Astronomy news

• 20 Dec 2024 (16 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  19-12-2024 23:03 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• SpaceX inks deal with Vast to launch 2 astronaut missions to the ISS

  19-12-2024 23:00 via space.com
  
  California-based company Vast Space has booked two crewed flights to the ISS with SpaceX, though the missions still must be approved by NASA.
  
  Read more

• SpaceX inks deal to launch 2 more astronaut missions to the ISS

  19-12-2024 23:00 via space.com
  
  California-based company Vast Space has booked two crewed flights to the ISS with SpaceX, though the missions still must be approved by NASA.
  
  Read more

• 20 Dec 2024 (17 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  19-12-2024 22:12 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 20 Dec 2024 (18 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  19-12-2024 21:33 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• NASA space telescopes give Christmas Tree Cluster a festive makeover (photos)

  19-12-2024 21:00 via space.com
  
  The James Webb Space Telescope used a galaxy as a cosmic magnifying glass to find transient objects in the "Christmas Tree" cluster, a Winter Wonderland of even more galaxies.
  
  Read more

• 20 Dec 2024 (19 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  19-12-2024 20:36 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• Looking back at '2010', the criminally-underrated sequel to '2001: A Space Odyssey'

  19-12-2024 20:00 via space.com
  
  Forty years ago, this lesser-known sequel attempted to explain the mysteries of one of sci-fi's greatest movies.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 24 Dec 2024 (5 days away): The Moon at apogee

  19-12-2024 19:50 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.
  
  Read more

• 20 Dec 2024 (20 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  19-12-2024 19:50 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• 19 Dec 2024 (5 days ago): December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2024

  19-12-2024 19:25 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
  Read more

• 19 Dec 2024 (4 days ago): December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2024

  19-12-2024 19:25 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
  Read more

• 19 Dec 2024 (3 days ago): December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2024

  19-12-2024 19:25 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
  Read more

• 19 Dec 2024 (2 days ago): December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2024

  19-12-2024 19:25 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
  Read more

• 20 Dec 2024 (21 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  19-12-2024 18:40 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• It's a bird! it's a plane! It's the 1st fantastic trailer for James Gunn's 'Superman!'

  19-12-2024 18:37 via space.com
  
  Krypto saves the day in this heroic look at the Man of Steel's new reboot from the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Trilogy director
  
  Read more

• BepiColombo spacecraft flies by Mercury, sees volcanic plain and impact craters

  19-12-2024 18:00 via space.com
  
  The BepiColombo spacecraft has captured the 1st mid-infrared portrait of Mercury.
  
  Read more

• SpaceX will launch Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander to the moon in mid-January with these 10 NASA payloads

  19-12-2024 17:00 via space.com
  
  NASA and SpaceX are targeting mid-January for the launch of Firefly Aerospace's Ghost Riders in the Sky mission to the lunar surface.
  
  Read more

• 20 Dec 2024 (22 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  19-12-2024 16:53 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• 20 Dec 2024 (23 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  19-12-2024 16:02 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• 'Missing link' black hole found? Not so fast, new study says

  19-12-2024 16:00 via space.com
  
  A "missing link" black hole in Omega Centauri is still missing. What appeared to be an intermediate-mass black hole was a cluster of stellar-mass black holes.
  
  Read more

• Did the 'Lower Decks' finale just set up an exciting new 'Star Trek' spin-off?

  19-12-2024 15:51 via space.com
  
  'The New Next Generation' is the last-ever episode of 'Lower Decks', but it almost feels like a backdoor pilot for a new 'Star Trek' show.
  
  Read more

• Watch Russian cosmonauts install new X-ray detector during ISS spacewalk today (video)

  19-12-2024 15:36 via space.com
  
  Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner will perform a six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk on Dec. 19 to install new equipment outside the ISS. Watch it live here, courtesy of NASA.
  
  Read more

• This baby exoplanet is made of different stuff than its birth cloud

  19-12-2024 15:00 via space.com
  
  Investigating a young exoplanet called PDS 70b in its cocoon of natal gas and dust has shown that planets don't always resemble the environments they form in.
  
  Read more

• Puffy white dwarfs could shed light on mysterious dark matter. Here's how.

  19-12-2024 14:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomers just took a big step toward a better understanding of white dwarfs, a discovery that could shed light on mysterious dark matter.
  
  Read more

• Double moon mission! SpaceX to launch 2 private lunar landers in January

  19-12-2024 12:00 via space.com
  
  Firefly Aerospace and Japanese company ispace are putting their moon landers on the same SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which is scheduled to lift off in January.
  
  Read more

• 22 Dec 2024 (3 days away): Ursid meteor shower 2024

  19-12-2024 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Ursid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
  Read more

• 22 Dec 2024 (3 days away): Moon at Last Quarter

  19-12-2024 01:05 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.
  
  Read more

• 21 Dec 2024 (2 days away): December solstice

  19-12-2024 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  21 December will be the shortest day of 2024 in the northern hemisphere.
  
  Read more

• 20 Dec 2024 (Tomorrow): Mercury at highest altitude in morning sky

  19-12-2024 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury is bright and well placed in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• 20 Dec 2024 (Tomorrow): Mercury at dichotomy

  19-12-2024 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
  Read more

• 19 Dec 2024 (Today): December Leonis Minorid meteor shower 2024

  19-12-2024 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The December Leonis Minorid meteor shower reaches its peak.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Astronomy on Twitter!