Astronomy news

• Astronauts deploy solar array on 100th US spacewalk by International Space Station crew members

  29-10-2026 21:01 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Two astronauts successfully installed and deployed the second-to-last upgraded solar array for the International Space Station (ISS) during the 100th U.S. spacewalk from the orbiting outpost.Anil Menon of NASA and Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), both ISS Expedition 75 crewmates, completed the 7-hour-and-11-minute extravehicular activity (EVA) at 3:08 p.m. EDT (1908 GMT) on Thursday (Oct. 29). The spacewalk began and ended inside the U.S. Quest airlock, with both astronauts wear
  
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• Patrick Stewart, renowned actor and ‘Star Trek’s’ Captain Picard, dies at 86

  30-10-2026 00:49 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Less than a week after the fates took Walter Koenig from our galaxy, another "Star Trek" legend has left us: Sir Patrick Stewart has died at the age of 86.According to his spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak, the beloved Shakespearean actor passed away on Wednesday (Oct. 28) at his Los Angeles home after a short struggle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia."He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter and the kind of profou
  
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• On this day in space! Oct. 29, 1991: NASA's Galileo spacecraft flies by asteroid Gaspra and snaps amazing photos while flying at 18,000 mph

  29-10-2026 22:28 via Latest from Space.com
  
  On Oct. 29, 1991, the Galileo spacecraft flew by the asteroid Gaspra on its way to Jupiter. Gaspra was the first asteroid to ever be visited by a spacecraft. Gaspra orbits near the inner edge of the asteroid belt. The Galileo spacecraft had been travelling through the asteroid belt for about two months before it reached Gaspra. Galileo was 990 miles (1,593 kilometers) away from Gaspra when it whizzed by, and it was travelling at a relative speed of about 5 miles (8 km) per second. The spacecraft
  
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• Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman named deputy director for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

  29-10-2026 22:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  The leader of NASA's first mission around the moon in half a century is the last to announce what's next for him after retiring from active astronaut duty.All four astronauts of the Artemis II mission, which flew around the moon in April, have hung up their spacesuits and moved on to greener pastures. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), managed by Caltech, announced yesterday that former NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman will step into the role of Caltech associate vice president and deputy direct
  
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• 'Crystal Lake' is great, but nothing tops the space horror shenanigans of 'Jason X'

  29-10-2026 21:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Peacock's "Crystal Lake" takes the story of the Voorhees family back to the beginning.It's a full-circle moment revisiting Pamela Voorhees (Linda Cardellini), who's the real star of 1980's "Friday the 13th" and the catalyst for all the murder and mayhem. While it's a welcome shake-up to the timeline of the horror franchise, nothing tops the originality of the slasher-in-space spectacle known as "Jason X".It was 2001, and the "Friday the 13th" franchise had hit a bit of a snag. Audiences had seen
  
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• See NASA's Artemis III astronauts meet Trump at the White House as they train for a critical 2027 moon lander test flight (photos)

  29-10-2026 19:55 via Latest from Space.com
  
  U.S. President Donald Trump just met another NASA Artemis crew.The astronauts of NASA's Artemis III mission visited the Oval Office on Thursday (Oct. 28) and posed for a few photos with the president.Their visit came nearly six months to the day after that of the Artemis II crew, who stopped by the White House on April 29, 19 days after the end of their historic flight around the moon. President Trump talks to the Artemis III crew on Oct. 28, 2026. (Image credit: The White House)The Artemis III
  
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• Cosmic graveyard of zombie planets offers a grisly warning about our own solar system's fate

  29-10-2026 19:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  "Sometimes dead is better." Who can forget the immortal words of Jud Crandall, delivered by the incomparable Fred Gwynne in the 1989 film adaptation of Stephen King's Pet Sematary? Turns out Crandall could have been talking about somewhere just as otherworldly as the cursed Chumash burial ground at the heart of one of King's most terrifying works of fiction. That's because astronomers have discovered two husks of two zombie planets shuffling through the gory remains of what was once their planet
  
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• Big cats, unexplained lights and a floodlit eclipse — 7 skywatching 'horror stories' to keep you entertained this Halloween

