2025 marks the bicentennial of the Erie Canal, and NASA’s Earth Observatory commemorated the milestone with a satellite-based image tracing the canal’s historic route across New York State. What is…
Category: Space
Simulations show Saturn’s moon Enceladus shoots less ice into space than previous estimates
Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus loses ice mass to space by cryovolcanic geyers, and new TACC supercomputer simulations have improved estimates of ice mass loss. These findings help with understanding and…
‘Thunderbirds’ are 60! Looking back at the British puppet classic that was the ‘Star Wars’ of its day
“5… 4… 3… 2… 1. Thunderbirds are go!” John Williams fanfares, opening crawls, and Star Destroyers chasing blockade runners are all very well, but Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s puppet classic…
SpaceX Falcon 9 launch paints glowing ‘jellyfish’ across Western US skies (photos, video)
Parts of the Western United States were treated to a cosmic spectacle Sunday evening, as a giant streak illuminated the skies from Los Angeles to Phoenix. Minutes after SpaceX’s Sept.…
To the stars: a stellar trivia quiz
Stars are the glittering beacons of the universe — massive nuclear furnaces that light up the night sky and shape the very fabric of galaxies. From the humble red dwarfs…
Streak seekers: The ultimate meteor shower quiz
There’s something magical about watching a meteor shower—those fleeting bursts of light that streak across the night sky, leaving behind awe and wonder. For centuries, people have looked up during…
Icy planetesimal with high nitrogen and water content discovered in white dwarf’s atmosphere
Artist’s impression of white dwarf WD 1647+375 accreting icy planetary fragments from a pluto-like world, creating the chemical signature idenfitifed in this study. Credit: Snehalata Sahu / University of Warwick…
JWST searches for stars in a glowing gas cloud
Stars, gas and cosmic dust in the Sagittarius B2 molecular cloud glow in near-infrared light, captured by Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera). In this light, astronomers see more of the region’s…
Why 2025’s Harvest Moon is a rare October full moon
Our next full moon will occur on Oct. 6, and it will be a somewhat special one for those living in the Northern Hemisphere in that it will also carry…
