The newly reprocessed 2003 Hubble observations of the Sombrero Galaxy. (ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll)To celebrate 35 years of discoveries, the Hubble Space Telescope has released a newly enhanced image of one of the sky’s most captivating galaxies: the Sombrero Galaxy.A Hat in the Sky: The Sombrero Galaxy's Unique AppearanceAlso known as Messier 104, this...
Center of the Milky Way seen through NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared camera. (NASA, JPL-Caltech/Susan Stolovy (SSC/Caltech) et al.)Astronomers have long been intrigued by two puzzling phenomena at the center of our galaxy. First, the gas in the so-called Central Molecular Zone (CMZ)—a dense and turbulent region near the Milky Way's core—appears to be ionized...
Some giant storms on Jupiter can generate mushballs if conditions are just right. (NASA)The weather on Jupiter may, in some ways, resemble phenomena on Earth, but there are peculiarities that completely defy our understanding.The “Mushball” HypothesisScientists now propose an explanation for the strange properties of the planet’s chaotic clouds: during massive thunderstorms with lightning and...
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover sees its tracks receding into the distance at a site nicknamed “Ubajara” on April 30, 2023. This site is where Curiosity made the discovery of siderite, a mineral that may help explain the fate of the planet’s thicker ancient atmosphere.New analyses from NASA’s Curiosity rover offer important clues about the...
Fragments can come off spacecraft like satellites and disintegrate into tiny – but dangerous – bits of debris in orbitEuropean Space Agency / Wikimedia CommonsDecades of launching satellites into space have created a growing orbital pollution crisis. According to the Annual Space Environment Report from the European Space Agency (ESA), more than 6,600 tons...
2M1510 (AB) b is an exoplanet on a never-before-seen perpendicular orbit around a brown dwarf binary. (ESO/M. Kornmesser)Just 120 light-years from Earth, astronomers have identified a truly astonishing and one-of-a-kind system in the known universe.Two Brown Dwarfs and a Planet With a Perpendicular OrbitIt consists of two brown dwarfs orbiting each other in an eclipsing...
Miso is a popular Japanese fermented condiment that goes into a range of dishes to provide a punch of umamiWikimedia CommonsAnyone who has read about life aboard spacecraft knows that astronauts live with very limited resources, including meals that are mostly rehydrated.Even though NASA and other space agencies work hard to provide a variety...
Aetherflux hopes to revive and test a 1970s concept for beaming solar power from space to receivers on Earth using lasersAetherfluxThe idea of harvesting solar power in space and beaming it down to Earth — something that could be described as a “Starlink for electricity” — might sound ambitious, maybe even a bit utopian....
Image of 2024 YR4 obtained on 27 January 2025. (NASA/Magdalena Ridge 2.4m telescope/New Mexico Institute of Technology/Ryan)Asteroid 2024 YR4 is making headlines again, but there's still no reason to panic—at least for Earth. The asteroid remains no threat to our planet, with collision odds stuck at a minuscule 0.001 percent. However, the Moon might not...
Spectrum ending on a bangIsar AerospaceContinental Europe’s initial attempt at an orbital space launch came to an unexpected end when Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket returned to Earth with a bang just 30 seconds after takeoff. The rocket crashed and exploded in the Norwegian Sea near the launch pad.Details of the Inaugural Flight from Andøya...
