planets and moons

Winter solstice 2019

For six months now, the days have grown shorter and the nights have grown longer in the Northern Hemisphere -- but that's about to reverse itself.

Hubble catches interstellar comet as it flies past the sun

The Hubble Space Telescope had a front row seat to capture the best and closest image to date of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov, a visitor that originated from outside of our solar system. On Sunday, the comet passed within 190 million miles of Earth on its closest approach before continuing on through our solar system.

Water found 1 in. beneath Martian surface could help future astronauts

When the first astronauts land on Mars, they won't be able to take everything they need with them. The logistics and weight of transporting so much material on one spacecraft, along with a crew, defies current technology. While scientists at NASA have discussed missions to deliver materials to the Red Planet ahead of a manned mission, there may be resources on Mars that can be used.

Real-life planets you may have first seen in a 'Star Wars' film

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was a breathtaking diversity of planets. From the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, rebel ships and Imperial cruisers, we've seen a colorful variety of them come into view. Harsh deserts baked by twin suns, craggy caverns, lush forests, water worlds, mineral-coated surfaces, inhospitable ice, inhabited moons and even lava worlds have greeted our gaze.