Astronomy & Space News

Fishing boats illuminate the Arabian Sea along India’s west coast with green lights designed to attract squid, shrimp, sardines, and mackerel in this nighttime photograph from the International Space Station, orbiting 259 miles above Earth. At lower right, the city lights of Hyderabad—renowned for its historic diamond and pearl trade—stretch westward toward the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, home to over 26 million people and the heart of Bollywood.

Northern Japan, especially the island of Hokkaido, is home to some of the snowiest cities in the world. Sapporo, the island's largest city and host of an annual snow festival, typically sees more than 140 days of snowfall, with nearly 6 meters (20 feet) accumulating on average each year.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev onboard, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission is the twelfth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Meir, Hathaway, Adenot, and Fedyaev launched at 5:15 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin a mission aboard the orbital outpost.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals the clearest view yet of the Egg Nebula. This structure of gas and dust was created by a dying, Sun-like star. These newest observations were taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3.

From left, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 crew members – Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot – pose next to their mission insignia inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.

A pair of CubeSats designed by college students from around the world is deployed into Earth orbit from a small satellite orbital deployer on the outside of the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Students from Mexico, Italy, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan designed the shoe-boxed sized satellites for a series of Earth observations and technology demonstrations.

The New York metropolitan area was showing the effects of a prolonged cold spell in late January 2026. During a stretch of frigid weather, ice choked the Hudson River along Manhattan’s western shore.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare — seen as the bright flash toward the upper middle — on Feb. 4, 2026. The image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in blue and red.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 7722, a lenticular galaxy located about 187 million light-years away, features concentric rings of dust and gas that appear to swirl around its bright nucleus.

The Varda Space Industries W-5 capsule returned to Earth in Koonibba in South Australia on Jan. 29, 2026, with the protection of a heat shield made of C-PICA, a cutting-edge material licensed from NASA and manufactured by Varda. The capsule’s successful return marks the first time a capsule protected entirely by Varda-made C-PICA has come back to Earth.

A full moon is seen shining over NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher in the early hours of February 1, 2026.

NASA's Orion spacecraft sits atop the agency's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket at the launch pad after rollout on Jan. 17, 2026.

Deep Space Station 15 (DSS-15), one of the 112-foot (34-meter) antennas at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California, looks skyward, with the stars of the Milky Way overhead, in September 2025.

A new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope of a portion of the Helix Nebula highlights comet-like knots, fierce stellar winds, and layers of gas shed off by a dying star interacting with its surrounding environment. Webb’s image also shows the stark transition between the hottest gas to the coolest gas as the shell expands out from the central white dwarf.

This stellar landscape is reminiscent of a winter vista in a view from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (red, green, and blue). Chandra data (red, green and blue) punctuate the scene with bursts of colored lights representing high-energy activity from the active stars.

The Complete Sharpless Catalog: 313 (Mostly) Amazing Objects for the Astrophotographer  Gary ImmOnalaska, Texas The Complete Sharpless Catalog: 313 (Mostly) Amazing Objects for the Astrophotographer will help you capture all the objects from Stewart Sharpless’ catalog. The eighth in Imm’s Astrophotography Series, this 156-page book contains high-resolution images and notes object types, recommended color palettes,Continue reading "You’ll love this month’s new astronomy products"

The post You’ll love this month’s new astronomy products appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A study led by SETI Institute scientist Matija Ćuk proposes that Saturn’s bright rings and its largest moon, Titan, may have both originated in collisions among its moons. This study was accepted for publication in The Planetary Science Journal and the preprint is available here. Near the end of its 13-year mission, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft measured how Saturn’sContinue reading "Did Titan form when two moons collided?"

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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 "2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases"

The post 2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

From 1905 until his death in 1916, Percival Lowell searched for a ninth planet, which he called Planet X. Lowell had predicted the planet based on irregularities in the orbit of Uranus. In 1929, Lowell Observatory Director V.M. Slipher hired self-taught astronomer Clyde Tombaugh to resume Lowell’s search for the planet. Tombaugh captured long-exposure photosContinue reading "Feb 18, 1930: Discovery of Pluto"

The post Feb 18, 1930: Discovery of Pluto appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  February 17: An Antarctic annular eclipse The Moon passes 1.8° north of Venus at 4 A.M. EST, then  passes 0.1° south of Mercury at 6 P.M. EST.  Both planets are visible in the evening sky, though Venus is low, only about 12°Continue reading "The Sky Today on Wednesday, February 18: The Moon meets Mercury"

