January 2026

Lightning from Above

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured this image of lightning while orbiting aboard the International Space Station more than 250 miles above Milan, Italy on July 1, 2025. Storm observations from space station help scientists study Earth’s upper atmosphere, which can improve weather models and protect communication systems and aircraft.

Posted January 7, 2026

Earth Observatory

Surface Water

Water Blooms

Water Quality

Algae Swirls Across a South African Reservoir

Vivid green blooms form, drift, and fade in Hartbeespoortdam reservoir over the course of a year.

Posted January 7, 2026

Chandra X-Ray Observatory

General

Marshall Space Flight Center

Supernova Remnants

The Universe

Supernova Remnant Video From NASA’s Chandra Is Decades in Making

A new video shows the evolution of Kepler’s Supernova Remnant using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory captured over more than two and a half decades. Kepler’s Supernova Remnant, named after the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, was first spotted in the night sky in 1604. Today, astronomers know that a white dwarf star exploded when […]

Posted January 6, 2026

Wallops Flight Facility

Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA Centers & Facilities

Technology

NASA Awards Launch Range Contract for Wallops Flight Facility

NASA has selected ARES Technical Services Corporation of McLean, Virginia, to provide launch range operations support at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Wallops Range Contract has a total potential value of $339.8 million with a one-year base period expected to begin Tuesday, Feb.

Posted January 6, 2026

Marshall Space Flight Center

Marshall Test Facility and Support Infrastructure

NASA History

NASA Marshall Prepares for Demolition of Historic Test, Simulation Facilities

NASA is preparing for the demolition of three iconic structures at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Crews began demolition in mid-December at the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator, a facility built in the late 1960s that once enabled NASA astronauts and researchers to experience near-weightlessness.

Posted January 6, 2026

Astrophysics

Galaxies

Goddard Space Flight Center

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Science & Research

The Universe

Scientists Identify ‘Astronomy’s Platypus’ with NASA’s Webb Telescope

After combing through NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s archive of sweeping extragalactic cosmic fields, a small team of astronomers at the University of Missouri says they have identified a sample of galaxies that have a previously unseen combination of features.

Posted January 6, 2026

Astrophysics

Galaxies

Irregular Galaxies

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Origin & Evolution of the Universe

Science & Research

The Universe

NASA Webb Finds Early-Universe Analog’s Unexpected Talent for Making Dust

Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have spotted two rare kinds of dust in the dwarf galaxy Sextans A, one of the most chemically primitive galaxies near the Milky Way. The finding of metallic iron dust and silicon carbide (SiC) produced by aging stars, along with tiny clumps of carbon-based molecules, shows that even […]

Posted January 6, 2026

Johnson Space Center

Neutral Buoyancy Lab

People of Johnson

Diving Into Human Spaceflight Safety with NASA Johnson’s Craig Shannon

Growing up in Houston, Craig Shannon was always inspired by NASA and the spirit of exploration the agency represents. Yet it was a passion for scuba diving that unexpectedly led to his more than 23-year career at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Shannon became a certified diver and scuba instructor while earning his bachelor’s degree in […]

Posted January 6, 2026

Earth Observatory

Topography