Elizabeth Howell

Turquoise swirls in the Black Sea — caused by phytoplankton carried on local water currents — shine brightly in a new image from NASA's Aqua satellite.

Earth and its parent galaxy, the Milky Way, exist in a cosmic desert — a region of space largely lacking other galaxies, stars and planets.

Large asteroids may be lurking undiscovered within a meteoroid stream whose particles are hitting Earth, and scientists are urging a concentrated search for them.

One of the world's largest canyons – the United States' Grand Canyon – dominates below wispy clouds in this jaw-dropping view from the International Space Station.

Amino acids act as building blocks for life, and scientists are subjecting them to extreme conditions in order to identify what it takes for them to survive on other planets.

Recent observations that a tiny object in our solar system is a likely dwarf planet has some planetary scientists grumbling again about Pluto's demotion to that status.

High-energy, ultraviolet radiation from the sun is a known as a hazard to life, yet the energy provided by our star has played an important role as the essential driver of life on Earth.

New research suggests that active volcanoes on the Red Planet could have created an environment habitable to ancient microbes.

A new paper suggests using a combination lottery and savings bond to ensure funding for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Two large dust storms in two weeks, each spanning an area larger than the United States, have researchers pondering the atmospheric dynamics on Mars.

Training in Antarctica or on the International Space Station won't provide adequate preparation for human settlement on Mars, according to new research.

In views from the International Space Station, a mysterious set of electrical discharges shine above a roiling thunderstorm in Earth's upper atmosphere.

Skywatchers this weekend will get two special, subtle treats: a penumbral lunar eclipse on Friday (Feb. 10) and a strange green comet reaching its peak viewing time the following morning.

If high altitude balloons find basic microorganisms in the stratosphere and mesosphere, it could have serious implications for the hunt for extraterrestrial life in the atmospheres of other worlds.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has seen planet-size cannonballs of hot gas whipping past a dying star, but the origin of these plasma balls remains a mystery.

The solar wind's evolution is finally coming to light, thanks to new analysis of observations from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO).