What can we do with a captured asteroid? By Paul Sutter Asteroids are packed with gold and other valuable resources. And the best way to harvest those metals may be to bring space rocks to Earth.
NASA halts human moon lander work with SpaceX amid Blue Origin lawsuit By Meghan Bartels NASA must again stop work on its human moon lander partnership with SpaceX due to a Blue Origin lawsuit, further risking the agency's tight timeline to return astronauts to the moon.
Why this weekend's Blue Moon is extra rare (and how to see it) By Laura Geggel August's full Blue Moon shines on Sunday, but it will be a "full moon weekend."
Chinese astronomers eye Tibetan Plateau site for observatory project By Meghan Bartels Chinese astronomers hope to establish a major observatory program on the roof of the world, the Tibetan Plateau, with new research arguing for pristine observing conditions nestled in the uplands.
SpaceX Starlink satellites responsible for over half of close encounters in orbit, scientist says By Tereza Pultarova SpaceX's Starlink satellites are involved in about 1,600 close encounters between two spacecraft in low Earth orbit every week, according to available data. That’s about 50% of all such incidents.
Milky Way has a 3,000-light-year-long splinter in its arm, and astronomers don't know why By Brandon Specktor Astronomers discovered a 3,000-light-year-long 'break' in the Milky Way's Sagittarius spiral arm, jutting out at a wild angle.
Physicists give weird new phase of matter an extra dimension By Ben Turner The new phase of matter behaves like a solid and a frictionless liquid at the same time
Chinese satellite got whacked by hunk of Russian rocket in March By Mike Wall The partial breakup of China's Yunhai 1-02 military satellite on March 18 is no longer mysterious.
SpaceX's Starship could be ready for 1st orbital test flight 'in a few weeks,' Elon Musk says By Mike Wall But don't expect it to actually launch so soon.
Saturn's rippling rings point to massive, soupy core hidden inside By Tereza Pultarova Scientists used Saturn's famous rings as a seismograph to study processes in the planet's interior. The researchers found its core is like a soup consisting of rocks, ices and metallic fluids.
What God, quantum mechanics and consciousness have in common By John Horgan Theories that try to explain these big metaphysical mysteries fall short, making agnosticism the only sensible stance.
The story behind black-and-white photo of SpaceX's Starship By Elizabeth Howell Here's the historical significance of the black-and-white photo that Elon Musk tweeted showing SpaceX's next Starship prototype.
Famous Einstein equation used to create matter from light for first time By Ben Turner The particles used were spooky virtual particles, conjured from a disturbance between two electromagnetic fields.
Black holes could give away their size by their 'messy eating' By Meghan Bartels Astronomers think they have established a new way to calculate the size of supermassive black holes: by studying the feeding patterns of these invisible giants.
Solar Orbiter spacecraft sends postcard from Venus in flyby video By Tereza Pultarova Sun-exploring spacecraft Solar Orbiter has captured this video of a glowing crescent of Venus as it flew past the planet during a gravity-assist flyby on Monday (Aug 9).
Why Perseverance rover fumbled 1st sampling attempt on Mars By Chelsea Gohd NASA's Perseverance rover's first sample collection didn't go as planned due to trouble with a "unique" and unexpectedly powdery Mars rock.
Scientists fine-tune odds of asteroid Bennu hitting Earth By Meghan Bartels If the possibility of an asteroid called Bennu slamming into Earth a lifetime from now was keeping you up at night, NASA scientists think you can rest a little easier.
Indian rocket suffers catastrophic failure during launch, Earth-watching satellite lost By Tariq Malik An Indian rocket carrying a new Earth-observation satellite for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) suffered a catastrophic failure shortly after launching early Thursday (Aug. 12).
Astronomers capture strange image of 'dancing ghosts' in the night sky By Ben Turner Scientists think they know the origin of the image, but they’re still baffled by its bizarre shape.
Runaway star caught streaking across Milky Way at 2 million mph ... in the wrong direction By Charlie Wood Astronomers say a weird star careening through the Milky Way could have survived the explosive powers of a supernova.
