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This illustration depicts a supermassive black hole consuming the matter around it. NASA/Aurore Simonnet (Sonoma State Univ.) hide caption

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NASA/Aurore Simonnet (Sonoma State Univ.)

The curious case of the supermassive black hole

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Gemini IV spacewalk, June 3, 1965. NASA astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk in space. NASA hide caption

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NASA

NASA's Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope is set to launch in 2027. This innovative telescope is designed to investigate long-standing astronomical mysteries, such as dark energy, the force behind the universe's expansion. NASA hide caption

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NASA

A simulation of the formation of dark matter structures from the early universe until today. Ralf Kaehler/NASA/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, American Museum of Natural History hide caption

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Ralf Kaehler/NASA/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, American Museum of Natural History

Discovered in 2016, a roughly Earth-sized planet orbiting our nearest neighboring star might be habitable. This artist's impression shows a view of the surface of the planet Proxima b orbiting the red dwarf star Proxima Centauri, the closest star to the solar system. ESO/M. Kornmesser hide caption

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ESO/M. Kornmesser

A red giant star and white dwarf orbit each other in this animation of a nova similar to T Coronae Borealis. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center hide caption

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NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Some stars explode as they die. We look at their life cycle

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NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI hide caption

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NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

Astronaut Wendy B. Lawrence was aboard the the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-67/ASTRO-2 mission when it launched March 2nd, 1995. NASA hide caption

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NASA

Ed Dwight poses for a portrait to promote the National Geographic documentary film "The Space Race" during the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour, Thursday, in February. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP hide caption

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Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Boeing's Starliner capsule atop an Atlas V rocket is seen at Space Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on May 7, a day after its mission to the International Space Station was scrubbed because of an issue with a pressure regulation valve. John Raoux/AP hide caption

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John Raoux/AP

The Hubble Space Telescope in 2009, locked in a space shuttle's cargo bay, before the final repair work ever done. NASA/JSC hide caption

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NASA/JSC

Private mission to save the Hubble Space Telescope raises concerns, NASA emails show

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Crosby Beach, Liverpool, England: The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at Another Place by Anthony Gormley. Peter Byrne /PA Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Peter Byrne /PA Images/Getty Images

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a strong solar flare on May 8, 2024. The Wednesday solar flares kicked off the geomagnetic storm happening this weekend. NASA/SDO hide caption

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NASA/SDO

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of solar flares early Saturday afternoon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there have been measurable effects and impacts from the geomagnetic storm. Solar Dynamics Observatory hide caption

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Solar Dynamics Observatory

The huge solar storm is keeping power grid and satellite operators on edge

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Lily Padula for NPR

Venus and Earth used to look like 'twin' planets. What happened?

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NASA Administrator Bill Nelson at the space agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. Elizabeth Gillis/NPR hide caption

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Elizabeth Gillis/NPR

NASA's chief is worried about China getting back to the moon first. Here's why

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Actor Mark Hamill, wearing a pair of aviator shades he said he got from President Biden, makes a surprise appearance in the White House daily press briefing on May 3. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Jim Cumming/Getty Images

This illustration shows the Milky Way, our home galaxy. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption

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NASA/JPL-Caltech

A Long March rocket carrying a crew of Chinese astronauts in a Shenzhou-18 spaceship lifts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China on Thursday. Andy Wong/AP hide caption

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Andy Wong/AP