NASA to fund research on advanced solar sails

Solar sails use faint pressure from sunlight to propel a spacecraft forward. A next-generation solar sail - called a diffractive solar sail - might be made of metamaterials, or smart materials.

Researchers find icy corridor on Saturn’s giant moon

While searching for the source of methane on Saturn's large moon Titan, researchers found a completely unexpected corridor of methane ice wrapping nearly halfway around the moon.

Insight lander captures sunrises, sunsets on Mars

Sunrises and sunsets on Mars, captured by the camera on NASA's InSight lander.

Space rock hit moon at 38,000 mph

It was a flash of light seen on the edge of moon during the total lunar eclipse of January 20-21, 2019. Now astronomers have analyzed this meteor strike, the first ever filmed during an eclipse.

Preparing for asteroid Apophis

Astronomers are meeting today at the Planetary Defense Conference to discuss plans to observe asteroid 99942 Apophis, a relatively large asteroid that'll sweep past Earth safely - but rather closely - in 2029.

Black hole’s gravity seen tugging on nearby space

"We were gobsmacked by what we saw in this system. It was completely unexpected ... It tells us a little more about that big question: ‘How did we get here?'"

You saw the 1st photo of a black hole? Now see its home galaxy

The 1st-ever photo of a giant black hole made headlines earlier this month. Now see some beautiful images of M87, the great galaxy that it calls home, located some 55 million light-years from Earth.

What’s on the far side of the moon?

The far side of the moon sees its share of sunlight. With all due respect to Pink Floyd, the moon's far side is dark only in the sense that it's mysterious. Here's why.

Mystery solved: Mercury has a solid heart

Here's how NASA's MESSENGER mission - which orbited Mercury from 2011 to 2015 - let scientists finally solve one of Mercury's biggest mysteries, about whether its innermost core is liquid or solid.

The day the asteroid might hit

For the 1st time, the European Space Agency will cover progress of a hypothetical asteroid impact scenario - this week - live via social media, from the heart of the Planetary Defense Conference in Washington, DC.

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