In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to head out in the morning while it’s still dark, just before astronomical twilight, look to the east, and try to see the elusive zodiacal light. It will have a triangular shape, like an upside-down cone, and it will extend along the belt of the zodiac,Continue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Zodiacal Light"

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Humanity can establish a self-sustaining settlement on Mars in the next 30 years, provided our heavy-lift launch technology advances as planned, SpaceX chief Elon Musk said.

We rate the Orzorz as the best viral star projector on the market and it's now under $50 before Amazon's Prime Day in October offers are live.

A spectacular partial solar eclipse will be visible across a swathe of the southern hemisphere this week.

The 1,115-foot-wide (340 meters) asteroid Apophis will pass closer to Earth than many satellites fly in April 2029, giving scientists and stargazers a rare front-row seat.

“Who ya gonna believe — me or your own eyes?” This famous challenge appears in a scene from the 1933 film Duck Soup. Chico Marx’s character, in a delightfully ridiculous act of espionage, has dressed himself identically to Groucho, in a nightcap and long nightshirt. A formidable dowager played by Margaret Dumont has just seenContinue reading "Why you can’t trust your eyes"

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On June 16, 1888, Alexander Friedmann was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. An keen student from a young age, Friedmann studied mathematics and meteorology at St. Petersburg State University and the Aerological Observatory in Pavlovsk. After air force service in World War I, Friedmann taught at several institutions and traveled to discuss his research. InContinue reading "Sept. 16, 1925: Death of Alexander Friedmann"

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Astronomers say that mysterious interstellar visitors like 'Oumuamua and 3I/ATLAS are the most common large bodies in the Milky Way — and our best chance to study other planetary systems.

Even though they're far from home, astronauts on the International Space Station still have normal routines, including getting regular haircuts.

In this quiz, you'll match iconic sci-fi monsters to the books that birthed them—and the authors who dared to imagine the unimaginable.

With a modest amount of thrust and power, a new ion engine system could get rid of 1-ton pieces of space junk in less than 100 days. Here's how it works.

Former NASA deputy chief and shuttle commander Pam Melroy has joined Venus Aerospace's board after its groundbreaking RDRE flight, bringing her decades of experience to help scale the startup's propulsion technology.

The Moon passes 5° north of Jupiter at 7 A.M. EDT. Early risers can enjoy the pairing before sunrise, standing some 50° high in the east an hour before the Sun crests the horizon. Now in its waning crescent phase, the Moon is less than 30 percent lit and not quite so glaring, allowing youContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, September 16: Jupiter’s moons line up"

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The rover's design is "a mix between a dune buggy and a heavy-duty truck."

Mission Highlight: New Shepard’s research-packed flight Blue Origin is set to launch its NS-35 New Shepard mission from West Texas on Thursday. The flight is dedicated entirely to science and research, providing several minutes of microgravity for more than 40 payloads. The manifest includes 24 student-led experiments from NASA’s TechRise Student Challenge, covering topics fromContinue reading "Shepard’s science flight leads week of launches"

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"The fact that we captured the aurora again demonstrates that our method for predicting aurorae on Mars and capturing them works."

The crescent moon will shine with Jupiter among the stars of Gemini early on Sept. 16.

The mystery of the James Webb Space Telescope's "little red dots" could be solved if they are not ancient galaxies but are entirely new celestial objects called "black hole stars."

This quiz invites you to chase comets through time and space, from ancient omens to modern scientific marvels.

Firefly Aerospace has completed its investigation into the anomaly that caused its Alpha rocket to a plunge into the sea near Antarctica on April 29.

In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to head out in the morning while it’s still dark, just before astronomical twilight, look to the east, and try to see the elusive zodiacal light. It will have a triangular shape, like an upside-down cone, and it will extend along the belt of the zodiac,Continue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Zodiacal light"

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Viking consisted of two twin orbiters and landers, with experimental chambers in the landers to conduct three biology experiments.

Rob Lyons from Vancouver, British Columbia The Milky Way meets the horizon on the shores of Mackenzie Beach (Tinwis) on Vancouver Island, accompanied by a glow of bioluminescent plankton in this shot taken with a Sony a7S III mirrorless camera and 14mm f/1.4 l ens. The sky was twenty 13-second subframes and the foreground isContinue reading "Cosmic shoreline"

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A striking sight to the unaided eye; even more so with binoculars.

How is the total mass of the universe calculated? Bob GiddingsGreen Bay, Wisconsin Calculating the total mass of the universe is not simple, because most of the mass is invisible. In a pie chart of the contents of the universe, only 5 percent is normal matter, atoms that make up all the planets, stars, andContinue reading "How is the total mass of the universe calculated?"

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After over 7,000 days in space, the Cassini mission ended on Sept. 15, 2017. Since its Oct. 15, 1997 launch, the spacecraft had returned a wealth of new knowledge and images of Saturn and its moons. Thanks to Cassini’s observations, researchers discovered liquid methane lakes on Titan, the potential habitability of Enceladus and the geysersContinue reading "Sept. 15, 2017, Cassini’s Grand Finale"

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The laser system provides real-time positional data on the huge cloud of space debris above our heads in low Earth orbit.

During September's total lunar eclipse, astronomers captured rare images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS glowing green, suggesting more about its chemistry.

Bungie's Halo swan song remains a fan-favorite installment, and its appeal after all these years is more than just nostalgia.

The 'equinox eclipse' will bring up to 86% coverage across New Zealand, Antarctica and parts of the South Pacific.

Now roughly 14th magnitude, Comet C/2024 E1 Wierzchoś is ripe for spotting with an 8-inch scope. With no Moon in the evening sky, darkness is on your side; and tonight and tomorrow night, the comet lies just 0.5° from 5th-magnitude Iota (ι) Coronae Borealis, the easternmost star in the curved Northern Crown.  Around 9 P.M.Continue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, September 15: Comet Wierzchoś curves through the Northern Crown"

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Satellite images reveal a new island in Alaska's Alsek Lake, formed as retreating glaciers reshape the landscape.

On Sept. 14, 1915, John Dobson was born in Bejing. His family moved to San Francisco to avoid political turmoil in China in 1927, and Dobson went on to attend the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in chemistry. Then, in 1944, he entered the Ramakrishna Order. During his 23 years as a monk, Dobson’s personalContinue reading "Sept. 14, 1915: The birth of John Dobson"

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The moon will roll across the face of the sun on Sept. 21 for lucky viewers in the southern hemisphere.

SpaceX launched Northrop Grumman's new "Cygnus XL" cargo ship on its debut mission to the International Space Station on Sunday (Sept. 14).

The first-ever detection of gravitational waves was made 10 years ago today (Sept. 14). In celebration, Space.com takes you through the most significant gravitational wave discoveries to date.

