Astronomy news

• Astronaut Jonny Kim leaves NASA, will return to active military duty

  27-08-2026 21:02 via space.com
  
  Jonny Kim is leaving NASA to continue his military career.The 42-year-old astronaut, who has one of the most jaw-dropping resumes of any person alive, is departing today (Aug. 27) after nine years with the agency. He has one mission under his belt, a long-duration flight to the International Space Station (ISS)."Jonny has been an integral part of the agency, and his immeasurable impact will be felt for generations to come," Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston,
  
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• 'Silo' season 3: Common and Alexandria Riley talk shocking truths and writers tearing their on-screen marriage apart (interview)

  28-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Warning: Potential "Silo" Spoilers Ahead! Get back in the Silo if you aren't up to date!Apple TV's "Silo" season 3 is nearing its final two episodes, depicting the Before Times’ doomsday silo project as well as the shakeup inside Silo 18 with Juliette’s memory returning. The ongoing tempest includes Camille Sims (Alexandria Riley) having to prevent a Safeguard extermination as the new Head of IT this year, and the revelation of ex-security chief Robert Sims (Common) regarding Bernard
  
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• Relive private Chinese rocket's explosive 1st landing attempt (video)

  28-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  LandSpace's first attempt to land a rocket was quite a spectacle, as newly released video footage reminds us.The Beijing-based company's Zhuque-3 launcher reached orbit successfully during its debut mission on Dec. 3, 2025 — quite a feat for any rocket.But Zhuque-3 couldn't pull off the twofer. Its first stage experienced problems during the latter stages of its return to Earth, ultimately exploding in a violent fireball near its designated landing pad.The first stage of LandSpace's first
  
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• On Cloud 9: Have astronomers discovered the first starless galaxy?

  28-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Scientists are closer than ever before to confirming that a galaxy known as "Cloud 9" is the first "starless" or "failed" galaxy ever discovered by humanity. A starless galaxy is one with virtually no stars despite possessing a wealth of gas and dust that would normally serve as the building blocks of stars. The dominant element of a starless galaxy would be dark matter, the mysterious "stuff" that remains effectively invisible because it doesn't interact with light.
  Located 14 million light-yea
  
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• SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launching NASA's Roman Space Telescope on Aug. 30: How to watch it live

  28-08-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  NASA's next great space observatory is about to lift off, and you can watch it live.The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday (Aug. 30) at 7:26 a.m. EDT (1126 GMT).You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, beginning at 6:20 a.m. EDT (1020 GMT). You don't have to wait that long for a Roman fix, actually; there's stuff to watch on Saturday (Aug. 29) as well. Here's a rundown
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 28, 1993: Galileo spacecraft flies by asteroid Ida on the way to Jupiter only to find a tiny moon!

  28-08-2026 16:25 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 28, 1993, NASA's Galileo spacecraft flew by the asteroid Ida while on its way to Jupiter. Galileo was the first spacecraft to fly by an asteroid in the asteroid belt. Ida was actually the second one it visited after another flyby of the asteroid Gaspra in 1991. Galileo whizzed by asteroid Ida going almost 28,000 mph and came within 1,500 miles of the asteroid's surface. During the encounter, Galileo actually discovered a tiny moon orbiting Ida! This was the first confirmed satellite of a
  
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• Curiosity climbs to new heights on Mars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 28, 2026

  28-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  A photograph taken by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover from the floor of Gale Crater, on Aug. 1 and Aug. 2, 2026, the 4,972nd and 4,973rd Martian days, or sols, of the rover's mission. The photo captures a valley on the side of Mount Sharp, the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer) mountain the rover has been climbing since 2014. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)One of NASA's intrepid Mars rovers has notched another impressive milestone during its exploration of the Red Planet.What is it?NASA's Curiosity Mar
  
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• Watch President Trump give Artemis II moon astronauts the Congressional Space Medal of Honor today

