Latest articles by Sharmila Kuthunur
'An oasis in the desert': NASA's Curiosity rover finds pure sulfur in Martian rocks
NASA's Curiosity rover discovered a rare element on Mars after it drove over a rock and cracked it open.
The greatest astronomical discoveries of the past 25 years
As we celebrate Space.com's 25th anniversary, take a look back at the greatest discoveries in astronomy in the past 25 years.
'What exactly is a planet?' Astronomers want to amend the definition
A newly proposed mass-based definition of a planet reaffirms Pluto as a dwarf planet.
Watch a supermassive black hole trap a 'fluffy' disk in this simulation
A new computer simulation flies through tangled galaxies and zooms in on a black hole to dissect how these voids feats on surrounding matter.
If alien terraforming emits greenhouse gases, our telescopes could detect it
A new thought experiment reveals how greenhouse gases can be used as a technosignature in the hunt for aliens.
Satellites watch 'extremely dangerous' Hurricane Beryl batter Carriacou island (video)
Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Monday (July 1) morning, setting the record of strongest hurricane to happen this early in the year.
Mars Odyssey celebrates 100,000 orbits, captures epic view of solar system's largest volcano
NASA's long-running Mars Odyssey orbiter celebrated its 100,000th orbit with a fresh view of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system.
Watch India's reusable space plane prototype ace its final landing test (video)
India completed a series of tests for autonomously landing its fully reusable launch vehicle, marking another milestone in the country's pursuit of low cost access to space.
Dark matter clue? Mysterious substance may be interacting with itself in nearby galaxy
A neighbor galaxy of the Milky Way could offer fresh clues in the 90-year-long quest to determine the nature of dark matter.
Saturn's planet-wide storms driven by seasonal heating, Cassini probe reveals
Saturn pumps into space varying amounts of heat based on its seasons, which drives planet-wide storms, data from NASA's Cassini mission has revealed.
A massive black hole may be 'waking up' in a nearby galaxy
Astronomers have, for the first time, spotted a black hole in a nearby galaxy waking up from a deep slumber.
China selects 4th batch of astronaut candidates as part of 2030 moon landing goal
China has selected 10 new astronauts for training as part of its goal to put a crew on the moon by 2030, the country's human spaceflight agency announced last week.
Iconic Crab Nebula shines in gorgeous James Webb Space Telescope views (video, image)
The famous Crab Nebula gets a closeup from the James Webb Space Telescope.
This long-studied star is actually a stellar duo: 'We were absolutely stunned'
A young star that astronomers have studied for decades has been found to be part of a duo, encircled by a disk of material within which planets may have just begun coalescing.
Private space-junk-inspection probe spots discarded rocket in orbit up close (photo)
A discarded Japanese rocket was recently imaged up close by the ADRAS-J mission.
To calibrate telescopes on Earth, NASA's launching an 'artificial star' to orbit
In 2029, the Landolt satellite launched into Earth's orbit will serve to calibrate telescopes on Earth.
China's Chang'e 6 spacecraft finds long-sought particles on far side of the moon
A European experiment aboard China's Chang'e 6 mission has recorded certain charged particles previously undetected on the moon's surface.
Private Odysseus moon lander reveals which Earth 'technosignatures' aliens might see
By looking at Earth as an exoplanet, astronomers hope to search for similar fingerprints coming from planets around other stars, which would be a potential sign of intelligent life.
India's Aditya-L1 solar probe snaps shots of our hyperactive sun during May outburst (photos)
India's Aditya-L1 spacecraft imaged the sun a week after it unleashed the rare G5 geomagnetic storm that sparked some of the strongest auroras in centuries.
Astronauts test SpaceX Starship hardware and spacesuits for Artemis 3 moon mission (photos)
Two astronauts performed tests inside full-scale mock ups of SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System to test spacesuits and other hardware for NASA's Artemis 3 moon mission.
Arrokoth the 'space snowman' probably tastes like sweet soap
Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth, the farthest object ever explored by a spacecraft, likely tastes sweet — and soapy.
Human-caused global warming at all-time high, new report concludes
We have about five years worth of carbon emissions before we drive global warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), a new report concluded.