The post The Sky Today on Wednesday, February 18: The Moon meets Mercury appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

After issues with a liquid hydrogen leak thwarted an attempt earlier this month, NASA is targeting Thursday, Feb. 19, for a second Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal tanking day. Artemis 2 represents humanity’s return to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, but it can’t leave the ground until it passesContinue reading "NASA to attempt second Artemis 2 ‘wet’ dress rehearsal"

The post NASA to attempt second Artemis 2 ‘wet’ dress rehearsal appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

For life to develop on a planet, two chemical elements are needed in sufficient quantities: phosphorus and nitrogen. Phosphorus is vital for the formation of DNA and RNA. Nitrogen is an essential component of proteins. Without these two elements, life can’t develop out of matter. A study published in Nature Astronomy, and led by Craig Walton,Continue reading "Only a small number of planets may harbor life"

The post Only a small number of planets may harbor life appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

More than 4,000 years after the stones of Stonehenge were erected on what today is Salisbury Plain in the U.K., astronomers and archaeologists are still investigating its connections to the sky above. In particular, while Stonehenge is famous for its alignments with the Sun, some scientists argue the monument is also a temple to theContinue reading "The dance of the Moon"

The post The dance of the Moon appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A pioneer of Earth observation from space, the Vanguard 2 satellite launched Feb. 17, 1959. The satellite was the world’s first intended for meteorological observation, and followed on a series of test vehicles and failed satellite launches in the Vanguard program. The only previously successful Vanguard satellite, Vanguard 1, had launched a year earlier. VanguardContinue reading "Feb. 17, 1959: Vanguard 2 launches"

The post Feb. 17, 1959: Vanguard 2 launches appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  February 16: Catch Comet Wierzchoś in twilight New Moon occurs at 7:01 A.M. EST, bringing an annular solar eclipse to Antarctica and part of the Southern Ocean. Only travelers in these regions will see the Moon cover nearly all of the Sun’sContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, February 17: An Antarctic annular eclipse"

The post The Sky Today on Tuesday, February 17: An Antarctic annular eclipse appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

On February 18th, the willowy crescent has a close shave with Mercury, so close that it occults the planet from some U.S. cities.

The post Watch the Young Moon Greet Mercury at Sunset appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Traversing the galaxy from places yet known, a few interstellar objects have taken a quick dip into our solar system. Astronomers look to nearby planet-forming stellar systems as possible launching posts.

The post We Have Visitors: Interstellar Material from Nearby Debris Disks appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

After a recent explosive outburst, Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann is bright enough to see in a medium-sized telescope.

The post Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann Bursts as "Ice Volcano" Erupts appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Three planets await you in the western twilight, though low Venus is a toughie. The crescent Moon passes them and, for the lucky, occults Mercury. Dog and Hare accompany Orion. And can you find Kemble's Cascade?

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 13 – 22 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers might have spotted a star in the Andromeda Galaxy collapsing directly into a black hole, without the accompanying fanfare of a supernova.

The post Astronomers Discover Second Failed Supernova Candidate appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers might have found a moon half the mass of Jupiter orbiting in a nearby system, based on the wobbles of its host world.

The post Astronomers Find Hints of an Exomoon appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The 4-billion-year-old Moon rocks brought back from the farside of the Moon challenge ideas about what it was like in the early solar system.

The post Oldest Moon Rocks Found on the Lunar Farside appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have discovered three still-growing galaxy clusters in the early universe that point to a faster track of evolution than expected.

The post Infant Galaxy Clusters Grew Faster Than Expected appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Winter Hexagon encompasses the brightest winter stars. Near Orion, the Big Dog prances and the Hare crouches. And the moonless dark this week opens telescopic deep-sky depths.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 6 – 15 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A distant Kreutz comet heading our way may grow a glorious tail in April.

The post New Kreutz Comet C/2026 A1 May Dazzle appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Researchers have uncovered more than a thousand previously unknown tectonic ridges across the Moon’s dark plains, showing the Moon is still contracting and reshaping itself. These features are among the youngest geological structures on the lunar surface. Because they form through the same forces linked to past moonquakes, they could signal new seismic hotspots.

Scientists scanning the heart of the Milky Way have spotted a tantalizing signal: a possible ultra-fast pulsar spinning every 8.19 milliseconds near Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at our galaxy’s core. Pulsars act like incredibly precise cosmic clocks, and finding one in this extreme environment could open a rare window into how space-time behaves under intense gravity.

