Mercury News

Jan. 22, 2026 — NASA astronaut Suni Williams has retired after 27 years of service and a career defined by endurance, leadership, and firsts in space. She spent 608 ...

Jan. 21, 2026 — Solar Orbiter has captured the clearest evidence yet that a solar flare grows through a cascading “magnetic avalanche.” Small, weak magnetic ...

Jan. 13, 2026 — Scientists have pulled back the curtain on one of the most extreme solar regions seen in decades, tracking it almost nonstop for three months as it unleashed powerful space weather. By combining ...

Dec. 3, 2025 — For thirty years, SOHO has watched the Sun from a stable perch in space, revealing the inner workings of our star and surviving crises that nearly ended the mission. Its long-term observations ...

Sep. 23, 2025 — NASA has chosen 10 new astronaut candidates who will train for missions to the Moon and Mars. Their selection represents a powerful blend of talent and ambition, fueling humanity’s next great leaps ...

Sep. 21, 2025 — NASA has confirmed 6,000 exoplanets, marking a major milestone in humanity’s quest to understand other worlds. From gas giants hugging their stars to planets covered in lava or clouds of gemstones, ...

Sep. 3, 2025 — Solar Orbiter has identified the Sun’s dual “engines” for superfast electrons: explosive flares and sweeping coronal mass ejections. By catching over 300 events close to their origin, the ...

July 11, 2025 — In its closest-ever dive into the Sun’s atmosphere, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has returned stunning new images and data that bring scientists closer to solving one of the Sun’s biggest ...

June 16, 2025 — For the first time in history, we re seeing the Sun from an angle no one ever has: from above and below its poles. Thanks to the European Space Agency s Solar Orbiter and its tilted orbit, scientists ...