Search Results

Among the most remarkable geophysical features in the solar system are four fissures—nicknamed tiger stripes—that streak across Saturn's moon Enceladus. Liquid water from this moon's interior erupts from these 130-kilometer- (80-mile-) long clefts…

After exploring Mars for almost 15 years, the Opportunity rover has roved its last. In February 2019, NASA announced the end of any further attempts to communicate with the machine, which has been unresponsive since stricken by a planet-wide dust…

New research involving the analysis of spectra obtained from the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed that the vast, yellow patches on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa are made of table salt, NaCl. The results, which overturn a prevailing view of…

A star encircling the supermassive black hole at the core of the Milky Way Galaxy has offered a new, precise test of general relativity. Put forth by German-born U.S. theoretical physicist Albert Einstein in 1915, the theory of general relativity…

A large sampling of the first galaxies to have formed in the early universe reveals that these vast collections of stars and gas shone brighter than their modern-day counterparts. The discovery provides vital new clues about how the cosmos underwent…

Among the most compelling exoplanets discovered to date is a "super-Earth" around Barnard's star, the closest single star to our solar system. This star, a cool red dwarf significantly smaller than the Sun, is located only six light-years away—just…

Dawn, a pioneering mission to our solar system's asteroid belt, has gone silent. In late October 2018, Dawn ran out of hydrazine, the thruster fuel needed to orient the spacecraft for communication with Earth and the generation of solar power.…

NASA's Curiosity rover has produced new key evidence in determining whether Mars has ever hosted life. While drilling in an ancient lakebed, Curiosity recently discovered organic material more complex and abundant than previously found on the Red…

Astronomers have detected light from the “cosmic dawn,” the primordial epoch when the universe’s first stars began to shine. The long-sought discovery could throw open a window onto a previously inaccessible era, revealing the rise of stars and…

In July 2018, researchers reported the first definitive detection of a radioactive molecule outside of the solar system. The molecule, aluminum monofluoride (AlF), contains the radioactive isotope aluminum-26, forged deep inside a star through…