'Wet Sidewalk Effect' Solves Mystery of Rain on Saturn's Moon Titan
Scientists have found evidence of seasons on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan, thanks to observations akin to…
What's the Loudest Sound in the Universe?
The human tolerance for sound is, on a galactic level, puny. Volcano eruptions, jackhammer-intensive construction work,…
Spektr-R, Russia's Only Space Radio Telescope, Stops Responding to Commands
Russia’s only orbiting space radio telescope, Spektr-R (RadioAstron), has stopped responding to the spacecraft’s…
Our Sun Could One Day Turn Into a Crystal Ball
At the end of its life, our Sun could end up as a crystal—and physicists now have observational evidence to back up…
A Star Fell Into a Black Hole, Revealing Its Super-Fast Spin
Scientists have measured a fundamental property of a supermassive black hole—how fast it spins—by measuring a star…
Hubble Space Telescope Faces More Hardware Trouble
The Hubble Space Telescope team has temporarily suspended operations of Wide Field Camera 3 following a hardware glitch.
International Space Station Telescope Makes Amazing Observation of Black Hole Eating Stuff
A telescope on the International Space Station made an incredible high-resolution measurement of the x-rays resulting…
Government Shutdown Puts Damper on America's Major Astronomy Conference
As the U.S. government shutdown drags on, scientists are beginning to see the effects of the closure firsthand.
Boy, Did NASA Screw Up This One
NASA has rescinded an invitation to the chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, to visit its Houston…
China Successfully Touches Down Chang'e 4, First Soft-Landed Craft on the Far Side of the Moon
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has landed the Chang’e 4 lunar probe on the far side of the Moon, Chinese…
New Horizons Scientists Double Down on 'Ultima Thule' Nickname Despite Nazi Associations
The excitement around NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft arriving at its latest target, an oddly shaped object called…
First Clear Picture of Ultima Thule Reveals Snowman-Like Shape
The New Horizons team has released the first high-resolution images of (486958) 2014 MU69, nicknamed Ultima Thule, the…
Bennu Is Now the Smallest Object Ever Orbited by a Spacecraft
The new year has brought important milestones for two space missions—but only one of them deals in the very survival of…
Live Updates on the New Horizons Flyby of Ultima Thule
The first day of the new year has already delivered on a historic moment in science. Just hours into 2019, the New…
'Super Blood Wolf Moon?' Now We're Just Making Shit Up
I read the phrase “super blood wolf moon” for the first time today and wish I’d never logged on.
Scientists Use Spinning Neutron Stars to Calibrate Atomic Clocks
The European Space Agency is synching up atomic clocks with distant, rapidly spinning neutron stars, called pulsars,…
ICYMI: The Best Photos of Last Week’s Green Comet
Those of you with dark enough skies last week might have caught a glimpse of the green comet 46P/Wirtanen. It was…
Report: ISS Hole Drilled From the Inside, Cosmonaut Says
Russian cosmonaut Sergei Prokopyev said that the mysterious hole in a Soyuz capsule docked to the International Space…
SpaceX Wraps Up 2018 With First National Security Launch for U.S. Government
Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its first national security payload for the U.S. government (specifically the Air Force) on…
FCC Fines Swarm Technologies $900,000 for Launching Illegal Satellites Into Orbit
As it turns out, if the U.S. Federal Communications Commission asks you not to do something, you should probably not do…