Astronomy & Space News

NASA ER-2 pilot Kirt Stallings waits inside the transport vehicle at Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, moments before boarding NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center’s ER-2 aircraft for a high-altitude mission supporting the Geological Earth Mapping Experiment (GEMx). Through the vehicle window, the aircraft can be seen being readied for flight.

This image shows two massive galaxy clusters. The vast number of galaxies and foreground stars in the image were captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in near-infrared light. Glowing, hot X-rays captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory appear in pink. The blue represents the dark matter, which was precisely mapped by researchers with Webb’s detailed imaging.

The 57.7-foot-long Canadarm2 robotic arm extends from a data grapple fixture on the International Space Station’s Harmony module in this July 23, 2025, image.

During its close flyby of Jupiter’s moon Io on December 30, 2023, NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured some of the most detailed imagery ever of Io’s volcanic surface. This image is the NASA Science Image of the Month for October 2025.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the nebula LMC N44C.

This stunning Earth image taken from the International Space Station looks at a large lake in eastern Kazakhstan with golden sunglint: Lake Balkhash. It is one of the largest lakes in Asia and is the 15th largest lake in the world.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), the agency’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. The missions will each focus on different effects of the solar wind — the continuous stream of particles emitted by the Sun — and space weather — the changing conditions in space driven by the Sun — from their origins at the Sun to their farthest reaches billions of miles away at the edge of our solar system.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague watches as Robert Schmidle Pitts Aerobatics perform, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, during the Joint Base Andrews Air Show at Joint Base Andrews in Prince George's County, Maryland. Hague spent 171 days aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72.

NASA’s 10 new astronaut candidates were introduced Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, following a competitive selection process of more than 8,000 applicants from across the United States.

IC 348 is a star-forming region in our Milky Way galaxy.

In this infrared photograph, the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at JPL’s Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California, beams its eight-laser beacon to the Deep Space Optical Communications flight laser transceiver aboard NASA’s Psyche spacecraft.

The Milky Way appears above Earth's bright atmospheric glow in this photograph from the International Space Station as it soared 261 miles above southern Iran at approximately 12:54 a.m. local time on Aug. 23, 2025.

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman processes bone cell samples inside the Kibo laboratory module's Life Science Glovebox on Aug. 28, 2025.

Westerlund 1 is the biggest and closest “super” star cluster to Earth. Data from Chandra and other telescopes are helping astronomers delve deeper into this galactic factory where stars are vigorously being produced. Observations from Chandra have uncovered thousands of individual stars pumping out X-ray emission into the cluster.

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick (left) and Mark Vande Hei (right) prepare to fly out to a landing zone in the Rocky Mountains as part of the certification run for the NASA Artemis course at the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Gypsum, Colorado, Aug. 26.

On Saturday, Nov. 15, a group of intrepid observers gathered near Animas, New Mexico, to celebrate first light of a new large telescope, a 30-inch f/3.3 instrument nicknamed the “Lockwood Monster.” This wonderful instrument was created and built by Mike Lockwood, the brilliant owner and operator of Lockwood Custom Optics. The sky at Animas isContinue reading "A memorable star party in New Mexico"

The post A memorable star party in New Mexico appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to head out in the evening and observe the seventh planet in our solar system, Uranus. Discovered in 1781 by German-born British astronomer William Herschel using a homemade 6.2-inch reflecting telescope, it’s now positioned well for you to find. Good luck! You’ll find the video here.

The post This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Uranus at opposition appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

What is the baseline for determining the magnitude scale of celestial objects? Why do brighter objects have negative numbers? Dean TreadwayKnoxville, Tennessee The first observer to catalog differences in star brightnesses was Greek astronomer Hipparchus. He created a catalog around 135 B.C.E. of roughly 850 stars divided into six ranges. He called the brightest 1stContinue reading "Why do brighter astronomical objects have negative magnitudes?"

