Astronomy news

• NASA, IBM launch new AI model for studying the moon

  12-09-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  We've been studying the moon for a long time. NASA has gathered mountains of data over decades of lunar missions and studies. The data collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) alone, for example, exceeds that of all NASA's other planetary missions combined. Analyzing all this information takes lots of time and effort from researchers. So, NASA and IBM have developed an AI model to help sift through the moon data — an advance the agency announced on Thursday (Sept. 10). The open-
  
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• On this day in space! Sept. 13, 2007: Japan launches Kaguya spacecraft to the moon to map the lunar surface in HD

  13-09-2026 19:45 via space.com
  
  On Sept. 13, 2007, Japan launched the Kaguya spacecraft on a mission to the moon. Formally known as SELENE, which is short for SELenological and ENgineering Explorer, it was Japan's second moon mission. Kaguya launched from Tanegashima Space Center on a Japanese H-IIA rocket and looped around the Earth twice before heading to the moon. NOTE: While the launch occurred on Sept. 13 in the evening Eastern Time, it was actually 10:31 a.m. on Sept. 14 at the launch site. The spacecraft carried 14 scie
  
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• The 10 best underground sci-fi movies to dig into now that 'Silo' season 3 has ended

  13-09-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  Unless you’re a naked mole rat or a worm-lizard, you were never meant to live your life out underground like the poor doomsday denizens of Apple TV's "Silo." Season 3 has revealed how a trillionaire industrialist named Per Stenson (Colin Hanks) funded the insane project to build 50 subterranean bunkers in Georgia, housing 10,000 people each, as a bold failsafe effort against humanity’s inevitable extinction in the face of global nanotech warfare.Hollywood has mined the sci-fi subgenr
  
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• NASA astronaut Jessica Meir shares zero-G curly hair tips from the ISS (video)

  13-09-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  NASA astronaut Jessica Meir just shared some tips for controlling curls in the tough environment of microgravity — and it was a big deal for curly-haired people like me.Meir's hair-care advice came Wednesday (Sept. 9) in a 5.5-minute video she posted to X from the International Space Station (ISS), where everything floats and "where curls are even more free to be what they want to be," the Expedition 75 astronaut wrote.And if you think all this talk about hair care sounds frivolous, take i
  
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• James Webb Space Telescope discovers the rings of tiny solar system body Chariklo are changing

  13-09-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have discovered that the ring system of a tiny solar system body is even more interesting than they knew.The object in question is Chariklo, which orbits the sun between Saturn and Uranus, at around 17 times the distance between Earth and the sun. Despite only being around 155 miles (250 kilometers) wide, Chariklo, part of the Centaur family of asteroids, possesses two thick rings.
  Though Saturn is the solar system body most famous for its
  
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• Don't miss Venus shine beside the crescent moon at sunset tonight

  13-09-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  Look west at sunset on Sept. 13 to see brilliant Venus shining close to the delicate arc of the crescent moon. The encounter is a prelude to an even closer meeting the following day, when the moon will pass directly in front of Venus for observers across parts of Europe, Africa and Asia. Tonight (Sept. 13), Venus will appear as a bright "Evening Star," a little over 5 degrees from the 9%-illuminated waxing moon — roughly the width of your three middle fingers held at arm's length against t
  
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• Trump is proposing a US Space Academy — if created, it could blur the lines between NASA and the military (op-ed)

  12-09-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. During a visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Aug. 28, 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a United States Space AcademyThe proposal, which would establish a NASA-led institution set up along the lines of a military academy, is a new one. As a space policy expert, I see several open questions and po
  
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• On this day in space! Sept. 12, 1992: NASA astronaut Mae Jemison makes history as the 1st Black woman in space

  12-09-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Sept. 12, 1992, NASA astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to go to space.In NASA's early days, women and people of color were never selected to go to space. NASA didn't send a woman to space until the seventh space shuttle mission in 1983. NASA launched the first Black man in space, astronaut Guion Bluford, on the following mission that same year.Women in Space: A Gallery of FirstsBut it would take another nine years for NASA to finally select a Black woman to fly on
  
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• On this day in space! NASA astronaut Mae Jemison makes history as the 1st Black woman in space

  12-09-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Sept. 12, 1992, NASA astronaut Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to go to space.In NASA's early days, women and people of color were never selected to go to space. NASA didn't send a woman to space until the seventh space shuttle mission in 1983. NASA launched the first Black man in space, astronaut Guion Bluford, on the following mission that same year.Women in Space: A Gallery of FirstsBut it would take another nine years for NASA to finally select a Black woman to fly on
  
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• This Week In Space podcast: Episode 227 — Trekmania

  12-09-2026 15:04 via space.com
  
  On Episode 227 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by Michael Okuda, who with wife and others have been central to the look, feel, and substance of the Star Trek universe.Hold onto your phasers, but it's been 60 years since Star Trek's debut, and the franchise is still going strong.From the LCARS computer graphical system to alien languages to the designs and color schemes, and even the digital effects remastering of the original series, Mike has been the Cardinal of Canon
  
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• The best 'Star Trek' spaceships: 14 classic vessels from the Federation and beyond

