A telescope in the outer solar system would be able to do unique science that is impossible closer to the Sun.
Michael Zemcov
Such a mission could be developed soon, allowing astrophysicists to take selfies of the solar system and use the Sun’s gravity as a lens to peer deep into space.
Scientists have spotted a Jupiter-like planet surviving the death of its star.
Credit: W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko
For the first time ever, astronomers have astrophysical evidence that Jupiter and many other planets will survive the death of the Sun.
Astronomers have found a way to estimate the number of stars in the universe.
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Scientists have a good estimate on the staggering number of stars in the universe.
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The temperature of the Sun’s surface is about 6,000°C. But higher above the surface, in the atmosphere, it suddenly shoots up to more than a million degrees!
Scientists have been studying lunar samples brought back from Apollo missions to understand the geologic history of the Moon.
NASA
Without a magnetic field, the Moon’s surface is exposed to solar wind. These could have been depositing resources like water and potential rocket fuel on the Moon’s surface for billions of years.
The Sun over Earth, seen from the International Space Station.
NASA
When heat in doesn’t equal heat out, Earth sees changes.
It can stretch your mind to ponder what’s really out there.
Stijn Dijkstra/EyeEm via Getty Images
Astronomers know a lot about what’s in outer space – and think it’s possible it never ends.
Shutterstock/IgorZh
Test out scientific ideas, connect with your ancestors or just marvel at the beauty of nature.
Ryan Milligan
The vast majority of people will be oblivious to what’s going on above their heads.
Mongta Studio/Shutterstock
Alfvén waves, first proposed 80 years ago, could explain why the sun’s atmosphere is so much hotter than its surface.
SachaFernandez / Flickr
This Wednesday night, everywhere in Australia will have a box seat for a spectacular total eclipse of the Moon.
A red blood moon is caused by sunlight passing through the Earth’s atmosphere.
U.S. Navy/Joshua Valcarcel/WikimediaCommons
In the early morning of May 26, 2021, there will be a super blood-red lunar eclipse. The show will be spectacular and can all be explained by the orbits of the Earth and Moon.
Fire a set of high-power lasers at a tiny speck of hydrogen isotopes and you can initiate nuclear fusion, the process that powers the Sun.
National Ignition Facility
Scientists are working on ways to make lots of energy by converting matter into energy. The trick is keeping the process under control. One possibility is nuclear fusion – the Sun’s power source.
Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the solar system and is home to a potentially habitable planet.
Hubble/European Space Agency/WikimediaCommons
Astronomers just measured the largest flare ever from Proxima Centauri, humanity’s closest neighboring star. These flares could be bad news for life trying to develop on a planet orbiting the star.
April’s super full moon was known as the pink moon because it heralds the arrival of spring flowers.
Mark Rightmire/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
Sea level is still rising, and when that lunar cycle starts upward again, it will mean double trouble for places like Miami.
A solar flare.
Shutterstock/Color4260
Satellites, space stations and astronauts, aviation, GPS, power grids and more can be affected.
The greenhouse effect and plate tectonics are essential for maintaining water on the Earth’s surface.
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Reto Stöckli
The presence of water on the Earth’s surface is the result of a subtle balance between different mechanisms in the atmosphere and below the surface.
Falling into a black hole is easily the worst way to die.
John M Lund Photography Inc/Getty Images
The scariest beast in the universe has an insatiable appetite and shreds its victims.
Arctic sea ice levels have been falling for several decades.
GraphicaArtis/Getty Images
The pattern of autumn sea ice growth has been completely disrupted. The director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center explains what’s happening.
Photo of a nearly full Moon shining brightly on the Earth’s atmosphere, taken from the International Space Station.
NASA
The Earth’s magnetic field was most likely weaker when life evolved on our planet than it is today.