Bright Venus and tiny Mars come to conjunction low in the western twilight, as the crescent Moon stands watch. On the other side of the sky, Saturn and Jupiter rise after dark. And before moonlight comes back, delve the deep sky in Scorpius and Sagittarius.
Space News & Blog Articles
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Earth from Space: Gulf of Martaban
The Gulf of Martaban, an arm of the Andaman Sea located in southern Myanmar, is featured in this false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
There are Probably Many More Earth-Sized Worlds Than Previously Believed
In the past decade, the discovery of extrasolar planets has accelerated immensely. To date, 4,424 exoplanets have been confirmed in 3,280 star systems, with another 7,453 awaiting confirmation. So far, most of these planets have been gas giants, with about 66% being similar to Jupiter or Neptune, while another 30% have been giant rocky planets (aka. “Super-Earths). Only a small fraction of confirmed exoplanets (less than 4%) have been similar in size to Earth.
The Streetlights in an Entire County Were Swapped to LEDs. Light Pollution got Worse
“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” – this famous paraphrase of Scottish poet Robert Burns sometimes sums up human ingenuity. That is exactly what happened when a county in Washington State decided to replace all of its county-owned streetlights with LEDs at least partially in an effort to combat light pollution. New research shows that they actually made the light pollution worse.
Multiple Earth-Mass Rogue Planets Have Been Discovered Drifting Through the Milky Way
Last year we reported on how the Roman Space Telescope’s backers hoped it would be able to detect rogue planets using a technique called “microlensing”. Now, a team led by Iain McDonald, then at the University of Manchester, beat them to the punch by finding a few examples of Earth-sized rogue planets using data from an already aging space telescope – Kepler.
Star cluster overrun with black holes may dissolve into space, study finds
A cluster composed of thousands of stars may dissolve to become a mob of dozens of black holes in a billion years.
China's Chang'e 5 moon landing site finally has a name
The landing site for China's complex Chang'e 5 moon sample and return mission now has a name: Statio Tianchuan.
Venus: The hot, hellish & volcanic planet
Venus is the brightest planet in our solar system, has a hellish atmosphere and is covered in volcanoes. Learn more about Venus here.
How to watch Virgin Galactic launch billionaire Richard Branson to space on Sunday
Virgin Galactic will broadcast the flight of its founder, Richard Branson, as he soars into space on Sunday (July 11).
Richard Branson: Music mogul & space tourism entrepreneur
Richard Branson, through his company Virgin Galactic, plans to offer flights into space for well-paying customers.
Repurposed communications satellites could help save humanity from an asteroid impact
Large telecommunication satellites used for TV broadcasting could be quickly and easily repurposed as anti-asteroid weapons according to European aerospace company Airbus.
Cassini Saw Methane in Enceladus’ Plumes. Scientists Don’t Know How it Could be There Without Life
Even though the Cassini mission at Saturn ended nearly four years ago, data from the spacecraft still keeps scientists busy. And the latest research using Cassini’s wealth of data might be the most enticing yet.
Dragon cargo ship departs space station and heads for Earth
SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon capsule departs the International Space Station Thursday. Credit: NASA TV/Spaceflight Now
A SpaceX cargo capsule undocked from the International Space Station Thursday and headed for splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico after a two-day delay to wait for Tropical Storm Elsa to clear the area.
Virgin Galactic: Richard Branson's space tourism company
Entrepreneur Richard Branson expects to take paying passengers into space in the next few years.
Tales of a ‘Drunken Comet’- Astronomers Detect Alcohol Leaking From 46P/Wirtanen into Space
A close pass of Comet Wirtanen in 2018 offered researchers an unprecedented opportunity.
The best Star Wars deals and gifts for 2021
We've been scouring the web for all the best Star Wars Prime Day gifts to give loved ones (including yourself of course).
Live coverage: Dragon cargo ship ready to depart space station today
Live coverage of the departure of SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship from the International Space Station and its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean with several tons of experiment samples and cargo. SpaceX and NASA will not provide live video coverage of the splashdown. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
Researchers Have Taught a Drone to Recognize and Hunt Down Meteorites Autonomously
Planetary scientists estimate that each year, about 500 meteorites survive the fiery trip through Earth’s atmosphere and fall to our planet’s surface. Most are quite small, and less than 2% of them are ever recovered. While the majority of rocks from space may not be recoverable due to ending up in oceans or remote, inaccessible areas, other meteorite falls are just not witnessed or known about.
SpaceX Dragon cargo ship to return to Earth today after delays from Tropical Storm Elsa
After a 48-hour delay as a tropical storm traveled up the coast, a cargo Dragon capsule will bid farewell to the International Space Station on Thursday (July 8).
Amateur Astronomer Discovers New Moon of Jupiter
An amateur astronomer has discovered a new moon of Jupiter. While it hasn't received official designation yet, it would bring the tally of Jovian satellites to 80.
China's Chang'e 6 mission will collect lunar samples from the far side of the moon by 2024
China's new Chang'e 6 mission aims to bring to Earth a sample of lunar soil from one of the most fascinating areas on the far side of the moon by 2024.
