Gallery: Space Photos of the Week: A Hypergiant Star Gets Too Big for Its Britches
<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2017/hubble-hones-in-on-a-hypergiants-home">ESA</a>01SPoW-March10-07.jpg
A red hypergiant star only three million years old, located within a cluster 15,000 light years away, has a radius over 1,500 that of our sun: If it was in the sun’s position, it would extend beyond Jupiter’s orbit.
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In this binary star system, two stars waltz around their shared center of gravity, completing an orbit around each other once every 800 years. Their orbit through gaseous material creates the spiral shape seen here.
<a href="http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/03/Kamchatka_Russia">ESA</a>03SPoW-March10-06.jpg
Over the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia, clouds drift above ice and snow along the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, home to 29 active volcanoes.
<a href="http://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1708b/">ALMA</a>04SPoW-March10-05.jpg
In the foreground, this image shows the galaxy cluster Abell 2744. In the upper left lies a faint galaxy rich in dust, A2744\_YD4, inset in red.
<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia21554/a-mass-of-viscous-flow-features">NASA</a>05SPoW-March10-03.jpg
This massive viscous feature on Mars is bound by high ridges, indicating that it was once an ice-rich deposit.
<a href="http://m.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2017/03/Kourou_French_Guiana">ESA</a>06SPoW-March10-01.jpg
This satellite image shows Kourou in French Guiana, 310 miles north of the equator.
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
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
Humans Watched This Supernova Explode Nearly a Millennium Ago. Now You Can See It in High Definition
The new image isn’t just stunning—it may also provide clues about how this star survived its own explosion.
Jorge Garay
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
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
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
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
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
NASA Just Made Nearly 1 TB of Artemis II Data Available to the Public
The data drop includes photographs, audio, video, and astronauts’ notes that will be used to study the moon and prepare for future human missions.
Jorge Garay
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
Earth’s Condition Is ‘Serious and Getting Worse’ as Climate Change Intensifies
Seven of 16 planetary vital signs are in their most extreme state ever recorded, and El Niño is here to make matters even worse.
Brian Kahn
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