Space, features and articles | Educational Science

Jul 31, 2022

Can sunspots affect the weather?

The sun has a major impact on Earth: It provides the light and energy that are vital to life on our planet and dramatically shapes Earth’s climate. But the sun’s activity is not always constant, and areas of the sun can cool or even erupt dramatically. Can the sunspots that...

Jun 30, 2022

See the deepest image ever taken of our universe, captured by James Webb Telescope

The first full-color image from the James Webb Space Telescope has been unveiled by NASA and President Joe Biden, and it's the deepest and and most detailed image of the universe to ever be captured. Named Webb's First Deep Field, the spectacular and mind-bending photo shows our universe only a...

Jun 30, 2022

NASA's gargantuan Mega Moon Rocket could head to space as soon as Aug. 29

NASA's Artemis mission — which will ultimately return humans to the moon's surface for the first time in 50 years, including the first woman and person of color to set foot there — could launch as soon as late August, agency officials said in a news briefing on Wednesday (July...

Jun 30, 2022

Russia will withdraw from the ISS as soon as 2025

The head of Roscosmos, Russia's state-run space agency, announced Tuesday (July 26) that Russia intends to withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) after its current commitment expires at the end of 2024. Yuri Borisov, who was appointed head of Roscosmos several weeks ago, made the announcement in a meeting...

Jun 30, 2022

James Webb Space Telescope: Origins, design and mission objectives

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which launched Dec. 25, 2021 at 7:20 a.m. ET (12:20 p.m. GMT) from the Guiana Space Centre (also known as Europe's Spaceport) in French Guiana, is on a mission to observe some of the faintest, oldest objects in the universe, from a vantage point...

May 31, 2022

Perseverance rover accidentally adopts hitchhiking 'pet rock'

Roaming Mars is a lonely existence for NASA's Perseverance, but the exploratory rover now has a traveling companion: a hitchhiking pet rock that got stuck in one of its wheels. Luckily, the Martian stone won't impact the rover's science mission and is only a minor inconvenience — like having a...

Apr 30, 2022

Black Moon solar eclipse looks otherworldly in stunning images

A rare solar eclipse Saturday (April 30) stunned viewers across Antarctica, the southern tip of South America, and the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. While much of the event took place in remote areas, live cameras on Earth and satellites in space allowed people around the world to witness the moon...

Apr 30, 2022

Astronauts can no longer commit crimes on the moon, Canada decrees

Space may be the final frontier, but the good people of Canada aim to tame that frontier with law and order. Last week, the Canadian Parliament proposed a measure that will, essentially, make it illegal for Canadian astronauts to commit crimes on the moon, or while in orbit. The measure,...

Apr 30, 2022

What time is the Blood Moon lunar eclipse?

A Blood Moon total lunar eclipse will occur this weekend, and here's when to watch it. The sun, moon and Earth will align Sunday night for a total lunar eclipse on May 15, which occurs when the Earth moves into place between the sun and the full moon. As a...

Mar 31, 2022

The Goldilocks zone: The place in a solar system that's just right

The Goldilocks zone gets its name from the fairy tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks is a fussy little girl whose porridge has to be just right — neither too hot nor too cold. It’s the same with life itself — or at least, the kind of water-based life...

Mar 31, 2022

Why isn't Earth perfectly round?

If you had an enormous measuring tape that started at Earth's center and went to our planet's highest peak, you wouldn't be looking at Mount Everest. Rather, the tallest mountain would be on the other side of the world: Ecuador's Chimborazo. Chimborazo wins in this case because Earth is actually...

Mar 31, 2022

Sudden eruption from 'dead' sunspot could bring auroras as far south as New York

Skywatchers, get set for a storm from the sun — and hopefully an ensuing display of the northern lights. After a dead sunspot hurled a ball of plasma, or superheated gas, toward Earth earlier this week, medium-sized auroras may stretch farther south than usual as Earth's atmosphere absorbs the material....

Feb 28, 2022

Are there any moons that are made of gas?

The planets in our solar system come in two forms: Some are rocky, and some are gaseous. But all of the moons in our solar system are rocky, even the ones that orbit gas giants. So why aren't some moons in the solar system made of gas? And are there...

Feb 28, 2022

Russia's Ukraine invasion could imperil international science

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has forced at least 1 million people to flee their homes, and has already seen thousands of Ukrainian civilians killed, could also have wide-reaching and prolonged ramifications for scores of industries and organizations, including many designed to be apolitical. Global efforts that could suffer...

Feb 28, 2022

Fact check: Russian space agency head didn't threaten to strand American astronaut

This week, news outlets reported that the head of Russia's Space Agency threatened to leave American astronaut Mark Vande Hei — the record-holder for the longest spaceflight — aboard the International Space Station (ISS) rather than allowing him to return to Earth on a Russian spacecraft. It turns out that...