This galaxy's ring of fire "burns, burns, burns" with young stars.

Scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., now have the capability to systematically investigate the molecular evolution of cosmic carbon. For the first time, these scientists are able to automatically interpret previously unknown infrared emissions from space that come from surprisingly complex organic molecules, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are abundant and important across the universe. This allows scientists at Ames were able to interpret the cosmic infrared maps made by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

The supermassive black hole at the core of our Milky Way galaxy is gobbling up hot gas, according to a new study from the Herschel space observatory.

Astronomers are using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to dissect the atmospheres of an exotic class of planets called hot Jupiters.

Herschel has produced an intricate view of the remains of a star that died in a stellar explosion a millennium ago. It has provided further proof that the interstellar dust which lies throughout our Galaxy is created when massive stars reach the end of their lives.

Astronomers trace water in Jupiter's intermediate atmospheric layer back to the famous Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact of 19 years ago.

They say there is no place like home. For Caltech's George Helou, the essence of that phrase carries over to the recognition of his accomplishments. This past year, he has received numerous honors from Lebanon, his country of origin, including his election to the Lebanese Academy of Sciences. The tributes bestowed by the Mediterranean nation cite Helou's distinguished career in astronomy in the United States and Europe.

Our Milky Way galaxy contains a minimum of one planet for every star on average, according to a new statistical study.

Imagine you are a high school student walking into your science class in September and you learn that your teacher is doing research with NASA and you can actually participate This experience is occurring in schools around the US as more and more teachers become part of the NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program. 2012 marks the program's 8th year.

Today, astronomers unveiled the most complete 3-D map of the local universe (out to a distance of 380 million light-years) ever created. Taking more than 10 years to complete, the 2MASS Redshift Survey (2MRS) also is notable for extending closer to the Galactic plane than previous surveys - a region that's generally obscured by dust.

NASA announced Monday an $18.7 billion budget request for fiscal year 2012 that supports a reinvigorated path of innovation, technological development and scientific discovery. The budget supports all elements of NASA's 2010 Authorization Act, which was passed by a strong bipartisan majority of Congress and signed into law by President Obama.

The NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program class of 2011 was recently announced. A total of 12 educators hail from all over the United States including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The educators and their scientific mentors are divided into three teams that will perform research and prepare posters for the 2012 American Astronomical Society winter conference.