A mosaic of Mars’ Valles Marineris hemisphere, captured by 102 Viking Orbiter images, shows the vast 2,000 km-long canyon system from 2,500 km above. The image reveals the Tharsis volcanoes, ancient river channels, and cratered southern terrain. Mars, the Red Planet, has always been a bit of a mystery. Why is it so… well, red? Scientists have long known that iron oxides (aka rust) are to blame, but a new study published on February 25 in *Nature Communications* suggests there’s more to the story. Meet ferrihydrite, a water-rich iron mineral that might be the real MVP behind Mars’ iconic dusty red look.   Why Ferrihydrite? Ferrihydrite forms in the presence of cool water, which is a big deal because it hints at a time when Mars was wetter and potentially more habitable. Unlike other iron minerals like hematite, ferrihydrite doesn’t need scorching temperatures to form. This means Mars might have had a cooler, wetter past before it turned into the dry, dusty desert we know...

The spiral galaxy UGC 5460 gleams in this stunning NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, located 60 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. Jacobson-Galán, A. Filippenko, J. Mauerhan When it comes to cosmic eye candy, NASA and ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope never disappoints. This time, it’s trained its lens on UGC 5460, a dazzling spiral galaxy located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major (aka the Big Dipper). But wait—there’s a twist! Hidden in the upper left corner of the image is a sneaky little imposter: a star from our own galaxy, just 577 light-years away. Talk about photobombing!   What’s So Special About UGC 5460? UGC 5460 is a classic spiral galaxy, complete with a central bar of stars, winding spiral arms, and bright blue star clusters that look like cosmic glitter. But this galaxy isn’t just pretty—it’s also been the site of some serious cosmic drama. Over the past decade, it’s hosted *two* sup...

  NASA’s SPHEREx mission will explore the Milky Way to detect water ice and other essential life ingredients, focusing on molecular clouds like this one captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA. Imagine a space telescope playing detective, scouring the galaxy for clues about where water—the key ingredient for life—is hiding. That’s exactly what NASA’s SPHEREx mission is set to do when it launches no earlier than February 27, 2025. This cosmic detective, short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer, will search for water ice and other life-essential compounds like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. And guess what? It’s going to do it in 3D!   Why Water? The Perseus Molecular Cloud, 1,000 light-years away, was imaged by NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. SPHEREx will search for water ice and other compounds in similar gas and dust clouds. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Water is like the VIP of the ...

  This artist's concept shows the supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A, at the center of the Milky Way, surrounded by a swirling accretion disk. The black hole’s gravity bends light, creating an illusion of wrapping, while both bright flares and rapid flickers, originating close to the black hole, are observed. Move over, disco balls—there’s a new light show in town, and it’s coming from the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy! Thanks to NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have caught Sagittarius A* (pronounced “A-star”) putting on a dazzling display of flares that could give any EDM festival a run for its money.   For years, Sagittarius A has been the mysterious, brooding neighbor at the heart of the Milky Way. But now, Webb’s sharp eyes have revealed that this black hole is anything but quiet. It’s surrounded by a swirling disk of gas and dust, called an accretion disk, which is constantly flaring up with bursts of energy. Some flares last ju...

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image showcases clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula, situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud, 160,000 light-years away. ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray The universe is often depicted as a vast expanse of empty space, but it's far from devoid of material. A breathtaking new image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals swirling clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula, located approximately 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This nebula is nestled within the constellations Dorado and Mensa and is renowned as the most productive star-forming region in the nearby universe, home to some of the largest and most massive stars ever discovered. The colorful clouds of gas and dust in the image feature intricate wispy tendrils and dark patches, showcasing the complex nature of this stellar nursery. Unlike the dust found in our homes, which consists of skin cells, hair, and dirt, the cosmic dust in ...

NASA has released an awe-inspiring composite image capturing the deepest X-ray view ever of 30 Doradus, a spectacular star-forming region known as the Tarantula Nebula. This stunning image combines X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope, and radio data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), bringing the cosmos to life in a dazzling display of colors. 30 Doradus, located about 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), is one of the brightest and most active stellar nurseries in the local group of galaxies, which includes the Milky Way and Andromeda. It's a key target for astronomers aiming to understand how stars form and evolve. The nebula's immense energy and fuel have sustained star formation for at least 25 million years, making it the most powerful stellar nursery nearby. The young, massive stars in 30 Doradus emit strong cosmic winds, carving out dramatic arcs, pillars, and bubb...

