Astronomy news

• At 25% off, this beginner-friendly Celestron telescope will bring the lunar eclipse closer

  24-08-2026 16:50 via space.com
  
  A partial lunar eclipse takes place this Aug. 27-28 and this beginner-friendly Celestron PowerSeeker 80EQ telescope, nearly $50 off at Walmart, will let you zoom in on what promises to be a stunning sight. Save $49 on this Celestron PowerSeeker 80Q telescope at Walmart. Ideal for exploring our own solar system, the Celestron PowerSeeker 80EQ comes with 20mm and 4mm eyepieces, a 3x Barlow lens, a German equatorial mount, finderscope and Starry Night astronomy software. In short, it has everything
  
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• Starbase Louisiana: SpaceX announces enormous $100 billion Starbase launch site

  25-08-2026 20:27 via space.com
  
  A new spaceport will bring 10 launch pads to Louisiana's Gulf Coast and support thousands of Starship launches per year.SpaceX and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced Tuesday (Aug. 25) a $100 billion investment in the state's Vermilion Parish to build "Starbase Louisiana," a sprawling new manufacturing and launch facility for SpaceX's massive Starship rocket. It will be one of the biggest projects in the state's history, and serve as SpaceX's largest center for spaceflight operations. Once
  
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• The bubbling surface of doomed supergiant star Betelgeuse has been revealed like never before

  25-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Betelgeuse may be a well-known and often-studied stellar object, but that doesn't mean astronomers aren't capable of capturing this doomed star in a completely new light. A team of scientists examined the doomed red supergiant star with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), gaining new, highly detailed insights into its turbulent surface.Betelgeuse, located around 600 light-years away, captured the public's attention a few years ago when the rapid and dramatic dimming of the i
  
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• The Roman Space Telescope will reveal the universe in a way the JWST and Hubble cannot

  25-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Even if you aren't the kind of person who often looks up the latest space images, it's hard to navigate life (especially on the internet) without running into a few. Try choosing a new iPhone background and you'll have your pick of sharp, gray moon portraits. Watch an old "Star Trek" episode and you may not realize how many of those translucent nebulas outside the spaceship's windows were based on real, hard data. When it comes to space, we're spoiled. Mind-bending objects light-years away from
  
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• NASA's Roman Space Telescope will reveal the universe in a way the JWST and Hubble cannot

  25-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Even if you aren't the kind of person who often looks up the latest space images, it's hard to navigate life (especially on the internet) without running into a few. Try choosing a new iPhone background and you'll have your pick of sharp, gray moon portraits. Watch an old "Star Trek" episode and you may not realize how many of those translucent nebulas outside the spaceship's windows were based on real, hard data. When it comes to space, we're spoiled. Mind-bending objects light-years away from
  
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• Sun fires powerful M6.9 solar flare and CME toward Earth — could it boost northern lights chances this week?

  25-08-2026 16:50 via space.com
  
  Today (Aug. 25), the sun unleashed a powerful M6.9 solar flare from a restless Earth-facing sunspot, hurling a coronal mass ejection (CME) into space — and Earth could potentially be in the firing line. The M6.98 solar flare erupted from the active sunspot region 4513 and peaked at 6 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT), according to SpaceWeatherLive. 4513 has been particularly active over the last 24 hours, firing off a barrage of solar flares including five powerful M-class eruptions. Solar flares are ra
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 25, 1997: NASA launches Advanced Composition Explorer to track solar wind and so much more

  25-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 25, 1997, NASA launched the Advanced Composition Explorer, or ACE satellite to study energetic particles traveling through space.It lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a Delta II rocket and spent the next three and a half months making its way to its orbital post near the L1 Lagrangian point, a point of gravitational equilibrium between Earth and the sun. There, the spacecraft is monitoring the stream of accelerated particles coming from the sun known as the solar wind.ACE
  
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• Astronauts make history repairing the ISS | Space photo of the day for Aug. 25, 2026

