Space, features and articles | Educational Science

May 31, 2021

Hubble telescope spends a week in 'safe mode' following mysterious computer error

NASA's Hubble space telescope is cruising the cosmos in safe mode after its payload computer suddenly crashed on June 13 according to a NASA statement. The computer is responsible for coordinating and controlling all of the science instruments aboard the telescope — which means that, until technicians on the ground...

May 31, 2021

Giant ghostly 'hand' stretches through space in new X-ray views

An enormous ghostly hand stretches through the depths of space, its wispy fingers pressing against a glowing cloud. It sounds like science fiction, but it's quite real, as imagery gathered by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows. The hand was spawned by the death of a massive star in a supernova...

Apr 30, 2021

Massive Chinese rocket core to make uncontrolled reentry over Earth in coming days

The huge, 100-foot-tall (30 meters) core of a Chinese rocket is tumbling wildly through low-Earth orbit and could make an uncontrolled reentry through the atmosphere in the coming days, according to news reports. The core belongs to a Long March 5B rocket (a version of China's largest rocket), which successfully...

Apr 30, 2021

You can see the International Space Station (and China's Tianhe, too) in the night sky this weekend

If your weather is clear this weekend, step outside and stare upward anytime from one to two hours after sundown. If you're fortunate to be located well away from any bright lights, break out a long lounge or deck-chair and get comfortable. Once your eyes have fully adapted to the...

Apr 30, 2021

Huge Chinese rocket booster falls to Earth over Arabian Peninsula

The Chinese rocket has come down. The 23-ton core stage of a Long March 5B booster crashed back to Earth Saturday night (May 8), ending 10 controversial days aloft that captured the attention of the world and started a wider conversation about orbital debris and responsible spacefaring. The Long March...

Apr 30, 2021

China launches more classified Yaogan satellites into orbit

China conducted two launches of classified Yaogan satellites in the last week while much of the world waited to see where and when the Long March 5B would fall. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 2:11 p.m. EDT Thursday...

Apr 30, 2021

China's Yutu 2 rover about to 'wake up' on the far side of the moon

China's plucky Yutu 2 rover is about to wake up and continue to explore the far side of the moon as the nation works to land a rover on Mars this May. The rover, which launched with the Chang’e 4 mission, landed on the far side of the moon in...

Apr 30, 2021

US Space Force blasts missile-warning satellite into orbit around Earth

The U.S. Space Force launched a giant rocket Tuesday (May 18) carrying a satellite that will circle Earth's equator and alert the ground of any incoming missiles, according to news reports. The 191-foot-tall (58 meters) Atlas V rocket, built by United Launch Alliance (ULA), lifted off at 1:37 p.m. EDT...

Apr 30, 2021

Some of the universe's stars have gone missing. But where did they go?

Stars don't just vanish — or do they? For thousands of years, astronomers accepted the idea that the lights in the sky were fixed and unchanging. Even when it became clear that these lights were actually physical objects like the sun, one of the key assumptions for astrophysicists has been...

Apr 30, 2021

How to watch the Super Flower Blood Moon Eclipse online

Want to see the Super Flower Blood Moon Eclipse, but don't have an ideal viewing spot? Perhaps you're dealing with cloudy weather, or maybe you're located in a place that doesn't fall along the lunar eclipse's path. Worry not, you can still catch the total lunar eclipse online. Here's a...

Mar 31, 2021

How long would it take to walk around the moon?

From our vantage point on Earth, the moon looks small. But if you were to hop in a spaceship, don a spacesuit and go on an epic lunar hike, how long would it take to walk all the way around it? The answer depends on myriad factors, including how fast...

Mar 31, 2021

Russia is going back to the moon this year

Russia is revisiting its Soviet space heritage for a new series of missions that will take the nation back to the moon. The first of those missions, dubbed Luna 25, is scheduled to launch this October, ending a 45-year drought of Russian moon landings with the nation's first arrival at...

Mar 31, 2021

Russia wants to build its own space station to replace the ISS, state officials say

The 23-year partnership between the United States and Russia that has kept the International Space Station (ISS) in orbit could soon come to an end, Russian officials suggested this week. Yury Borisov, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, reportedly said in a government meeting that the nation might withdraw from the...

Mar 31, 2021

A piece of space junk zipped by SpaceX's Dragon capsule on its way to the space station

The astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-2 mission for NASA had a brief moment of suspense after their spectacular launch on Friday (April 23) when a piece of space debris passed unexpectedly close by their Crew Dragon capsule. The space junk encounter, called a conjunction, occurred at 1:43 p.m. EDT (1743 GMT)...

Mar 31, 2021

7 solar system worlds where the weather is crazy

Our solar system is home to some weird and wonderful weather, with storms more terrifying in scale than anything in Earth's recorded history. From centuries-old hurricanes on Jupiter to immense winds on Neptune, if you leave Earth you'll be shocked by what you find. On Mars you will find immense...