Astronomy & Space News

The Calabash Nebula, pictured here — which has the technical name OH 231.8+04.2 — is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the Sun. This image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the star going through a rapid transformation from a red giant to a planetary nebula, during which it blows its outer layers of gas and dust out into the surrounding space. The recently ejected material is spat out in opposite directions with immense speed — the gas shown in yellow is moving close to a million kilometres an hour. Astronomers rarely capture a star in this phase of its evolution because it occurs within the blink of an eye — in astronomical terms. Over the next thousand years the nebula is expected to evolve into a fully fledged planetary nebula. The nebula is also known as the Rotten Egg Nebula because it contains a lot of sulphur, an element that, when combined with other elements, smells like a rotten egg — but luckily, it resides over 5000 light-years away in the constellation of Puppis (The Poop deck).

Webb’s image of the enormous stellar jet in Sh2-284 provides evidence that protostellar jets scale with the mass of their parent stars—the more massive the stellar engine driving the plasma, the larger the resulting jet.

The Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 73 NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky aboard, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025.

A flash of lightning, and then—something else. High above a storm, a crimson figure blinks in and out of existence. If you see it, you are a lucky witness of a sprite, one of the least-understood electrical phenomena in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

This composite image of the Cassiopeia A (or Cas A) supernova remnant, released Jan. 8, 2024, contains X-rays from Chandra (blue), infrared data from Webb (red, green, blue), and optical data from Hubble (red and white). A study by the XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) spacecraft has made the first-ever X-ray detections of chlorine and potassium in the wreckage.

Researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California monitor a research drone in the Dumont Dunes area of the Mojave Desert in September 2025 as part of a test campaign to develop navigation software to guide future rotorcraft on Mars.

Over the course of several hours, technicians meticulously connected the inner and outer segments of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy NGC 4535.

The waxing gibbous Moon rises above Earth’s blue atmosphere in this photograph taken from the International Space Station as it orbited 263 miles above a cloudy Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Quebec, Canada.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope took a look at the Sagittarius B2 molecular cloud, the most massive, and active star-forming region in our galaxy, located only a few hundred light years from our central supermassive black hole.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured dramatic plumes, both large and small, spray water ice out from many locations along the famed 'tiger stripes' near the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus.

NASA’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft with its launch abort system is stacked atop the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. The spacecraft will carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a 10-day mission around the Moon and back in early 2026.

Using its Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam), NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed never-before-seen details in the picturesque Red Spider Nebula with a rich backdrop of thousands of stars.

The atmospheric glow blankets southern Europe and the northwestern Mediterranean coast, outlined by city lights. At left, the Po Valley urban corridor in Italy shines with the metropolitan areas of Milan and Turin and their surrounding suburbs.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a galaxy, NGC 2775, that’s hard to categorize.

Why does the same side of the Moon always face Earth? I know this is called tidal locking, but what is the underlying mechanism for this? Bill CarrollChicago, Illinois When the Moon first formed, it was a sea of molten lava. The immense gravity of Earth stretched this molten sea, raising tides on both theContinue reading "Why does the same side of the Moon always face Earth?"

The post Why does the same side of the Moon always face Earth? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to head out late in the evening, point your telescope in the general direction of Orion’s Belt, and try to observe one of the most famous dark nebulae in the sky. The bigger the telescope you use, the better, although an 8-inch scope from a darkContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Horsehead Nebula"

The post This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Horsehead Nebula appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our planet, Earth, is precisely sandwiched between the Sun and the Moon. This alignment ensures the entire side of the Moon that faces us gleams under sunlight. Thanks to the Moon’s orbit around Earth, the angle of sunlight hitting the lunar surface and being reflected back toContinue reading "2025 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases"

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On Dec. 15, 1970, the Soviet Venera 7 probe became the first spacecraft to soft land on another planet when it set down on the surface of Venus. Equipped with temperature and pressure gauges and tools to measure atmospheric density, Venera 7 had been painstakingly designed to withstand the extremes of Venus. The spacecraft enteredContinue reading "Dec. 15, 1970: Venera 7 lands on Venus"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  December 14: The Geminid meteor shower peaks Saturn’s many moons offer an excellent chance to watch orbital dynamics in motion tonight. The ringed planet is visible above the southern horizon as soon as darkness falls. By 10 P.M. local time, it isContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, December 15: Dione and Titan play tag"