  28-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Four astronauts will receive the United States' highest space honor today (Aug. 28), and you can watch it live.President Donald Trump will give the astronauts of NASA's Artemis II moon mission the Congressional Space Medal of Honor today, during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston that starts at 11:00 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT). NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will also participate in the event. You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA.The Artemis II astronauts pose with th
  
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• President Trump gives Artemis II moon astronauts the Congressional Space Medal of Honor

  28-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Four astronauts just received the United States' highest space honor.President Donald Trump gave the astronauts of NASA's Artemis II moon mission the Congressional Space Medal of Honor today (Aug. 28) during a ceremony at Johnson Space Center in Houston."This is a very rare thing. It's for courageous people, brilliant people, bestowed on astronauts who have distinguished themselves with exceptional service to the nation and all of mankind," Trump said during the event.The Artemis II astronauts g
  
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• Partial lunar eclipse stuns skywatchers with an ‘almost blood moon’. Here are the best photos

  28-08-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  A gorgeous partial lunar eclipse delighted stargazers overnight on Aug. 27-28, as Earth's shadow darkened the full "Sturgeon Moon" in an impressive display of orbital mechanics, and we've got the photos to prove it!The lunar eclipse occurred as Earth passed between the sun and the moon, granting viewers a spectacular view of our planet's deep umbral shadow as it advanced to cover 96% of the lunar disk, leaving a tiny crescent exposed to direct sunlight. Photographers were ready and waiting to ca
  
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• James Webb Space Telescope observes 72 stars and finds planet formation is a race against time

  27-08-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have studied 72 young, sun-like stars. As a result, they found that forming planets is a real race against time. This is because the material that serves as the building blocks for planets is constantly escaping the swirling platters of gas and dust, or protoplanetary disks, that wrap around infant stars. Some types of planets may find their formation window closing sooner than others.The team's research represents the most in-depth invest
  
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• After failure of private rescue mission, NASA's Swift space telescope will crash back to Earth. But when and where?

  27-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  A private spacecraft failed to rescue NASA's Swift space telescope, meaning the big observatory will come crashing back to Earth in the near future. The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory launched to Earth orbit in November 2004. Over the past two decades, it studied gamma-ray bursts — the most powerful explosions in the universe — and other cosmic objects and events using a trio of telescopes.But Swift's science work is now done, and its days in orbit are numbered.Call to actionIn Septe
  
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• Starship is coming home! SpaceX loads floating spacecraft onto huge ship in the Indian Ocean (photos)

  27-08-2026 18:45 via space.com
  
  More than a month after its epic spaceflight, Starship is finally headed home.SpaceX announced today (Aug. 27) that it has loaded Starship's 171-foot-tall (52 meters) upper stage — known as Starship, or simply Ship — onto a huge "semi-submersible" ship in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Christmas Island.Ship had been in the water since July 24, when it splashed down to bring an end to the Starship program's 13th test flight. The vehicle will now head back to SpaceX's Starbase site
  
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• Trump tried to scrap NASA's Roman Space Telescope last year. Now it's ready to launch

  27-08-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  The hours are counting down to the launch of NASA's newest flagship orbital observatory. The spacecraft recently got its last glimpse of terrestrial light before being encapsulated in its rocket's protective payload fairing last week and is imminently bound for liftoff. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA's next-generation research satellite, and it's currently slated to launch on Sunday (Aug. 30). Roman will lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at 7:27 a.m. EDT (1127 GMT) from N
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 27, 1962: NASA launches Mariner 2 to Venus for ambitious flyby

  27-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 27, 1962, NASA launched Mariner 2, the world's first spacecraft to successfully visit another planet. Mariner 2 flew by Venus after a 3.5-month voyage through space. The mission launched just one month after the Mariner 1 mission failed during launch. After departing from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Mariner 2 almost met the same fate when an electrical problem with the Atlas-Agena rocket caused it to start rolling, which made it unable to respond to any guidance commands from mission contro
  