Last Quarter Moon occurs at 6:33 A.M. EDT, standing high in the early-morning sky. You can catch it before dawn in northeastern Taurus, located within 1° of the magnitude 1.7 star Beta (β) Tauri, also called Elnath. This star marks the tip of one of Taurus’ two horns, but has an interesting dual identity: ItContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, September 14: The Last Quarter Moon meets Elnath"

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SpaceX launched 24 Starlink internet satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California today (Sept. 13). It was the 300th Starlink mission to date, according to the company.

Russia's Progress 93 freighter arrived at the International Space Station today (Sept. 13), two days after launching atop a Soyuz rocket.

By poring over thousands of satellite images, researchers geolocated 245 fresh boulder tracks, revealing signs of seismic activity or impact events within the last half-million years.

On Episode 177 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by Michael Tice to talk about a possible detection of ancient life on Mars.

A joint NASA-ESA mission, the Ulysses solar probe launched Oct. 6, 1990, from the Space Shuttle Discovery. The mission was tasked with studying the solar wind, mapping the heliosphere, and becoming the first craft to study and chart the solar poles in detail. Equipped with a magnetometer, ion composition gauge, and instruments to measure radioContinue reading "Sept. 13, 1994: Ulysses at the Sun’s south pole"

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This quiz invites you to embark on a journey across the galaxy, exploring the science and wonder behind exoplanet discovery.

Hailstones drove into terrain in southern Alberta during a storm Aug. 20, creating a scar on the landscape visible in NASA satellites.

Witnesses and whistleblowers testified that the U.S. government knows more than it is letting on about encounters with UAP during a U.S. congressional hearing on Sept. 9.

Jupiter and Venus lead the Sun into the early-morning sky, rising around 1:30 A.M. and 4:15 A.M. local daylight time, respectively. Jupiter stands some 7.5° to the right of the bright star Pollux in Gemini as they rise. Magnitude 1.2 Pollux marks the head of one twin, while just above it, magnitude 1.6 Castor marksContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, September 13: Jupiter and Venus in the morning"

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As their research activities continued, the Expedition 73 crew had a busy week on the International Space Station with the departure of a cargo vehicle and preparations for the arrival of two more.

Everything about the Infinity Galaxy, recently discovered by the JWST, is strange. One odd feature could be the first evidence of a "direct collapse" black hole.

NASA announced Wednesday that its Perseverance rover discovered what scientists are calling a “potential biosignature” in a rock on Mars last year. This signature, which may have a biological origin but requires further study, represents the most compelling evidence to date for ancient microbial life on Mars, scientists and agency officials said in a pressContinue reading "NASA announces strongest evidence yet for ancient life on Mars"

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Astronomers have discovered a rogue intermediate mass black hole blasting out jets over 3,000 light-years from the heart of its home galaxy, where it would usually lurk.

Author(s): Sachin Rawat

Experiments with small, floating slabs of ice have revealed melting-induced shape changes that may explain why icebergs sometimes flip over.

[Physics 18, 159] Published Fri Sep 12, 2025

Blue Origin and Anduril each received AFRL contracts to deliver rocket-flown cargo to any point in the world within one hour, according to a media report.

Red Mars meets bright Spica in the sunset sky this week.

Workers at NASA are planning a third "Save NASA" protest at agency headquarters in D.C. on Sept. 15, as job cuts, Trump's union-busting order and FY26 budget proposals fuel fears of lasting damage.

"Although this doesn't rule out the possibility that Enceladus' ocean may be habitable, it does mean we need to be cautious in making that assumption just because of the composition of the plumes."

It's time to boldly go further than ever before with a Bridge Crew sequel for everyone, whether they have a holodeck strapped to their face or not.

The Pleiades will appear close to the moon before midnight on Sept. 12.

This quiz plunges deep into the wormhole of science fiction, testing your mastery of both cerebral literature and cult-classic cinema.

We built the iconic logo for one of the biggest franchises in cinematic history, in Lego form, but is the Lego Brick Built Star Wars Logo worth your credits?

New research suggests that if primordial black holes exist, there is a 90% chance our telescopes could detect one exploding in the next 10 years.

Less than two years after the successful launch of Sputnik 1, the Soviet Union put a spacecraft on the Moon. Launched Sept. 12, 1959, Luna 2 traveled over 30 hours to crash-land on the lunar surface. The impact happened at a speed of about 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) per second, and represented the first contactContinue reading "Sept. 12, 1959: Luna 2 launches"

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Forecasters warn of possible G2 geomagnetic storms as a colossal coronal hole sends solar wind racing our way.

NASA's experimental X-59 jet is designed to fly faster than sound —but also dampen the infamous sonic "boom."

Author(s): Charles Day

An array of tiny spring-loaded mirrors creates intricate patterns of UV light for trapping and manipulating cold atoms.

[Physics 18, s113] Published Thu Sep 11, 2025

NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy pushed back against recent claims that the agency is losing ground to China in the race back to the moon, promising the Artemis program will get astronauts there first, in a closed NASA town hall.

Tianyao Yang, taken from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, China The Chinese space station Tiangong (or “heavenly palace”) crosses the disk of the Moon during the lunar eclipse of Sept. 7/8. The transit was captured in 22 frames over 0.72 second just before 12:58 a.m. Chinese standard time and was blended with a high dynamic range (HDR)Continue reading "A palace on the Moon"

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Mars passes 2° north of Virgo’s bright alpha star Spica at 4 A.M. EDT. Neither is visible at that time, but you can catch them in the evening sky shortly after sunset. You’ll want to be quick, though — they set before 9 P.M. local daylight time and are already low in the west 40Continue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, September 12: Mars moves past Spica"

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Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, September 12Mars passes 2° north of 1st-magnitude Spica in Virgo at 4 A.M. EDT, though neither has risen at this time (they rise in daylight, after sunrise). By evening, the pair is sinking in the west, but quick observers can catch them. AboutContinue reading "The Sky This Week from September 12 to 19: Catch Comet Wierzchoś in Corona Borealis"

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SpaceX launched a mission for an Indonesian telecom company tonight (Sept. 11), sending the Nusantara Lima satellite to orbit from Florida's Space Coast.

Using the James Webb Space Telescope and the Subaru Telescope in powerful tandem, scientists have discovered the first shrouded supermassive black holes at Cosmic Dawn.

New research shows that solar flares are six times hotter than thought and calls for updated sun models that could improve space weather forecasting.

Gianni Tumino, taken from Ragusa, Sicily, Italy The Moon exiting its total eclipse of Sept. 7 is captured in this long-exposure composite, combining over 2,000 two-second exposures taken at with a Canon DSLR and 20mm lens at f/5.6 and ISO 800.

The post Blazing a trail appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

These breathtaking photographs are the winning entries of the 2025 ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Awards.