The post The Sky Today on Monday, December 15: Dione and Titan play tag appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Developed together, the twin Mariner 1 and 2 spacecraft were based on the Ranger lunar probe and planned for a joint mission to our closest neighboring planet. The probes featured seven instruments for studying Venus’ atmosphere, temperature, and magnetic field. On July 22, 1962, Mariner 1 launched, but the spacecraft was destroyed only minutes intoContinue reading "Dec. 14, 1961: Mariner 2 flies by Venus"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  December 13: Uranus meets a background star The Geminid meteor shower peaks today with a waning Moon in the sky. Widely regarded as the best meteor shower of the year, the Geminids will produce more than 100 meteors per hour during itsContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, December 14: The Geminid meteor shower peaks"

The post The Sky Today on Sunday, December 14: The Geminid meteor shower peaks appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), a team of astronomers has found the earliest known supernova, one which exploded when the universe was just 730 million years old. This observation shattered JWST’s previous record, a supernova that occurred when the universe was 1.8 billion years old. The team was following up on a gamma rayContinue reading "JWST captures the earliest supernova yet"

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After the successful completion of its Moon mission, China’s Chang’e 2 probe departed lunar orbit on June 9, 2011, and began its trip to asteroid 4179 Toutatis. After a brief layover at the Sun-Earth L2 Lagranian point, Chang’e 2 executed its flyby of the asteroid on Dec. 13, 2012. The flyby itself was a shortContinue reading "Dec. 13, 2012: Chang’e 2 flies by Toutatis"

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Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  December 12: Comet Schaumasse visits some galaxies Uranus stands due south of a similarly bright star in Taurus the Bull this evening, aiding in its identification. It’s a great time to get outside and view the distant ice giant, as you won’tContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, December 13: Uranus meets a background star"

The post The Sky Today on Saturday, December 13: Uranus meets a background star appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Big Jupiter now rises in the east-southeast less than an hour after dark. It's high in sharp telescopic viewing by about 10 p.m.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 12 – 21 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Great news! We'll have dark skies for the year's richest meteor shower.

The post Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks December 13-14 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest the planet might have a nitrogen-and-methane atmosphere — but more data are needed to rule out a bare rock scenario.

The post Webb’s First Look at TRAPPIST-1e Hints at a Titan-like Atmosphere appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Two winter stars left their mark long ago on wispy gas clouds near the solar system. Their passage might even have influenced life on Earth.

The post Two Stars’ Swept by the Solar System 4.5 million Years Ago  appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have discovered one of the largest structures in the universe — and the galaxies within it — spinning like a fairground teacup ride.

The post Galaxies Spin on Vast Filament Like a Teacup Ride appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A new analysis of the Solar Orbiter's unique views of the Sun's poles shows how a "conveyor belt" moves within our nearest star.

The post The Sun's Poles Are Different Than We Expected appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Moon, waning away from full, groups up with Jupiter, Castor and Pollux on two nights. Later in the week the Geminid meteor shower comes into full bloom.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, December 5 – 14 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The groundbreaking mission designed to observe our Sun and its interactions with Earth celebrates three decades in space this week.

The post The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Celebrates 30 Years in Space appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Why is the gravitational-wave background — the hum made by supermassive black holes colliding across the universe — stronger than expected?

The post Boosting the Gravitational Wave Background appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The microphone on NASA's Perseverance rover unexpectedly heard tiny claps of thunder from sparks caused by colliding dust grains.

The post Tiny Sparks of Lightning Detected on Mars for the First Time appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Hot Jupiters were once cosmic oddities, but unraveling how they moved so close to their stars has remained a stubborn mystery. Scientists have long debated whether these giants were violently flung inward or peacefully drifted through their birth disks. A new approach from researchers in Tokyo cracks open this puzzle by using the timescale of orbital circularization as a diagnostic.

Astronomers tracked a decade of dramatic changes in P13, a neutron star undergoing supercritical accretion. Its X-ray luminosity rose and fell by factors of hundreds while its rotation rate accelerated. These synchronized shifts suggest the accretion structure itself evolved over time. The findings offer fresh clues to how ultraluminous X-ray sources reach such extreme power.

