A mysterious and intense X-ray source near the black hole shines onto the surface layers of the accretion disk, causing iron atoms to radiate characteristic emission -- what astronomers call the iron K line -- at about 6,000 to 7,000 electron volts. The inner part of the disk is orbiting the black h...

Humans have been obsessed with eclipses for centuries. But, what can they actually teach us about our place in the solar system? Total solar eclipses have helped bring about some of the most important astronomic discoveries. Nicolaus Copernicus’ eclipse observations helped him determine that the Ear

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is slated to be the first in a new class of extremely large telescopes, capable of producing images with 10 times the clarity of those captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The GMT aims to discover Earth-like planets around nearby stars and the tiny distortions t...

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse moved across North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. A total solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun. The sky will darken as if it were dawn or dusk. We got these...

A look at the James Webb Space Telescope, its mission and the incredible technological challenge this mission presents. The Webb is now in the final stages of testing in the U.S. before being shipped to French Guiana ahead of its expected launch from there at the end of October, 2021.

This is a full-resolution version of the NASA Curiosity rover descent to Mars, taken by the MARDI descent imager. As of August 20, all but a dozen 1600x1200 frames have been uploaded from the rover, and those missing were interpolated using thumbnail data. The result was applied a heavy noise reduct...

NASA already has a plan to house astronauts on Mars. NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge asked engineers to design houses that could be built on Mars by robots using 3D printing technology. NASA recently announced winners of phase three of the competition and each house has a futuristic design. Each

Sentinel is a space-based infrared (IR) survey mission to discover and catalog 90 percent of the asteroids larger than 140 meters in Earth’s region of the solar system. The mission should also discover a significant number of smaller asteroids down to a diameter of 30 meters. Sentinel will be launch

Another giant leap towards a mission to Mars: expendable structures could be the next extraterrestrial breakthrough, as they weight less to launch and are more compact on the rocket. On arrival, they can be inflated to provide safe and sustainable living quarters, work spaces and laboratories for pe...

NASA Chief Just Announced A Serious WARNING About Betelgeuse Star Explosion! Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars that you can see in the night sky, and its eventual explosion is an event that NASA has been dreading for a while. Located on the shoulder of Orion, Betelgeuse is fast approaching t...