  29-10-2026 17:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Halloween is almost upon us! To celebrate we've pulled together a series of short "skywatching horror stories" perfect for getting you in the mood for the spooky season.Granted, stargazing may not be the most hazardous of past times. But you'd be surprised how often things can go wrong. The best laid plans can be shattered by the unforeseen, unexpected phenomena can leave you scared witless, or mother nature itself can step in to remind us how little control we have over the environment around u
  
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• The universe in the eye of a telescope | Space photo of the day for Oct. 29, 2026

  29-10-2026 15:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  The Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope reflects the stars at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. (Image credit: J. Rodrigues/ESO)Stars shine in the vast aluminum dish of the Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope (SEST) in this photograph captured by astronomer and astrophotographer José Rodrigues during a recent visit to the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile.What is it?Rodrigues' image captures "airglow" infusing the night sky over La Silla with a soft orange glow, whi
  
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• SpaceX fires up Starship upper stage ahead of landmark Flight 15 test launch (video)

  29-10-2026 14:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  SpaceX just checked another big box on the path to its 15th Starship test flight, which promises to be pretty epic.The company conducted static-fire tests with Starship's Ship upper stage on Monday (Oct. 26) and Tuesday (Oct. 27), igniting its Raptor engines while the vehicle, known as Ship 42, remained anchored to the ground. "Ship 42 static fires complete. The Starship preparing for Flight 15 performed a full duration, six-engine static fire, and fired a single Raptor engine to simulate a deor
  
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• Stunning solar eclipse photos reveal giant hole and mysterious 'smoke rings' in the sun's atmosphere

  29-10-2026 13:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Newly released photographs of the sun captured during the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse reveal the sun's outer atmosphere in unprecedented detail.The images, released by researchers working as part of the Solar Wind Sherpas project coordinated by the University of Hawaii, also show rare structures in the solar wind known as smoke rings. Named for their resemblance to the circles blown by smokers, these vortices were first identified in solar eclipse photographs captured in 2008. The researchers ha
  
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• SpaceX's Starfall capsule delivers cargo for US Air Force in landmark 'point to point' space mission

  29-10-2026 11:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  The U.S. Air Force is opening up about the SpaceX Starfall cargo capsule it flew on a recent rideshare mission to orbit — and showing off what the capsule carried.The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) completed a point-to-point rocket cargo delivery test using the secretive uncrewed reentry vehicle, confirming on social media its recovery of the package in the Pacific Ocean. "With support from SpaceX, the AFRL agile cargo pods were recovered after splashdown," the AFRL wrote in an X post on
  
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• On this day in space! Oct. 28, 1971: Britain launches its 1st satellite Prospero into space on a Black Arrow rocket

  29-10-2026 00:02 via Latest from Space.com
  
  On Oct. 28, 1971, the United Kingdom launched its first satellite. The satellite was named Prospero, but it was also known as the X-3. This wasn't Britain's first satellite, but it was the first and only one the British space program launched with one of its own rockets. The first six British satellites all launched from the United States on NASA rockets. Prospero launched on a carrier rocket called the Black Arrow. The Prospero mission was the fourth and final flight of a Black Arrow rocket. Pr
  
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• 5 days beneath the waves: What it's like to live in an underwater 'space station'

  28-10-2026 22:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Living underwater was surprisingly peaceful. It was in many ways exactly what I imagine living on Mars would be like one day. There were no humans around us, except for my three SEA STAR crewmembers and me. Apart from the human noises we made, we couldn't hear anything other than the life support systems keeping us alive submerged 22 feet (7 meters) below the surface. We were living in these extreme conditions to study the challenges astronauts may face on long-duration space missions. Since per
  
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• ISS astronaut will conduct Canada's 1st spacewalk in 7 years on Oct. 29: Watch it live

  28-10-2026 21:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  The next International Space Station (ISS) spacewalk will have more maple-leaf flavor than usual, as a Canadian astronaut will become the first to go outside the orbiting complex in seven years.Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, who's also a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, will help the ISS boost its power supply during his first-ever spacewalk on Thursday (Oct. 29). Kutryk will be joined by NASA astronaut Anil Menon, who has done three spacewalks already and also serv
  