A study of the "failed star" brown dwarf known as "The Accident," conducted by the James Webb Space Telescope, may reveal a solution to an old mystery of Jupiter and Saturn.

These celestial wonders can tell us a lot about the state of the atmosphere at home on Earth as well as on other planets.

The winning bid for this screen-used prop made 'Star Wars' history last week... let's just hope the seller doesn't alter the deal.

Phases of ice that exist naturally only on frozen moons could be detected using infrared spectroscopy, according to new laboratory experiments.

We’ve all identified Pegasus in the sky, right? It’s easy to see the Great Square, notwithstanding that one of the stars belongs to Andromeda. The constellation Pegasus represents the mythological winged horse. But did you know that the sky holds a second horse? On Pegasus’ southwest border sits Equuleus — and, by the way, theContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Find Equuleus"

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The James Webb Space Telescope caught the birth of an enormous star with particle beams cutting across a stretch of interstellar space.

Author(s): Salvatore Rappoccio

A deep neural network has proven essential in confirming a key prediction of one of the standard model’s cornerstones.

[Physics 18, 155] Published Wed Sep 10, 2025

Author(s): Chiara M. F. Mingarelli

The clearest black hole merger signal ever measured has allowed researchers to test the Kerr nature of black holes and validate Stephen Hawking’s black hole area theorem.

[Physics 18, 160] Published Wed Sep 10, 2025

Author(s): Marric Stephens

Primordial black holes could be stabilized by a dark, electromagnetic-like interaction, delaying their violent end until the present day.  

[Physics 18, s112] Published Wed Sep 10, 2025

One of SpaceX's broadband-beaming Starlink satellites has been captured overflying a top-secret airbase in China that was photographed by a private American Earth-observation satellite.

The ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year Award 2025 will be streamed live online on Sept. 11.

Don't let light pollution put you off stargazing or astrophotography, I managed to see galaxies, nebulas and star clusters all in Bortle 7 and 8 class night skies.

Telepathy, good vs evil, heroes fulfilling their destiny… If the "Strange New Worlds" finale 'New Life and New Civilizations' isn't fantasy, it isn't far off.

Launched as the International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 in 1978, a joint NASA-ESA mission, the ISEE-3 probe studied the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field from the L1 Lagrange point. When its mission was complete in 1981, NASA proposed repurposing the craft by using it to intercept a comet; such reuse would save the money and timeContinue reading "Sept. 11, 1985: The ICE probe encounters Comet Giacobini-Zinner"

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Though NGC 7456 looks like a modest spiral galaxy, new Hubble and XMM-Newton observations reveal a bustling system with star-forming regions and an active core.

We'll likely need to get Perseverance's samples to Earth to determine if they do indeed harbor evidence of Mars life —but the prospects of such a mission are cloudy at best.

Russian Progress 93 freighter launched toward the International Space Station on the MS-32 mission today (Sept. 11), loaded with 2.8 tons of cargo for the station's astronaut crew.

Saturn draws attention tonight as its largest and brightest moon, Titan, slips behind the disk of the planet late this evening in an occultation. You can find Saturn just over 30° high in the southeast tonight, shining at magnitude 0.6 in Pisces. It’s easy to find without optical aid as the brightest point of lightContinue reading "The Sky Today on Thursday, September 11: Titan passes behind Saturn"

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Destiny 2’s next chapter is bringing in themes and elements from a galaxy far, far away without breaking the canon.

SpaceX just bought $17 billion worth of satellite spectrum from debt-ridden operator EchoStar to enhance Starlink direct-to-cell phone connectivity.

In an era when TV shows look like movies, have we lost sight of what should make sci-fi great?

Disney/Pixar's interstellar odyssey landed on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD for all Earthlings!

Water may have flowed on the asteroid that birthed the space rock Ryugu a billion years after it formed, much later than previously thought, changing our perception of the early solar system.

If we slam an impactor into an asteroid in exactly the wrong spot, the space rock may pass through a "gravitational keyhole" that brings it to Earth.

The Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 130AZ telescope is on sale for $367 on Amazon and is a great budget choice for observing the opposition of Saturn overnight on Sept. 20.

Celebrating 10 years since the first detection of gravitational waves coming from colliding black holes, LIGO has confirmed the predictions of the greatest minds in physics.

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has found yet more chemical signatures that could be associated with ancient Red Planet life — but we need to examine them here on Earth to fully understand them.

SpaceX launched 21 satellites to orbit from California today (Sept. 10), beginning the buildout of an advanced new constellation for the U.S. military.

Some amateur astronomers love observing awards. They pursue them with vigor and eagerly await the appearance of the next list of objects. Other amateurs couldn’t care less about them. They would rather not be bothered filling out forms or submitting log entries, however much they may like the objects on the list itself. Personally, IContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Observing Awards"

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The Celestron TrailSeeker 8x42mm binoculars come highly recommended by our experts, and with a saving of over $130, now is the time to spot star clusters and planets for less.

A total lunar eclipse on March 2-4, 2026, will be visible in North America and will be the last total lunar eclipse anywhere on Earth until New Year's Eve 2028-2029.

Yevgeny Khrunov was born Sept. 10, 1933, in Prudy, Russia. A Soviet Air Force pilot, he was selected as one of the first cosmonauts on Feb. 25, 1960, along with 19 others including Yuri Gagarin, Aleksei Leonov, and Andriyan Nikolayev. Though not part of the Vanguard Six, Khrunov would make history on the Soyuz 4/SoyuzContinue reading "Sept. 10, 1933: The birth of Yevgeny Khrunov"

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Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson

A minuscule diamond containing billions of impurities can be induced to produce enough force to bend a cantilever.

[Physics 18, s109] Published Tue Sep 09, 2025

Chile is a hotspot for telescopes peering up into deep space to study structures like stars, black holes, dark matter and galaxies.

"The profile of the occultation was most consistent with it being a new satellite — a new moon — going around Quaoar."

Anushtup Roy Choudhury, taken from Kolkata, India The total lunar eclipse of Sept. 7 appears deep red in this high dynamic range (HDR) image. The imager used a 6-inch Dobsonian and Sony a7C II mirrorless camera to take a stack of 100 frames, plus an overexposed frame to bring out the details in Earth’s shadow.

The post Blood Moon in HDR appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Venus, currently moving east through the sky, has now passed from Cancer into Leo and rises within the domain of the Lion around 4 A.M. local daylight time, more than two hours before the Sun. Around 5:30 A.M. local daylight time, Venus has reached 15° high in the east and has been followed into theContinue reading "The Sky Today on Wednesday, September 10: Venus moves into Leo"

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 launch on Sept. 23 will send three spacecraft a million miles from Earth to map the heliosphere and expand our understanding of space weather and atmospheric science.

