NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory Spots a Lunar Transit
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a new image of a lunar transit when the Moon crossed the spacecraft’s view of the Sun. On October 19,…
Astronomy News
MAVEN Spacecraft Reveals That Mars Has a Unique Magnetic “Tail”
NASA’s MAVEN Spacecraft reveals that Mars has an invisible magnetic “tail” that is twisted by interaction with the solar wind. NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile…
Astronomers Model the Effects of Water Loss on Exoplanets
A team of astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center For Astrophysics has calculated the rates of evaporation of water from ocean planets under a variety of…
New NASA Research Improves the Hunt for Habitable Worlds
New research from NASA scientists is helping to refine our understanding of candidate planets beyond our solar system that might support life. “Using a model…
NASA Reveals Noxious Ice Cloud on Saturn’s Moon Titan
NASA researchers have found evidence of a toxic hybrid ice in a wispy cloud high above the south pole of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. The…
NASA Study Suggests the Moon Once Had a Significant Atmosphere
New research reveals that billions of years ago the Moon actually had an atmosphere that was thicker than the atmosphere of Mars today. Looking up…
Electrically Charged Particles Could Impact Future Missions to Martian Moons
New research from NASA suggests that the solar wind creates a complex electrical environment around Phobos, giving its night side and shadowed craters a static…
Astronomers Map the Spiral Structure on the Far Side of the Milky Way
Using the Very Long Baseline Array, astronomers achieve record measurement for an improved picture of the Milky Way. Astronomers from the Max Planck Institute for…
Analysis Continues on the Mountain of Data from the Cassini Spacecraft
The Cassini Spacecraft ended its journey on September 15 with a plunge into the atmosphere of Saturn, but analysis continues on the mountain of data…
Illustration of Two Neutron Stars Just Before They Collide
This illustration shows the hot, dense, expanding cloud of debris stripped from two neutron stars just before they collided. Within this neutron-rich debris, large quantities…
NASA Scientists Detect First Light from a Gravitational-Wave Event
This animation captures phenomena observed over the course of nine days following the neutron star merger known as GW170817. They include gravitational waves (pale arcs),…
Astronomers View Light Show Associated With Gravitational Waves
Marking the beginning of a new era in astrophysics, astronomers have detected gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation, or light, from the same event for the…
Hubble Observes a Kilonova from Merging Neutron Stars
Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have observed a visible counterpart to gravitational waves for the first time: a kilonova from merging neutron stars….
Hubble Image Shows What Happens When Two Galaxies Become One
This Hubble Space Telescope image of the week shows the result of a major collision and subsequent merger between two separate galaxies. This image, captured…
Extreme Methane Rainstorms Shape Saturn’s Moon Titan
Newly published research from UCLA shows that extreme methane rainstorms appear to have a key role in shaping Titan’s icy surface. Titan, the largest of…
Characteristics of the Remarkable Jet in Quasar 4C+19.44
Using a combination of multiwavelength observations, astronomers measure the characteristics of the Remarkable Jet in Quasar 4C+19.44. Quasars are galaxies with massive black holes at…
CALIFA Survey Reveals Unusual Spindle-Like Galaxies
Astronomers reveal that spindle-like galaxies, which rotate along their longest axis, are much more common than previously thought. Galaxies are majestic, rotating wheels of stars?…
Astronomers Discover a Ring Around a Dwarf Planet Haumea
Recent observations reveal that dwarf planet Haumea has a narrow and dense ring orbiting around it. Ten observatories in six European countries were involved in…