Space & Physics

A colorful close-up of whorls and tendrils of gas and dust in the Helix Nebula

AstronomyJanuary 21, 2026

New JWST images reveal Helix Nebula’s knots with stunning clarity

A fresh look at the Helix Nebula captures new details of the cycle of stellar life and death

Joseph Howlett

NASA Space Exploration Insignia at the John F Kennedy Space Center Cape Canaveral Florida

Space & PhysicsJanuary 21, 2026

NASA quietly ends financial support for planetary science groups

The U.S. space agency will quit funding several independent science advisory groups this year

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

The Young American Scientists Issue—Read Now

This is a gif animation made up of false-colour images taken by ESA’s Proba-3 mission and NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. Against a dark background, the Sun’s disc is shown in dark orange, as captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. A thin halo of yellow light surrounds the Sun, giving it a luminous outline against the dark background of space. This yellow outline shows the Sun’s inner corona, as captured by Proba-3. Also in yellow, three solar prominence eruptions are visible, resembling bright yellow wave-like outburst extending outwards from the Sun. First, we can see a smaller one in the top right corner, followed by a larger one in the top left and a third one in the bottom right. The whole animation lasts about 4 seconds and plays in a loop.

AstrophysicsJanuary 21, 2026

Watch three solar prominences erupt in epic video

A European spacecraft caught rare footage of three successive prominences popping off the sun

Meghan Bartels

Image from JWST of a massive galaxy cluster called WHL0137-08

AstronomyJanuary 20, 2026

When will we see the universe’s first stars?

The James Webb Space Telescope should soon be able to spot the first generation of stars in space

José María Diego Rodríguez

Fully stacked rocket for the Artemis II mission rolling out to the launch pad

Space ExplorationJanuary 17, 2026

NASA’s Artemis II mission to the moon is inching toward launch

NASA rolled out the fully stacked Artemis II rocket and Orion capsule on Saturday, embarking on a four-mile journey to the launch pad

Claire Cameron

A photoillustration of a colorful triptych of the same image of a space rocket in pink and yellow, natural colors, and green and blue

Space ExplorationJanuary 16, 2026

NASA’s historic Artemis II moon mission is almost ready to launch

On Friday NASA laid out the time line for Artemis II, humanity’s first crewed mission to the moon in more than 50 years

Lee Billings

Space & PhysicsJanuary 16, 2026

Astronomers Spot Mysterious Bar-Shaped Cloud of Iron Inside an Iconic Nebula

A distinctive nebula inside the constellation Lyra holds a never-before-seen cloud of iron atoms—and researchers aren’t sure why

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

Light flash flare effect of glittering sun or star

The UniverseJanuary 16, 2026

For Stars, It’s Not Easy Being Green

Stars emit lots of green light, but our eyes don’t let us see them that way

Phil Plait

A deep field image showing many distant galaxies, including an astrophysical object known as a “little red dot” at the center.

Black HolesJanuary 15, 2026

‘Little Red Dots’ Spied by JWST May Be Baby Black Holes in Disguise

Puzzling red spots in images from the James Webb Space Telescope are probably young supermassive black holes obscured by dense cocoons of gas

Lee Billings

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, left, NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship SHANNON shortly after having landed in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Long Beach, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15

Space ExplorationJanuary 15, 2026

Astronauts Return to Earth in First ISS Medical Evacuation

On Thursday NASA chief Jared Isaacman said the experience of the returned Crew-11 will be used to prepare for future human spaceflight—including to the moon

Claire Cameron

Four SpaceX Crew-11 members gather together for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits

Space ExplorationJanuary 14, 2026

Astronauts Evacuate the ISS after Medical Incident

The four members of Crew-11 are on their way back to Earth after one of them became unwell with an unknown condition

Claire Cameron

Concept image of a nuclear device on moon, with Earth and Mars in the background

Space & PhysicsJanuary 14, 2026

NASA Commits to Plan to Build a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon by 2030

The U.S. space agency and the Department of Energy will work together to build a fission reactor on the lunar surface in the next four years

Jackie Flynn Mogensen

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