Astronomy news

• SA remains committed to sending Australian of the Year to space

  20-10-2026 05:56 via ABC News
  
  South Australia will still support a proposed mission to send European-trained astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg to the International Space Station, despite most other states and territories declining to do the same.
  
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• Japan launches historic sample-return mission to Mars

  19-10-2026 23:22 via ABC News
  
  Japan has launched a rocket in a historic sample-return mission to Mars' moon Phobos. 
  
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• Clock ticking on funding to launch Australian of the Year to space

  14-10-2026 05:41 via ABC News
  
  The countdown is on for the federal government to decide if it will accept an European Space Agency offer to send Australian of the Year Katherine Bennell-Pegg to the International Space Station.
  
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• World's timekeepers will vote to ditch the 'leap second' this week

  12-10-2026 04:00 via ABC News
  
  Clocks occasionally go backwards for a second to keep Earth time in sync with the stars. But the powers that govern time measurement are about to vote to end the practice. 
  
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• World's timekeepers will vote to ditch 'leap second' this week

  12-10-2026 04:00 via ABC News
  
  Clocks occasionally go backwards for a second to keep Earth time in sync with the stars. But the powers that govern time measurement are about to vote to end the practice.  
  
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• How a 50-year-old treaty stands between billionaires and the Moon

  10-10-2026 20:00 via ABC News
  
  No longer content with simply reaching the Moon, billionaires and major world powers have dived into a new space race. What comes next is not entirely clear.
  
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• Billionaires want to colonise the Moon but whether they can is complicated

  10-10-2026 20:00 via ABC News
  
  No longer content with simply reaching the Moon, billionaires and major world powers have dived into a new space race. What comes next is not entirely clear.
  
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• NASA's SpaceX crew 12 steps out of space capsule

  08-10-2026 21:13 via ABC News
  
  NASA's SpaceX crew 12 steps out of the space capsule after a successful splash down into the Pacific Ocean. 
  
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• NASA's SpaceX crew 12 splashes down into Pacific Ocean from ISS

  08-10-2026 21:09 via ABC News
  
  NASA's SpaceX crew 12 has splashed down into the Pacific Ocean from the International Space Station. 
  
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• Radio telescope detects 10 billion-year-old signal from early universe

  08-10-2026 17:05 via ABC News
  
  A newly discovered fast radio burst from 3 billion years after the big bang is among the most mysterious objects in astronomy.
  
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• It took 10 billion years for this signal from the early universe to reach us

  08-10-2026 17:05 via ABC News
  
  A newly discovered fast radio burst from 3 billion years after the big bang is among the most mysterious objects in astronomy.
  
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• NASA’s SpaceX crew departs International Space Station

  08-10-2026 08:36 via ABC News
  
  NASA’s SpaceX crew undocks from the International Space Station as they head back to Earth. 
  
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• NASA Crew-12 astronauts return to Earth after 8 months in space

  08-10-2026 08:36 via ABC News
  
  The team splashed down in a SpaceX capsule, after 237 days of conducting orbital research and lab maintenance on the International Space Station.
  
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• Another NASA crew is coming home. Here's what to expect from their splashdown

  08-10-2026 08:36 via ABC News
  
  NASA's Crew-12 astronauts are set to parachute back to Earth in a SpaceX capsule, after 237 days of conducting orbital research and lab maintenance on the International Space Station.
  
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• NASA's Curiosity rover catches stunning Martian dawn

  07-10-2026 13:05 via ABC News
  
  NASA has released a striking image of dawn on the Martian surface taken by its Curiosity rover, showing sunlight bathing jagged crags formed billions of years ago.
  
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• NASA's Curiosity rover captures dawn on Mars

  07-10-2026 13:05 via ABC News
  
  NASA has released a striking image of dawn on the Martian surface taken by its Curiosity rover, showing sunlight bathing jagged crags formed billions of years ago.
  
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• SpaceX's Starship rocket reaches orbit for first time after engine failure

  28-09-2026 16:19 via ABC News
  
  SpaceX's Starship rocket has made it to Earth's orbit for the first time, after losing an engine mid-flight.
  