New data from major dark-energy observatories suggest the universe may not expand forever after all. A Cornell physicist calculates that the cosmos is heading toward a dramatic reversal: after reaching its maximum size in about 11 billion years, it could begin collapsing, ultimately ending in a “big crunch” roughly 20 billion years from now.

A massive star 2.5 million light-years away simply vanished — and astronomers now know why. Instead of exploding in a supernova, it quietly collapsed into a black hole, shedding its outer layers in a slow-motion cosmic fade-out. The leftover debris continues to glow in infrared light, offering a long-lasting signal of the black hole’s birth. The finding reshapes our understanding of how some of the universe’s biggest stars meet their end.

Astronomers have uncovered a distant planetary system that flips a long-standing rule of planet formation on its head. Around the small red dwarf star LHS 1903, scientists expected to find rocky planets close in and gas giants farther out — the same pattern seen in our own Solar System and hundreds of others. And at first, that’s exactly what they saw. But new observations revealed a surprise: the outermost planet appears to be rocky, not gaseous.

A dazzling new Hubble image peels back the layers of the mysterious Egg Nebula, a rare and fleeting phase in a Sun-like star’s death just 1,000 light-years away. Hidden inside a dense cocoon of dust, the dying star blasts twin beams of light through a polar opening, carving glowing lobes and delicate ripples into the surrounding cloud. These striking, symmetrical arcs hint that unseen companion stars may be shaping the spectacle from within.

Dust from asteroid Bennu is revealing a surprising origin story for life’s building blocks. New research suggests some amino acids formed in frozen ice exposed to radiation, not warm liquid water as scientists long believed. Isotopic clues show Bennu’s chemistry differs sharply from well-studied meteorites, pointing to multiple pathways for creating life’s ingredients.

Scientists have uncovered evidence of a massive underground lava tube hidden beneath the surface of Venus, revealing a new layer of the planet’s volcanic history. By reexamining radar data from NASA’s Magellan spacecraft, researchers identified what appears to be a huge empty conduit near the volcanic region Nyx Mons. The structure could be nearly a kilometer wide and extend for dozens of kilometers below the surface.

A newly identified planet candidate, HD 137010 b, looks strikingly Earth-like in size and orbit — but it may be colder than Mars due to its dimmer star. If it has a thick enough atmosphere, though, this icy world could still surprise us.

Scientists studying a rock sample collected by NASA’s Curiosity rover have uncovered something tantalizing: the largest organic molecules ever detected on Mars. The compounds — decane, undecane, and dodecane — may be fragments of fatty acids, which on Earth are most often linked to life. While non-living processes like meteorite impacts can also create such molecules, researchers found those sources couldn’t fully explain the amounts detected.

Deep inside a nearby galaxy cloaked in thick clouds of gas and dust, astronomers have uncovered a surprising treasure trove of organic molecules using the James Webb Space Telescope. Peering through the cosmic veil in infrared light, researchers detected an extraordinary mix of carbon-rich compounds — including benzene, methane, and even the highly reactive methyl radical, never before seen outside the Milky Way.

For millions of years, a frozen wanderer drifted between the stars before slipping into our solar system as 3I/ATLAS—only the third known interstellar comet ever spotted. When scientists turned NASA’s Swift Observatory toward it, they caught the first-ever hint of water from such an object, detected through a faint ultraviolet glow of hydroxyl gas. Even more surprising, the comet was blasting out water at a rate of about 40 kilograms per second while still far from the Sun—much farther than where most comets “switch on.”

A distant star system with four super-sized gas giants has revealed a surprise. Thanks to JWST’s powerful vision, astronomers detected sulfur in their atmospheres — a chemical clue that they formed like Jupiter, by slowly building solid cores. That’s unexpected because these planets are far bigger and orbit much farther from their star than models once allowed.

Baker’s yeast isn’t just useful in the kitchen — it may also be built for space. Researchers found that yeast cells can survive intense shock waves and toxic chemicals similar to those on Mars. The cells protect themselves by forming special stress-response structures that help them endure extreme conditions. This resilience could make yeast a powerful model for astrobiology and future space missions.

A colossal ancient impact may have reshaped the Moon far more deeply than scientists once realized. By analyzing rare lunar rocks brought back by China’s Chang’e-6 mission from the Moon’s largest crater, researchers found unusual chemical fingerprints pointing to extreme heat and material loss caused by a giant impact. The collision likely stripped away volatile elements, reshaped volcanic activity, and left a lasting chemical signature deep below the surface.