Experience Just How Big the Universe is, in One Mind-Blowing Interactive
You need a more recent version of Adobe Flash Player. Recently, NASA scientists combined data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes to discover the most distant galaxy known to date. The galaxy, named Abell2744 Y1, was formed around 13.2 billion years ago when the universe was extremely young. As the universe is expanding, Abell2744 Y1 is currently closer to 40 billion light years away from us, an astounding distance.
Boeing may have used a lobbying firm to plant an op-ed slamming SpaceX
Boeing, the 102-year-old titan of the aerospace industry, is in a heated competition with SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket company, for billions of dollars in NASA contracts. As Boeing is seeking to secure that taxpayer funding — and the prestige of launching astronauts into space — the company might be secretly placing an opinion article that criticizes SpaceX in newspapers around the US. Both companies are trying to show NASA they can safely launch the agency's astronauts to and from the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a roughly $8 billion competition the agency launched to spur private companies to build safe, cost-effective, American-made spaceships. Through that program, SpaceX won a $2.6 billion contract to develop its Crew Dragon space capsule, and Boeing has received $4.8 billion for its CST-100 Starliner space capsule. SpaceX/Flickr (public domain)
Planets
Planets: The planet count in our solar system has gone as high as 15 before new discoveries prompted a fine tuning of the definition of a planet. The most recent change was in 2006 when scientists reclassified Pluto as a new kind of object - a dwarf planet. Dwarf Planets:
Earth-size planets may be next door, Kepler data suggest
Using publicly available data from NASA's Kepler space telescope, astronomers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have found that six percent of red dwarf stars have habitable, Earth-sized planets. Since red dwarfs are the most common stars in our galaxy, the closest Earth-like planet could be just 13 light-years away. "We thought we would have to search vast distances to find an Earth-like planet.
NASA Kids Club
Skip to main content NASA Kids Club › Text Only Site Space Racers Watch.
Space facts for kids at Super Brainy Beans
The Sun The Sun comes out in the day and sits high in the sky. It gives us light and heat.
SpaceX breaks record for commercial orbital rocket launches in a year
This has been SpaceX's most incredible year yet for launching rockets. In 2018, Elon Musk's aerospace company achieved 20 successful launches. Those missions sent dozens of payloads into orbit, debuted two experimental Starlink internet satellites, and even shot a car past the orbit of Mars. The company still has one more launch planned for December. Musk was feeling good enough about SpaceX's 2018 progress in May that he said the company might "launch more rockets than any other country."
Video: NASA's New Upper Stage J-2X Engine Passes Major Test
NASA conducted a successful 500-second test firing of the J-2X rocket engine on Wednesday, Nov. 9, marking another important step in development of an upper stage for the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS). SLS will carry the Orion spacecraft, its crew, cargo, equipment and science experiments to destinations in deep space. SLS will be safe, affordable and sustainable to continue America's journey of discovery from the unique vantage point of space. "The J-2X engine is critical to the development of the Space Launch System," Dan Dumbacher, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development, said after the test at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. "Today's test means NASA is moving closer to developing the rocket it needs if humans are to explore beyond low-Earth orbit."
Asteroid 2012 DA14's Friday Flyby: A Skywatcher's Guide
Scientists and amateur observers alike are eagerly awaiting Friday's historic flyby of asteroid 2012 DA14, which will zoom inside Earth's ring of geosynchronous satellites. At its nearest approach Friday (Feb. 15), the 150-foot-wide (45 meters) asteroid 2012 DA14 will be just 17,200 miles (27,000 kilometers) from Earth — the closest encounter with such a large space rock that researchers have ever known about in advance. You can watch the asteroid 2012 DA14 flyby on SPACE.com today during a series of free webcasts Astronomers will take full advantage of the flyby, tracking the near-Earth asteroid with a variety of instruments to learn more about it and space rocks in general. And some well-placed skywatchers may be able to follow 2012 DA12 's path across the heavens Friday as well, weather permitting.
