Astronomy news

• Mars dust is toxic. How will future astronauts deal with it?

  05-08-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  Planting boots on Mars is hard enough. But getting "breathing room" on the Red Planet without inhaling toxic dust is yet another issue.Given NASA's plans to eventually put astronauts on the Red Planet, the agency assembled a Martian Dust Limit Working Group earlier this year to review what's known and unknown about the toxicological hazard to human crews from exposure to Mars dust. The ultimate goal was to establish a permissible exposure limit for humans on the Red Planet by compiling a compreh
  
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• 09 Aug 2026 (3 days away): Conjunction of Mars and Ceres

  06-08-2026 04:24 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mars and Ceres share the same right ascension, at a separation of 1°25'.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (2 minutes ago): Moon at Last Quarter

  06-08-2026 04:21 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (33 minutes away): Moon at Last Quarter

  06-08-2026 03:48 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (1 hour away): Moon at Last Quarter

  06-08-2026 02:31 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (2 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  06-08-2026 01:58 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 09 Aug 2026 (3 days away): Conjunction of the Moon and Mars

  06-08-2026 01:20 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Mars share the same right ascension, at a separation of 4°24'.
  
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• 09 Aug 2026 (3 days away): Close approach of the Moon and Mars

  06-08-2026 01:20 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Mars pass close to each other.
  
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• 08 Aug 2026 (2 days away): Lunar occultation of Beta Tauri

  06-08-2026 01:20 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Beta Tauri (Elnath), creating a lunar occultation visible from countries and territories including Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Solomon Islands amongst others.
  
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• 07 Aug 2026 (Tomorrow): Close approach of the Moon and M45

  06-08-2026 01:20 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and M45 pass close to each other.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (Today): Mercury at highest altitude in morning sky

  06-08-2026 01:20 via in-the-sky.org
  
  Mercury is bright and well placed in the dawn sky.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (3 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  06-08-2026 00:43 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (4 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 23:29 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 'Warhammer 40,000' animated series coming to Prime Video, with Henry Cavill onboard as executive producer

  05-08-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  It's always the way; you wait 40,000 years for a Warhammer series from Amazon Prime Video, and then two come along at once.Spinning off of Prime Video's animated video game-based anthology, "Secret Level," a new "Warhammer 40,000" animated series is marching down the creative pipeline. This spin-off series is spawned from "Secret Level's" "Warhammer 40,000" episode titled "And They Shall Know No Fear," which debuted in December of 2024. The show doesn't have a name yet, but we know it's coming c
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (5 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 22:22 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (6 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 21:43 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• The 'Dark Matter' season 2 trailer is here, and it looks like Apple TV has another sci-fi hit on its hands

  05-08-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  You might think you're done with the multiverse, but the multiverse is not done with you, as Apple TV preps the next season of its mind-bending sci-fi series, "Dark Matter."Adapted from New York Times bestselling novelist Blake Crouch's 2016 novel of the same name, "Dark Matter" is another stellar series from the streaming platform that's become the go-to destination for premium science fiction content with hit shows "Foundation," "Silo," "For All Mankind," "Star City," "Invasion," "Pluribus," "
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (7 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 20:30 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• A SpaceX rocket just crashed into the moon. Now, the race is on to get a look at the impact site

  05-08-2026 19:43 via space.com
  
  Early this morning, a SpaceX rocket slammed into the moon at seven times the speed of sound. Now, lunar orbiters are trying to get a look at the aftermath.This morning (Aug. 5) at about 2:35 a.m. EDT (0635 GMT), the upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket crashed into the moon. To dissect what exactly happened, scientists are looking for imagery of the crash site, with the help of a couple of moon probes."NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and NASA’s ShadowCam instrument on the Kore
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (8 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 19:23 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (9 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 18:48 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• Astronomers witness the strange final moments of a massive star's supernova death (video)

  05-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomers have captured the death of a massive star from its first faint flash of X-rays, revealing an unusual explosion that may bridge the gap between ordinary supernovas and more extreme, gamma-ray-burst-producing stellar explosionsThe event began in March 2026, when China's Einstein Probe spacecraft detected a brief X-ray flash from a galaxy about 500 million light-years away. Follow-up observations identified the source, initially designated EP260321a and later named supernova SN 2026gzf,
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (10 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 17:31 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (11 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 16:30 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• Curiosity rover spots mysterious honeycombs on Mars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 5, 2026

  05-08-2026 16:10 via space.com
  
  A close-up of the polygon fractures discovered by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover highlights their honeycomb-like textures. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)NASA's Curiosity Mars rover spotted surprising shapes in the Red Planet soil while exploring a large valley.What is it?These images were captured on June 19 and 20, 2026, or the 4,930th and 4,931st Martian days of Curiosity's mission. They show honeycomb-like patterns referred to as "polygonal fractures" found in a valley on Mars known as Va
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 5, 2011: NASA's Juno spacecraft launches to Jupiter

  05-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 5, 2011, NASA launched the Juno spacecraft on a mission to study Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system.The robotic spacecraft lifted off on an Atlas V rocket from what is now Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and spent the next five years making the 1.74-billion-mile trek to Jupiter.Next Stop, Jupiter! Launch Photos of NASA's Juno MissionSince it arrived in Jupiter's orbit in 2016, the Juno spacecraft has taken the most amazing photos of Jupiter anyone has ever seen!
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (12 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 15:51 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (13 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 14:38 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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• 'The Ninth Jedi' review: This anime spin-off abandons 'Star Wars' canon, and it's all the stronger for it

  05-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi may not be the Star Wars TV show you were looking for, but after having watched its entire first season, I can confidently say it's something the franchise desperately needed.With several new Star Wars movies on the horizon without a cohesive plan in sight and a surprising lack of new live-action Disney+ series beyond Ahsoka Season 2, it seems like the galaxy far, far away's future looks brighter in animation. Shows like The Bad Batch and Maul &
  
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• 06 Aug 2026 (14 hours away): Moon at Last Quarter

  05-08-2026 13:26 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon reaches last quarter phase – rising in the east at around midnight and appearing high in the sky by sunrise.
  
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