Astronomy news

• On this day in space! Oct. 23, 2007: NASA launches Harmony module to ISS on STS-120 space shuttle mission

  23-10-2026 22:47 via Latest from Space.com
  
  On October 23, 2007, the space shuttle Discovery launched the Harmony module to the International Space Station. The Harmony module is a utility hub 14 feet wide and 24 feet long, or about the length of a minibus. It joins the European Space Agency's Columbus module and Japan's Kibo laboratory and serves as the crew quarters for the American astronauts. Once it was installed, the space station grew from about the size of a three-bedroom house to something more like a five-bedroom house. When ast
  
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• Halley's Comet dazzles from afar in spectacular astrophoto of Orionid meteor shower

  23-10-2026 20:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Tim McCollum captured a stunning view of Orionid meteors in the early hours of Oct. 21. (Image credit: Tim McCollum)Astrophotographer Tim McCollum captured a spectacular view of Orionid meteors sharing the night sky with a host of deep sky wonders on Oct. 21, as the annual shooting star display ramped up to peak activity. Comet 1P/Halley may be over 3 billion miles (4.8 kilometers) from Earth, but that didn't stop it from putting on a breathtaking display earlier this week, as particles cast off
  
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• Never finishing the fight: Where did Xbox go wrong with Halo?

  23-10-2026 18:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Halo: Campaign Evolved was Xbox’s second attempt at refreshing the 2001 sci-fi FPS classic, and it is perfectly fine. A cromulent remake, if ever there was one, but it’s hardly a franchise-saver, especially as Xbox looks to rethink its studio structure and approach to renowned IPs like Halo or Gears of War.Halo hasn’t been the same since original developer Bungie — now owned by Sony and working on Destiny and Marathon — departed, leaving 343 Industries (now Halo Studios) to guide the f
  
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• Private Griffin moon lander gets put to the test | Space photo of the day for Oct. 23, 2026

  23-10-2026 16:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  The Griffin-1 lunar lander undergoes testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)The robotic Griffin lunar lander has passed a host of critical tests ahead of its first-ever moon mission, which is scheduled to launch later this year. What is it? At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, Voyager Technologies' Griffin Mission One (or Griffin-1) lunar lander has gone through an absolute gauntlet of tests. The spacecraft was put through environmental
  
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• 'Stupendously large black holes' aren't a major component of dark matter, study finds

  23-10-2026 14:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Black holes more massive than entire galaxies are not a major component of the mysterious dark matter that's thought to make up most of the matter in the cosmos, a new study finds.For decades, to explain why galaxies do not spin apart at the speeds at which they whirl, scientists have suggested the existence of an unseen substance known as dark matter, whose gravitational pull helps keep galaxies together. Dark matter is thought to make up about five-sixths of all matter in the universe. Much re
  
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• Rocket Lab launches 3 'Hawk' satellites to orbit to gather signals intelligence (video)

  23-10-2026 12:57 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Rocket Lab launched a trio of private signals-intelligence satellites to orbit today (Oct. 23).The mission lifted off aboard an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand launch site today at 3:11 a.m. EDT (0711 GMT; 8:11 p.m. local time in New Zealand).The Electron carried three "Hawk" satellites for the Virginia-based company HawkEye 360, which explains the name Rocket Lab gave to the mission: "We're Not Hawking Around." Rocket Lab launched a trio of private signals-intelligence satellite
  
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• Rocket Lab launches 3 'Hawk' satellites to orbit to gather signals intelligence

  23-10-2026 12:57 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Rocket Lab launched a trio of private signals-intelligence satellites to orbit today (Oct. 23).The mission lifted off aboard an Electron rocket from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand launch site today at 3:11 a.m. EDT (0711 GMT; 8:11 p.m. local time in New Zealand).The Electron carried three "Hawk" satellites for the Virginia-based company HawkEye 360, which explains the name Rocket Lab gave to the mission: "We're Not Hawking Around." If all goes according to plan, the three Hawks will be deployed into
  
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• Space debris: Are we on track for true sustainability? (op-ed)

  23-10-2026 12:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  David Zamora is the chairman of the Space Data Association. He contributed this article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.The commercialization of space is well underway, and as a result, Earth’s orbit is becoming ever more congested. The current number of active satellites in orbit stands at around 16,000, according to the European Space Agency( ESA), and this number is expected to jump close to 60,000 by 2035, Novaspace projects. While it’s not always given the recognition
  
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• Europe's Space Rider vehicle comes crashing down during drop test

  23-10-2026 00:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Europe has dropped the ball on the prototype for its first reusable spacecraft. Or, rather, the prototype itself was dropped — on purpose — but the outcome of its fall was not what engineers had hoped for. The incident occurred during an Oct. 6 drop test of the full-scale Space Rider model, from the European Space Agency (ESA). The robotic vehicle's initial drogue parachute deployed successfully, but its main parafoil detached during deployment, leaving the prototype unable to slow its desce
  
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