Vast Space is taking big steps toward putting the first commercial space station in orbit. The California-based startup recently completed a major testing milestone for the qualification vessel of its upcoming Haven-1 station, a benchmark Vast also used to reevaluate the launch date for the company’s first flight-ready module. “With the completion of our primary … Read more
How easy is it to see Earth’s civilization? Could an alien civilization with technology like ours detect us looking back at them? What would aliens see? And from how far away could they see it? Knowing how easy Earth and earthlings are to spot might simplify work for scientists looking for alien life. The SETI … Read more
What if Bennu hit Earth? The asteroid has a 1-in-2,700 chance of hitting our planet in 2182. On February 5, 2025, scientists in South Korea said they’ve simulated what might happen to Earth if we end up on the losing side of those odds. Image via Myshoun/ Pixabay. What if Bennu hit Earth? Asteroid Bennu … Read more
This ringed galaxy with 9 rings – known previously as LEDA 1313424 – has been nicknamed the Bullseye. It has 6 more rings than any other known galaxy. Researchers said on February 4, 2025, that a small galaxy dove through the heart of the Bullseye some 50 million years ago. The collision resulted in these … Read more
EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd interviewed asteroid expert Dr. Richard Binzel of MIT – inventor of the Torino Scale – about asteroid 2024 YR4. Increasing odds of impact Asteroid 2024 YR4 still sits at a 3 on the Torino scale, but its odds of hitting Earth have inched up. Keep in mind that those odds are still … Read more
A rock from space slammed into Mars in February 2021, causing seismic waves that reached NASA’s InSight spacecraft, located 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away. The impact left a 70-foot (21-meter) diameter crater and dented an area nearly a mile wide (1,600 meters). ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), using its Color and Stereo Surface Imaging … Read more
Technicians carrying the precious sample of asteroid Bennu in 2023. The sample was headed for a newly constructed clean room at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Image via NASA. Bennu is a carbon-rich asteroid that passes semi-close to Earth about every six years. Scientists say it might have originated from a larger body farther out … Read more
View larger. | Here’s a practice image to start! Astronauts aboard the International Space Station took this photograph of a glowing city on April 8, 2015. Can you identify which of the world’s cities this is? … If you guessed the City of Lights – Paris – you’re right! The Seine flows through the city, … Read more
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured this mosaic image of the far side of the moon. For the first time, scientists have found evidence for relatively recent geological activity on moon’s far side. Via NASA/ GSFC/ Arizona State University. Across the lifetimes of people alive on Earth today, scientists have assumed the moon has been a … Read more
The exoplanet K2-18 b may have an ocean of water beneath a hydrogen-rich atmosphere, as shown in this artist’s concept. Credit: Illustration: NASA, ESA, CSA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI). Science: Nikku Madhusudhan (IoA) This past year brought much of the world together through events both anticipated and unexpected. April’s highly awaited total solar eclipse delighted millions … Read more