Astronomy news

• NASA tests advanced new Mars rover prototype in the California desert (video)

  05-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  A new rover prototype is teaching NASA scientists how to design robots that can think for themselves and navigate terrain that would leave old rovers stuck in the lunar or Martian dust.The Exploration Rover for Navigating Extreme Sloped Terrain (ERNEST), developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, recently completed a 16-mile (26 kilometers) trek through the desert in Southern California. The journey took more than 37 hours of driving time over the course of seven days, and ERNEST completed i
  
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• He-Man and beyond: 20 sci-fi cartoons (some iconic, some weird) that transported '80s and '90s kids to strange new worlds

  05-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Kids who grew up in the '80s and '90s couldn't enjoy the massive selection of live-action sci-fi TV available right now. With the biggest out-of-this-world adventures likely to be found in theaters, many of the most memorable — and undoubtedly the weirdest — concepts tended to be found in Saturday morning cartoons.This is a realm of exposition-heavy opening credits, relentlessly earwormy theme tunes, and heroes who, for no obvious reason, choose to hang out with cute/annoying [delete
  
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• 10 best Spanish cities to see the total solar eclipse 2026

  05-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  For the Aug. 12, 2026, total solar eclipse, Spain's great cities will be pulling in eclipse-chasers from across Europe, but not every famous destination is equally well placed. In Barcelona and Madrid, the eclipse is a near miss — dramatic on paper, yet ultimately disappointing. Madrid gets a 99.96% partial eclipse, which means no totality, so no corona, no twilight sky and no plunge in temperature. Cue a mass exodus from Spain's two biggest cities in search of totality.To experience a tot
  
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