Astronomy news

• The US Space Force just got a new electromagnetic weapon to jam adversary satellites

  08-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  The U.S. Space Force has acquired one of its first publicly acknowledged offensive weapons, one that can blast adversary satellites with beams of electromagnetic radiation to disrupt their signals without physically damaging them.The system, known as Meadowlands, was developed by L3 Harris. It is an electromagnetic warfare system, meaning it is designed to disrupt, deny or degrade an adversary's use of the electromagnetic spectrum  — such as radio waves, for example  — re
  
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• Could evidence of life on Mars be hiding in clay? Europe wants to send a rover to check

  09-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  Is there life on Mars … in clay? Scientists think that the minerals in clay could be the key to finding signs of ancient life on the Red Planet. The European Space Agency is still working toward launching its ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover to Mars to search for signs of life. And, according to a statement from the space agency, the rover is now aiming to land at Oxia Planum, a depression on the Martian surfacewhere it's thought that water was once plentiful. There, scientists think that
  
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• Take a trip to the turquoise waters of the Bahamas (from space) | Space photo of the day for July 9, 2026

  09-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  Sandbars and waves of rippling sand dunes can be seen from space amongst the turquoise ocean in the Bahamas.(Image credit: NASA/Chris Williams)If you look at this picture for too long, you might start to hear the waves lapping up against the shore or feel a salty breeze in the air. You might not have a trip to the Bahamas planned, but you can always enjoy its beauty in this spectacular summertime snapshot captured by NASA astronaut Chris Williams from aboard the International Space Station. What
  
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• The US wants to build offshore rocket launch sites. Critics say 'our coasts deserve better'

  09-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  The United States government is looking into launching commercial rockets from sea-based launch sites, but some ocean advocacy experts say the move is part of a larger trend of allowing the spaceflight industry to use the ocean as a dumping ground.The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Tuesday (July 7) announced a Request for Information (RFI) to look into launching rockets and recovering spacecraft from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), a region of the United States that extends
  
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• China announces plan to build early-warning system for dangerous asteroids

  09-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  China has announced that it wants to develop a "space-ground" asteroid early-warning network, while providing few details on what it could look like. But recent papers and presentations to the United Nations provide clues as to what the country has in mind for planetary defense.The China National Space Administration (CNSA) made the announcement on June 30 — International Asteroid Day — stating plans to construct a coordinated ground-and-space monitoring system for near-Earth asteroi
  
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• Staffing the moon base: How many astronauts should live in NASA's lunar outpost?

  09-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  The success of NASA's future moon base depends in large part on mission design, which should allow astronauts to work together well in a way independent from psychological training, a new study asserts.The goal of the study was to identify "specific conditions" for mission success and to look for any "red flags" that may stand in the way, lead investigator Anamaria Berea, a computational social scientist at George Mason University (GMU), told Space.com via email. (The first author of the PLOS ON
  
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• Watch a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch for record-breaking 36th time early on July 9

  09-07-2026 01:00 via space.com
  
  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch for a record-breaking 36th time early Thursday morning (July 9), and you can watch the action live. The Falcon 9 is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday at 5:25 a.m. EDT (0925 GMT), carrying 29 of the company's Starlink broadband satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO).You can watch it live via SpaceX beginning about 10 minutes before launch.This particular booster, known as 1067, has already completed 35 orbital mis
  
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• SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches for record-breaking 36th time

  09-07-2026 01:00 via space.com
  
  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched for a record-breaking 36th time early Thursday morning (July 9).The Falcon 9 lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday at 5:25 a.m. EDT (0925 GMT), carrying 29 of the company's Starlink broadband satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO).This particular booster, known as 1067, has already completed 35 orbital missions, more than any other SpaceX rocket in history. The overall record is held by NASA's space shuttle Discovery, which flew t
  
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• Japanese company books 1,100 pounds of cargo space on SpaceX Starship mission to the moon

  09-07-2026 00:00 via space.com
  
  ispace is expanding its already extensive moon plans to include SpaceX's Starship megarocket.The Tokyo-based company announced today (July 8) that it has booked 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) of cargo capacity on Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, for a moon mission that could launch as soon as 2030. The deal is worth $50 million, according to Tokyo Brief."We are very pleased to be able to offer the new Lunar Access Integration service utilizing Starship's payload space thr
  
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• Dance of death between binary stars leads to an unusual supernova

  08-07-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  If the universe has one lesson for humanity, it is that everything ends. That includes stars, which too must die, albeit on timescales of billions of years. But new research suggests that when some stars die, they do not do so alone, potentially solving a long-standing mystery around a particular class of cosmic explosion called an interacting supernova. When stars much more massive than the sun reach the ends of their lives, their cores collapse, sending shockwaves blasting out into their outer
  
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• NASA begins funding hardware for 'Skyfall' Mars helicopter mission

