No matter what you're doing right now – sitting, standing, walking – you're moving. First, because Earth is spinning around on its axis. This rotation is the reason we have days. Second, because Earth and other planets in our solar system are orbiting the sun. That's why we have years. Third, you're moving because the sun and the rest of our solar system is orbiting the center of the Milky Way galaxy at over 500,000 miles per hour. If all of that isn't nauseating enough, everything in the entire universe is expanding outward. All the time.
But in the 1970s, astrophysicists noticed something strange about our galactic neighborhood, or Local Group. The whole clump of neighboring galaxies was being pulled off course at over one million miles per hour, towards something we couldn't see — the "Great Attractor." This Great Attractor sits in the "Zone of Avoidance," an area of space that is blocked from view by the stars and gas of the Milky Way. Today on the show, host Regina G. Barber talks to astrophysicist Jorge Moreno about this mysterious phenomenon: What it might be and what will happen when we eventually reach it.
Curious about other cosmic mysteries? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Edward J. Dwight Jr. is set to be on the next Blue Origin rocket into space. The rare opportunity comes more than six decades after he was passed over to become a NASA astronaut.
Three astronauts will spend six months on China's space station. Some experts worry China's ambitious space program could pose a threat to U.S. space superiority and military effectiveness.
"It was not like anything I had ever seen before," Alejandro Otero says. It turned out his home was hit by debris from the International Space Station that had been circling the Earth for three years.
The Lyrids meteor shower is active until April 29 and is peaking overnight from Sunday into Monday. To see it, it's best to find an area with trees or a mountain blocking out the moon.
Our sun was born in a cosmic cradle with thousands of other stars. Astrophysicists say they want to find these siblings in order to help answer the question: Are we alone out there?
A nova of the T Coronae Borealis star system is expected to happen at some point through September, and will make it as bright as the North Star for several days.
NASA debunks these and other myths: Will a solar eclipse harm a pregnant woman's baby if she looks at it? Does an eclipse emit special radiation that can instantly blind you?
This will be the last chance to catch a total solar eclipse in the continental U.S. for about 20 years, so here's what you need to know to safely enjoy!
Eclipses change the light around us, leading to unusual sights. Monday's solar eclipse also brings a chance to see crescent shapes in shadows and pinholes, as the moon moves in front of the sun.
