Astronomy news

• A SpaceX rocket will crash into the moon next week, and scientists aren't sure what to expect

  30-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 5, Earth's moon is due for a human-made, high-speed impact from an identified flying object: a spent SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage. The event will lead to a literal "dust up" on the lunar landscape. That Falcon 9 upper stage is a leftover from the launch that sent Firefly's Blue Ghost-1 lander to the moon on Jan. 15, 2025. Onboard the same flight was the Hakuto-R Mission 2, called Resilience, a robotic lunar lander developed by the Japanese company ispace.And according to a new study by an
  
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• HBO's 'Lanterns' teases shape-shifting Manhunters: 'The most dangerous beings to ever exist in the galaxy' (video)

  30-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Trailers and teasers for HBO’s upcoming "Lanterns" series have been suspiciously devoid of much outer space footage for the intergalactic cops known as the Green Lanterns, but that's all history now with this exhilarating new preview. Beware the power of this illuminating peek that not only delivers generous doses of Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) mentoring his young apprentice, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), but also tosses in cool shots above an alien planet, a prison world, and what could be
  
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• Satellites spy penguin poop on Danger Islands | Space photo of the day for July 30, 2026

  30-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  Pieces of sea ice drift near Antarctica's Danger Islands in this image, acquired on Jan. 22, 2023, by the Landsat 8 satellite. Several of the islands are stained pink by guano from Adélie penguins with a krill-rich diet. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison)The diets of penguins on Antarctica's Danger Islands can be seen from space. At least indirectly.Using satellite images captured by the Landsat 8 spacecraft operated by NASA and the United States Geological Surve
  
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• Pink penguin poop on the Danger Islands | Space photo of the day for July 30, 2026

  30-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  Pieces of sea ice drift near Antarctica's Danger Islands in this image, acquired on Jan. 22, 2023, by the Landsat 8 satellite. Several of the islands are stained pink by guano from Adélie penguins with a krill-rich diet. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison)The diets of penguins on Antarctica's Danger Islands can be seen from space. At least indirectly.Using satellite images captured by the Landsat 8 spacecraft operated by NASA and the United States Geological Surve
  
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• On this day in space! July 30, 1610: Galileo sees Saturn's rings for the 1st time

  30-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On July 30, 1610, the famous astronomer Galileo Galilei became the first to observe rings around the planet Saturn. Shortly after the telescope was invented in 1608, Galileo peered out into the solar system and saw the amazing ring system. At first he didn't actually think they were rings. Instead, Galileo thought Saturn might have planetary "love handles" that gave it a weird shape. He also wondered if perhaps he was looking at two very large moons on either side of the planet. It wasn't until
  
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• 'Strange New Worlds'' latest episode is more 'Event Horizon' than classic Trek

  30-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  "Doctor Who" may have a reputation for making kids hide behind the sofa, and the "Alien" franchise famously sold itself on the futility of screaming in outer space, but "Star Trek"'s traditional "story of the week" format has also provided numerous opportunities to bring sci-fi scares to starship corridors. But few of the franchise's horror outings have been quite as overt as "The Griffin Incident", the latest episode of "Strange New Worlds". In it, Spock (Ethan Peck), La'an Noonien-Singh (Chris
  
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• July full moon delights skywatchers worldwide. Here are our favorite photos of the majestic Buck Moon

  30-07-2026 12:09 via space.com
  
  The full Buck Moon rose to delight and dazzle stargazers with a spectacular display of moonlight on July 29 and we've got the photos to prove it!July's moon is also known as the full "Buck Moon" — a traditional name used by Native American tribes to reflect the time of year when young deer grow out their antlers. Sadly, the name didn't herald any dramatic transformation in the appearance of the moon, but it still made for a spectacular sight — and photo opportunities — as it cl
  
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• 'It's going to do things that currently are impossible': The Roman Space Telescope, NASA's next great observatory, is ready to launch Aug. 30

  30-07-2026 00:41 via space.com
  
  The next great American observatory in space is just one month away from leaving this planet.NASA scientists got together Wednesday (July 29) to share a status update on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — the agency's next great observatory that will soon join the ranks of absolute legends like the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.And that press conference was overflowing with good news. The $4 billion Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX r
  