  08-07-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  NASA's nuclear-powered mission to Mars is taking shape with the selection of Firefly Aerospace to design and manufacture the protective aeroshell that will shield the Skyfall spacecraft's descent stage during its plummet through the Martian atmosphere.Skyfall, slated to be NASA's first-ever nuclear powered interplanetary probe, is scheduled to launch in 2028 with three helicopters similar to the Ingenuity drone that landed on the Red Planet with the Perseverance rover. The mission is being manag
  
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• Trump gifts Artemis astronauts an American flag from the US Capitol to plant on the moon

  08-07-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  The next American flag to be planted on the moon has been placed in the hands of one of the last astronauts to walk on the lunar surface.Late into the night during the America 250 celebrations in Washington, D.C. on July 4, President Donald Trump delivered the keynote address from the National Mall, praising the country's history and accomplishments. The speech also acknowledged several American heroes in attendance, from military veterans, descendants of notable American historical figures like
  
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• Trump gifts Artemis astronauts a flag from the US Capitol to plant on the moon

  08-07-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  The next American flag to be planted on the moon has been placed in the hands of one of the last astronauts to walk on the lunar surface.Late into the night during the America 250 celebrations in Washington, D.C. on July 4, President Donald Trump delivered the keynote address from the National Mall, praising the country's history and accomplishments. The speech also acknowledged several American heroes in attendance, from military veterans, descendants of notable American historical figures like
  
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• Shoebox-sized 'detector satellites' could sniff out a nuclear bomb in space

  08-07-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  A constellation of cubesats fitted with special detectors could sniff out nuclear weapons hidden on satellites launched by adversary nations, according to a new study.In 2024, rumors began to swirl in military circles that Russia might be developing a space-borne nuclear weapon. At that time, two years into the war in Ukraine, Russia was well aware of how big a lifeline SpaceX's Starlink broadband constellation had been for the Ukrainians. Starlink has not only provided connectivity to ravaged c
  
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• Venus takes center stage with 2 easy-to-see sky shows this July. Here's when and where to look

  08-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Between July 7 and July 17, Venus will put on two evening-sky shows: first passing close to Regulus, the brightest star in Leo the Lion, and then appearing near a waxing crescent moon.Both events are easy to see with the naked eye and offer excellent opportunities for casual skywatchers and photographers alike.Look low in the western sky after sunset for both events. Viewing times and positions are best suited for observers at mid-northern latitudes; check a local skywatching app for exact timin
  
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• 'This is the future of spatial intelligence': Vantor unveils stunning 3D satellite views of Earth (photos)

  08-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  The American Earth-observation company Vantor maps Earth from space in 3D. The images are available in near-real time, revealing immediate effects of natural disasters and armed conflict. What is more, the images are also absolutely stunning.Vantor, which operates a fleet of 10 satellites that image the surface of the planet with a resolution of 12 inches (30 centimetres), released the first set of its 3D shots from space on July 1. The images capture a variety of targets, all in amazing detail.
  
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• NASA's Roman Space Telescope prepares for launch | Space photo of the day for July 8, 2026

  08-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in the clean room at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 26, 2026.(Image credit: NASA/Sydney Rohde (Rocz))NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is hanging out in the clean room at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, preparing for its epic journey to space. What is it?Roman is NASA's next big flagship mission, designed to explore the universe like we've never seen it before. And with just over a month and a half until its expected launch
  
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• Revolutionary rocket engine company Venus Aerospace raises $91 million to scale design

  08-07-2026 14:00 via space.com
  
  Houston-based company Venus Aerospace announced today (June 8) the closing of its "Series B" financing round, which raised $91 million to evolve its rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE) from functioning prototype to a scalable propulsion system with multiple applications. Venus completed a demonstration launch with its test vehicle in May 2025, accomplishing the first such flight from U.S. soil powered by an RDRE. At scale, the company envisions a wide variety of uses for the design, includi
  
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• NASA's New Horizons probe just woke up from hibernation 6 billion miles away beyond Pluto. What's it doing out there?

  08-07-2026 13:45 via space.com
  
  NASA's New Horizons probe has woken up in good health nearly 6 billion miles away beyond Pluto after spending nearly a year in hibernation.Traveling such vast distances between our solar system's most remote objects means New Horizons often cruises for months at a time with little to do other than passively collect data. During these periods, the probe goes into a hibernation mode in which its instruments still collect data, but most other systems power down. New Horizons entered just such a hib
  
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• Earth may survive the sun's death after all, new study suggests

  08-07-2026 12:00 via space.com
  
  For decades, astronomers have debated whether Earth's fate was tied to the sun's. When the star exhausts the hydrogen fuel that powers it about 5 billion years, it will swell into a red giant large enough to engulf Mercury and Venus — and, several studies have suggested, Earth as well.New research, however, suggests our planet has a better chance of escaping that fiery end than previously thought. Using updated models of how aging stars interact with their planets, researchers found that t
  
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• James Webb Space Telescope celebrates its 4th birthday with stunning image of a galaxy crash site

  07-07-2026 23:00 via space.com
  
  July 2026 marks four years since NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) images were first revealed to the general public, marking a new era for astronomy. To celebrate this anniversary of the most powerful space telescope ever launched, NASA has released a stunning image of the strangely shaped galaxy called Centaurus A.Located around 11 million light-years away, Centaurus A owes its unusual structure to a collision between two galaxies around 2 billion years ago. This merger provided the gala
  
