NASA systems engineering team details Habitable Worlds Observatory mission architecture
Finding an Earth-like world beyond the solar system is the holy grail of exoplanet research, and the field has seen remarkable technological advances in detecting and studying exo…
2024 solar storm triggered ultrarelativistic electrons inside Earth's 'impenetrable barrier'
The Earth is surrounded by an invisible barrier that was thought to prevent highly energetic electrons from reaching closer to our planet. But in 2024, Japan's Arase space probe d…
Webb Sees Turbulent Star Nursery
In this Webb image released on Oct. 22, 2026, we see a turbulent cauldron of star formation filled with dense clumps of gas. This region is named N159 and is located 161,000 light…
The final ‘Dune: Part Three’ trailer reignites war on Arrakis and leaves us with more questions than answers
The spoilerific final look at Denis Villeneuve's third and final sci-fi epic is loaded with action and drama that set it apart from Dune: Messiah's pages.
Satellites watch an escaping Antarctic iceberg | Space photo of the day for Oct. 28, 2026
Iceberg A-81 escaping the Weddell Sea and drifting near the edge of South Georgia's underwater shelf.
Astronomers found a mysterious object beyond Neptune, and it could be a new dwarf planet
The Vera Rubin Observatory has discovered a suspected dwarf planet beyond Neptune's orbit. If confirmed, it would be the sixth known dwarf planet in our solar system.
Virgin Galactic is finally revealing its new Delta-class spaceship this week
Virgin Galactic will unveil its first Delta-class spaceship on Wednesday (Oct. 28), revealing a name chosen by public vote before transporting the spacecraft from Arizona to Space…
Comets probably didn't seed life on Earth after all, new study suggests
The theory that comets delivered the molecular building blocks for life on Earth is a long-standing one, since comets are known to carry many of these molecules. However, a new st…
Black holes can split in two — but only if they spin at extreme speeds
Scientists have long known that when two black holes collide, they merge to create a more massive black hole. New research suggests that the opposite may happen too: single black …
Curiosity Blog, Sols 5043-5049: Preparing to Drill at ‘Nazca’
Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Earth planning date: Friday, Oct. 16, 2026 Following the Basque Lakes drill campaign, Curiosity has …
APOD: 2026 October 28 – The Mutual Occultation of Ganymede and Io
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 28 – The… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the …
The Land of the Standing-Up Rocks
A national monument since the 1920s, Chiricahua is America’s newest national park.
Rubin Observatory reveals its first dwarf planet candidate in our solar system
Scientists may add a new dwarf planet to the official roster of our solar system. The distant, icy body, provisionally dubbed 2026 ED138, orbits our system beyond Pluto. It was sp…
Double debris disk orbiting a dead star hints at our solar system's future
Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) have found a rare disk of debris around a dead star that provides a glimpse of what may happ…
A brief-ish history of METI. Part I: Early ideas and experiments
Long before modern astronomy, humans looked to the stars and were astounded by what they saw. Even by the most ancient reckoning, the night sky offered enough to inspire awe and w…
How 'spacewalking' underwater made me feel like I was really in space
Analog Astronaut Commander and Aquanaut Michaela Musilova led underwater simulated “spacewalks” in low visibility to test astronaut safety and communication protocols during simul…
Autonomous rendezvous system overcomes simulated spacecraft failures in lab tests
There is a problem in low Earth orbit, and it's growing. According to the European Space Agency, there are about 19,440 satellites on orbit, 3,540 of which are nonfunctioning and/…
NASA Invites Media to Crew Completion of Yearlong Mars Simulation
The four volunteers who lived and worked in a simulated NASA Mars mission for more than a year will exit their habitat on Saturday, Oct. 31, after 378 days of isolation in a facil…
Astronomers discover the secrets of 'string of pearls' supernova relic and the zombie star at its heart
Scientists are still learning about a cosmic 'string of pearls,' a unique celestial relic left by a supernova witnessed by humanity around 850 years ago, which has a zombie star a…
First light: Hera resolves two asteroids instead of one
The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft for planetary defense has resolved its two target asteroids separately for the first time, revealing the binary nature of the Didymos s…
Cowboy Space unveils 'Big Iron' rocket to launch 20,000 AI data centers
Cowboy Space just gave us our first look at its "Big Iron" rocket, which the company will use to build its AI data center constellation. Big Iron's debut is targeted for late 2028.
November full moon 2026: When, where and how to see the Beaver Moon
Your guide to November's full Beaver Moon, from peak times to skywatching highlights.
NASA’s Neo Surveyor Sunshade
A technician inspects the large sunshade of NASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor mission in this image released on Oct. 26, 2026. The sunshade structure, which stands 20 feet (…
Perseverance offers clues to protect crews from ultrafine Mars dust
Over 1,645 Martian days, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover measured the fine and ultrafine Martian dust particles found clinging to samples of spacesuit materials that are carried ab…