A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin the Starlink 10-36 mission on Feb. 19, 2026. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
Update Feb. 19, 9:34 p.m. EST (0234 UTC): SpaceX confirms successful landing on the droneship.
Theory shows that stars can collapse directly into black holes without first exploding as supernovae. In fact, this should be a relatively common occurrence. But despite that, astronomers have found scant observational evidence to support it.
"This is a crucial step towards characterizing giant planets beyond our solar system."
Our solar system is home to hundreds of moons, but a select few stand out for their sheer size. These largest satellites are not merely rocks in orbit; they are diverse, geologically active worlds that rival the size of some planets.
"This was a really challenging event in our recent history."
For the first time ever, scientists have observed in near real time a cloud of air pollution created as a SpaceX rocket burned up in Earth's atmosphere.
Space debris are contaminating our atmosphere at very high altitudes – and we don't yet understand the effects.
'Together for liberty!' Director Justin Lin will helm this iron-fisted adaptation of 'Helldivers 2'
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered what seems to be a galaxy that is the most heavily dominated by dark matter ever seen.
Astronomers working with JWST have found a jellyfish galaxy only about 5 billion years after the Big Bang. Jellyfish galaxies are so named because they trail streams of gas that look like jellyfish tentacles. They're created when a galaxy moves rapidly through a cluster, and the intracluster medium (ICM) strips gas from them, stretching it into long streams.
The early Universe was a busy place. As the infant cosmos exanded, that epoch saw the massive first stars forming, along with protogalaxies. It turns out those extremely massive early stars were stirring up chemical changes in the first globular clusters, as well. Not only that, many of those monster stars ultimately collapsed as black holes.
Look out for "Earthshine" brightening the shadowed region of the lunar disk close to the new moon phase.
The RAMSES mission to the asteroid Apophis will launch in 2028 to meet the asteroid before its close encounter with Earth.
We rate the Potensic Atom SE as the best cheap drone for beginners thanks to its build quality and value for money. Now this bundle is at its lowest-ever price.
Scientists may have narrowed down the landing site of the Soviet Union's Luna 9, which in 1966 became the first spacecraft to touch down softly on the moon.
Everybody knows that galaxies are large structures made of stars. That's a simple definition, and ignores the fact that galaxies also contain gas, dust, planets, moons, comets, asteroids, etc., and of course, dark matter. But one type of galaxy is mostly made of dark matter, and they're difficult to detect.
SpaceX will land a rocket in The Bahamas for the second time ever today (Feb. 19), and you can watch the action live.
Lego Star Wars Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser is the best on the market.
Beijing sparkles with Lunar New Year celebrations.
For the first time, an international team of astronomers have mapped the vertical structure of Uranus’s upper atmosphere, uncovering how temperature and charged particles vary with height across the planet. Using NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope's NIRSpec instrument, the team observed Uranus for nearly a full rotation, detecting the faint glow from molecules high above the clouds. The results offer a new window into how ice-giant planets distribute energy in their upper layers.
The Hubble and Chandra space telescopes are hunting for rogue black holes wandering through dwarf galaxies, which could provide a fossil record of how supermassive black hole growth in the early universe.
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