Astronomy news

• 22 Jun 2022 (10 hours away): Mercury at dichotomy

  22-06-2022 01:48 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury reaches half phase in the dawn sky.
  
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• SpaceX will attempt 1st-ever double Starship rocket catch on next test launch, a 'profound technology milestone,' Elon Musk says

  21-10-2026 00:29 via space.com
  
  SpaceX will soon notch a huge spaceflight milestone, if all goes according to plan.The company will try to catch both stages of its Starship megarocket during the vehicle's next test flight, which is targeted for next month, founder and CEO Elon Musk announced during SpaceX's quarter 3 (Q3) earnings call today (Oct. 20).If SpaceX succeeds, this "will be the first time that an orbital launch vehicle has been fully recovered," Musk said. "The only way that we can extend consciousness beyond Earth
  
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• On this day in space! Oct. 20, 1970: The Soviet Union launches last-ever Zond moon mission

  20-10-2026 22:59 via space.com
  
  On Oct. 20, 1970, the Soviet Union launched the Zond 8 spacecraft on a mission to the moon. This was the last mission in the Zond program.After the first three Zond missions explored Venus and Mars, the next ones were circumlunar missions that flew around the moon before returning to Earth. Although there was no crew on board, the Zond spacecraft was designed with cosmonauts in mind.The Zond missions served as test flights for the Soviet Union's plans to send cosmonauts to the moon. But those pl
  
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• Can’t make it to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art for the 'Star Wars' display? This is the companion book set you’re looking for!

  20-10-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  Taschen, purveyors of fine art and design special-edition books, have teamed up with George Lucas and his newly opened Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles to present a masterful two-volume catalog of the museum’s illuminating offerings. Housed in a sturdy slipcase, readers will discover a pair of lavishly illustrated volumes spanning 832 pages and tipping the scales at nearly 14 pounds. At $200 for the pair, it's not cheap, but look on the bright side; hoisting these illustrated t
  
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• Jeff Bezos is playing the long game with Blue Origin (op-ed)

  20-10-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Daniel Biedermann is a partner at NewSpace Capital. He contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.Jeff Bezos, the founder and former CEO of Amazon, recently said that Blue Origin, his space technology company, is likely to go public in the coming years. The announcement has (unsurprisingly) attracted considerable attention, not least because Bezos has spent more than two decades financing the company largely from his personal wealth. He has invested billions of d
  
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• A supercomputer is about to launch to the moon for the 1st time, aboard a rover named FLIP

  20-10-2026 19:42 via space.com
  
  HAWTHORNE, Calif. — A moon buggy carrying a history-making supercomputer is ready to launch to the lunar surface. And it's taking some inspiration from Mars. Later this year, Astrolab will launch its uncrewed moon rover FLIP to the lunar south pole as part of the Griffin Mission 1, or Griffin-1. The California company is one of two that NASA has selected to develop a drivable rover for the agency's Artemis program. On board FLIP will be Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE) Spaceborne Compute
  
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• A supercomputer is about to launch to the moon aboard a rover named FLIP

  20-10-2026 19:42 via space.com
  
  HAWTHORNE, Calif. — A moon buggy carrying a history-making supercomputer is ready to launch to the lunar surface. And it's taking some inspiration from Mars. Later this year, Astrolab will launch its uncrewed moon rover FLIP to the lunar south pole as part of the Griffin Mission 1, or Griffin-1. The California company is one of two that NASA has selected to develop a drivable rover for the agency's Artemis program. On board FLIP will be Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE) Spaceborne Compute
  
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• The view from the edge of a sparkling spiral galaxy | Space photo of the day for Oct. 20, 2026

  20-10-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  The spiral galaxy NGC 1827, as seen from the side by the Hubble Space Telescope.(Image credit: NASA, ESA, Michael Jones (California Institute of Technology); Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America))If you were approaching the edge of a spiral galaxy, arriving from afar through the cosmos, it might look something like this. What is it?In this new snapshot by the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), we can see the edge of the spiral galaxy NGC 18
  
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• Red light, white light: How to preserve your night vision while using stargazing apps

  20-10-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  The best stargazing apps can take your observation of the night sky to the next level, whether that's using augmented reality (AR mode) to identify stars or looking up the next lunar eclipse. However, the bright light emitted by smartphone screens can prevent your eyes from adjusting to the dark. If you're using one of the best telescopes, you'll want to preserve your night vision even more. Fortunately, there are ways to all but eliminate this problem.Why are bright screens bad for stargazing?T
  
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• Could a $200K bond for satellites paid before launch prevent a space junk disaster in orbit? Here's why some scientists think so

  20-10-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  The space around Earth is turning into a junkyard. Researchers think a refundable deposit scheme could force satellite operators to clean up their act before a tipping point is reached.For years, space sustainability experts have warned that the growing number of satellites in orbit and the quantity of dead metal left behind threatens to trigger a dangerous cascade of collisions known as the Kessler Syndrome. Predicted in the 1970s by NASA physicist Donald Kessler, this chain of orbital smashups
  
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• SpaceX launches its 'Starfall' return capsule for 2nd time ever (video)

  20-10-2026 13:16 via space.com
  
  SpaceX just launched its mysterious "Starfall" return capsule for the second time ever.Starfall was one of 32 payloads on the company's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission, which launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 7:04 a.m. EDT (1104 GMT) today (Oct. 20) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.SpaceX has been relatively quiet about Starfall, which debuted this past June on a Falcon 9 launch from the Cape.The payloads of SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission, seen in a prelaunch photo. The
  
