"Houston, we've had a problem." On April 13, 1970, the three astronauts aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft were headed to the moon when a sudden explosion rocked the ship. Oxygen levels began… Read More →

During the formation of the solar system, not all of the materials in the vast could of dust and gas were used. What happened to the remaining ice, metal, and rock? It formed what became… Read More →

In 2015 two powerful telescopes detected something physicists had been seeking for more than one hundred years—gravitational waves from the collision of two black holes. This announcement… Read More →

Could life have previously flourished on Mars? Will humans be able to travel there one day? Can humans one day colonize the red planet? NASA scientists have been interested in answering… Read More →

Until the mid-1990s, scientists only guessed that the universe held exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system. But using advanced physics and powerful telescopes, scientists have since… Read More →

Americans are divided over the future of the U.S. space program. Some say it's time to send astronauts back to the Moon, as well as to Mars for the first time. They believe that exploring… Read More →

Known as the red planet, Mars is the closest planet to the sun. Easily seen from Earth, Mars has intrigued thousands of people throughout history. Many have wondered whether the planet could… Read More →

For centuries, astronomers have placed a special importance on the other planets of the solar system. But with the advent of spacecraft and the tremendous missions undertaken by the Voyager… Read More →

In the sixth century B.C.E., the Greek philosopher Anaximander theorized that Earth was at the center of the cosmos. That idea became ingrained in scientific thinking and Christian religious… Read More →

Since prehistoric times, people have wondered how the universe works. Early scientists studied how forces affect objects and watched how heavenly bodies move. In 1687 Isaac Newton published a Read More →

Saturn is the crown jewel of the solar system. Admired for centuries for its beauty--a pale gold ball surrounded by gleaming white rings--modern astronomers have discovered that Saturn is one Read More →

Scientists have identified at least 100 million pieces of space debris—from paint chips to nonoperational zombie satellites—floating in Earth's orbit. And over 100 tons of those pieces enter… Read More →

Each night, millions of stars light up the dark skies. Galaxies throughout the universe encompass thousands of stars. The appearance of stars in the sky have intrigued and enthralled humans… Read More →

Thousands of years ago, humans believed that Earth was the center of the universe, that the world they lived on was all there was. Truthfully, the solar system extends almost halfway to the… Read More →

Where did our universe come from? People have been trying to answer this question for thousands of years. The twentieth century brough new discoveries in physics and astronomy that led… Read More →