In 1789, William Herschel discovered this unique moon around Saturn. 230 years later, its secrets are more promising than ever. Today marks the 230th anniversary of the discovery of Enceladus, one […]
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The chances of an asteroid large enough to be a threat to areas where human beings are concentrated are small. Still, it’s what’s known as a “high impact” result.
Imagine you had perfect technology and unlimited fuel. How far could you go? Human spaceflight has brought us beyond Earth, but we could potentially venture even farther. The very first launch […]
This asteroid is feeling itself, clearly.
How can we use the resources that are already on the Moon to make human exploration of the satellite as economical as possible?
An asteroid about the size of a New York City block is flying between the Earth and the Moon today. How close, though?
It’s been over 100 years since Einstein, and over 300 since Newton. We’ve still got a long way to go. From measuring how objects fall on Earth to observing the motion […]
How ‘special’ are we for life to have survived and thrived the way it did? While there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy, many with Earth-sized planets at […]
Want to go to school to learn how to mine in space? Now you can.
Quick, what’s traveling at 106,000 kilometers per hour (66,000 mph) and is as big as a football field?
Neil deGrasse Tyson explains why Trump’s Space Force is “not a crazy idea”.
It’s unlikely that there’s anything on the planet that is worth the cost of shipping it back
Our Universe cannot be described by normal matter alone. Vera Rubin’s work led the way. Ask an astrophysicist what our Universe is made of, and you’ll likely receive a shocking surprise. […]
Our Universe is full of surprises. This latest one, AT2018cow, has ignited a controversy between astronomers. The Universe is an ever-changing place, particularly if you look at it on long-enough […]
Three great things all align this August, making the Perseids a can’t-miss show. Here’s how to take advantage. When it comes to meteor showers, we have these dazzling pictures in […]
Carl Sagan—who first coined the term—was tempted to call them “star-tar.”
Any hypothesis, no matter how alluring, must be confronted with the full suite of data. Our Solar System may be the closest part of the Universe to us as we look […]
It’s very different from the colloquial meanings of “true-and-false” or “right-and-wrong.” In many ways, the human endeavor of science is the ultimate pursuit of truth. By asking the natural world […]
We can explore the farthest reaches of the Universe, but can’t even complete our own cosmic backyard. The history of astronomy has been a history of receding horizons. The invention […]
A vacuum cleaner is the wrong picture. Time to bust that myth. There are no classes of object in our Universe more extreme than black holes. With so much mass present […]
Breakthrough Starshot is moving ahead with an audacious vision for space exploration.
For the Pluto fans, another sad state of affairs: your favorite world won’t make it. Nothing on Earth lasts forever, and that’s a truth that even extends to all the objects […]
From 4 billion miles away, it says a lot about the meaning of time.
Researchers discover extraterrestrial origins of a chemical essential for human DNA and other cell processes.
Only 8 worlds make the astronomical cut as planets. Here are the 10 fascinating bodies that didn’t make it. Astronomically, bodies within the Solar System must achieve three criteria in order […]
Proxima Centauri, our closest star, is more than 4 light years away. Reaching it under 10,000 years will be challenging; reaching it with living humans will be even harder.
When we place the known objects in the Solar System in order, four inner, rocky worlds and four, outer, giant worlds stand out. Traditionally, these were defined as planets. Will […]
Two of our biggest science-fiction dreams might not remain fiction for much longer. Here’s how 21st-century science could make it real. For as long as human beings have looked up at […]
“I would rather be ashes than dust!rnI would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow,rnthan a sleepy and permanent planet.”rn — Jack London
The Perseid meteor shower during this weekend’s new moon should be fabulous.