On this day in space! Sept. 1, 1979: NASA’s Pioneer 11 probe becomes 1st spacecraft to visit Saturn
On Sept. 1, 1979, NASA’s robotic space probe Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn. Pioneer 11 launched in 1973 on a mission to explore the asteroid…
Scientists Model the True Darkness of Venus’s Mysterious UV Absorber
As any amateur astronomer can tell you, Venus is famous for its yellow coloration in visible light. But, ask a professional planetary scientist and they will tell you the strangest…
APOD: 2026 August 31 – Launch of the Roman Space Telescope
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 31 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day…
Quantum Physicist Takes Aim at the Universe’s Mysterious Arrow of Time
Scientists and philosophers have argued over the nature of time since … well, since time immemorial. Is time real, or is it a convenient illusion? Why does time seem to…
NASA Welcomes Türkiye as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory Â
Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, 3rd from left, signs the Artemis Accords for the Republic of Türkiye as NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, left, U.S. Deputy Assistant…
NASA’s doomed Swift space telescope restarts science work after rescue mission fails
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is back to studying the universe after spending months in a low-drag configuration while awaiting an orbital rescue mission that ultimately fell short. Mission controllers…
‘No guts, no glory’: How I captured NASA’s Roman Space Telescope cross the sun on a picture-perfect SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch
The SpaceX Falcon Heavy carrying NASA’s Roman Space Telescope crosses the face o the sun as it launches to space from Pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida…
September 2026 Satellite Puzzler
Every month, NASA Earth Observatory features a puzzling satellite image. The September 2026 puzzler appears above. Your ChallengeIdentify the location shown in this satellite image. Share what clues you see,…
Martian Astronomy: Percy Sees a ‘Phobos Eclipse’ From Mars
Sure. It’s just another image of Phobos crossing the disk of the Sun, as seen from the surface of Mars. Like so much of the modern space era, these images,…
What’s next for Roman Space Telescope? Here’s how NASA’s flagship observatory will open up the universe
NASA’s next big space telescope has left Earth, but it’s not ready to start observing the heavens just yet. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched yesterday (Aug. 30), riding…