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• Meet Apeiron, Virgin Galactic's 1st 'Delta-class' space plane

  28-10-2026 20:28 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Virgin Galactic has officially unveiled the first space plane in its next-gen "Delta" line, and announced the results of the worldwide vote to choose its name.Spaceship Apeiron will be the first Delta-class vehicle, Virgin Galactic revealed on Wednesday (Oct. 28). Apeiron (pronounced "A'-per-on," according to the announcement) takes its name from the ancient Greek word meaning "boundless," and was selected through a public poll that drew votes from thousands of people across 83 countries and six
  
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• China's secretive space plane caught on camera in incredible new photo released by US military

  28-10-2026 16:50 via Latest from Space.com
  
  A photograph of China's reusable Shenlong space plane docked to another spacecraft, taken by Vantor's WorldView 3 satellite from a distance of 56 miles (90 kilometers). (Image credit: Satellite image ©2026 Vantor)A U.S. military intelligence agency has released an incredible new photograph of China's secretive space plane, showing it docked to another spacecraft in orbit.The photograph was taken in 2024 by Vantor's WorldView 3 satellite, from a distance of 56 miles (90 kilometers). Ground-based
  
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• The final ‘Dune: Part Three’ trailer reignites war on Arrakis and leaves us with more questions than answers

  28-10-2026 16:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Dune: Part Three's marketing campaign has been a long and generous one, but Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures knew an extra push was needed in order to compete with Avengers: Doomsday, as both sci-fi blockbusters will be releasing next to each other at Christmas. In its final trailer, Denis Villeneuve's threequel goes all out.This isn't the first time a Dune: Part Three trailer has left us with more questions than answers, but the in-depth look at the character dynamics and plot beats that awa
  
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• Satellites watch an escaping Antarctic iceberg | Space photo of the day for Oct. 28, 2026

  28-10-2026 15:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Iceberg A-81 escaping the Weddell Sea and drifting near the edge of South Georgia's underwater shelf. The image was captured on Oct. 20, 2026.(Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison)An iceberg has quickly escaped from the Weddell Sea in Antarctica, on its way to an icy new destination. What is it?As captured by a satellite in orbit, the Antarctic iceberg A-81 has quite quickly (for an iceberg) parted ways from its icy home, breaking off to drift toward a shallow underwater shelf i
  
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• Astronomers found a mysterious object beyond Neptune, and it could be a new dwarf planet

  28-10-2026 13:58 via Latest from Space.com
  
  The powerful Vera Rubin Observatory has spotted what seems to be a dwarf planet circling the sun in the frigid depths beyond Neptune.The icy object, known as 2026 ED138, is likely between 600 and 1500 kilometers (373 to 972 miles) wide, scientists say. It's therefore probably big enough to be sculpted into a sphere by its own gravity — a key characteristic that separates dwarf planets from asteroids and other small space rocks.And if 2026 ED138 is indeed a dwarf planet, that's a pretty big dea
  
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• Virgin Galactic is finally revealing its new Delta-class spaceship this week

  28-10-2026 13:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Space tourists and citizen astronauts rejoice! A new suborbital spacecraft is about to be introduced that will fly ticketholders on brief, suborbital journeys just above Earth.Virgin Galactic plans to unveil its first Delta-class spaceship on Wednesday (Oct. 28), before transporting the spacecraft from Mesa, Arizona, to Spaceport America in New Mexico. Alongside that reveal, the company will also announce the spacecraft's name, selected through a public vote held across more than 80 countries.Fo
  
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• Black holes can split in two — but only if they spin at extreme speeds

  28-10-2026 11:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Scientists have long known that when two black holes collide, they merge to create a more massive black hole. These events are so violent that they set the very fabric of space ringing with ripples called gravitational waves.Now, new research suggests that the opposite may happen, too: single black holes may be able to split in two. But this can only happen if that progenitor black hole is spinning at maximum possible speed. That speed prevents the black holes from immediately falling back on ea
  
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• How 'spacewalking' underwater made me feel like I was really in space