  25-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Anil Menon complete a spacewalk on Aug. 18, 2026.(Image credit: Roscosmos/Anna Kikina)Intensely focused and tethered to a floating laboratory in the vacuum of space, two astronauts spent over 6 hours working on the International Space Station during a historic spacewalk. What is it?Two astronauts aboard the ISS set out on a spacewalk recently (Aug. 18). European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Anil Menon set out recently a hi
  
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• Polish startup Ares Shield hired to protect data center satellites with high-power microwave weapons

  25-08-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  The final frontier is getting more and more contested, so satellite companies are investing in some self-defense.At least one of them is, anyway. Florida-based Lonestar Data Holdings announced today (Aug. 25) that it has contracted Polish startup Ares Shield to provide protection for its off-Earth data centers, in a deal worth up to $6 million."Our clients entrust us with mission-critical data, which is why we treat the security of our orbital infrastructure as the foundation of our entire servi
  
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• NASA satellites ace world's 1st 'lost-in-space' GPS-free navigation experiment

  25-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  No GPS available in space? A satellite experiment may have a solution for that.NASA's Starling mission — made up of a swarm of four cubesats in low Earth orbit (LEO) — is testing out navigation by using other satellites as moving landmarks. The hope is that this tech will allow future missions to navigate if GPS is not available.The three-year-old tech demo will be extended beyond its previous expiration date this year until at least 2028, NASA announced on Monday (Aug. 17). The aim
  
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• Stream 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' and 'Silo' securely from anywhere with 87% off Surfshark VPN

  25-08-2026 13:00 via space.com
  
  Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' fourth season is well underway, and if you're determined not to miss an episode, this Surfshark VPN deal is for you.At just $2.39 a month with this deal, Surfshark One will let you view it and other sci-fi shows and movies wherever you are. Save an astonishing $464 on 28 months of Surfshark VPN, making it just $2.39 a monthAside from letting you watch and rewatch Strange New Worlds' puppet episode from anywhere in the world, Surfshark One effectively guarantees you
  
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• What time is the partial lunar eclipse on Aug. 27-28? Here's when to see the 96% 'blood moon'

  25-08-2026 09:00 via space.com
  
  A dramatic partial lunar eclipse will occur on Aug. 27-28, with almost the entire moon slipping into Earth's shadow. At its peak, at 12:12 a.m. EDT (0412 GMT) on Aug. 28, 96.2% of the lunar surface will be covered by Earth's dark umbral shadow, leaving only a slender portion of the moon directly illuminated by the sun. The rest of the lunar surface may take on an eerie reddish-orange hue, creating an impressive 'almost blood moon'. The eclipse will be visible from North and South America, Europe
  
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• Watch 2 astronauts replace failed ISS antenna during spacewalk today

  25-08-2026 06:01 via space.com
  
  Two astronauts will do some repair work outside the International Space Station today (Aug. 25), and you can watch the action live.NASA's Anil Menon and Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency will conduct a spacewalk today (Aug. 25) to replace a space-to-ground-antenna. The extravehicular activity (EVA) is expected to start around 8:35 a.m. EDT (1235 GMT) and last 6.5 hours.You can watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. Coverage will start at 7:0
  
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• Pluto losing its planet status may be the best thing that ever happened to solar system diversity

  24-08-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  Unpopular opinion time, but someone has to say it: I think Pluto being reclassified as a dwarf planet was a great thing for our understanding of the solar system and for the former planet itself. Let me try to convince you, too.First, a little background. The Pluto planet controversy began exactly 20 years ago on Aug. 24, 2006, when the International Astronomical Union (IAU) reclassified the solar system's (former) ninth planet as a dwarf planet.The reason for the change was the result of the di
  
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• 'Ghosts of Mars' at 25: Are we any closer to living on the Red Planet? We asked the experts