The post Why do brighter astronomical objects have negative magnitudes? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The phenomenon of a Full Moon arises when our planet, Earth, is precisely sandwiched between the Sun and the Moon. This alignment ensures the entire side of the Moon that faces us gleams under sunlight. Thanks to the Moon’s orbit around Earth, the angle of sunlight hitting the lunar surface and being reflected back toContinue reading "2025 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases"

The post 2025 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

On Nov. 17, 1966, the Leonids put on one of the greatest meteor shows in recorded history, during which eyewitnesses reported a sky that seemed to “rain shooting stars.” Observers in North America witnessed a peak of thousands of meteors per minute; Kitt Peak National Observatory reported 40 meteors per second. This peak occurred aroundContinue reading "Nov. 17, 1966: A phenomenal Leonid meteor storm"

The post Nov. 17, 1966: A phenomenal Leonid meteor storm appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  November 16: Iapetus at western elongation The Moon passes 1.2° south of Spica at 6 A.M. EST. The pair is visible in the early-morning sky before sunrise, our Moon now a delicate crescent with just 7 percent of its nearside illuminated byContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, November 17: The Moon hangs with Spica"

The post The Sky Today on Monday, November 17: The Moon hangs with Spica appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

On Nov. 16, 1974, a group gathered at Arecibo Observatory in the rainforest interior of Puerto Rico, there for a reopening celebration after upgrades to the facility. After the requisite speeches, scientists used the radio telescope to send what would be known as the Arecibo message: 1,679 bits of data in 73 lines, each 23Continue reading "Nov. 16, 1974: Arecibo sends a message"

The post Nov. 16, 1974: Arecibo sends a message appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  November 15: Ceres passes a double star Saturn’s moon Iapetus reaches western elongation today, when it is at its brightest. Now around 10th magnitude, you can find Iapetus some 10’ west of Saturn.  The ringed planet is already above the horizon asContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, November 16: Iapetus at western elongation"

The post The Sky Today on Sunday, November 16: Iapetus at western elongation appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In 1976, the Soviet Union began development of the Buran orbiter. Concerned that the American space shuttle program might be used for military purposes, the Soviets responded with Buran and its Energia booster rocket, which were capable of carrying antisatellite and antimissile weapons and targeting locations on Earth’s surface. Though the nonmilitary objectives for BuranContinue reading "Nov. 15, 1988: The Buran orbiter launches"

The post Nov. 15, 1988: The Buran orbiter launches appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  November 14: Titan’s reappearing act Dwarf planet 1 Ceres, the ruler of the main belt, is currently making its way through Cetus the Whale. Tonight Ceres is approaching the double star HD 2447.  The best time to catch the scene is aroundContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, November 15: Ceres passes a double star"

The post The Sky Today on Saturday, November 15: Ceres passes a double star appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

By exploring the edge of the solar system, astronomers have estimated how long our star stuck around its siblings after birth.

The post The Sun Left Home in a Hurry appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

With the help of an intervening galaxy cluster, astronomers have found what might be the first generation of stars — but the jury's still out.

The post Have Astronomers Discovered the First Generation of Stars? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Saturn's rings are turning as edge-on as we will see them for another 15 years. The planet awaits your scope high in the evening sky. Low in the dawn, the thin Moon approaches Venus.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 14 – 23 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A small but unique mission to Mars is taking an innovative path to reach the Red Planet in late 2027.

The post ESCAPADE Mission Launches for a Long Trip to Mars appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Last night's aurora painted the sky in reds, greens and even oranges. It's expected to return tonight!

The post Double Solar Eruptions Spark Widespread Aurora appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Saturn's as edgy as it'll get for the next 13 years. With special visual treats in store, here's what to keep eyes on the planet this month.

The post See Saturn's Rings at Their Thinnest appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Sky & Telescope's Chile tour offered magnificent views of the southern sky, professional observatories, and one of the world’s most remarkable deserts.

The post Astronomy Heaven: Sky & Telescope Tours Chile appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The interstellar comet: Can you see it in your scope? Maybe you can, starting late this week as Comet 3I/ATLAS emerges from behind the Sun. If you have a large […]

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 7 – 16 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have found that star-forming galaxies in the early universe were far messier than modern-day disk galaxies.

The post Early Galaxies Were Messy, New Study Finds appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The fast spin of small near-Earth asteroids suggests scientists need to revise their ideas about what holds these rocky bodies together.

The post Near-Earth Asteroids Spin Faster Than We Thought appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have, for the first time, recorded the moment a star’s explosion broke through its surface. The nearby supernova, SN 2024ggi, revealed a surprisingly olive-shaped blast when studied with ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The discovery helps scientists better understand the forces that drive massive stars to explode and underscores how quick international cooperation can lead to groundbreaking results.