  27-10-2026 22:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  I was breathing just fine through my life support systems, but I kept feeling an urge to double check that everything was ok with my "spacesuit" before heading out on this "spacewalk." I have worn many different types of spacesuits on Earth during my career, but for the first time in my life, I knew that I couldn’t just stop to breathe the air outside if there were an emergency. That's because I was underwater. On this excursion, I was leading a simulated space mission underwater called SEA ST
  
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• Astronomers discover the secrets of 'string of pearls' supernova relic and the zombie star at its heart

  27-10-2026 20:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Scientists are still learning about a cosmic "string of pearls," a unique celestial relic left by a supernova explosion that humanity witnessed around 850 years ago. That is thanks to the most detailed observation of the dandelion-shaped chains of gas and supernova debris that comprise Pa 30, the only supernova remnant of its type observed in the Milky Way. What makes Pa 30 even more unique is that it has a rare "zombie star" at its heart.Supernovas like the one that created Pa 30 are called Typ
  
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• November full moon 2026: When, where and how to see the Beaver Moon

  27-10-2026 19:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  The November full moon reaches maximum illumination at 9:53 a.m. EST (1453 GMT) on Nov. 24, as the lunar disk sits opposite the sun in Earth's sky, appearing fully lit by its rays.November's full moon is traditionally known as the "Beaver Moon", because it rises around the time when the small mammals take refuge in their dens, having stored enough food to survive the long winter months, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. The Nov. 24 full moon also happens to be the first of three consecutive
  
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• Cowboy Space unveils 'Big Iron' rocket to launch 20,000 AI data centers

  27-10-2026 19:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  PALO ALTO, Calif. — Cowboy Space just showed us how it plans to become a big player in the final frontier.The California-based company, which is run by Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt, intends to operate a constellation of 20,000 AI data centers in low Earth orbit (LEO). It will build those satellites in house and launch them on a homegrown rocket — a vehicle Cowboy Space unveiled here on Monday night (Oct. 26), at an event it called "Big Sky Rising.""It's a fundamentally novel approach to
  
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• 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' is getting a killer new comic book series

  27-10-2026 17:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Matt Dinniman's "Dungeon Crawler Carl" is the hottest science fantasy novel series in the galaxy, and now it's getting a comic book adaptation."Dungeon Crawler Carl" follows the exploits of pantless Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s kitty, Princess Donut, as they compete in an intergalactic reality TV show to decide the fate of planet Earth. Carl and Princess Donut must endure a series of traps and challenges set forth by the neurotic, foot-fetishizing System AI.Dinniman exploded in
  
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• On this day in space! Oct. 27, 1961: NASA launches Saturn I rocket on 1st test flight from Florida to set stage for the mighty Saturn V moon rocket

  27-10-2026 15:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  On Oct. 27, 1961, NASA launched the first test flight of its new Saturn I space launch vehicle. The Saturn I rocket was the United States' first heavy-lift rocket designed to launch big payloads beyond low Earth orbit. This was also the first test flight of any rocket in the Saturn family of rockets, which includes the Saturn V that was used to launch astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program. The Saturn I was enormous compared to every rocket that came before it. It was almost three time
  
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• Mars rover tracks from a historic drive | Space photo of the day for Oct. 27, 2026

  27-10-2026 15:00 via Latest from Space.com
  
  Rover tracks can be seen on the Martian surface, left behind by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover.(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)NASA's Perseverance Mars rover left a mark on the Martian landscape when it passed a historic milestone driving across the Red Planet. What is it?On Oct. 11, Perseverance passed 28.10 miles (45.22 kilometers) driven on Mars. This is farther than anything has ever traveled on the surface of another world, earning the rover the interplanetary driving record. Previously, th
  
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• 'Star Trek' legend and sci-fi luminary Walter Koenig dies at 90

  27-10-2026 13:15 via Latest from Space.com
  
  The "Star Trek" community lost one of its most beloved icons on Sunday, October 25, with the sad passing of Walter Koenig at the age of 90 in his North Hollywood home. Koenig was best known as the U.S.S. Enterprise's Russian navigator Pavel Andreievich Chekov for two seasons on "Star Trek: The Original Series." The popular American actor continued in that role for Paramount's first seven "Star Trek" films, which began in 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and ended with 1994's "Star Trek: Ge
  
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