Skip to main content

Latest by G. Torbet

The Intuitive Machines IM-2 lander ahead of launch.

Humanity is about to break another space record with lunar launch this week

The launch of the Intuitive Machines Athena lunar lander this week will set a new space exploration record.
A still from footage captured by Blue Ghost shortly after its second lunar orbit maneuver.

See the Earth rising and setting behind the moon in new Blue Ghost footage

Footage captured by the Firefly Aerospace lunar landing mission shows our planet peeking out behind the impressive bulk of the moon.
Artist's impression of an asteroid. This image is not intended to reflect the characteristics of any specific known asteroid.

That killer asteroid probably isn’t going to hit us after all

The likelihood of an asteroid impacting Earth in 2032 has dropped to under 1% following new observations.
Falcon 9 booster B1067 at the start of its 24th flight on December 4, 2024.

Debris from SpaceX rocket creates fireball over Europe, crashes into yard in Poland

Debris from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has made a dramatic re-entry into the atmosphere.
This artist’s illustration depicts a dwarf galaxy that hosts an active galactic nucleus — an actively feeding black hole. In the background are many other dwarf galaxies hosting active black holes, as well as a variety of other types of galaxies hosting intermediate-mass black holes.

Treasure trove of mysterious black holes uncovered by dark energy instrument

Where are all the medium-sized black holes? New data has located the largest collection yet.
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals clouds of gas and dust near the Tarantula Nebula, located in the Large Magellanic Cloud about 160,000 light-years away.

See the stunning cosmic clouds captured in new Hubble image

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a cosmic cloudscape, with clouds of dust and gas swirling in beautiful colors.
Tylos (or WASP-121b) is a gaseous, giant exoplanet located some 900 light-years away in the constellation Puppis. Using the ESPRESSO instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), scientists have been able to prove into its atmosphere, revealing its 3D structure. This is the first time that this has been possible on a planet outside of the Solar System. The atmosphere of Tylos is divided into three layers, with iron winds at the bottom, followed by a very fast jet stream of sodium, and finally an upper layer of hydrogen winds. This kind of climate has never been seen before on any planet.

This distant exoplanet has an atmosphere ‘like something out of science fiction’

Researchers have peered into the atmosphere of planet WASP-121b and found its climate is stranger than anyone imagined.
While in lunar orbit, Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander captured an image of the Moon’s south pole on the far left.

Say hello to the moon in stunning footage as Blue Ghost enters lunar orbit

Aiming to be just the second ever commercial soft landing on the moon, the Blue Ghost mission has arrived in lunar orbit - and captured some incredible views.
This is an 80-million-pixel picture of the star cluster RCW 38, located 5500 light-years away in the constellation Vela. RCW 38 is a young cluster containing about 2000 stars, and is bursting with star-forming activity.

See a stunning star cluster in an enormous 80-million-pixel image

A glorious, colorful image captured by a telescope in Chile shows the bright glow of star cluster RCW 38, where young stars are being born.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander captures image of Earth reflecting off the solar panel with the Moon on the horizon above Earth. Firefly’s X-band antenna and NASA’s LEXI payload are also shown on the top deck of the lander.

Firefly’s Blue Ghost moon mission shares its most stunning image yet

The mission captured a gorgeous image of Earth reflected in the spacecraft's solar panel.
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover captured this feather-shaped iridescent cloud just after sunset on Jan. 27, 2023, the 3,724th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Studying the colors in iridescent clouds tells scientists something about particle size within the clouds and how they grow over time.

Mysterious colorful clouds drift through Mars’s sky in new Curiosity images

The Curiosity rover on Mars is looking up to study a cloudy mystery.
Artist's impression of an asteroid. This image is not intended to reflect the characteristics of any specific known asteroid.

James Webb to join observations of asteroid that could strike Earth in 2032

The James Webb Space Telescope will be helping to track asteroid 2024 YR4, which has a 2.3% chance of impacting Earth in 2032.
Euclid image of a bright Einstein ring around galaxy NGC 6505

Euclid telescope spots a rare Einstein Ring in a nearby galaxy

A space telescope has spotted a rare phenomenon where a ring of light is visible around a galactic center.
This artist’s illustration shows the largest radio jet ever found in the early Universe. The jet was first identified using the international Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) Telescope, a network of radio telescopes throughout Europe. Follow-up observations in the near-infrared with the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph (GNIRS), and in the optical with the Hobby Eberly Telescope, were obtained to paint a complete picture of the radio jet and the quasar producing it.

A 200,000 light-year wide monster jet from the early universe

Astronomers have discovered a radio jet twice the width of the entire Milky Way.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station.

NASA to host first ever Twitch stream from International Space Station

NASA is braving a new frontier, by hosting its first Twitch stream from the International Space Station.
Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will all light up the night sky alongside the Moon during National Astronomy Week from 1-9 February 2025.

