Astronomy news

• James Webb Space Telescope discovers how black holes feed themselves

  19-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have been given a glimpse of the mechanisms that supermassive black holes use to feed themselves. The observations could help scientists discover how supermassive black holes with masses millions, often even billions, of times that of the sun grew so fast so soon after the Big Bang.While all large galaxies have supermassive black holes at their hearts, some are slumbering giants, consuming little surrounding gas and dust, while others
  
  Read more

• '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
  
  Read more

• '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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• 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
  
  Read more

• Bad weather delays launch of China's historic Chang'e 7 mission to moon's south pole

  23-08-2026 15:54 via space.com
  
  Poor weather has delayed the launch of China's latest moon mission. According to reports, the growth of Tropical Depression Narra in the Gulf of Tonkin has prompted China's space agency to delay the liftoff of Chang'e 7 significantly — possibly until 2027."China's Chang'e 7 lunar probe does not meet launch conditions, and its launch therefore cannot take place during the planned window this year," the state-run Xinhua news agency reported today (Aug. 23), citing the China Manned Space Agen
  
  Read more

• Launching 10,000 tiny 'femtosats' to Saturn? NASA funds 18 futuristic spaceflight ideas

  23-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  NASA is giving a financial boost to nearly 20 technology investigations to help fuel the incubation of tomorrow's spaceflight research capabilities. The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has selected 18 projects for this year's Phase I awards, which will each split a total of $3.2 million in development funding. NIAC is designed to bolster technology breakthroughs that NASA could use on future space missions.This year's awards include an array of mission concepts and research prop
  
  Read more

• How will NASA's astronaut training hub change with commercial space stations?

  22-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  HOUSTON — What does NASA's astronaut training hub look like these days, as the agency aims to bring more commercial space stations into the fold?It's an interesting mix of government and private companies, of space agency personnel and of contractors, all working together to keep U.S. and international astronauts flying through the end of the ISS — currently expected around 2030 — and the new breed of commercial space stations expected to take its place.Canadian reporters like
  
  Read more

• 'We Want to Believe' book explores the reality of UFOs: 'It's always going to be more likely that someone is wrong about what they saw' (interview)

  22-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  After all these years, we still want to believe.Whether you're a bona fide believer or a staunch skeptic, we can all agree that UFO legends and lore is a fascinating subject that continues to fuel endless debate. And with pop culture feeding our lizard brains lurid tales of flying saucers and alien invasions, it’s no wonder humanity is always up for a good story of inexplicable aerial sightings or various uncanny encounters of the third kind.In "We Want To Believe: How Aliens Went Mainstre
  
  Read more

• This Week In Space podcast: Episode 224 — The Science of Artemis

  22-08-2026 15:24 via space.com
  
  On Episode 224 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and guest co-host Rick Jenet are joined by Dr. David Kring to discuss the where, whys, and hows of the Artemis Program's lunar exploration plans.It has been said that the Moon is a harsh mistress, and nowhere is thismore apparent than at the lunar south pole. That is, however, where theArtemis program is headed, and we need to figure out how to best explorethe region. Kring of the Universities Space ResearchAssociation's Lunar and Planetary Institut
  
  Read more

• SpaceX sends 27 Starlink satellites to orbit on 100th Falcon rocket launch of the year (video, photos)

  22-08-2026 14:23 via space.com
  
  SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites this morning (Aug. 22) on a milestone mission for the company's Falcon rocket family.A Falcon 9 carrying 27 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California today at 3:25 a.m. EDT (0725 GMT; 12:25 a.m. local California time). It was the 99th Falcon 9 liftoff of the year, and the 100th Falcon mission of 2026 overall. The other flight was performed by a Falcon Heavy, which lofted the telecom satellite Vi
  
  Read more

• SpaceX sends 27 Starlink satellites to orbit on 100th Falcon rocket launch of the year (photos)

  22-08-2026 14:23 via space.com
  
  SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites this morning (Aug. 22) on a milestone mission for the company's Falcon rocket family.A Falcon 9 carrying 27 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California today at 3:25 a.m. EDT (0725 GMT; 12:25 a.m. local California time). It was the 99th Falcon 9 liftoff of the year, and the 100th Falcon mission of 2026 overall. The other flight was performed by a Falcon Heavy, which lofted the telecom satellite Vi
  
  Read more

• Partial lunar eclipse August 2026: Where will it be visible from?