A newly discovered gamma-ray burst is unlike any seen before, repeating over the course of a day rather than erupting in milliseconds, leaving astronomers perplexed by its origins.

A cadre of iron-rich extraterrestrial particles picked up faint whiffs of our planet's atmosphere when they fell to Earth millions of years ago.

Directive 8020 is shaking up the Supermassive Games formula for better and for worse.

In the not-too-distant future, "artificial astronauts" could fly as actual crew members on human missions to Mars, and elsewhere in space.

As part of the Artemis 2 astronaut moon mission launching no earlier than 2026, NASA is asking volunteers to test alternative forms of deep-space tracking.

NASA's hosting a conference on Wednesday (Sept. 10) to discuss a new rock analysis from the Perseverance Mars rover. Here's how to tune in.

Back in 2019, a consortium of scientists predicted August 2025 as the peak of the solar activity cycle. But where are we now?

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured great shots of the total lunar eclipse over the weekend.

Recently, the results of a 250-day experiment to refine a particular motion of our planet were published in the journal Science Advances. Lead author K. Ulrich Schreiber from the TUM Institute of Engineering for Astronomical and Physical Geodesy in Ottobrunn, Germany, said, “We have made great progress in measuring the Earth. What our ring laser canContinue reading "A more precise measure of Earth’s wobble"

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"The country that lands on the moon first will shape the rules of engagement in space for decades to come."

From dystopian futures to interstellar adventures, this quiz explores the classics that dared to imagine the impossible—and the authors who made it unforgettable.

It isn't just supermassive black holes that are messy eaters. Using a Japanese space telescope called XRISM, scientists have found that small black holes are a "hot mess," too.

When Edward Emerson Barnard peered through the 36-inch refractor at Lick Observatory on Sept. 9, 1892, and spotted Amalthea, it marked the first discovery of a moon of Jupiter in 280 years. Galileo had discovered the four largest jovian moons – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto – in 1610. Though this fifth moon was closerContinue reading "Sept. 9, 1892: Edward Emerson Barnard sees Amalthea"

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Two NOAA satellites saw a solar eclipse on Sept. 7 as the moon blocked out the sun mere hours before a lunar eclipse was seen on Earth.

Josh Jones/Kaptas Attila, taken from Río Hurtado, Chile Cold, dense swirls of dust blot out the colorful emission and reflected light from the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex in this image comprising 70.4 hours of RGB exposure taken with a 6-inch scope. A higher-resolution, scrollable version is available on AstroBin.

The post Dust-covered colors appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Conducting a flyby mission to an interstellar object visiting our solar system is "feasible and affordable," a new study finds. But orbiting such an interloper is a different story.

Author(s): Kyle G. Leach

A Bose-Einstein condensate of radioactive atoms could turn into a source of intense, coherent, and directional neutrino beams, according to a theoretical proposal.

[Physics 18, 157] Published Mon Sep 08, 2025

The bright star Fomalhaut stands prominently in the south late tonight, rising around 8:30 P.M. local daylight time. At magnitude 1.2, it outshines all other stars in this region. Fomalhaut is also cataloged as Alpha Piscis Austrini, the luminary of Piscis Austrinus the Southern Fish. It lies at the eastern end of this constellation, beneathContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, September 9: Meet Fomalhaut of the Southern Fish"

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A new low-cost concept for interstellar travel combines solar power with a slingshot, but it would take a long time to reach the stars.

The comet will come closest to Earth on Oct. 20. There's hope that it may become bright enough to glimpse with the naked eye.

An interest in astronomy may strike early in life or later. Regardless of what lit the fire of that interest, you need knowledge to help you understand the universe. Some of the most important sources of information are the many beginner’s guides on astronomy. No matter what form these guides may take, they provide theContinue reading "Top 15 guide books for astronomy beginners"

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SpaceX conducted a static-fire test with Super Heavy booster B15 on Sunday (Sept. 7), preparing the booster for Starship's Flight Test 11 — a fast turnaround from their successful Flight 10 launch two weeks ago.

'EVE Frontier' developers Helgi Freyr Rúnarsson and Guðlaugur Jóhannesson talk galaxy merger models, black holes, and the thin line between science and fun.

The shooting stars appear to emanate from a patch of space in the constellation Perseus.

Marco Meniero from Civitavecchia, Italy The total lunar eclipse (or “Blood Moon”) of Sept. 7 was visible to most of the world outside of the Americas. Here, it hangs over the Colosseum in Rome in a two-exposure composite taken with a Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera and 70–200mm lens.

The post Blood at the Colosseum appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The only problem with being an astronaut? Less time for video gaming.

A U.S. House of Representatives task force will once again hold a hearing on Sept. 9 to hear from witnesses who claim the U.S. government is hiding evidence of UFOs.

The James Webb Space Telescope has investigated the "Goldilocks zone" planet TRAPPIST-1e to search for a potential atmosphere and hints of habitability.

In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to head out during the early morning hours the second week of September. It’s then when you’ll see the Moon pass by the Pleiades star cluster. Also known as M45, this group of stars resembles a tiny dipper. The Pleiades is bright, so you’ll see itContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Moon and the Pleiades"

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Yes, even Jupiter's moons produce auroras.

Do dwarf galaxies have a large black hole in the center? Duane MorsePhoenix, Arizona Nearly all massive galaxies are known to host central black holes. And dwarf galaxies can indeed also host central black holes, but whether all or only a fraction of them do remains an open question in astronomy.  Until recently, astronomers hadContinue reading "Do dwarf galaxies have a large black hole in the center?"

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On Sept. 8, 2016, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission launched from Cape Canaveral, setting off on its 4.4-billion-mile (2 billion kilometers) journey to asteroid Bennu. About the size of an SUV, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft carries several cameras, an altimeter used to create maps of Bennu, and anContinue reading "Sept. 8, 2016: OSIRIS-REx launches"

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"'Oumuamua is in a different category of object. It's much harder to find, but there are a lot more of them."

A panorama captures a breathtaking view of the night sky above a frozen landscape.

See spectacular photos from the Sept. 7-8 total lunar eclipse.

The Moon passes 4° north of Saturn at 4 P.M. EDT. Two hours later, the Moon passes 3° north of Neptune at 6 P.M. EDT.  Both planets rise around 8 P.M. local daylight time in southwestern Pisces. They hang below the Circlet asterism and stand some 30° high in the southeast by 11 P.M. localContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, September 8: The Moon passes Saturn and Neptune"

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See the first photos of September's majestic total lunar eclipse.

Dive into the fascinating crossroads of astronomy and astrology — where science meets symbolism, and the sky tells two very different stories.

Chemistry in the first 50 million to 100 million years after the Big Bang may have been more active than we expected.

A team of astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope has found tiny dust particles traveling far from their home galaxy, surviving a perilous journey through a harsh cosmic environment that should have destroyed them.

