The black hole is roughly 1,000 light-years from Earth — and more than 2,000 light-years closer than the next one known. What's more, scientists say, it may be just "the tip of an exciting iceberg."
Ever since astronaut John Glenn's first bite of applesauce in 1962, eating in space has been a challenge. NPR talks to former NASA food scientists to see how cosmic cuisine has evolved over the years.
Kindergartners from Georgetown Day School in Washington D.C., help NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro field questions to McClain, who's an astronaut serving on the International Space Station.
Dutch astronaut André Kuipers made the extra-long-distance call by accident, but he was "disappointed" when emergency responders didn't show up at the International Space Station.
Roman was one of the first female executives at NASA, its first chief of astronomy and she played an instrumental role in making the Hubble Space Telescope a reality. She died on Dec. 25.
A Russian, an American and a Canadian were aboard the spacecraft when it lifted off from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazkahstan. It's the first launch since a failed mission in October.
Vice President Pence said in a speech Thursday that the Space Force, which would be the military's sixth branch, will "prepare for the next battlefield" and "a new generation of threats."
NASA has selected the astronauts who will blast off on new commercial space vehicles set for next year. Two of them flew on the final mission of NASA's space shuttle in 2011.
We may cultivate crops in space one day, so scientists are running an Antarctic greenhouse to prepare. They've harvested the first crop, but like any space mission, it's a bit tricky.
NASA is building a new space-based laser communication that will allow live, high-definition video from Mars and beyond — something that's not possible with standard radio equipment.
We know that at the heart of pretty much every galaxy, there is a giant black hole. There is a lot that we know about black holes — and a lot that we don't know, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.
The Earth's encounter with asteroid 3200 Phaethon on Saturday will be its closest since 1974 — and the closest it will be until 2093. The flyby means good gazing for amateur astronomers.
Scientists at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center are hoping to use virtual reality technology to study space, and Earth, without leaving their offices. Talented high school students are helping.
Astronomy is forever changed by the viewing of the collision of neutron stars; we can now watch these processes in many different ways as they run their course, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.
Just as two kids jumping on a trampoline around each other send waves rippling outwards on the fabric, black holes distort space as they orbit around each other, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.
Each year, law students argue hypothetical, futuristic case that takes place in space. This year, it's about who pays when two machines collide on the moon.
On Earth, crumbs are harmless, but in orbit they can be perilous. But bread is a big deal in Germany, so scientists and engineers there are teaming up to create an oven and dough fit for microgravity.
Cosmic expansion stretches space itself, as if space were made of some kind of stretchy rubber material; there is no physical border, only stretching space, says astrophysicist Marcelo Gleiser.
Scientists are learning that some astronauts' eyes change shape after time in space, leading to vision problems. But a sleep sack being developed might offer relief.
It would be the first time humans have traveled beyond low Earth orbit since the days of Apollo. The mission would be manned and financed by two private, anonymous customers.
