Astronomy news

• 13 Jul 2026 (3 hours away): The Moon at perigee

  13-07-2026 06:32 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, appearing larger than at other times of the month – though only very fractionally.
  
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• These mysterious exoplanets may have clouds of vaporized rock and grounds of scorching magma oceans

  13-07-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  Clouds formed from vaporized rock could create the ultimate thermal insulation on one of the most common types of exoplanets discovered so far — the sub-Neptunes — raising temperatures so high that these worlds' solid surfaces melt and turn into oceans of magma."This work takes us one step closer to answering the question of what these mysterious worlds are made from," said astronomer Luis Welbanks, of Arizona State University, in a statement.Sub-Neptunes are planets larger than Eart
  
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• Russia's launching a NASA astronaut and 2 cosmonauts to the International Space Station on July 14: Watch it live

  13-07-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  Three people will launch toward the International Space Station on Tuesday (July 14), and you can watch the action live.NASA's Anil Menon and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina are scheduled to lift off atop a Russian Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday at 10:47 a.m. EDT (1347 GMT; 7:47 p.m. local time in Baikonur).You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency's YouTube channel. Coverage will begin at 9:45 a.m. EDT (12
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (13 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 22:10 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (14 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 21:24 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
  Read more

• 14 Jul 2026 (15 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 20:03 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (16 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 18:49 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
  Read more

• NASA begins stacking rocket ahead of 2027 Artemis III astronaut launch (photos)

  13-07-2026 18:43 via space.com
  
  The assembly of NASA's next Artemis rocket is well underway, with the recent arrival of one of the launch vehicle's solid fuel booster sections to the agency's integration facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The bottom segment of the left-hand solid rocket booster (SRB) that will help launch Artemis III was transported to KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) this week, according to a NASA social media post. It's one of two SRBs that will be affixed to either side of NASA's Space Launch
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (17 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 18:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
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• SpaceX targets July 16 for Starship Flight 13, reveals what went wrong on previous launch

  13-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX is targeting this week for the next launch of its massive Starship vehicle.Following engine tests on both Starship stages in the last two weeks — igniting all six Raptor 3s on the "Ship" upper stage and all 33 Raptor 3s on the "Super Heavy" first stage — SpaceX is proceeding with the launch of Starship Flight 13, which is scheduled for no earlier than Thursday (July 16), according to a July 11 SpaceX social media post.It will be the second launch for Starship "Version 3" (V3),
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (18 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 17:14 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
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• "The Ninth Jedi" is a bold new Star Wars anime project hitting Disney+ next month, and it looks sick! (trailer)

  13-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  Disney+’s imaginative anime anthology series, "Star Wars: Visions", is getting a standalone expansion next month with "Star Wars: Visions Presents –The Ninth Jedi".This 8-episode limited series is a continuation of the saga of Lah Kara, Margrave Juro, and their ragtag crew in the search for her kidnapped father. "Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi" debuts on Disney+ on Aug. 5, 2026.Fans were first introduced to the intriguing story in "Star Wars: Visions" Volume 1&rsq
  
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• "The Ninth Jedi" is a bold new Star Wars anime project hitting Disney+ next month, and it looks sick!

  13-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  Disney+’s imaginative anime anthology series, "Star Wars: Visions", is getting a standalone expansion next month with "Star Wars: Visions Presents –The Ninth Jedi".This 8-episode limited series is a continuation of the saga of Lah Kara, Margrave Juro, and their ragtag crew in the search for her kidnapped father. "Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi" debuts on Disney+ on Aug. 5, 2026.Fans were first introduced to the intriguing story in "Star Wars: Visions" Volume 1&rsq
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (19 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 16:27 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
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• Extremely Large Telescope reaches a major milestone | Space photo of the day for July 13, 2026

