Space & Physics

A woman and a man, with their backs towards the viewer, wearing lab coats and standing in front of a quantum computer.

EducationApril 18, 2026

NSF awards record number of coveted Ph.D. fellowships in surprise move

Quantum science and AI research are big winners just a year after this U.S. funding giant slashed its Graduate Research Fellowship Program awards in half

Dan Garisto, Nature magazine

The solar system's planets arranged together in an illustration.

The UniverseApril 17, 2026

What’s the weirdest planet in the solar system?

All the sun’s planets are oddballs. But some are more so than others

Phil Plait

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Aerial photo of the rocky, beige-red surface of Mars, with the right half enveloped in shadow.

MarsApril 17, 2026

What’s this fast-moving wave of darkness creeping across Mars?

Observations by the Mars Express orbiter reveal rapid changes on the Red Planet’s surface from windblown volcanic ash

Joseph Howlett

The Artemis II crew in front of the Orion space capsule

Space ExplorationApril 16, 2026

After their historic moon mission, NASA’s Artemis II astronauts say thank you to the world

Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen reflected on the highs and lows of their moon mission—the first of its kind in more than 50 years

Claire Cameron

A small portion of DESI’s year-five map in which the large-scale structure of the universe, created by gravity, is visible. Each dot represents a galaxy. The denser areas indicate regions where galaxies and galaxy clusters have clumped together to form the strands of the cosmic web. Also seen are large voids between the filaments.

AstrophysicsApril 16, 2026

Behold! This is the largest, sharpest 3D map of the universe yet

A new map of the cosmos, including more than 47 million galaxies and other cosmic objects, represents one of the most extensive surveys of our universe ever conducted

Claire Cameron

Material from a large blue star is funneled onto a nearby black hole. The black hole is launching jets from its poles that are pushed by the stellar wind from the nearby star.

Black HolesApril 16, 2026

Secrets of cosmic evolution may lurk in this black hole’s ‘dancing’ jets

A first-of-its-kind observation shows how jets from voracious black holes can shape the growth of galaxies

Lee Billings

Taken 36 minutes before Earthset, our home planet is visible in the blackness of space off the limb of the illuminated Moon. Earth is in a crescent phase, with sunlight coming from the right. Orientale mare basin, with its dark floor of cooled lava and outer rings of mountains, covers nearly the lower third of the imaged lunar surface. Different colors in the mare hint at its mineral composition. The lines of small indentations above Orientale are secondary crater chains, formed by material ejected during a violent primary impact. Both of the new craters that the Artemis II crew has suggested names for – Integrity and Carroll – are in full view. The edge of the visible surface of the Moon is called the “lunar limb.” Seen from afar, it almost looks like a circular arc – except when backlit, as in other images captured by the Artemis II crew.

Space ExplorationApril 16, 2026

How far from humanity were the astronauts of Artemis II? The answer will surprise you

Artemis II’s crew went farther from humanity than anyone has been before. Here’s how one scientist determined whom, specifically, they were farthest from

K. R. Callaway

Crescent moon seen against the darkness of space

Space ExplorationApril 15, 2026

NASA needs nuclear power for its moon base. Here’s the White House plan to get it

If the U.S. is ever to set up a permanent outpost on the moon, it will need nuclear power. The White House just released a road map to get it as soon as 2028

Claire Cameron