A recent study published in Astrobiology examines the likelihood of the planet Venus being able to support life within the thick cloud layer that envelopes it. This study holds the potential to help us better understand how life could exist under the intense Venusian conditions, as discussions within the scientific community about whether life exists on the second planet from the Sun continue to burn hotter than Venus itself.
Space News & Blog Articles
Extending Earth's Internet to Mars With Orbital Data Servers
You’ve done it. After years of effort and training, sacrifice, and pain, you become an astronaut and have finally set foot on Mars. Time to post your triumph on TikTok for that sweet social media cred. If only you can get a signal.
Early Black Holes Were Bigger Than We Thought
Every large galaxy in the nearby universe contains a supermassive black hole at its core. The mass of those black holes seems to have a relationship to the mass of the host galaxies themselves. But estimating the masses of more distant supermassive black holes is challenging. Astronomers extrapolate from what we know about nearby galaxies to estimate distant black hole masses, but it’s not a perfectly accurate measurement.
There Could Be Captured Planets in the Oort Cloud
Our solar system has had a chaotic past. Earth and the other planets are now in stable orbits, but while they were forming they experienced drastic location shifts. Jupiter was likely much closer to the Sun than it is now, and its shift not only shifted other planets but also cleared the solar system of debris, tossing much of it to the Oort Cloud.
New monument will honor Florida's role in space exploration
Florida's role in space exploration will be recognized by a landmark now that lawmakers have given the "go" for the project. The Florida Space Exploration Monument will stand in Tallahassee.
Earth's thermosphere reaches highest temperature in 20 years after being bombarded by solar storms
The atmospheric temperature spike, which was caused by successive geomagnetic storms, suggests the "solar maximum" is fast approaching.
What causes the strange green flash at sunset and sunrise on Earth?
There are very special cases, when the sky is very clear and exceptionally transparent, that a green flash can be glimpsed just as the very topmost part of the sun is rising or setting.
Space explorers mourn the loss of Titan submersible's 5 crewmates
The exploration community is still reeling from the announcement that the submersible Titan broke apart, resulting in the death of its five passengers.
SpaceX to launch Europe’s Euclid dark energy probe 1 week from today
Euclid will launch on July 1 to hunt for dark matter and dark energy, in a quest to understand the nature of our universe's history and future.
Mind-Blowing Animation Shows What the World Would Look Like If You Could See Carbon Dioxide Emissions
It’s a strange, eerie-looking place. Carbon dioxide gas appears… and disappears in cycles and bursts throughout the year. It’s how our planet would look if we could detect carbon dioxide (CO2) with our eyes. Scientists at NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office made computer animations of its presence in our atmosphere. Those videos show an almost-alien view of Earth under the influence of this gas.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe starts summer with 16th swoop by the sun
The Parker Solar Probe conducted its 16th perihelion pass on Thursday morning (June 22), cruising through the sun’s superhot outer atmosphere, called the corona.
The Earth’s Rotational Pole has Shifted from All the Groundwater We’ve Pumped Out
Earth is, in many ways, a water world. Around two-thirds of its surface is covered in water, and the oceans that provide that cover make up over 96% of all water on Earth, according to the US Geological Survey. Glaciers and ice caps make up another 1.74%, but groundwater is the third most plentiful source at 1.69% of all water available on Earth. That’s an astonishing 23.4 million cubic kilometers of the stuff, dwarfing the mere 176,000 cubic kilometers contained in all the lakes in the world. But that does not mean the total amount of groundwater is unlimited, and removing it can have a lasting impact on more than just the people who use it for bathing and drinking. A new study points to how humans pumping out groundwater impacts Earth’s rotation.
Watch a house-size asteroid zoom past Earth live on June 25
A small asteroid the size of a three-story building will pass between Earth and the moon on Sunday (June 25), and you can watch the encounter live thanks to a free telescope livestream.
You've never seen Mars like this. Amazing NASA photos reveal Red Planet in ultraviolet light
NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN spacecraft photographed the Red Planet in July 2022 and January 2023, showcasing its rapidly changing seasons.
Rocket Lab to recover booster from ocean after July 14 launch
Rocket Lab plans to recover the first stage of its Electron rocket after its next launch, a seven-satellite rideshare mission targeted for July 14.
Paris Air Show 2023 – Highlights of the week
Video: 00:01:40
From Monday 19 to Sunday 25 June, at the ‘Space Pavilion’ of Paris Air Show 2023, ESA and CNES present ambitious new projects in space exploration, astronautics, Earth observation and security-related applications.
Nancy Grace Roman Could Detect Supermassive Dark Stars
The first stars of the universe were very different than the stars we see today. They were made purely of hydrogen and helium, without heavier elements to help them generate energy in their core. As a result, they were likely hundreds of times more massive than the Sun. But some of the first stars may have been even stranger. In the early universe, dark matter could have been more concentrated than it is now, and it may have powered strange stellar objects known as dark stars.
Russian space agency Roscosmos recruiting fighters for war against Ukraine: report
Russia's space agency Roscosmos is recruiting and training militia members for the nation's ongoing invasion and occupation of Ukraine, according to a Financial Times report.
Watch the moon's shadow travel across North America during 2024's total solar eclipse (video)
This flyover animation of the Great North American Solar Eclipse shows the path of the moon's shadow and where you need to be located to see the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
Final launch of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket set for July 4 after delay
The final liftoff of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket has been retargeted for July 4, three weeks later than originally planned.
Astronaut Story Musgrave's Apollo-flown medallions, shuttle toiletries up for auction
A medallion that was flown to the moon for a member of NASA's astronaut corps opened for bids at just $100. The same astronaut's copy of a checklist he used on his first launch also listed for $100.