Astronomy news

• 03 Aug 2026 (Today): Comet 10P/Tempel passes perigee

  03-08-2026 01:21 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Comet 10P/Tempel makes its closest approach to the Earth.
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (8 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  05-08-2026 03:49 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (9 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  05-08-2026 02:47 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (10 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  05-08-2026 01:43 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• 09 Aug 2026 (4 days away): Conjunction of the Moon and Mars

  05-08-2026 01:12 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Mars share the same right ascension, at a separation of 4°24'.
  
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• 08 Aug 2026 (3 days away): Lunar occultation of Beta Tauri

  05-08-2026 01:12 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Beta Tauri (Elnath), creating a lunar occultation visible from countries and territories including Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Solomon Islands amongst others.
  
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• 07 Aug 2026 (2 days away): Close approach of the Moon and M45

  05-08-2026 01:12 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and M45 pass close to each other.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (Tomorrow): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 01:12 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (Tomorrow): Mercury at highest altitude in morning sky

  05-08-2026 01:12 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury is bright and well placed in the dawn sky.
  
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• SpaceX wants to launch next Starship this month (and catch it, too), Elon Musk says in 1st earnings call since historic IPO

  05-08-2026 00:55 via space.com
  
  SpaceX will make some history this month, if all goes according to plan.The company aims to launch the 14th test flight of its Starship megarocket before August is out, Elon Musk said today (Aug. 4) during SpaceX's first-ever quarterly earnings call. Starship will deploy viable payloads into orbit on Flight 14, something it has never done before — and there will be other unprecedented action as well."I'd say things look very good, and that's why we, assuming we receive regulatory approval
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (11 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  05-08-2026 00:40 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• Watch SpaceX launch 3 giant BlueBird direct-to-cell satellites early on Aug. 5

  05-08-2026 00:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX will launch three big direct-to-cell satellites early on Wednesday morning (Aug. 5), and you can watch the action live.A Falcon 9 rocket carrying three of AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday during a 96-minute window that opens at 3:42 a.m. EDT (0742 GMT).You can watch the action live here at Space.com courtesy of AST SpaceMobile, or directly via the Texas-based company. Coverage will begin at 2:42 a
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (12 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 23:28 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (13 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 22:50 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (14 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 21:40 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (15 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 20:36 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• When a total solar eclipse darkens the sky on Aug. 12, these citizen scientists will be watching

  04-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Meet the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast Initiative — a passion-driven citizen science endeavour that shares breathtaking views of total solar eclipses while capturing valuable data on the sun's incandescent atmosphere.At the heart of our solar system is a burning ball of superheated gas 100 times the width of Earth, with a thermonuclear reaction raging at its core. Its radiation and gravity hold the planets in their orbit and allow for the existence of life on our Blue Marble. Yet despite centu
  
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• August full moon 2026: When, where and how to see the Sturgeon Moon

  04-08-2026 19:48 via space.com
  
  The full moon of August 2026 will occur at 12:18 a.m. (0416 GMT) on Aug. 28, as the lunar disk shines directly opposite the sun in Earth's sky. Its arrival will trigger a breathtaking lunar eclipse late in the month, which will be visible across the Americas and parts of Africa and Europe as Earth passes between the sun and moon to bathe the lunar disk in shadow.August's full moon is often referred to as the Sturgeon moon — a Native American name that reflects the time of year that the gia
  
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• SpaceX launches Starlink satellites on 90th Falcon 9 flight of the year (video)

  04-08-2026 19:37 via space.com
  
  SpaceX has launched yet another batch of its Starlink internet satellites to the final frontier.A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California's foggy Vandenberg Space Force Base today (Aug. 4) at 1:05 p.m. EDT (1705 GMT; 10:05 a.m. local time), carrying 24 of the broadband spacecraft toward low Earth orbit (LEO).It was the 90th Falcon 9 liftoff of the year and the 70th of 2026 devoted to building out the Starlink megaconstellation.A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink internet satellites
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (16 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 19:25 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• 'A very busy mission': SpaceX on track to launch 4 astronauts to the ISS on Sept. 12

  04-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  The next crew, spacecraft and rocket to fly to the International Space Station are on schedule to meet their mid-September launch date, mission managers and the astronauts told reporters on Monday (Aug. 3).SpaceX's Crew-13 astronauts — commander Jessica Watkins and pilot Luke Delaney of NASA, mission specialist Josh Kutryk with the Canadian Space Agency and mission specialist Sergey Teteryatnikov of Russia's federal space corporation Roscosmos — will become only the second crew to fl
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (17 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 18:48 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• A 9,000-pound SpaceX rocket will crash into the moon tonight. Will you be able to see it?

  04-08-2026 17:58 via space.com
  
  A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage is on a collision course with the moon, and skywatchers may be wondering whether they'll be able to witness the rare event firsthand when it slams into the lunar surface early Wednesday morning (Aug. 5).The 45-foot-long (13.8-meter), 8,000-pound (4,000-kilogram) rocket stage, left over from the January 2025 launch of Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Hakuto-R lunar missions, is expected to strike the moon at about 2:35 a.m. EDT (0635 UTC) on Aug.
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (18 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 17:37 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (19 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 16:21 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• ISS astronaut spies a swirling super storm | Space photo of the day for Aug. 4, 2026

  04-08-2026 16:07 via space.com
  
  A photograph of a swirling typhoon in the Pacific Ocean taken by NASA astronaut Anil Menon from the cupola of the International Space Station on Aug. 2, 2026. (Image credit: NASA/Anil Menon)NASA astronaut Anil Menon captured an incredible photograph of a swirling typhoon in the Pacific Ocean from the International Space Station on Aug. 2, 2026.What is it?According to his post on X sharing the image, Menon used an iPhone to capture the photo from the space station's cupola, a domed structure buil
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 4, 2007: NASA launches Phoenix Mars lander to Red Planet

  04-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 4, 2007, NASA launched its Phoenix Mars Lander on a mission to touch down on Mars.The robotic spacecraft was designed to search for environments that could be suitable for microbial life and to study the history of water on the Red Planet. It lifted off atop a Delta II rocket at about 5:30 a.m. ET from what is now Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and spent almost 10 months making its way to Mars. When it arrived at the Red Planet, it landed farther north than any spacecraft
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (20 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 15:43 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• 'Significant areas of Mars may have once been covered by water': Scientists find hidden clue in Spirit rover data

  04-08-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  More than 20 years after NASA's Spirit rover began exploring Mars, scientists have uncovered a hidden clue in its archival data that adds to mounting evidence that the Red Planet was once rich in liquid water.Researchers reanalyzed measurements collected by Spirit between 2004 and 2010, revealing widespread traces of crystalline hematite and altered magnetite in ordinary Martian soil — iron-bearing minerals that point to ancient chemical changes consistent with interactions between water a
  
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• 05 Aug 2026 (21 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  04-08-2026 14:29 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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