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• Watch this stirring new 'Star Trek' 60th anniversary video saluting the iconic sci-fi franchise

  29-07-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  Nostalgia is a powerful elixir as demonstrated by Paramount's moving "Star Trek" tribute video created for the franchise's big 60th anniversary this year and revealed last weekend at San Diego Comic-Con during a Star Trek Universe presentation at Hall H.It's a sentimental journey into the final frontier that chronicles the popular space opera property from its infancy as "Star Trek: The Original Series" in 1966, through 14 Hollywood feature films and numerous small screen iterations like "The Ne
  
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• NASA launched this spacecraft to save a satellite. Now, it needs saving too

  29-07-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Things aren't going so well for NASA's latest satellite rescue mission.NASA launched the Swift Boost mission on July 3, sending a specialized spacecraft to low Earth orbit on the final flight of Northrop Grumman's air-launched Pegasus XL rocket. The spacecraft is called LINK and was built by Arizona-based Katalyst Space Technologies. LINK was sent to orbit to try and link up with NASA's Swift observatory, a highly successful scientific satellite designed to search for gamma-ray bursts, some of t
  
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• SpaceX launching secret US spy satellite early on July 30: Watch it live

  29-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX plans to launch a secret reconnaissance mission for the U.S. government early on Thursday morning (July 30), and you can watch the action live.A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, kicking off a mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) called NROL-95.The 44-minute launch window opens at 2:37 a.m. EDT (0637 GMT). SpaceX has said it's targeting a time in the latter half of that span — 3:09 a.m. EDT (070
  
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• SpaceX launches secret US spy satellite from Florida (video)

  29-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX launched a secret reconnaissance mission for the U.S. government early on Thursday morning (July 30).A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, kicking off the mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) called NROL-95.The launch occurred at 3:10 a.m. EDT (0710 GMT).A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the NROL-95 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on July 30, 2026. (
  
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• SpaceX launches secret US spy satellite from Florida

  29-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX launched a secret reconnaissance mission for the U.S. government early on Thursday morning (July 30).A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, kicking off the mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) called NROL-95.The launch occurred at 3:10 a.m. EDT (0710 GMT).The patch for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office's NROL-95 mission. (Image credit: NRO)We know very little about NROL-95; the NRO, which operates the country'
  
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• This genuinely pocket-sized smart telescope makes capturing the deep sky and the solar system almost effortless

  29-07-2026 18:35 via space.com
  
  The best smart telescopes have transformed astrophotography over the past few years, combining small telescope optics and automated mounts with dashcam-style camera sensors and image-processing software. The result? Compact devices that can be controlled entirely from a smartphone. Impressively, the DwarfLab Dwarf Mini pushes that concept even further.Roughly the size of a thick paperback book, it’s one of the smallest smart telescopes yet produced — tiny enough to fit in a jacket po
  
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• 'The Ark' creator Dean Devlin talks season 3's enormous mystery box and sci-fi surprises (interview)

  29-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  SYFY’s optimistic space opera series, "The Ark," embarks upon its third thrilling season today, occupying a unique entertainment spot as the only weekly scripted sci-fi series currently on regular broadcast television. With an impressive creative resume featuring executive producers Dean Devlin ("Stargate," "Independence Day") and Jonathan Glassner ("Stargate SG-1") and a hopeful premise about humanity’s search for a new home amid the stars, it’s a refreshing show perfect for a
  
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• 'The Ark' creator Dean Devlin talks season 3’s enormous mystery box and sci-fi surprises (interview)

  29-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  SYFY’s optimistic space opera series, "The Ark," embarks upon its third thrilling season today, occupying a unique entertainment spot as the only weekly scripted sci-fi series currently on regular broadcast television. With an impressive creative resume featuring executive producers Dean Devlin ("Stargate," "Independence Day") and Jonathan Glassner ("Stargate SG-1") and a hopeful premise about humanity’s search for a new home amid the stars, it’s a refreshing show perfect for a
  
