Astronomy & Space News

NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 moves toward the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. The crawler will transport NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion spacecraft to Launch Complex 39B ahead of the Artemis II launch.

Jets of ionized gas streak across a cosmic landscape from a newly forming star.

The New York–Newark–Jersey City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which spans 23 counties across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and has a population of about 19.9 million, is pictured at approximately 3:29 a.m. local time Dec. 20, 2025, from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Atlantic coast.

NASA’s Pandora small satellite, and NASA-sponsored Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS), and Black Hole Coded Aperture Telescope (BlackCAT) CubeSat, are ready to be encapsulated inside a SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing in this early January 2026 photo. Pandora and the CubeSats launched Sunday, Jan. 11, from Vandenberg Space Force Base located on California’s central coast.

This artist’s concept depicts a smaller white dwarf star pulling material from a larger star, right, into an accretion disk. Scientists used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarization Explorer) to study a white dwarf star and its X-ray polarization.

Images depicting NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket are projected onto the Washington Monument as part of an event to kick off the nation's 250th birthday year, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Washington.

Artemis II crewmembers (left to right) NASA astronauts Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Victor Glover, pilot; CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, commander are led to the crew access arm as they prepare to board their Orion spacecraft atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket during the Artemis II countdown demonstration test on Dec. 20, 2025.

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured this image of lightning while orbiting aboard the International Space Station more than 250 miles above Milan, Italy.

NASA’s SPHEREx Observatory has mapped the entire sky in 102 infrared colors, as seen here in this image released on Dec. 18, 2025. This image features a selection of colors emitted primarily by stars (blue, green, and white), hot hydrogen gas (blue), and cosmic dust (red).

A scientific balloon starts its ascent into the air as it prepares to launch carrying NASA’s Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations (PUEO) mission. The mission lifted off from Antarctica at 5:56 a.m. NZST, Saturday, Dec. 20 (11:56 a.m., Friday, Dec. 19 in U.S. Eastern Time). The PUEO mission is designed to detect radio signals created when highly energetic particles called neutrinos from space hit the ice.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy NGC 4388, a member of the Virgo galaxy cluster.

NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover used its black-and-white navigation cameras to capture panoramas at two times of day on Nov. 18, 2025, spanning periods that occurred on both the 4,722nd and 4,723rd Martian days, or sols, of the mission. The panoramas were captured at 4:15 p.m. on Sol 4,722 and 8:20 a.m. on Sol 4,723 (both at local Mars time), then merged together. Color was later added for an artistic interpretation of the scene with blue representing the morning panorama and yellow representing the afternoon one.

Data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory come together in this eye-catching photo of colliding spiral galaxies released on Dec. 1, 2025.

Tiny ball bearings surround a larger central bearing during the Fluid Particles experiment, conducted inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) aboard the International Space Station’s Destiny laboratory module.

NASA engineer Guy Naylor poses for a photograph wearing a custom Santa Claus suit on the 19th level of High Bay 4 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building with NASA's integrated Moon rocket behind him at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.

With 12 flights designed to finetune NASA’s spaceflight procedures, the Gemini program followed Project Mercury and was an essential precursor to the Apollo program. While the Mercury program proved that the U.S. could get people to space, Gemini was the bridge to keeping people in space for days at time – a necessity, if humansContinue reading "Jan. 19, 1965: Gemini 2 launches"

The post Jan. 19, 1965: Gemini 2 launches appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Who made the present-day official outlines of the 88 constellations and why do they contain so many zigzags?Caitlin McAlisterCottonwood, Arizona If you look at any star atlas published before 1930, you will see what appear to be random lines defining the constellations. Before this date, constellation boundaries had not been formalized. Modern astronomy still usesContinue reading "Who made the present-day constellations and why do they look the way they do?"

The post Who made the present-day constellations and why do they look the way they do? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  January 18: Catch Caroline’s Rose Today we’re visiting a classic: the first object on Messier’s list, the Crab Nebula (M1). Located in Taurus, this well-known supernova remnant is perfectly placed for viewing in the January evening sky.  Around 9 P.M., the V-shapeContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, January 19: Where Messier started: M1"

The post The Sky Today on Monday, January 19: Where Messier started: M1 appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

On Jan. 18, 2004, the European Space Agency’s Mars Express successfully mapped Mars’ south pole, and, in a first, revealed the presence of both water ice and carbon dioxide ice. Launched June 2, 2003, the Mars Express orbiter arrived at the Red Planet on Dec. 25 of the same year to begin its mission ofContinue reading "Jan. 18, 2004: Mars Express maps the Red Planet’s south pole"

