Low Oxygen May Smother Life’s Prospects on Europa, Jupiter’s Ocean Moon
The subsurface ocean of Jupiter’s moon Europa may have far less oxygen—and less potential for life—than previously believed, according to data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft
JWST Spies Surprising Signs of Warmth in Frozen Solar System Worlds
Eris and Makemake—two icy worlds beyond the orbit of Pluto—have seemingly fresh methane on their surface, a sign of unexpectedly hot interiors
JWST Is Tracking Down the Cosmic Origins of Earth’s Water
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope are exposing the pathways that water takes to reach terrestrial planets
First Commercial Moon Landing Returns U.S. to Lunar Surface
Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission is the first U.S. soft landing on the moon since Apollo 17. It’s also a sign of private industry’s growing role in space
Why Do We Have a Leap Year Anyway?
Without adding an extra day to February every four years, our calendar would get increasingly out of sync with the cosmos
Newly Discovered Asteroid Fragments Are As Old as the Solar System
Fragments from Asteroid 2024 BX1 have proven to be a rare meteorite type that helps reveal the early solar system's building blocks
Under Pluto’s Sunny Skies, You’d Have to Wear Shades
Despite being some six billion kilometers away, the sun from Pluto would be a dazzling sight to behold—carefully, that is
Second Private U.S. Lander Launches to the Moon
Odysseus, a lunar lander built by the aerospace company Intuitive Machines, launched atop a SpaceX rocket on a mission to the moon's south pole
Three Times That Solar Eclipses Transformed Science
From the discovery of new elements to the testing of novel theories of gravity, total solar eclipses have helped spark scientific progress for centuries
See What the Solar Eclipse Will Look Like across Most of the U.S.
Even if you’re not in the path of totality, the solar eclipse on April 8 will offer a show to nearly everyone across North and Central America
Second Private U.S. Moon Lander Readies for Launch
Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 is aiming to be the first commercial mission to softly land on another celestial body—and the first to deliver NASA equipment to the moon
Planets Orbiting Dead Stars Foretell the Solar System’s Far-Future Fate
Images of possible planets around white dwarf stars suggest that some gas-giant worlds survive the deaths of their stellar host