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• The Holy Stone HS900 Pro drone is sadly middling and being outcompeted by many other models

  29-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  Key specsCamera: 48MP 1/2.3-inch CMOSVideo resolution: Up to 4KFrame rates: 4K 30 FPS / FHD up to 60 FPSBattery: 2250 mAh up to 30 minutes flightCharger type: USB-C cableVideo transmission range: 6.2 milesDimensions: : Folded 5.63 x 3.26 x 2.44 in / 143 x 82.8 x 62 mm / Unfolded 6.59 x 8.57x2.44 in / 167.4 x 217.8 x 62 mmWeight: 8.78 oz/ 249 gThe sub-250 g drone market shows no signs of reducing competition, with manufacturers racing to offer advanced features at increasingly affordable prices.
  
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• SpaceX Starship still floating 5 days after flight | Space photo of the day for July 29, 2026

  29-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX's Starship Version 3 floats on the Indian Ocean on July 28, 2026, days after splashing down on the vehicle's Flight Test 13 on July 24. (Image credit: SpaceX via X)SpaceX's Starship V3 looks absolutely seaworthy in this new photo taken days after its most recent flight test.What is it?SpaceX launched its Starship vehicle on July 24, sending the 408-foot-tall (124-meter) Starship Version 3 (V3) rocket on a suborbital trajectory that saw the rocket's upper stage make its softest splashdown
  
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• On this day in space! July 29, 1982: Soviet Salyut 6 space station falls to Earth

  29-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On July 29, 1982, the Salyut 6 space station fell out of space and safely burned up in Earth's atmosphere along the way.Salyut 6 was the eighth space station the Soviet Union had built for its Salyut program. It spent almost five years in orbit and supported five different crewed cosmonaut missions. While aboard Salyut 6, those cosmonauts made astronomical observations and studied the effects of spaceflight on the human body.Though the aging space station was still considered fully functional in
  
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• X-ray spacecraft detects the 36-million-degree 'breath' of an ancient black hole

  29-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  Using NASA's Chandra X-ray space telescope, astronomers have spotted the blisteringly hot exhaust fumes of one the earliest quasars, cosmic "breath" with temperatures as great as 36 million degrees Fahrenheit. This intensely bright titan is powered by a feeding supermassive black hole engine.The Chandra X-ray telescope observed a relatively silent quasar that existed 2.1 billion years after the Big Bang. The cosmic "exhaust fumes" from this black hole engines extend out for around 100,000 light-
  
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• July's full Buck Moon leads a mini planet parade through the summer sky tonight

  29-07-2026 12:27 via space.com
  
  The July full "Buck Moon" rises tonight to lead Saturn, Mars and Mercury in a spectacular mini planetary parade through the summer sky. Here's what you need to know.July's full moon phase occurs at 10:36 a.m. EDT on July 29 (1436 GMT), when the lunar disk will appear fully illuminated. It's often called the Buck Moon, to reflect the time when young male deer grow out their antlers. It has also been named the Berry Moon by the indigenous Anishinaabe people and as the Thunder Moon by the Western A
  
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• DJI Lito 1 drone review

  29-07-2026 00:00 via space.com
  
  Key specsCamera: 48MP 1/2-inch CMOSVideo resolution: Up to 4KFrame rates: 4K 100 FPS / 2.7K vertical up to 60 FPS / FHD up to 100 FPSBattery: 2590 mAh up to 36 minutes flightCharger type: USB-C cable/battery charging hubModes: Cine, Normal, SportVideo transmission range: 9.3 miles (IC) / 4.97 miles (CE/SRRC/MIC)Dimensions: : Folded 5.67 x 3.70 x 2.44 in / 144 x 94 x 62 mm / Unfolded 7.20 x 9.88 x 3.11 in / 183 x 251 x 79 mmWeight: 8.78 oz/ 249 gThe drone market is hotter than ever, with newbie a
  
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• NASA fuels its next-gen Roman Space Telescope for August launch

  28-07-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  NASA announced on Tuesday (July 28) that it has officially fueled-up the Roman Space Telescope — a magnificent new observatory expected to generate over 500 terabytes of cosmic data per year. By comparison, the Hubble Space Telescope, in its 35 years of service, has created over 400 terabytes in total.At present, the Roman Space Telescope's launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to occur on Aug. 30 at 7:26 a.m. EDT (1126 GMT). And considering the project is sort of the gol
  
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• Our Milky Way galaxy appears to have flipped 90 degrees long ago. But why?