Spectroscopic data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is overlaid on an image of the Phoenix cluster, combining observations from Hubble, Chandra, and VLA, revealing the cooling gas driving intense star formation. Credit: NASA, CXC, NRAO, ESA, M. McDonald (MIT), M. Reefe (MIT), J. Olmsted (STScI) Researchers utilizing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have solved a longstanding puzzle about the Phoenix galaxy cluster, a massive galaxy grouping located 5.8 billion light-years from Earth. Their findings, which build on over a decade of studies using the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and ground-based telescopes, provide groundbreaking insights into the cluster's unusually high star formation rate. The Phoenix cluster has long captivated astronomers due to its paradoxical behavior. Despite housing a supermassive black hole with around 10 billion times the mass of the Sun at its core, the cluster is forming stars at an exceptional rate. In most similar galaxy cl...

  Images of TNOs Pluto (left) and Arrokoth (right), key flyby targets of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, with NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope now enabling deeper studies of TNOs that expand on New Horizons' findings. (Image credits: NASA/SwRI/JHU-APL) Trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs)—icy remnants from the outer reaches of the solar system—are providing a fascinating window into the early history of our cosmic neighborhood. These objects, ranging in size from Pluto and Eris to the smaller Arrokoth, orbit beyond Neptune and offer critical insights into the formation and evolution of our solar system. Their study, made possible by the groundbreaking capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, is reshaping our understanding of the building blocks of planets and the primordial material that existed in the early solar system. The Origins of TNOs:A History Written in Ice. The concept of TNOs dates back to the 1950s when astronomers Kenneth Edgeworth and Gerard Kuiper first proposed...

The light ring around NGC 6505, captured by ESA’s Euclid telescope, is an Einstein ring, with NGC 6505 acting as a gravitational lens bending light from a distant galaxy. ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, G. Anselmi, T. Li; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence   Imagine a galaxy so massive that it bends light like a cosmic funhouse mirror, creating a glowing ring in space. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, right? Well, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid mission, with a little help from NASA, just spotted exactly that—a perfect Einstein ring, and it’s right in our cosmic neighborhood!   Named after Albert Einstein (because, of course, he predicted this wild phenomenon), an Einstein ring happens when a massive object, like a galaxy, bends the light from a more distant object behind it. The result? A glowing, circular halo that looks like a cosmic donut. And this one, folks, is a beauty.   Meet the Star of...

Hubble captured this image of supernova SN 2022abvt, a pinkish-white dot at the center, about two months after its discovery in 2022. Imagine a star throwing the ultimate cosmic farewell party—complete with a massive explosion and a burst of energy so bright it can be seen from millions of light-years away. That’s exactly what NASA and ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured in a recent image of supernova SN 2022abvt, located in the galaxy LEDA 132905. And let me tell you, this star didn’t go quietly.   The galaxy, nestled in the constellation Sculptor, is more than 400 million light-years from Earth. Despite the distance, Hubble’s sharp eyes managed to catch the faint spiral structure of the galaxy and even some patches of bright blue stars scattered across its disk. But the real star of the show (pun intended) is that bright pinkish-white dot right in the middle of the frame—SN 2022abvt, the supernova.   What’s a Supernova, Anyway? Supernovae are like the universe’s ...

  The May 2024 solar storm formed two new radiation belts between the Van Allen Belts, with one containing protons, creating a unique composition never observed before. Picture this: May 2024, the Sun throws a massive tantrum, sending a solar storm hurtling toward Earth. The result? Stunning auroras light up the skies, GPS systems go haywire, and—wait for it—Earth gets two brand-new *temporary* radiation belts! That’s right, our planet just got a cosmic upgrade, thanks to the largest solar storm in two decades. And no, this isn’t a sci-fi movie plot—it’s real science, folks!   Thanks to NASA’s Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment (CIRBE) satellite, scientists discovered these new belts, which are like Earth’s Van Allen Belts’ quirky cousins. Published on February 6, 2025, in the *Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics*, this discovery is a game-changer for space research, especially for protecting satellites and astronauts from solar storm shenanigans. ...

  NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has once again left us in awe. This time, it has captured an image of a galaxy that looks exactly like a dartboard. Yes, this galaxy, named LEDA 1313424 (or the "Bullseye"), has become the universe’s most spectacular dartboard with nine star-filled rings radiating from its center. And all of this happened because of a small blue dwarf galaxy that shot straight through the Bullseye’s heart about 50 million years ago.   What Happened? When that tiny galaxy passed through the center of the Bullseye, it shook up gas and dust so violently that it spread out into space. It was just like the ripples created when you throw a pebble into a pond. These ripples triggered the formation of new stars, decorating the Bullseye with nine glowing rings. Scientists suspect there was a tenth ring too, but it faded over time. Perhaps it’s the universe’s oldest case of a "fading memory"!   What’s Special About This Galaxy? The Bullseye galaxy is about ...