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• SpaceX's Starship rocket reaches orbit for first time

  28-09-2026 16:19 via ABC News
  
  SpaceX's Starship rocket has made it to Earth's orbit for the first time, after losing an engine mid-flight.
  
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• How inner-city stargazers navigate light pollution to capture night sky

  25-09-2026 20:30 via ABC News
  
  Astronomy enthusiasts and astrophotographers say despite light pollution, there is plenty to see in inner-city night skies as telescope technology advances.
  
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• Astronomers snap beautiful photos despite light pollution

  25-09-2026 20:30 via ABC News
  
  Astronomy enthusiasts and astrophotographers say despite light pollution, there is plenty to see in inner-city night skies as telescope technology advances.
  
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• Rocket launch facility grounded by conservation body

  22-09-2026 06:54 via ABC News
  
  A native vegetation ruling grounds a South Australian rocket launch complex despite having state and federal government planning approval.
  
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• NASA scientist's chance Moon discovery reveals once-in-a-lifetime crater

  17-09-2026 10:06 via ABC News
  
  Wider and about as deep as the Roman Colosseum, researchers believe the newly-discovered McGetchin crater was formed after a powerful surface impact in 2024.
  
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• The US has admitted deploying weapons in space and China is sounding the alarm

  15-09-2026 17:49 via ABC News
  
  The revelation by Washington confirmed an open secret but the timing of the announcement risked exacerbating tensions with Beijing and the risk of a weapons race in space.
  
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• Germany's Isar rocket launches from arctic Norway and reaches orbit

  06-09-2026 02:17 via ABC News
  
  Germany's Isar Aerospace launches a rocket into orbit from Norway as Europe races to boost its ability to send satellites into space. 
  
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• 'Uncharted territory': Physicists find hints of mysterious dark matter

  01-09-2026 16:00 via ABC News
  
  A single flash of energy spotted by the world's most sensitive dark matter detector has scientists excited they may have found hints of the elusive substance that permeates the universe. 
  
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• 'This could be it': Dark matter detector finds hint of unknown particle

  01-09-2026 16:00 via ABC News
  
  A single flash of energy spotted by the world's most sensitive dark matter detector has scientists excited they may have found hints of the elusive substance that permeates the universe. 
  
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• NASA's new telescope to test whether scientists have dark energy wrong

  31-08-2026 03:06 via ABC News
  
  NASA's latest space telescope may up-end our entire model of the cosmos by taking a closer look at a shadowy phenomenon dubbed "dark energy".
  
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• Launch of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope into space

  31-08-2026 03:06 via ABC News
  
  A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope lifts off from a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 
  
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• Have we got dark energy wrong? NASA's new telescope may help us find out

  31-08-2026 03:06 via ABC News
  
  NASA's latest space telescope may up-end our entire model of the cosmos by taking a closer look at a shadowy phenomenon dubbed "dark energy". 
  
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• Western Sydney's new observatory centuries in the making

  30-08-2026 03:05 via ABC News
  
  Powerhouse Parramatta is now home to an observatory featuring research-grade telescopes powerful enough to see distant galaxies.
  
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• Unlikely team uncover source of mysterious space lights seen in Queensland

  29-08-2026 01:59 via ABC News
  
  Hobby astronomers partner with a retired NASA engineer to investigate the source of swirling lights seen in the night sky from Central Queensland.
  
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• Satellites the answer to mystery Queensland space lights

  29-08-2026 01:59 via ABC News
  
  A video collage shows the movement of satellites near the planet Venus.
  
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• It was a spy satellite, now NASA's new telescope is set to head into space

  27-08-2026 21:00 via ABC News
  
  NASA is due to launch its latest space telescope, a repurposed spy satellite which will accompany the James Webb Space Telescope. So what is it, and why is it being used?
  
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• Specialist ship arrives to cart SpaceX rocket from Christmas Island

  24-08-2026 10:29 via ABC News
  
  A semi-submersible cargo carrier has arrived on the remote Australian territory to ferry the SpaceX starship back to Texas.
  
