Astronomy news

• The X-Files Lego set is a wonderful bit of 90s sci-fi nostalgia

  19-10-2026 22:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Millennials get a lot of flak for being overly nostalgic, but I don't think that's fair. When the modern-day world has nothing to offer us but AI slop, shrinkflation and a sad acceptance that we can't be bothered to do anything about global warming. It's easy to see why we yearn for the days of Pogs, the Backstreet Boys, and Saved by the Bell.One area that we definitely had it good in the 90s was sci-fi, when legendary shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stargate SG-1, and — of cour
  
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• Japan launches historic MMX sample-return mission to Mars' moon Phobos (video)

  19-10-2026 21:53 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Japan's groundbreaking mission to Mars is officially underway, headed to the Red Planet's mysterious moons Phobos and Deimos for a historic sample-return attempt.The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission launched today (Oct. 19) from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan, riding an H3 rocket that lifted off from Pad-2 at Tanegashima's Yoshinobu Launch Complex at 3:41 p.m. EDT (1941 GMT; 4:41 a.m. local time in Japan on Oct. 20). The JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)-led MMX mission is boun
  
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• On this day in space! Oct. 19, 2016: Europe's ExoMars orbiter and Schiaparelli lander arrive at Mars

  19-10-2026 21:40 via Latest from Space.com
  
  On Oct. 19, 2016, the European Space Agency's ExoMars mission arrived at Mars! ExoMars 2016 consists of the Trace Gas Orbiter and the Schiaparelli lander. The orbiter and lander traveled there together and separated on Oct. 16, three days before the orbiter entered orbit around Mars, and the lander touched down on the planet's surface. But something went wrong during the lander's descent, and it crashed into the ground. Schiaparelli did not survive the accident, but the Trace Gas Orbiter is stil
  
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• The moon is shrinking. 10,000 cracks on the lunar surface reveal by how much

  19-10-2026 21:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  The moon is shrinking, and scientists are narrowing in on exactly how much our natural satellite has dwindled over the years. The moon is thought to have formed from a violent collision between a massive object and our young Earth roughly 4.5 billion years ago, and its interior is still gradually cooling off from this ancient collision. As it cools, the moon contracts, leading to a long, slow shrinking process. Now, in a new study, scientists think that they have figured out how much smaller the
  
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• 'They're kind of goth': NASA spacecraft gives mysterious brown dwarfs a close-up

  19-10-2026 17:06 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Using NASA’s SPHEREx spacecraft, astronomers have studied a host of "failed stars," also known as brown dwarfs. These strange cosmic bodies straddle the line between planets and stars, possessing a mass between 13 and 80 times that of Jupiter (0.013 to 0.08 times the mass of the sun). They get the nickname failed stars because they form like stars from collapsing clouds of gas and dust but fail to gather enough mass to trigger the fusion of hydrogen to helium in their cores, the process th
  
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• Elephant Island is an icy sight from orbit | Space photo of the day for Oct. 19, 2026

  19-10-2026 16:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Ice floats by in West Antarctica as winter comes to an end in the Southern Hemisphere.(Image credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA)Antarctica is a magnificent sight, and that beauty is visible all the way from space. What is it?Orbiting planet Earth, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission captured a close-up of West Antarctica. Winter is ending in the Southern Hemisphere, meaning this is the peak of icy weather and sea ice in the Arc
  
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• Did a giant object collide with Earth to form the moon?

  19-10-2026 14:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  For as long as humans have watched the night sky, we have wondered about the moon, pondering everything from its alien appearance to its influence over phenomena on Earth such as ocean tides, climate stability, and even the natural rhythms of many organisms.Among the many questions we have about Earth's lone natural satellite, one remains preeminent: what are the moon's origins, and how long has it orbited Earth?Today, the leading theory among astronomers is that deep in our planet's past &mdash
  
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• Watch Japan launch a bold sample-return mission to Mars moon Phobos today

  19-10-2026 12:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Japan will launch an epic mission to Mars today (Oct. 19), and you can watch the action live.The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is scheduled to lift off atop an H3 rocket from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center today at 3:41 p.m. EDT (1941 GMT; 4:41 a.m. on Oct. 20 local Japan time).You can watch it live via the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Coverage will begin at 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT). An artist’s concept of JAXA’s MMX spacecraft during its Mars orbit insertio
  
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• Japan launching bold sample-return mission to Mars moon Phobos today: Watch it live

  19-10-2026 12:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Japan will launch an epic mission to Mars today (Oct. 19), and you can watch the action live.The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission is scheduled to lift off atop an H3 rocket from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center today at 3:41 p.m. EDT (1941 GMT; 4:41 a.m. on Oct. 20 local Japan time).You can watch it live via the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Coverage will begin at 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT). An artist’s concept of JAXA’s MMX spacecraft during its Mars orbit insertio
  
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