This impressive image depicts the result of a massive star after it exploded in the Milky Way galaxy. (Credit: NASA/CSC/SAO) The Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured some unique photographs , and in honor of American Archive Month, NASA revealed eight new images taken by the telescope to unveil even more of the universe to space lovers. (MORE: ) It's the world's strongest X-ray telescope, allowing us to see distant galaxies and the incredible events that occur inside them. According to...

Massive plumes of gas create a wicked witch profile in the sky in this image taken by the WISE infrared telescope. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) Just in time for Halloween, astronomers have discovered a nebula that looks like the profile of a wicked witch.The star cluster is a massive cloud of gas reflecting light from nearby stars. It's also a stellar nursery. The red dots on the witch's warty chin are stars being born.The image was taken by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,...

Paramilitary soldiers stand guard near the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) at the Satish Dhawan Space Center at Sriharikota, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. India’s Mars orbiter mission is scheduled to be launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on Nov. 5. (AP Photo/Arun Sankar K) (AP Photo/Arun Sankar K) NEW DELHI -- India is aiming to join the world's deep-space pioneers with a journey to Mars that it hopes will showcase its technological ability to explore the...

For the next week or so, if you happen to catch a glimpse of a bright yellow-orange or ruddy hued "shooting star," you might have just seen a Taurid meteor. The annual shows up like clockwork every year between the middle of October and the middle of November, but Nov. 5 to 12 will be the best time to look for them as they reach a broad maximum. Initially, the moon will not be a problem. On Nov. 5, the...

MOSCOW -- A Russian rocket soared into the cosmos Thursday carrying the Sochi Olympic torch and three astronauts to the International Space Station ahead of the first-ever spacewalk for the symbol of peace. Video streamed by the U.S. space agency NASA reported a flawless docking with the space station about six hours after the craft blasted off from Russia's manned space facility in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The unlit torch for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi is...

LOS ANGELES — Southern Californians from Santa Barbara to San Diego have reported seeing a fireball that forecasters said was most likely a meteor streaking across the sky. The National Weather Service says the sightings reported starting at about 8 p.m. Wednesday night are most likely associated with the South Taurids (TOHR-ids) meteor shower that has been especially active in early November. Astronomers say the Taurids don't bring big numbers of visible meteors but a high percentage of extremely bright...

MOSCOW – A Russian space capsule carrying the Sochi Olympic torch and three astronauts returned to Earth on Monday from the International Space Station in a flawless landing on the steppes of Kazakhstan. The Soyuz capsule landed at 8:49 local time, about three and a half hours after undocking from the station with Russian Fyodor Yurchikhin, American Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano of Italy aboard. The unlit Olympic torch was brought to the ISS on Thursday when three new crew...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – This is one strange asteroid. The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a six-tailed asteroid in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Scientists say they've never seen anything like it. Incredibly, the comet-like tails change shape as the asteroid sheds dust. The streams have occurred over several months. (WATCH: ) A research team led by the University of California, Los Angeles, believes the asteroid, designated P/2013 P5, is rotating so much that its...

One theory of a newly discovered type of black-hole quasar suggests gas flows into a central black hole. More frequent particle collisions close to the black hole make the gas hot in regions that are closer to the center (shown in blue and white). Regions further away are cooler (yellow and orange). (York University/Patrick Hall) The most luminous objects in the universe keep getting more mysterious. Astronomers have discovered a new type of quasar — an incredibly bright galactic core...

Saturn is by far the showiest, most photogenic planet in the solar system. With its striped surface, stunning set of rings and 62 moons, the sixth planet from the sun is a wonder to view, whether it’s through a telescope or in an image taken from space. The latest such image is a rarity, a composite of photos taken by the spacecraft, part of a joint NASA mission with the European and Italian space agencies called Cassini-Huygens, which has been...

Comet ISON shines in this five-minute exposure taken at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on Nov. 8. Located in the constellation of Virgo, it is now visible in a good pair of binoculars. (NASA/MSFC/Aaron Kingery) Comet ISON's highly anticipated flyby of the sun is now just two weeks away, and scientists and skywatchers alike hope the encounter gives them another reason to be thankful this holiday season. will skim just 730,000 miles above the solar surface on Thanksgiving Day, Nov....

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA hopes its newest Mars spacecraft lives up to its know-it-all name. The robotic explorer called Maven is due to blast off Monday on a 10-month journey to the red planet. There, it will orbit Mars and study the atmosphere to try to understand how the planet morphed from warm and wet to cold and dry. "A maven is a trusted expert," noted NASA's space science chief, John Grunsfeld. Maven will help scientists "build a story...