Astronomy news

• Perseverance Mars rover spies big sunspot rotating toward Earth (photos)

  21-08-2023 23:00 via space.com
  
  NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has captured photos of a big sunspot, which should rotate into view for those of us on Earth in the coming days.
  
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• Watch Hurricane Hilary hit California hours after earthquake in this satellite video

  21-08-2023 21:38 via space.com
  
  Satellites watched weakening tropical storm Hilary bring a deluge to California hours after a series of earthquakes shook the Los Angeles region.
  
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• India's Chandrayaan-3 images far side of the moon ahead of Aug. 23 landing try (photos)

  21-08-2023 21:18 via space.com
  
  India's Chandrayaan-3 probe has photographed the far side of the moon, testing out landing optics that will be put to use during an Aug. 23 touchdown try.
  
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• James Webb Space Telescope offers a mesmerizing look at the Ring Nebula (photos)

  21-08-2023 21:00 via space.com
  
  The James Webb Space Telescope strikes again, this time with a beautiful new view of a famous planetary nebula. But don't be fooled  — none of this has anything to do with planets.
  
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• Gravitational wave detectors on the moon could be more sensitive than those on Earth

  21-08-2023 20:00 via space.com
  
  Scientists developing more sensitive next-generationgravitational wave detectors struggle with technical challenges that might be easily overcome by putting such detectors on the moon.
  
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• SpaceX Crew-7 astronauts arrive in Florida ahead of Aug. 25 launch (photos, video)

  21-08-2023 19:00 via space.com
  
  Four astronauts from four different countries arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 20 ahead of their expected launch from Florida Aug. 25.
  
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• SpaceX rolls rocket to pad ahead of Crew-7 astronaut launch (photos)

  21-08-2023 18:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX has rolled its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to the launch pad ahead of the planned Friday (Aug. 25) liftoff of the Crew-7 astronaut mission for NASA.
  
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• Ten episodes of Star Wars to watch before Ahsoka

  21-08-2023 17:00 via space.com
  
  Fifteen years after she made her debut in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Jedi Ashoka Tano is finally getting her own Disney Plus series, Star Wars: Ahsoka.
  
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• 10 episodes of Star Wars to watch before Ahsoka

  21-08-2023 17:00 via space.com
  
  Fifteen years after she made her debut in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Jedi Ashoka Tano is finally getting her own Disney Plus series, Star Wars: Ahsoka.
  
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• Turns out you can transmit sound in a vacuum, just not very far

  21-08-2023 14:00 via space.com
  
  For the first time, researchers were able to transmit, or "tunnel," sound waves across extremely small distances between two crystals in a vacuum.
  
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• SpaceX lights up the skies with midnight Starlink launch (photos)

  21-08-2023 14:00 via space.com
  
  Photos from SpaceX's recent Starlink launch highlight Falcon 9's raw power, as its rocket engines illuminate the night.
  
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• Who is Grand Admiral Thrawn?

  21-08-2023 12:13 via space.com
  
  Grand Admiral Thrawn is being set up as the big bad in the Ahsoka series. Who is he and what does he want? Here’s a quick rundown of his story so far.
  
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• Who is Ahsoka Tano?

  21-08-2023 12:13 via space.com
  
  The journey of Ahsoka, Anakin Skywalker’s former apprentice continues this summer on Disney Plus. Need to catch up? Here’s a quick rundown of her story so far.
  
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• We still don't know what dark matter is, but here's what it's not

  21-08-2023 12:00 via space.com
  
  An experimental detector can now rule out dark matter particles down to about a fifth of a proton's mass.
  
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• Are we really made of 'star stuff' and what does that even mean? (video)

  21-08-2023 12:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomer Carl Sagan once said that humanity is "made of star stuff." In a new video, astrophysicist Suzanna Randall explains what that actually means and where the elements in our body come from.
  
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• 29 Aug 2023 (8 days away): Uranus enters retrograde motion

  21-08-2023 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Uranus reverses its direction of motion across the sky.
  
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• 27 Aug 2023 (6 days away): Saturn at opposition

  21-08-2023 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Saturn lies in the opposite direction to the Sun in the sky, making it slightly closer, brighter and larger than at other times. It is also optimally positioned to be observable for much of the night.
  
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• 26 Aug 2023 (6 days away): Asteroid 8 Flora at opposition

  21-08-2023 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 8 Flora makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
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• 25 Aug 2023 (4 days away): Lunar occultation of Antares

  21-08-2023 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Antares (Alpha Scorpii), creating a lunar occultation visible from the Contiguous United States, Mexico and Canada.
  
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• 24 Aug 2023 (3 days away): Moon at First Quarter

  21-08-2023 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches first quarter phase – appearing high in the sky at sunset and setting in the west at around midnight.
  
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• 24 Aug 2023 (3 days away): Lunar occultation of Delta Scorpii

  21-08-2023 01:00 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Delta Scorpii (Dschubba), creating a lunar occultation visible from Antarctica.
  
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