  22-08-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  Earth's shadow will swallow 96% of the lunar surface overnight on Aug. 27-28, potentially turning the moon a gorgeous shade of crimson as it bathes in light filtered and refracted by our planet's atmosphere. The partial lunar eclipse will occur as Earth passes between the sun and moon during the monthly full moon phase. Around this time, Earth's curved inner shadow will appear to creep across the lunar surface while leaving a thin crescent exposed to direct sunlight at the point of maximum eclip
  
  Read more

• What happens when a galaxy's supermassive black hole turns off? These dying radio galaxies could show us

  21-08-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  Astronomers have discovered a hitherto unseen population of so-called "radio galaxies" with fading "radio lobes." The discovery reveals what happens when the supermassive black hole engines that power these vast, blooming outflows of plasma stall. This discovery increases our understanding of the life cycles of galaxies.The team behind this research studied 14 candidates for faded or remnant radio galaxies found in a region of the sky over Earth, studied intensely by the XMM-Newton X-ray spacecr
  
  Read more

• Trump signs new national space policy to enable 1,000 US rocket launches per year

  21-08-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  The United States is updating its approach to managing spaceflights that lift off and land within its borders, and aims to expand the nation's capabilities to support more than 1,000 rocket launches per year by 2030.President Donald Trump just signed a new National Space Transportation Policy that lays out priorities for commercial, civil and national security missions to orbit. The memorandum, published Thursday (Aug. 20), introduces the first update to the policy since 2013, and comes as comme
  
  Read more

• 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' cast talks losing sleep, living up to their character's legacy, and learning to ride a horse for season 4 (interview)

  21-08-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  Filming a high-profile episodic TV series like "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is often a Herculean task for any professional cast and crew, but toss in massive spaceship sets, a colorful constellation of costume changes, tone and stylistic shifts, hand-to-hand combat, horseback riding, and puppets, and you’ve got a mad sci-fi circus.We connected with Ethan Peck (Spock), Christina Chong (La’an Noonien-Singh) and Paul Wesley (James T. Kirk) for Paramount+’s "Star Trek: Strange N
  
  Read more

• Trump to award NASA's Artemis II astronauts the Congressional Space Medal of Honor

  21-08-2026 21:30 via space.com
  
  NASA's Artemis II moon astronauts will join a very exclusive club next week.President Donald Trump will award those spaceflyers the Congressional Space Medal of Honor next Friday (Aug. 28) at Johnson Space Center in Houston to recognize their historic journey around the moon this past April.The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) and will feature NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, President Trump and the Artemis II astronauts. You'll be able to watch it live when the time comes.Artemis
  
  Read more

• Japan unveils Mars moon sample-return spacecraft ahead of Oct. 19 launch (photos)

  21-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  The world just got its first good looks at some hardware that will make spaceflight history.Last Thursday (Aug. 13), Japan unveiled the spacecraft that make up its Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, which aims to snag samples of the Mars moon Phobos and haul them to Earth — something that has never been done.The big reveal came at Tanegashima Space Center, the site from which MMX will launch toward the Red Planet atop an H3 rocket. And we just got some clarity about when that liftoff
  
  Read more

• SpaceX fires up Starship ahead of megarocket’s 1st orbital flight (video)

  21-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX is picking up the pace of preparations for the next launch of its giant Starship rocket. On Wednesday night (Aug. 19), the company completed a single-engine static fire test with its Ship 41 vehicle, the upper stage that's in line to fly Starship's upcoming Flight 14 mission. As its name suggests, Flight 14 will be Starship's 14th test flight, but it will be the rocket's first launch into orbit, if all goes according to plan. The recent engine burn was designed to prepare for that jaunt.
  
  Read more

Follow @newsl_astronomy on Twitter!