Astronomy news

• Plan your perfect 2026 total solar eclipse experience with these smartphone apps

  06-08-2026 09:00 via space.com
  
  The Aug. 12 total solar eclipse is less than a week away! We know that eclipse planning can be daunting, so we've put together a list of great eclipse apps to help make things that little bit easier.Over 15 million people across Spain, Greenland and Iceland will witness totality on Aug. 12,while almost a billion will bear witness to a partial eclipse, as the moon blocks a portion of the sun's light without hiding its surface entirely, according to Time and Date.com. However, each person's experi
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 9, 1976: Soviet Luna 24 sample return probe launches to the moon

  09-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 9, 1976, the Soviet space program launched its last moon mission. Luna 24 was a robotic sample return mission and the third of its kind. It lifted off on a Proton-K rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and safely landed on the lunar surface nine days later. The probe landed in a dark plain of the moon known as Mare Crisium, or the "Sea of Crises" and collected 6 ounces (170.1 grams) of soil samples, which it brought back to Earth on Aug. 22, 1976. Scientists then found that
  
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• Exploring 'very low Earth orbit': The world's 1st air-breathing satellite thruster could soon get a test run

  09-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  A new way to move around Earth's outer atmosphere could soon get a field test.The Spanish company Kreios Space plans to launch into orbit the world's first satellite that uses scooped-up air to push it forward, the company announced on Tuesday (Aug. 4). The technology Kreios Space has been developing is called air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP). It relies on air sourced from Earth's atmosphere, which is then heated up, ionized and expelled to generate thrust.Diagram showing the different t
  
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• The total solar eclipse on Aug. 12 will reveal something nobody has ever seen before

  09-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Every total solar eclipse is different. While the silhouette of the moon passing across the sun barely changes, the moment our natural satellite covers the entire solar disk, something spectacular happens — the emergence of the corona. The Latin word for "crown", the solar corona is one of the wonders of nature. To gaze upon its delicate, spiky white tendrils during brief moments of totality is to glimpse the infinite, but it's only a glimpse because the corona is always changing. Shaped b
  
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• Here's what to expect from 5 stages of the total solar eclipse 2026

  09-08-2026 08:00 via space.com
  
  We're just a few short days away from the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse, when millions will watch as the moon glides across the face of the sun, hiding its light in a wondrous display of orbital mechanics. The eclipse will unfold during August's new moon phase, as the lunar disk slips silently between the sun and Earth in the daytime sky. Ordinarily, the subtle tilt in the moon's orbit causes its shadow to pass just below, or above our planet, missing it entirely. However, on Aug. 12, the moon's o
  
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• 'Transformers: The Movie' at 40: the cartoon spin-off that traumatized a generation of kids

  08-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  Fans who'd grown up on the original "Star Wars" trilogy were adults when they went through the ordeal of Han, Luke and Leia dying on screen. If tears were shed then, however, spare a thought for the kids who'd queued to watch "Transformers: The Movie" back in 1986, only to see many of their heroes expiring in the cartoon spin-off's opening act. If you can have a bloodbath of sentient machines, this was it, as robots in disguise met their maker at an alarming rate. Ironhide? Dead. Ratchet? No mor
  
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• This Week In Space podcast: Episode 222 — How to Invade Earth in 22 Easy Steps

  08-08-2026 17:58 via space.com
  
  On Episode 222 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by space writer Rich Edwards to discuss the best ways to repel space invaders.We've all seen the movies... the aliens come to Earth, the aliensovercome the inferior humans, and the aliens fall prey to something dumbthey overlooked, like microbes, Windows 95, or most absurdly, water.From the 1950s through yesterday, some of the best movies we've seenwere about the invasion of our planet. They can be clever, scary, oreven do
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 8, 1977: Soviet Union's Salyut 5 reconnaissance space station burns up in Earth's atmosphere

  08-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 8, 1977, the Salyut 5 space station fell out of space and burned up in Earth's atmosphere.Salyut 5 was a Soviet space station and part of the highly-secretive Almaz military space station program. It launched in 1976 and housed two crew of cosmonauts as they conducted military experiments and other scientific research in orbit. Originally, four crewed missions were supposed to go to Salyut 5. However, the third crew was unable to dock their spacecraft and had to return home.The fourth mi
  
