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Earth’s atmosphere is large, extending out to around 10,000 km from the surface of the planet. It’s so large, in fact, that scientists break it into five separate sections, and there’s one particular section that hasn’t got a whole lot of attention due to the difficulty in keeping any craft afloat there. Planes and balloons can visit the troposphere and stratosphere, the two sections closest to the ground, while satellites can sit in orbit in the thermosphere and exosphere, allowing for a platform for consistent observations. But the mesosphere, the section in the middle, is too close to have a stable orbit, but too sparse in air for traditional airplanes or balloons to work. As a result, we don’t have a lot of data on it, but it impacts climate and weather forecasting, so scientists have simply had to make a lot of assumptions about what it's like up there. But a new study from researchers at Harvard and the University of Chicago might have found a way to put stable sensing platforms into the mesosphere, using a novel flight mechanism known as photophoresis.

A new theoretical study by University of Virginia astrophysicist Jonathan Tan, a research professor with the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Astronomy, proposes a comprehensive framework for the birth of supermassive black holes.

New images from NASA's Psyche spacecraft show that its cameras are working just fine. By pointing them at Earth and the Moon, NASA was able to test the spacecraft's cameras and science instruments. Since both bodies reflect light like Psyche, and since their spectra are familiar, it's a valuable opportunity to test and calibrate the instruments.

For thousands of years, humanity viewed the skies as unchanging, except for a few “wandering stars” (that we now know are planets). As we improved our ability to perceive the cosmos with light-gathering telescopes and electronic detectors, we realized that the universe is full of things that change in brightness, whether it be an exploding star or a matter-gulping black hole. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is poised to deliver an avalanche of such transients, including thousands of “standard candle” supernovae that allow us to measure the expansion history of the universe.

The discovery of an extremely rare quadruple star system could significantly advance our understanding of brown dwarfs, astronomers say. Brown dwarfs in wide binary orbits offer a chance to determine their properties more clearly.

The hunt will be on shortly, to once again recover a clandestine mission in low Earth orbit. SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon-9 rocket from launch pad LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center Thursday night August 21st, with the classified USSF-36 mission. The U.S. Space Force has announced that this is the eighth mission for its fleet of two Orbital Test Vehicles (OTV-8). This is the automated ‘mini-space shuttle’ about the size of a large SUV that launches like a rocket, and lands like a plane.

Sometimes inspiration can strike from the most unexpected places. It can result in a cross-pollination between ideas commonly used in one field but applied to a completely different one. That might have been the case with a recent paper on lightsail design from researchers at the University of Nottingham that used techniques typically used in video games to develop a new and improved structure of a lightsail.

How do tidal forces determine a planet’s orbital evolution, specifically planets in the habitable zone? This is what a recently submitted study hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated how tidal forces far more powerful than experienced on Earth could influence orbital evolution of habitable zone planets with highly eccentric orbits around low-mass stars. This study has the potential to help researchers better understand the formation and evolution of exoplanets, specifically regarding where we could find life beyond Earth.

Some scientists thought that the asteroids Ryugu and Bennu were from the same family. Now that they have samples and JWST spectra from both, the verdict is in: They're both from the Polana collisional family, a diverse and widespread family of asteroids.

Astronomers have discovered what may be a massive star exploding while trying to swallow a black hole companion, offering an explanation for one of the strangest stellar explosions ever seen.

NASA will announce its new astronaut class in September, as well as details about the Artemis 2 crewed mission around the moon.

SpaceX launched its 33rd Dragon cargo mission early Sunday morning (Aug. 24), sending 5,000 pounds of cargo toward the International Space Station.

On Episode 174 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and and Tariq Malik are joined by Lynn Harper to discuss some of the amazing research taking place aboard the International Space Station.

Rocket Lab launched five satellites for a confidential customer this evening (Aug. 23) on the 70th overall liftoff of its Electron rocket.

This quiz will challenge your knowledge of Jupiter's features, moons, and the missions that have dared to get close.

SpaceX aims to launch its Starship Flight 10 test mission no earlier than Sunday (Aug. 24) at 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT), if conditions allow.

What kind of clouds are these?

Sky View Tents' Backpacker provides a complete view of the night sky with a lightweight, no-frills design.

The brain’s body map doesn’t reorganize itself after limb amputation, a study found, challenging a textbook idea in neuroscience

The Expanse: Osiris Reborn looks set to be the next big RPG, and a major breakout moment for developer Owlcat Games.