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• Before and after photos show impact of SpaceX rocket that slammed into Moon

  19-08-2026 05:23 via ABC News
  
  A NASA spacecraft circling the moon is providing the sharpest views yet of a crater carved by a crashing SpaceX rocket. 
  
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• SpaceX recovers rocket that splashed down off Christmas Island

  19-08-2026 04:37 via ABC News
  
  An operation by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the federal government successfully retrieves the rocket after it landed in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia. 
  
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• SpaceX mission hampered by rough seas recovers rocket off WA coast

  19-08-2026 04:37 via ABC News
  
  An operation by Elon Musk's SpaceX and the federal government successfully retrieves a rocket some 24 days after it landed in the Indian Ocean off Christmas Island.
  
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• SpaceX rocket towed towards Christmas Island after ocean landing

  18-08-2026 09:52 via ABC News
  
  A SpaceX rocket is being towed off Christmas Island after landing in the Indian Ocean in an unusual spectacle for locals.
  
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• SpaceX rocket splashes down off Christmas Island

  18-08-2026 09:52 via ABC News
  
  A SpaceX rocket is being towed off Christmas Island after landing in the Indian Ocean in an unusual spectacle for locals.
  
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• Breaking: SpaceX rocket towed towards Christmas Island after ocean landing

  18-08-2026 09:52 via ABC News
  
  A SpaceX rocket is being towed off Christmas Island after landing in the Indian Ocean in an unusual spectacle for locals.
  
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• Breaking: SpaceX rocket splashes down off Christmas Island

  18-08-2026 09:52 via ABC News
  
  A SpaceX rocket is being towed off Christmas Island after landing in the Indian Ocean in an unusual spectacle for locals.
  
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• Two giant clashes made the Milky Way the massive galaxy it is today

  17-08-2026 16:58 via ABC News
  
  A new study suggests one of the most significant clashes in the history of the Milky Way, dubbed the "Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles" merger, happened 12 billion years ago.
  
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• Ancient clash with 'Kraken' galaxy 12 billion years ago helped form Milky Way

  17-08-2026 16:58 via ABC News
  
  A new study suggests one of the most significant clashes in the history of the Milky Way, dubbed the "Low-energy-Kraken-Heracles" merger, happened 12 billion years ago.
  
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• Space Food: Investigating how to grow food in space

  16-08-2026 04:55 via ABC News
  
  Scientists are investigating how to grow food in space for astronauts on long missions. Their work crosses over into solving some of agriculture's most pressing problems.
  
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• Bizarre new astronomical object dubbed a 'black hole star'

  13-08-2026 07:43 via ABC News
  
  The discovery of a new type of astrophysical object could take us closer to solving one of astronomy's biggest puzzles from the early universe.
  
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• Views of solar eclipse from multiple European countries

  13-08-2026 00:48 via ABC News
  
   A compilation of views a solar eclipse from the UK, Poland and Spain.
  
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• Europe's first solar eclipse in 27 years in pictures

  12-08-2026 23:44 via ABC News
  
  From Spain to Iceland to Russia, millions gathered to witness the sun's light be fully blocked by the moon in the continent's first solar eclipse in almost three decades.
  
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• First images show Moon's fresh crater after stray rocket impact

  07-08-2026 02:45 via ABC News
  
  A South Korean satellite has captured the first pictures of the Moon's fresh crash scene caused by a stray SpaceX rocket, showing noticeably darker terrain.
  
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• First images of Moon after stray rocket crash

  07-08-2026 02:45 via ABC News
  
  A South Korean satellite has captured the first pictures of the Moon's fresh crash scene caused by a stray SpaceX rocket, showing noticeably darker terrain.
  
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• Defunct SpaceX rocket crashes into Moon at 8,690km/h

  06-08-2026 04:01 via ABC News
  
  A stray piece of a rocket, the size of a school bus, has smashed into the Moon, likely creating a new crater.
  
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