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• Don't miss the crescent moon shine close to the red light of Mars before dawn on Aug. 9

  08-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  Early risers will catch a spectacular sight in the predawn hours of Aug. 9, as the slender crescent moon shines close to the red light of Mars among the stars of the constellation Taurus.The 17%-lit crescent moon will rise around four hours before sunrise, or shortly after 2 a.m. for viewers in New York. The Red Planet will be visible as a steady crimson light less than 5 degrees to the lower right of the moon — close enough to share the field of view of a pair of 10x50 binoculars. Both Ma
  
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• Yes, North America gets a solar eclipse on Aug. 12. Here's where and when to see it

  08-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  It's hardly a "Great American Eclipse," but on Aug. 12, 2026, some parts of the North American continent will see a partial solar eclipse. Will it be as impressive as on April 8, 2024, when totality visited Mexico, 15 U.S. states and six provinces in Canada? No, yet in some parts of the U.S. and Canada, astronomers will be out in force to capture a significant chunk of the sun as it is obscured by the new moon. The spotlight may be on the total solar eclipse in Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, but
  
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• Sky-Watcher SolarQuest mount head review

  08-08-2026 11:00 via space.com
  
  SpecificationsResolution: 2,073,600 counts/rev; 0.625 arc-secondSlewing speeds: 16x and 1200xPayload capacity: 8.8 lbs/4kgDovetail saddle: 45mm Vixen-styleControls: Power button and 8-way sliding switchPower: 8x AA batteries (not supplied)/external 12V DC via adaptor panelMount head weight: 2.9 lbs/1.3kgTotal weight with optional tripod: 8.8 lbs/4.05kgTripod: 31.7-59.8 inches/80.5-152cm adjustable aluminum tripod with accessory tray, bubble level and 3/8-inch screw fittingFinding the sun sounds
  
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• SpaceX serious about building factories on the moon: 'It’s going to happen,' Elon Musk says

  07-08-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  As usual, SpaceX is dreaming big.The company plans to build factories on the moon, using robots to do much of the heavy lifting, Elon Musk said on Tuesday (Aug. 4) during SpaceX's first-ever quarterly earnings call. "We are going to land a lot of tonnage on the moon," he said. "We're going to build the factories on the moon. The robots will be helpful with that."This is not a newly revealed vision; Musk first laid it out in February, in a blog post that announced SpaceX's purchase of xAI, a comp
  
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• 'Not looking good right now': Starship likely to be lost at sea 2 weeks after epic 13th test flight, Elon Musk says

  07-08-2026 22:44 via space.com
  
  It looks like Starship's two-week-long ocean adventure won't have a happy ending.The SpaceX megarocket conducted its 13th test flight on July 24, lifting off from the company's Starbase site in South Texas. Things went pretty well on Flight 13, especially for Starship's 171-foot-tall (52 meters) upper stage, known as Ship, which splashed down as planned in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia.In an unexpected first, Ship survived that homecoming, staying in one piece even after to
  
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• NASA figured out how to keep its 48-year-old Voyager 2 probe running for yet another year

  07-08-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  NASA just made an interstellar tweak to the Voyager 2 spacecraft, known as the "Big Bang", to keep its remaining 50-year-old science instruments running a little longer.Voyager 2 and its twin launched in 1977, called Voyager 1, rely on a form of nuclear battery known as a radioisotope thermoelectric generator that uses the heat produced by the decay of plutonium. But the supply of plutonium on each probe drops at about four watts a year on each spacecraft. To keep the probe running on this dwind
  
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• Inside the mystery of the James Webb Space Telescope's little red dots — and how they might be evolving

  07-08-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  New evidence has come to light showing that the mysterious 'little red dots' discovered in the early universe by the James Webb Space Telescope could evolve into the active centers of fully formed galaxies."Everything created in the early universe must evolve into something around us," said George Rieke of the University of Arizona in a statement. "We have had little idea of what little red dots become, but these results finally show us how to find their progeny."Discovered by the James Webb Spa
  
