Astronomy news

• Japan loses contact with Akatsuki, humanity's only active Venus probe

  30-05-2024 19:00 via space.com
  
  The Japanese space agency has lost contact with its intrepid Venus orbiter, Akatsuki.
  
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• 27 Aug 2026 (17 hours away): Mercury at superior solar conjunction

  27-08-2026 01:18 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun.
  
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• 31 Aug 2026 (4 days away): Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn

  27-08-2026 01:06 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Saturn share the same right ascension, at a separation of 7°02'.
  
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• 31 Aug 2026 (4 days away): Close approach of the Moon and Saturn

  27-08-2026 01:06 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Saturn pass close to each other.
  
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• 28 Aug 2026 (Tomorrow): Partial lunar eclipse

  27-08-2026 01:06 via in-the-sky.org
  
  There will be an eclipse of the Moon, visible from the Americas, Antarctica, Africa and Europe.
  
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• 28 Aug 2026 (Tomorrow): Full Moon

  27-08-2026 01:06 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches full phase and is visible for much of the night.
  
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• 28 Aug 2026 (Tomorrow): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  27-08-2026 01:06 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
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• 27 Aug 2026 (18 hours away): Mercury at superior solar conjunction

  27-08-2026 00:45 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun.
  
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• 27 Aug 2026 (19 hours away): Mercury at superior solar conjunction

  26-08-2026 23:51 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun.
  
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• From spy satellite to space telescope: The unlikely origins of NASA's Roman Space Telescope

  26-08-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  NASA took the guts out of old spy satellites to build the groundbreaking Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope – but how? And why? Years of hard work and anticipation are culminating as we sit on the verge of NASA's launch of its next-generation space telescope. Set to lift off this upcoming Sunday (Aug. 30) aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the Roman Space Telescope will push astronomy into the future, exploring the mysteries of dark energy, studying far-off worlds and expanding our unders
  
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• 27 Aug 2026 (20 hours away): Mercury at superior solar conjunction

  26-08-2026 22:28 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun.
  
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• 27 Aug 2026 (21 hours away): Mercury at superior solar conjunction

  26-08-2026 21:38 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun.
  
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• 27 Aug 2026 (22 hours away): Mercury at superior solar conjunction

  26-08-2026 20:16 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun.
  
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• Astronomers discover hot watery exoplanet destined to be swallowed by its star

  26-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomers have discovered a new ocean world outside the solar system that orbits extremely close to its parent star. This means that the extrasolar planet, or "exoplanet," is in hot water, both literally and figuratively. The exoplanet orbits the star HD 176071 located around 335 light-years away, and is about two and a half times the size of Earth, but has about eight and a half times the mass of our planet. That indicates to scientists that this planet is about 50% water. At a distance from
  
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• 27 Aug 2026 (23 hours away): Mercury at superior solar conjunction

  26-08-2026 19:27 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury passes around the far side of the Sun.
  
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• A black star in a false Spanish twilight: Here's the story of my 1st total solar eclipse

  26-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  I had never seen a total solar eclipse. That's a strange thing to admit for the skywatching writer at Space.com, but the truth is that the opportunity had simply never come up. When it comes to eclipses, I've always been beguiled by their beauty from afar. I've always hoped to see that strange moment when a black sun manifests to extend a glowing atmosphere into the fleeting twilight of totality. But after 37 years I hadn't once found myself in the path of the moon's inner shadow, and it was sta
  
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• Massive space mirrors could be 40 times brighter than the full moon, astronomers warn. 'It will be worse than big cities like London'

  26-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Each of the sun-reflecting mirrors proposed by U.S.-based startup Reflect Orbital will appear 40 times brighter than the full moon to observers standing within its beam on Earth, a study has found. The light pollution produced by each of those mirrors would completely wipe out stars from the sky for those underneath them, turning the starry night into an eerie twilight zone."It will be worse than big cities like London," Gaspar Bakos, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Princeton an
  
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• Chance gaze at old Hubble Telescope image leads to discovery that could reveal dark matter's secrets

  26-08-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  In late June 2023, on a morning train commuting to work in New York City, David Hendel was scrolling through a recent astronomy paper on his phone when a half-page image caught his eye. The image, captured a year earlier by the Hubble Space Telescope, showed UGC 9050-Dw1, a dwarf galaxy some 115 million light-years from Earth. It appeared as little more than a faint, diffuse smudge of bluish-white light that astronomers call an ultra-diffuse galaxy — a type of galaxy so sparsely populated
  
