Astronomy news

• The brightest planets in May's night sky: How and when to see them

  01-05-2022 13:08 via space.com
  
  Our May night sky viewing guide tells you which planets are visible in May's night sky and how you can see them.
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (3 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 22:30 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
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• Astronomers discover landslides on Pluto large enough to bury entire cities on Earth

  16-07-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  The aftermath of landslides have been found in images of Pluto's surface taken when the New Horizons mission flew past the dwarf planet in 2015. The landslides are evidence that the icy world is still active, albeit on geological timescales.A team led by geologist Marco Emanuele Discenza pored over images taken by New Horizons' LORRI (Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager) instrument, which was capable of detecting surface features as small as 984 feet (300 meters). They found convincing evidence for
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (4 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 21:48 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
  Read more

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• 17 Jul 2026 (20 hours away): Conjunction of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 21:48 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus share the same right ascension, at a separation of 2°01'.
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (18 hours away): Close approach of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 21:48 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus pass close to each other.
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (5 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 20:57 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
  Read more

• 17 Jul 2026 (21 hours away): Conjunction of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 20:57 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus share the same right ascension, at a separation of 2°01'.
  
  Read more

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• 17 Jul 2026 (19 hours away): Close approach of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 20:57 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus pass close to each other.
  
  Read more

• 17 Jul 2026 (6 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 20:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
  Read more

• 17 Jul 2026 (22 hours away): Conjunction of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 20:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus share the same right ascension, at a separation of 2°01'.
  
  Read more

• 17 Jul 2026 (20 hours away): Close approach of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 20:08 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus pass close to each other.
  
  Read more

• Astronomers discover 1st atmosphere around a rocky Earth-like planet in the habitable zone

  16-07-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  This might be the closest we've gotten to finding a planet that could support life: Astronomers have detected an atmosphere around an Earth-like, rocky planet orbiting in the habitable zone around its star, a monumental first. The rocky planet, called LHS 1140 b, is 48-light-years away from Earth and according to this new research, it has an atmosphere that contains helium. It is also the first rocky planet to have an atmosphere be detected directly. This is the first rocky planet to be found wi
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (21 hours away): Close approach of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 19:18 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus pass close to each other.
  
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• SpaceX stacks massive Starship rocket ahead of today's Flight 13 test launch (video)

  16-07-2026 19:07 via space.com
  
  Starship is about to take to the skies on a bold new test flight of the world's most powerful rocket. After several days of testing, SpaceX has stacked and readied its massive Starship rocket for its 13th test flight. Liftoff is scheduled to occur today (July 16) during a 90-minute launch window that opens at 6:45 p.m. EDT (2245 GMT), from pad 2 at SpaceX's facility in Starbase, Texas.Both stages had been in their respective Starbase hangars for final checkouts following successful engine tests.
  
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• An animated sci-fi rom-com wasn't on our wish list, but we'll be damned if 'Not Alone' doesn't look sweet, stylish, and hilarious

  16-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  After cracking into the animation world with family-friendly animated features from the "Despicable Me " and "Minions" franchise, "The Lorax," and the musical menagerie of "Sing," Illumination is finally setting their sights on outer space with next year's "Not Alone.""Not Alone" isn’t due to arrive in theaters until Apr. 16, 2027 but this sneak peek — accompanied by David Bowie's somber 1969 anthem "Space Oddity" — sets a sweet tone telling the lively tale of an introverted ro
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (7 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 18:33 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
  Read more

• 17 Jul 2026 (23 hours away): Conjunction of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 18:33 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus share the same right ascension, at a separation of 2°01'.
  
  Read more

• Stephen Hawking's famous 'leaky' black hole theory gets much-needed update

  16-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  There may be an easier way to describe how black holes "leak" energy than the theory Stephen Hawking proposed — and the newly suggested process is similar to how we describe a boiling pot of water. This simple (well, relatively simple) description could be used to model black holes in many situations such as during their formation, mergers with other black holes, eventual evaporation and even explosive death.In the 1970s, legendary theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking wrote a letter to th
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (8 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 17:49 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
  Read more

• 17 Jul 2026 (22 hours away): Close approach of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 17:49 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus pass close to each other.
  
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• After a lifetime of waiting, I'll finally witness a total solar eclipse next month on Aug. 12

  16-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 12, I get to fulfil a lifelong ambition. I'll take a flight to Madrid and travel northwest to the city of Valladolid by rail, before striking out for Valoria la Buena — a charming town in central Spain with a population of less than 1,000.There, I'll bear witness to one of the most spectacular naked eye shows that the solar system has to offer: a total solar eclipse. My first total solar eclipse.Don't get me wrong. I've been obsessed with eclipses my entire life. I just haven't fou
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (9 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 16:54 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
  Read more

• 17 Jul 2026 (23 hours away): Close approach of the Moon and Venus

  16-07-2026 16:54 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon and Venus pass close to each other.
  
  Read more

• 17 Jul 2026 (10 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 16:01 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
  Read more

• A laser disappears into the Milky Way's heart | Space photo of the day for July 16, 2026

  16-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  The Gemini South Observatory shoots out a beam of light. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Horálek)A laser star guide beams up from the Gemini South Observatory and into the Milky Way on Cerro Pachón, a mountain in central Chile. What is it? The Gemini South Observatory, located in Chile, is one of two Gemini Observatories with the other located in Hawaii (named Gemini North, or 'Alopeke) on the volcano Mauna Kea. Each Gemini Observatory has a 26.6
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (11 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 14:30 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
  Read more

• Watch SpaceX launch 21 'data transport' satellites for US military today

  16-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Starship won't be the only SpaceX rocket flying today, if all goes according to plan.A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base today (July 16), carrying 21 satellites for the U.S. military's advanced new "Tranche 1 Transport Layer" (T1TL) constellation to orbit.Liftoff will take place during a 22-minute window that opens at 4:22 p.m. EDT (2022 GMT; 1:22 p.m. local California time). You can watch it live via SpaceX beginning about 10 minutes before lau
  
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• Is dark matter 'tuned in' to a hidden dimension?

  16-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Two major mysteries in science, the nature of dark matter and the possible existence of higher dimensions, could be linked, new research suggests. The team behind a new study proposes that dark matter may be so strange and ghost-like because it is in tune with a fifth dimension.When scientists discuss "extra dimensions," they aren't talking about other universes in which another evil version of you exists (and with a beard). Instead, they refer to dimensions that could be "curled up" with realit
  
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• 17 Jul 2026 (12 hours away): Lunar occultation of Regulus

  16-07-2026 13:37 via in-the-sky.org
  
  The Moon will pass in front of Regulus (Alpha Leonis) creating a lunar occultation, though it will open be visible only at sea.
  
  Read more

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