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Brazilian observer José Luis Pereira captured this shot of an impactor (bright flash at center-left) hitting Jupiter on Sept. 13, 2021.

Jupiter just got smacked by a space rock and an amateur astronomer caught it on camera

By Mike Wall

Brazilian observer José Luis Pereira captured a bright flash on the solar system's largest planet on Sept. 13, memorializing the fiery death of a space rock high in the Jovian atmosphere.

The almost-full Harvest Moon sets behind the Statue of Liberty before sunrise on Sept. 20, 2021

Don't miss tonight's full Harvest Moon

By Laura Geggel

Here's how to see September's full Harvest Moon.

Artwork showing the planets orbiting the sun (from inner to outer): Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

Why do the planets in the solar system orbit on the same plane?

By JoAnna Wendel

About 4.5 billion years ago, the solar system was just a giant, spinning cloud of gas and dust. Today, it's flat. Here's how that happened.

The Crew Dragon Resilience splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida, on Sept. 18, 2021.

SpaceX Inspiration4 astronauts return to Earth with historic splashdown off Florida coast

By Amy Thompson

After three days in space, SpaceX's first all-civilian crew returned to Earth tonight, splashing down off the Florida coast to end a historic mission.

The remnants of the oldest documented supernova, which Chinese astronomers documented in A.D. 185 (not the supernova of A.D. 1181)

Nearly 900 years ago, astronomers spotted a strange, bright light in the sky. We finally know what caused it.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

In the 12th century, Chinese and Japanese astronomers spotted a supernova in the sky shining as brightly as Saturn.

Gravitational waves are giant ripples in the fabric of space-time.

New gravitational wave detector picks up possible signal from the beginning of time

By Adam Mann

Physicists turned on a new type of gravitational-wave sensor and saw two intriguing results, but they aren't yet ready to claim a discovery.

The Inspiration4 mission blasts off on Sept. 15, 2021.

SpaceX launches four civilians into orbit on historic Inspiration4 flight

By Amy Thompson

SpaceX made history tonight as it launched a crew of private citizens on a jaunt around Earth.

Two Hubble images show the galaxy cluster MACS J0138. In the 2016 image, light from the ancient Supernova Requiem appears in three different spots simultaneously on the edge of the cluster (circled in white). In the 2019 image, they are gone.

A 10 billion-year-old supernova will soon replay before our eyes, new dark matter study predicts

By Brandon Specktor

Scientists predict that an ancient supernova will reappear in the sky for a 4th time in the year 2037, thanks to the meddling influence of dark matter.

Three bright dots capturing the same event were observed in Hubble Space Telescope images in 2016 but disappeared by 2019.

Distant 'Requiem' supernova will be visible again in 2037, astronomers predict

By Tereza Pultarova

A distant supernova previously imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope will be visible again from Earth and surrounding space in 2037, astronomers predict.

On July 30, 2021, Shenzhou 12 astronaut Tang Hongbo photographed the spectacular scenery of thousands of lights in North Africa.

Chinese astronauts send back stunning images of Earth from Tianhe space station module (photos)

By Andrew Jones

China's Shenzhou 12 astronauts have sent back stunning images taken out of small windows on the Tianhe space station module in low Earth orbit.

The time crystal was created inside Google's Sycamore chip, which is kept cool inside their quantum cryostat.

Otherworldly 'time crystal' made inside Google quantum computer could change physics forever

By Ben Turner

The crystals neatly sidestep some of physics' most iron-clad laws.

An artist's depiction of a swirling vortex beam.

1st 'atom tornado' created from swirling vortex of helium atoms

By Ben Turner

Physicists have created the first-ever atomic vortex beam — a swirling tornado of atoms and molecules with mysterious properties that have yet to be understood.

The images show the dark matter halo of the largest galaxy cluster formed in the simulation at different magnifications.

Travel through galaxies and the dark matter web in this stunning universe simulation

By Stephanie Pappas

A new freely downloadable universe simulation reveals the structure of galaxies and galactic clusters over more than 13 billion years of history.

Artist's impression of Kuiper Belt objects.

Cosmic objects with strange orbits discovered beyond Neptune

By Stephanie Pappas

A six-year search of space beyond the orbit of Neptune has netted 461 newly discovered objects, including four that could shed light on Planet Nine.

The moon's different phases, as seen from Earth.

Does the moon rotate?

By Jacklin Kwan

Here's how long a "moon day" is.

Heritage Auctions' "Images of Apollo: The J.L. Pickering Collection" signature auction runs through Sept. 24, 2021.

Archivist's vintage 'Images of Apollo' photo prints land on auction

By Robert Z. Pearlman

A private archivist known for unearthing rare images from the early years of spaceflight is now selling a treasure trove of NASA prints representing some of the most iconic photos taken.

An image taken by the Dark Energy Survey shows Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein in October 2017.

The 'megacomet' Bernardinelli-Bernstein is the find of a decade. Here's the discovery explained.

By Meghan Bartels

The scientists that found Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein are an unlikely pair.

An artist's depiction of pristine gas (shown in magenta) in the Milky Way.

Our Milky Way galaxy isn't very well mixed, study suggests

By Meghan Bartels

Our galaxy isn't as thoroughly mixed as scientists sometimes assume, according to a new study.

NASA's Perseverance rover has collected two drilled-out samples from this Red Planet rock, which the mission team dubbed "Rochette."

Perseverance rover collects 2nd Mars sample (photos)

By Mike Wall

Perseverance collected another drilled-out core of a Martian rock dubbed "Rochette," sealing the sample in its designated titanium tube on Wednesday (Sept. 8).

At least three different oil slicks are visible in the area of East Timbalier National Wildlife Refuge, south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

In Hurricane Ida's wake, satellite images show oil slicks in Gulf of Mexico

By Samantha Mathewson

Satellite images capture aerial views of an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ida's landfall on Aug. 29.