James Van Allen, who was born in Iowa on Sept. 7, 1914, showed talent and interest in science and math from an early age. A major in physics from Wesleyan College in 1935 was followed by a Ph.D. in nuclear physics in 1939. Before and after World War II – during which he developed antiaircraftContinue reading "Sept. 7, 1914: The birth of James Van Allen"

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The second total lunar eclipse of 2025 delivers a long, blood-red moon.

The ringed gas giant Saturn will be less than 5 degrees from the lunar disk at sunset on Sept. 8.

Full Moon occurs this morning 2:09 P.M. EDT. September’s Full Moon is also called the Corn Moon.  Often, September’s Full Moon carries a second name: the Harvest Moon. This name is given to the Full Moon that falls closest to the autumnal equinox, which is September 22 this year. However, this year October’s Full MoonContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, September 7: The Full Corn Moon"

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink internet broadband satellites lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.

Could an ocean – likely needed to sustain life – even survive on a planet orbiting close to a dead star?

This quiz is a deep dive into the physics, history, and mysteries of our nearest star.

On Episode 176 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by Alan Stern to talk about what is next in deep space exploration.

We talked to Starfield's Lead Creative Producer, Tim Lamb, about designing Starfield's blend of complex ship control and thrilling arcade dogfights.

The fall of 1618 was a standout when it came to notable comets, boasting three visible to the naked eye. In late August, C/1618 Q1 appeared, first spotted in the skies over Hungary. Johannes Kepler observed the comet throughout the month of September, spotting it from Linz, Austria, through a small telescope on Sept. 6.Continue reading "Sept. 6, 1618: The first comet seen through a telescope"

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The Sept. 7-8 total lunar eclipse will be visible to over 7 billion people in Asia, Australia, Africa and eastern Europe.

Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz

Experiments on freezing saltwater have teased apart flow dynamics inside ice pores, offering a possible boost to climate models’ predictive power.

[Physics 18, 156] Published Fri Sep 05, 2025

The nebula body of the cosmic shark is located 650 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cepheus.

Uranus stands stationary at 1 A.M. EDT, bringing its prograde (easterly) motion through Taurus the Bull to an end. Now it will begin moving westward, or retrograde, relative to the background stars, although its motion appears quite minuscule from day to day, thanks to its vast distance of some 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers)Continue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, September 6: Uranus stands still"

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Beijing's recent military parade unveiled new hypersonic and intercontinental missiles alongside stealth drones, highlighting China's expanding strike and defense capabilities

JetBlue will start using Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband satellites for in-flight Wi-Fi in 2027. It's a big win for Jeff Bezos' company and its nascent internet constellation.

The seven members of the Expedition 73 crew worked on science and kept systems running on International Space Station this week in Earth orbit.

The U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane is carrying a sample of material that could someday help NASA land cargo and people on Mars.

Make way for the shock and awe of this 'technological terror' coming to your galaxy next month.

"The results provide a rare, detailed look at how planet-forming chemistry operates in the extreme environments around brown dwarfs, potentially offering clues to the diversity of worlds beyond our solar system."

Superman and Lex Luthor continue their historic rivalry in 'Man of Tomorrow', scheduled for July 9, 2027

A new particle detector has passed a crucial test, demonstrating it's ready to start investigating quark-gluon plasma, the hot particle soup that existed during the first milliseconds of the universe.

Although Aquila ranks 22nd in size among the 88 constellations, it contains no Messier objects or emission nebulae and few bright star clusters. Still, you’ll want to point your telescope 3.8° north-northwest of magnitude 3.4 Delta Aquilae to observe the wonderful planetary nebula NGC 6781. It glows at magnitude 11.4 and has a diameter ofContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Observe NGC 6781"

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Three powerful space telescopes, Euclid, Roman, and the James Webb Space Telescope, could team up to detect black holes as early as 250 million years after the Big Bang.

Astronomers have captured a stunning new image of the interstellar intruder 3I/ATLAS, seeing its growing tail and glowing coma.

You can stream all Star Trek content, including the latest series of Strange New Worlds, for less as Paramount Plus is 50% off for a limited time only.

How to watch the Sept. 7-8 total lunar eclipse live from the comfort of your home.

One member of the cluster was previously believed to be the most massive star known, but is actually a triple star system of huge stars, all of which will go supernova.

A recent close-up shows a turtle-shaped rock on the surface of Mars, captured by NASA's Perseverance rover.

Mark Johnston from Scottsdale, Arizona A filament winds its way across the surface of the Sun, with a sunspot at the bottom appearing to form a question mark. The imager captured this Hα shot with a 6-inch scope (with energy rejection filter) and a double-stacked 0.3-angstrom filter and etalon.

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From Oct. 2–5 2025, the International Astronomical Union Office for Astronomy Outreach (IAU OAO) and the International Planetarium Society (IPS), two of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to public engagement with astronomy, will team up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first planetarium. To mark the occasion, the organizations will deliver a 100-hour marathonContinue reading "IAU’s ‘100 Hours of Astronomy’ celebrates 100 years of the planetarium"

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NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory is the agency’s flagship mission for X-ray astronomy. On Sept. 5, 2001, NASA announced that astronomers using Chandra in October of the previous year had witnessed a fast, strong X-ray flare coming from the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. This black hole, named Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*)Continue reading "Sept. 5, 2001: The Milky Way has a black hole"

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 28 Starlink internet satellites from Florida on Friday (Sept. 5), then landed safely at sea. It was the 500th successful Falcon touchdown to date.

A total lunar eclipse will turn the moon blood red for millions across Asia and Europe overnight on Sept. 7-8. Here are the best times to watch the show unfold.

Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz

Eric Ghysels made a name for himself in financial econometrics and time-series analysis. Now he translates financial models into quantum algorithms.

[Physics 18, 154] Published Thu Sep 04, 2025

Author(s): Charles Day

Two main mechanisms can flip the orientation of antiferromagnetic domains. Researchers have determined when one prevails over the other.

[Physics 18, s111] Published Thu Sep 04, 2025

Author(s): Michael Schirber

Researchers suggest that unambiguous signals of quantum gravity could appear in future tabletop experiments with gravitationally interacting objects.

[Physics 18, s119] Published Thu Sep 04, 2025

Worries include broken windows and impacts to the local environment, tourism and fishing industries.

Rising before midnight and visible all morning long until dawn, the distant planet Uranus now resides within the domain of Taurus the Bull. Its current location makes it easier than usual to find, just 4.5° south-southeast of the Pleiades (M45). By 4 A.M. local daylight time, the region is some 60° high in the east,Continue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, September 5: Discover distant Uranus"

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Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, September 5Look north late this evening to spot the constellation Camelopardalis slowly rising away from the horizon. Located just beneath W-shaped Cassiopeia around 11 P.M. local daylight time, Camelopardalis is home to a famous asterism called Kemble’s Cascade, a line of several starsContinue reading "The Sky This Week from September 5 to 12: A Full Moon and a lunar eclipse"

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These devoted followers in Mycogen might be the true outliers of the Seldon Plan.

