Astronomy news

• Scientists discover mystery molecule on Pluto and Saturn's moon Titan: 'We cannot say what it is'

  20-07-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  Separated by billions of miles and shaped by very different environments, Saturn's smoggy moon Titan and the dwarf planet Pluto have, on paper, little in common.Titan is a geologically active world cloaked in an atmosphere denser than Earth's, its landscape shaped by seas of liquid methane and vast dunes built from organic particles that rain out of its skies. Pluto, by contrast, is a frigid outpost with a tenuous atmosphere hovering above an icy, frozen surface.Yet, observations from the James
  
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• NASA's Roman Space Telescope could reveal black holes ripping up stars. It's set to launch Aug. 30

  22-07-2026 20:01 via space.com
  
  The launch of NASA's next super telescope, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman), may mean there is nowhere left for violent black holes to hide. In fact, these cosmic cannibals may not even be able to hide from Roman at "cosmic noon," a period of the universe's history that occurred around 11 billion to 12 billion years ago. The study of these gory stellar events so early in the history of the universe could help reveal how supermassive black holes grew so big, so rapidly.
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• If space war erupts, 'none of us will be able to avoid the war zone,' warns outgoing Space Force chief in final public speech

  22-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  The outgoing head of the U.S. Space Force has some stark words for his international partners.Speaking at the 2026 Global Air and Space Chiefs Conference on July 15, in what was his last public speech as Chief of Space Operations (CSO), Gen. Chance Saltzman told attendees that if an armed conflict ever reaches space, as military leaders have for years been predicting and planning for, no military or nation in the world will be spared. "If a conflict extends into space, none of us will be able to
  
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• 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' is time-travelling back into theaters next month for a 35th anniversary re-release

  22-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  We’re not going to bombard you with a bunch of "Hasta La Vista, Baby" jokes, but you might want to mark your calendars for Aug. 28, 2026, because James Cameron's Oscar-winning "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" is heading back into U.S. and global theaters later this summer in honor of its 35th anniversary. While the actual anniversary of the movie's release was back on July 3rd, StudioCanal has a great reason for delaying the re-release until August.Judgment Day in the sci-fi franchise’s
  
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• Astronomers may have discovered the 1st moon outside of our solar system — or is it something weirder?

  22-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  Since the discovery of the first world beyond the solar system in the 1990s, astronomers have become adept at spotting extrasolar planets, or exoplanets. But while NASA's exoplanet catalog has burgeoned to over 6,000 confirmed entries, moons around these worlds, known as exomoons, have proved elusive. In fact, we have failed to make a single confirmed discovery of an exomoon despite being certain that just as the planets of the solar system have their own natural satellites, worlds in other star
  
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• Our 1st-ever up-close look at the Martian surface | Space photo of the day for July 22, 2026

  22-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  The first-ever photo captured on the surface of Mars, snapped on July 20, 1976 by NASA's Viking 1 lander.(Image credit: NASA/JPL)You're looking at history. What might seem like a simple black-and-white picture of some rocks is actually the first photograph ever taken on the surface of Mars. What is it?Bright and early on the morning of July 20, 1976, NASA's Viking 1 lander touched down on the surface of Mars. This moment 50 years ago marked the first fully successful touchdown on the Red Planet,
  
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• 'The court has to intervene now': Indigenous groups and conservationists condemn SpaceX's South Texas land swap

  22-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  The fight continues against SpaceX's controversial South Texas land swap.That deal, which the company made with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), gives SpaceX 727 acres (294 hectares) of public land that's currently part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. In exchange, the company hands over 683 acres (276 hectares) of its territory in the area, not all of it contiguous, to the USFWS.Last month, a coalition of conservation and tribal groups sued the USFWS over the
  
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• New timelapse video shows NASA's Psyche spacecraft zooming by Mars

