A Helicopter is Going to Titan. Could an Airplane be Next?
What are the hydrocarbon seas on Titan really like? While the upcoming Dragonfly helicopter mission to Saturn’s hazy and frigid…
What Time is It on the Moon? It May Get its Own Timezone
When the first people set foot on the Moon for long-term projects, they'll need a lot of things, including their…
Curiosity Sees Spectacular Crepuscular Rays in Martian Clouds
NASA's Curiosity Rover usually looks down at the ground, studying nearby rocks and craters. But sometimes, it looks up and…
China’s Rover Used Radar to Look Deep Beneath the Surface of Mars. What Did it Find?
The ongoing effort to under Martian geology and the planet's history continues. A recent paper from a scientific team in…
2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS: a Bright Comet for the End of 2024?
New Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS may put on a show at the end of next year.
TESS Shows That Even Small Stars Can Host Giant Planets
Can low-mass stars play host to giant, Jupiter-sized planets? Theories of planet formation suggest that it's highly unlikely. But a…
A Tadpole-Shaped Cloud of Gas is Whirling Around a Black Hole
A team of astronomers from Japan have found a strange "Tadpole" shaped dust cloud near the center of our galaxy,…
The Neutron Star That Thinks It’s a Black Hole
Black holes and neutron stars are among the odder denizens of the cosmic zoo. They're both dense collections of matter…
Are There Better Ways to Communicate with Mars?
Mars is a long way from Earth, making it challenging to communicate with. That difficult communication is becoming ever more…
Want to Soar to the Stratosphere? Japan Joins the Balloon Tourism Race
A Japanese company has put out the call for passengers who'd be willing to pay more than $175,000 for an…