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• Heat shield under fire | Space photo of the day for Aug. 26, 2026

  26-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  At the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, researchers are testing the capsule heat shield for the Draco mission.(Image credit: ESA)Sometimes, to accomplish your mission, you have to start a few fires. What is it? At the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI) in Belgium, researchers put a heat shield to the test, blasting it with scorching-hot flames to see how it would handle the intense temperatures it would experience when reentering Earth's atmosphere. The heat shield is for Drac
  
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• 'Star Wars: Zero Company' review: XCOM-like strategically recaptures the magic of your favorite Star Wars films

  26-08-2026 15:17 via space.com
  
  Across the decades, Star Wars' secret sauce has always been a feeling – an intoxicating mixture of whimsy and adventure that’s nearly impossible to replicate. That’s especially true with the original film trilogy and the prequel film trilogy, even if the two have distinctly different flavors. The series forays into video games have seen a lot of success, but Zero Company does something I’ve never seen a Star Wars game do before: it seamlessly combines the two different er
  
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• SpaceX's final Falcon 9 Starlink launch from Florida creates gorgeous 'jellyfish' over New York City (video)

  26-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX's launch from Florida early this morning (Aug. 25) was memorable in more ways than one.The mission, which sent 29 Starlink internet satellites skyward from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:33 a.m. EDT (0933 GMT), was the 100th flight of 2026 for SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. It was also the 37th flight for this particular vehicle's first stage, setting a new reuse record for the company.And we learned a few hours after liftoff that it was also the last-ever Falcon 9 Starlink
  
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• SpaceX sends Starlink satellites to orbit on predawn launch from California

  26-08-2026 13:04 via space.com
  
  SpaceX launched 27 more of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit today (Aug. 26), in a predawn liftoff from California's central coast.The spacecraft rode atop a Falcon 9 rocket, which lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 5:35 a.m. EDT (0935 GMT; 2:35 a.m. local California time). The rocket's first stage came back to Earth as planned about 8.5 minutes later, landing atop the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 24th flight for this particu
  
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• Inside the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA's next great observatory

  26-08-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  NASA is just days away from launching its next major space observatory. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to lift off Aug. 30 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, heading for a spot roughly 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. Unlike the James Webb Space Telescope, which trades panoramic views for a narrow field of view to peer deeply into small, specific patches of the sky, Roman is built for scale. Its field of view is 100 times
  
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• Watch the partial lunar eclipse online Aug. 27-28 with these free livestreams

  26-08-2026 09:00 via space.com
  
  A spectacular partial lunar eclipse will darken 96% of the full "Sturgeon Moon" overnight on Aug. 27-28. Here's how you can watch the "almost blood moon eclipse" live online from the comfort of your home. Each phase of the partial lunar eclipse will occur simultaneously for everyone on the night side of Earth. But if clouds ruin your view — or the moon is below the horizon at the time of the eclipse — there's no need to fret!Read on to discover a selection of YouTube live streams tha
  
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• How to watch the Aug. 27-28 partial lunar eclipse live online

  26-08-2026 09:00 via space.com
  
  A spectacular partial lunar eclipse will darken 96% of the full "Sturgeon Moon" overnight on Aug. 27-28. Here's how you can watch the "almost blood moon eclipse" live online from the comfort of your home. Each phase of the partial lunar eclipse will occur simultaneously for everyone on the night side of Earth. But if clouds ruin your view — or the moon is below the horizon at the time of the eclipse — there's no need to fret!Read on to discover a selection of YouTube live streams tha
  
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• 31 Aug 2026 (5 days away): Conjunction of the Moon and Saturn

  26-08-2026 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Saturn share the same right ascension, at a separation of 7°02'.
  
  Read more

• 31 Aug 2026 (5 days away): Close approach of the Moon and Saturn

  26-08-2026 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Saturn pass close to each other.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (2 days away): Partial lunar eclipse

  26-08-2026 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  There will be an eclipse of the Moon, visible from the Americas, Antarctica, Africa and Europe.
  
  Read more

• 28 Aug 2026 (2 days away): Full Moon

  26-08-2026 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches full phase and is visible for much of the night.
  
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• 28 Aug 2026 (2 days away): Asteroid 9 Metis at opposition

  26-08-2026 01:05 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Asteroid 9 Metis makes closest approach to the Earth.
  
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