Webb’s latest observations reveal a hellish world cloaked in an unexpected atmosphere: TOI-561 b, an ultra-hot rocky planet racing around its star in under 11 hours. Despite being blasted by intense radiation that should strip it bare, the planet appears to host a thick layer of gases above a global magma ocean, making it far less dense than expected.

Scientists have managed to observe solar neutrinos carrying out a rare atomic transformation deep underground, converting carbon-13 into nitrogen-13 inside the SNO+ detector. By tracking two faint flashes of light separated by several minutes, researchers confirmed one of the lowest-energy neutrino interactions ever detected.

TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized world in the system’s habitable zone, is drawing scientific attention as researchers hunt for signs of an atmosphere—and potentially life-supporting conditions. Early James Webb observations hint at methane, but the signals may instead come from the star itself, a small ultracool M dwarf whose atmospheric behavior complicates interpretation.

Uranus and Neptune may not be the icy worlds we’ve long imagined. A new Swiss-led study uses innovative hybrid modeling to reveal that these planets could just as easily be dominated by rock as by water-rich ices. The findings also help explain their bizarre, multi-poled magnetic fields and open the door to a wider range of possible interior structures. But major uncertainties remain, and only future space missions will be able to uncover what truly lies beneath their blue atmospheres.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have captured dramatic helium streams pouring off the super-puff exoplanet WASP-107b, revealing a world with an enormously inflated, weakly bound atmosphere under intense stellar heat. The detection of helium, water, and various chemical compounds—alongside the surprising absence of methane—paints a picture of a planet that formed far from its star but later migrated inward, where scorching radiation now strips its gases into space.

Scientists are testing a novel way to measure cosmic expansion using time delays in gravitationally lensed quasars. Their results match “local” measurements but clash with early-universe estimates, strengthening the mysterious Hubble tension. This mismatch could point to new physics rather than observational error. Researchers now aim to boost precision to solve the puzzle.

A sudden X-ray flare from a supermassive black hole in galaxy NGC 3783 triggered ultra-fast winds racing outward at a fifth the speed of light—an event never witnessed before. Using XMM-Newton and XRISM, astronomers caught the blast unfold in real time, revealing how tangled magnetic fields can rapidly “untwist” and hurl matter into space much like an enormous, cosmic-scale version of the Sun’s coronal mass ejections.

New simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies reveal that the strange split between two chemically distinct groups of stars may arise from several very different evolutionary events. Bursts of star formation, shifts in flowing gas, and even streams of metal-poor material from a galaxy’s outskirts can all create this double pattern. The findings challenge the long-held assumption that a major ancient collision caused the split.

A remarkably clean gravitational-wave detection has confirmed long-standing predictions about black holes, including Hawking’s area theorem and Einstein’s ringdown behavior. The findings also provide the strongest support yet that real black holes follow the Kerr model.

XRISM’s high-precision X-ray data revealed unusually strong signatures of chlorine and potassium inside the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant. These levels are far higher than theoretical models predicted, showing that supernovae can be major sources of these life-critical elements. Researchers believe powerful mixing deep inside massive stars is responsible for the unexpected boost. The findings reshape our understanding of how the building blocks of planets and life were created.

Knotted structures once imagined by Lord Kelvin may actually have shaped the universe’s earliest moments, according to new research showing how two powerful symmetries could have created stable “cosmic knots” after the Big Bang. These exotic objects may have briefly dominated the young cosmos, unraveled through quantum tunneling, and produced heavy right-handed neutrinos whose decays tipped the balance toward matter over antimatter.

Scientists have discovered that moonquakes, not meteoroids, are responsible for shifting terrain near the Apollo 17 landing site. Their analysis points to a still-active fault that has been generating quakes for millions of years. While the danger to short missions is low, long-term lunar bases could face increasing risk. The findings urge future planners to avoid building near scarps and to prioritize new seismic instruments.

SQUIRE aims to detect exotic spin-dependent interactions using quantum sensors deployed in space, where speed and environmental conditions vastly improve sensitivity. Orbiting sensors tap into Earth’s enormous natural polarized spin source and benefit from low-noise periodic signal modulation. A robust prototype with advanced noise suppression and radiation-hardened engineering now meets the requirements for space operation. The long-term goal is a powerful space-ground network capable of exploring dark matter and other beyond-Standard-Model phenomena.