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• How to safely observe eclipses and the solar surface with a smart telescope

  07-08-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Solar observation can be tricky or underwhelming when trying to observe with handheld methods such as using solar eclipse glasses and solar binoculars. Hunting for the sun with binoculars can be tricky due to the essential ISO 12312-2 rated solar filters on the glass blocking all vision except for the solar disk itself. This is where a smart telescope like the entire Unistellar range can help; it automatically finds and tracks the solar disk from a few presses on your smartphone.Need a smart tel
  
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• NASA's SkyFall Mars helicopters will wear tiny capes

  07-08-2026 18:07 via space.com
  
  Picture it: A swarm of tiny robot helicopters descends through a reddish-brown sky, landing gracefully on the Martian surface. What are they wearing? Tiny capes. NASA's SkyFall mission will send a trio of mini rotorcraft to Mars equipped with ground penetrating radar technology which happens to look like little capes. These uniquely designed swaths of fabric look decidedly strange or even accidental in new videos from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that show the little drones practice la
  
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• Engineers race to save stricken LINK rescue spacecraft before it's too late

  07-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  A private rescue spacecraft is having troubles of its own in Earth orbit.LINK, a satellite built and operated by the Arizona company Katalyst Space Technologies, launched July 3 on a daring and unprecedented mission: Rendezvous with NASA's Swift space telescope and boost the observatory to a higher orbit before it falls out of the sky.About three weeks after launch, however, LINK started spinning at an unexpected rate, a problem that caused a temporary communications dropout and a reset of its s
  
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• Chinese company Landspace targets Aug. 10 for historic rocket launch and landing attempt

  07-08-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  The Chinese commercial launch company Landspace is set for a second attempt at catching an orbital booster. The startup launched its first Zhuque-3 rocket in December 2025, in what was a milestone for Chinese rocket reusability efforts. While the Zhuque-3 second stage successfully reached orbit, the first stage exploded in a dramatic fireball during its final powered descent toward the landing pad. Now, Landspace is poised for a second attempt at liftoff and landing, with airspace closure notice
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 7, 1980: NASA's Viking 1 Mars orbiter shuts down 4 years into a 90-day mission

  07-08-2026 16:14 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 7, 1980, NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft ended its epic and historic mission on the Red Planet. Viking 1 was the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars. It was one of two Viking missions NASA launched in 1975 to go look for evidence of life on Mars. Each of the Viking missions were composed of an orbiter and a lander. Viking 1's orbiter took photos of the Martian surface that helped NASA decide where to drop the lander. Viking 1: The Historic First Mars Landing in PicturesAfter four ye
  
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• Cosmic treasure chest explodes with baby stars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 7, 2026

  07-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  The Carina Nebula's "Treasure Chest" stuns in this new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.(Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Reiter)In a nebula far, far away, colossal clouds of dust and gas tower amongst the stars. What is it?This spectacular new image from the James Webb Space Telescope showcases the brilliant majesty of the Carina Nebula, a giant cloud of dust and gas found 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Carina. You may have seen the Carina Nebula before &m
  
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• The UK is about to witness its most spectacular solar eclipse in 11 years. Here's what you need to know

  07-08-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  It will be a magnificent day for England's south coast. From Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard and Brighton's Royal Pavilion to Dorset's Jurassic Coast and Cornwall's Land's End, beaches and cliff tops will be plunged into darkness in the day during the U.K.'s first total solar eclipse for almost 91 years. There is, however, a problem — this scenario won't occur until Sept. 23, 2090.A total solar eclipse visits a location on Earth on average once every 366 years, and the British are currently
  
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• Why you don't need a perfectly clear sky to enjoy the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12

  07-08-2026 08:00 via space.com
  
  Are you ready for the eclipse? Whether you're bound for the path of totality or set to see a partial eclipse from Europe, Canada or the northeast U.S. on Wednesday, Aug. 12, there's a dirty word eclipse chasers hate to utter during an eclipse season, and yet become completely obsessed with — clouds. Related: Total solar eclipse 2026 — Everything you need to knowWe all start behaving as though Earth's atmosphere owes us something. After spending years studying the climate and where it
  
