SpaceX launched 51 of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit on Friday (Feb. 17), acing the first of two orbital missions the company has planned for the day.
Space News & Blog Articles
When Neutron Stars Collide, the Explosion is Perfectly Spherical
Kilonovae are incredibly powerful explosions. Whereas regular supernovae occur when two white dwarfs collide, or the core of a massive star collapses into a neutron star, kilonovae occur when two neutron stars collide. You would think that neutron star collisions would produce explosions with all sorts of strange shapes depending on the angle and speed of the collisions, but new research shows kilonovae are very spherical, and this has some serious implications for cosmology.
The crescent moon meets up with Mercury tomorrow morning (Feb. 18)
The moon will meet up with the closest planet to the sun Mercury on Saturday, as the two celestial bodies meet in conjunction in the morning sky.
Watch SpaceX's Crew-6 astronaut flight live online
The first long-duration astronaut from the United Arab Emirates joins two NASA astronauts and one Roscosmos cosmonaut for a launch on Feb. 26. Here's how to watch.
Why are there so few 'hot Neptune' exoplanets?
There's apparently a dearth of close-orbiting Neptune-size planets in our galaxy, and two observation techniques are starting to explain why.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, February 17 – 26
Venus and Jupiter put on a dramatic show in twilight, as they creep toward each other for a March 1st conjunction. The crescent Moon passes though, almost kissing Jupiter on Wednesday the 22nd.
Small Asteroid Spotted Hours Before Demise
The swift detection of a small asteroid, and recovery of its surviving fragments, shows we’re getting better at spotting incoming objects.
1st private Launcher space tug fails after launching on SpaceX rocket
Space launch startup Launcher said its first spacecraft, which launched on a SpaceX rocket last month, has failed.
See a bright Venus and Jupiter hold a celestial meeting in the night sky this month
Venus and Jupiter should make for a very striking visual spectacle, no doubt attracting the attention of even those who don't give more than a casual glance at the night sky.
Pre-launch interview with Inmarsat’s Peter Hadinger
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'Hello Tomorrow!' offers a darker look at life on the moon
Apple TV+'s enticing new sci-fi series, "Hello Tomorrow!" delivers a shiny retro-future for space fans who dream of living on the moon.
Artemis 1 moon launch was as loud as 40 million bowls of Rice Krispies: study
A new study has found that the launch of NASA's Artemis 1 mega moon rocket created sound levels far more powerful than predicted.
Uranus up close: What proposed NASA 'ice giant' mission could teach us
A proposed NASA mission to Uranus would shed light on the mysterious ice giant as well as a type of exoplanet that's among the most common in the universe, researchers say.
Juice one step closer to launch
Video: 00:04:54
After many years of study, development, building and testing, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, has finally arrived at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. At the end of 2022 the spacecraft underwent its final thermal vacuum test at an Airbus Defence and Space facility in Toulouse, as well as its final software verification tests, whereby it was controlled from the ESOC mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
Ingenuity helicopter aces 43rd Mars flight, its longest in 10 months
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter conducted its 43rd Mars flight on Thursday (Feb. 16), covering 1,280 feet (390 meters) of Red Planet ground.
Binoculars deal spotted: 34% off Celestron Nature DX ED 8x42
Save over $71 on the Celestron Nature DX ED 8x42 binoculars, ideal for outdoor use and being on-the-go.
NSYNC's Lance Bass talks about canceled space mission, new podcast (exclusive)
Lance Bass almost made it to the International Space Station in 2002. Twenty years later, the NSYNC star told Space.com, he still wants to visit the orbiting complex to do science.
Spaceflight doubleheader! Watch SpaceX launch 2 rockets 9 hours apart on Friday
SpaceX plans to launch two orbital missions less than nine hours apart on Friday (Feb. 17), and you can watch the back-to-back action live.
Earth from Space: Liverpool Land, Greenland
Image: The Liverpool Land peninsula, on the east coast of Greenland, is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image.

