Discover how we're driving the Nation's scientific progress through world-class research across Earth and Space sciences at Goddard’s Sciences and Exploration Directorate.
Earth Sciences
The Earth Sciences Division is the nation's technical innovator and essential data provider to support national infrastructure, scientific leadership, and economic resilience.
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Astrophysics
The Astrophysics Science Division leads America's quest to answer our most profound scientific questions, developing technologies with transformative applications in medicine, national security, and intelligence.
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Heliophysics
The Heliophysics Science Division advances understanding of the Sun and its interactions with Earth and the solar system, providing the foundational science that drives space weather research and solutions in collaboration with government, industry, and academia.
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Planetary Sciences
The Solar System Exploration Division powers space missions and leads human space exploration to the Moon and Mars through revolutionary research that charts the frontiers of our solar system and deepens our understanding of planetary system formation and evolution.
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Sunset Solstice over Stonehenge
Yesterday the Sun reached its southernmost point in planet Earth's sky. Called a solstice, many cultures mark yesterday's date as a change of seasons -- from autumn to winter in Earth's Northern Hemisphere and from spring to summer in Earth's Southern Hemisphere. The featured image was taken just before the longest night of the 2025 northern year at Stonehenge in United Kingdom. There, through stones precisely placed 4,500 years ago, a 4.5 billion year old large glowing orb is seen setting. Even given the precession of the Earth's rotational axis over the millennia, the Sun continues to set over Stonehenge in an astronomically significant way.