Cargo Mission
NASA has devised a new plan for bringing samples of Mars to Earth for detailed analysis. A spacecraft (lower right)…
Rocket Clouds
High-altitude clouds shine at nightfall above Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in this 2011 image. Known as noctilucent ("night-shining") clouds, they're caused…
Sparse Cluster
Although it is sparsely populated, the star cluster Messier 39 sparkles in this ground-based image. The cluster, which is near…
Listening for a Planet
This artist's concept depicts the star Gliese 1151 and its possible companion planet. The interaction between the star and planet…
Bright and Dark
Bright clouds of gas intermingle with dark clouds of dust in this image of IC 5146, the Cocoon Nebula. Both…
Martian Cover-up
Images taken three years apart — April 2019 and April 2022 — show dust covering InSight, a spacecraft that's been…
Wow!
On August 15, 1977, a radio telescope at Ohio State University recorded an odd signal from the constellation Sagittarius. An…
Colorful Director
Otto Struve, the founding director of McDonald Observatory, poses in his Russian Army uniform in this 1917 portrait. Struve, a…
Dog Days
The hottest, stickiest time of the year in the northern hemisphere is known as the Dog Days. When the phrase…
Moon Bound
South Korea's first lunar spacecraft, Danuri ("enjoy the Moon") launches on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on…