Astronomy & Space News

A first of its kind measurement of a magnetar may have captured empty space behaving in a way physicists have predicted for 90 years, but never directly observed. The results published Wednesday in Nature.

NASA astronaut candidate Adam Fuhrmann prepares for a training flight aboard NASA’s WB-57 aircraft.

Engineers connect the Orion crew and service modules for the Artemis III mission inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Technicians inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center complete installation of a commemorative plaque on the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, as photographed on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.

Relatively low tidal waters expose sandflats and mudflats in the Bijagós Archipelago of Guinea-Bissau in this image acquired on November 28, 2025, with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8. These coastal landforms support an array of invertebrates, making the archipelago a popular stopover for migratory shorebirds.

NASA opened its newest wind tunnel, the Flight Dynamics Research Facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on Friday, providing a critical resource for the agency and its partners to test the safety and performance of future generations of aircraft, rockets, and space exploration vehicles.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system.

This illustration depicts charged particles from a solar storm stripping away charged particles of Mars' atmosphere, one of the processes of Martian atmosphere loss studied by NASA's MAVEN mission.

NASA astronaut Chris Williams is seen outside the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft after he landed with Expedition 74 Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, July 26, 2026. The trio returned to Earth after logging 241 days in space as a members of Expeditions 73 and 74 aboard the International Space Station.

From left, Expedition 74 flight engineers Anna Kikina and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos, and Anil Menon of NASA pose for a portrait while holding a cake celebrating their recent arrival aboard the International Space Station.

Crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans transport the 130-foot-tall liquid hydrogen tank out of a production cell inside the main factory building into a detached test building on a separate portion of the 829-acre site.

Messier 94 is a spiral galaxy with a bright inner ring around it, called a starburst ring, where new stars are forming.

This composite of images taken by NASA’s Psyche mission shows the crescent of Mars grow as the spacecraft approached the planet for a gravity assist from May 2 to May 15, 2026. Because Psyche approached Mars from a high phase angle, the planet appeared as a thin crescent in the days running up to the close approach, lit by sunlight reflecting off its surface.

On the morning of July 20, 1976, roughly 40 minutes after mission controllers received word that the Viking 1 lander had successfully touched down on the surface of Mars, this photo gave us our first view from the surface of the Red Planet.

Scientists using NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) directly measured the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within what is often referred to as the “Lighthouse” Nebula, for the first time.

The Soviet Luna program, designed for lunar research and mission planning, ran from 1959 to 1976. On Aug. 9, 1976, Luna 24, the final mission of the program, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in present-day Kazakhstan. The probe landed on the Moon’s surface nine days later, in the Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises), a previouslyContinue reading "Aug. 9, 1976: Luna 24 blasts off"

The post Aug. 9, 1976: Luna 24 blasts off appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 8: Sagittarius’ Little Gem The Moon passes 4° north of Mars at 2 A.M. EDT; the pair is visible together in the early-morning sky, some 30° high in the east an hour before sunrise. They straddle the border of Gemini andContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, August 9: The Moon and Mars"

The post The Sky Today on Sunday, August 9: The Moon and Mars appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A pioneer mission in astrometry – the measurement of the position, distance, motion, brightness, and color of stars – the European Space Agency’s (ESA) High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite, or Hipparcos, launched on Aug. 8, 1989. There were immediately problems when a rocket-engine failure kept Hipparcos from reaching its planned orbit. However, the satellite wasContinue reading "Aug. 8, 1989: The Hipparcos satellite launches"

The post Aug. 8, 1989: The Hipparcos satellite launches appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 7: A lunar occultation of the Pleiades Let’s spend tonight with the Little Gem, a planetary nebula also cataloged as NGC 6818. It is highest in the sky around 11 P.M., when it is some 35° above the southern horizon. It’sContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, August 8: Sagittarius’ Little Gem"

The post The Sky Today on Saturday, August 8: Sagittarius’ Little Gem appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

On August 12, the New Moon’s shadow will fall over a portion of Earth’s surface. When that happens, the Sun will temporarily disappear from the sky in a total solar eclipse. These breathtaking events are spectacular and ethereal, as the sky falls dark during the day, leaving only the soft glow of our star’s outerContinue reading "How to see the August 12 total solar eclipse"

The post How to see the August 12 total solar eclipse 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 "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.

