Hubble has been conducting revolutionary science for 30 years, but its age is starting to catch up to it. For now, NASA can use backup hardware.

Hubble engineers thought the issue was an old memory module. But that was just a symptom of the real problem - which NASA still hasn't identified.

By imaging 226 million galaxies, astronomers have created the largest map ever of dark matter, which makes up 25% of the universe.

The photographer J-P Metsavainio spent 1,250 hours collecting images for his Milky Way mosaic, which captures a small chunk of the galaxy.

Dark matter makes up an estimated 85% of the universe. But because it doesn’t interact with light, it has never been observed and is difficult to study. Using a simulation of the universe, Harvard researchers found that dark matter seems to ahve a universal property: It forms halos. The findings […]

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken nearly 7 million pictures of the red planet since leaving Earth 15 years ago. From dust storms to avalanches, the images reveal details of Mars’ surface and weather patterns. Here are 12 of the most beautiful visuals the orbiter has captured so far. Visit […]

This has been a year of photographic firsts: A worldwide team of scientists published the first image of a black hole, and China captured the first photos from the far side of the moon. Space telescopes also captured mind-blowing shots of galaxies and nebulae. Here are 27 of the most […]

Scientists made dozens of exciting new discoveries in space this year. Unprecedented photos revealed the far side of the moon, the first black hole was captured on camera, and astronomers spotted a comet from another star system. Spacecraft also ventured to new destinations, diving through the sun’s atmosphere, landing on […]

Scientists have detected the brightest, most energetic light in the universe for the first time: Telescopes captured two violent space explosions called gamma-ray bursts. Astronomers acted quickly to capture this ultra-high-energy light, turning telescopes on Earth toward the explosion just 50 seconds after NASA satellites detected it. The ultra-high-energy light […]

NASA and other space agencies are building a handful of telescopes that are likely to change our understanding of the universe. From vantage points on Earth and in space, these telescopes will peer across time and space to study some of the cosmos’ biggest mysteries. Here are the upcoming new […]

The universe is expanding faster than scientists predicted, a finding that has created what one astrophysicist calls “the crisis in cosmology.” A new study confirmed this dilemma using new telescope technology and data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Scientists can’t yet explain the discrepancy between their models and new measurements. […]

Astronomers have accidentally discovered a new, invisible “monster galaxy” from the beginning of the universe. They found it by detecting the warm glow of dust clouds heated by the formation of new stars in the galaxy. The discovery could offer clues about how huge, mature galaxies formed so quickly in […]

The Milky Way galaxy has billions of planets that could potentially host life. Yet despite scientists’ efforts to monitor for and occasionally signal to extraterrestrials, we have not found any evidence that aliens exist. This conundrum is known as the Fermi Paradox, and it has inspired debate among researchers for […]

Astronomers have observed a supernova – the final explosion of a dying star – that was “unique in every possible way.” The explosion lasted longer than any supernova scientists had ever observed before, and they think it destroyed the most massive star ever known to have experienced a supernova. Scientists […]

A large-scale 3D map of the Milky Way shows its warped shape with a new level of detail and accuracy. Researchers measured the distances between our sun and 2,400 stars to map their three-dimensional coordinates across the Milky Way. Scientists still don’t know how our galaxy and others like it […]

Astronomers on Thursday posted an incredible image using 16 years’ worth of Hubble Space Telescope data. The picture of space, made with 7,500 photos, shows a patch just smaller than the size of the moon in the sky. Researchers estimate the image includes 265,000 galaxies, some of which appear as […]

A new study led by a Nobel Prize winner found that the universe is younger and expanding faster than scientists thought. Astronomer Adam Riess used measurements from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to conclude that the universe is expanding 9% faster than previous calculations said. Reiss and other scientists think that […]