The world’s largest rocket launches spy satellite into space. ...

Astronauts spinning in space avoid dizziness because the body’s balance organs shut down in microgravity. ...

The massive Delta IV Heavy rocket lifts off carrying NROL-37 for the National Reconnaissance Office. (United Launch Alliance) This weekend, the world's largest and most powerful rocket launched into space –and it was every bit as impressive as you'd imagine it would be. The rocket launched the NROL-37 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Saturday afternoon. The Delta IV Heavy rocket is prepared for launch at Space Complex-37. (United...

While hunting for planets that orbit stars other than our sun, known as exoplanets, astronomers with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have come across an exotic "first." Through the use of direct imaging, researchers have spotted a new exoplanet , which is shown in the slideshow above (circled in red). The bright blue sphere in the image is CVSO 30, a T-Tauri star located about 1,200 light-years away from the Earth. In 2012, astronomers discovered that the planet had an...

A massive methane leak that was visible from space, and NASA said it was the first time they've ever observed such a leak from miles above the Earth. When NASA aircraft and satellites flew over the Aliso Canyon methane leak in January, they were able to detect the gas leaking from deep beneath a mountain near Porter Ranch, California, a new study has revealed. , published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, confirm just how large the greenhouse gas's leak...

NASA has released new promotional posters asking for volunteers to take a trip to Mars. ...

A NASA spacecraft is bound for a Fourth of July encounter with Jupiter in the latest quest to study how the largest planet in the solar system formed and evolved. As Juno approaches Jupiter's harsh radiation environment, it will fire its main engine to slow down and then slip into orbit around the planet. "It's a one-shot deal," mission chief scientist Scott Bolton from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, said Thursday. "Everything is riding on it." If...

In April, astronomers discovered that a small asteroid has been keeping Earth company for decades and will continue doing so for centuries to come. Talk about best friend goals. Dubbed 2016 HO3, , according to a news release from NASA. Though it’s too far out to be considered a true satellite of Earth, the researchers say it’s the best and most stable example to date of a “quasi-satellite.” During its annual trip around the sun, 2016 HO3 spends about half...

With cult classics like Star Wars and Space Jam, it’s safe to say that we Earthlings have long been interested in making contact with our extraterrestrial neighbors. But new research says we probably have about 1,500 years to go until that happens. “We haven’t heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place – ,” study author and Cornell student Evan Solomonides said in a release. Alongside his co-author, Cornell’s Tisch Distinguished University Professor of Astronomy Yervant Terzian, Solomonides...

Earth and Venus are remarkably similar, but our sister planet is missing one key element: water. A recent study claims that Venus’ powerful electric wind is the culprit behind the arid planet’s lack of moisture. With surface temperatures topping 860 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s no surprise that Venus has a dry surface. One would think the water simply boiled off, but according to a study , that’s too easy an explanation. Lead author and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center scientist Dr....

Scientists have discovered that there may be flowing water under the surface of Pluto. ...

A view of the dark vortex in blue light (right) and its bright companion clouds (left). (NASA, ESA, and M.H. Wong and J. Tollefson (UC Berkeley) ) (NASA, ESA, and M.H. Wong and J. Tollefson (UC Berkeley)) NASA just spotted a huge dark spot on Neptune for the first time this century, and it's roughly the size of the United States. Features of this dark spot, aptly called a dark vortex, were first detected in July 2015, but it wasn't...