  28-07-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  The Milky Way's spiral disk may have flipped over by 90 degrees, in turn altering the solar system's orbit around the center of the galaxy.Spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way have two main, visible, structural components: a disk that encapsulates most of its stars, gas and the central black hole, and a more diffuse halo of older stars that encapsulates the disk.However, the Milky Way's stellar halo has always been a bit of an oddity. The European Space Agency's Gaia mission measured the motion
  
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• 'Silo' season 3's Ashley Zuckerman and Jessica Henwick share the secret to their on-screen chemistry (interview)

  28-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  In Apple TV’s "Silo" season 3, we lunge back 352 years to the Before Times to see how the greatest engineering project in the history of the world began… and would end. Center stage in this dark sci-fi drama are ambitious Congressman Daniel Keene (Ashley Zukerman) and journalist Helen Drew (Jessica Henwick), the pre-apocalypse duo we were first introduced to in Season 2's final episode.In that scene, the handsome couple met on a first date in a Washington, D.C. restaurant in the aft
  
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• SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites to orbit in wake of Starship test flight (video)

  28-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX launched 24 more satellites for its Starlink network on Saturday (July 25), a day after demonstrating it could do the same on its next-gen rocket.A Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink group 17-51 lifted off at 11:51 a.m. EDT (1521 GMT or 8:51 a.m. PDT local time) on Saturday from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. About an hour later, the 24 broadband internet satellites were deployed into low Earth orbit (LEO), as planned.Previous Booster B1100 launch
  
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• On this day in space! July 28, 1851: The 1st photo of a total solar eclipse was taken by a Prussian daguerreotypist

  28-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On July 28, 1851, the first-ever photo of a total solar eclipse was recorded by a Prussian daguerreotypist named Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski. Daguerreotypy is an old photographic process that uses silver-plated copper treated with chemical fumes that make it light-sensitive. Previous attempts to take photos of solar eclipses failed to show the contrast between the sun's corona and the dark disk of the moon. Using a small, 6-centimeter telescope, Berkowski captured an 84-second exposure sta
  
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• On this day in space! July 28, 1851: The 1st photo of a total solar eclipse was taken by a Prussian daguerreotypist

  28-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On July 28, 1851, the first-ever photo of a total solar eclipse was recorded by a Prussian daguerreotypist named Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski. Daguerreotypy is an old photographic process that uses silver-plated copper treated with chemical fumes that make it light-sensitive. Previous attempts to take photos of solar eclipses failed to show the contrast between the sun's corona and the dark disk of the moon. Using a small, 6-centimeter telescope, Berkowski captured an 84-second exposure sta
  
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• ISS meets Venus in incredible daylight photo | Space photo of the day for July 28, 2026

  28-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  Venus beside the International Space Station as captured by photographer A.J. Smadi from Edmonds, Washington on July 18, 2026. (Image credit: AJ Smadi)An astrophotographer captured a breathtaking scene as the International Space Station zoomed by Venus in the daytime sky.A post shared by AJ Smadi (@aj.smadi)A photo posted byon What is it?Photographer AJ Smadi set up the scene on July 18 in a park near Seattle, Washington. Smadi used a 9.25" (23.5 cm) Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope and a
  
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• BALLS on the moon: China set to launch Africa's 1st lunar science mission in 2029

  28-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  China's Chang'e-8 moon lander mission scheduled for 2029 could send Africa's first space exploration mission to the lunar south pole.Under the Africa2Moon venture, the Bounced African Low Lunar Sphere, or BALLS for short, is a technology demonstrator in which a trio of spherical probes on the lunar surface will form a radio astronomy array at the moon's south pole region. Each of the metal spheres contains low-frequency radio telescope antennas that will search for signals from some of the oldes
  
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