Amit Kshatriya, a veteran of NASA's Moon to Mars program, has been named NASA associate administrator, the agency's top civil-service role.

Rob Lyons, taken from Vancouver, Canada WR 134 in Cygnus, lies about 6,200 light-years away, surrounded by intricate wisps of ionized gas that it blew off in its exceptionally powerful stellar wind. This image combines 26 hours of 5-minute exposures using dual 8-inch telescopes — one with an Hα/OIII dual-band filter and one-shot color camera,Continue reading "Wind-blown shells"

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Data from NASA's InSight lander suggests there's a chunky mix beneath the surface of Mars.

The interstellar visitor appears to have a lot in common with its solar system brethren.

'The aliens are coming to Earth? I'm going, 'Here’s the bill. Credit or debit? Have a good day.’'

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule demonstrated its ability to boost the ISS on Sept. 3, pushing the orbiting lab slightly higher above Earth.

Solar eclipse maps show crisp lines for the path of totality, but in reality, the edges of the path are fuzzy, jagged and sometimes wrong by hundreds of meters or more

A planet’s mantle — the vast layer that lies sandwiched between its crust and core — preserves crucial evidence about planetary origin and evolution. Unlike Earth, where active plate tectonics continually stirs the mantle, Mars is a smaller planet with a single-plate surface. As such, its mantle undergoes far less mixing, meaning it may preserve a record of theContinue reading "Mars’ underground preserves its ancient past"

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We've seen it all before, but some sci-fi clichés just work.

Astronomers have doubled the number of black hole and neutron star mergers detected via gravitational waves in a "stellar graveyard," as well as "hearing" the heaviest black hole binary yet.

Born in Kath, Khwarezm – a region that today would be cover parts of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan – Abu Raihan Muhammad al-Biruni was a man of many scientific talents. His extensive travels throughout the Middle East and modern India and his self-education in Greek, Syriac, Hebrew, and Sanskrit helped him produce respected works inContinue reading "Sept. 4, 973 C.E.: The birth of al-Biruni"

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This young star is surrounded by a protoplanetary disk, separating the "wings" of the butterfly.

The September 2025 total lunar eclipse will bring a blood-red moon to skies across Asia, Australia, Africa and Europe — if you know where to look.

A Senate Commerce Committee hearing sounded the alarm over the U.S.-China moon race, emphasizing American dominance off Earth as the backdrop for NASA’s next funding authorization.

Author(s): Charles Day

A simulation of unprecedented resolution explains how Earth could possess a magnetic-field-generating dynamo before the planet’s inner core began to solidify.

[Physics 18, 153] Published Wed Sep 03, 2025

Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz

An optical-lattice experiment offers a platform for observing dynamics of particle–antiparticle pair creation in quantum field theories.

[Physics 18, s106] Published Wed Sep 03, 2025

We’re focused on Saturn early this morning to catch a transit of Titan together with its shadow across the ringed world.  The shadow transits first, beginning at 1 A.M. EDT (note this is early on the 4th in the eastern half of the U.S. but late on the 3rd in the Mountain and Pacific timeContinue reading "The Sky Today on Thursday, September 4: Titan transits Saturn"

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The four Artemis 2 moon astronauts passed the "Bobby and Pete" fitness challenge recently, performing 100 pushups and 50 pull-ups in less than 10 minutes.

During an Aug. 14 appearance on Fox Business, Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy declared that the agency’s mission is “to explore, not to do all of these earth sciences,” signaling a potential shift away from NASA’s decades-long role in Earth observation and climate research. Duffy later softened his stance during an Aug. 18 visit toContinue reading "As NASA pushes for Mars, critics insist the mission starts at home"

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President Donald Trump has announced that the U.S. Space Command will relocate from Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, to the Army’s Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

The post U.S. Space Command relocating to Alabama appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A new Big Bang model does away with speculative elements, putting gravitational waves at the forefront of the creation of galaxies, stars, and planets.

McArthur launched on two spaceflights, logging 213 days in orbit across her nearly 25 years, and held leadership positions at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Israel launched the Ofek 19 spy satellite atop a Shavit rocket on Sept. 2, which came as a surprise to some local residents, according to news reports.

Chris Schur, taken form Happy Jack, Arizona While the Andromeda Galaxy is the closest major galaxy to the Milky Way, the irregular dwarf galaxy NGC 6822 — also known as Barnard’s Galaxy — is our nearest galactic neighbor, lying just outside our galaxy’s gravitational influence at a distance of 1.6 million light-years. It can beContinue reading "Cirrus around Barnard’s Galaxy"

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Real-time strategy games haven't bested Blizzard's three-part sequel yet, and we believe only a third entry in the iconic sci-fi series could top it.

India successfully tested the parachute system for its Gaganyaan crew module ahead of its planned first-ever astronaut launch in 2027.

The image was captured on Aug. 12 as the Perseid meteor shower hit its peak.

An international team of astronomers has made the unexpected discovery of a new planet. Detected at an early stage of formation around a young Sun-like star, the planet is estimated to be about 5 million years old and most likely a gas giant of similar to Jupiter. The study, Wide Separation Planets in Time (WISPIT),Continue reading "Astronomers find a planet forming around a young star"

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Wednesday morning, Sep. 3, carrying 28 Starlink wireless internet satellites to join the company's growing megaconstellation.

The total lunar eclipse on Sept. 7, 2025, won't be visible from North America, but it's only a 177-day wait until another 'blood moon.'

Author(s): Michael Schirber

The final results from the Muon g − 2 experiment agree with the latest predictions of the muon’s magnetic properties—letting down hopes that the particle would upset the standard model’s applecart.

[Physics 18, 150] Published Tue Sep 02, 2025

Author(s): Tarik Yefsah

A new technique allows the imaging of an atomic system in which the interatomic spacing is smaller than the optical-resolution limit.

[Physics 18, 152] Published Tue Sep 02, 2025

Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson

A proposed method could help scientists coax simple atomic systems into quantum states that have useful, tailored properties.

[Physics 18, s102] Published Tue Sep 02, 2025

Only a little over a month after Viking 1 landed on Mars, Viking 2 followed suit. Though the two Viking landers touched down in different locations, they used identical spacecraft and had the same mission: to create global maps of Mars, observe weather patterns, investigate the surface, measure temperatures, and search for life. Viking 2Continue reading "Sept. 3, 1976: Viking 2 reaches Mars"

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We have tested many home planetariums over the years (sometimes called star projectors) but which are the most realistic, scientifically accurate? These three models offer the best of the best.

