Image: Europe’s all-new weather satellite takes to the skies
Space News & Blog Articles
In Case you Missed it, Here are Some Amazing Pictures of Mars Hiding Behind the Moon
Last week gave us a celestial triple header, all in one night. The Moon was full and Mars was at opposition (at its closest point to Earth). But the pièce de résistance was when the Moon occulted or passed in front of Mars on the evening/morning of December 7th/8th. Our astrophotographer friends were out in full force to capture the event.
SpaceX launched Qatar World Cup match balls on Falcon 9 first stage
A recent SpaceX Falcon 9 launch included the rocket's first stage landing back on Earth. What differed this time is that the touchdown could also be described as scoring a World Cup GOOOOAAAALLLL!
Private Japanese moon lander snaps 1st photos in deep space
The Hakuto-R lander has snapped its first photos since launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday morning (Dec. 11).
Astronomers Spot Three Interacting Systems with Twin Discs
According to the most widely-accepted theory about star formation (Nebular Hypothesis), stars and planets form from huge clouds of dust and gas. These clouds undergo gravitational collapse at their center, leading to the birth of new stars, while the rest of the material forms disks around it. Over time, these disks become ring structures that accrete to form systems of planets, planetoids, asteroid belts, and Kuiper belts. For some time, astronomers have questioned how interactions between early stellar environments may affect their formation and evolution.
Live coverage: Ariane 5 fueled for launch with weather and TV broadcast satellites
Live coverage of the countdown and launch of an Ariane 5 rocket with the MTG-I1 geostationary weather satellite for ESA and Eumetsat, and the Galaxy 35 and 36 communications satellites for Intelsat. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
How Growing Giant Planets Fight for Food
A new study has shown that in order to grow more than one giant planet in the same solar system, the planets must go through a complicated and intricate dance to prevent one from destroying the other.
Mirosław Hermaszewski, first Pole to fly into space, dies at 81
Mirosław Hermaszewski, who was the first, and to date, only citizen of Poland to fly into space, has died at the age of 81. Hermaszewski launched on Soyuz 30 to the Salyut 6 space station in 1978.
The Voids Closest to Us May Not be Entirely Empty
The large scale structure of the universe is dominated by vast empty regions known as cosmic voids. These voids appear as holes hundreds of millions of light years across in the distribution of galaxies. However, new research shows that many of them may surprisingly still be filled with dark matter.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind Holds Up Forty-five Years Later
It might be rapidly approaching 50 years old, but Close Encounters of the Third Kind is still a masterpiece of sci-fi cinema.
Major breakthrough in pursuit of nuclear fusion unveiled by US scientists
American researchers have achieved a major breakthrough paving the way toward nuclear fusion energy generation, but major hurdles remain.
We Have Ignition! Fusion Breakthrough Raises Hopes — and Questions
For the first time ever, physicists have set off a controlled nuclear fusion reaction that released more energy than what was put into the experiment.
Boom! Watch an inflatable space station module explode on video
Sierra Space performed a "burst pressure" test on a space station module prototype, to prepare for future development on the Orbital Reef station for NASA.
Asteroids Didn’t Create the Moon’s Largest Craters. Left-Over Planetesimals Did
The Moon’s pock-marked surface tells the story of its history. It’s marked by over 9,000 impact craters, according to the International Astronomical Union (IAU.) The largest ones are called impact basins, not craters. According to a new study, asteroids didn’t create the basins; leftover planetesimals did.
NASA's Mars Perseverance rover records 1st-ever audio of Red Planet dust devil
Perseverance has captured the sound of dust grains impacting the NASA rover, and the recording could be key to understanding how dust is transported around Mars.
The Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight. Here's how to see it
The Geminid meteor shower will peak overnight tonight (Dec. 13 and Dec. 14), producing anywhere from 60 to 120 meteors per hour.
Arianespace targets triple satellite launch today
Arianespace plans to bring three satellites aloft from French Guiana on Tuesday (Dec. 13), and the nearly two-hour launch window opens at 3:30 p.m. EST.
Amateur astronomers challenged to spot an asteroid for Christmas
On Thursday (Dec. 15), an asteroid that could be as large as the Great Pyramid of Giza will pass Earth. Amateur astronomers are challenged to spot the asteroid.
Final frontier: 'Star Trek: Nemesis' marked the end of an era 20 years ago today
2002's "Star Trek: Nemesis" blows out the candles on its big 20th birthday today.
'Quantum time flip' makes light move simultaneously forward and backward in time
The time-flipped photon can't be used to restage "Back to the Future," but it could help us figure out some of the universe's most mysterious phenomena.
Relive NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission with this epic highlight reel
Ride to space and back again in the Artemis 1 footage, which showcases views of Earth, the moon and NASA's new Space Launch System rocket.