  An impact crater captured by the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on March 4, 2021, was linked to a quake detected by NASA’s InSight lander, located in the seismically active Cerberus Fossae region of Mars. Looks like Mars isn't just red; it’s also full of surprises! Scientists recently made a jaw-dropping discovery on the Red Planet, all thanks to the magic combo of artificial intelligence (AI) and seismic data from NASA’s InSight lander. In a groundbreaking study published on February 3, 2025, they uncovered a new crater—and, more impressively, the seismic waves from a meteoroid impact were able to travel deeper into Mars than anyone ever thought possible. Who knew Mars was so deep? Here’s the kicker: these seismic waves didn't just jolt the Martian surface. They shook the planet’s mantle—yes, that mysterious layer beneath the crust that no one thought was easily accessible. This discovery has forced scientists to rewrite their seismic travel guide fo...

  🚀Hubble Found It, Webb Flexed on It! NASA, ESA, and CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) just hit us with another mind-blowing “Picture of the Month,” and this time, it’s all about HH 30 —a baby star with a dramatic flair! Sitting pretty in the Taurus Molecular Cloud, this young star is rocking a protoplanetary disc that’s literally glowing with potential future planets. And oh, it’s got some serious jets and a disc wind to show off!   💫 What’s So Special About HH 30? Ever heard of Herbig-Haro objects? No? Cool, neither did most of us until now! These are glowing gas clouds marking the tantrums of young stars as they spit out jets of gas at supersonic speeds. HH 30 is one of them, but with a twist—it’s a prototype edge-on disc, meaning we get a front-row seat to the magic of planet formation!   📡 Webb, Hubble & ALMA—The Ultimate Space Detective Team.   To break down HH 30’s secrets, astronomers went full detective mode using:   ✔️...

  Imagine looking up at the night sky, expecting to see a dazzling cosmic traveler, only to find... well, a "headless wonder." That’s exactly what’s happening with Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) after its fiery rendezvous with the Sun in mid-January. The once-bright, show-stopping comet is now fading fast, losing its head (literally), while its ghostly tails still streak across the Southern Hemisphere’s evening sky. The Great Disappearing Act. Astronomers in Río Hurtado, Chile, have captured stunning before-and-after images, showing how the comet's bright nucleus (aka the "head") started dimming and eventually ghosted us all. In early snapshots, G3 ATLAS looked like a proper comet—bright and compact. Fast forward a few nights, and it became more of a celestial smudge than a solid object. Why Is G3 ATLAS Falling Apart? Short answer? The Sun is a brutal landlord. Long answer? When this comet swung in close—way inside Mercury’s orbit—it faced some serious heat. Comets are...

  Get ready for a cosmic collaboration that’s about to take Earth observation to the next level! The upcoming NISAR mission, a joint effort between NASA and ISRO, promises to offer groundbreaking insights into our planet's constantly changing surface. Think of it as a "super-powered spy satellite," but instead of tracking people, it’s tracking earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, and even glacier movements. It’s like a reality show where Earth is the drama queen, and NISAR’s the backstage pass. What makes NISAR stand out in the crowd? Well, it has a dual-band radar system—that’s NASA and ISRO flexing their muscle. You see, the L-band radar is all about spotting the big stuff, like boulders and tree trunks, while the S-band radar gets up close and personal with the smaller stuff, like leaves and rough surfaces. Together, they give us a high-definition view of Earth’s surface—down to the centimeter! It’s like the Earth’s Instagram feed but in super high-res, updated...

  The Hubble Space Telescope has recently captured a striking image of a supernova-hosting galaxy, located approximately 600 million light-years away in the constellation Gemini. This image, taken about two months after the discovery of supernova SN 2022aajn, reveals a bright blue dot at the center, signifying the explosive event. Although SN 2022aajn was first announced in November 2022, it has not yet been the subject of extensive research. However, Hubble's interest in this particular supernova lies in its classification as a Type Ia supernova, a type that is key to measuring cosmic distances. Type Ia supernovae occur when a star's core collapses, and they are particularly useful for astronomers because they have a predictable intrinsic brightness. No matter how far away a Type Ia supernova is, it emits the same amount of light. By comparing its observed brightness to this known luminosity, astronomers can calculate how far away the supernova — and its host galaxy — are from...