Gemini IV spacewalk, June 3, 1965. NASA astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk in space. NASA hide caption
Short Wave: Space Camp The universe is full of mysteries and quirks. Launch into space with us and examine the distant, weird parts of our universe — from stars to black holes.
Special Series
Short Wave: Space Camp
The horn antenna in Holmdel, NJ used in the 1960s by Bell Labs scientists Penzias and Wilson, who accidentally discovered the cosmic microwave background (CMB). Bettmann / Contributor hide caption
What the "background noise of the universe" tells us about spacetime's origins
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
This mysterious energy is everywhere. Scientists still don't know what it is
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
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
Some stars explode as they die. We look at their life cycle
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
Could 3 Body Problem's aliens exist? The science behind Netflix's new hit
This illustration depicts a supermassive black hole consuming the matter around it. NASA/Aurore Simonnet (Sonoma State Univ.) hide caption
This composite image features a region of star formation known as the Pillars of Creation. It features x-rays from the Chandra X-ray Observatory (red and blue) and infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope (red, green, and blue). Star formation is the topic of one of the quiz questions. Good luck! Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXO/SAO; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare hide caption
Jets of gas being released from newly forming stars are captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. NPR/NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Klaus Pontoppidan (NASA-JPL), Joel Green (STScI) hide caption
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto that is inserted beneath the Short Wave logo. The image combines blue, red and infrared images taken by the Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera. NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI hide caption
Pluto isn't a planet — but it gives us clues on how the solar system formed
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