Herschel space observatory
Starshade Prepares To Image New Earths
In the coming years, NASA will be launching its Starshade, a large spacecraft that will block the bright light of…
Eris’ Moon Dysnomia
Ask a person what Dysnomia refers to, and they might venture that it's a medical condition. In truth, they would…
100,000 Galaxies, and No Obvious Signs of Life
Beam us up, Scotty. There's no signs of intelligent life out there. At least, no obvious signs, according to a…
Herschel Discovers Water Vapor Spewing from Ceres
With the Dawn spacecraft now heading towards the dwarf planet/asteroid Ceres, the mission has suddenly gotten even more intriguing. The…
Final Command Shuts Down Herschel Telescope
We knew it was coming, but it is still sad to see the end of a mission. Controllers for the…
Orion’s Secret Fire Dance
The Great Orion Nebula has captivated observers for at least four hundred years, but the ancient Mayans may have known…
Milky Way’s Black Hole Munches On Supercooked Gas
It's a simple menu, but smoking hot. The black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is sucking…
Historic Comet Smashup Brought Water to Jupiter’s Stratosphere
A large comet that peppered Jupiter two decades ago brought water into the giant planet's atmosphere, according to new research…
Ancient Galaxy ‘Bursting’ with Stars
Most of the early galaxies that astronomers have been able to observe are small with a low-to-moderate amount of star…
Herschel Spacecraft Won’t “Bomb” the Moon, But GRAIL Will
Artist concept of Ebb and Flow, the two GRAIL spacecraft in orbit of the Moon. Credit: NASA The Herschel space…