Astronomers have discovered a likely explanation for a fracture in a huge cosmic “bone” in the Milky Way galaxy, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescopes. The bone appears to have been struck by a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar. Neutron stars are the densest known stars and form from the collapse and explosion of massive stars. They […]
Author: Brian Evans
NASA Invests in Future STEM Workforce Through Space Grant Awards
NASA is awarding up to $870,000 annually to 52 institutions across the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico over the next four years. The investments aim to create opportunities for the next generation of innovators by supporting workforce development, science, technology, engineering and math education, and aerospace collaboration nationwide. The Space Grant […]
What’s Up: May 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA
Eta Aquarids & Waiting for a Nova! The first week of May brings the annual Eta Aquarid meteors, peaking on the 6th. And sometime in the next few months, astronomers predict a “new star” or nova explosion will become visible to the unaided eye. Skywatching Highlights All Month – Planet Visibility: Daily Highlights May 6 […]
Adding Dimension to Cassiopeia A
Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers uncovered a mysterious feature within the remnant, nicknamed the “Green Monster,” alongside a puzzling network of ejecta filaments forming a web of oxygen-rich material. When combined with X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the data helped astronomers shed light on the origin of the Green Monster and revealed […]
Amateur Radio Scientists Shine at the 2025 HamSCI Workshop
Love Ham Radio? The HamSCI project fosters collaboration between amateur radio operators and professional researchers. Its goals are to advance scientific research and understanding through amateur radio activities, encourage the development of modern technologies to support this research, and provide educational opportunities for the amateur community and the public. HamSCI held its annual Workshop, ‘HamSCI’s […]
NASA Harvests Lettuce for Space Station Study
Inside a laboratory in the Space Systems Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a payload implementation team member harvests ‘Outredgeous’ romaine lettuce growing in the Advanced Plant Habitat ground unit on Thursday, April 24, 2025. The harvest is part of the ground control work supporting Plant Habitat-07, which launched to the International […]
May’s Night Sky Notes: How Do We Find Exoplanets?
Astronomers have been trying to discover evidence that worlds exist around stars other than our Sun since the 19th century. By the mid-1990s, technology finally caught up with the desire for discovery and led to the first discovery of a planet orbiting another sun-like star, Pegasi 51b. Why did it take so long to discover these […]
Sols 4525-4526: The Day After Groundhog Day (Between Ghost Mountain and Texoli, Headed South)
Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Earth planning date: Monday, April 28, 2025 Curiosity is back on the road! For sols 4525 and 4526, we have an isolated nominal plan in which the communication pass timing works out in such a way that the rover can fit in fully […]
NASA STEM Programs Ignite Curiosity Beyond the Classroom
When curiosity takes flight, learning knows no bounds. The impact of supporting STEM education extends far beyond the classroom, shaping the future of innovation and exploration. NASA Engages is the agency’s outreach website that connects NASA experts and resources with communities, educators, and students across the country. Led by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, the […]
Saxophone in Space
In this photo taken on Feb. 8, 1984, NASA astronaut Ronald E. McNair plays his saxophone while off-duty during the STS-41B mission. He and fellow crew members Vance D. Brand, Robert L. Gibson, Robert L. Stewart, and Bruce McCandless II launched on the space shuttle Challenger from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. […]