Where to look for life on Titan

Saturn's moon Titan has lakes and seas, filled with liquid ethane and methane. But they might not be the best places to look for life, according to new research.

Dust in space: 10 cool things to know

In space, dust comes from comets and exploding stars. It can form planetary rings, drive global weather patterns and even form the seeds of new planets.

20 years of tracking Near-Earth Objects

Asteroid on a collision course with Earth? These astronomers will likely see it first. NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies - now entering its 3rd decade - makes over 90 percent of near-Earth asteroid and comet discoveries. Here's how and why they do their work.

An easier way to search for life on Europa

Jupiter's moon Europa is a promising place to search for evidence of alien life. New research provides insights on what might be the best - and easiest - way to search.

Every point is a galaxy

At first glance, it's just a square filled with tiny grains of static. But incredible as it is to imagine, every single point of light in this image is actually a distant galaxy, as observed by ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory.

Most Mars dust comes from one place

“Mars wouldn’t be nearly this dusty if it wasn’t for this one enormous deposit that is gradually eroding over time and polluting the planet, essentially.”

Subsurface lake discovered on Mars?

ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has discovered the 1st evidence for a subsurface liquid lake on Mars. If it exists, this lake is likely salty and cold, but possibly habitable for some microorganisms.

The case for a habitable moon

Not now, but billions of years ago, microbes might have thrived in water pools on the moon until its surface became dead and dry.

Young star caught eating its planet

It had been theorized that some young stars might devour their planets. Now astronomers have the 1st solid evidence - from the Chandra X-ray Observatory - of just such an event caught in the act.

The Milky Way’s long-lost sibling

Two billion years ago, the Andromeda galaxy - closest large spiral galaxy to our Milky Way - might have eaten another large galaxy.

Matching Donation Campaign

Exciting news! EarthSky received a $50,000 gift, with a request that it be used to collect matching funds. Please help us meet this match by donating to EarthSky today!

Would you consider

donating?

If you've already donated, we apologize for the popup and greatly appreciate your support.