Meterorite ALH 84001 fell to Earth from Mars about 13,000 years ago, landing in the Allan Hills region of Antarctica. It was discovered in 1984 and taken to the Johnson Space Center, where in 1994 researchers saw possible signs of life: carbonate minerals and microscopic structures that resembled nanobacteria. Further research commenced, and on Aug.Continue reading "Aug. 7, 1996: NASA announces martian life"

The post Aug. 7, 1996: NASA announces martian life appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Looking for a sky event this week? Check out our full Sky This Week column.  August 6: Mercury moves south of Pollux The Moon passes 5° north of Uranus in Taurus at 1 P.M. EDT. The pair is visible earlier in the morning, with the Moon rising shortly before midnight on the 6th along with the PleiadesContinue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, August 7: A lunar occultation of the Pleiades"

The post The Sky Today on Friday, August 7: A lunar occultation of the Pleiades appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Friday, August 7The Moon passes 5° north of Uranus at 1 P.M. EDT. The pair is visible in the early-morning sky, along with a lunar occultation of the Pleiades just after moonrise. Check out the August 7 entry in last week’s Sky This Week column for more details.  Late tonight, there’s a good hour ofContinue reading "The Sky This Week from August 7 to 14: A solar eclipse and shooting stars"

The post The Sky This Week from August 7 to 14: A solar eclipse and shooting stars appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

NASA launched its Mars rover Curiosity inside the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) on Nov. 26, 2011. Complete with 10 science instruments and 17 cameras, the robot can analyze mineral types, search for signs of microbial life, and take color panoramas of the Red Planet’s surface. Curiosity’s landing on Mars was a new process, nicknamed theContinue reading "Aug. 6, 2012: Curiosity lands on Mars"

The post Aug. 6, 2012: Curiosity lands on Mars appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In twilight, watch bold Venus and tiny Spica approach each other to meet September 1st. And check whether you'll be able to see anything of Wednesday's solar eclipse!

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

View the August 12th total solar eclipse from anywhere — the livestream options are plentiful!

The post Where to See the August 12th Solar Eclipse Online appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Several science campaigns plan to greet the racing shadow of the Moon on August 12th.

The post Science Campaigns Planned for the August 12th Total Solar Eclipse appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

With a new Moon in play, skywatchers anticipate a fine Perseid performance this year.

The post A Perfectly Timed Perseid Meteor Shower appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Scientists observing the Sun with the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope have caught a wave-like shape that's never been seen on the Sun's visible surface.

The post Inouye Solar Telescope Sees the Sun Closer Than Ever appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Brief but powerful flashes of radio waves are aiding astronomers' quest to find and map cosmic gas.

The post A New Way to Map the Universe's Missing Matter appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Delphinus, the constellation looks just like a tiny Dolphin that's splashing its way through the sky amidst other famous summer sights.

The post Meet the Constellations: Delphinus, the Dolphin appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The longest total solar eclipse visible from land until 2114 will sweep across Spain and North Africa on August 2, 2027. Here’s how to choose where to watch it.

The post Plan for Next Year's Total Solar Eclipse: August 2, 2027 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

This month we’ve got three big celestial events to cover: eclipses of the Sun and Moon, and especially good prospects for the Perseid meteor shower. Plus we’ll track down a few planets, and gaze at the center of our galaxy. So load up on the bug juice, and come along on this month’s Sky Tour.

The post August Podcast: Three Big Events! appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Asteroid 44 Nysa has the weirdest shape yet seen for an asteroid, and that’s saying something.