  24-08-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  In August 2001, filmmaker John Carpenter said "Boo!" and unleashed "Ghosts of Mars" on the world. While not one of Carpenter's most revered works, it's still a neat sci-fi horror movie in which Mars has been terraformed – 84% terraformed to be exact – and inhabited by humans. Plus, it has Jason Statham and Ice Cube in it, so it's automatically 99% better than all other movies ever made.Now, the action takes place at Shining Canyon, a remote mining outpost on Mars that has a gritty wi
  
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• 'Project Hail Mary' and 'The Martian' author Andy Weir is headed back to outer space, but not how you'd expect

  24-08-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  Amiable sci-fi author Andy Weir, the New York Times bestselling author of "The Martian," "Artemis," and "Project Hail Mary", is embarking on an entirely new imaginative odyssey later this year.It's not exactly another sci-fi book, though; It's an audiobook, and Weir is foregoing sole authorship of the project and instead co-shepherding this captivating space opera drama for the folks at Audible.Arriving on Nov. 5, 2026, "Exoplanet" is an ambitious celestial thriller written by comic book veteran
  
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• Goodbye, Falcon 9: SpaceX planning to retire workhorse launcher when Starship is up and running

  24-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  The rumors are true. SpaceX plans to retire its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket once the company's giant next-generation Starship begins regular operational flights. SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 for the first time in 2010, and the rocket soon chiselled itself a place in spaceflight history. The Falcon 9 has lifted off nearly 700 times to date, and it's the first orbital rocket ever to land and refly its first-stage booster. Russia's Soyuz rocket, which has been in operation since 1957, is the only lau
  
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• SpaceX will set rocket-reuse record on 100th Falcon 9 launch of the year early Aug. 25: Watch it live

  24-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Starlink launches may have become commonplace, but this one's definitely worth staying up for.A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 29 Starlink internet satellites is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Aug. 25), during a four-hour window that opens at 1:49 a.m. EDT (0549 GMT).It will be the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the record-breaking 37th mission for this rocket's first stage, a booster designated B1067. You can watch the action live via
  
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• SpaceX sets rocket-reuse record on 100th Falcon 9 launch of the year (video)

  24-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Starlink launches may have become commonplace, but this one was definitely worth staying up for.A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 29 Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Aug. 25), at 5:33 a.m. EDT (0933 GMT).It was the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the record-breaking 37th mission for this rocket's first stage, a booster designated B1067.SpaceX set a new rocket-reuse record early Tuesday morning (Aug. 25), on its 100th Falco
  
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• SpaceX sets rocket-reuse record on 100th Falcon 9 launch of the year

  24-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Starlink launches may have become commonplace, but this one was definitely worth staying up for.A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 29 Starlink internet satellites lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Aug. 25), at 5:33 a.m. EDT (0933 GMT).It was the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2026 and the record-breaking 37th mission for this rocket's first stage, a booster designated B1067.The Falcon 9 is by far the busiest rocket in operation today. Last year, it flew 165 mis
  
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• Why do we care so much that Pluto isn't a planet?

  24-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Twenty years after Pluto lost its planetary status, people are still arguing about it.This spring, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman publicly threw his support behind "make Pluto a planet again," reigniting the familiar debate. Social media threads are filled with people arguing over whether Pluto should be grandfathered into the planetary club, whether dwarf planets are simply another kind of planet, and whether the distinction matters at all.The disagreement dates to August 24, 2006, when memb
  
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• Is the Perseid meteor shower going to get even more spectacular? Jupiter could send more 'shooting stars' towards Earth in 2028

  24-08-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  The Perseid meteor shower dazzled stagazers with a spectacular natural light show around its peak on Aug. 12-13. But could we be in for even more impressive displays of shooting stars in the years to come? Canon EOS R7 camera(Image credit: Future/Kimberley Lane)The Canon EOS R7 is the best camera for beginners. Despite its crop sensor, the EOS R7 can rival most full-frame cameras. Read our full Canon EOS R7 review to find out more!Perseid shooting stars can be seen each year as Earth crashes thr
  
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• Satellite sees Greenland's most significant floating ice loss in over a decade | Space photo of the day for Aug. 24, 2026

