This illustration shows the DART spacecraft approaching the two asteroids, Didymos and Dimorphos, with a small observing spacecraft nearby. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben Updated September 26, 2022 at 9:07 PM ET Nuclear bombs. That's the go-to answer for incoming space objects like asteroids and comets, as far as Hollywood ...

A view of Jupiter's Great Red Spot and turbulent southern hemisphere was captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft in 2019. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill The gas giant Jupiter is coming the closest it has come to Earth in 59 years this Monday and will be particularly visible because it coincides with another ...

A worker performs maintenance on pipes used during brine extraction at a lithium mine in the Atacama Desert in Chile on Aug. 24. Paz Olivares Droguett for NPR ATACAMA DESERT, Chile — In the middle of the desert in northern Chile, massive pools of Caribbean blue water sit next to ...

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation, has shrunk so low there's concern the Hoover Dam will soon be unable to generate hydropower. Kirk Siegler/NPR LAS VEGAS — These days it can feel almost cliche to throw around the word "dystopian." But it's hard not to use it while ...

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured out-of-this-world photos of Neptune and its rings. NASA The James Webb Space Telescope has wowed astronomers and everyday people alike with its stunning images of distant galaxies and Earth's nearby neighbors. Now the $10 billion deep space telescope has brought what NASA calls the ...

Streets remained flooded in Cataño, Puerto Rico the day after Hurricane Fiona made landfall on the island. AFP via Getty Images Most residents of Puerto Rico still don't have electricity or water days after Hurricane Fiona caused floods and landslides. The widespread damage, just five years after Hurricane Maria destroyed ...

In this photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, yellow crazy ants are seen in a bait testing efficacy trial at the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in December, 2015. An invasive species known as the yellow crazy ant has been eradicated from the remote U.S. atoll in ...

This photo released by Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania, shows whales stranded on Ocean Beach on the west coast of Tasmania of Australia, Sept. 21, 2022. AP HOBART, Australia — About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania's west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found ...

In October 2016, in Kigali, Rwanda, nations around the globe agreed to phase out a category of dangerous greenhouse gases widely used in refrigerators and air conditioners. In 2022, the U.S. took steps to formally ratify the agreement. Cyril Ndegeya | AFP via Getty Images Updated September 21, 2022 at ...

Hurricane Fiona, which made landfall on Sunday, has damaged reservoirs and water filtration plants. Puerto Rico's only water agency is scrambling to restore services, but officials say they're waiting for flooded rivers to subside. Alejandro Granadillo | AP The vast majority of Puerto Rican homes have been plunged into darkness ...