Astronomy news

• 'Transformers: The Movie' at 40: the cartoon spin-off that traumatized a generation of kids

  08-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Fans who'd grown up on the original "Star Wars" trilogy were adults when they went through the ordeal of Han, Luke and Leia dying on screen. If tears were shed then, however, spare a thought for the kids who'd queued to watch "Transformers: The Movie" back in 1986, only to see many of their heroes expiring in the cartoon spin-off's opening act. If you can have a bloodbath of sentient machines, this was it, as robots in disguise met their maker at an alarming rate. Ironhide? Dead. Ratchet? No mor
  
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• This Week In Space podcast: Episode 222 — How to Invade Earth in 22 Easy Steps

  08-08-2026 17:58 via space.com
  
  On Episode 222 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by space writer Rich Edwards to discuss the best ways to repel space invaders.We've all seen the movies... the aliens come to Earth, the aliensovercome the inferior humans, and the aliens fall prey to something dumbthey overlooked, like microbes, Windows 95, or most absurdly, water.From the 1950s through yesterday, some of the best movies we've seenwere about the invasion of our planet. They can be clever, scary, oreven do
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 8, 1977: Soviet Union's Salyut 5 reconnaissance space station burns up in Earth's atmosphere

  08-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 8, 1977, the Salyut 5 space station fell out of space and burned up in Earth's atmosphere.Salyut 5 was a Soviet space station and part of the highly-secretive Almaz military space station program. It launched in 1976 and housed two crew of cosmonauts as they conducted military experiments and other scientific research in orbit. Originally, four crewed missions were supposed to go to Salyut 5. However, the third crew was unable to dock their spacecraft and had to return home.The fourth mi
  
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• Don't miss the crescent moon shine close to the red light of Mars before dawn on Aug. 9

  08-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  Early risers will catch a spectacular sight in the predawn hours of Aug. 9, as the slender crescent moon shines close to the red light of Mars among the stars of the constellation Taurus.The 17%-lit crescent moon will rise around four hours before sunrise, or shortly after 2 a.m. for viewers in New York. The Red Planet will be visible as a steady crimson light less than 5 degrees to the lower right of the moon — close enough to share the field of view of a pair of 10x50 binoculars. Both Ma
  
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• Yes, North America gets a solar eclipse on Aug. 12. Here's where and when to see it

  08-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  It's hardly a "Great American Eclipse," but on Aug. 12, 2026, some parts of the North American continent will see a partial solar eclipse. Will it be as impressive as on April 8, 2024, when totality visited Mexico, 15 U.S. states and six provinces in Canada? No, yet in some parts of the U.S. and Canada, astronomers will be out in force to capture a significant chunk of the sun as it is obscured by the new moon. The spotlight may be on the total solar eclipse in Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, but
  
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• Sky-Watcher SolarQuest mount head review

  08-08-2026 11:00 via space.com
  
  SpecificationsResolution: 2,073,600 counts/rev; 0.625 arc-secondSlewing speeds: 16x and 1200xPayload capacity: 8.8 lbs/4kgDovetail saddle: 45mm Vixen-styleControls: Power button and 8-way sliding switchPower: 8x AA batteries (not supplied)/external 12V DC via adaptor panelMount head weight: 2.9 lbs/1.3kgTotal weight with optional tripod: 8.8 lbs/4.05kgTripod: 31.7-59.8 inches/80.5-152cm adjustable aluminum tripod with accessory tray, bubble level and 3/8-inch screw fittingFinding the sun sounds
  
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