Astronomy news

• Scientists spot 4 superdense stellar corpses hiding behind their red dwarf companions

  14-07-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomers have spotted four dead star white dwarf stars playing a game of cosmic hide-and-seek, all four of which were hiding in the glares of red dwarf companion stars. This marks the first detection of white dwarfs existing in double star systems in our cosmic backyard. The white dwarfs are all located within around 65 light-years of Earth, and one of them is number nine in the top 10 closest white dwarfs to the solar system.
  White dwarfs are the type of stellar remnants left behind when sta
  
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• The 1st of 10,000 'missing' black holes in the Omega Centauri star cluster has been found by the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes

  14-07-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  The first of 10,000 missing black holes in the Omega Centauri globular cluster has been found thanks to teamwork by the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.The two observatories discovered the black hole after watching a star orbiting around something massive but dark, and which therefore could not be seen. The Hubble data ran from 2003 to 2023, and the James Webb Space Telescope picked up after that to help refine the measurements. Astronomers used the space telescopes to focus on a particul
  
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• 'Once Upon a Time in Space': How to watch PBS's out-of-this-world astronaut documentary

  14-07-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  As our planet revels in the recent achievements of this spring’s Artemis 2 mission and its four astronaut crew members, a new four-part PBS documentary series takes a scrutinizing look at space exploration and its inherent perils and promises. "Once Upon a Time in Space" will be available to watch on PBS (and the PBS app) starting on July 14, 2026 (9pm ET).Directed by James Bluemel and his filmmaking team — the crew behind the award-winning "Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland" and
  
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• 1st-ever X-rays in space offer hope for possible patients headed to the moon

  14-07-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  A miniature X-ray machine is set to transform astronauts' health prospects following a successful test in orbit. As a bonus, as well as checking for broken bones on the moon, the technology could also be distributed to small towns and villages in rural areas to provide enhanced medical care far from major hospitals.For much of the Space Age, astronauts have only had access to ultrasound machines as tools to diagnose injuries. Unlike ultrasound, which requires a medium through which sound waves c
  
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• This cosmic 'lighthouse' is blazing a magnetic trail through the Milky Way

  14-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomers have, for the first time, directly mapped the magnetic field surrounding an unusual "lighthouse" pulsar, revealing an invisible cosmic highway that channels particles blasted from the rapidly spinning stellar remnant.Using NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission, researchers measured the magnetic field around the pulsar PSR J1101−6101 — nicknamed the "Lighthouse"— and confirmed a long-standing prediction that its high-energy particles stream along m
  
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• Honeycomb structures spotted on Mars | Space photo of the day for July 14, 2026

  14-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  NASA's Mars rover Curiosity spotted these "honeycomb" structures on Mars.(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)NASA's Curiosity rover has spotted a strange honeycomb texture on the surface of Mars. But what is it? What is it? Almost 14 years since landing on the Red Planet, Curiosity is still hard at work exploring. And in new observations, Curiosity has revealed an image that is certainly ... peculiar. Curiosity went to get a closer look at an area first observed from Mars orbit, and found what
  
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• The biggest skywatching day of 2026 is coming. Here's what you'll see in North America and Europe

  14-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Sometimes weeks go by without anything notable happening in the sky. Then along comes something spectacular, like a total solar eclipse, the peak of a major meteor shower or a bright planet reaching a landmark moment in the evening sky. On Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, all three occur almost simultaneously. As a bonus, if you are under a dark sky for the Perseids, the Milky Way's bright central regions will stretch across the southern sky by around midnight.Exactly what you'll see of the eclipse dep
  
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• How to watch SpaceX launch Starship Flight 13 on July 16

  14-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX's next Starship test flight aims to achieve a major milestone by deploying 20 upgraded Starlink satellites, marking the first Starlink Version 3s to deploy in space..Liftoff for the spacecraft’s upcoming 13th test flight is scheduled for Wednesday, July 16, at 6:45 p.m. EDT (2245 GMT) from the company's Starbase facility in South Texas. You can watch the launch live on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, beginning 30 minutes before liftoff. Follow our Starship live blog for more mission
  
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• Moon landings could destroy evidence of life's origins

  14-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  Landing spacecraft on the moon could contaminate ancient clues about how life may have originated on Earth, a new study finds. As NASA continues on with its plan of sending astronauts back to the moon with the Artemis program, researchers are exploring what possible unintended consequences may arise from humans visiting the lunar surface. For instance, Artemis IV will land astronauts near the moon's south pole and the agency has future plans for building a longer-term moon base on the lunar surf
  
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