Astronomy (Page 17)

Latest in Astronomy

A new NASA simulation shows the ghostly ultraviolet flashes of Mars's "nightglow," represented by greenish hues in the Martian night sky.

New NASA Animation Shows Mars’ Creepy Greenish “Nightglow”

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists treated the Moon like a giant mirror to study the Earth's atmosphere, a trick they say could help search for inhabited worlds.

Scientists Are Using The Moon as a Giant Mirror to Search For Aliens

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists thought exoplanets appeared bright in sky surveys because of reflective lava oceans, but new research shows something else has to be helping.

Super-Earth Exoplanets Could Have Bright-Shining Metallic Atmospheres

By Dan Robitzski

According to a new study, a large number of ancient valleys on the Martian surface today were formed by subglacial meltwater below — not flowing rivers.

Study: Ancient Mars Was Covered in Ice Sheets, Not Rivers

By Victor Tangermann

The European Space Agency's Mars Express, a camera-equipped Mars orbiter, is keeping close tabs on a mysterious, "elongated cloud" appearing on Mars.

Strange, Giant Cloud Reappears on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

At exactly 7:50 am EDT this morning, NASA successfully launched its Perseverance rover mission to Mars from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

NASA Blasts Off Most Sophisticated Mars Mission in Human History

By Victor Tangermann

Besides a whole host of fascinating scientific instruments, NASA"s Perseverance rover will also be carrying small bits of space suit to the Martian surface.

On Tomorrow’s Launch, NASA Is Sending Spacesuit Chunks to Mars

By Victor Tangermann

Perseverance will be bringing a rock back to Mars that scientists believe to have originated on Mars roughly 600,000 to 700,000 years ago.

Here’s Why NASA’s Next Rover is Bringing a Mars Rock Back to Mars

By Victor Tangermann

NASA is about to embark on its latest Mars mission, sending its Mars 2020 Perseverance rover on its long journey to the Red Planet atop an Atlas V rocket.

Here’s How to Watch NASA Launch a Mars Mission This Week

By Victor Tangermann

Researchers have found evidence of gigantic waves of sand, often referred to as "megaripples," slowly moving around on the surface of Mars.

Astronomers Say “Megaripples” Are Moving Across the Surface of Mars

By Victor Tangermann

NASA's next-gen Mars rover Perseverance is outfitted with not just one but two microphones. We could finally get to listen to the sounds of Mars.

NASA’s Next Rover Will Bring First-Ever Microphone to Mars

By Victor Tangermann

China has successfully launched its Tianwen-1 — Heavenly Questions — mission to Mars, including an orbiter, lander, and a rover.

China Just Launched a Mission to Hunt for Life on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

A class of exoplanets thought to resemble gas giants like Neptune may actually be rocky worlds covered in thick, heavily irradiated oceans.

“Mini-Neptune” Exoplanets May Actually Be Covered in Radioactive Oceans

By Dan Robitzski

NASA's Curiosity rover encountered a strangely-colored rock on Mars and did what any smart robot would do: blasted it with a laser to see what was inside.

NASA’s Mars Rover Spent the Weekend Shooting a Weird-Looking Rock With a Laser

By Dan Robitzski

The first lunar settlers might live in the space version of an RV, which is currently being developed by JAXA, NASA, and Toyota.

NASA Spokesperson Says Agency Is Working on an “RV for the Moon”

By Dan Robitzski

Russian space corporation Roscomosos chief Dmitry Rogozin had no kind words to spare about NASA's efforts to return astronauts to the Moon.

Russian Space Chief “Not Interested” in Working With NASA on Missions to the Moon

By Victor Tangermann

New models suggest that the Moon could be 85 million years younger than scientists thought, a development that would clarify some of its mysterious past.

Scientists Say the Moon Is Way Younger than We Thought

By Dan Robitzski

The UAE's upcoming weather satellite launch could help explain what's going on with Mars' bizarre, planet-consuming dust storms.

Tomorrow’s Mars Mission Could Explain the Red Planet’s Ferocious Dust Storms

By Dan Robitzski

After a lengthy "hammering session" of 150 strokes, the "mole" attached to NASA's InSight Mars lander started "bouncing in place."

Crap: NASA’s Mars “Mole” Finally Started Digging, Then Hit Another Obstacle

By Victor Tangermann

According to a new paper, a team of Chinese scientists claim a strange "gel-like" substance found on the far side of the Moon is "impact melt breccia."