  24-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  ESA's Sentinel-1 mission captured remarkable imagery showing significant ice loss and calving at the Petermann Glacier.(Image credit: ESA)The massive glaciers of Greenland are disappearing right before our very eyes in new satellite imagery. What is it? Petermann Glacier in northwest Greenland connects the Greenland ice sheet to the Arctic ocean. Petermann's "ice tongue" has previously measured 43 miles (70 kilometers) long and 9 miles (15 km) wide. But new satellite imagery has revealed the gla
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 24, 2006: Pluto loses its planet status

  24-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided that Pluto wasn't a planet anymore. Since that date, Pluto has been officially classified as a dwarf planet along with four other confirmed dwarf planets in the outskirts of the solar system. This decision sparked outrage around the world, and the controversy is still very much alive today. Astronomers in favor of Pluto's demotion argued that a planet by definition should have cleared its orbit around the sun. Pluto and the mor
  
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• The earliest galaxy 'swallowed' by the cannibal Milky Way left a scar at its heart

  24-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  The Milky Way has something of a torrid and violent history, given that our galaxy has fueled its own growth by cannibalistically devouring smaller galaxies. Now, astronomers have discovered evidence of our galaxy's earliest bout of cannibalism in the form of "scarring" at the heart of the Milky Way left behind by a galactic morsel it devoured around 12 billion years ago.Working as part of the ARMA (Cluster Ages to Reconstruct the Milky Way Assembly) project, the team behind this discovery used
  
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• Nancy Grace Roman Telescope live updates: NASA readies Roman for launch

  24-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA's next great observatory poised to lead humanity's next generation of astronomical discoveries. The Roman Space Telescope will research the mysteries of dark energy, search for exoplanets andinvestigate the physics of distant stars.SpaceX will launch Roman on a Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT (1126 GMT) on Sunday, Aug. 30. from Launch Complex-39A (LC-39A). F
  
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• What to expect from each stage of the partial lunar eclipse on Aug. 27-28

  24-08-2026 13:00 via space.com
  
  Here's what to expect during each stage of the Aug. 27-28 partial lunar eclipse, as our planet's colossal shadow swallows 96% of the moon's surface for billions on the night side of Earth.August's lunar eclipse is the closing act of a dramatic two-part show, the opening act of which began on Aug. 12 as the moon covered the face of the sun to trigger a spectacular total solar eclipse over parts of Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Eclipses always come in pairs, but the stages to be expected during a
  
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• It's been 20 years since Pluto lost planet status. Will it ever get its title back?

  24-08-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  In August of 2006, astronomers at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) democratically voted to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet — but 20 years later, with our greater knowledge and understanding of planetary systems, is it time to revisit the controversial decision? Should Pluto be called a planet again?For several years before the IAU vote, there had been agitators among the astronomical community lobbying for our solar system's nine worlds to become eight, and for Pluto's planeta
  
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• New 'Star Trek' documentary featuring William Shatner hits theaters this fall, celebrating 60 years of Trek

  23-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  The "Star Trek" franchise's 60th anniversary is coming straight at us warp speed and will be arriving on Sept. 8, 2026. "Trek" faithful from around the globe are expected to pause and salute this space fantasy institution created by Gene Roddenberry in whichever way they deem appropriate.The celebration has already begun earlier this year at the 2026 Rose Parade and will accelerate past September and into the fall, where there’ll no doubt be 40th anniversary screenings of "Star Trek IV: Th
  
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• How a huge fleet of 17 spacecraft discovered something surprising about solar eruptions

  23-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  A misbehaving coronal mass ejection (CME) that blew out a hidden cloud of charged particles aimed at Earth has been tracked by a record 17 spacecraft spread throughout the solar system, revealing the CME to be surprisingly lopsided.CMEs are "burps" from the sun – huge clouds of magnetized plasma belched out from the sun's hot outer atmosphere, the corona, by the energy resulting from a solar flare. The magnetized CME cloud then expands out into the solar system, and the charged particles t
  
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