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• Our Milky Way galaxy might be larger than we thought  

  07-07-2026 22:00 via space.com
  
  Is the Milky Way even bigger than we thought? New observations have revealed that our galaxy's spiral arms could stretch farther and wider than we previously concluded. The Milky Way's spiral structure was discovered over 175 years ago in 1850. But new information could completely change our understanding of our cosmic home. Astronomershave taken a new look at our Milky Way galaxy using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory and have pie
  
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• 'Project Hail Mary' is finally streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and we can't wait to watch it again

  07-07-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  Amazon MGM Studios' "Project Hail Mary," the science fiction blockbuster starring Ryan Gosling that launched into theaters back on March 20, 2026 is now hitting its streaming stride on Prime Video after a stop on MGM+. The $200 million outer space saga, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("The Lego Movie," "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse") and adapted from author Andy Weir's 2021 novel of the same name, made a respectable $630 million in its full theatrical run. Despite a general jo
  
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• 'Project Hail Mary' is finally streaming Amazon Prime Video, and we can't wait to watch it again

  07-07-2026 21:00 via space.com
  
  Amazon MGM Studios' "Project Hail Mary," the science fiction blockbuster starring Ryan Gosling that launched into theaters back on March 20, 2026 is now hitting its streaming stride on Prime Video after a stop on MGM+. The $200 million outer space saga, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("The Lego Movie," "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse") and adapted from author Andy Weir's 2021 novel of the same name, made a respectable $630 million in its full theatrical run. Despite a general jo
  
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• Artemis 2's Jeremy Hansen stepping down from active astronaut duty after epic moon mission

  07-07-2026 20:00 via space.com
  
  The first non-American to reach the moon is ready for a new mission.Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, best known for his flight around the moon in April on NASA's Artemis 2 mission, will step back from active astronaut duty in September. Hansen, who's also a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), will next serve as a reservist to "enable the vital work happening in Canada with respect to space," the astronaut wrote Monday (July 6) in a statement on X."Our future depen
  
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• How public–private partnerships can turn Mars into an economic frontier (Op-Ed)

  07-07-2026 19:00 via space.com
  
  Futurists and science fiction writers have predicted privately funded missions to Mars for decades, but until recently, the prospect appeared to be decades away. While fully private human missions to Mars are probably not yet practical (given the complexity and cost of such missions), the commercial sector, in partnership with space agencies such as NASA, has a critical role to play in enabling a human presence on Mars. Whether that possibility becomes reality will depend on the choices we make
  
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• China releases 1st photo of Earth's elusive 'quasi-moon' Kamo'oalewa

  07-07-2026 18:00 via space.com
  
  China's first-ever asteroid sampling mission has sent home a picture of its first target, the "quasi-moon" Kamo'oalewa.The Tianwen-2 probe launched in 2025 and traveled 620 million miles (1 billion kilometers) to reach a safe distance about 12 miles (20 km) away from Kamo'oalewa, more formally known as asteroid 2016HO3. The spacecraft will spend nearly a year studying the asteroid with a suite of 11 different scientific instruments before attempting to collect a sample from its surface, which wi
  
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• 'That's going to come back and bite us': Former NASA chief questions Artemis moon lander plans

  07-07-2026 17:00 via space.com
  
  The former head of NASA is questioning the agency's plans to return astronauts to the moon, asking whether the crewed landers selected for the Artemis program are the right vehicles to get the job done. Jim Bridenstine, who served as NASA administrator during President Donald Trump's first term, joined Space.com's Tariq Malik and co-host Rod Pyle on the This Week in Space podcast on June 12 to discuss his recently appointed position as CEO of Quantum Space and current events in the space industr
  
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• Astronaut flexes his muscles mid-spacewalk | Space photo of the day for July 7, 2026

  07-07-2026 16:00 via space.com
  
  NASA astronaut Chris Williams flexes his muscles while on a spacewalk in this image snapped by fellow astronaut Jessica Meir on June 30, 2026.(Image credit: NASA/Jessica Meir)Mid-spacewalk, one NASA astronaut had to take a moment to show off his muscles. What is it? NASA astronaut Chris Williams recently left the confines of the International Space Station for a 7-hour-and-20-minute spacewalk with fellow astronaut Jessica Meir. This was Williams' second spacewalk and Meir's fifth.In a moment of
  
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• Chinese scientists find the best way to nuke an asteroid on its way to impact Earth

  07-07-2026 15:00 via space.com
  
  How do you stop a large, threatening asteroid on its way to Earth? A new Chinese paper, investigating the issue, suggests a "pre-excavation detonation" could be the solution if there's enough warning time.There may be millions of asteroids in our solar system, with a tiny percentage of them posing a possible, very tiny threat to our planet. NASA and many other entities keep an eye on the skies, and continue discovering new asteroids, but have found no imminent threats yet; Apophis, previously be
  
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