Latest Planets News
Webb telescope uncovers merger of two massive black holes from early universe
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Webb Space Telescope has discovered the earliest known merger of black holes. These two gigantic black holes and their galaxies consolidated just 740 million years after the universe-forming Big Bang. It's the most distant detection ever made of...
Sun shoots out biggest solar flare in almost 2 decades, but Earth should be out of the way this time
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places. “Not done yet!” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration...
This giant gas planet is as fluffy and puffy as cotton candy
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have identified a planet that’s bigger than Jupiter yet surprisingly as fluffy and light as cotton candy. The exoplanet has exceedingly low density for its size, an international team reported Tuesday. The gas giants in our solar system...
Astronomers find the biggest known batch of planet ingredients swirling around young star
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have discovered what they believe is the biggest known batch of planet-making ingredients swirling around a young star. The diameter of this colossal disk is roughly 3,300 times the distance between Earth and the sun, with enough gas and dust...
Fine dining, at a new high. A Michelin-starred chef will take his cuisine to our upper atmosphere
COPENHAGEN (AP) — Ever since humans have journeyed to space, their meals there have proved to be, well, nothing to write home about. But that could change after a Michelin-starred chef teamed up with the Florida-based startup Space Perspective to take fine-dining to our upper...
Federal agency says a second, if weaker, solar storm surge is likely Sunday
A U.S. government agency said a weaker repeat of Saturday’s powerful solar storm was likely on Sunday. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that “coronal mass ejections” — clouds of ejected solar plasma that can cause power grid irregularities and...
Solar storm hits Earth, producing colorful light shows across Northern Hemisphere
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth produced stunning displays of color in the skies across the Northern Hemisphere early Saturday, with no immediate reports of disruptions to power and communications. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
A scorching, rocky planet twice Earth's size has a thick atmosphere, scientists say
DALLAS (AP) — A thick atmosphere has been detected around a planet that’s twice as big as Earth in a nearby solar system, researchers reported Wednesday. The so-called super Earth — known as 55 Cancri e — is among the few rocky planets outside our solar system with a...
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, debris of Halley's comet, peaks this weekend. Here's how to see it
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, remnants of Halley's comet, peaks this weekend. And with just a waning crescent moon in the sky, it should be visible. The Eta Aquarids occur every year in early May. This year’s peak activity happens early Sunday with an expected...
NASA leaders discuss global challenges, solutions with Mexico president, lawmakers and students
MEXICO CITY (AP) — In a frequently tense relationship often defined by a shared border, the United States sent two officials with a different perspective to Mexico this week for a bit of space diplomacy. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy – both...
