Astronomy, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 31, 2021

There's a secret code in the Mars rover's parachute

When NASA's Perseverance rover deployed its parachute during its death-defying plunge through the Red Planet's atmosphere on Feb. 18, it flashed a secret code of red-and-white stripes across the sky, NASA scientists confirmed in a news conference on Monday (Feb. 22). Internet sleuths cracked the code six hours after learning...

Dec 31, 2020

A giant black hole keeps evading detection and scientists can't explain it

An enormous black hole keeps slipping through astronomers' nets. Supermassive black holes are thought to lurk at the hearts of most, if not all, galaxies. Our own Milky Way has one as massive as 4 million suns, for example, and M87's — the only black hole ever imaged directly —...

Dec 31, 2020

Largest canyon in the solar system revealed in stunning new images

About 87 million miles (140 million kilometers) above the Grand Canyon, an even larger, grander abyss cuts through the gut of the Red Planet. Known as Valles Marineris, this system of deep, vast canyons runs more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km) along the Martian equator, spanning nearly a quarter of...

Dec 31, 2020

Here's how to watch the full 'wolf moon' this week

January's full moon, popularly known as the wolf moon, is almost upon us. Here's howl to watch it shine brightly this Thursday (Jan. 28). The moon will be at its fullest for just an instant — on Thursday, that happens at 2:16 p.m. EST (19:16 UTC). But, as with every...

Oct 31, 2022

Lopsided star cluster may disprove Newton and Einstein, controversial new study claims

Astronomers observing star clusters in our galaxy have found evidence that controversially challenges Newton's laws of gravity and could upend our understanding of the universe. The puzzling finding could support a controversial idea that does away entirely with dark matter. The researchers found this evidence by observing open star clusters,...

Sep 30, 2022

Adorable 'smiling' sun could batter Earth with geomagnetic storms this weekend

They say that when you smile, the world smiles with you. And when the sun smiles, the world gets bathed in plasma barf. Such is the unfortunate subtext of an adorable new image of our closest star, which seems to be smiling down upon us with a joyful chibi grin....

Jul 31, 2022

Huge, potentially disruptive sunspot will swing round to face Earth this weekend

A huge sunspot on the far side of the sun is set to face Earth this weekend, potentially lashing our planet with a geomagnetic storm. The spot is so big it's changing the way the sun vibrates, according to spaceweather.com. If the dark spot hurls a blob of plasma at...

Jul 31, 2022

Is Earth getting closer to the sun, or farther away?

The sun moves in such a predictable way across the sky that you might never suspect that its relationship with Earth is changing all the time. In fact, the average distance between Earth and the sun is not static year over year. So do we know if Earth is getting...

Jul 31, 2022

'STEVE' descends on North America after surprise solar storm

In the dark of Sunday night and Monday morning (Aug. 7 and 8), a surprise solar storm slammed into Earth, showering our planet in a rapid stream of charged particles from the sun. The resulting clash of solar and terrestrial particles in Earth's atmosphere caused stunning auroras to appear at...

Jul 31, 2022

Europa's icy shell may be made from pure underwater snow

The shell of Jupiter's famous ice moon may be formed, in part, by pure underwater snow that floats up instead of falling down. A new study, published in the August issue of the journal Astrobiology, finds that Europa's icy crust might be built partially by frazil ice, a fluffy accumulation...

Apr 30, 2022

Black Moon solar eclipse looks otherworldly in stunning images

A rare solar eclipse Saturday (April 30) stunned viewers across Antarctica, the southern tip of South America, and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. While much of the event took place in remote areas, live cameras on Earth and satellites in space allowed people around the world to witness the moon...

Apr 30, 2022

Astronauts can no longer commit crimes on the moon, Canada decrees

Space may be the final frontier, but the good people of Canada aim to tame that frontier with law and order. Last week, the Canadian Parliament proposed a measure that will, essentially, make it illegal for Canadian astronauts to commit crimes on the moon, or while in orbit. The measure,...

Apr 30, 2022

What time is the Blood Moon lunar eclipse?

A Blood Moon total lunar eclipse will occur this weekend, and here's when to watch it. The sun, moon and Earth will align Sunday night for a total lunar eclipse on May 15, which occurs when the Earth moves into place between the sun and the full moon. As a...

Mar 31, 2022

The Goldilocks zone: The place in a solar system that's just right

The Goldilocks zone gets its name from the fairy tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks is a fussy little girl whose porridge has to be just right — neither too hot nor too cold. It’s the same with life itself — or at least, the kind of water-based life...

Mar 31, 2022

Why isn't Earth perfectly round?

If you had an enormous measuring tape that started at Earth's center and went to our planet's highest peak, you wouldn't be looking at Mount Everest. Rather, the tallest mountain would be on the other side of the world: Ecuador's Chimborazo. Chimborazo wins in this case because Earth is actually...