SpaceX launches 3 telecom satellites to orbit on 700th Falcon mission of all time (video)
SpaceX lofted three of SES's O3b mPOWER communications satellites to orbit today (Sept. 13), on the 700th mission to date for the Falcon rocket family.
SpaceX lofted three of SES's O3b mPOWER communications satellites to orbit today (Sept. 13), on the 700th mission to date for the Falcon rocket family.
The surface of Mercury is filled with craters, ridges and steep cliffs. Over billions of years, as the planet's interior cooled, the planet also shrank. Just as the skin of a drying fruit wrinkles when what is inside it shrinks, Mercury's rocky surface crumpled into ridges and cliffs as its interior cooled and the planet contracted. Mercury has quite literally grown smaller with age.
On Sept. 13, 2007, Japan launched the Kaguya spacecraft on a mission to the moon. Here's why it mattered.
We're going deeper underground; there's too much panic in this town.
Black holes are regions of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. When two black holes orbit each other and merge, they produce gravitational waves (i.e., ripples in spacetime) that can resemble those emitted by mergers involving other exotic compact objects.
In a great moment for curly-haired folks around the world, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir just shared some styling tips from the ISS.
An eye surgeon with a passion for space since childhood predicts that as astronauts start to make journeys to the moon and Mars in the near future, eye surgery in space will eventually become a necessity.
A massive worldwide survey of physicists has revealed surprisingly little agreement about some of the universe’s biggest mysteries. No majority backed the standard cosmological model, a leading explanation for dark matter, or any single theory of quantum gravity. One area of stronger agreement stood out: 68% said the Big Bang does not necessarily represent the beginning of time. Researchers say the divisions show just how alive and unsettled the frontiers of physics remain.
Most of our experience with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has been focused on capturing radio signals that alien species have sent out, whether intentionally or unintentionally. That creates a huge “synchronicity” problem - what if there aren’t any alien civilizations broadcasting radio signals now, but there were a billion years ago? The Milky Way is around 13 billion years old - hoping that we exist at the same time as an alien civilization that happens to be actively messaging is a huge leap of faith. But, according to a new paper available in pre-print on arXiv and submitted to the International Journal of Astrobiology by Lewis J Pinault, as associated researcher at the SETI Institute, and his co-authors, we could take a completely alternative approach to trying to find alien civilizations - by looking for evidence of them in lunar dirt.
We've found more than 5,500 exoplanets so far. Dozens of them are in the habitable zones of their parent stars, where, at least in theory, they could host an ocean. But we've never definitively found a liquid ocean on another planet.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered that the ring system of the tiny solar system body is even more interesting than they knew.
A joint NASA-ESA mission, the Ulysses solar probe launched Oct. 6, 1990, from the Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission was tasked with studying the solar wind, mapping the heliosphere, and becoming the first craft to study and chart the solar poles in detail. Equipped with a magnetometer, ion composition gauge, and instruments to measure radio Continue reading "Sept. 13, 1994: Ulysses at the Sun’s south pole" The post Sept. 13, 1994: Ulysses at the Sun’s south pole appeared first on Astronomy Magazine .
An international team, including researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has reached a major milestone in "precision cosmology" by measuring the amount of helium created in the universe's first five minutes with unprecedented accuracy.
Scientists have engineered yeast to turn PET plastic and agricultural waste into ingredients for protein-rich, 3D-printed cookies called µBites. Developed partly for NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge, the system can produce proteins, fats, vitamins, and even vanilla flavoring from waste materials. Researchers hope the unusual technology could eventually help address both plastic pollution and food insecurity, while also supplying food in extreme environments such as deep-space missions.
Venus will shine close to the waxing crescent moon at sunset on Sept. 13.
Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  September 12: Dione skims Saturn’s pole Blazing at magnitude –4.8, Venus is nearing its greatest illuminated extent and stands out as an unmissable evening star after sunset. This evening it is joined by a lovely thin crescent Moon as the pair hangs Continue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, September 13: Venus, the Moon, and Spica" The post The Sky Today on Sunday, September 13: Venus, the Moon, and Spica appeared first on Astronomy Magazine .
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 13 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. To view this […]
A century-old mystery in Venus’s clouds just became more intriguing, as scientists calculated how strongly the unidentified material behind its dark ultraviolet patterns must absorb light. The results sharply narrow the possibilities and could help future spacecraft determine whether the mysterious substance is organic, inorganic, or something unexpected.
The most comprehensive catalogue of exploding white dwarf stars ever assembled has revealed new clues about dark energy, the mysterious force driving the universe’s accelerating expansion.