The post Jan. 18, 2004: Mars Express maps the Red Planet’s south pole appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  January 17: Titan sits near Saturn New Moon occurs at 2:52 P.M. EST, leaving our skies dark and offering the perfect opportunity to enjoy deep-sky observing. Tonight our target is the open cluster NGC 7789. It is also called Caroline’s Rose forContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, January 18: Catch Caroline’s Rose"

The post The Sky Today on Sunday, January 18: Catch Caroline’s Rose appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The object that would become known as both the Great January Comet of 1910 and the Daylight Comet was first seen Jan. 12 in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s unclear who precisely discovered it, but some newspapers at the time pointed to observers in South Africa. On Jan. 17, 1910, the comet reached perihelion — itsContinue reading "Jan. 17, 1910: The Great Comet reaches perihelion"

The post Jan. 17, 1910: The Great Comet reaches perihelion appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  January 16: Buzz the Beehive Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is also its brightest. Shining at mid-8th-magnitude, Titan is located near the disk of the ringed planet tonight, making it easy to find.  You can spot Saturn roughly 30° high in the southwesternContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, January 17: Titan sits near Saturn"

The post The Sky Today on Saturday, January 17: Titan sits near Saturn appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Soumya Banerjee from Kolkata, India Orion the Hunter rises in the winter sky in this nightscape taken from Singalila National Park in India. The photographer used an astromodifed Canon 700D that captures the glowing hydrogen of the Orion molecular cloud complex (including Barnard’s Loop and M42), taking 22 one-minute sky frames at f/2.8 and ISO 800.

The post Hunting season appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

After a tumultuous eight months, Congress has passed an appropriations bill fully funding NASA with a $24.4 billion budget, rejecting the cuts proposed by President Trump.  The Senate passed a small bundle of appropriations bills known as a minibus on Thursday, Jan. 15, with a vote of 82 to 15. In the minibus was theContinue reading "Congress passes NASA budget, rejects Trump cuts"

The post Congress passes NASA budget, rejects Trump cuts appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The Milky Way’s plane cuts through the northwestern corner of Ara the Altar, blessing this southern constellation with a surplus of deep-sky delights. But perhaps none surpasses the stunning emission nebula known as the Fighting Dragons of Ara, the Rim Nebula, or simply NGC 6188. The battling mythological beasts face off at the center ofContinue reading "NGC 6188: A nebula or a dragon fight to the death?"

The post NGC 6188: A nebula or a dragon fight to the death? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Astronomers have found two gravitationally lensed supernovae that are missing images. Those images' arrival will offer a measure of the universe's expansion.

The post “Missing” Supernova Images Offer Measure of Universe’s Expansion appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

This winter the biggest planet is the brightest. The brightest star pins the Winter Triangle. And did you know Capella and Rigel march in step?

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 16 – 25 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Schmidt Sciences has unveiled details on four ambitious observatories to monitor the dynamic cosmos, with data from all four expected by 2029.

The post Four Privately Funded Observatories in the Next Three Years appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

This year offers an interesting mix of celestial coverups: a total solar eclipse viewable from Spain and two deep lunar
eclipses (one total, one not quite) visible across North America. The fourth, an annular solar eclipse, will be confined to the bottom of the world.

The post Solar and Lunar Eclipses in 2026 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Two new smallsat missions, named SPARCS and BlackCAT, promise to examine stellar flares and explosions in the early universe.

The post Two New CubeSats to Monitor Nearby Stars and Distant Black Holes appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

In new observations, astronomers detect a moving wake of gas in the outer layers of the red supergiant Betelgeuse, offering fresh evidence for a long-suspected secondary star.

The post Betelgeuse’s Elusive Companion Might Be Making Waves appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The young, nearby star may be experiencing an episode of repeated, violent collisions within its forming planetary system.

The post Did Asteroids Collide Near Fomalhaut – Again?  appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

NASA's new, small observatory — launched successfully on January 11th — has a big mission: to characterize exoplanet atmospheres.

The post Pandora Mission Launches to Explore Atmospheres on Alien Worlds appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Jupiter is at opposition. Evenings are moonless, and the winter Milky Way arches high over the world. Betelgeuse stands over Sirius.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, January 9 – 18 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers discovered a cloud of hydrogen gas that’s devoid of stars. Held together by an invisible halo of dark matter, the starless cloud may elucidate its nature.

The post Starless Gas Cloud Might Harbor Dark Matter appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Physicists have unveiled a new way to simulate a mysterious form of dark matter that can collide with itself but not with normal matter. This self-interacting dark matter may trigger a dramatic collapse inside dark matter halos, heating and densifying their cores in surprising ways. Until now, this crucial middle ground of behavior was nearly impossible to model accurately. The new code makes these simulations faster, more precise, and accessible enough to run on a laptop.