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• Glowing galaxy with anomalous extra arms | Space photo of the day for Aug. 27, 2026

  27-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  An image of this spiral galaxy NGC 4258 that combines X-ray observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory (seen here in royal blue), optical light gathered by the Hubble Space Telescope (red, yellow and pale blue), and infrared light seen by the James Webb Space Telescope (bright orange). (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare)A trio of NASA space telescopes teamed up to capture a gorgeous new loo
  
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• 'Strange New Worlds' latest episode wastes a lot of time pretending to kill off major 'Star Trek' characters

  27-08-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  Every so often, "Star Trek" likes to put its brave interstellar adventurers through hell. You know the drill — a bunch of one-off crew members will probably be blown up and/or sucked into space, while set dressers get to have fun making starship bridges look like they've been through the wars. We all know that seeking out new life and new civilisations is the prime directive on that final frontier, but sometimes we just want to see how Starfleet officers respond when the chips are down.The
  
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• Watch powerful Ariane 6 rocket launch European weather satellite to orbit today

  27-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Europe's most powerful rocket will fly today (Aug. 27), and you can watch the action live.An Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch the MTG-I2 weather satellite from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today (Aug. 27), during a 2.5-hour window that opens at 4:10 p.m. EDT (2010 GMT; 5:10 p.m. local time in Kourou). You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of Arianespace, the French company that operates the Ariane 6. Coverage will begin about 25 minutes before liftoff. You can also foll
  
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• Powerful Ariane 6 rocket launches European weather satellite to orbit (video)

  27-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Europe's most powerful rocket flew again today (Aug. 27).An Ariane 6 launched the MTG-I2 weather satellite from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today (Aug. 27) at 4:10 p.m. EDT (2010 GMT; 5:10 p.m. local time in Kourou), right at the beginning of a 2.5-hour window.The 8,400-pound (3,800 kilograms) MTG-I2 is the second imaging satellite in the Meteosat Third Generation network (hence the name). It will complete the three-spacecraft constellation in geostationary orbit, which lies 22,2
  
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• Powerful Ariane 6 rocket launches European weather satellite to orbit

  27-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Europe's most powerful rocket flew again today (Aug. 27).An Ariane 6 launched the MTG-I2 weather satellite from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana today (Aug. 27) at 4:10 p.m. EDT (2010 GMT; 5:10 p.m. local time in Kourou), right at the beginning of a 2.5-hour window.You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of Arianespace, the French company that operates the Ariane 6. Coverage will begin about 25 minutes before liftoff. You can also follow live directly via Arianespace.An Aria
  
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• An impressive partial lunar eclipse will turn the moon an eerie red for millions of people tonight

  27-08-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  Tonight (Aug. 27-28), the full Sturgeon Moon will slip into Earth's shadow, creating a stunning "almost blood moon" as up to 96.2% of the lunar surface disappears into the darkest part of our planet's shadow, the umbra. At maximum eclipse, much of the moon may take on an eerie reddish hue as sunlight filtered through Earth's atmosphere is refracted into the shadow and onto the lunar surface. Only a thin sliver of moon will escape Earth's umbra, appearing as a bright arc against an otherwise dim,
  
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• From spy satellite to space telescope: The unlikely origins of NASA's Roman Space Telescope

  26-08-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  NASA took the guts out of old spy satellites to build the groundbreaking Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope – but how? And why? Years of hard work and anticipation are culminating as we sit on the verge of NASA's launch of its next-generation space telescope. Set to lift off this upcoming Sunday (Aug. 30) aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, the Roman Space Telescope will push astronomy into the future, exploring the mysteries of dark energy, studying far-off worlds and expanding our unders
  
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• Astronomers discover hot watery exoplanet destined to be swallowed by its star