  22-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Swelling from a razor-thin crescent into a cratered world before fading back into the darkness, Mars gave NASA's Psyche spacecraft both a spectacular view — and a 1,000-mph boost toward its namesake asteroid.A new time-lapse video released by NASA, stitched from images taken throughout May, captures the probe's month-long encounter with Mars. On May 15, Psyche swooped within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the surface, using the planet's gravity to boost its speed and adjust its trajecto
  
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• Metal spheres found in Australia show how little we still know about falling space debris, experts say

  22-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  Once again, the "Land Down Under" is on the apparent uptick for falling space debris. In early July, the Australian Space Agency reported that objects recovered, dubbed "space balls," are likely pressure vessels from a space launch vehicle. Six spherical pieces of space junk were found in the small seaside community of Forrest Beach, near Ingham. Australian Queensland Fire Department crews swung into action to assist partner agencies following the discovery of the potentially hazardous objects.
  
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• James Webb Space Telescope discovers the secrets of cosmic 'factories' that filled the early universe with stardust

  21-07-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have discovered the secrets of early galaxies that pumped the infant cosmos full of dust, which would become vital for the birth of new stars and the growth of galaxies. However, while the JWST is powerful enough to see many of these early galaxies, it is still limited when it comes to delving into them in great detail. So, the team at the heart of this research worked around this by studying a much closer and more modern galaxy with many
  
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• Alien life likely can't survive on exoplanets smaller than Mars, scientists say

  21-07-2026 22:15 via space.com
  
  A rocky planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a sun-like star may look like a perfect place for life to thrive — but not if it's too small to hold onto its atmosphere.So, we may wonder: How much smaller Earth could be and still have its delightfully breathable atmosphere? How small could an exoplanet be to sustain life as we know it? With these questions in mind, University of California Riverside planetary scientist Michelle Hill and her colleagues recently simulated what happens to th
  
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• Space Force orders 36 more Golden Dome missile-tracking satellites, for $1.75 billion

  21-07-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  The U.S. Space Force is adding three dozen spacecraft to its growing constellation designed to detect and track incoming missiles from orbit. The Space Development Agency (SDA) announced the agreements, worth a combined $1.75 billion, on July 14, naming L3Harris Technologies and Sierra Space as the recipients. Each company will provide 18 Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 (AMDT3) spacecraft, for a total of 36 satellites that will grow the SDA Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture's Tran
  
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• SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sends Starlink satellites to orbit a day after rare launch abort

  21-07-2026 20:30 via space.com
  
  Twenty-four Starlink satellites reached low Earth orbit on Tuesday (July 21), a day later than originally scheduled due to a last-second rocket engine abort.SpaceX at first tried to launch the broadband internet relay units on a Falcon 9 rocket on Monday morning (July 20), but an unexpected engine cutoff at the point of ignition scrubbed the day's attempt. The company did not provide a reason for the abort.By Tuesday, whatever the problem was had been addressed and the Falcon 9 was ready to fly.
  
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• Billions of miles and thousands of years in the making: This is the life of a Perseid shooting star

  21-07-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Picture it: A slash of vivid green light splits the starry sky. There for a moment and then gone, leaving nothing but a short-lived glowing trail and a moment of pure joy. You've finally caught it, your first Perseid shooting star of the season.What you saw was the final moment of a story billions of miles and thousands of years in the making. A story that began with that same shooting star locked inside the icy body of the wandering comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.The 16-mile-wide (26 kilometer) giant
  
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• Artemis III astronauts will beam 4k video from Orion to Earth using SpaceX Starlink lasers

  21-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Orion is getting an upgrade on Artemis III, and the astronauts aboard are getting WiFi (sort of). NASA is partnering with SpaceX to equip the Orion spacecraft for Artemis III with a pair of Starlink mini laser terminals, designed to operate on SpaceX's existing Starlink network. The two panels will be installed on Orion's exterior, and will augment the spacecraft's existing communications systems. The added capability is expected to provide a greater data capacity from Orion to NASA's mission co
  
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• The 'Avengers Doomsday' trailer is cool, but it's missing something... where's all the space stuff?

