An asteroid trailing after Mars could actually be the stolen twin of our moon By Peter Dockrill A distant asteroid trailing in the gravitational wake of Mars our moon's long-lost twin.
NASA finally makes contact with Voyager 2 after longest radio silence in 30 years By Peter Dockrill After long months with no way of making contact with Voyager 2, NASA has finally reestablished communications with the record-setting interstellar spacecraft.
Mysterious 'fast radio burst' traced to a known object in the Milky Way for the first time ever By Brandon Specktor Astronomers detected a fast radio burst inside the Milky Way for the first time ever, and traced it to a known magnetar.
Mark Kelly becomes 4th astronaut elected to Congress By Robert Z. Pearlman Mark Kelly has won a seat in the U.S. Senate, making him only the fourth NASA astronaut to be elected to Congress.
What does the 2020 presidential election mean for space exploration? By Mike Wall A brief look at the space policies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The International Space Station can't last forever. Here's how it will eventually die by fire. By Meghan Bartels What goes up must come down — including, sadly enough, the International Space Station.
Cosmic bubbles may have forged dark matter, new theory suggests By Tim Childers New theory suggests cosmic bubbles during the birth of our universe are responsible for creating dark matter.
Why has our normal body temperature been dropping? By Michael Gurven, Thomas Kraft A new study looks at one hypothesis explaining why humans' body temperatures have been on the decline. Here's what it found.
Hubble telescope spots a 'Greater Pumpkin' in space for Halloween By Kasandra Brabaw As families tuck into their couches to watch Charlie Brown's quest for the great pumpkin this Halloween, they may be surprised to hear that NASA has already discovered a "greater pumpkin."
Why black holes are the scariest things in the universe By Chris Impey Here's why black holes are the scariest objects in the universe.
NASA asteroid probe stows space-rock sample for return to Earth By Mike Wall OSIRIS-REx finished stowing the bits of the asteroid Bennu that it snagged last week, successfully locking the material into the spacecraft's return capsule
Will our solar system survive the death of our sun? By Paul Sutter Our sun's death is a long way off — about 4.5 billion years, give or take — but someday it's going to happen, and what then for our solar system?
Gravitational-wave treasure trove reveals dozens of black hole crashes By Meghan Bartels Scientists can now catch gravitational waves better than ever before.
An Earth-size planet is careening untethered through the galaxy, scientists find By Brandon Specktor 'Rogue' planets are worlds without suns. Astronomers have discovered one the size of Earth for the first time ever.
What happens at the center of a black hole? By Paul Sutter At the center of a black hole, matter is compressed down to an infinitely tiny point, and all conceptions of time and space completely break down.
This failed planet is slowly rusting in space By Michelle Starr Roughly two to three times Earth's distance from the sun, in the Asteroid Belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter, 16 Psyche makes its home.
'Fireball' meteorite that crashed in Michigan holds extraterrestrial organic compounds By Mindy Weisberger A fireball meteor lit up midwestern skies on Jan. 16, 2018, then landed on a frozen Michigan lake. Analysis of the space rock revealed a rich array of extraterrestrial organic compounds.
Astronomers peer into the atmosphere of a rare exoplanet that 'shouldn't exist' By Michelle Starr The discovery of the extraordinary exoplanet LTT 9779b was first announced a month ago.
Astronomers find new way to hunt the elusive Planet 9 By Mike Wall Astronomers are vetting a technique that could aid the hunt for Planet Nine, which some researchers think lurks undiscovered in the far outer system, way beyond Pluto's orbit.
The Elysium effect: The coming backlash to the billionaire 'NewSpace' revolution By Rick Tumlinson As entrepreneurs spend billions on space, there is a backlash building that holds their projects as icons of extravagance, even as they may help save the Earth. This is the "Elysium effect."
