Karl Tate

With the highest density of any observed space object, neutron stars can beam radiation across the galaxy.

A giant blue planet is found, but the color could be due to glass particles in the hellish planet's hot atmosphere.

Nearly two dozen museums and other locations around the U.S. (plus one in England) boast real spaceships that have carried astronauts on missions to orbit and the moon.

Russia's Proton rocket has been a workhorse booster since 1965, but some recent versions have been plagued by failures. See how the Proton rocket works in this SPACE.com infographic.

Here's what humanity would have to do to reach a star in less than 100 years.

See how NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a huge space observatory, will probe the universe from its perch in deep space.

IRIS orbits the Earth and focuses on tiny details on the sun's surface with its small but powerful telescope.

The nearby star Gliese 667c is orbited by up to seven alien planets, three of which are super-Earths that may be habitable.

Humans could set up robot-constructed mining outposts at the moon's poles.

With a pair of binoculars or a small telescope, many spectacular features can be spotted on the moon.

The first woman in space flew on June 16, 1963.

The landmark 1968 film influenced the depiction of space travel in movies and television for decades.

The capsule carrying China's second female astronaut and two crewmates will spend 15 days in space.

The crew of a Mars-bound mission would face significant radiation and cancer risk en route.

Russia's Soyuz spacecraft can now launch crews to the International Space Station in a single day. See how it works in this SPACE.com infographic.

Damaged at launch, the 1970s Skylab required dramatic on-orbit repairs before it was usable. See how it worked.

The ammonia system is one of several cooling loops that circulate liquids throughout the International Space Station.

After decades of deterioration, Star Trek's Galileo shuttlecraft mockup is being restored to its original glory.

The mission of the Kepler Space Telescope is to identify and characterize Earth-size planets in the habitable zones of nearby stars.

Find out how Hubble has stayed on the cutting edge of deep-space astronomy for the past 20 years.

Scientists have discovered three super-Earths circling two different stars more than 1,000 light-years away.

Fruit flies launched in 1947 became the first animals to reach outer space and be recovered alive.