Ashley Strickland - Writer

Ashley Strickland

Writer

Ashley is a space and science writer for CNN.

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Adam Makarenko/W. M. Keck Observatory

An unusual object is moving so fast it could escape the Milky Way. Scientists aren’t certain what it is

Citizen scientists spotted an object zipping through the Milky Way at more than 1 million miles an hour, and a new study shows it could be a rare hypervelocity star.

During the second step of humankind’s first-ever lunar-Earth flyby, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) captured this stunning view of Earth. The image covers the northern Pacific Ocean, with North America starting to appear on the right (east) side of the Earth image.

The image was taken by Juice monitoring camera 1 (JMC1) just at 00:09 CEST on 21 August 2024, as Juice was heading towards its closest approach to Earth. This successful flyby of Earth redirected Juice’s path through space to put it on course for a flyby of Venus in August 2025.

Spacecraft successfully slingshots around Earth and the moon in a historic first on its way to Jupiter

The European Space Agency’s Juice mission to study Jupiter’s icy moons conducted a daring double flyby of Earth and the moon to help it reach the largest planet in our solar system.

Altar-Stone-Prof-Nick-Pearce-Aberystwyth-University-1.jpg

Nick Pearce/Aberystwyth University

Neolithic people moved Stonehenge’s mysterious Altar Stone over hundreds of miles

This week, follow the journey of one of Stonehenge’s iconic stones, spin alongside the world’s largest iceberg, discover a reservoir on Mars, and more.

Murat Akar/Mustafa Kemal University

Archaeologists unearth tiny 3,500-year-old clay tablet following an earthquake

Archaeologists found a 3,500-year-old tablet inscribed with a massive furniture order in cuneiform writing. The artifact surfaced after earthquakes occurred in Turkey.

the image of sketches is from Kepler's book in 1609, "Phaenomenon Singulare Seu Mercurius In Sole, Thomae Scheueri, Lipisiae"

Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler thought he sketched Mercury orbiting across the sun. What he actually captured has solved a solar mystery

Scientists analyzed famed astronomer Johannes Kepler’s 1607 sketches of sunspots to solve a mystery about the sun’s solar cycle that has persisted for centuries.

WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND. November 16. Aerial photograph of the neolithic, Stonehenge. This UNESCO World Heritage Site dates back to 3100 BC, it is located 2 miles west of Amesbury, 7 miles North of Salisbury Plan. (Photograph by David Goddard/Getty Images)

David Goddard/Getty Images

Century-old theory of where Stonehenge’s Altar Stone came from overturned by new study

The iconic Altar Stone at the center of Stonehenge in southern England was likely moved over hundreds of miles nearly 5,000 years ago, according to new research.

NASA's InSight spacecraft and its recently deployed Wind and Thermal Shield were imaged on Mars on Feb. 4, 2019, by the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. On Feb. 2, 2019, InSight's robotic arm placed the special shield over its seismometer on the Martian surface to protect the instrument from wind and extreme temperatures. The green object in this image is the InSight lander; the white dot just below it is the shield, which is especially bright and reflective. The shield is a little less than 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from the lander. The dark circles on either side of the lander are its solar panels. The total width of the lander with both panels open is 19 feet, 8 inches (6 meters).

NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Underground reservoir on Mars could fill oceans on the planet’s surface, study finds

A new analysis of data collected by NASA’s InSight mission suggests there may be enough water beneath the surface of Mars to cover the planet.

The Mata Menge excavation site circa 2014 on the Indonesian island of Flores

Gerrit van den Bergh

Where did the ‘hobbit’ humans come from? New fossils shed light

This week, explore the origins of mysterious “hobbit” humans, learn why squaretail groupers flee instead of flirt, uncover plans to save a lunar rover, and more.

Sutton Hoo - Byzantine Bucket

David Brun/National Trust Images

New excavations reveal missing pieces of intriguing artifact at Sutton Hoo

Newfound pieces of a sixth century bucket, unearthed at the site of an Anglo-Saxon ship burial in England, are helping researchers learn how the vessels were used.

TAIYUAN, CHINA - AUGUST 06: A Long March 6A rocket carrying the satellite group blasts off from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on August 6, 2024 in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province of China. The satellite group, consisting of 18 satellites, was launched at 2:42 p.m. aboard a Long March 6A carrier rocket and entered its preset orbit successfully. (Photo by VCG/VCG via AP )

Chinese rocket breaks apart in low-Earth orbit, creating a cloud of space debris, US Space Command says

A Chinese rocket broke apart in low-Earth orbit after delivering 18 satellites to space. Experts are still assessing the risks of the event.

Chris Meaney/NASA/CIL

Scientists have spotted unexpected X- and C-shaped structures in the atmosphere. They are struggling to explain them

Scientists studying the zone between Earth’s atmosphere and space have spotted unusual X- and C-shaped features that could thwart signals that keep our planet running smoothly.

LATOURELL, OREGON - MAY 11: The Northern Lights are seen above the Columbia River Gorge from Chanticleer Point Lookout in the early morning hours of May 11, 2024 in Latourell, Oregon. Places as far south as Alabama and parts of Northern California were expected to see the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights from a powerful geomagnetic storm that reached Earth. (Photo by Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)

Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images/FILE

Strong solar activity may soon trigger auroras farther south than usual

The northern lights could grace skies farther south than usual this week because of a solar storm that may affect Earth, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

Plan of the Castle and Observatory of Uraniborg, constructed c.1584 by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) on the island of Hven, Denmark from 'Le Theatre du Monde' or 'Nouvel Atlas', published in Amsterdam, 1645 (coloured engraving) (Photo by Art Images via Getty Images)

Culture Club/Hulton Fine Art Collection/Art Images/Getty Images

Glass shards reveal what was inside a Renaissance alchemist’s demolished laboratory

This week, explore the secret alchemical lab of a Renaissance astronomer, meet blushing hens, discover “dark” oxygen on the ocean floor, and more.

Plan of the Castle and Observatory of Uraniborg, constructed c.1584 by Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) on the island of Hven, Denmark from 'Le Theatre du Monde' or 'Nouvel Atlas', published in Amsterdam, 1645 (coloured engraving) (Photo by Art Images via Getty Images)

Culture Club/Hulton Fine Art Collection/Art Images/Getty Images

Surprising element found in traces of Tycho Brahe’s alchemy lab confounds scientists

Renaissance astronomer Tycho Brahe, known for his studies of the heavens, was also a alchemist. A new study of glass shards reveals what Brahe was working with in his lab.

NASA’s Perseverance rover discovered “leopard spots” on a reddish rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls” in Mars’ Jezero Crater in July 2024.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

NASA’s Perseverance rover may have just found what it was looking for on Mars

The Perseverance rover has found evidence in a leopard-spotted rock that could suggest microbial life once existed on Mars billions of years ago, NASA said.

hese images were released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Chandra. They represent the wide range of objects that the telescope has observed over its quarter century of observations. X-rays are an especially penetrating type of light that reveals extremely hot objects and very energetic physical processes. The images range from supernova remnants, like Cassiopeia A, to star-formation regions like the Orion Nebula, to the region at the center of the Milky Way. This montage also contains objects beyond our own Galaxy including other galaxies and galaxy clusters.

Chandra X-ray Observatory Center/NASA

New images revealing the invisible universe celebrate a mission astronomers are scrambling to save

The Chandra X-ray Observatory marked its 25th anniversary with a release of never-before-seen images. But budget cuts may cause the observatory’s days to be numbered.