedback arrives on the space station

Pictured here is the captivating galaxy NGC 2525. Located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere. Together with the Carina and the Vela constellations, it makes up an image of the Argo from ancient greek mythology. Another kind of monster, a supermassive black hole, lurks at the centre of NGC 2525. Nearly every galaxy contains a supermassive black hole, which can range in mass from hundreds of thousands to billions of times the mass of the Sun. Hubble has captured a series of images of NGC2525 as part of one of its major investigations; measuring the expansion rate of the Universe, which can help answer fundamental questions about our Universe's very nature. ESA/Hubble has now published a unique time-lapse of this galaxy and it's fading supernova.

Hubble watches as an exploding star fades away

iss056e201174 (Oct. 4, 2018) --- The International Space Station photographed by Expedition 56 crew members from a Soyuz spacecraft after undocking. NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and Ricky Arnold and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev executed a fly around of the orbiting laboratory to take pictures of the station before returning home after spending 197 days in space. The station will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the first element Zarya in November 2018. Credit: NASA/Roscosmos

New toilet, a VR camera and science experiments are heading to the space station

Simulation of M87 black hole showing the motion of plasma as it swirls around the black hole. The bright thin ring that can be seen in blue is the edge of what we call the black hole shadow.

First photo of a black hole supports Einstein's theory of relativity

The laureate medal featuring the portrait of Alfred Nobel is seen before a press conference of the Nobel Committee to announce the winner of the 2015 Nobel Medicine Prize on October 5, 2015 at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish inventor and scholar Alfred Nobel, who made a vast fortune from his invention of dynamite in 1866, ordered the creation of the famous Nobel prizes in his will.
AFP PHOTO / JONATHAN NACKSTRAND (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images)

Why it's so hard to guess who's going to get a Nobel Prize

Full moons in October: Harvest moon tonight and a rare blue moon on Halloween

Artist impression of exoplanet WASP-189b orbiting its host star. The system was observed by ESA's exoplanet mission Cheops to determine key characteristics. For example, the host star is larger and more than 2000 degrees hotter than our own Sun, and so appears to glow blue. The planet has an inclined orbit -- it doesn't travel around the equator, but passes close to the star's poles.
It is one of the hottest and most extreme extra-solar planets known to date, and falls into the class of ultra-hot Jupiters.

'Extreme' exoplanet found orbiting hot blue star

Insect-inspired robots that can jump, fly and climb are almost here. Pictured: a trap-jaw ant inspired origami robot

Insect-inspired robots that can jump, fly and climb are almost here

This picture taken on January 3, 2019 and received on January 4 from the China National Space Administration (CNSA) via CNS shows a robotic lunar rover on the "dark side" of the moon. - A Chinese lunar rover landed on the far side of the moon on January 3, in a global first that boosts Beijing's ambitions to become a space superpower. (Photo by China National Space Administration (CNSA) via CNS / China National Space Administration (CNSA) via CNS / AFP) / China OUT (Photo credit should read CHINA NATIONAL SPACE ADMINISTRAT/AFP/Getty Images)

Radiation on moon's surface measured for the first time, study says

Flycatchers communicate by making noises with their feathers.

This bird tells rivals like it is by using its feathers to make a chirping noise

Why do leaves change color?

Nebra sky disc: Prehistoric star map's Bronze Age pedigree in question -- by 1,000 years

This latest image of Jupiter, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 25 August 2020, was captured when the planet was 653 million kilometres from Earth. Hubble's sharp view is giving researchers an updated weather report on the monster planet's turbulent atmosphere, including a remarkable new storm brewing, and a cousin of the Great Red Spot changing colour — again. The new image also features Jupiter's icy moon Europa.

Hubble spies stormy weather on Jupiter

A simple manufacturing technology based on chitin, one of the most ubiquitous organic polymers on Earth, could be used to build tools and shelters on Mars, according to a study published September 16. Pictured: The material can be molded into different shapes.

This is how we should build on Mars, scientists say

The sun has started a new solar cycle, experts say

UNSPECIFIED - AUGUST 14: Illustration representing Liliensternus in prehistoric landscape (Photo by De Agostini via Getty Images/De Agostini via Getty Images)

This previously unknown mass extinction gave rise to dinosaurs, scientists say

In this illustration, WD 1856b, a giant planet, orbits its dim white dwarf star every day and a half.

Giant planet found orbiting a dead white dwarf star

Illustration of a carbon-rich planet with diamond and silica as main minerals. Water can convert a carbide planet into a diamond-rich planet. In the interior, the main minerals would be diamond and silica (a layer with crystals in the illustration). The core (dark blue) might be iron-carbon alloy. CREDIT Shim/ASU/Vecteezy

Carbon-rich planets made of diamonds may exist beyond our solar system, study says

This global view of the surface of Venus is centered at 180 degrees east longitude. Magellan synthetic aperture radar mosaics from the first cycle of Magellan mapping are mapped onto a computer-simulated globe to create this image.
Data gaps are filled with Pioneer Venus Orbiter data, or a constant mid-range value. Simulated color is used to enhance small-scale structure. The simulated hues are based on color images recorded by the Soviet Venera 13 and 14 spacecraft.

A gas found on Earth that signifies life has been detected in the clouds on Venus

Hubble images reveal new aspect of mysterious dark matter in the universe

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu is composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on Dec. 2 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 km).

This asteroid is ejecting particles into space. A spacecraft may tell us why

Engineers test drive the Earth-bound twin of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover for the first time in a warehouselike assembly room at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Sept. 1, 2020. This full-scale engineering version of Perseverance helps the mission team gauge how hardware and software will perform before they transmit commands to the real rover on Mars. This vehicle system test bed (VSTB) rover is also known as OPTIMISM (Operational Perseverance Twin for Integration of Mechanisms and Instruments Sent to Mars).

Meet OPTIMISM, the Perseverance rover's twin on Earth