The waxing Moon this week visits Venus, the Pleiades, and the Jupiter-Pollux-Castor triangle, then it occults Regulus in a bright sky.
(This is Part 2 of a series on Cherenkov radiation — the "light boom." Read Part 1 first.)
Space News & Blog Articles
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Earth from Space: Land of rainforests
Image: This image from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the coast of Gabon in striking colours.
Early Galaxies Were Surrounded by Huge Clouds of Hydrogen, and Astronomers Found a Whole Bunch!
Based on the most widely accepted models of how the Universe began - Big Bang cosmology and the LCDM model - scientists theorize that massive clouds of neutral hydrogen permeated the Universe. From this material, the first stars and galaxies formed rapidly over the next several hundred eons, an event that astronomers and cosmologists refer to as "Cosmic Dawn." For some time, it was further theorized that these early galaxies were surrounded by gigantic hydrogen gas halos, called "Lyman-alpha nebulae."
Landing astronauts on the moon 'is absolutely doable, and it's doable soon,' NASA's Artemis 2 commander says
The Artemis 2 astronauts said they gained a deeper understanding of their Orion capsule during their moon mission —and what they learned bodes well for future Artemis flights.
'That was a wonderful toilet': Artemis 2 commander defends mission's lunar loo
Artemis 2's groundbreaking space toilet doesn't deserve the bad press it's gotten over the past two weeks, according to mission commander Reid Wiseman.
Fantasy RPG 'Crimson Desert' lets you stab your way up to space, showcasing a remarkably detailed cosmos
One of the game's more bizarre features is the ability to stab your way up to the edge of space.
Blue Origin fires up used New Glenn rocket ahead of landmark reflight (photo)
Blue Origin conducted a static fire test today (April 16) with a flight-proven New Glenn booster, paving the way for a planned launch on Sunday morning (April 19).
The Lyrid meteor shower 2026 has begun! Here's what to expect
Fireballs and meteors could be seen anytime the constellation Lyra is above the horizon.
The Moon Might Be More Prone To Fires
Engineers love a good practical challenge, especially when it comes to spaceflight. But there’s one particular challenge facing the crewed missions of the near future that scares mission planners above almost all others - fire. For decades, we’ve relied on a NASA test known as NASA-STD-6001B to screen material flammability for flight. But space is much more complicated than an Earth-bound test provides for. A new paper from researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center and Johnson Space Center and Case Western Reserve University details a planned mission to test the flammability of materials on the Moon’s surface - where they expect flame to act much differently than it does here on Earth.
This may be the daughter of one of our universe's 1st stars. Scientists call it an 'ancient immigrant'
The star is escaping the Large Magellanic Cloud for the Milky Way.
Private Japanese spacecraft will inspect 2 dead satellites in 2027
Astroscale's 2027 ISSA-J mission will mark the first attempt to inspect multiple spacecraft across different orbits in a single flight.
Why NASA’s Cheapest Missions Produce the Least Science
To say NASA has been undergoing some massive administrative changes lately is a huge understatement. One of the more concerning ones, according to a new paper at the 57th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference by Ari Koeppel and Casey Dreier of the Planetary Society, is the trend towards the Silicon Valley mindset of “move fast and break things” - which they argue doesn’t work very well when it comes to producing valuable science.
What Were the Flashes That Artemis 2 Astronauts Saw?
The crew of Artemis 2 reported six flashes of light while passing behind the Moon. We've seen those kinds of flashes before.
3D dark energy map is mind-blowing | Space photo of the day for April 16, 2026
Every single tiny point on the map is a galaxy.
Blue Origin hot fires its first previously flown booster, prepares for weekend launch
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket roars to life during a roughly 20-second static fire test of its seven BE-4 engines. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket roared to life in a critical pre-launch demonstration of its main engines Thursday, less than an hour after the Sun crested over the horizon in Florida.
How to see once-in-a-lifetime Comet PanSTARRS tonight before it disappears for good
Comet C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS is days away from its close pass of the sun during an event known as perihelion.
Max Space unveils new expandable space habitat for the moon and beyond: 'We need real estate that is scalable'
"They are truly ready for long duration space flights and lunar habitation."
Three ESA-built satellites on show in France
Three Earth observation satellites, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with European partners, and due to launch later this year, have completed their functional and environmental tests and are ready to travel to the European spaceport in French Guiana. But first, journalists were invited to have one last look.
A new Earthrise: An Apollo historian experiences Artemis 2
As Artemis 2 approached, my anticipation was mixed with uncertainty. Would this new Moon mission spark the wonder and excitement I'd felt during Apollo? Those doubts didn't last long.
What Happens When Light Goes Boom? Part 1: The Scientist Who Stared at a Glow
I want you to imagine a scene. It's the red carpet. It's the night of the Oscars, or the Emmys, or the participation trophy ceremony for your kid's soccer team. That's not the essential part of the metaphor. What matters is who is there: Brad Bradington's adoring fans, curious onlookers, and of course the paparazzi, ready to take their shot.