  26-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomers have discovered a new ocean world outside the solar system that orbits extremely close to its parent star. This means that the extrasolar planet, or "exoplanet," is in hot water, both literally and figuratively. The exoplanet orbits the star HD 176071 located around 335 light-years away, and is about two and a half times the size of Earth, but has about eight and a half times the mass of our planet. That indicates to scientists that this planet is about 50% water. At a distance from
  
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• A black star in a false Spanish twilight: Here's the story of my 1st total solar eclipse

  26-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  I had never seen a total solar eclipse. That's a strange thing to admit for the skywatching writer at Space.com, but the truth is that the opportunity had simply never come up. When it comes to eclipses, I've always been beguiled by their beauty from afar. I've always hoped to see that strange moment when a black sun manifests to extend a glowing atmosphere into the fleeting twilight of totality. But after 37 years I hadn't once found myself in the path of the moon's inner shadow, and it was sta
  
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• Massive space mirrors could be 40 times brighter than the full moon, astronomers warn. 'It will be worse than big cities like London'

  26-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Each of the sun-reflecting mirrors proposed by U.S.-based startup Reflect Orbital will appear 40 times brighter than the full moon to observers standing within its beam on Earth, a study has found. The light pollution produced by each of those mirrors would completely wipe out stars from the sky for those underneath them, turning the starry night into an eerie twilight zone."It will be worse than big cities like London," Gaspar Bakos, a professor of astrophysics at the University of Princeton an
  
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• Chance gaze at old Hubble Telescope image leads to discovery that could reveal dark matter's secrets

  26-08-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  In late June 2023, on a morning train commuting to work in New York City, David Hendel was scrolling through a recent astronomy paper on his phone when a half-page image caught his eye. The image, captured a year earlier by the Hubble Space Telescope, showed UGC 9050-Dw1, a dwarf galaxy some 115 million light-years from Earth. It appeared as little more than a faint, diffuse smudge of bluish-white light that astronomers call an ultra-diffuse galaxy — a type of galaxy so sparsely populated
  
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• Heat shield under fire | Space photo of the day for Aug. 26, 2026

  26-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  At the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, researchers are testing the capsule heat shield for the Draco mission.(Image credit: ESA)Sometimes, to accomplish your mission, you have to start a few fires. What is it? At the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI) in Belgium, researchers put a heat shield to the test, blasting it with scorching-hot flames to see how it would handle the intense temperatures it would experience when reentering Earth's atmosphere. The heat shield is for Drac
  
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• 'Star Wars: Zero Company' review: XCOM-like strategically recaptures the magic of your favorite Star Wars films

  26-08-2026 15:17 via space.com
  
  Across the decades, Star Wars' secret sauce has always been a feeling – an intoxicating mixture of whimsy and adventure that’s nearly impossible to replicate. That’s especially true with the original film trilogy and the prequel film trilogy, even if the two have distinctly different flavors. The series forays into video games have seen a lot of success, but Zero Company does something I’ve never seen a Star Wars game do before: it seamlessly combines the two different er
  
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• 'Star Wars: Zero Company' recaptures the magic of your favorite Star Wars films (review)

  26-08-2026 15:17 via space.com
  
  Across the decades, Star Wars' secret sauce has always been a feeling – an intoxicating mixture of whimsy and adventure that’s nearly impossible to replicate. That’s especially true with the original film trilogy and the prequel film trilogy, even if the two have distinctly different flavors. The series forays into video games have seen a lot of success, but Zero Company does something I’ve never seen a Star Wars game do before: it seamlessly combines the two different er
  
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• SpaceX's final Falcon 9 Starlink launch from Florida creates gorgeous 'jellyfish' over New York City (video)

  26-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX's launch from Florida early this morning (Aug. 25) was memorable in more ways than one.The mission, which sent 29 Starlink internet satellites skyward from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:33 a.m. EDT (0933 GMT), was the 100th flight of 2026 for SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. It was also the 37th flight for this particular vehicle's first stage, setting a new reuse record for the company.And we learned a few hours after liftoff that it was also the last-ever Falcon 9 Starlink
  
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