NASA’s New 3D Model Shows the Earth Is a Lumpy Mess
We like to think of our home as a nice, smooth sphere. But mapping the Earth’s gravitational field provides a different view of the planet.
An Extreme Solar Storm May Be Even More Devastating Than Previously Imagined
Scientists have long assumed that there’s an upper limit to the intensity of the solar winds that reach Earth. New research suggests there’s not—and the implications are alarming.
It’s Becoming Clear Why Black Holes Never Run Out of Fuel
Black holes eject powerful energy jets that blow away the surrounding gas to great distances. So how can they continue to grow?
One of NASA’s Most Important Deep Space Observatories Hit by Spanish Wildfires
Flames burned through the Deep Space Communications Complex near Madrid, but NASA has been unable to assess the damage as a wildfire emergency grips the region.
The Search for Another Earth-Like Planet Just Took a Big Step Forward
Astronomers have discovered a rocky exoplanet that has an atmosphere and sits within the habitable zone of a solar system.
The US Approves the Launch of a Mirror Satellite That Can Reflect Sunlight and Illuminate the Earth at Night
The FCC authorized Reflect Orbital to launch the mirror satellite Eärendil-1. “For optical astronomy, this poses an existential threat,” the European Southern Observatory said.
China’s Tianwen-2 Space Probe Has Rendezvoused With Earth’s Quasi-Moon
The probe sent back the first pictures of the asteroid Kamo’oalewa. Next step: landing on the surface and collecting samples to send back to Earth.
Mysterious Compound Detected on Pluto and Titan
Something on Pluto and one of Saturn’s moons, Titan, absorbs light in a way unexplained by anything in spectroscopic databases.
British Space Startup Launches Longevity Lab Into Orbit
The lab will beam back data to train AI models to predict how proteins behind age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s and certain cancers behave.
Good News! Turns Out the Earth Will Never Be Swallowed by the Sun
A new study suggests that when our star becomes unstable in 5 billion years or so, Earth may avoid being engulfed by its fiery demise.