  21-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  The first trailer for "Avengers: Doomsday" dropped yesterday, and while it’s jammed full of superheroes, surprises, and our first extended look at Dr. Doom, it is missing one big thing that has been a constant in the MCU ever since "Avengers" was released and the Infinity Stone saga kicked off: outer space.Believe it or not, the MCU has been very sci-fi heavy for the past decade as the universe expanded into space with "Guardians of the Galaxy", "Captain Marvel", and the entire throughline
  
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• Scientists may have found the 1st twin star system where both stars exploded

  21-07-2026 17:01 via space.com
  
  For the first time, scientists may have discovered a binary system—like the twin suns of the fictional planet Tatooine in "Star Wars"—where both stars exploded as supernovas, a new study finds.Although Earth may orbit around a single star, more than half of all stars are in systems where two or more suns orbit each other. "When it comes to massive stars, the percentage in multiple systems are even higher," study lead author Miltiadis Michailidis, a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford Uni
  
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• James Webb Space Telescope looks back in time 4.4 billion years | Space photo of the day for July 21, 2026

  21-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  The James Webb Space Telescope captured this image of a young galaxy cluster, MACS J0553.4-3342.(Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, S. Fujimoto)A young cluster of galaxies sparkles under a cosmic glow that's 4.4 billion years old. This peek into the past shows the stellar spectacle of a galaxy cluster still forming. What is it?The James Webb Space Telescope snapped this image of the galaxy cluster MACS J0553.4-3342 on July 3 using its near-infrared camera (NIRCam). The glorious, glimmering
  
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• SpaceX will launch a satellite repair drone with robot arms to Earth orbit today: How to watch it live

  21-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX will launch a trailblazing satellite-servicing mission today (July 21), and you can watch the action live.A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today during a nearly four-hour window that opens at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 GMT). You can watch it live via SpaceX beginning about 15 minutes before launch.SpaceX calls today's launch MRV-MEV because it will send up a Mission Robotic Vehicle and three Mission Extension Pods (MEPs). These spacecra
  
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• SpaceX launches satellite repair drone with 10-foot robotic arms to Earth orbit (video)

  21-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX launched a trailblazing satellite-servicing mission today (July 21).A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 GMT). SpaceX called today's launch MRV-MEV, because it's sending up a Mission Robotic Vehicle and three Mission Extension Pods (MEPs). These spacecraft will be operated by SpaceLogistics, a subsidiary of Virginia-based aerospace giant Northrop Grumman.Northrop Grumman integrated the robotics payload, developed
  
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• SpaceX launches satellite repair drone with 10-foot robotic arms to Earth orbit

  21-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX launched a trailblazing satellite-servicing mission today (July 21).A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 GMT). SpaceX called today's launch MRV-MEV, because it's sending up a Mission Robotic Vehicle and three Mission Extension Pods (MEPs). These spacecraft will be operated by SpaceLogistics, a subsidiary of Virginia-based aerospace giant Northrop Grumman.Northrop Grumman integrated the robotics payload, developed
  
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• A massive crater was spotted on Google Earth. It could be a scar from an ancient meteorite impact

  21-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  An amateur astronomer's plans for a camping vacation two years ago transformed into a possible crater find in Canada's north.Amateur astronomer Joël Lapointe, using Google Maps to figure out his route for the 2024 vacation, saw some odd terrain in Quebec's Côte-Nord region centered on Lake Marsal.Lapointe suspected it was an impact crater from a meteorite, and made a report on Impact Earth — a crowdsourcing website for craters with Canada's Western University in London, Ontario
  
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• Galaxy cluster's magnetic field reconstructed for 1st time with record-breaking astronomy map

  21-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  For the first time, astronomers have reconstructed the magnetic field of an entire cluster of galaxies, from its central nucleus to its outer limits. The record-breaking achievement is the product of the deepest-ever observations of the galaxy cluster Abell 2255, located around a billion light-years away — and those observations are thanks to the European radio telescope LOFAR (Low Frequency Array). Abell 2255 has long been known for its complexity in radio waves. Its vast, diffuse radio e
  