China Finally Figured Out What That Weird “Gel-Like” Substance from the Far Side of the Moon Was

By Victor Tangermann

According to a House appropriations bill released today, Congress doesn't intend to raise NASA's budget, setting aside the same $22.63 billion for 2021.

Congress Budget Denies NASA Full Funding for Moon Missions

By Victor Tangermann

In a new white paper, a team of researchers argue that flying by Venus on future crewed missions to Mars could make a lot of sense.

Scientists: Flying By Venus to Get to Mars Would Be Cheaper, Faster

By Victor Tangermann

China, the UAE, and the U.S. all plan to launch Mars missions this month to capitalize on the planets' fortunate alignment.

Three Separate Countries Are Launching Mars Missions This Month

By Dan Robitzski

A team of NASA scientists found that there might be more subsurface metals beneath the Moon's surface than previously thought.

NASA Discovers Huge Potential Caches of Metal On the Moon

By Victor Tangermann

A new mathematical model predicts that a self-sustaining colony on Mars could succeed with just 110 settlers working together.

According to New Equations, a Mars Colony Would Need This Many People

By Dan Robitzski

Scientists have yet to find any evidence of life on another planet.But that hasn't stopped some rogue scientists from making outlandish claims.

Extremely Dubious Scientist Believes There’s Mushrooms and Lichen on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

NASA just delayed the launch date for its Mars rover, Perseverance. But barring any future delays, the mission should still go off without a hitch.

NASA Pushes Back Mars Rover Launch Due to “Contamination Concern”

By Dan Robitzski

The just-launched "Lunar Loo Challenge" tasks amateur rocket scientists to come up with a toilet that can handle near-zero and Moon gravity.

NASA Says It Needs a New Space Toilet for the Artemis Moon Missions

By Victor Tangermann

In the coming years, NASA plans to crash a SpaceX rocket into a tiny moon as a test run for diverting asteroids. But the moon's name was way too boring.

NASA Renames Small Moon It Plans to Smash With SpaceX

By Dan Robitzski

This year, NASA wants to take a giant leap from scanning Mars' geographical features using surface-bound rovers to launching a small helicopter.

Here’s NASA’s Ingenious Way of Testing Its Mars Helicopter

By Victor Tangermann

When the Artemis astronauts land on the surface of the Moon, NASA expects them to be able to trek ten miles on foot each time they venture out.

NASA: Next Moon Astronauts Will Hike 10 Miles on Lunar Surface

By Dan Robitzski

Aerospace startup Rocket Lab is planning its first mission to the Moon in 2021 to test out navigation systems in its orbit.

A Small Company Is Quietly Planning a Moon Mission Next Year

By Victor Tangermann

A new study suggests that strange bright spots observed on Saturn's moon Titan in the early 2000s may be evidence of dried up ancient lakes and seas.

Astronomers Say They Found “Dry Lake Beds” on Saturn’s Moon Titan

By Victor Tangermann

Elon Musk: SpaceX Building Floating Spaceports for Moon, Mars Launches

Elon Musk: SpaceX Building Floating Spaceports for Moon, Mars Launches

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists have identified a green glow in the atmosphere of Mars caused by oxygen atoms being released from carbon dioxide due to sunlight.

Scientists Detect Green Glow on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

On Twitter, Elon Musk elaborated on the design tweaks SpaceX will have to make to its Starship to allow it to land on the Moon.

SpaceX Trying to Figure Out How to Land Starship on the Moon

By Victor Tangermann

In order to give high-energy researchers better working conditions, one physicist proposes building a particle collider on the Moon.

This Madlad Wants to Build a Particle Collider on the Moon

By Dan Robitzski

NASA just discovered that Saturn's moon Titan is creeping out into space 100 times faster than they previously thought it was.

Saturn’s Moon Titan Is Drifting Off Into Space, NASA Says

By Dan Robitzski

After over a year, NASA's InSight Mars lander finally managed to get its thermal probe underground, where it can record the planet's internal temperature.

NASA InSight Lander Finally Manages to Bury Its Probe Into Mars

By Dan Robitzski

Building on existing research, researchers suggest that Mars' moon Deimos will likely be split up into tiny rocks, forming a ring around the planet.

New Research: Mars May Have Once Had Rings

By Victor Tangermann

A stunning new NASA animation shows how solar winds are interacting with Mars' magnetosphere to strip away the planet's atmosphere.

This Video of Mars’ Leaking Atmosphere Could Make Elon Musk Cry

By Dan Robitzski

Astronaut pee may be a priceless resource on future Moon settlements. It turns out it makes for a phenomenal building material.

