Astronomy news

• 21 Dec 2022 (22 hours away): December solstice

  20-12-2022 23:45 via in-the-sky.org
  21 December will be the shortest day of 2022 in the northern hemisphere.
  
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• 21 Dec 2022 (23 hours away): December solstice

  20-12-2022 22:51 via in-the-sky.org
  21 December will be the shortest day of 2022 in the northern hemisphere.
  
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• 21 Dec 2022 (20 hours away): Mercury at greatest elongation east

  20-12-2022 22:51 via in-the-sky.org
  Mercury is bright and well placed in the evening sky.
  
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• 21 Dec 2022 (21 hours away): Mercury at greatest elongation east

  20-12-2022 22:13 via in-the-sky.org
  Mercury is bright and well placed in the evening sky.
  
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• Two potentially habitable Earth-like worlds orbit a star in our cosmic backyard

  20-12-2022 22:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomers have discovered two Earth-like exoplanets orbiting a red dwarf near our solar system that orbit their star with respective 'years' lasting just 10 and 21 days.
  
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• Watch 2 NASA astronauts conduct spacewalk early Wednesday

  20-12-2022 21:49 via space.com
  
  Two NASA astronauts will conduct a spacewalk early Wednesday (Dec. 21) to install new solar arrays on the International Space Station, and you can watch it live.
  
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• UPDATE: Spacewalk postponed by Russian space junk near space station

  20-12-2022 21:49 via space.com
  
  Two NASA astronauts will conduct a spacewalk early Wednesday (Dec. 21) to install new solar arrays on the International Space Station, and you can watch it live.
  
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• UPDATE: Spacewalk postponed by Russian space junk at space station

  20-12-2022 21:49 via space.com
  
  Two NASA astronauts will conduct a spacewalk early Wednesday (Dec. 21) to install new solar arrays on the International Space Station, and you can watch it live.
  
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• 21 Dec 2022 (22 hours away): Mercury at greatest elongation east

  20-12-2022 21:07 via in-the-sky.org
  Mercury is bright and well placed in the evening sky.
  
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• Zero-G flight for disability ambassadors shows space is accessible for all

  20-12-2022 21:00 via space.com
  
  AstroAccess flew 14 individuals from 5 countries on a parabolic research flight Dec. 15, to open up space research to more people.
  
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• 21 Dec 2022 (23 hours away): Mercury at greatest elongation east

  20-12-2022 20:19 via in-the-sky.org
  Mercury is bright and well placed in the evening sky.
  
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• SpaceX aims to start launching next-gen Starlink satellites this month: report

  20-12-2022 20:11 via space.com
  
  SpaceX will soon start launching a new generation of Starlink broadband satellites, which could help the company deal with surging demand, according to a report.
  
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• Strange arrangement of Milky Way's groupie galaxies may undermine dark matter

  20-12-2022 20:00 via space.com
  
  Scientists may have explained the mysterious distribution of small satellite galaxies around our Milky Way that has long puzzled astronomers, but not everyone is in agreement.
  
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• NASA's InSight lander on Mars goes silent as power runs low

  20-12-2022 19:16 via space.com
  
  NASA lost contact with its Mars InSight lander on Monday (Dec. 18) after the spacecraft failed to respond to communications from its control team.
  
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• Shock wave from sun has opened up a crack in Earth's magnetic field, and it could trigger a geomagnetic storm

  20-12-2022 19:00 via space.com
  
  A mysterious shock wave in a gust of solar wind has sent a barrage of high-speed material smashing into Earth's magnetic field, opening up a crack in the magnetosphere.
  
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• Salute Apollo 17's 50th anniversary with freshly restored moon mission shots

  20-12-2022 18:00 via space.com
  
  NASA restoration wizard Andy Saunders on Apollo 17's restored photos in his new book, "Apollo Remastered"
  
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• Watch Europe's Vega C rocket launch its 2nd mission Tuesday night

  20-12-2022 17:55 via space.com
  
  Europe's Vega C rocket is scheduled to launch on its second-ever mission on Tuesday night (Dec. 20), and you can watch the action live.
  
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• Watch Europe's Vega C rocket launch its 2nd mission tonight after delay

  20-12-2022 17:55 via space.com
  
  Europe's Vega C rocket is scheduled to launch on its second-ever mission on Tuesday night (Dec. 20), and you can watch the action live.
  
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• China picks 4 international payloads for historic sample-return mission to moon's far side

  20-12-2022 17:00 via space.com
  
  China has revealed that four international experiments will fly on its historic Chang'e 6 sample-return mission to the far side of the moon in 2025.
  
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• Ursid meteor shower shines with ideal dark sky conditions this year

  20-12-2022 16:00 via space.com
  
  The moon will be at new moon phase on Dec. 23 when the Ursid meteor shower reaches its peak, meaning it won't provide any hindrance at all for meteor watching.
  
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• Europa's icy crust may let more material into hidden ocean than thought

  20-12-2022 15:00 via space.com
  
  New research shows that even smaller impacts can warm and soften enough ice on Jupiter's moon Europa to send material sinking into the underlying ocean.
  
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• Superdense neutron star likely has solid crust, NASA telescope finds

  20-12-2022 14:00 via space.com
  
  NASA's IXPE space telescope observed a neutron star with a powerful magnetic field in X-rays for the first time, finding polarization and a likely solid crust.
  
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• Why haven't aliens contacted Earth? New Fermi Paradox analysis suggests we're not that interesting yet

  20-12-2022 12:00 via space.com
  
  We have absolutely no evidence for any extraterrestrial civilization, let alone life. This is Fermi's great paradox: If life can happen, it should be common, and if it's common, we should already know about it. But we don't.
  
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• This may be the last Mars photo from NASA's InSight lander before it dies on the Red Planet

  20-12-2022 12:00 via space.com
  
  This photo from NASA's InSight lander on Mars just may be its last as the power-starved lander approaches the end of its life on the Red Planet.
  
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• 24 Dec 2022 (4 days away): The Moon at perigee

  20-12-2022 07:21 via in-the-sky.org
  The Moon appears large as it makes its closest approach to the Earth.
  
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• 20 Dec 2022 (4 days ago): December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2022

  20-12-2022 07:10 via in-the-sky.org
  The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
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• 20 Dec 2022 (3 days ago): December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2022

  20-12-2022 07:10 via in-the-sky.org
  The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
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• 20 Dec 2022 (2 days ago): December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2022

  20-12-2022 07:10 via in-the-sky.org
  The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
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• Hole spotted in leaky Russian Soyuz spacecraft

  20-12-2022 02:09 via space.com
  
  An inspection of the leaky Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station has revealed a small hole, though it's unclear if it was caused by a micrometeoroid strike.
  
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• 23 Dec 2022 (3 days away): The Moon at perihelion

  20-12-2022 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  The Moon reaches its closest point to the Sun.
  
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• 23 Dec 2022 (3 days away): New Moon

  20-12-2022 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  The Moon disappears into the Sun's glare.
  
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• 22 Dec 2022 (2 days away): Ursid meteor shower 2022

  20-12-2022 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  The Ursid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
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• 21 Dec 2022 (Tomorrow): Mercury at greatest elongation east

  20-12-2022 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  Mercury is bright and well placed in the evening sky.
  
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• 21 Dec 2022 (Tomorrow): December solstice

  20-12-2022 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  21 December will be the shortest day of 2022 in the northern hemisphere.
  
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• 20 Dec 2022 (Today): December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2022

  20-12-2022 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
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