Astronomy news

• 17 May 2024 (12 hours away): Asteroid 2 Pallas at opposition

  16-05-2024 20:27 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 2 Pallas makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
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• Could 'dark photons' explain dark matter?

  21-08-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  New research suggests that if dark matter is composed of "dark photons," it would not have heated the early cosmos like scientists previously thought. If correct, this discovery could represent a paradigm shift in the hunt for the universe's most mysterious stuff.Dark matter remains so elusive because, despite outweighing the everyday matter that composes stars, planets, moons and our bodies by a ratio of five to one, it is effectively invisible. That is because it doesn't interact with light. A
  
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• 22 Aug 2026 (22 hours away): The Moon at apogee

  21-08-2026 11:44 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon recedes to its orbit's furthest point from the Earth, making it appear fractionally smaller than at other times of the month.
  
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• 22 Aug 2026 (23 hours away): The Moon at apogee

  21-08-2026 10:33 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon recedes to its orbit's furthest point from the Earth, making it appear fractionally smaller than at other times of the month.
  
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• 28 Aug 2026 (7 days away): Full Moon

  21-08-2026 07:00 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches full phase and is visible for much of the night.
  
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• 21 Aug 2026 (8 minutes ago): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 06:52 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
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• 21 Aug 2026 (5 hours ago): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 06:52 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
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• 21 Aug 2026 (46 minutes ago): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 06:52 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
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• 21 Aug 2026 (4 hours ago): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 06:52 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
  Read more

• 21 Aug 2026 (3 hours ago): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 06:52 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
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• 21 Aug 2026 (2 hours ago): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 06:52 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
  Read more

• 21 Aug 2026 (1 hour ago): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 06:52 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
  Read more

• 21 Aug 2026 (28 minutes away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 06:23 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
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• 21 Aug 2026 (1 hour away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 05:10 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
  Read more

• 21 Aug 2026 (2 hours away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 03:58 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
  Read more

• 21 Aug 2026 (3 hours away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 02:52 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
  Read more

• 21 Aug 2026 (4 hours away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 02:15 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
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• 28 Aug 2026 (7 days away): Partial lunar eclipse

  21-08-2026 01:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  There will be an eclipse of the Moon, visible from the Americas, Antarctica, Africa and Europe.
  
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• 27 Aug 2026 (6 days away): Mercury at superior solar conjunction

  21-08-2026 01:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun.
  
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• 25 Aug 2026 (4 days away): The Moon at aphelion

  21-08-2026 01:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon passes its furthest point from the Sun, a monthly occurrence around the time of full moon.
  
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• 23 Aug 2026 (2 days away): Lunar occultation of Sigma Sagittarii

  21-08-2026 01:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Sigma Sagittarii (Nunki), creating a lunar occultation visible from parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Antarctica and Bouvet Island.
  
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• 22 Aug 2026 (Tomorrow): The Moon at apogee

  21-08-2026 01:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon recedes to its orbit's furthest point from the Earth, making it appear fractionally smaller than at other times of the month.
  
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• 21 Aug 2026 (5 hours away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 01:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
  Read more

• 21 Aug 2026 (6 hours away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2026 00:04 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
  Read more

• 21 Aug 2026 (7 hours away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  20-08-2026 23:03 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
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• China's Chang'e 7 moon probe will launch this weekend on the most ambitious lunar mission in history

  20-08-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  China's moon exploration program is readying an ambitious robotic mission, one composed of an orbiter, a lander, a rover, a hopper, and a wide range of international experiments including a U.S.-supported payload. In April of this year, Chang'e-7 hardware was transported to the Wenchang launch site, targeting an Aug. 24 (Beijing time) launch atop a Long March 5 Y14 rocket. The lander's destination is the edge of Shackleton Crater in the lunar south pole region. After launch, the Chang'e-7 orbite
  
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• SpaceX will try for 1st Starship tower catch 'in a few months,' Elon Musk says

  20-08-2026 22:30 via space.com
  
  We'll have to wait a bit longer for a highly anticipated Starship milestone, it appears.On Aug. 4, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said the company aimed to attempt the first-ever catch of Starship's upper stage on the vehicle's next test flight, which is tentatively targeted for late August.But that doesn't seem to be in the cards anymore. "Looks like we will probably catch the ship with the tower in a few months," Musk said early this morning (Aug. 20) via X, the social media platform he boug
  
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• 21 Aug 2026 (8 hours away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  20-08-2026 22:01 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
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• Microbes from Earth may survive on the moon, scientists find

  20-08-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  Microbes from Earth might survive the harsh surface of the moon, albeit in a state of suspended animation, a new study finds.Previous research suggested the surface of the moon was too harsh for microbes to survive. Specifically, a 2019 study found ultraviolet rays and heat from the sun are the greatest barriers for microbial life on the lunar surface. However, this prior work did not account for the shelter that hills and valleys might supply on the moon. These could prove especially significan
  
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• 21 Aug 2026 (9 hours away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  20-08-2026 21:01 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica, Argentina, Chile and Falkland Islands.
  
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