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• SpaceX launches its 'Starfall' return capsule for 2nd time ever

  20-10-2026 13:16 via space.com
  
  SpaceX just launched its mysterious "Starfall" return capsule for the second time ever.Starfall was one of 32 payloads on the company's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission, which launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 7:04 a.m. EDT (1104 GMT) today (Oct. 20) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.SpaceX has been relatively quiet about Starfall, which debuted this past June on a Falcon 9 launch from the Cape.The payloads of SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission, seen in a prelaunch photo. The
  
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• NASA closes the book on epic OSIRIS-REx asteroid-sampling mission: 'I am immensely proud of what we did'

  20-10-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  On Sept. 30, NASA formally concluded OSIRIS-REx, the historic first U.S. mission to pluck a pristine piece of an asteroid and deliver it safely back to Earth.The van-sized OSIRIS-REx spacecraft — whose name is short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer — visited and sampled Bennu, an ancient space rock holding pristine remnants from the dawn of our solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago. Among those cosmic relics are raw orga
  
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• New 'Blade Runner 2099' trailer is a space fan's dream with sinister starships and strange exoplanets (video)

  20-10-2026 00:00 via space.com
  
  Cue the depressing rain, dark trench coats, and a dire dystopian dirge because the Blade Runner 2099 trailer is here!Cyberpunk is charging back in confident fashion with Prime Video's latest detour into the neon-drenched dystopia of humans and rogue replicants first introduced in director Sir Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" from 1982, then revisited in Denis Villeneuve's "Blade Runner 2049."Arriving Nov. 25, 2026, "Blade Runner 2099"'s plot turns the tables as resentful artificial beings are now t
  
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• The X-Files Lego set is a wonderful bit of 90s sci-fi nostalgia

  19-10-2026 22:00 via 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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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• Returning the first samples from a Martian moon: Inside the science of Japan's bold MMX mission to Mars

  18-10-2026 21:20 via space.com
  
  Japan's mission to Mars is one of the most ambitious in spaceflight history. It aims to become the first spacecraft to return to Earth from Mars orbit, carrying with it the first-ever samples from the Red Planet system.The mission, known as Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), is a first-of-its-kind endeavor to study the origin of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos. The robust undertaking includes a landing on Phobos to collect the samples — which will likely be the first from the Mars system to re
  
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• Returning samples from a Martian moon: Inside the science of Japan's bold MMX mission to Mars

  18-10-2026 21:20 via space.com
  
  Japan's mission to Mars is one of the most ambitious in spaceflight history. It aims to become the first spacecraft to return to Earth from Mars orbit, carrying with it the first-ever samples from the Red Planet system.The mission, known as Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), is a first-of-its-kind endeavor to study the origin of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos. The robust undertaking includes a landing on Phobos to collect the samples — which will likely be the first from the Mars system to re
  
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• Returning samples from a Mars moon: Inside the science of Japan's bold MMX mission

  18-10-2026 21:20 via space.com
  
  Japan's mission to Mars is one of the most ambitious in spaceflight history. It aims to become the first spacecraft to return to Earth from Mars orbit, carrying with it the first-ever samples from the Red Planet system.The mission, known as Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), is a first-of-its-kind endeavor to study the origin of Mars' moons Phobos and Deimos. The robust undertaking includes a landing on Phobos to collect the samples — which will likely be the first from the Mars system to re
  
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• Computer scientist Margaret Hamilton was a problem-solver for the ages (op-ed)

  18-10-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Dean Robbins is a journalist and children's author. He contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.The pioneering computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, who died on Sept. 30 at age 90, played a key role in putting astronauts on the moon. She was a problem-solver extraordinaire, and it all started in early childhood.Considering the name "daddy longlegs" unfair to female arachnids, young Margaret decided to call half of them "mommy longlegs." Wondering why the neighb
  
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• On this day in space! Oct. 18, 1963: France's Félicette Becomes the 1st Cat in Space! >^..^<

  18-10-2026 15:52 via space.com
  
  On Oct. 18, 1963, a cat went to space! Félicette was a French "catstronaut" who became the first and only feline to fly to space. While the U.S. and Soviet Union were busy launching primates, dogs and humans, the French decided to join the space race by launching a cat. Félicette, a stray tuxedo cat from the streets of Paris, was a substitute for another cat named Felix, who somehow escaped on launch day. So Félicette went where no cat had ever gone before. She boarded a Fre
  
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• Astronomers want your help finding 'missing' black holes in the Milky Way

  18-10-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomers estimate that our home galaxy, the Milky Way, has churned out more than 10 million black holes over its 13-billion-year history. Yet so far, they have found only 70.Now, a group of astronomers in the U.K. is trying to close that vast gap by enlisting the public. Their project, called Black Hole Hunters, is looking for volunteers with a computer and a few spare minutes to sift through troves of data gathered by a NASA space telescope. By flagging recognizable patterns that could point
  
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• 10 best places to see the 2027 total solar eclipse in Spain

  18-10-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  Spain is one of the easiest places in the world to experience the total solar eclipse on Aug. 2, 2027. The so-called "eclipse of the century" first makes landfall in Andalucía, where totality will last up to 4 minutes and 40 seconds during mid-morning, with the sun comfortably high at around 38-42 degrees above the horizon in the eastern sky. Excellent roads, plentiful accommodation and Málaga's international airport make this an obvious alternative to North Africa and the Middle E
  
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