Astronomy news

• 28 Aug 2026 (10 hours away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 05:24 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• The night we nearly saw a 'blood moon' (and why I love near-misses in astronomy)

  28-08-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  Stargazers have trigger words — total, bright, peak, maximum, best. But observing the sky is often more interesting when something seems neither one thing nor the other.A case in point was the almost-total partial lunar eclipse we just witnessed. From where I watched, early on Aug. 28, Earth's shadow reached its maximum across the lunar surface, covering 96.2% of it, as the moon began to sink in the west. A thin part of the lunar surface remained outside the darkest part of Earth's shadow,
  
  Read more

• 'It's going to be beautiful': President Trump signs order to create US Space Academy

  28-08-2026 20:44 via space.com
  
  The United States will soon have a new service academy.President Donald Trump today (Aug. 28) signed an executive order creating the U.S. Space Academy, an institution of higher learning that will train students for a career studying, exploring, exploiting or helping to protect the final frontier. "It'll serve both the United States Space Force as well as NASA and the civilian spaceflight industry, and it'll attract, train and graduate the very very best of our nation," Trump said today during a
  
  Read more

• 'Silo' season 3: Common and Alexandria Riley talk shocking truths and writers tearing their on-screen marriage apart (interview)

  28-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Warning: Potential "Silo" Spoilers Ahead! Get back in the Silo if you aren't up to date!Apple TV's "Silo" season 3 is nearing its final two episodes, depicting the Before Times’ doomsday silo project as well as the shakeup inside Silo 18 with Juliette’s memory returning. The ongoing tempest includes Camille Sims (Alexandria Riley) having to prevent a Safeguard extermination as the new Head of IT this year, and the revelation of ex-security chief Robert Sims (Common) regarding Bernard
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Relive private Chinese rocket's explosive 1st landing attempt (video)

  28-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  LandSpace's first attempt to land a rocket was quite a spectacle, as newly released video footage reminds us.The Beijing-based company's Zhuque-3 launcher reached orbit successfully during its debut mission on Dec. 3, 2025 — quite a feat for any rocket.But Zhuque-3 couldn't pull off the twofer. Its first stage experienced problems during the latter stages of its return to Earth, ultimately exploding in a violent fireball near its designated landing pad.The first stage of LandSpace's first
  
  Read more

• On Cloud 9: Have astronomers discovered the first starless galaxy?

  28-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Scientists are closer than ever before to confirming that a galaxy known as "Cloud 9" is the first "starless" or "failed" galaxy ever discovered by humanity. A starless galaxy is one with virtually no stars despite possessing a wealth of gas and dust that would normally serve as the building blocks of stars. The dominant element of a starless galaxy would be dark matter, the mysterious "stuff" that remains effectively invisible because it doesn't interact with light.
  Located 14 million light-yea
  
  Read more

• SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launching NASA's Roman Space Telescope on Aug. 30: How to watch it live

  28-08-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  NASA's next great space observatory is about to lift off, and you can watch it live.The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday (Aug. 30) at 7:26 a.m. EDT (1126 GMT).You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, beginning at 6:20 a.m. EDT (1020 GMT). You don't have to wait that long for a Roman fix, actually; there's stuff to watch on Saturday (Aug. 29) as well. Here's a rundown
  
  Read more

• 04 Sep 2026 (7 days away): Venus at aphelion

  28-08-2026 16:31 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Venus passes the furthest point along its orbit from the Sun.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• On this day in space! Aug. 28, 1993: Galileo spacecraft flies by asteroid Ida on the way to Jupiter only to find a tiny moon!

  28-08-2026 16:25 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 28, 1993, NASA's Galileo spacecraft flew by the asteroid Ida while on its way to Jupiter. Galileo was the first spacecraft to fly by an asteroid in the asteroid belt. Ida was actually the second one it visited after another flyby of the asteroid Gaspra in 1991. Galileo whizzed by asteroid Ida going almost 28,000 mph and came within 1,500 miles of the asteroid's surface. During the encounter, Galileo actually discovered a tiny moon orbiting Ida! This was the first confirmed satellite of a
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (8 minutes ago): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 16:22 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (57 minutes ago): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 16:22 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (4 hours ago): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 16:22 via in-the-sky.org
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (32 minutes ago): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 16:22 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (3 hours ago): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 16:22 via in-the-sky.org
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (2 hours ago): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 16:22 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (1 hour ago): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 16:22 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (14 minutes away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 16:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• Curiosity climbs to new heights on Mars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 28, 2026

  28-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  A photograph taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the floor of Gale Crater, on Aug. 1 and Aug. 2, 2026, the 4,972nd and 4,973rd Martian days, or sols, of the rover's mission. The photo captures a valley on the side of Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer) mountain the rover has been climbing since 2014. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)One of NASA's intrepid Mars rovers has notched another impressive milestone during its exploration of the Red Planet.What is it?NASA's Curiosity Mar
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (36 minutes away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 15:45 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (58 minutes away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 15:23 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (1 hour away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 14:37 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• Watch President Trump give Artemis II moon astronauts the Congressional Space Medal of Honor today

  28-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Four astronauts will receive the United States' highest space honor today (Aug. 28), and you can watch it live.President Donald Trump will give the astronauts of NASA's Artemis II moon mission the Congressional Space Medal of Honor today, during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston that starts at 11:00 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT). NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will also participate in the event. You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA.The Artemis II astronauts pose with th
  
  Read more

• President Trump gives Artemis II moon astronauts the Congressional Space Medal of Honor

  28-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Four astronauts just received the United States' highest space honor.President Donald Trump gave the astronauts of NASA's Artemis II moon mission the Congressional Space Medal of Honor today (Aug. 28) during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston."This is a very rare thing. It's for courageous people, brilliant people, bestowed on astronauts who have distinguished themselves with exceptional service to the nation and all of mankind," Trump said during the event.The Artemis II astronauts g
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (2 hours away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 13:24 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (3 hours away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 12:38 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• Partial lunar eclipse stuns skywatchers with an ‘almost blood moon’. Here are the best photos

  28-08-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  A gorgeous partial lunar eclipse delighted stargazers overnight on Aug. 27-28, as Earth's shadow darkened the full "Sturgeon Moon" in an impressive display of orbital mechanics, and we've got the photos to prove it!The lunar eclipse occurred as Earth passed between the sun and the moon, granting viewers a spectacular view of our planet's deep umbral shadow as it advanced to cover 96% of the lunar disk, leaving a tiny crescent exposed to direct sunlight. Photographers were ready and waiting to ca
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (4 hours away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 11:26 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (5 hours away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 10:33 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (6 hours away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 09:26 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (7 hours away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  28-08-2026 08:25 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Astronomy on Twitter!