The post Astronomers Spot Weird, Three-Lobed Asteroid with a Moon appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A rare meteorite that crashed through a New Jersey roof contains evidence of ancient salty fluids, organic compounds, and amino acids from a primitive asteroid. Its pristine chemistry could offer new clues about how space rocks helped supply early Earth with some of the ingredients needed for life.

Scientists have discovered incredibly tiny plasma whirlpools swirling across the Sun’s surface, some just 20 kilometers wide. These previously invisible vortices may twist magnetic fields and help build up the energy released in small solar eruptions called nanoflares. They may also help magnetic fields spread through the Sun’s atmosphere far faster than current models can explain.

A ten-month Antarctic experiment found that astronauts may struggle not only with loneliness but also with spending too much time around the same people. Frequent contact was linked to greater tension and mistrust, while the crew increasingly divided into cultural and language-based groups.

Metal-rich asteroids could one day become hardware stores for Mars, supplying the materials needed to build and repair a growing colony. A new analysis shows that carefully selected asteroids may be reachable with current spacecraft technology. Some could even provide the ingredients for making rocket fuel in space, dramatically reducing the burden of hauling supplies from Earth.

A supermassive black hole has been found lurking about 30,000 light-years from the center of its galaxy—the first dormant black hole detected so far from a galactic core. It revealed itself only after shredding a passing star and producing a brief, brilliant flare. Astronomers think it may be the remnant of a devoured galaxy or a black hole flung outward during a chaotic cosmic encounter.

August brings four major celestial events, including a solar eclipse and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Dark New Moon skies could make the Perseids especially impressive, while Venus will blaze in the west after sunset. A deep partial lunar eclipse closes the month, darkening most of the Moon.

Hidden moon ice may reveal itself through the way it bends and reflects vibrations from moonquakes. The technique could help astronauts locate vital water supplies and uncover clues about the origins of Earth’s oceans.

The solar wind may be stripping away Mars’ atmosphere by creating giant rolling waves along its outer edge. Data from MAVEN and Tianwen-1 show that these waves form plasma clouds that carry atmospheric particles into space. The process is concentrated on one side of Mars and may have played a major role in drying out the once potentially habitable planet.

Dark matter particles may exert a hidden force on one another, but its effects are stranger than expected. An extra attraction helps the particles cluster, yet it also makes dark matter effectively lighter as the Universe expands. That weakens its gravitational impact and usually slows the growth of cosmic structure rather than accelerating it.

Scientists have identified LHAASO J1912+1014u as a cosmic accelerator that can push protons beyond one quadrillion electron volts. The finding may help reveal where the Milky Way’s most energetic cosmic rays come from and how they influence the galaxy.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has entered a Martian valley covered by an astonishing “sea” of tiny polygon-shaped fractures. The honeycomb patterns, each only a few inches wide, stretch across the landscape and even wrap around a nearby 20-foot-tall butte.

Primordial black holes may occasionally pass through white dwarf stars and trigger enormous Type Ia supernova explosions. Researchers found that these events could explain chemical patterns seen in supernova remnants, nearby explosions, and stars across the Milky Way.

A black hole observed during a dramatic 2023 eruption did not simply devour gas from its nearby companion star. It also expelled large amounts of material through powerful jets and winds, even after the outburst had nearly faded. The results suggest black holes may continue reshaping their surroundings long after their brightest fireworks end.

Scientists traced a mysterious surge of low-energy gamma rays from zinc-70 to magnetic changes occurring inside its nucleus. The breakthrough could improve models of how stars, supernovae, and neutron star mergers create heavy elements.

Astronomers may have been listening for alien civilizations in only a small slice of the radio spectrum while overlooking a largely unexplored range of higher frequencies. Using archived data from the ALMA telescope in Chile, researchers conducted the observatory’s first SETI survey, searching for narrow signals that could indicate advanced technology. No possible alien transmissions were found, but the study revealed that even a handful of telescope observations may quietly include millions of stars.