Space

Space is a seemingly infinite world of wonder and discovery, filled with mysterious black holes, stunning solar flares, elusive exoplanets and countless cosmic oddities. Our team of expert science writers and editors are ready to hold a James Webb Space Telescope-size lens beyond Earth, keeping those on this planet up to date with the latest space news, articles and features. 

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Editor's Picks

an early solar system with a star at the center and the first planets forming in a disk around it
'Modest, humble, and uncommonly smart': How a Soviet mathematician quietly solved the mystery of planet formation "For years, he had the field of planetary formation, which he had created, virtually to himself. Most Soviet colleagues were skeptical and uninterested; his research appeared so speculative, so far removed from any evidence."
Check out our best binoculars for stargazing. In this image, a man is standing behind his car using a pair of binoculars to look at the stars.
Best binoculars for stargazing 2023: Spot stars and galaxies View our top picks of for the best binoculars for stargazing and astronomy, and peer into the cosmos whilst staying grounded.
JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata during his second spacewalk.
15 jaw-dropping spacewalk images Fearless astronauts push the limits in these epic spacewalk photos.

Latest about Space

A photo of the moon in its First Quarter phase

What is the moon phase today?

By Colin Stuart last updated

Reference A look at the phases of the moon, from new moon to full moon, including's tonight's lunar phase.

Reference
Video footage of a comet in black and white. A wave of plasma from the sun hits the comet and blows away its tail

See green comet Nishimura's tail get whipped away by powerful solar storm as it slingshots around the sun

By Harry Baker published

After surviving its closest approach to the sun, Comet Nishimura was buffeted by a possible coronal mass ejection that briefly blew its tail away. The rare event was captured by a NASA spacecraft.

Comets
Frank Rubio gives the camera a thumbs up while he is carried by four men

Record-breaking astronaut Frank Rubio finally returns to Earth after accidentally spending 371 days in space

By Harry Baker published

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio has finally returned home from a 371-day stay on the International Space Station — a record for an American — after being trapped when his ride home was damaged.

Space Exploration
An artist's illustration of the black hole M87* wobbling on its axis.

Scientists just proved that 'monster' black hole M87 is spinning — confirming Einstein’s relativity yet again

By Ben Turner published

Astronomers have spotted two huge jets fired off by the 'monster' black hole M87 wobbling on an 11-year cycle, proving for the first time that black holes spin.

Black Holes
Life requires repetition of chemical reactions. Describing the kinds of reactions and conditions required for self-sustaining repetition — called autocatalysis — could focus the search for life on other planets.

Alien life may evolve from radically different elements than human life did

By Charles Q. Choi published

Radioactive metals and even certain gases may be capable of the kinds of reactions needed to spur life, new research suggests.

Extraterrestrial Life
Large full moon that is orange rising over trees in Fall.

How to see the Harvest Moon, the final supermoon of 2023, rise this weekend

By Jamie Carter published

The famous Harvest Moon — the final supermoon of 2023 — will be the first full moon of autumn when it rises on Sept. 29.

The Moon
In the field of one of JWST's largest-area surveys, COSMOS-Web, an Einstein ring was discovered around a compact, distant galaxy. It turns out to be the most distant gravitational lens ever discovered by a few billion light-years.

Stunningly perfect 'Einstein ring' snapped by James Webb telescope is most distant gravitationally lensed object ever seen

By Harry Baker published

The James Webb Space Telescope has snapped a stunning image of a perfectly formed Einstein ring, which is also the most distant gravitationally lensed object ever detected.

Astronomy
Warped Milky Way

James Webb telescope spots thousands of Milky Way lookalikes that 'shouldn't exist' swarming across the early universe

By Ben Turner published

Thousands of disk galaxies like our own Milky Way were spotted in the early universe, where they shouldn't exist.

Astronomy
A JWST image of two large bright galaxies ringed in orange light from a distant supernova

Ancient supernova in James Webb telescope image could help solve one of the universe's biggest mysteries

By Harry Baker published

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has spotted a distant supernova that appears three times in the same photo. The new observations could help solve one of the universe's biggest inconsistencies.

Cosmology
NASA's Curiosity rover took this selfie while inside Mars' Gale crater on June 15, 2018, which was the 2,082nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission.

Scientists created AI that could detect alien life — and they're not entirely sure how it works

By Ben Turner published

The new machine-learning algorithm can distinguish between biological and nonbiological samples with 90% accuracy. Exactly how is a mystery.

Extraterrestrial Life
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