Martian Moons and Jovian Jaunts
A close-up look at the universe’s many wonders, from nearby planets to faraway galaxies.
- Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech01This close-up photo of Jupiter’s temperate belts was taken by the Juno spacecraft as it skimmed by the giant planet. Jupiter is known for these stripes, which are actually atmospheric separations caused by weather patterns and variations in chemical composition.
- Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech02This image is a stitched-together portrait of some of the last Saturn photographs taken by the Cassini spacecraft—which, after 13 years in orbit, flung itself into the planet and vaporized. The white circle marks the spacecraft’s final resting place.
- Photo: ESA/Hubble & NASA03Congratulations, you’re now a time traveler. This image shows the galaxy cluster PLCK G004.5-19.5 as it looked five billion years ago—which is how long it took the light to travel the vast distance to reach our telescopes.
- Photo: ESO04The four laser beams shooting out from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope allow the telescope to create an artificial guide star, allowing the optics to stay tuned while scientists track real astronomical objects.
- Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech05These two floating space objects are actually the two moons of Mars: Phobos and Deimos. Scientists hope to someday land robotic spacecraft (or even humans) on these moons, but for now they’re just studying them from a distance.
- Photo: NASA/ESA06Scientists thought they had nailed down the universe’s rate of expansion, but a new study—which used the stars circled in yellow to measure brightness and distance—revealed that it might be expanding faster than they thought.
TopicsAMP Stories
New Horizons Breaks a Record for Long-Distance Photography
The spacecraft was 3.79 billion miles from Earth when it snapped this photo of a Kuiper Belt object.
Even Geriatric Mars Rovers Know How to Snap Selfies
The Opportunity rover has been exploring Mars for 14 years. But that doesn't mean it can't put Curiosity's social media skills to shame.
Cosmic Dust Gives Milky Way a Fiery Mane
The Planck space telescope, which is surveying the entire sky in four massive sweeps, has nearly finished its first scan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k19ZtdIxNOY Rotating in orbit, Planck takes data of the sky in strips, almost the reverse of a chef peeling an apple in one long, thin strip. This image, taken from the scan, shows the structure […]
You Just Try to Snap a Photo at 100,000 MPH
When NASA's Juno spacecraft whizzes by Jupiter's poles, it manages to snap clear photos at astounding speeds.
A Collision With Space Debris Leaves 3 Chinese Astronauts Stranded in Orbit
The only craft docked at Tiangong space station has been damaged and “does not meet the release conditions for a safe manned return.”
AI of a Thousand Faces
What happens now that AI is everywhere and in everything? WIRED can’t tell the future, but we can try to make sense of it. Behold: 17 readings from the furthest reaches of the AI age.
Is a Robot Vacuum Worth It?
It’s not for everyone, but sometimes my robot vacuum is my only friend.
Meet the Palestinian Teens Trying to Win Robotics Gold
Next week, five teens from Palestine will head to Panama to compete in one of the world’s largest youth robotics competitions. The goal? To win—and then teach STEM to their peers displaced by the Israel-Hamas war.
NASA’s Boss Just Shook Up the Agency’s Plans to Land on the Moon
Sean Duffy called out SpaceX for being “behind schedule” on a lunar lander and said he’d explore other options.
How to Watch the Leonids Meteor Shower
This month-long meteor shower peaks just after mid-November and is known for producing bright “fireball” shooting stars. Here’s what to know about Leonids and other major showers that will appear in 2025.
The Argument for Letting AI Burn It All Down
When the AI bubble bursts, the nerds will do their best work.
AI’s Next Frontier? An Algorithm for Consciousness
Some of the world’s most interesting thinkers about thinking think they might’ve cracked machine sentience. And I think they might be onto something.