Astronomy & Space News

The bright variable star V 372 Orionis takes center stage in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, which has also captured a smaller companion star in the upper left of this image. Both stars lie in the Orion Nebula, a colossal region of star formation roughly 1450 light years from Earth.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim works inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft completing cargo operations before it undocked from the International Space Station's Harmony module several hours later.

This close-up view of the United States flag plate on NASA's Perseverance was acquired on June 28, 2025 (the 1,548th day, or sol, of its mission to Mars), by the WATSON (Wide Angle Topographic Sensor for Operations and eNgineering) imager on the turret at the end of the rover's Mars robotic arm.

Three members of NASA's Lewis Research Center’s (now NASA’s Glenn Research Center) Educational Services Office pose with one of the center’s Spacemobile space science demonstration units on Nov. 1, 1964.

This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy UGC 11397, which resides in the constellation Lyra (The Lyre).

In 1963, Captain Engle was assigned as one of two Air Force test pilots to fly the X-15 Research Rocket aircraft. In 1965, he flew the X-15 to an altitude of 280,600 feet, and became the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut. Three of his sixteen flights in the X-15 exceeded the 50-mile (264,000 feet) altitude required for astronaut rating.

The Andromeda galaxy, also known as Messier 31 (M31), is the closest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way at a distance of about 2.5 million light-years. This new composite image contains data of M31 taken by some of the world’s most powerful telescopes in different kinds of light. This image is released in tribute to the groundbreaking legacy of Dr. Vera Rubin, whose observations transformed our understanding of the universe.

NASA astronaut Bob Hines took this picture of the waning crescent moon on May 8, 2022, as the International Space Station flew into an orbital sunrise 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of the United States.

NASA astronaut Zena Cardman inspects her spacesuit’s wrist mirror at the NASA Johnson Space Center photo studio on March 22, 2024.

Arsia Mons, one of the Red Planet’s largest volcanoes, peeks through a blanket of water ice clouds in this image captured by NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter on May 2, 2025.

This full-disk image from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite shows the Americas at the start of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21, 2012.

More than 500 students with 75 teams from around the world participated in the 31st year of NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge (HERC) on April 11 and April 12, 2025, near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Participating teams represented 35 colleges and universities, 38 high schools, and two middle schools from 20 states, Puerto Rico, and 16 other nations.

A curious cow watches as NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Kate Rubins perform a simulated moonwalk in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 14, 2024.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the barred spiral galaxy IC 758.

Attendees line up to enter the theater for a screening of the new NASA+ documentary “Cosmic Dawn: The Untold Story of the James Webb Space Telescope,” Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at the Greenbelt Cinema in Greenbelt, Maryland. Featuring never-before-seen footage, Cosmic Dawn offers an unprecedented glimpse into the assembly, testing, and launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

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.

In July 1992, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 made its closest approach to Jupiter, skimming 25,000 miles (40,000 km) above Jupiter’s cloud tops. That put Shoemaker-Levy 9 within the gas giant’s Roche limit; the planet’s tidal forces broke the comet into more than 20 pieces, giving it a “string of pearls” appearance and setting the stage forContinue reading "July 8, 1992: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks up"

The post July 8, 1992: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks up appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Steve Leonard from Markham, Ontario, Canada The Spider Nebula (Sharpless 2–234, at right) weaves a tangled web next to the Fly, also known as NGC 1931 (at left). The imager used a dynamic Foraax palette on 20¼ hours of SHORGB data to bring out detail across the wide dynamic range of the scene, yielding detailContinue reading "Cosmic predation"

The post Cosmic predation appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Climbing to 60° high in the east two hours before sunrise, the constellation Andromeda lies just to the upper right of the easy-to-spot W-shaped constellation Cassiopeia. This morning, let’s enjoy a view of the star cluster NGC 7686 in northwestern Andromeda, about 3° northwest of 4th-magnitude Lambda (λ) Andromedae.  This bright group of stars shinesContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, July 8: Catch NGC 7686 in Andromeda"

The post The Sky Today on Tuesday, July 8: Catch NGC 7686 in Andromeda appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

NGC 2685, often called the Helix Galaxy, is quite an unusual object. It is a lenticular (lens-shaped) galaxy that is also a polar ring galaxy, showing a ring of material at 90° orientation to its main axis, resulting from an interaction with a nearby galaxy. It is also a Seyfert Galaxy, its active nucleus powered byContinue reading "Deep-Sky Dreams: The Helix Galaxy   "