The “Seven Sisters” have far more relatives than anyone imagined. Using NASA and ESA space telescopes, astronomers found thousands of hidden stars linked to the Pleiades, forming a colossal stellar complex. The discovery expands the cluster’s size by a factor of 20 and offers a new way to trace the shared origins of stars—including our own Sun.

Researchers combined deep learning with high-resolution physics to create the first Milky Way model that tracks over 100 billion stars individually. Their AI learned how gas behaves after supernovae, removing one of the biggest computational bottlenecks in galactic modeling. The result is a simulation hundreds of times faster than current methods.

LHAASO has uncovered that micro-quasars, black holes feeding on companion stars, are powerful PeV particle accelerators. Their jets produce ultra-high-energy gamma rays and protons that exceed long-held expectations. Precise cosmic-ray measurements reveal a new high-energy component, suggesting multiple sources within the Milky Way. These findings finally tie the “knee” structure to black hole jet systems.

Researchers at KRISS observed water’s rapid freeze–melt cycles under ultrahigh pressure and discovered Ice XXI, the first new ice phase found in decades. Using advanced high-pressure tech and microsecond XFEL imaging, they uncovered complex crystallization pathways never seen before. Ice XXI’s structure resembles the high-pressure ice found inside Jupiter and Saturn’s moons, hinting at planetary science implications.

Dark matter may be invisible, but scientists are getting closer to understanding whether it follows the same rules as everything we can see. By comparing how galaxies move through cosmic gravity wells to the depth of those wells, researchers found that dark matter appears to behave much like ordinary matter, obeying familiar physical laws. Still, the possibility of a hidden fifth force lingers, one that must be very weak to have evaded detection so far.

A massive, well-preserved impact crater has been uncovered in Guangdong, revealing the signature of a powerful meteorite strike during the Holocene. Measuring 900 meters across, it dwarfs other known craters from the same era. Shock-damaged quartz confirms the intense forces involved. Its survival in a high-erosion environment makes it a geological rarity.

Scientists have finally confirmed a powerful coronal mass ejection from another star, using LOFAR radio data paired with XMM-Newton’s X-ray insights. The eruption blasted into space at extraordinary speeds, strong enough to strip atmospheres from close-orbiting worlds. This suggests planets around active red dwarfs may be far less hospitable than hoped.

A newly detected super-Earth just 20 light-years away is giving scientists one of the most promising chances yet to search for life beyond our solar system. The discovery of the exoplanet orbiting in the habitable zone of its star was made possible by advanced spectrographs designed at Penn State and by decades of observations from telescopes around the world.

Simulations reveal that Jupiter’s rapid growth disrupted the early solar system, creating rings where new planetesimals formed much later than expected. These late-forming bodies match the ages and chemistry of chondrite meteorites found on Earth. The findings also help explain why Earth and the other rocky planets remained near 1 AU rather than plunging inward.

Arctic sea ice is disappearing fast, and scientists have turned to an unexpected cosmic clue—space dust—to uncover how ice has changed over tens of thousands of years. By tracking helium-3–bearing dust trapped (or blocked) by ancient ice, researchers built a remarkably detailed history of Arctic coverage stretching back 30,000 years. Their findings reveal powerful links between sea ice, nutrient availability, and the Arctic food web, offering hints about how future warming may reshape everything from plankton blooms to geopolitics.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered a trove of complex organic molecules frozen in ice around a young star in a neighboring galaxy — including the first-ever detection of acetic acid beyond the Milky Way. Found in the Large Magellanic Cloud, these molecules formed under harsh, metal-poor conditions similar to those in the early universe, suggesting that the chemical precursors of life may have existed far earlier and in more diverse environments than previously imagined.

Scientists have identified three Earth-sized planets orbiting two stars in the TOI-2267 system. Remarkably, planets transit around both stars — a first in astronomy. The system’s compact, cold nature defies conventional theories of planetary formation. Future studies using JWST and other advanced telescopes could reveal what these worlds are truly made of.

New simulations suggest magnetic fields hold the key to forming black holes that defy known mass limits. When powerful magnetic forces act on a collapsing, spinning star, they eject vast amounts of material, creating smaller yet faster-spinning black holes. This process could explain the puzzling GW231123 collision and the existence of “forbidden” black holes.

XRISM’s observations of GX13+1 revealed a slow, fog-like wind instead of the expected high-speed blast, challenging existing models of radiation-driven outflows. The discovery hints that temperature differences in accretion discs may determine how energy shapes the cosmos.