  13-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  ESO's Extremely Large Telescope shows off its impressive size after reaching a new milestone.(Image credit: ESO/Cimolai)The Extremely Large Telescope just passed a serious milestone while coming together. But it's not done yet; the immense telescope is about to get even larger.What is it?The European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO)'s Extremely Large Telescope is under construction on a mountaintop in Chile. In this new photo, we can really get an idea of t
  
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• Getting Vikram-1 to orbit: Inside Skyroot Aerospace's coming bid to make spaceflight history

  13-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  HYDERABAD, India — When Space.com visited Skyroot Aerospace's Max-Q campus here in February, the company's first orbital rocket, Vikram-1, was still coming together.Inside the company's 55,000-square-foot (5,110 square meters) rocket factory, engineers sat before computer screens, running critical simulations and systems checks on Vikram-1's Orbit Adjustment Module, the liquid-fueled upper stage that stands at the center of the room and will guide the rocket's final maneuvers in space. Unl
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (20 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 14:52 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (21 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 14:07 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
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• Space junk debris cloud discovered in high-traffic orbit 'is a potential minefield' for the costliest satellites

  13-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Tiny pieces of space junk only 2 inches (5 centimeters) in size are cluttering a valuable orbital region where some of the costliest satellites reside, a new study has found.Researchers from the University of Warwick in the U.K. found that the geostationary orbit — a region of space at the altitude of 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) — is full of dangerous, previously unseen bits of space junk that could destroy satellites.The geostationary orbit is quite unique. Satellites at this a
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (22 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 13:24 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
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• The FCC just gave Reflect Orbital permission to launch its 1st space mirror to orbit. Tens of thousands more could follow

  13-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  The first of perhaps tens of thousands of sunlight-directing space mirrors just got cleared for liftoff.California-based startup Reflect Orbital just got a license from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch and operate its first demonstration satellite, a spacecraft that will unfurl a reflective surface that measures about 60 feet (18 meters) on a side.That satellite, called Eärendil-1 is targeted to fly later this year. And it could be the first of many: Reflect Orbita
  
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• Reflect Orbital just got permission to launch its 1st space mirror to orbit. Tens of thousands more could follow

  13-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  The first of perhaps tens of thousands of sunlight-directing space mirrors just got cleared for liftoff.California-based startup Reflect Orbital just got a license from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch and operate its first demonstration satellite, a spacecraft that will unfurl a reflective surface that measures about 60 feet (18 meters) on a side.That satellite, called Eärendil-1 is targeted to fly later this year. And it could be the first of many: Reflect Orbita
  
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• 14 Jul 2026 (23 hours away): New Moon

  13-07-2026 11:51 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare for a few days.
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (5 days away): Messier 55 is well placed

  13-07-2026 09:58 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The globular cluster M55 (NGC 6809l; mag 6.3) in Sagittarius culminates at around midnight local time.
  
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• 13 Jul 2026 (9 hours ago): The Moon at perigee

  13-07-2026 09:56 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, appearing larger than at other times of the month – though only very fractionally.
  
  Read more

• 13 Jul 2026 (8 hours ago): The Moon at perigee

  13-07-2026 09:56 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, appearing larger than at other times of the month – though only very fractionally.
  
  Read more

• 13 Jul 2026 (7 hours ago): The Moon at perigee

  13-07-2026 09:56 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, appearing larger than at other times of the month – though only very fractionally.
  
  Read more

• 13 Jul 2026 (6 hours ago): The Moon at perigee

  13-07-2026 09:56 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, appearing larger than at other times of the month – though only very fractionally.
  
  Read more

• 13 Jul 2026 (5 hours ago): The Moon at perigee

  13-07-2026 09:56 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, appearing larger than at other times of the month – though only very fractionally.
  
  Read more

• 13 Jul 2026 (4 hours ago): The Moon at perigee

  13-07-2026 09:56 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon makes its monthly closest approach to the Earth, appearing larger than at other times of the month – though only very fractionally.
  
  Read more

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