  12-09-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  Raise shields and charge phasers, because we're running down the best "Star Trek" spaceships from across the galaxy.When Matt Jefferies started designing the original USS Enterprise, "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry told him he didn't want to see rockets or jets propelling the ship. "I bought whatever I could find on 'Buck Rogers' and 'Flash Gordon' and pinned it up on the wall," Jefferies explained. "I said, 'That we will not do.'"It's fair to say the artist came up with a truly brilliant s
  
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• Perseid meteors meet mesmerizing star trails over Egypt's Western Desert

  12-09-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Astrophotographer Osama Fathi created this incredible view of Perseid meteors streaking through circling star trails above Egypt's Western Desert on Aug. 13-14, the night following the shower's peak under dark new-moon skies.Fathi imaged the star trails in 240 consecutive 25-second exposures, which captured the apparent motion of the stars in Earth's sky as they seemed to circle the celestial north pole and the North Star Polaris.The length of each trail reveals how far the stars appeared to mov
  
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• Rocket Lab protests NASA's decision to award Blue Origin $700 million Mars orbiter contract

  12-09-2026 00:06 via space.com
  
  Rocket Lab still holds out hope that it can build NASA's next Mars orbiter.The agency picked Blue Origin for that job earlier this month, awarding Jeff Bezos' spaceflight company $700 million to develop, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN).Today (Sept. 11), however, Rocket Lab announced that it has challenged that decision, filing a formal protest with the Government Accountability Office (GAO).Rocket Lab has filed a formal protest with the Government Accountability Offi
  
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• I've chased the 'false dawn' for years — this is the week to find and photograph it

  11-09-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  Some stargazing feels like you know exactly what you are looking for, but you're still slightly unsure whether you are actually seeing it. Zodiacal light — meaning "light from the circle of animals" — is often like that.I have chased this so-called "false dawn" for years, and the first few minutes are always the same. I stare toward the horizon and wonder whether the sky is genuinely brighter there, or whether I am simply seeing distant light pollution, the first hint of morning twil
  
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• A star is exploding 45 million light-years away — here's how you can see it

  11-09-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  An extraordinary exploding star has been spotted in a distant galaxy, and astrophotographers are racing to capture it before it fades from view.The supernova, called SN 2026aaiv, was first seen by the ATLAS survey on Sept. 1 in NGC 7331 (also known as Caldwell 30), a spiral galaxy about 45 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus, visible in the Northern Hemisphere and at mid-latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere.That makes this supernova a prime target for amateur astrophotographers
  
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• Rocket Lab launches mystery satellite to orbit for secret customer (photo)

  11-09-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  Rocket Lab just launched a mystery mission to orbit.An Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site on Thursday (Sept. 10) at 11:28 p.m. EDT (0328 GMT and 3:28 p.m. local New Zealand time on Sept. 11).The launched kicked off a mission the company called "Happily Ever Faster," which we know little about.'Happily Ever Faster' to orbit 🌌✨ Today we launched our 95th Electron at 3:28 pm NZST and deployed a single Earth observation satellite to a 500km LEO for a confide
  
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• Stream every single Star Trek show from anywhere, and save up to 75% with this VPN deal

  11-09-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  The Star Trek franchise has hit the ripe old age of 60 this week. September 8 is the official 'Star Trek Day' and marks the anniversary of the 'Original Series', which first broadcast in 1966. For fans of all things Star Trek, Paramount+ is the place to be with all seasons of the 'Original Series', plus the new series 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds', which is currently in Season 4 and hits its exciting finale on September 24.If you travel regularly, a regional lock can cut off your Paramount+ su
  
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• The sun may once have swallowed a super-Earth planet and could still be hiding the evidence

  11-09-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Our star and primary energy source that makes life on this planet possible may also be a cosmic cannibal. That's according to new research that suggests the sun may have swallowed a super-Earth planet billions of years ago in its early history. And our star may still be hiding the evidence.The scientists behind this research think that the fingerprints of this violent consumption of a planet may still exist within the solar interior. Super-Earths are common occupants of other planetary systems,
  
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• 60 years of Star Trek uniforms: Looking back at the everchanging wardrobe of Starfleet

  11-09-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  To boldly dress as no one has dressed before… In another universe, that could have been the "Star Trek" mission statement. Sure, the veteran franchise has spent much of its 60-year lifetime seeking out new life and new civilisations, but it's also been preoccupied with keeping crews fashionable as they explore the final frontier. It seems that nobody wants to make first contact sporting last year's jumpsuit. The sheer volume of uniforms worn on Federation duty is mind-boggling, as Starfle
  
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• Wavy alien dune fields stretch across Mars | Space photo of the day for Sept. 11, 2026

  11-09-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  A dune field on Mars, as seen by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)Are those purple, wavy, alien thumbprints? Or perhaps an otherworldly ocean? Nope! It's actually a dune field on Mars, colored purple.What is it?Across the Martian surface are all sorts of unique features in the rocky, dusty surface material. In this false-color image, snapped by the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
  
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• On this day in space! Sept. 11, 1985: The International Cometary Explorer makes 1st comet flyby in history for NASA and Europe

