Science News
Showing 1 to 24 of 2430.
Webb Measures Distance to Farthest Fast Radio Burst, Suggesting Origin
2026.10.08
First discovered in 2007, fast radio bursts are enigmatic, millisecond-long flashes of radio emission from the distant universe. Their origin remains uncertain, particularly since most are seen once and never again. Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have pinpointed the host galaxy of the most distant fast radio burst (FRB) seen to date. Their […]
NASA Advances LISA Mission Contributions With New Test Telescope
2026.10.08
NASA has taken the next step in the process of developing a new all-glass telescope for the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, a space observatory designed to detect ripples in space-time called gravitational waves.
NASA’s Webb Captures Commotion From Nebula’s Stellar Jets
2026.10.06
A cauldron of cosmic creation is being revealed in a new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb has unveiled numerous stars formerly hidden by clouds of dust in a stellar nursery known as NGC 7129, which resides about 3,300 light-years from Earth. Stars, the engines of elemental creation, have life cycles that begin […]
Suspected Second-generation Planet Solves NASA Hubble Cold Case
2026.10.05
New analysis of archival Hubble data points to the possibility of “dead” white dwarf stars hosting second-generation planetary systems.
NASA’s Webb Provides Crash Course on Planet-Shattering Collisions
2026.10.01
In the early history of our solar system, scientists theorize that a Mars-sized object called Theia smashed into the infant Earth, vaporizing massive amounts of rock and blasting it into space. Some of that material coalesced into the Moon, where NASA’s Artemis program is returning humans, preparing for Mars, and shaping the future of space […]
NASA Highlights Lessons Learned From Swift Boost Mission
2026.09.28
A commercial mission to boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory concluded without raising the spacecraft’s orbit, but the agency and industry vendor Katalyst Space have gained valuable experience that will benefit future in-space servicing programs.
Hubble Spots Chaotic Secret in Galaxy
2026.09.25
A chaotic secret hides within this seemingly serene image of spiral galaxy NGC 4698 taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and released on Sept. 18, 2026. As a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way galaxy, NGC 4698 has spiral arms that curl around within a thin disk of stars, gas, and dust.
NASA Selects Far-Infrared Telescope as First in New Mission Class
2026.09.23
Editor’s Note: This release was updated on Sept. 24, 2026, to reflect current international partners. NASA announced Wednesday a mission to explore the history and evolution of the universe, PRIMA (PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics), is advancing to the next phase of development. This space telescope is the first in a new class of NASA […]
NASA’s Hubble Seeks Lensed Supernova, Marks 200,000 Orbits
2026.09.23
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope completed its 200,000th orbit around Earth on Sept. 19, marking another new milestone for an observatory that continues to transform our understanding of the universe. Hubble has traveled more than 5 billion miles around Earth over its 36-year lifetime, exceeding 1.7 million total observations. An observation completed on the day of […]
NASA-JAXA XRISM Mission Sees Pulsar Gathering Companion’s ‘Wind’
2026.09.18
Using data from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory, astronomers have directly observed a giant star’s outflow, called a stellar wind, being captured by its compact companion and providing the power source for strong X-ray flares.
NASA’s Hubble Spots an Out-of-Sync Galaxy
2026.09.18
Though the spiral galaxy in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope seems serene, it hides a chaotic secret. This galaxy is NGC 4698, and it lies about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It’s one of over a thousand galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, the nearest large cluster of galaxies bound together by […]
Newfound ‘Baby’ Planet Smashes Record for Youngest Known World
2026.09.16
Astronomers have confirmed a world that’s less than a million years old as the youngest known planet, using data from NASA-funded archives. Called Elias 2-24 b, the baby planet is still whirling in its natal disk of dust and gas. “Our planet-formation models already struggled to explain the previous record holders for the youngest known […]
NASA’s Webb Reveals Dynamic Panorama of Star Formation
2026.09.15
This starry view of the nearby star-forming region IC 348 is one of the largest images released to date from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Using Webb, astronomers searched IC 348 for brown dwarfs, which are less massive than the smallest stars. The researchers discovered brown dwarfs just twice the mass of Jupiter, bringing the […]
NASA’s Hubble, Webb Find Far-out Solar System Objects ‘Remember’ Past
2026.09.08
For the first time, scientists used the joint power of NASA’s Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes to study some of the most far-flung bodies in our solar system, Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs). Some of these are the smallest and faintest ever directly seen. The researchers unexpectedly found fewer small TNOs than they expected, and that […]
NASA’s Hubble Spies Superbubble Scene
2026.09.03
This Hubble Space Telescope image features a sprawling cosmic vista called N44.
NASA’s Hubble Tracks New Decagon Encircling Saturn’s South Pole
2026.09.02
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope observes a giant, evolving, 10-sided atmospheric wave encircling Saturn’s south pole.
NASA’s Dark Universe-Seeking Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launches
2026.08.30
Now on a three-month, million-mile journey to its final orbit, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will soon reveal the universe’s darkest secrets. The mission launched at 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Roman pairs a large field of […]
NASA’s Pandora Mission Begins Study of Exoplanets, Host Stars
2026.08.25
Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission and the first satellite to launch through the agency's Astrophysics Pioneers program, is now making unique observations of worlds beyond our solar system and the stars they orbit. The mission will determine the atmospheric make-up of at least 20 exoplanets, including the presence of hazes, clouds, and water.
NASA Sets Coverage for Roman Space Telescope Launch from Florida
2026.08.24
Coverage plans are ready for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prelaunch and launch activities. Roman is NASA’s next-generation observatory designed to explore some of the universe’s biggest mysteries, including dark energy. NASA and SpaceX are targeting Roman’s liftoff for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket […]
NASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission
2026.08.19
Due to an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude control issue, NASA and Katalyst Space announced Wednesday the LINK spacecraft will not capture or boost an agency satellite to a higher altitude to extend its science mission as planned.
Hubble Solves Merger Mystery From Milky Way’s Early Years
2026.08.17
New Hubble data shows definitive evidence of a dwarf galaxy merging with the young Milky Way in the earliest phases of its evolution.
Lion Nebula Roars to Life With NASA’s Webb
2026.08.10
Observing across the starry “plains” of space, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has taken new images of NGC 2392, nicknamed the Lion Nebula. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope previously viewed this planetary nebula in 2000, imaging the lion face-shaped target in visible light and revealing features such as the “mane” of hazy, comet-shaped objects. Now Webb […]
NASA’s Roman Telescope to Carry 1.35 Million Names to Deep Space
2026.07.31
On July 27, technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida installed a memory card containing 1,350,144 names as part of a commemorative plaque on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The names were submitted by people globally, including astronauts from Artemis II and Artemis III. The memory card will travel with the Roman observatory […]
NASA Webb Explores Family Tree of Newly Discovered Distant Objects
2026.07.29
Since their discovery by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022, little red dots (LRDs) have been the subject of great interest to astronomers. Understanding the nature of these extremely distant, compact red sources has been a puzzling scientific endeavor. One popular theory is that little red dots are supermassive black holes known as active […]
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