Space

New observations of a pair of colliding spiral galaxies hint at what might be in store for the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy if and when they collide. The findings, described in July in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, may also help to solve a puzzle plaguing the standard model of cosmology. The two colliding galaxies, NGC 5713 and NGC 5179, are located 88…

The first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season is upon us, and it has gained quite a bit of attention due to its massive size and intensification within a short period of time. Hurricane Erin, the fifth named storm of the season as well as the first hurricane to reach major status, formed on Aug. 11 and made its trek across the central Atlantic in just a few days. The storm reached hurricane…

After six months of effort, an instrument that helps the Mars rover look for potential signs of ancient microbial life has come back online. The SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has analyzed a rock target with its spectrometer and camera for the first time since encountering an…

New research on Antarctica, including the first map of iceberg calving, doubles the previous estimates of loss from ice shelves and details how the continent is changing. The greatest uncertainty in forecasting global sea level rise is how Antarctica’s ice loss will accelerate as the climate warms. Two studies published Aug. 10 and led by researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion…