Space

This might look like a rocket launching off Earth, but it’s actually a rocket booster perfectly landing on our planet after fulfilling its duty. (Image credit: Chelsea Gohd) On Aug. 30, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket — then, after completing their job, the rocket’s boosters safely landed back on Earth. Watching the events…

Nā ‘Uhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola is the Hawaiian name given to this image of NGC 7253 — a pair of spiral galaxies caught in each other’s gravity. This image was captured by the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA) It is nearly impossible to fathom the entirety of a single galaxy — these realms can span hundreds of…

Soon, the sky’s most glamorous evening performer will take its leave. Since late March, Venus has been the unmistakable “Evening Star,” gleaming shortly after sunset and stealing attention from nearly everything else in the twilight. In June, it helped stage a striking three-planet lineup after sundown, outshining both Jupiter and Mercury. Now the curtain is beginning to fall…

No rocket had ever reached orbit from Western European soil — until today. The German company Isar Aerospace launched its Spectrum rocket from Andøya Space Center in northern Norway today (Sept. 5) at 4:12 p.m. EDT (2012 GMT; 10:12 p.m. local time in Norway). A little over seven minutes later, it etched its name into the record books, settling into an elliptical path around our…