The Soroya Ridge was the recent destination in NASA's Perseverance rover's journey to explore the landscape of Mars.

After 43 years with Astronomy, including 23 years as Editor-in-Chief, David J. Eicher is transitioning to a new role as the magazine’s Editor Emeritus. Eicher is one of the most widely recognized astronomy enthusiasts in the world, and his contributions to the field are immeasurable. His passion for astronomy and science communication has been oneContinue reading "Dave Eicher steps into emeritus role at Astronomy magazine"

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The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will zoom past Mars in October 2025, and ESA's Mars orbiters will attempt to image and analyze the object during the encounter.

With a waxing Moon lighting the sky for most of the night, we’re focusing on brighter stars this evening. Our target for tonight is a famous asterism that is currently visible all night long. You can catch it already above the horizon in the east an hour after the Sun disappears, then follow its progressContinue reading "The Sky Today on Wednesday, September 3: The Great Square of Pegasus"

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SpaceX launched 24 more of its Starlink internet satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base today (Sept. 2), sending them up on a Falcon 9 rocket with a brand-new first stage.

Vikas Chander, taken from Rio Hurtado, Chile The Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) and the Lobster Nebula (NGC 6357) lie in Scorpius at distances of 5,500 light-years and 8,000 light-years, respectively. This vista is filled with the red glow of hydrogen and blue hues from oxygen, both ionized by young stars forming within these massiveContinue reading "The Cat’s Paw and the Lobster"

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"Bennu is a time capsule of the material that was throughout the solar system."

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday (Sept. 2) that U.S. Space Command will be relocated from Colorado to Huntsville, Alabama.

A neutron star-powered pulsar is fleeing a supernova explosion in the outskirts of the Milky Way, a low-density region where such events are "forbidden."

The iconic tabletop card game has dabbled in science fiction before, but this new set is space opera-flavored and full of celestial phenomena.

Titan's shadow will fall over Saturn during the early morning hours of Sept. 4.

I’m a planetary scientist who was born the year of Sputnik’s launch. Over the course of my 40-year career, I’ve witnessed not one but at least five separate revolutions that fundamentally transformed this field of study.  Before I tell you about these pivotal moments, let’s look at two examples of even earlier revolutions that setContinue reading "5 modern revolutions in planetary science"

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Excitement is building regarding the interstellar invader 3I/ATLAS, with new research suggesting which spacecraft from Earth could get a close-up view of the comet.

'Your world is running out of time. But I can help you'

Walmart's "Bricktember Lego Sales" event is live, and this nearly 2,000-piece model of Space history has a massive $63 reduction.

"Once these objects get too faint to see, they will never be seen again,"

This quiz invites you to journey into the depths of these gravitational giants.

These compact, image stabilized Nikon 12x25 binoculars are some of the best small binoculars I’ve ever tested and I highly recommend them for stargazing.

The cannibal solar storm didn't hit its full potential, but still put on a good show.

On Sept. 1, 1859, amateur astronomer Richard Carrington observed a massive eruption of bright light from the Sun’s surface. It was the first recorded observation of a solar flare. Within only 17.5 hours, a coronal mass ejection (CME) – an expulsion of plasma and magnetic waves that often accompanies flares and prominences – reached Earth,Continue reading "Sept. 2, 1859: The Carrington Event peaks"

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Magnetic fields can replace bulky centrifuges in space oxygen systems, making them lighter, more efficient and better suited for deep-space missions, a new study finds.

Aboard the International Space Station, astronauts use creativity and culture to make life in orbit feel a little more like home.

"Since I landed in Lucknow around 7:30 this morning, I must have clicked about 2,000 selfies."

Mercury passes 1.2° north of Regulus at 6 A.M. EDT; the pair is visible in the east just before sunrise, but it might be a challenging observation. You’ll want to get to a location above the surrounding terrain if possible, with an eastern horizon free of tall trees or buildings.  Rising around 5:30 A.M. localContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, September 2: Mercury meets Regulus"

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On Wednesday (Sept. 3), the asteroid 2025 QDB will come to within just over half the distance between Earth and the moon, and you can watch its progress live online.

Mercury will be close to Regulus embedded among the stars of the constellation Leo.

Today, NASA recovers over 90% of the water used in space.

A new live-action trailer for the upcoming sci-game "Borderlands 4" is here urging us all to "Quit Earth" and get on the rocket.

Hasbro, the toy manufacturer, and Disney, who own the rights to Star Wars, both make top lightsabers, but what are the differences between them?

The view underneath SpaceX's Starship spacecraft shows the Super Heavy booster's complex array of 33 Raptor engines.

Titan Books' hardcover cartoon collection makes you see militant Klingons in a whole new light.

The Potensic Atom 2 is an upgrade on its successful predecessor and now you can get the lowest-ever price on a useful bundle when you get it on Amazon.

NASA is using Colorado's rugged peaks to rehearse the risky final moments of future Artemis lunar landings.

In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to head out during the early morning hours the first week of September. It’s then when you’ll see the brilliant planet Venus pass by the Beehive Cluster, which lies in the constellation Cancer the Crab. Venus will be easy to spot but if twilight has started,Continue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Venus and the Beehive"

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Humanity is obsessed with astronomical record keeping. The Babylonians compiled their first listing of the stars in the 12th century b.c.e. Around 1000 b.c.e., they followed it with an expanded catalog that includes familiar constellations and star clusters, as well as motions of the Sun, the Moon, and the planets. The Mayans inscribed into stoneContinue reading "An introduction to common astronomical catalogs"

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Cepheid variables are some of the most well-known variable stars in the sky, responsible for helping astronomers accurately measure cosmic distances and famously clueing Edwin Hubble in to the fact that the Andromeda Galaxy was far beyond the Milky Way. So, tonight let’s begin September by finding the Cepheid variable that started it all: DeltaContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, September 1: Observe Delta Cephei"

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The writing has been on the wall for years that the UK Space Agency would be scrapped, but will its end after a mere 15 years in existence undermine Britain's space ambitions?

"The surfaces of Nix and Hydra are as close to unaltered as you can get."

Beyond the blaze, wildfires can have rippling effects on a community’s health and the land.

On Sept. 1, 1804, German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding peered through a 5-centimeter refracting telescope at a private observatory near Bremen, and discovered a celestial body he named Juno. Harding was part of the so-called Celestial Police. This group of astronomers had dedicated themselves to the search for the “missing planet” that the Titius-Bode lawContinue reading "Sept. 1, 1804: Karl Harding spots 3 Juno"

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The Solar Orbiter spacecraft has tracked near-light-speed electrons back to the sun, finding two distinct families generated by solar flares and CMEs.

