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An artist's impression of the white dwarf G29-38 accreting planetary material from a circumstellar debris disk. When the planetary material hits the white dwarf surface, a plasma is formed and cools via detectable X-ray emission.

'Zombie' star caught snacking on dead planet's remains

By Charles Q. Choi published

Distant X-rays may be the most direct evidence yet of the remains of a disintegrated planet colliding with the corpse of a star, a new study finds.

Arecibo Observatory's cable-suspended science platform, as seen before damage accrued in 2020.

What happened at the Arecibo Observatory? New inquiry launched into iconic telescope's collapse.

By Meghan Bartels published

It's been more than a year since scientists lost one of the most iconic telescopes ever built — and yet the collapse remains something of a mystery.

The temperature of Uranus averages minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit. This image was taken by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1985.

What is the temperature of Uranus?

By Daisy Dobrijevic, Nola Taylor Tillman published

Reference The temperature of Uranus averages minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Uranus holds the record for the coldest temperature ever measured in the solar system.

Reference
Very large space rocks that fly within 4.6 million miles (7.5 million kilometers) of Earth's solar orbit are known as potentially hazardous asteroids.

NASA asteroid detector 'looks up' to scan entire sky every 24 hours

By Ben Turner published

The addition of two southern hemisphere telescopes will enable ATLAS to do full sky scans.

The waning gibbous Moon is pictured above the Earth's horizon as the International Space Station orbited 272 miles above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of southern Argentina in this image taken on Jan. 21, 2022.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff published

The moon, NASA's target for its Artemis program, shines as a tantalizing destination in this photo taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station.

A composite image of auroras on Jupiter, taken using the Hubble Space Telescope's Imaging Spectrograph.

Jupiter's auroras arise from a magnetic 'tug-of-war' with volcanic eruptions on its moon Io

By Samantha Mathewson published

Jupiter's auroras are caused by a cosmic game of "tug-of-war," fueled by volcanoes on the planet's innermost moon, Io.

Hale-Bopp comet is regarded as one of the most viewed comets in history.

Comet Hale-Bopp: Facts about the bright and tragic comet

By Elizabeth Howell, Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference Hale-Bopp was an unusually bright comet that flew close to Earth in 1977. Tragically, Hale-Bopp also influenced the Heaven's Gate cult's mass suicide.

Reference
Artist's illustration of a black hole.

What happens at the center of a black hole?

By Paul Sutter published

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.

An image of Earth taken by Suomi NPP Satellite

When is the midpoint of winter?

By Joe Rao published

Winter's midpoint in 2022, contrary to the tradition of Candlemas or the annual extended forecast derived by Punxsutawney Phil, was on Feb. 3.

Comet ISON, as photographed by the TRAPPIST national telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory on Nov. 15, 2013.

Comet impact may have triggered decline of Ohio's Hopewell people 1,600 years ago

By Doris Elin Urrutia published

Researchers think that comet fragments may have exploded over Ohio 1,600 years ago, triggering a violent airburst and starting wildfires that devastated the Hopewell people's crops and the landscape.

A "selfie" captured by NASA's Perseverance rover, which is searching for signs of ancient life on Mars.

Mars rover Perseverance sets distance record on the Red Planet

By Elizabeth Howell published

The rover topped 800 feet with a self-drive function.

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity captured this image of its own shadow using its navigation camera on Feb. 8, 2022, during the chopper’s 19th Red Planet flight.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity aces 19th flight after historic Red Planet weather delay

By Mike Wall published

Ingenuity aced a 100-second sortie on Tuesday (Feb. 8), its 19th Red Planet flight overall but its first since Dec. 15. A dust storm pushed the liftoff date back by more than a month.

The wheels on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover have accumulated some damage during the robot's nine-plus years on the Red Planet, as this photo snapped by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Jan. 27, 2022, shows.

Rugged Mars has taken big bites out of the Curiosity rover's wheels (photos)

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Curiosity rover has left plenty of marks on Mars over the past nine-plus years, and the Red Planet is returning the favor.

Laniakea Supercluster of Galaxies

What is the biggest thing in the universe?

By Elizabeth Howell published

Earth and even the sun are puny compared to a mighty, hulking source of gamma-rays.

An artist's concept of the Big Bang.

The Big Bang: What really happened at our universe's birth?

By Mike Wall published

Our universe was born 13.7 billion years ago in a massive expansion that blew space up like a giant balloon.

Myths about space

25 myths about space

By Elizabeth Howell, Ailsa Harvey published

These wild myths about space that just won't go away.

An artist's depiction of the asteroids 2019 PR2 and 2019 QR6 shortly after they separated.

Strange twin asteroids, the youngest ever seen, likely broke apart just 300 years ago

By Meghan Bartels published

Scientists spotted two space rocks that may be Earth's freshest asteroid neighbors, but have to wait until 2033 to see them again.

Streams and rivers cut through the Greenland ice sheet, pouring water into the Arctic Ocean.

Greenland lost enough ice in last 2 decades to cover entire US in 1.5 feet of water

By Brandon Specktor published

Satellite data shows that Greenland’s ice sheet has lost enough water over 20 years to submerge the entire United States.

Starlink Satellites pass overhead near Carson National Forest, New Mexico, photographed soon after launch.

International Astronomical Union launches new center to fight satellite megaconstellation threat

By Tereza Pultarova published

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has launched a new center to fight the threat of satellite megaconstellations, which it now describes as worse than urban light pollution.

This NASA illustration depicts a solitary black hole in space, with its gravity warping the view of stars and galaxies in the background.

Rogue black hole spotted on its own for the first time

By Charles Choi published

Astronomers may have for the first time detected and measured the mass of an isolated stellar-mass black hole, a new study finds.

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