Science News
Showing 1 to 24 of 2421.
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 […]
NASA’s Swift Sees ‘Wandering’ Mega Black Hole Shredding Star
2026.07.27
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory captured an “orphan” black hole lighting up as it devoured a star on the outskirts of a faraway galaxy. These phenomena are rare to begin with, and none had ever before been seen so far outside of a galaxy’s core. “We were looking for these star-shredding events as a way […]
NASA’s Hubble Shows Star Formation in Andromeda Galaxy Winding Down
2026.07.27
NASA’s Hubble finds that star formation in the Andromeda galaxy has undergone a 500-million-year decline.
Hubble Spies One-Sided Spiral
2026.07.24
This Hubble image features spiral galaxy NGC 4654, located 72 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo (the Maiden).
NASA’s Webb Discovers Hidden Planet in Famous Star System
2026.07.15
Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a giant planet outside our solar system, called an exoplanet, hiding within one of the most intensely studied planetary systems in our Milky Way galaxy. The young, nearby star Beta Pictoris was already known to host two giant planets: Beta Pictoris b, one of the first […]
NASA’s Roman Telescope Will Spot Distant Black Holes That Shred Stars
2026.07.14
How do black holes at the center of galaxies form and grow over time? To answer this question, scientists need to detect and study supermassive black holes at great distances, which existed much earlier in the universe’s history. New research suggests NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is on track to launch Aug. 30, […]
NASA’s Hubble Discovers First of Star Cluster’s Missing Black Holes
2026.07.13
Astronomers using archival data from Hubble and supportive observations from Webb have located their first stellar-mass black hole in the star cluster Omega Centauri.
On-Orbit Checkouts in Progress for Mission to Boost NASA’s Swift
2026.07.10
Commissioning is well underway for Katalyst’s robotic servicing spacecraft LINK, which is designed to boost the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.
NASA’s Roman Launch Preparations Proceed
2026.07.09
With less than two months until the launch of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are preparing the observatory for its trip to space.
Telescope Milestone: NASA’s Roman Moves Vertical Ahead of Processing
2026.07.06
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has completed important prelaunch milestones as it prepares to launch nine months ahead of schedule.
Showing 1 to 24 of 2421.