Space Photos of the Week Gallery/ Sara Urbaez / June 8, 2018 3:06 PM

  • This image may contain Universe Space Moon Astronomy Night Outdoors Outer Space Nature and Planet
    NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/JunoCam
    01

    Jupiter is known for its swirling clouds and behemoth storms, but did you know it also has lightning just like Earth? This photo is an artist’s concept of the lightning strikes at the north pole of Jupiter. Because its clouds are so dense, scientists can only see the lightning by using infrared instruments on board a spacecraft. Using new data from the Juno spacecraft, we now know that Jupiter’s lightning is concentrated around its poles. Scientists think that warm air migrates upwards inside the atmosphere towards the poles, creating a perfect situation for a Jovian lightning strike.

Read More
Astronomers Confirm Discovery of the Youngest Known Exoplanet Ever
Under 1 million years old, “Elias 2-24b” is now the youngest exoplanet ever observed, and it may force researchers to reevaluate theories about how planets are formed.
Teruyuki Hayakawa
Inside the Supermassive Debate Over the James Webb Telescope’s ‘Little Red Dots’
The Webb telescope sees tiny red dots everywhere. Astronomers can’t agree on what they are, but some believe they may be enormous stars with black holes inside.
Charlie Wood
The ‘Exotic Physics’ Behind a Mysterious 1,000-Mile Cloud on Mars
The cloud has baffled astronomers since its discovery in 2018. Now, a new study offers a possible cause for its appearance.
Tereza Ondráčková
How to See the Orionid Meteor Shower and Other Upcoming Astronomical Events
Made up of small fragments left behind by Halley’s Comet, these meteors are known for being especially bright and speedy.
Ritsuko Kawai
White Dwarfs Aren’t Just White. Scientists Discover Dying Stars Turning Pink and Green
Astronomers find that a white dwarf’s density and the kind of material it absorbed from its surroundings can produce a rainbow of shades in the star’s atmosphere.
Petr Kubala
NASA’s Oldest Martian Spacecraft Have Been Running for Decades. Here’s How
Two orbiters have long outlasted their expected lifespans and completely reshaped our understanding of the Red Planet, all while operating 140 million miles from Earth.
Meghan Bartels
Astronomers Discover a Possible New Dwarf Planet in Our Solar System
Lying beyond Pluto, 2026 ED138 could be as large as 1,500 kilometers in diameter. Astronomers are still working to confirm whether it meets the criteria for a dwarf planet.
Jorge Garay
What to Know About China’s Top-Secret Spaceplane
This week, the Pentagon released a full-resolution image of the vehicle, the capabilities of which remain rather mysterious.
Stephen Clark, Ars Technica
A New Ice Age Was Beginning. Then Humans Started Burning Fossil Fuels
Ancient plants reveal that the vestiges of the North American ice sheet started expanding a few thousand years ago, but that climate change caused it to reverse course.
Molly Taft
Elusive ‘Geoneutrinos’ Are Building a New Map of Earth’s Volatile Interior
A global network of detectors are reporting some of the most substantial measurements yet of neutrinos created deep underground by the radioactive elements that power our planet’s tectonic activity.
James Dinneen
Japan Is Attempting an Audacious Mission to Sample a Martian Moon
JAXA is leading an international mission to reach Mars’ Phobos moon and bring soil back to Earth. If successful, it could unlock new clues about the history of the solar system.
Jenna Ahart
Artemis III Scientist Shares What to Expect From NASA’s Next Lunar Mission
Though scaled back from initial plans of landing, the voyage will serve as a dress rehearsal for when humans return to the moon’s surface.
Jorge Garay