On the Moon, the Real Gold Might Be Human Urine

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is working on simplified, scaled-down nuclear reactors that it hopes will power future settlements on the Moon and Mars.

Scientists Want to Build Nuclear Reactors to Power Moon Colony

By Dan Robitzski

NASA is looking for participants to spent eight months together inside a spaceflight simulator at the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow.

NASA Will Pay You to Chill in a Fake Mars Mission for 8 Months

By Victor Tangermann

By playing around with mud in a special lab, an international team of researchers found that Mars is likely covered in strange mud volcanos.

Mars May Be Covered in Bizarre Mud Volcanoes

By Victor Tangermann

In order to equip future Martian settlers, scientists suggest altering their DNA to give them the traits they need to survive.

Astrobiologist: We Should Gene-Hack New Traits Into Mars Settlers

By Dan Robitzski

A delightful new video shows Apollo astronauts falling over in their bulky spacesuits, unaccustomed to the Moon's weak gravity.

Rejoice In This Supercut of Moon Astronauts Falling Over

By Jon Christian

Engineers are building experimental rovers that can vibrate intensely to escape from dangerous, wheel-clogging sand traps on Mars.

This Wiggly Mars Rover Is the Silliest Thing We’ve Ever Seen

By Dan Robitzski

In order to protect future Mars settlers from deadly cosmic radiation, researchers suggest building homes in underground tunnels called lava tubes.

Scientists Say They’ve Found the Perfect Spot for a Mars Colony

By Dan Robitzski

The experimental spacecraft China launched earlier this week successfully and safely landed Friday, paving the way for crewed space exploration.

China Lands Moon-Bound Spaceship After 3-Day Orbital Joyride

By Dan Robitzski

NASA' Perseverance rover just found signs of ancient life in Australia, giving researchers hope that it's well-equipped to do the same on Mars.

NASA Mars Rover Detects Ancient Life… in Australia

By Dan Robitzski

A team of scientists have found new evidence of the earliest rivers that once flowed on Mars billions of years ago for around 100,000 Earth years.

Scientists Find New Evidence of Ancient Rivers on Mars

By Victor Tangermann

Engineers are developing smart lunar habitats that can autonomously sense damage and repair themselves on a future moon settlement.

These Self-Repairing Lunar Habitats Could Help Settle the Moon

By Dan Robitzski

NASA announced today that it has awarded three contracts to develop lunar landing systems in an effort to return astronauts to the Moon as soon as 2024.

SpaceX Wins Large NASA Contract for Starship Moon Missions

By Victor Tangermann

The White House's 2021 budget would cripple NASA's ongoing and future Mars missions. It would also mean shutting down the Curiosity rover.

The White House Is Trying to Shut Down NASA’s Last Mars Rover

By Dan Robitzski

China's space agency says that its mission to Mars is still happening "in coming months," and that the mission finally has an official name.

China Will Launch Mars Mission “In Coming Months”

By Dan Robitzski

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are suggesting we could explore the surface of Mars using a fleet of "nanocardboard" aircraft.

Researchers Want to Explore Mars Using “Nanocardboard” Aircraft

By Victor Tangermann

The team behind NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has transitioned to controlling the rover from their home offices amid the coronavirus outbreak.

NASA Employees Are Running the Mars Curiosity Rover From Home

By Victor Tangermann

NASA spotted a "dragon" in a image taken by University of Arizona's HiRISE camera attached to NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

NASA Spots “Dragon” in Stunning Mars Orbiter Image

By Victor Tangermann

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday that encourages the mining of resources in space and on the Moon.

Trump Signs Executive Order Encouraging Moon, Asteroid Mining

By Victor Tangermann

NASA is funding research for a conceptual telescope called a "solar gravitational lens" that could observe distant exoplanets at an astonishing resolution.

NASA Telescope Idea Could Spot Vegetation on Distant Exoplanets

By Victor Tangermann

NASA has awarded a Phase 1 grant for a Lunar Crater Radio Telescope on the far side of the Moon that could one day be deployed by wall-climbing robots.

NASA Funds Giant Radio Telescope Concept on Far Side of Moon

By Victor Tangermann

In an experiment, a team of European researchers attempted to use the main compound in human urine and lunar regolith to create a resilient concrete.

Scientists: Astronauts Could Build Moon Base Using Human Urine

By Victor Tangermann

Scientists Say There Could Be Life on Mercury

Scientists Say There Could Be Life on Mercury

By Victor Tangermann