Space news, features and articles

The universe is constantly expanding, but how do scientists think about what it's expanding into?

A dense cluster of bright stars, each with six large and two small diffraction spikes, due to the telescope’s optics.

An asteroid hitting a neutron star could release enough energy to power humanity for 100 million years, more than enough to explain fast radio bursts.

"We would have loved to find that Venus was once a planet much closer to our own, so it’s kind of sad in a way to find out that it wasn't."

NASA astronaut Don Pettit imaged the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds as the International Space Station cruised 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean.

"Even years after the Arecibo Observatory's collapse, its data continues to unlock critical information that can advance our understanding of the galaxy."

The Space Launch System blasts off from its Florida launchpad.

"Budget overruns, bureaucratic malfeasance, congressional oversight, review-​board reckonings, the whole process of rethinking how to test a space telescope from the ground up: Webb had survived them all. One other factor, however, continued to create havoc with the budget and the launch timeline deep into the 2010s — what Menzel called 'stupid mistakes.'"

The astronaut and MIT engineer's monumental milestone was marred by misogyny: "Instead of being on cloud nine, I’m crying in my seat."