Astronomy news

• I've chased the 'false dawn' for years — this is the week to find and photograph it

  11-09-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  Some stargazing feels like you know exactly what you are looking for, but you're still slightly unsure whether you are actually seeing it. Zodiacal light — meaning "light from the circle of animals" — is often like that.I have chased this so-called "false dawn" for years, and the first few minutes are always the same. I stare toward the horizon and wonder whether the sky is genuinely brighter there, or whether I am simply seeing distant light pollution, the first hint of morning twil
  
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• A star is exploding 45 million light-years away — here's how you can see it

  11-09-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  An extraordinary exploding star has been spotted in a distant galaxy, and astrophotographers are racing to capture it before it fades from view.The supernova, called SN 2026aaiv, was first seen by the ATLAS survey on Sept. 1 in NGC 7331 (also known as Caldwell 30), a spiral galaxy about 45 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus, visible in the Northern Hemisphere and at mid-latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere.That makes this supernova a prime target for amateur astrophotographers
  
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• Rocket Lab launches mystery satellite to orbit for secret customer (photo)

  11-09-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  Rocket Lab just launched a mystery mission to orbit.An Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site on Thursday (Sept. 10) at 11:28 p.m. EDT (0328 GMT and 3:28 p.m. local New Zealand time on Sept. 11).The launched kicked off a mission the company called "Happily Ever Faster," which we know little about.'Happily Ever Faster' to orbit 🌌✨ Today we launched our 95th Electron at 3:28 pm NZST and deployed a single Earth observation satellite to a 500km LEO for a confide
  
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• Stream every single Star Trek show from anywhere, and save up to 75% with this VPN deal

  11-09-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  The Star Trek franchise has hit the ripe old age of 60 this week. September 8 is the official 'Star Trek Day' and marks the anniversary of the 'Original Series', which first broadcast in 1966. For fans of all things Star Trek, Paramount+ is the place to be with all seasons of the 'Original Series', plus the new series 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds', which is currently in Season 4 and hits its exciting finale on September 24.If you travel regularly, a regional lock can cut off your Paramount+ su
  
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• The sun may once have swallowed a super-Earth planet and could still be hiding the evidence

  11-09-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Our star and primary energy source that makes life on this planet possible may also be a cosmic cannibal. That's according to new research that suggests the sun may have swallowed a super-Earth planet billions of years ago in its early history. And our star may still be hiding the evidence.The scientists behind this research think that the fingerprints of this violent consumption of a planet may still exist within the solar interior. Super-Earths are common occupants of other planetary systems,
  
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• 60 years of Star Trek uniforms: Looking back at the everchanging wardrobe of Starfleet

  11-09-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  To boldly dress as no one has dressed before… In another universe, that could have been the "Star Trek" mission statement. Sure, the veteran franchise has spent much of its 60-year lifetime seeking out new life and new civilisations, but it's also been preoccupied with keeping crews fashionable as they explore the final frontier. It seems that nobody wants to make first contact sporting last year's jumpsuit. The sheer volume of uniforms worn on Federation duty is mind-boggling, as Starfle
  
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• Wavy alien dune fields stretch across Mars | Space photo of the day for Sept. 11, 2026

  11-09-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  A dune field on Mars, as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)Are those purple, wavy, alien thumbprints? Or perhaps an otherworldly ocean? Nope! It's actually a dune field on Mars, colored purple.What is it?Across the Martian surface are all sorts of unique features in the rocky, dusty surface material. In this false-color image, snapped by the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
  
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• On this day in space! Sept. 11, 1985: The International Cometary Explorer makes 1st comet flyby in history for NASA and Europe

  11-09-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Sept. 11, 1985, the International Cometary Explorer, or "ICE," became the first spacecraft to fly by a comet. Originally launched as the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 in 1978, ICE was one of three spacecraft built for the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) program, a joint effort by NASA, the European Space Research Organization and the European Space Agency. The program's purpose was to study space weather, or the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. A
  
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• 2 private spacecraft zoom within 650 feet of each other to showcase 'advanced capabilities' in orbit (photos)

  11-09-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  A pair of private spacecraft just showed off some impressive maneuverability high above Earth.The two probes — Mira satellites operated by the California startup Impulse Space — zoomed within 650 feet (200 meters) of each other in low Earth orbit (LEO) recently. The rendezvous demonstrated skills that could be useful to a variety of customers down the road, according to the company."These types of dynamic, agile maneuvers are how we unlock full access to space after launch and create
  
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• 25 years ago, a NASA astronaut witnessed the tragic 9/11 attacks from space. Here's what he saw.

  11-09-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Frank Culbertson had a birds-eye view of one of the most memorable and tragic events in American history.The NASA astronaut was the only American off of Earth on Sept. 11, 2001. He was circling the planet aboard the International Space Station (ISS) when terrorists flew commercial jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing more than 2,700 people.The ISS passed over New York shortly after the attacks took place, so Culbertson saw the devastation from an eerie re
  
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• 'I take the compact Nikon Stabilized 12x25 binoculars with me everywhere' — they now have $73 off, the best we've seen this year

  11-09-2026 13:00 via space.com
  
  Jase Parnell-Brookes has reviewed a huge range of skywatching optics, including the best telescopes, binoculars and image-stabilized binoculars. As our trusted authority and expert tester, when they recommend a product and you're in the market for it, their opinions and recommendations are worth paying attention to.In their Nikon Stabilized 12x25 binoculars review, Jase reckoned they were without doubt the best compact image-stabilized (IS) binoculars they had ever tested. Right now they have $7
  
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• Scientists discover mysterious new X-ray objects 'unlike any they have seen before'

  11-09-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found a brand new type of an otherwise familiar object – compact binary systems that steal gas from other stars, but which do so while emitting very low-energy X-rays but copious amounts of ultraviolet.Chandra spotted 84 suspicious object emitting very low-energy X-rays in six galaxies – four evolved ellipticals and two spirals, namely our near-neighbor the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101)."We've never encountered a group of o
  
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