The post Deep-Sky Dreams: The Helix Galaxy    appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Gilmour Space Technologies has officially announced that the earliest available launch window for its Eris rocket is no earlier than (NET) July 16. The launch was postponed on July 2 due to adverse weather conditions. The company confirmed the updated launch window on July 3, citing Australia’s regulatory requirement for a two-week notice to theContinue reading "Gilmour delays debut launch, Starlink flies into the week solo"

The post Gilmour delays debut launch, Starlink flies into the week solo appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Greg Meyer from Phoenix, Arizona Three objects fill this vista on the border of Cepheus and Cygnus: the Seahorse Nebula (Barnard 150) at left and the Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6956) and open cluster NGC 6939 at right. The imager captured over 17 hours of exposure in LRGB filters with a 3.2-inch scope.

The post Fireworks display appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out during the evening of July 7 and observe the pretty bright Moon passing Antares, also known as Alpha Scorpii. Look sharp, because the Moon’s light may hinder your view of the star, especially if your location has high clouds or smoke overhead. Good luck!

The post This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Moon passes Antares appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Astronomers have spotted a rare cosmic duo: a neutron star that rotates nearly a hundred times every second locked in an ultra-tight orbit with a semi-shredded star. The scientists who found the pair say one of these stars swallowed the other whole and then spat it back out. It’s the first discovery of a millisecondContinue reading "‘Strange binary’: Astronomers discover a pulsar and a helium star orbiting each other"

The post ‘Strange binary’: Astronomers discover a pulsar and a helium star orbiting each other appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

How did a Cepheid variable star help Edwin Hubble prove the Andromeda Nebula was a galaxy?  Roger BradySan Quentin, California Cepheids are rare variable stars with periods ranging from about 1 to 120 days. Their light curve — a chart showing brightness over time — is characterized by rapid brightening followed by slow dimming inContinue reading "How did Edwin Hubble prove Andromeda was a galaxy?"

The post How did Edwin Hubble prove Andromeda was a galaxy? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Astronomers have just spotted for the first time a huge cloud of cold hydrogen gas just 300 light-years from Earth.

The post Giant Gas Cloud Discovered 300 Light-Years from Earth appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A newfound comet from a remote star system may become bright enough to see in amateur telescopes this November.

The post Rare Interstellar Comet Buzzes Solar System appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

On Sunday night the Moon occults Pi Scorpii for almost all of North America. Elsewhere in Scorpius, the Cat's Eyes point side-eye to the Little Cat's Eyes.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 4 – 12 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Early July is a great time to catch multiple passes of the International Space Station passes in a single night. Here's why.

The post See Multiple International Space Station Passes This Fourth of July Weekend appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

What's rarer than a naked-eye nova? Having two of them at the same time!

The post See Dual Naked-Eye Novae, a Rare Cosmic Coincidence appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Let’s explore “what’s up” in the July sky. This month we’ll check on the planets' whereabouts, go on a "sat-seeing" tour, and chase down one of best know celestial critters: Scorpius. So grab your curiosity, and come along on this month’s Sky Tour episode.

The post July Podcast: Scorpius in the Spotlight appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have imaged a "jellyfish" galaxy in detail, revealing that its spiral arms now drag behind it as a pair of tails.

The post Jellyfish Galaxy Sheds Spiral Arms in “Bunny Ear” Tails appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Space rocks pelt Georgia after Thursday's thunderous bolide.

The post Exploding Fireball Drops Meteorites Over Georgia appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Saturn-mass planet candidate is probably newly formed and orbits a young star that's only 6.4 million years old.

The post James Webb Space Telescope Discovers Its First Planet appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Mercury, Regulus, and Mars drift apart as they descend in the western twilight. After dark, check out double stars in the head of Scorpius. . . where occultation action is coming up.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, June 27 – July 6 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Scientists are on the trail of a mysterious five-particle structure that could challenge one of the biggest theories in physics: string theory. This rare particle—never seen before and predicted not to exist within string theory—might leave behind vanishing tracks in the Large Hadron Collider, like ghostly footprints that suddenly disappear. Spotting it wouldn’t just shake up physics theory—it might also reveal clues to dark matter, the invisible stuff that makes up most of the universe.

Astronomers studying the remnant SNR 0509-67.5 have finally caught a white dwarf in the act of a rare “double-detonation” supernova, where an initial helium blast on the star’s surface triggers a second, core-shattering explosion.

UF engineers, backed by DARPA and NASA, are perfecting laser-forming techniques that let metal sheets fold themselves into giant solar arrays, antennas, and even space-station parts right in orbit—sidestepping rocket size limits and paving the way for sustainable off-Earth construction.

