HercuList Secrets

Hubble telescope's annual 'grand tour' tracks changes in outer solar system

The tradition allows astronomers to monitor how the atmospheres of these worlds — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — change over time. But the photos are, of course, also stunning. NASA released images from this year's "grand tour" on Nov. 18.

Hubble telescope sees a space 'snowman' thousands of light-years away

A new release from the Hubble telescope's vast archive shares an incredible space "snowman" filled with glowing gas. The image shows the Snowman Nebula, which is a cloud of gas and dust in deep space. The Hubble Space Telescope's sharp eyes picked up ...

China boosts Earth-observation abilities with 2 Gaofen satellite launches

China continued its record-breaking year of launches by sending two satellites into orbit in recent days. The two new satellites launched on separate rockets and from different space centers, but they share a name, Gaofen ("high resolution").

Thanksgiving in space means a cosmic 'turkey trot' for astronauts (video)

Expedition 66 spacefliers on the International Space Station plan a "turkey trot" and some special food in honor of U.S. Thanksgiving on Thursday (Nov. 25). Five astronauts of the seven-person crew gathered to film a YouTube video released Monday (Nov.

DART timeline: What's next for NASA's asteroid-smacking mission after launch

NASA's first planetary defense mission is underway, though we'll have to wait a little while for its promised in-space fireworks. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) probe launched from ...

NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars just snagged its newest rock sample (photos)

Perseverance landed in February on the floor of Mars' Jezero Crater, which hosted a big lake and a river delta billions of years ago. The rover is hunting for signs of ancient Mars life and collecting dozens of samples, which a joint NASA-European Space ...

Russia launches new Prichal module to International Space Station

A new Russian module is on its way to the International Space Station. A Russian-built Soyuz rocket carrying a modified Progress cargo spacecraft and the new Prichal docking module lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday (Nov.

Tiny-alien invasion risk: More space biosecurity measures needed?

EarthSky

EarthSky

Preparing for an alien invasion of the microbial kind? Some scientists believe that – as humans become increasingly space-faring – we need stronger space biosecurity measures. Image via Pablo Stanic/ Unsplash.

Meat-eating vulture bees have evolved special gut bacteria to feast on flesh

(CNN) The vast majority of bees feed on pollen and nectar, but certain species have evolved to feast on meat, substituting dead animal carcasses for flower meadows. To better understand this extreme ...

This is how astronauts celebrate Thanksgiving in space

The space station will host seven crew members throughout the holiday season. The international crew includes Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Vande Hei, and European Space ...