Space

Webb’s View Of Messier 77 (M77) Showcases a Beacon of Light in Swirls of Dust

By Jackson Chung May 9, 2026

Photo credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
Astronomers released an image this week that pulls viewers straight into the dynamic core of Messier 77 (M77). Located 45 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus, this barred spiral galaxy offers a clear target for study thanks to its relative closeness and the range of activity packed inside its structure. Captured entirely in mid-infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope’s specialized instrument, the view highlights details that ordinary light cannot reach.

Up-Close Look at a Martian Rock That Refused to Release Curiosity’s Arm

By Jackson Chung May 8, 2026

NASA’s Curiosity had spent years gradually ascending the slopes of Mount Sharp inside Gale Crater. On April 25, the rover drilled into a rock known as Atacama, which was about a foot and a half across and six inches thick, weighing over thirty pounds. The drill sank in neatly enough to collect the sample the scientists need. The rover then pulled its arm back. The entire rock came with it.

An Asteroid’s Old Orbit Opens a Quicker Route to Mars

By Jackson Chung May 6, 2026

Back in 2015, Marcelo de Oliveira Souza was at his desk in Brazil, staring at a computer screen with some rather long numbers regarding near-Earth asteroids flashing by. He was making preliminary predictions of the courses these space objects would take, to help people determine whether they would pose a threat to our world. One in particular drew his attention, 2001 CA21, because the first calculations showed an orbit that virtually sliced straight through between Earth and Mars in a way nobody had picked up on before.

NGC 3137 Lights Up with Fresh Stars in Hubble’s Latest View

By Jackson Chung May 4, 2026

NGC 3137 is a spiral galaxy located 53 million light-years away in the constellation Antlia, and the Hubble Space Telescope has captured it in exquisite clarity. It captured images of this galaxy at six different wavelengths, enabling astronomers to combine ultraviolet, visible, and hydrogen emission data into a single complete picture. At first impression, the image is beautiful, with the galaxy dominating the frame at a sharp angle and its loose arms fanning out like feathers in a summer wind. The older stars in the galaxy’s center have a warm golden tone, whilst the hotter, younger groups of stars on the periphery appear pale blue.

$15 Thrift Store Lens Meets Orbiting Space Station

By Jackson Chung May 3, 2026

Saveitforparts picked up a heavy Sigma 400mm XQ lens and its matching 2x teleconverter at a local thrift store for $14.99. He carried the whole assembly home, attached a simple adapter, and mounted it on a decade-old Sony NEX-3 digital camera. The goal looked simple on paper: point the bargain rig skyward when the International Space Station passed overhead and record whatever showed up in the frame.

Recreating the Apollo Moon Landings at Home is Possible, Just Not Practical

By Bill Smith May 3, 2026

Isaac Carlton decided one afternoon to tackle a project that most people would dismiss as impossible. He wanted to film the most famous moments from the Apollo moon landings without rockets, without a massive budget, and without stepping outside his own property. The result looks so close to the original NASA footage that viewers keep pausing to check whether they are watching history or something built from scratch in a garage.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Still Keeps Up With Perseverance on Mars

By Jackson Chung May 2, 2026

NASA’s Curiosity rover captured some incredible 360-degree images from the foothills of Mount Sharp deep inside Gale Crater. It was all stitched together from 1,031 separate photos taken between November 9th and December 7th, 2025. What a sight that is, as the dirt out there forms low ridges resembling massive spiderwebs. Water used to seep through fractures in the bedrock, leaving minerals that are significantly more resistant to erosion than the surrounding rocks.

NASA’s Lithium Thruster Reaches Record Heights in a Vacuum Chamber Test

By Jackson Chung May 2, 2026

Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory gathered around a special 26-foot vacuum chamber in February of last year to witness a prototype engine fire five times in a row. The temperature within that device skyrocketed, exceeding 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, with a center tungsten electrode burning a brilliant white and an outer nozzle spewing out an astounding crimson stream of lithium plasma into the void of space.

Webb and Chandra Spot X-Rays Escaping From a Distant Little Red Dot

By Jackson Chung April 28, 2026

New discoveries shed light on the early cosmos by combining two of the most powerful telescopes available, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Interestingly, Webb spotted hundreds of little red dots dispersed throughout the sky practically as soon as it began observations. These little red dots are so far away that their light is stretched out to longer wavelengths as it travels and appears in the photographs as red dots.

Hubble Marks 36 Years with a Fresh Glimpse into the Trifid Nebula

By Jackson Chung April 27, 2026

Just a few days before its 36th anniversary, Hubble’s latest image provides a glimpse of a small fraction of the Trifid Nebula, and it is a real stunner…This cosmic marvel is located roughly 5,000 light years away in the constellation of Sagittarius, and it is essentially an active factory for new stars, producing stars left, right, and center from a swirling maelstrom of gas and dust.