At a Glance In a 21-page report, the space agency explains three major phases in the campaign.The Deep Space Gateway, orbiting the moon, is a big part of the plans.Crewed missions to Mars could begin in the 2030s. NASA has unveiled its official strategy for returning astronauts to the moon and eventually sending crewed missions to Mars. The 21-page is NASA's response to President Donald Trump's directive in December 2017 to "lead the return of humans to the Moon for...

October will see two meteor showers, the Draconids and the Orionids. This image is from the Perseid meteor shower over Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado in the early morning hours of August 12, 2018. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images) At a Glance Both the Draconids and Orionids meteor showers are visible this month.Jupiter, Saturn and Mars are visible near the moon on different nights. October is shaping up as a great month for gazing at the night sky. If the weather...

Astronomers may have discovered the first moon outside our solar system, about 8,000 light years away from Earth. ...

At a Glance The sounds will be sonic booms and the lights will be from the guided re-entry of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.The reentry will occur soon after the Space X Falcon 9 launches Sunday night.The rocket will be carrying the SAOCOM 1Asatellite. Residents in central California may hear some really loud booms Sunday nightaccompanied by odd bright lights,but it's nothing to fear, the Air Force says. The sounds will be sonic booms and the lights will be from...

NASA simulated two supermassive black holes spiraling toward collision. ...

This graphic shows the position of the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes relative to the heliosphere, a protective bubble created by the sun that extends well past the orbit of Pluto. Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause, or the edge of the heliosphere, in 2012. Voyager 2 is still in the heliosheath, or the outermost part of the heliosphere. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) At a Glance Signals indicate the NASA space probe could be nearing the edge of the heliosphere.Voyager 2 and Voyager...

The Orionid meteor shower is set to peak from Oct. 21-22, but the moon could get in the way. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images) At a Glance The Orionid meteor shower is set to peak this weekend from Oct. 21-22, but the moon could get in the way.During its peak, 15 to 20 meteors per hours should be visible and are some of the fastest among meteor showers.The best viewing time will be around 2 a.m. on Oct. 21 and 22, but...

Astronaut Ricky Arnold captures incredible dusk-’til-dawn views from the International Space Station. ...

This metal object discovered in a Hanford, Texas, walnut orchard on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2018. (Kings County Sheriff's Office) At a Glance Detectives with the Kings County Sheriff's Officewere called to a central California orchard on Oct. 13.The sheriff's office reached out toVandenberg Air Force Base to see if they could shed some light on the origins of the object.The Air Force officials determined the object was most likely a fuel tank fromIridium satellite No. 70. Air Force officials have...

At a Glance Chengdu, a city in southwest China, wants to launch an illumination satellite in 2020.The artificial moon would be eight times brighter than the real moon.Some fear the plan could add to the problem of light pollution. A city in southwestern China has announced an unusual plan to illuminate city streets that seems more sci-fi than science. Chengdu, capital of the Sichuan province, plans to the People's Daily Online reports. The Chinese newspaper said Wu Chunfeng, chairman of...

An artist’s conception of a distant Solar System Planet X. (Roberto Molar Candanosa and Scott Sheppard/Carnegie Institution for Science) At a Glance The dwarf planet was discovered in 2015, but wasn't unveiled until this week. The icy world is just 186 miles across and takes 40,000 years to circle the sun. A tiny dwarf planet nicknamed "the Goblin"has been spotted orbiting the far reaches of our solar system. The dwarf planet, formally TG387,was discovered in 2015around Halloween (hence the spooky...

The Hulk and Godzilla are just two of the 21 modern constellations constructed from sources in the gamma-ray sky. At a Glance NASA announced last week a new set of modern constellations using light sources in the gamma-ray sky.The modern constellation set uses modern myths to name patterns, like the Hulk and Godzilla.The new constellations were a way to celebrate NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope's 10 years of operations. Back in July 2008, NASA launched its Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope,...