How to see the best planet parade in decades, according to experts

This week sees a special stargazing event, as as up to six planets will be visible in a line in the night sky.
LEDA 1313424, aptly nicknamed the Bullseye, is two and a half times the size of our Milky Way and has nine rings — six more than any other known galaxy. High-resolution imagery from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope confirmed eight rings, and data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii confirmed a ninth. Hubble and Keck also confirmed which galaxy dove through the Bullseye, creating these rings: the blue dwarf galaxy that sits to its immediate center-left.

Hubble spots a cosmic bullseye: a galaxy with nine rings

The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged a stunning and unusual galaxy with nine rings around it.
SpaceX launches a Starlink mission in 2020.

Record-breaking five rockets to launch in 24 hours today

Today could see a new record for the highest number of rocket launches in a 24-hour period.
The Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than Spring 2025. From left to right: Tibor Kapu of Hungary, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland.

Axiom-4 crew includes first Indian space agency astronaut to travel to ISS

An upcoming private space mission will carry the first national astronauts from India, Hungary, and Poland to visit the International Space Station.
This artist’s concept shows NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid’s surface.

Building blocks of life identified in sample collected from asteroid Bennu

A sample collected from asteroid Bennu shows that our solar system was teeming with the potential for life.
Artist's impression of an asteroid. This image is not intended to reflect the characteristics of any specific known asteroid.

Asteroid with a 1% chance of hitting Earth in 2032 spotted by astronomers

Named 2024 YR4, the asteroid is estimated to be between 40 m and 100 m wide and is projected to come close to Earth in December 2032.
Astronaut Suni Williams is pictured during a six-hour spacewalk for science and maintenance on the International Space Station on Jan. 16, 2025.

How to watch this week’s spacewalk from the International Space Station

Two NASA astronauts are performing a spacewalk from the ISS on Thursday - here's how to watch.
Rendering of the Blue Ghost on the moon's surface.

See the Blue Ghost spacecraft’s first view of the moon

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost mission has captured its first view of the moon.
iss-olympics

How astronauts stay fit and healthy in space

NASA explains some of the experiments being performed on the International Space Station into human health and performance.
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a dusty yet sparkling scene from one of the Milky Way’s satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The Large Magellanic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy situated about 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa.

Hubble snaps another gorgeous image of the Tarantula Nebula

A new image from Hubble shows a beautiful patch of the famous Tarantula Nebula.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander captures the Blue Marble while in Earth orbit approximately 6,700 km above the planet on January 23, 2025.

See the incredible view of our planet captured by the Blue Ghost spacecraft

The Blue Ghost lunar mission has captured a gorgeous image of Earth as it ramps up its journey toward the moon.
Rendering of the Blue Ghost on the moon's surface.

See a stunning view of a eclipse in space captured by the Blue Ghost mission

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost mission to the moon has captured stunning video of the Earth eclipsing the sun, as seen from space.
This artist’s visualisation of WASP-127b, a giant gas planet located about 520 light-years from Earth, shows its newly discovered supersonic jet winds that move around the planet’s equator. With a speed of 9 km per second (33 000 km/h), this is the fastest jetstream of its kind ever measured in the Universe.

Wild supersonic winds whip around this extreme exoplanet

Astronomers have observed a wild exoplanet with winds reaching incredible speeds of up to 20,000 mph.
SpaceX

SpaceX makes incredible booster catch but loses rocket on seventh Starship test flight

SpaceX's seventh Starship test flight was full of drama and surprises.
NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams work on the exterior of the ISS on January 16, 2025.

Two NASA astronauts are currently outside the ISS, repairing an X-ray telescope

Two NASA astronauts are currently hard at work in space, patching up an instrument called NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer).
SpaceX's Super Heavy booster on the launchpad ahead of the Starship's seventh test flight.

SpaceX won’t be launching its big Starship test flight today after all

SpaceX fans will have to wait a little longer to see the mighty Starship in action once again.
Creating a golden streak in the night sky, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One lander soars upward after liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 15, as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative. The Blue Ghost lander will carry 10 NASA science and technology instruments to the lunar surface to further understand the Moon and help prepare for future human missions.

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost mission launches to the moon

A spacecraft carrying NASA instruments has launched on its journey to the moon.
This is one of a series of images taken by the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission on 8 January 2025 as the spacecraft sped by for its sixth and final gravity assist manoeuvre at the planet. Flying over Mercury's north pole gave the spacecraft's monitoring camera 1 (M-CAM 1) a unique opportunity to peer down into the shadowy polar craters. M-CAM 1 took this long-exposure photograph of Mercury's north pole at 07:07 CET, when the spacecraft was about 787 km from the planet’s surface. The spacecraft’s closest approach of 295 km took place on the planet's night side at 06:59 CET.

See the amazing images of Mercury captured by the BepiColombo mission

The BepiColombo mission recently made its sixth flyby of Mercury, snapping some images along the way.
Rendering of the Blue Ghost on the moon's surface.

How to watch Firefly launch its Blue Ghost mission to the moon on Tuesday night

Firefly Aerospace will launch its first mission to the moon this week. Here's how to watch.