Video shows Arecibo telescope crash

New video shows Arecibo's receiver platform breaking loose and falling onto the radio telescope dish 400 feet below. No one was injured.

Did the Wow! signal come from this star?

Where did the famous mystery Wow! signal, detected in 1977, come from? Astronomer Alberto Caballero might have pinpointed the host star. It's a sunlike star 1,800 light-years away, in the direction of the center of our Milky Way.

Astronomers reveal asteroid 2000 WO107 as a contact binary

Asteroid 2000 WO107 passed Earth safely on November 29, at 11 times the moon's distance. Astronomers at Goldstone bounced radar signals from its surface and discovered it's 2 asteroids that touched, and stuck.

Monster sunspot AR2786 swings into better view

The sun is becoming active again as it enters Solar Cycle 25. This week, scientists' predictions of sunspots were proven via photos from astronomers around the world. Giant sunspot AR2786 can be viewed with proper filters and may create strong flares that reach Earth.

Curiosity rover spots signs of ancient megafloods on Mars

We already know that Gale Crater on Mars used to hold a lake or series of lakes a few billion years ago. Now, NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence for ancient giant floods that washed through the region as well.

Active volcanoes on Mars today? If so, they may point to Mars habitability

A new study of geologically young lava flows in Elysium Planitia suggests that Mars might still have residual volcanic activity below its surface. The finding may have implications for possible martian life.

NSF says Arecibo telescope will be dismantled

Heartbreaking news. After 57 years as a world-class resource for astronomy, the iconic Arecibo telescope is to be decommissioned, or withdrawn from service, the NSF announced today. The dish-type radio telescope - built into a natural depression in the landscape in Puerto Rico - appears to be headed for a "controlled disassembly."

Does Jupiter’s moon Europa have geysers? If so, what’s their source?

If watery plumes do burst from Europa's surface, they might originate not in the moon's underground ocean, but instead in pockets of brine trapped in the moon's crust. If that's so, it could be a source of frustration for those who want to probe Europa's ocean for possible life.

A statement on Arecibo Observatory’s engineering options

Worrisome news regarding broken cables and engineering options at Arecibo Observatory, the iconic big radio dish in Puerto Rico.

Does Europa glow in the dark?

The icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa may glow on its nightside, the side facing away from the sun.