Goddard Space Flight Center

X-rays are radiated by matter hotter than one million Kelvin, and high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy can tell us about the composition of the matter and how fast and in what direction it is moving. Quantum calorimeters are opening this new window on the Universe.

Posted December 17, 2024

Astrophysics

Galaxies

Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes

Goddard Space Flight Center

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Science & Research

Stars

The Universe

NASA’s Webb Finds Planet-Forming Disks Lived Longer in Early Universe

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope just solved a conundrum by proving a controversial finding made with the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope more than 20 years ago. In 2003, Hubble provided evidence of a massive planet around a very old star, almost as old as the universe. Such stars possess only small amounts of heavier elements […]

Posted December 16, 2024

DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging)

Goddard Space Flight Center

Planetary Environments & Atmospheres

Planetary Geosciences & Geophysics

Planetary Science

Planetary Science Division

Science & Research

Science Mission Directorate

The Solar System

Venus

NASA DAVINCI Mission’s Many ‘Firsts’ to Unlock Venus’ Hidden Secrets

NASA’s DAVINCI probe will be first in the 21st century to brave Venus’ atmosphere as it descends from above the planet down to its surface.

Posted December 16, 2024

Astrophysics

Astrophysics Division

Galaxies

Goddard Space Flight Center

Hubble Space Telescope

Spiral Galaxies

Hubble Images a Grand Spiral

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the glorious spiral galaxy NGC 5643, which is located roughly 40 million light-years away in the constellation Lupus, the Wolf. NGC 5643 is a grand design spiral, which refers to the galaxy’s symmetrical form with two large, winding spiral arms that are clearly visible.

Posted December 13, 2024

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

Dark Energy

Dark Matter

Exoplanets

Galaxies

Galaxies, Stars, & Black Holes

Goddard Space Flight Center

Hubble Space Telescope

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Stars

The Universe

NASA Successfully Integrates Roman Mission’s Telescope, Instruments

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully integrated the mission’s telescope and two instruments onto the instrument carrier, marking the completion of the Roman payload. Now the team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will begin joining the payload to the spacecraft.

Posted December 12, 2024

Climate Change

Earth

Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)

Goddard Space Flight Center

Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Water on Earth

NASA Study: Crops, Forests Responding to Changing Rainfall Patterns

Earth’s rainy days are changing: They’re becoming less frequent, but more intense. Vegetation is responding.

Posted December 11, 2024

Astrophysics

Galaxies

Galaxy clusters

Goddard Space Flight Center

Gravitational Lensing

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

Science & Research

The Universe

Found: First Actively Forming Galaxy as Lightweight as Young Milky Way

For the first time, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has detected and “weighed” a galaxy that not only existed around 600 million years after the big bang, but is also similar to what our Milky Way galaxy’s mass might have been at the same stage of development. Other galaxies Webb has detected at this time […]

Posted December 11, 2024

People of Goddard

Goddard Space Flight Center

People of NASA

Sarah Peacock Surveys Stellar Radiation to Hunt for Habitable Worlds

Knowing whether or not a planet elsewhere in the galaxy could potentially be habitable requires knowing a lot about that planet’s sun. Sarah Peacock relies on computer models to assess stars’ radiation, which can have a major influence on whether or not one of these exoplanets has breathable atmosphere.

Posted December 10, 2024

Scientific Balloons

Astrophysics

Astrophysics Division

Goddard Space Flight Center

Wallops Flight Facility

NASA Scientific Balloon Flights to Lift Off From Antarctica

NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program has returned to Antarctica’s icy expanse to kick off the annual Antarctic Long-Duration Balloon Campaign, where two balloon flights will carry a total of nine missions to near space. Launch operations will begin mid-December from the agency’s Long Duration Balloon camp located near the U.S.

Posted December 10, 2024

2024 Solar Eclipse

Citizen Science

Goddard Space Flight Center

Heliophysics

Solar Eclipses

The Sun

Uncategorized

Scientists Share Early Results from NASA’s Solar Eclipse Experiments

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse swept across North America, from the western shores of Mexico, through the United States, and into northeastern Canada. For the eclipse, NASA helped fund numerous research projects and called upon citizen scientists in support of NASA’s goal to understand how our home planet is affected by the […]

Posted December 10, 2024