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an illustration showing the hypothetical Planet 9 with blue rings and a question mark over it, with stars and a galaxy in the background
Planet Nine: Is the search for this elusive world nearly over? Astronomers have been scouring the outer solar system for signs of a hypothetical ninth planet for almost a decade, without success. However, we may finally be on the cusp of finding it, experts say.
Each bright spot in this image, the first all-sky image by eRosita, is black hole or a neutron star.
5 space discoveries that scientists are struggling to explain From "runaway" black holes shooting across the cosmos to secret planets in our own backyard, space is overrun with mysterious objects that scientists are clamoring to explain. Here are five of the strangest sights in the universe, as well as their possible origins.
An illustration of a large, round asteroid having a close encounter with the blue Earth
NASA's most wanted: The 5 most dangerous asteroids to Earth What is the most dangerous asteroid, how probable is an impact, and how much destructive power would a collision with Earth have? Here are 5 big space rocks that NASA is watching closely.

Latest about Space

two side-by-side closeup photos of bright solar flares erupting from the sun

Sun fires off double-barreled X-class flares in span of 2 hours

By Meredith Garofalo published

Solar activity is expected to remain high this week.

The Sun
A fiery stream erupts from the sun. An inset of Earth for scale shows that the entire Earth is significantly smaller than the coronal mass ejection.

Powerful solar eruption temporarily rips 'tail' off Earth's magnetosphere

By Nathaniel Scharping, Eos.org published

A massive disturbance in the solar wind caused Earth’s magnetosphere to fly without its usual tail.

The Sun
Artwork showing two of the potential dangers of low-Earth orbit. The artwork shows a satellite damaged by an impact with debris, with a flare encroaching from top left.

China ready to launch 1st satellite in constellation that will challenge Elon Musk's Starlink

By Tia Ghose published

China plans to launch more than 100 satellites for its new "constellation" this year and thousands more by the end of the decade.

Space
A large light grey sphere with darker grey patches next to an irregularly shaped grey rock followed by a trail of white smoke

We finally know where the moon's atmosphere comes from

By Robert Lea published

"We give a definitive answer that meteorite impact vaporization is the dominant process that creates the lunar atmosphere."

The Moon
An image of an orange nebula shaped like a butterfly

Space photo of the week: A cosmic butterfly emerges from a star's slow death

By Jamie Carter published

A Hawaii telescope just captured a sun-like star's glowing gas layers as it expands. The resulting butterfly-shaped nebula is a sight to behold.

Astronomy
Concentric circles of yellow dust increasing in brightness toward a central bright yellow star

The building blocks of life can form rapidly around young stars

By Robert Lea published

New research could solve the mystery of how the complex building blocks of life first formed.

Astronomy
The area of stars sampled by new Gaia mission data. Our sun is located in the middle of the contours, while the red region surrounding it covers the stars for which there are reliable age estimates.

Group of ancient stars spotted near the sun could rewrite the Milky Way's history

By Patrick Pester published

Researchers using the Gaia space telescope studied some ancient stars near the sun, revealing that our corner of the Milky Way may be billions of years older than once thought.

Astronomy
A satellite image showing green walkways surrounded by a grid of buildings, with a river at the edge

Here's what the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris look like from space (photos)

By Samantha Mathewson published

The European Space Agency shared a high-resolution interactive image of central Paris highlighting several notable venues where the 2024 Summer Olympic games are being held from July 26 through Aug. 11, 2024.

Space Exploration
A deep field image of hundreds of colorful galaxies

How many galaxies are in the universe?

By Ashley Hamer published

If we can see at most 3% of the universe, how can we estimate the total number of galaxies in it?

Space
two circles side by side showing drawings of sunspots. below is latin text in italics

These 17th-century drawings of the sun by Kepler add fire to solar cycle mystery

By Elizabeth Howell published

Kepler's sun drawings are the oldest sunspot records with known dates.

The Sun
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