Space

Get ready stargazers, the final full moon of 2025 rises tonight! Here’s what to expect when the “Cold Supermoon” looms large over the eastern horizon at sunset on Dec. 4. The exact moment of December’s full moon phase will take place at 8:13 p.m. EST (2313 UTC) on Dec. 4, at which time the lunar disk will appear fully illuminated opposite the sun in Earth’s sky…

Scientists have detected several sugars essential for life in the samples brought back from asteroid Bennu, NASA announced on Tuesday (Dec. 2). Analyzing pristine fragments of the asteroid delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in 2023, a team led by Yoshihiro Furukawa of Tohoku University in Japan found ribose, a crucial building block of RNA, and glucose, an energy-rich sugar…

The controversial plan to move the space shuttle Discovery to Houston reportedly has a powerful new backer. Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead NASA, has pledged his support for Discovery’s relocation, according to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Cornyn, who spearheaded the Discovery plan along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), made the announcement in an emailed…

Scientists have detected tiny lightning bolts on Mars for the first time — they were found discharging around NASA’s Perseverance rover and coming from dust-storm fronts and whirling dust devils. Finding the electrical discharges has solved a major Martian mystery, namely the origin of oxidants such as hydrogen peroxide on the Red Planet, which was discovered on Mars in 2003. These…