A huge bar of iron has been discovered lurking inside the iconic Ring Nebula. The structure is enormous, spanning hundreds of times the size of Pluto’s orbit and containing a Mars-sized amount of iron. It was detected using a new instrument that allowed astronomers to map the nebula in far greater detail than ever before. The origin of the iron bar is still a mystery, with one theory suggesting it could be the remains of a vaporized planet.

SpaceX Crew-11 splashed down safely in the Pacific after more than five months in orbit aboard the International Space Station. The four astronauts completed over 140 experiments and traveled nearly 71 million miles around Earth. NASA brought the crew home earlier than planned due to a medical concern, with officials confirming the affected crew member is stable. The mission underscores how quickly today’s space programs can adapt while keeping astronauts safe.

For years, strange red dots in James Webb images left scientists puzzled. New research shows they are young black holes hidden inside dense clouds of gas, glowing as they devour their surroundings. These black holes are smaller than expected but grow rapidly, shedding light on how supermassive black holes appeared so early in cosmic history. The finding reveals a violent and messy phase of the universe’s youth.

Dark matter, one of the Universe’s greatest mysteries, may have been born blazing hot instead of cold and sluggish as scientists long believed. New research shows that dark matter particles could have been moving near the speed of light shortly after the Big Bang, only to cool down later and still help form galaxies. By focusing on a chaotic early era known as post-inflationary reheating, researchers reveal that “red-hot” dark matter could survive long enough to become the calm, structure-building force we see today.

Scientists have pulled back the curtain on one of the most extreme solar regions seen in decades, tracking it almost nonstop for three months as it unleashed powerful space weather. By combining views from two spacecraft—one near Earth and one orbiting the Sun—researchers followed a massive active region as it grew, twisted, and ultimately triggered the strongest geomagnetic storms since 2003.

Scientists observing the red giant star R Doradus have found that starlight isn’t strong enough to drive its stellar winds, overturning a long-standing theory. The dust grains around the star are simply too small to be pushed outward by light alone. This raises new questions about how giant stars spread life-essential elements through space. Researchers now suspect dramatic stellar motions or pulsations may play a key role instead.

The accelerating expansion of the universe is usually explained by an invisible force known as dark energy. But a new study suggests this mysterious ingredient may not be necessary after all. Using an extended version of Einstein’s gravity, researchers found that cosmic acceleration can arise naturally from a more general geometry of spacetime. The result hints at a radical new way to understand why the universe keeps speeding up.

Scientists have discovered an enormous stream of super-hot gas erupting from a nearby galaxy, driven by a powerful black hole at its center. The jets stretch farther than the galaxy itself and spiral outward in a rare, never-before-seen pattern. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope pierced through thick dust to reveal this violent outflow. The process is so intense it’s robbing the galaxy of star-forming gas at a staggering rate.

Astronomers have uncovered the long-hidden cause behind Betelgeuse’s strange behavior: a small companion star carving a visible wake through the giant’s vast atmosphere. Using nearly eight years of observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories, scientists detected swirling trails of dense gas created as the companion, called Siwarha, moves through Betelgeuse’s outer layers.

Hubble has revealed a strange cosmic object called Cloud-9, a dark matter–dominated cloud with no stars at all. Scientists believe it is a “failed galaxy,” a leftover building block from the early Universe that never lit up. Its discovery confirms long-standing theories about starless galaxies. Cloud-9 offers a rare glimpse into the dark side of cosmic evolution.

Crystals hidden in Australia’s oldest rocks have revealed new clues about how Earth and the Moon formed. The study suggests Earth’s continents didn’t begin growing until hundreds of millions of years after the planet itself formed. When scientists compared the rocks with Moon samples from the Apollo missions, they found a remarkable match. The results support the idea that a massive cosmic impact gave birth to the Moon.

Using NASA’s IXPE, astronomers captured an unprecedented view of a white dwarf star actively feeding on material from a companion. The data revealed giant columns of ultra-hot gas shaped by the star’s magnetic field and glowing in intense X-rays. These features are far too small to image directly, but X-ray polarization allowed scientists to map them with surprising precision. The results open new doors for understanding extreme binary star systems.

Nearly everything in the universe is made of mysterious dark matter and dark energy, yet we can’t see either of them directly. Scientists are developing detectors so sensitive they can spot particle interactions that might occur once in years or even decades. These experiments aim to uncover what shapes galaxies and fuels cosmic expansion. Cracking this mystery could transform our understanding of the laws of nature.

Scientists have detected a surprisingly hot galaxy cluster dating back to the universe’s infancy. The cluster formed far earlier and burned far hotter than current models predict. Researchers believe supermassive black holes may have rapidly heated the surrounding gas. The finding could force a major rethink of how galaxy clusters grow.