"One thing popped out as clear as anything, this previously unknown 'bar' of ionized iron atoms, in the middle of the familiar and iconic ring." ...

It may be one of the most iconic sights in the night sky, but astronomers have never seen the Helix Nebula like this before.

A nebula is a luminescent giant cloud of dust and gas in space that could be from a supernova or could be a star-forming region. The "dumbbell nebula," also known as Messier 27, is what astronomers ...

On Feb. 22, 1971, a sounding rocket lifted off from Wallops Island, Virginia, with specialized sensors aimed at the Crab Nebula, a bright cosmic object 6,500 light-years away. In those days, before ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. The planetary nebula NGC 6302 is one the most-studied of cosmic ...

The sky served up no shortage of spectacle in 2025 —from lunar liaisons, solar prominences and fleeting meteor showers, to aurora and nebula scenes that unfold on a scale almost too massive for the ...