This artist’s concept shows what exoplanet K2-18 b could look like based on science data. K2-18 b, an exoplanet 8.6 times as massive as Earth, orbits the cool dwarf star K2-18 in the habitable zone and lies 120 light-years from Earth. Illustration: NASA, CSA, ESA, J. Olmsted (STScI), Science: N. Read full post

NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission successfully completed spacecraft commissioning this week, opening its instrument doors to capture “first light,” the mission’s first images of the Sun’s outer atmosphere and the surrounding space. This is the first step in revealing new details of how the solar Read full post

New data from NASA’s SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) is available at its regular frequency following a data outage in November 2024. A small amount of historical data collected prior to 2014 is still being restored from backups. The SDO mission provides critical, near-real-time and high-resolution solar observations for the study Read full post

Work on the NISAR satellite has been completed at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Satellite Integration and Testing Establishment in Bengaluru, and preparations are under way to transport it to the launch site at the agency’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on India’s southeastern coast. NASA and ISRO now Read full post

Editor’s Note: This post highlights data from Webb science in progress, which has not yet been through the peer-review process. These results were reported as part of NASA’s role in the International Asteroid Warning Network. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently turned its watchful eye toward asteroid 2024 YR4, which we now Read full post

Work on NASA’s purpose-built asteroid hunter, Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor, is progressing toward a targeted late 2027 launch. A major component of the mission, the spacecraft’s instrument enclosure journeyed back to the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in early March after completing environmental testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Read full post

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 11:21 a.m. ET on Friday, March 28. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, Read full post