4+ day, 18+ hour ago   (566+ words) A small asteroid detected shortly before reaching Earth disintegrated safely over the Indian Ocean near northwestern Australia on Sept. 6, giving scientists another successful test of planetary defense systems. The object, designated 2026 RW1, measured approximately 0.8 meters (about 2.6 feet) across and posed no…...

6+ day, 13+ hour ago   (252+ words) The September 2026 full moon, known as the Harvest Moon, reaches peak illumination on September 26 at 12:49 p.m. EDT (16:49 UTC). Because that moment occurs during daylight in many places, it is not necessarily the best time to watch. Instead, plan for Harvest Moon…...

1+ week, 2+ day ago   (291+ words) The BepiColombo Mercury mission is entering its long-awaited arrival phase after an eight-year journey that began in October 2018. On September 3, 2026, the ESA and JAXA spacecraft will separate the Mercury Transfer Module from its two science orbiters, marking the first major…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago   (376+ words) A dark matter experiment called LUX-ZEPLIN has detected an unusual particle interaction that researchers cannot easily explain through known background processes. The LZ experiment recorded the event while searching for dark matter, an invisible substance believed to make up much…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago   (1177+ words) The search for life beyond Earth has traditionally focused on planets that resemble Earth. Astronomers study rocky exoplanets with suitable temperatures, liquid water, and atmospheres that may support life. However, another type of world could expand that search: exomoons. Exomoons…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago   (1024+ words) Planetary rings are among the Solar System's most recognizable features. Saturn's broad, bright rings are the most famous, but Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune also have ring systems. These rings are not solid structures. They consist of countless pieces of ice,…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago   (651+ words) The Milky Way's uneven gravitational field may produce gaps, bends, and other features in stellar streams that astronomers have often treated as possible signs of dark matter clumps, according to a University of Washington study published Aug. 27 in The Astrophysical…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago   (534+ words) University of Utah researchers have estimated that rock glaciers across Utah's mountains may hold about 1 billion metric tons of hidden ice and water after using gravity measurements to map the buried interior of a major formation beneath Mount Timpanogos. The…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago   (331+ words) The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will advance exoplanet imaging by targeting worlds much fainter than previous instruments could detect. Its Coronagraph Instrument will block intense starlight, helping reveal planets that reflect only small amounts of light from their host…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago   (1116+ words) Beyond the orbit of Neptune lies a cold, distant region filled with icy remnants from the early history of the Sun's planetary system. Known as the Kuiper Belt, this region contains dwarf planets, comet-like bodies, and smaller frozen fragments that…...