View larger. | NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this view of Io on December 30, 2023. A new NASA study suggested Io doesn’t have a global subsurface ocean of magma. Rather, each of Io’s raging volcanoes is self-powered with its own magma pool. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SwRI/ MSSS/ Gerald Eichstädt. Jupiter’s moon Io is the … Read more
View larger. | Artist’s illustration of TRAPPIST-1 b as it is about to pass behind its red dwarf star. A new study suggested that TRAPPIST-1 b is either airless but very geologically active, or has a hazy carbon dioxide atmosphere. Image via Thomas Müller (HdA/ MPIA/ Max Planck Society). TRAPPIST-1 b is the innermost rocky … Read more
The past year was a big one for space. Skywatchers across the United States witnessed a total solar eclipse, SpaceX caught a giant rocket out of mid-air with a pair of chopstick arms, and telescopes on Earth and in space revealed to us images of the universe that have changed our very understanding of the … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered that the centaur called 2060 Chiron is an oddball. The object, which is a minor body that orbits the sun in the expanse between Jupiter and Neptune, has a mixture of ices and gases that make it stand out from other objects in the distant outer solar system. … Read more
NASA’s first two crewed Artemis moon missions have been pushed back to 2026 and 2027, respectively, and the move could have big ramifications for the agency’s Artemis program and competition with China for leadership in space. Artemis 2, which will send a crew of three Americans and a Canadian astronaut around the moon, was due … Read more
The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced its 2025 calendar, featuring the best images from the Hubble and Webb telescopes from the past year. And it’s free for you to download! Via ESA/Hubble, ESA/Webb. Reposted from ESA. ESA announces free Hubble and Webb 2025 calendar To celebrate another year of exciting images and discoveries from … Read more
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Abhijit Patil in Big Sur, California, captured Comet A3 near the Milky Way on October 22, 2024. Thanks, Abhijit! The comet was one of our top 10 stories of 2024. See the full list below. Top 10 stories of 2024 2024 was a fantastic year for observers: many of … Read more
The U.S. Space Force celebrates its fifth anniversary today. The service was formally established on Dec. 20, 2019, when President Donald Trump signed it into law with the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that allocates U.S. military spending each year. Since then, the U.S. Space Force has grown to nearly 15,000 servicemembers and civilian … Read more
For the latest on Parker Solar Probe, watch the livestream above at 12:15 CST (18:15 UTC) on Friday, December 20, 2024, with EarthSky founder Deborah Byrd and heliophysicist C. Alex Young of NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center, co-author of EarthSky’s daily sun news update. Join us in marveling at a spacecraft that can touch the sun! … Read more
View larger. | This elevation map depicts the South Pole-Aitken basin on the moon. It is the moon’s largest crater. The lowest regions are in blue and purple. A new study suggested the crater is more circular in shape than scientists previously thought. Image via NASA/ GSFC/ University of Arizona. The South Pole-Aitken basin is … Read more