Can any nearby supernova cause a mass extinction?

The Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant. Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team The most dangerous parts of a supernova explosion are the outputs like X-rays and gamma rays. Even though they only share…

Euclid space telescope’s 1st results reveal ‘a goldmine of data’ in search for dark matter and dark energy (images, video)

The day that astronomers have been waiting for is here. On Wednesday (March 19), the European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft Euclid released its first data to the public and to…

Wolf-Rayet 104 ‘pinwheel’ star reveals a surprise (and some relief)

An artist’s concept of the famous Wolf-Rayet 104 “pinwheel star,” previously nicknamed the “Death Star.” New research conducted from Maunakea, Hawaiʻi using three Keck Observatory instruments reveals the orbit of…

Why NASA’s Starliner astronauts spent 9 months in space on a 10-day mission: A timeline

NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams are finally headed back to Earth. The duo launched to the International Space Station (ISS) last June on the first-ever crewed…

Four small planets discovered around one of the closest stars to Earth—an expert explains what we know

How climate change could make Earth’s space junk problem even worse

Growing concentrations of greenhouse gases are making the upper atmosphere thinner, decreasing its ability to pull space junk out of orbit. As a result, far fewer satellites will be able…

NASA’s stuck astronauts welcome their newly arrived replacements to the space station

This image made from video by NASA shows astronauts Don Pettit, bottom center, hugging Kirill Peskov as astronauts greet each other after a SpaceX capsule docked with the International Space…

Arctic ice is melting faster than expected — and the culprit could be dust

NASA’s most ambitious Arctic voyage to date has revealed surprisingly high concentrations of ice particles in clouds over Greenland, a clue that may help explain why Arctic ice is melting…

Crew launch to ISS paves way for ‘stranded’ astronauts’ return

This screengrab image from NASA’s live broadcast shows the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida bound for the…

Musk says Starship to depart for Mars at end of 2026

Starship (pictured during a test flight) — the world’s largest and most powerful rocket — is key to Elon Musk’s long-term vision of colonizing Mars. SpaceX founder Elon Musk said…