Tag Archives | space.com

Eye-popping Venus, low-riding Mercury and stealthy Saturn will all make appearances among the bright objects in September’s night sky, and this day-by-day description shows how to find them. This month, Mercury might be glimpsed very low near the west-southwest horizon while Saturn gets lower each evening in the southwest at dusk. Meanwhile Mars, Jupiter and […]

Aquarius and Capricornus host a couple of star clusters that can be revealed in detail with a telescope. Saturn is visible after nightfall. Mars, Venus and Jupiter are pre-dawn planets this month. Lastly, a Supermoon combined with a lunar eclipse will make for a hell of a show on Sept. 27th in the Americas (Sept. […]

On Sept. 27th,  2015, Earthlings will be treated to a skywathching event not seen seen 1982. The ‘Supermoon’, which appears up to 14% larger in diameter due to its proximity to Earth, will also turn a reddish hue as a result of the Moon passing directly behind the Earth, into its shadow. Full Moon: Why […]

If life can spread from star to star, researchers should see a characteristic pattern of overlapping growth. In this theoretical artist’s conception of the Milky Way galaxy, translucent green “bubbles” mark areas where life has spread beyond its home system to create cosmic oases, a process called panspermia.Credit: NASA/JPL/R. Hurt As astronomers get closer to […]

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) experiment is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector that was attached to the space station in 2011. It will now be joined by the Calorimetric Electron Telescope, a detector that will be used to measure even more energetic cosmic rays.Credit: NASA In addition to ferrying tons of food, water and supplies […]

NASA’s New Horizons probe, which flew past Pluto last month, now has a second target to aim for. The New Horizons team has selected an object named 2014 MU69, which lies roughly 1 billion miles (1.6 billion kilometers) beyond Pluto , as the next target for up-close study by the spacecraft, NASA announced today (Aug. […]

An image of the Aurora Borealis, taken by night sky photographer Dora Miller (also known as Aurora Dora) on Aug. 22, 2015, in Talkeetna, Alaska.Credit: Dora Miller Space weather events that have been building over the last week continued to affect Earth early this morning (Aug. 28), increasing the possibility of amped up auroras around […]

The Herschel/Planck Mission Constellation Lunar Mission ESA’s Special Delivery Last Moments of LCROSS – NASA Probes Hit Moon Meet the New Space Station Crew Auroras Dance Over Saturn’s Poles Arsenic Eating Bacteria Hint at Alien Life IMAX Hubble 3D: The Director’s Take – Exclusive Video Splashdown! Ares I-X’s Fall to Earth Planning the Assault: Why […]

This artist’s rendition of the super-Earth GJ 1214b shows it in orbit around a dim red dwarf star. If the atmosphere is thick in hydrogen, scientists may be able to spot signs of alien life.Credit: CfA/David Aguilar Detecting signs of life very different from that of Earth in the atmospheres of alien planets may be […]

In the Syfy original series “Dark Matter,” six people wake up on a spaceship with no memory of who they are. Jodelle Ferland plays “Five.”Credit: Syfy Syfy’s space-based TV series “Dark Matter” wraps up its first season tonight (Aug. 28) with back-to-back episodes and a jaw-dropping revelation that even the cast didn’t see coming. “Dark […]

Dwarf Planet Ceres Global Highs And Lows Animated | Video Future Explorers Powered By Fission? NASA Investigates | Video ISS Module Move Makes Way For U.S. Commercial Spacecraft | Animation Pluto And Charon Orbital Dance – New Horizons Gets Closer | Video Eyes On Pluto – How Our View Has Changed | Video What A […]

3 tough questions for NASA’s Jim Green, Director, Planetary Science Division: Will private industry put astronauts on Mars before NASA? Can roving robots do it better? Does NASA really want the SLS? [Space Launch System] Space.com’s @DavidSkyBrody reports from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as public interest in Mars is kindled by ‘The Martian’ motion picture […]

The plumes of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, as seen by NASA’s Cassini probe in 2009.Credit: NASA/JPL/SPACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE Many astrobiologists are champing at the bit to bring back samples from Saturn’s ocean-harboring moon Enceladus, but others say it may be best to exercise a little patience. In 2005, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft discovered that geysers blast from […]