Almost every massive galaxy is has a supermassive black hole at its core, an object containing millions or even billions of times the mass of our Sun. Most of these giants simply lurk in the darkness, quietly consuming material from their surroundings while emitting barely a hint of radiation. But a small fraction shine brilliantly, pumping out enormous amounts of energy as active galactic nuclei (AGN). For decades, astronomers have debated what triggers this dramatic awakening. Now, a new dataset from the Euclid space telescope provides evidence that violent collisions between galaxies are the primary culprit.
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Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 160th Falcon 9 rocket of 2025
File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX
SpaceX is aiming for pre-dawn launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday morning. The flight will be the 160th of a Falcon 9 rocket so far in 2025.
China breaks record with 3 Long March rocket launches in 19-hour stretch (video)
China just launched three Long March rockets in less than 19 hours, setting a new national mark for liftoff cadence.
The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope Is Complete!
If you feel a thrill every time we discover something new about the cosmos, then November 25th may have been a noteworthy day to you. That's the day that NASA completed assembly of the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope. The two main segments of the powerful space telescope were joined together in the large clean room at Goddard Space Flight Center that day. This means that the telescope is on track for launch as early as Fall 2026.
The James Webb Space Telescope just found the oldest supernova ever seen
The supernova exploded over 13 billion years ago in a galaxy far, far away.
This 7-hour cosmic explosion is the longest gamma-ray burst ever seen. Could it be from an elusive class of black hole?
"This is certainly an outburst unlike any other we've seen in the past 50 years."
The Longest GRB Ever Detected Is An Intriguing Puzzle
Gamma-ray bursts (GRB) are some of the most perplexing phenomena in Nature. Even though astronomers have detected about 15,000 of them, with a new one each day, they're still mysterious. They're the most luminous, energetic explosions in the Universe, and typically last only a few milliseconds, or a few minutes, with a handful of them lasting for a few hours.
Chinese astronauts inspect damaged Shenzhou 20 spacecraft during 8-hour spacewalk (video)
Two Chinese astronauts installed more debris shielding on the Tiangong space station and assessed the damage to the attached Shenzhou 20 spacecraft during a spacewalk on Tuesday (Dec. 9).
Space Startups
The space industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by an increasing number of innovative startups. These companies are pushing the boundaries of technology and accessibility, often focusing on areas such as lower-cost satellite deployment, advanced data processing, and space resource utilization.
January full moon 2026: When, where and how to see the Wolf Moon
Your guide to January’s full Wolf Moon, from peak times to skywatching highlights.
What Do Super Jupiters Look Like?
Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. It's also one of the largest planets in the Universe. There are planets out there with much more mass, but thanks to gravity, they are generally more dense, not "bigger." This raises an interesting question about massive exoplanets. Do they look similar to Jupiter? A new study finds they probably don't.
1st human missions to Mars should hunt for signs of life, report says
Humanity's exploration of Mars should be organized around the search for signs of past or present Red Planet life, according to a new report from the U.S. National Academies.
Galaxies Spin on Vast Filament Like a Teacup Ride
Astronomers have discovered one of the largest structures in the universe — and the galaxies within it — spinning like a fairground teacup ride.
From Bezos to beyond: Blue Origin quiz
Whether you're a casual fan or a spaceflight enthusiast, see how well you know one of the companies pushing the boundaries of commercial space travel.
SpaceX launches classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) to begin the NROL-77 mission on behalf of the National Reconnaissance Office on Dec. 9, 2025. Image: Michael Cain / Spaceflight Now
Update Dec. 9, 2:44 p.m. EST (1944 UTC): SpaceX landed its booster at the landing zone.
ISS astronauts watch Earth's atmosphere glow green | Space photo of the day for Dec. 8, 2025
The image shows a good example of the phenomenon called airglow.
Soyuz safely lands in Kazakhstan
The Soyuz MS-27/73S spacecraft carrying NASA’s Jonny Kim and two Russian cosmonauts undocked from the International Space Station Monday evening as the two spacecraft were sailing 262 miles above eastern Mongolica. Image: NASA
A NASA astronaut and two cosmonaut crewmates strapped into their Soyuz ferry ship Monday evening, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged to an on-target landing on the frigid steppe of Kazakhstan early Tuesday to wrap up an eight-month mission.
This supermassive black hole flung out matter at 134 million mph: 'On a scale almost too big to imagine'
In other words, the matter traveled at 20% the speed of light.
The Primordial Black Hole Saga: Part 2 - Not Your Normal Black Holes
(This is Part 2 of a series on primordial black holes. Check out Part 1 here!)
Startup announces 'Galactic Brain' project to put AI data centers in orbit
Aetherflux has focused its efforts on space-based solar power, with the goal of "building an American power grid in space."
NASA Researchers Test Mars Tech In Deserts Throughtout the Country
Engineers can be split into two camps - those who just release whatever they’re building and try to fix whatever might be wrong with it as they get feedback on it, and those who test their product in every possible way before releasing it to the public. Luckily, NASA engineers are in the latter camp - it wouldn’t look great if all of the probes we send throughout the solar system failed because of something we could have easily tested for here at home. However, finding analogues for the places we want to send those probes remains a challenge for some NASA projects, so they make due with the best Earth has to offer. For Mars, that means testing technology in the desert’s rolling sand dune and rocky outcrops, and this year several different NASA technologies were tested in deserts throughout the country, as reported in a press release from the agency.
