The universe

Latest about The universe

Chinese researchers are developing a drone that could explore Mars by air or on the ground.

A Chinese research team is developing a lightweight robotic drone that could aid the nation's Mars exploration ambitions.

By Leonard David published

"On the ground, it mainly rolls by shifting its center of gravity."

Mars
An illustration shows a pulsar sat within a cloud of dark matter

'Dark matter is more valuable than gold': Wobbly galaxies help shine a light on the universe's strangest stuff

By Robert Lea published

Scientists have used the wobble of the Milky Way and what are known as "cosmic lighthouses" to shine a light on the mystery of dark matter.

The Universe
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander captured stunning views of the moon after its second lunar orbit maneuver on Feb. 24, 2025.

There are 3 private lunar landers headed to the moon right now — a 1st in space history

By Mike Wall published

Three private lunar landers are on their way to the moon right now, a surge of exploration never before seen in spaceflight history.

The moon
Intuitive Machines' IM-2 moon lander, named Athena, captured this view of Earth shortly after launching on Feb. 26, 2025. Visible at the bottom of the frame is the second stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that lofted Athena.

Private Athena moon lander beams home gorgeous views of Earth from space (photos)

By Mike Wall published

Intuitive Machines' second lunar lander, named Athena, snapped some amazing shots of its home planet shortly after launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 26.

The moon
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander snapped this shot of the moon from an altitude of about 62 miles (100 kilometers) on Feb. 24, 2025.

Private Blue Ghost lander sees far side of the moon in breathtaking detail ahead of lunar landing (video)

By Mike Wall published

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander has beamed home stunning views of the moon from an altitude of just 62 miles (100 kilometers).

The moon
A spiral structure composed of billions of comets

NASA supercomputer finds billions of comets mimicking the Milky Way's shape: 'The universe seems to like spirals!'

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers have discovered that billions of comets in an icy shell around the solar system called the Oort Cloud mimic the spiral structure of the Milky Way.

Solar System
The planet Earth on April 17, 2019. The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a NASA camera aboard NOAA’s DSCOVR spacecraft, returns daily images of Earth from a distance of nearly 1 million miles (1.6 million kilometers). This animation shows the entire rotation of the planet on that day.

How fast is Earth moving?

By Doris Elin Urrutia last updated

Earth is moving much faster than it seems.

Earth
an illustration of stars in the night sky

February new moon 2025: The young moon occults Mercury and passes by Venus

By Jesse Emspak published

The moon enters its new phase for February 2025 tonight, leaving the skies nice and dark for observing many bright planets currently visible in the night sky.

The moon

NASA set to deliver a knock-out PUNCH to mysteries of the solar wind

By Keith Cooper published

A new mission designed to better understand the heliosphere will be the first to map in three dimensions how the solar corona becomes the solar wind.

The Sun
(Main) The galaxies NGC3314 and UDG32 as seen by the OmegaCAM installed on the VST telescope (Inset) a closer view of a rotating ultra-diffuse galaxy

These dwarf galaxies in the Hydra cluster are baffling scientists: 'We found something we didn't expect'

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers were surprised to see the behavior of ultrafaint dwarf galaxies located in the Hydra cluster.

The Universe
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