A new concept for a next generation space telescope could provide an affordable breakthrough in the hunt for Earth's twin.

September’s sky is rich with opportunities. Titan’s shadow continues to transit Saturn. The ringed planet reaches opposition along with Neptune, with both worlds in the same region of the sky. Mars is descending toward solar conjunction. Uranus is a fine binocular target, while Jupiter dominates the early morning. Venus starts the month near M44, thenContinue reading "September 2025: What’s in the sky this month? Saturn and Neptune reach opposition, as Jupiter and Venus greet the dawn"

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The evening sky boasts two naked-eye planets. Start your night’s viewing with ruddy Mars, which lies in the west as darkness falls. It treks eastward against the backdrop of Virgo, passing 2° north of the Maiden’s brightest star, 1st-magnitude Spica, on Sept. 12. The Red Planet shines at magnitude 1.6, slightly fainter than the blue-whiteContinue reading "September 2025: What’s in the Southern Hemisphere sky this month?"

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Think you know Pluto? From icy plains to planetary debates, this quiz dives deep into the mysteries of our solar system’s most controversial—and captivating—dwarf planet.

Jupiter, Venus and Mercury move into line formation predawn on Sept. 1

Auroras may be visible from Alaska to Illinois as a cannibal solar storm impact could spark geomagnetic storm conditions Sept. 1-2.

NASA plans to prioritize the fission reactor as power necessary to extract and refine lunar resources.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 28 Starlink broadband internet satellites was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025.

The Aurigid meteor shower hails from debris of the comet C/1911 N1 Kiess, which last visited the inner solar system 2,000 years ago.

On Aug. 31, 1913, Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell was born in England. When he was 15, a school trip to hear a lecture on electricity prompted a keen interest in science and math, and Lovell would go on to study physics at Bristol University. He graduated with honors in 1934 and finished his Ph.D. onlyContinue reading "Aug. 31, 1913: Birth of Bernard Lovell"

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Europe's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer probe completed its Venus flyby on Aug. 31, keeping it on track to reach the Jovian system in July 2031.

A total lunar eclipse will take place on Sept. 7-8, creating a spectacular blood moon effect.

A pair of solar eruptions may combine into a powerful "cannibal CME," boosting chances for dazzling auroras over Labor Day.

Bright Venus hangs near the lovely Beehive Cluster (M44) in Cancer this morning. Both rise more than two hours before the Sun and reach nearly 20° high in the east an hour before sunrise. Venus shines at magnitude –3.9, a blazing beacon just 1.4° southwest (to the upper right) of the Beehive.  At magnitude 3.1,Continue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, August 31: Venus hangs with the Beehive"

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Leap into the killer cosmic combat for Keepsake Games' retitled first-person PvE shooter

On Episode 175 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and and Tariq Malik are joined by Daniel Selva to talk about crew interactions and trust with AI using computers.

In this quiz, you’ll test your knowledge of Neptune's features, moons, and the science that keeps astronomers fascinated.

The Trump administration's "One Big, Beautiful Bill" slashes federal funding for efforts to create renewable or sustainable types of fuel for aircraft.

The third member of NASA’s space shuttle program, Discovery had a fraught journey to its launch. First, a test in June of 1984 found a flaw in the thermal shield; then a launch scheduled for later the same month was delayed due to a computer failure. Attempt No. 2 was halted only four seconds beforeContinue reading "Aug. 30, 1984: Space Shuttle Discovery launches"

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A new executive order signed by President Donald Trump removes NASA employees from federal labor-management protections, under the justification of national security.

The moon will appear in the constellation Scorpius at sunset on Aug. 30-31.

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites today (Aug. 30), sending 24 of them up from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Saturn’s moon Iapetus reaches greatest western elongation today, now located 9.5’ west of the ringed planet. Iapetus has two vastly different hemispheres, one light and one dark. As the moon orbits Saturn, it slowly rotates so that one and then the other side faces us, with its brightness varying vastly depending on which region isContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, August 30: Iapetus reaches western elongation"

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The James Webb Space Telescope has observed a planet-birthing disk of gas and dust around a young star, uncovering some strange and unexpected chemistry.

This quiz will challenge your knowledge of Uranus's strange rotation, chilly atmosphere, and curious collection of moons.

Rocket Lab's new Launch Complex 3 will launch Neutron rockets that can land themselves on land or at sea just like SpaceX rockets.

On Saturday, September 20, an ambitious project will be announced and celebrated in Animas, New Mexico, which lies near the Arizona border. And you’re invited. Dubbed “Lunar Base Alpha,” it will replicate the lunar landscape and feature rovers conducting science experiments and habitats that you’ll be able to stay in. The initial project will coverContinue reading "Experience the Moon on Earth"

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The half-lit moon will appear close to Antares in the constellation Scorpius later this week.

Here's a rundown of Isaac Asimov's mind-numbing field of mathematics that predicts future events.

The seven members of the Expedition 73 crew welcomed the arrival of a SpaceX resupply ship, worked on science and kept the International Space Station up and running station this week in Earth orbit.

The Celestron SkyMaster binoculars come highly recommended by our experts, and with a saving of over $116, now is the time to spot stars and galaxies for less.

Can we turn to the past to learn more about how interactions between plants and pollinators changed during climate change?

Astronomers may have solved the mystery of how hypervelocity white dwarfs rocket out of the Milky Way at breakneck speeds.

As humans expand into space, how we'll continue to expand the species remains an important question.

The first light from the explosion that was the death of a massive star in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud reached Earth on Feb. 23, 1987. Supernova 1987A’s proximity gave astronomers unprecedented access into the final stages of stellar life, and in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope began taking high-res images of the former star.Continue reading "Aug. 29, 1990: Hubble sees Supernova 1987A clearly"

The post Aug. 29, 1990: Hubble sees Supernova 1987A clearly appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

There's more to being a Vulcan than prosthetic ears and playing it straight.

The near-Earth asteroid's microscopic surface tells a detailed story.

Newly released SpaceX footage gives us great looks at the final moments of Starship's epic Flight 10 test on Aug. 26, which ended with an Indian Ocean splashdown.

Rodney Pommier, taken from Portland, Oregon Roughly 40 million years ago near the core of the spiral galaxy NGC 7331, a white dwarf star ended its life in a thermonuclear explosion. The light from that explosion was detected July 14 by the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer project. This astroimager acquired the shot on the leftContinue reading "Spot the supernova"

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This evening Titan stands east of Saturn and Iapetus is far to the west, the latter approaching its greatest western elongation tomorrow. You can find the ringed planet already 15° high in the east at 10 P.M. local daylight time, continuing to rise until around 2:30 A.M., when it reaches the highest point in itsContinue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, August 29: Saturn’s moons line up"

The post The Sky Today on Friday, August 29: Saturn’s moons line up appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.