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...

The Hubble telescope has spotted a mysterious new giant vortex over Neptune ...

Thanks to new technology from NASA, it may become possible to get internet access in space. Called the Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN), this development is a new communications protocol that is , according to NASA. The space agency has installed this software on its International Space Station (ISS) to make communication quicker and easier. “DTN works by providing a reliable and automatic ‘store and forward’ data network that stores partial bundles of data in nodes along a communication path until...

Meteorologist Ari Sarsalari reports that NASA tested a rocket booster in Utah Tuesday that could send Astronauts to Mars in a few rears. ...

A firestorm or star birth lights up one end of the small galaxy Kiso 5639 located about 82 million light-years away from earth. Kiso 5639 is a rare example of an elongated galaxy, or "tadpole" galaxy, which are plentiful at larger distances (NASA, ESA, and D. Elmegreen (Vassar College)) At a Glance The Hubble Space Telescope captured what looks like a fireworks display in the nearby Kiso 5639 galaxy.Astronomers say the Kiso 5639 galaxy is a beautiful example of what...

New scientific papers offer explanations about the mysterious bright spots on the dwarf planet, Ceres. Meteorologist Kait Parker explains. ...

At a Glance Recent hydrothermal activity may explain Cere's brightest area, NASA reports.New evidence of also find ammonia-bearing salts on the dwarf planet. Two new scientific papers are offering new insights on the mystery of the bright spots on Ceres, the dwarf planet that NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft has been orbiting and analyzing since last spring. According to Space.com, for more than two centuries after its 1801 discovery. One of its more elusive mysteries is the famous bright spots on Ceres...