During its 1997 flight, the Galileo spacecraft returned images of the Moon. This color picture is a mosaic assembled from 18 images taken by Galileo's imaging system through a green filter. NASA/JPL/USGS hide caption
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This composite image shows the Cartwheel Galaxy, located about 500 million light-years away. In the heat death scenario, the universe would expand so far that the light of one galaxy would be unable to reach its neighbor. NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI hide caption
The horn antenna in Holmdel, NJ used in the 1960s by Bell Labs scientists Penzias and Wilson, who accidentally discovered the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Bettmann / Contributor hide caption
What the "background noise of the universe" tells us about spacetime's origins
This illustration depicts a supermassive black hole consuming the matter around it. NASA/Aurore Simonnet (Sonoma State Univ.) hide caption
Gemini IV spacewalk, June 3, 1965. NASA astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk in space. NASA hide caption
Outer space changes you, literally. Here's what it does to the human body
NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope is set to launch in 2027. This innovative telescope is designed to investigate long-standing astronomical mysteries, such as dark energy, the force behind the universe's expansion. NASA hide caption
This mysterious energy is everywhere. Scientists still don't know what it is
A simulation of the formation of dark matter structures from the early universe until today. Ralf Kaehler/NASA/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, American Museum of Natural History hide caption
Discovered in 2016, a roughly Earth-sized planet orbiting our nearest neighboring star might be habitable. This artist's impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the solar system. ESO/M. Kornmesser hide caption
Could 3 Body Problem's aliens exist? The science behind Netflix's new hit
A red giant star and white dwarf orbit each other in this animation of a nova similar to T Coronae Borealis. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center hide caption
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI hide caption
Pluto isn't a planet — but it gives us clues on how the solar system formed
Astronaut Wendy B. Lawrence was aboard the the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-67/ASTRO-2 mission when it launched March 2nd, 1995. NASA hide caption
From the physics of g-force to weightlessness: How it feels to launch into space
Ed Dwight poses for a portrait to promote the National Geographic documentary film "The Space Race" during the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour, Thursday, in February. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP hide caption
Boeing's Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket is seen at Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 7, a day after its mission to the International Space Station was scrubbed because of an issue with a pressure regulation valve. John Raoux/AP hide caption
The Hubble Space Telescope in 2009, locked in a space shuttle's cargo bay, before the final repair work ever done. NASA/JSC hide caption
Private mission to save the Hubble Space Telescope raises concerns, NASA emails show
The Northern Lights fill the sky at the Bogus Basin ski resort in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday. Kyle Green/AP hide caption
Crosby Beach, Liverpool, England: The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at Another Place by Anthony Gormley. Peter Byrne /PA Images/Getty Images hide caption
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a strong solar flare on May 8, 2024. The Wednesday solar flares kicked off the geomagnetic storm happening this weekend. NASA/SDO hide caption
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of solar flares early Saturday afternoon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there have been measurable effects and impacts from the geomagnetic storm. Solar Dynamics Observatory hide caption
The huge solar storm is keeping power grid and satellite operators on edge
Venus and Earth used to look like 'twin' planets. What happened?
Photographers capture the Boeing Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket as it is rolled out to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Terry Renna/AP hide caption
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson at the space agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Elizabeth Gillis/NPR hide caption
NASA's chief is worried about China getting back to the moon first. Here's why
Actor Mark Hamill, wearing a pair of aviator shades he said he got from President Biden, makes a surprise appearance in the White House daily press briefing on May 3. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption
Deer are expanding north. That could hurt some species like boreal caribou
This illustration shows the Milky Way, our home galaxy. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption
The mysterious 'Great Attractor' pulling the Milky Way galaxy off course
A Long March rocket carrying a crew of Chinese astronauts in a Shenzhou-18 spaceship lifts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on Thursday. Andy Wong/AP hide caption