Earth's chorus waves show limited link to rapid electron loss from radiation belts
The Van Allen radiation belts are huge, doughnut-shaped regions of highly energetic charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetosphere. These charged particles play a major role i…
Largest dataset of its kind could clarify how massive stars shaped early galaxies
The more astronomers learn about the universe's earliest galaxies, the stranger they seem. Many of their surprising properties may be explained by differences between their massiv…
NASA-Funded Research Finds Complex Life Defying Record Heat
Lee esta historia en español aquí. NASA-supported scientists have discovered an organism that lives at extreme temperatures previously thought impossible for complex life. High te…
NASA-Funded Research Finds Complex Life Defying Record Heat
NASA-supported scientists have discovered an organism that lives at extreme temperatures previously thought impossible for complex life. High temperatures can cause the destructio…
Astronomers detect radio signals coming from an exoplanet for the first time
Exoplanets are exotic worlds orbiting distant stars far beyond our solar system. Ever since the first ones were discovered in the 1990s, astronomers have turned their attention to…
3I/ATLAS has an extreme taste for heavy water
More and more details about 3I/ATLAS are filtering through the scientific process as time goes on. Our third known interstellar visitor attracted the attention of some of the worl…
NASA’s Chandra Finds Unusual Objects in Pinwheel Galaxy
Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, researchers found mysterious objects that give off unusually low-energy X-rays but intense levels of ultraviolet radiation. One of the gala…
Milky Way's first microblazar may produce fastest particles in the galaxy
An international team of astronomers from ASTRON, JIVE, the University of Amsterdam and other institutions has found the first so-called "microblazar" in the Milky Way. This stell…
The tilt in Earth's axis makes the apparent position of continents shift with the seasons
Most kids learn in elementary school that the seasons are caused by Earth rotating on a tilted axis during its yearly orbit around the sun. The substantial tilt, about 23.5 degree…
NASA Astronaut to Answer Questions from New Hampshire Students
Students in New Hampshire will hear from NASA astronaut Anil Menon as he answers prerecorded STEM questions while aboard the International Space Station. The Earth-to-space call w…
A 42-light-year X-ray tail links a pulsar to previously 'orphan' gamma rays
Understanding the origin, acceleration and propagation of high-energy cosmic rays has been a century-old mystery in astrophysics. Recently, joint observations from China's Einstei…
APOD: 2026 September 22 – Chance Triple Alignment: Plane, Space Station, Sun
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 22 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the co…
An Epic View of the Seasons
The tilt in Earth’s axis of rotation makes the apparent position of continents shift with the seasons in imagery from a NASA camera in deep space.
Jupiter uses a surprisingly complex system to fend off particles from the sun
A University of Iowa-led research team has reported in a new study the most detailed observations to date of the bow shock at Jupiter, our solar system's gas giant. The findings f…
Embracing the Equinox
Depending on your locale, equinoxes can be seen as harbingers of longer nights and gloomy weather, or promising beacons of nicer temperatures and more sunlight. Observing and pred…
NASA Welcomes Albania as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
The Republic of Albania signed the Artemis Accords Monday during a ceremony hosted by NASA at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, joining the coalition of like‑minded nations…
Student-led missions deploy free-flying light sails from CubeSats in low Earth orbit
Students in Cornell's Space Systems Design Studio (SSDS) have released mission results for two unique light-sail experiments. These sails are slightly larger than a pizza box and …
NASA Kicks Off Nationwide Effort to Prepare Tomorrow’s Space Workforce
NASA kicked off its State Hubs for Skilled Technical Workforce initiative Sept. 15, 2026 with awardees at Space Center Houston. Agency leadership convened State Hub partners to al…
Early Mars rocks reveal at least three separate water episodes
When NASA's Perseverance rover reached the inner edge of Mars' Jezero Crater in September 2023, mission scientists were surprised by what they found. The geologic area, called the…
Earth's center of mass drifts less than we thought
Where is Earth's center of mass? The answer seems trivially obvious. It's right in the middle of the planet. Ah, but that kind of thinking won't get you a paper in the Geophysical…
Perseverance’s View of ‘Turquoise Bay’
Description NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture this 360-degree panorama of “Turquoise Bay,” a geologic area of interest in the “Margin Unit.” The …
Solar Orbiter catches the sun's missing high-speed vibrations
The sun's magnetic fields are a twisty, curvy, ever-changing mess. In particular, our star's polar regions host areas called polar coronal holes, which contain invisible magnetic …
NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman Attends Ravens vs. Saints Game
NASA astronaut and commander of the agency’s Artemis II mission, Reid Wiseman, a Baltimore native, takes a selfie with fans at an NFL game between the New Orleans Saints and the B…
NASA Discovery Reveals Complex Water Systems on Early Mars
When NASA’s Perseverance rover reached the inner edge of Mars’ Jezero Crater in September 2023, mission scientists were surprised by what they found. Called the “Margin Unit,” the…