Citizen scientists using the Kilonova Seekers platform spotted a stellar flash 2,500 times brighter than before, allowing astronomers to identify the exploding cataclysmic variable GOTO0650 within hours. Swift community follow-up captured X-ray, UV, and amateur telescope data, revealing the star’s rare “period-bouncer” stage.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists spotted thin and thick disks in galaxies as far back as 10 billion years ago—something never seen before. These observations reveal that galaxies first formed thick, chaotic disks, and only later developed the calm, thin disks seen in modern spirals like the Milky Way.

In a stellar nursery 460 light-years away, astronomers sharpened old ALMA data and spotted crisp rings and spirals swirling around 27 infant stars—evidence that planets start taking shape just a few hundred thousand years after their suns ignite, far earlier than anyone expected.

A newly discovered radio halo, 10 billion light-years away, reveals that galaxy clusters in the early universe were already steeped in high-energy particles. The finding hints at ancient black hole activity or cosmic particle collisions fueling this energy.

A surprising discovery from a tiny grain of asteroid Ryugu has rocked scientists' understanding of how our Solar System evolved. Researchers found djerfisherite—a mineral typically born in scorching, chemically reduced conditions and never before seen in Ryugu-like meteorites—inside a sample returned by Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission. Its presence suggests either Ryugu once experienced unexpectedly high temperatures or that exotic materials from other parts of the solar system somehow made their way into its formation. Like discovering a palm tree fossil in Arctic ice, this rare find challenges everything we thought we knew about primitive asteroids and the early mixing of planetary ingredients.

The LSST camera at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has released its jaw-dropping first images, each capturing 45 times the area of the full moon in one shot. Over the next ten years, this cosmic giant will scan the southern sky in ultra-HD, helping scientists uncover everything from asteroids to the secrets of dark energy.

Imagine printing your Martian home from dust, sunlight, and a bit of biology. A new synthetic lichen system uses fungi and bacteria to grow building materials directly from Martian soil, completely autonomously and without human help.

Lichen from the Mojave Desert has stunned scientists by surviving months of lethal UVC radiation, suggesting life could exist on distant planets orbiting volatile stars. The secret? A microscopic “sunscreen” layer that protects their vital cells—even though Earth’s atmosphere already filters out such rays.

Scientists are peering into the universe's mysterious Cosmic Dawn using the faint whispers of hydrogen radio waves emitted over 13 billion years ago. These signals, particularly the elusive 21-centimeter signal, offer rare insights into the masses and behavior of the universe’s first stars—Population III stars—whose light we can’t see directly. With projects like REACH and the upcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA), researchers are unlocking a cosmic treasure map, predicting how early starlight and powerful X-ray binaries influenced these signals. It’s a thrilling detective story unfolding not through images, but through the statistical patterns of ancient radiation.

A stunning breakthrough in solar physics reveals ultra-fine magnetic structures on the Sun's surface, thanks to the NSF's Inouye Solar Telescope. Researchers captured never-before-seen bright and dark stripes—called striations—within solar granules. These features behave like magnetic curtains rippling across the Sun, reshaping our understanding of magnetic field dynamics at microscopic scales. By achieving a resolution of just 20 kilometers, scientists could match real observations with simulations, revealing subtle magnetic fluctuations that alter how we see the solar surface. These discoveries illuminate not only solar activity but also magnetic behaviors in faraway cosmic environments, with implications for predicting space weather on Earth.

Astronomers have uncovered a colossal, searing-hot filament of gas linking four galaxy clusters in the Shapley Supercluster a discovery that could finally solve the mystery of the Universe s missing matter. This giant thread, 10 times the mass of the Milky Way and stretching 23 million light-years, is one of the best confirmations yet of what cosmological simulations have long predicted: that vast, faint filaments connect the Universe s largest structures in a cosmic web.

Astronomers have produced the most detailed map yet of the Sculptor Galaxy, revealing hundreds of previously unseen celestial features in stunning color and resolution. By combining over 50 hours of observations using the European Southern Observatory s Very Large Telescope, scientists captured a full-spectrum portrait that unravels the galaxy s stellar makeup in thousands of colors. This revolutionary technique offers an unprecedented look at the age, composition, and motion of stars and gas across the galaxy s vast 65,000-light-year span. Among the highlights are 500 newly identified planetary nebulae, glowing remnants of dying stars, which help pinpoint the galaxy s distance and open new windows into galactic evolution.