Gallery: Space Photos of the Week: Nobody Knows How Old This Dang Star Is
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How old is this star? When it comes to the red object in the center of this photo, researchers are divided: some believe it’s an elderly red supergiant, others suggest it may be a protostar still in the making.
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Taken by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, this photo is one of the first images ever taken of Jupiter’s north pole. The pole has storms and weather unlike those seen so far on any other gas-giant planets in our solar system: Look closely to see possible cloud shadows, suggesting that the clouds are at a high altitude.
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This image shows Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, two stars in the star system closest to Earth, only 4.3 light-years away. Because of their proximity, the two stars are top targets in the search for habitable exoplanets.
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The view on the left shows solar wind (a flow of charged particles issued from the sun), captured by NASA’s STEREO spacecraft; the image on the right shows the same view after computer processing that dims the stars, allowing scientists to better observe the wind.
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This photo shows the furthest away galaxy cluster yet seen. According to NASA, it may have captured the galaxy undergoing a growth spurt immediately after birth, a stage of galaxy evolution previously undocumented.
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ESA’s Rosetta space probe took this photo of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko when only 8.6 miles from the center of the comet’s nucleus.
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Jorge Garay
Astronomers Confirm Discovery of the Youngest Known Exoplanet Ever
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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.
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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
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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
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
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
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
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
Scientists Trapped an Antimatter Particle for Months to Study Its Secrets
These elusive and reactive particles have been challenging to hold on to and even more challenging to study, but a new method paves the way for tests on the differences between matter and antimatter.
Jorge Garay