mars

Time to explore a radical new idea shaking up our understanding of the cosmos: what if dark matter doesn’t exist at all? Some European astronomers propose that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies may have already collided once in the distant past—a theory that challenges long-held beliefs about gravity and the mysterious dark matter thought to hold galaxies together. Instead, they point to a bold alternative called MOND (Modified Newtonian Dynamics), which suggests gravity behaves differently on cosmic scales. If true, this could rewrite everything we know about the structure and evolution of the universe.

2024 was the hottest year on record. We’ll speak with a NASA climate scientist to learn more.And a new study suggests evidence of water reserves deep underground on Mars.

On Mars, the curiosity rover's methane-sniffing instrument turned up nothing at all — dashing hopes of finding bacteria, which can produce methane. The search was inspired by Martian ancient history — since it was a very different place in the distant past. Hear how we’re still looking for life elsewhere.

It’ll soon be Valentine’s Day, so what makes a great romantic gift? A book of poetry? A candlelight dinner? Excellent choices — but as a nightcap, there's nothing like a moonlight or starlit stroll. So if it's a very late date or if you and your beloved wake up just as morning twilight begins and gaze out an east facing window, the Morning Star will be totally, absolutely riveting, although very low. And look at that little orange star next to it — that’s Mars, as if the male and female aspects of the heavens are dancing.

Mars now reaches its dimmest point of the year, so nobody’s now observing the Red Planet. But many still think about it. As planning for human visits to Mars continues, researchers keep studying risk. As results accumulate from astronauts who’ve spent a long time on the ISS, astrobiologists grow more concerned about space travel’s medical consequences.

This is the week of Mars. Its opposition – when it’s exactly the opposite the sun in our sky – is this Thursday. Its closest and brightest happened a few days ago. And this Wednesday night, December 7th, it closely meets the Full Moon. We’ll also hear what Mars has been up to.

For the next month, Mars hovers at its closest to us, which it briefly does only every two years. Its closest approach happens the first day of December. But since Mars doesn’t change much from night to night, there’s no need to wait. You can go out the next clear evening. Mars is that super bright star low in the east at 7 p.m., with even brighter Jupiter far to its right. If you have a telescope also check out Saturn, the lowest star in the west.

In 1903, the first successful powered flight was accomplished by the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.118 years later, NASA is preparing for…

NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover is scheduled to land on Mars shortly before 4 p.m. Eastern Time today. Back in July the rover blasted off from Cape…

Acclaimed journalist David Brown's new book "The Mission" tells how one of America's boldest and potentially most revolutionary space missions came to…