Space

  1. Astronomy

    Gaia mission’s Milky Way map pinpoints locations of billion-plus stars

    New map of the galaxy provides unprecedented positions of over 1 billion stars and promises of a detailed 3-D atlas to come.

    By Christopher Crockett
  2. Planetary Science

    Source of Charon’s red north pole is probably Pluto

    The dark red pole on Charon, the largest moon of Pluto, is probably gas that escaped from Pluto and was then transformed by sunlight.

    By Christopher Crockett
  3. Planetary Science

    Moon rocks may have misled asteroid bombardment dating

    Discrepancies in moon rock dating muddy Late Heavy Bombardment debate.

    By Laurel Hamers
  4. Planetary Science

    Rock star Freddie Mercury now has his own space rock

    Queen front man Freddie Mercury is the latest in a long list of celebrities to have an asteroid named after him.

    By Christopher Crockett
  5. Planetary Science

    OSIRIS-REx spacecraft launches tonight for mission to grab asteroid sample

    NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is about to launch for a seven-year mission to study the asteroid Bennu and bring samples of the space rock back to Earth.

    By Christopher Crockett
  6. Astronomy

    Proxima b deserves buzz, even if some didn’t notice

    Editor in chief Eva Emerson discusses Earth's newest potentially habitable neighbor.

    By Eva Emerson
  7. Health & Medicine

    Readers contemplate aging research

    Aging research, dino guts and Earth's quasisatellite in reader feedback.

    By Science News Staff
  8. Planetary Science

    Philae lander spotted on comet 67P

    Missing since November 2014, the Philae comet lander has been found lurking in the shadows on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

    By Christopher Crockett
  9. Planetary Science

    Rosetta spots Philae lander on surface of comet 67P

    Missing since November 2014, the Philae comet lander has been found lurking in the shadows on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

    By Christopher Crockett
  10. Astronomy

    Black hole app lets you blow up stars

    NOVA’s Black Hole app for iPad is an addictive game that teaches lessons about gravity and astronomy while letting you hurl stars at one another.

    By Christopher Crockett
  11. Planetary Science

    Juno transmits first intimate snapshots of Jupiter

    Hurricane-like clouds spiral over Jupiter’s poles, new photos taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft reveal.

    By Emily Conover
  12. Tech

    SpaceX rocket explodes on Florida launchpad

    SpaceX has lost a Falcon 9 rocket and its satellite payload in a standard prelaunch test.

    By Helen Thompson