In the 1960s, astronomers theorized that the Universe was filled with a mysterious mass that did not interact normally with light, which they named "Dark Matter." This theoretical matter is believed to constitute 80% of the Universe's mass, largely in the form of "halos" surrounding galaxies and galaxy clusters. However, even after six decades of searching, scientists have still not found the particle that constitutes this mass. Many candidates have been proposed in that time, including Weakly-Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), primordial black holes, and ultralight particles known as "axions."
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Live coverage: 24 Starlink satellites to launch from California on 100th Falcon 9 rocket of the year
File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Starlink 7-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX is set to launch its 100th Falcon 9 rocket of the year on Monday morning. The flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base will carry another batch of Starlink optimized V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit.
How Much Has Mercury Shrunk?
Mercury is still shrinking as it cools in the aftermath of its formation; new research narrows down estimates of just how much it has contracted.
See a trio of spectacular star clusters brighten the summer sky in August 2025
The Hyades, Pleiades and Hercules star clusters make for excellent targets in the late summer months.
Mercury quiz: How well do you know the Swift Planet?
This quiz will explore the facts, the fun and the fascinating quirks of our solar system’s speedster, Mercury
How the nature of environmental law is changing in defense of the planet and the climate
The effects of Earth's changing climate is driving up the number of legal suits related to environmental issues
NASA and Google test AI medical assistant for astronaut missions to the moon and Mars
Google and NASA are trialing an AI-powered medical assistant that could help astronauts care for themselves when mission control is out of reach.
Moon quiz: For all lunatics
Think you know Earth's moon? Test your knowledge in a lunar quiz!
Scientists just recreated the universe's first ever molecules — and the results challenge our understanding of the early cosmos
In a first, scientists have recreated the formation of the first ever molecules in the universe to learn more about early star formation.
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 173 — The Return of the Malik
On Episode 173 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and and Tariq Malik look back at the week in space news.
If everyone in the world turned on the lights at the same time, what would happen?
Beyond powering lights, it's also important to think about where all that light would go.
SpaceX schedules 10th test flight for Starship, details recent setbacks
SpaceX’s Ship 37 performs a static fire test with all six of its Raptor engines as part of prelaunch testing ahead of the Flight 10 mission for the Starship program. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX is once again gearing up for a launch of its massive Starship rocket from southern Texas. On Friday, it announced plans for the tenth flight of the fully integrated, two-stage rocket as soon as Sunday, Aug. 24, from its headquarters in Starbase.
Titan darkens Saturn in rare shadow transit on Aug. 19: Here's how to see it
The second largest moon in the solar system will cast its shadow over Saturn on Aug. 19.
Tiny devices propelled by sunlight could explore a mysterious region of Earth's atmosphere
"Being able to send something out there would enable us to take a lot more precise data than we currently can."
How Did Jupiter's Galilean Moons Form?
We already know a decent amount about how planets form, but moon formation is another process entirely, and one we’re not as familiar with. Scientists think they understand how the most important Moon in our solar system (our own) formed, but its violent birth is not the norm, and can’t explain larger moon systems like the Galilean moons around Jupiter. A new book chapter (which was also released as a pre-print paper) from Yuhito Shibaike and Yann Alibert from the University of Bern discusses the differing ideas surrounding the formation of large moon systems, especially the Galileans, and how we might someday be able to differentiate them.
SpaceX aims to launch Starship Flight 10 test flight on Aug. 24
SpaceX is targeting Aug. 24 for the 10th Flight Test for its Starship rocket, following delays from a pad accident and May's failed mission.
Blue Origin's 2nd New Glenn rocket launch will fly twin NASA Mars probes to space on Sep. 29
Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket will launch NASA's ESCAPADE Mars mission no earlier than (NET) Sep. 29.
NASA wants new spacecraft to fly to hard-to-reach orbits around Earth and in deep space
NASA has awarded $1.4 million to six companies, to further their ideas about how to get vehicles farther into space cheaply and efficiently.
Russia to launch 75 mice, 1,000 fruit flies on Aug. 20 to study spaceflight effects
Russia is readying its Bion-M No. 2 biosatellite for a planned Aug. 20 launch. The mission will send 75 mice and other specimens on a monthlong mission to Earth orbit.
China’s Crewed Lunar Lander Passes Key Test Milestone
China completes the first tethered test of the Lanyue lunar lander.
JPL Is Ready To Test Mars Samples - If They're Ever Returned
Taking a walk is great for inspiration. There have been numerous studies about how people think more clearly on walks, and how new ideas come to them more frequently while doing so. That’s part of the reason some of the most famous minds in history included a daily walk in their schedule. Just such an inspiration must have happened recently to Nicholas Heinz, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. On a hike in Arizona he found a rock that could be used as an analog of a unique one found by the Perseverance rover on Mars - and decided to take it back to his lab to study it.