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• 'One more step': NASA astronauts conduct 6.5-hour spacewalk to prep ISS for solar array upgrade

  06-08-2026 22:05 via space.com
  
  Two NASA astronauts installed the seventh and final set of mounting hardware for new sets of solar arrays during a successful 6.5-hour spacewalk outside of the International Space Station.Jessica Meir and Anil Menon on Thursday (Aug. 6), assembled the modification kit for one of the space station's eight power channels, which will allow for the future addition of a new ISS Rolll-Out Solar Array (iROSA). Since 2021, astronauts on prior spacewalks have deployed six of the iROSA assemblies, leaving
  
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• '1 more step': NASA astronauts conduct 6.5-hour spacewalk to prep ISS for solar array upgrade

  06-08-2026 22:05 via space.com
  
  Two NASA astronauts installed the seventh and final set of mounting hardware for new sets of solar arrays during a successful 6.5-hour spacewalk outside of the International Space Station.Jessica Meir and Anil Menon on Thursday (Aug. 6), assembled the modification kit for one of the space station's eight power channels, which will allow for the future addition of a new ISS Rolll-Out Solar Array (iROSA). Since 2021, astronauts on prior spacewalks have deployed six of the iROSA assemblies, leaving
  
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• Rocket Lab launches Japanese Earth-observing satellite after 5-week delay (video, photos)

  06-08-2026 20:34 via space.com
  
  A Japanese Earth-observing satellite got to orbit early this morning (Aug. 6), five weeks later than originally planned.The spacecraft — a radar satellite that will be operated by the Tokyo-based company iQPS — lifted off atop a Rocket Lab Electron vehicle from New Zealand today at 5:18 a.m. EDT (0918 GMT; 9:18 p.m. local time).It was a deferred round two for the mission: Rocket Lab originally tried to launch it on June 30 but aborted that attempt at the last second. The company has
  
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• 'Strange New Worlds' latest 'Hangover'-inspired episode is a reminder that 'Star Trek' vacations are never a good idea

  06-08-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  There are some things you can always rely on in "Star Trek". Vulcans are rarely great company at parties, for example, and you can be approximately 93% certain that the alien you're about to meet will be more-or-less human in form — give or take a few adornments around the forehead area. And, just as most holodeck adventures turn out to be bad for the blood pressure, going on vacation is never as restful or relaxing as it's supposed to be. In fact, most starship crews would be better off s
  
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• SpaceX rocket's impact crater on the moon spied by Korean lunar orbiter (photos)

  06-08-2026 17:24 via space.com
  
  The final resting place of SpaceX's moon-smashing rocket has been found.The Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, known as Danuri, has captured imagery of the crater blasted out by the Falcon 9 upper stage that slammed into the moon early on Wednesday morning (Aug. 5)."Danuri began observations about 30 minutes before the collision and, through orbit control, passed over the impact site multiple times, conducting a total of 8 imaging sessions," officials with the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KA
  
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• Blue Origin traces origin of huge New Glenn rocket explosion to oxygen valve, CEO says

  06-08-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  Blue Origin is close to figuring out why its New Glenn rocket went boom a few months ago.The explosion — which destroyed the rocket and some key pieces of pad infrastructure — occurred on May 28 during a routine engine test at Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Blue Origin has been working hard ever since to determine the cause of the anomaly, and it has made considerable progress, according to a new update."The anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-
  
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• On this day in space! Aug. 6, 2012: NASA lands huge Curiosity rover on Mars with a rocket-powered sky crane

  06-08-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  On Aug. 6, 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover successfully touched down on the Martian surface. At the time, the Curiosity rover was the biggest and most ambitious Mars rover that NASA ever launched. Its landing involved a new kind of maneuver that had never been tried before using something called a "sky crane." Like previous rovers that have landed on Mars, Curiosity used a parachute and rocket engines to slow down as it descended through the Red Planet's atmosphere.But while other rovers used airba
  
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