  11-09-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Sept. 11, 1985, the International Cometary Explorer, or "ICE," became the first spacecraft to fly by a comet. Originally launched as the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 in 1978, ICE was one of three spacecraft built for the International Sun-Earth Explorer (ISEE) program, a joint effort by NASA, the European Space Research Organization and the European Space Agency. The program's purpose was to study space weather, or the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. A
  
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• 2 private spacecraft zoom within 650 feet of each other to showcase 'advanced capabilities' in orbit (photos)

  11-09-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  A pair of private spacecraft just showed off some impressive maneuverability high above Earth.The two probes — Mira satellites operated by the California startup Impulse Space — zoomed within 650 feet (200 meters) of each other in low Earth orbit (LEO) recently. The rendezvous demonstrated skills that could be useful to a variety of customers down the road, according to the company."These types of dynamic, agile maneuvers are how we unlock full access to space after launch and create
  
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• 25 years ago, a NASA astronaut witnessed the tragic 9/11 attacks from space. Here's what he saw.

  11-09-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Frank Culbertson had a birds-eye view of one of the most memorable and tragic events in American history.The NASA astronaut was the only American off of Earth on Sept. 11, 2001. He was circling the planet aboard the International Space Station (ISS) when terrorists flew commercial jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing more than 2,700 people.The ISS passed over New York shortly after the attacks took place, so Culbertson saw the devastation from an eerie re
  
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• 'I take the compact Nikon Stabilized 12x25 binoculars with me everywhere' — they now have $73 off, the best we've seen this year

  11-09-2026 13:00 via space.com
  
  Jase Parnell-Brookes has reviewed a huge range of skywatching optics, including the best telescopes, binoculars and image-stabilized binoculars. As our trusted authority and expert tester, when they recommend a product and you're in the market for it, their opinions and recommendations are worth paying attention to.In their Nikon Stabilized 12x25 binoculars review, Jase reckoned they were without doubt the best compact image-stabilized (IS) binoculars they had ever tested. Right now they have $7
  
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• Scientists discover mysterious new X-ray objects 'unlike any they have seen before'

  11-09-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has found a brand new type of an otherwise familiar object – compact binary systems that steal gas from other stars, but which do so while emitting very low-energy X-rays but copious amounts of ultraviolet.Chandra spotted 84 suspicious object emitting very low-energy X-rays in six galaxies – four evolved ellipticals and two spirals, namely our near-neighbor the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and the Pinwheel Galaxy (M101)."We've never encountered a group of o
  
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• The Summer Triangle — 3 stars, 1 seasonal mystery

  10-09-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  On clear September evenings, I often find myself looking up just after dusk, expecting the sky to feel a little less like summer. Yet there, still commanding the overhead darkness, are Vega, Altair, and Deneb — the three brilliant stars of the famous Summer Triangle. Their familiar pattern can make the season feel as though it is lingering above us, even as cooler nights and earlier sunsets suggest otherwise. In fact, even as late as mid-November, the Triangle is still nearly overhead soon
  
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• On this day in space! Sept. 10, 2011: NASA launches GRAIL probes to the moon to map lumpy lunar gravity

  10-09-2026 20:01 via space.com
  
  On Sept. 10, 2011, NASA's GRAIL spacecraft launched on a mission to the moon! GRAIL, which stands for Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, was sent to the moon to map its gravitational fields. Scientists could study the moon's interior structure by looking at maps of the moon's gravity. Asteroid impacts from billions of years ago left dense pockets of material under the lunar surface, which can exert extra gravitational pull on spacecraft orbiting the moon. So by measuring that gravitationa
  
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• LINK spacecraft gets close to NASA's Swift Observatory, but not close enough to save it

  10-09-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  LINK, the satellite sent to boost the orbit of NASA's Swift Observatory, may have had to give up on its mission, but LINK's manufacturer and operator Katalyst Space hasn't completely abandoned the spacecraft to its cosmic demise.NASA called off LINK's mission to rendezvous with its Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory when the specialized probe encountered a thruster control issue. LINK was delivered to orbit on July 3, aboard an air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, but began to spin uncon
  
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• Scientists study 3,000 supernovas and discover that dark energy may be evolving

  10-09-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  A catalog of almost 3,000 white dwarfs that exploded as type Ia supernovas after overfeeding on companion stars indicates that dark energy, the mysterious force accelerating the expansion of the universe, is changing over time.The discovery, in conjunction with data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES), backs results revealed from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) published in 2024 that suggested dark energy's influence is weakening. That means that the team's research doesn't just in
  
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• The next 'Star Trek' movie will be inspired by 'Crimson Tide', and 'Strange New Worlds' latest episode just showed them how to do it

  10-09-2026 17:15 via space.com
  
  During the recent press rounds for Apple TV's Ryan Reynolds/Kenneth Branagh vehicle "Mayday", writer/director duo Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley talked about their plans for the next "Star Trek" movie. As well as confirming their story will feature an all-new crew, they mentioned that the in-development project will be inspired by a pair of hit films from the '90s and '00s, both of which — coincidentally — feature Denzel Washington operating at very different ends of the m
  
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