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This is NGC 2467, an energetic star-forming region found in the constellation Puppis. This image from the European Southern Observatory captures a gorgeous range of colors and countless stars being born...but I just can't stop staring into the nebula's eyes. More »
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Between those bizarre structures, the impossible colors up in the night sky, and the fact that this photo was apparently taken in the middle of a busy star cluster, how can this not be from some far distant alien world? More »
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The Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years in diameter, but that doesn't mean we're necessarily able to see everything our galaxy has to offer. The trouble comes from this thick nearby dust cloud, which blocks the stars behind it. More »
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Betelgeuse has been hogging the headlines lately, but what about the other stars in the constellation of Orion? This spectacular photo reveals the beauty of Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, the trio of stars that make up its belt. More »
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How close are we to long-term human habitation beyond low-Earth orbit? Colonies on the moon or Mars are still many years off, but the good news is there are several serious efforts underway to make it happen. More »
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Buzz Aldrin has stepped from his pedestal once again to talk about the space program. No longer content to bash science fiction for destroying interest in real space exploration, Aldrin has turned his attention to a crewed mission to Mars, saying that if we do send humans to the Red Planet, we shouldn’t bother bringing them back to Earth. More »
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When NASA retires its three space shuttles in 2010, US astronauts will have to rely on the Russian space program to gain entry to space and the International Space Station. Until 2015, when the Constellation program is scheduled to begin launching the Orion spacecraft, the US plans to purchase seats on the Russian Soyuz craft. Now some NASA officials are warning that America's presence in space could be hindered further by US-Russian tensions and the emerging Chinese program. More »
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NASA plans to retire the Space Shuttle program in 2010 and have a replacement, the Constellation, ready for launch in 2015. But the budget-starved space agency set the odds of making that deadline at only 65 percent in a report to Congress this week. Even if it meets the deadline, the Constellation's launch will come at the end of the longest gap between crewed U.S. space missions since the end of the Apollo Program and the development of the Space Shuttle. Sounds bad, but it could mean the beginning of the true Space Age. More »
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