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• The 1st 'Avengers: Doomsday' trailer is here, and it's stuffed to bursting with superheroes

  20-07-2026 23:05 via space.com
  
  One thing is for certain: there will absolutely be no shortage of superheroes in Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Doomsday", as evidenced by this first full trailer that showcases everyone from the Wakandans and the X-Men to the Fantastic Four and Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers. Plus, we get slivers of a metal-masked Victor Von Doom looming over the mayhem to further whet the appetites of MCU acolytes before the Russo Brothers’ epic lands Dec. 18."Something's coming," Downey's Doom decla
  
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• SpaceX targets July 23 for crucial Starship Flight 13 test launch after abort

  20-07-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  SpaceX has pushed the next launch of its Starship megarocket back a few more days.Elon Musk's company is now targeting Thursday (July 23) for Flight 13 of Starship, the giant, fully reusable vehicle it's developing to help get people to the moon and Mars, among other spaceflight tasks.If all goes to plan, the 408-foot-tall (124.4 meters) Starship will lift off from SpaceX's Starbase site in South Texas on Thursday during a 90-minute window that opens at 6:45 p.m. EDT (2245 GMT; 5:45 p.m. local T
  
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• 50 years after Viking 1's historic Mars landing, NASA is looking to the Red Planet's skies

  20-07-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  Half a century after first putting hardware down on Mars, NASA is looking to explore the Red Planet's skies.On July 20, 1976, the Viking 1 lander touched down in the western reaches of Chryse Planitia (the "Golden Plain"), a large circular landform that lies 22.5 degrees north of the Martian equator.It was the first-ever Mars landing for NASA. Viking 1, along with its twin Viking 2, went on to conduct the first fully successful mission on the Red Planet's surface. (The Soviet Union's Mars 3 prob
  
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• 'Stranger Things' at 10: The Netflix streaming icon that made it cool to like science again

  20-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  In July 2016, "Stranger Things" stormed its way into the pantheon of pop culture greats. Finding the sweet spot of '80s nostalgia, horror, and sci-fi, the Duffer Brothers' series established itself as one of Netflix's flagship shows and a favourite water cooler topic for close to a decade.Much like "Jurassic Park" encouraged an entire generation to suddenly view paleontology through a new set of eyes, the same can be said about "Stranger Things" and science. Seriously, how many of us discovered
  
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• Twice in a row: SpaceX rocket aborts launch at last second again (video)

  20-07-2026 18:09 via space.com
  
  That's two last-second launch aborts in a row for SpaceX.One of the company's Falcon 9 rockets tried to loft 24 Starlink internet satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California this morning (July 20), but the attempt was aborted just as the first-stage engines started firing up.Something similar happened on Thursday afternoon (July 16), when SpaceX attempted to launch the 13th test flight of its Starship megarocket. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tries to launch 24 Starlink satellites from
  
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• Four astronauts, 3 spacecraft, 2 weeks in orbit: Artemis III will be NASA's most complicated mission ever

  20-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  NASA has never flown a mission like Artemis III, and it's shaping up to become one of the most elaborate spaceflights in history. NASA has provided more details about the Artemis III flight scheduled for next year, and, if all goes according to plan, the objectives the astronauts will be checking off their list will contain more than a few "firsts" for the Artemis program and human spaceflight overall. That includes the first crewed NASA mission to rendezvous and dock with two separate designed
  
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• Artemis II was an incredible reminder of our shared humanity just when we needed it most (op-ed)

  20-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  For ten glorious days starting on April 1, 2026, one human endeavor captivated our home planet across continents and time zones: the NASA Artemis II mission to orbit the moon, the first crewed mission to cislunar space since 1972. In an Easter-Passover week that had especially demoralizing headlines on global conflicts, this mission presented a powerful vision of what journeying together and taking enormous risks for a shared purpose towards a shared future could look like.Much has been spoken a
  
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