NASA has said the International Space Station will cease operations at the end of 2030. What will replace it? Image via NASA/ Roscosmos.| EarthSky
Data from the Webb space telescope reveal that a massive planet around a distant star is encircled by a moon-forming disk. The post Moon-forming disk found around massive planet first appeared on EarthSky.| Space | EarthSky
Astronomers have discovered a rogue planet eating up 6 billion tons of gas and dust every second. That's the fastest rate ever recorded for any planet. The post Rogue planet found growing at astonishing record rate first appeared on EarthSky.| Space | EarthSky
Using the Webb space telescope, astronomers have observed auroras on rogue planet SIMP 0136. The giant starless world is about 20 light-years away from Earth. The post Auroras on rogue planet in a new alien weather report first appeared on EarthSky.| Space | EarthSky
World Space Week dates back to 1999 and runs every year from October 4 to 10. This year, the theme is living in space. Find events near you here. The post World Space Week is October 4 to 10. Find events here first appeared on EarthSky.| Space | EarthSky
Astronomers have discovered 2 dwarf galaxies linked by a colossal hydrogen gas bridge, which spans an enormous 185,000 light-years. The post Astronomers find 2 galaxies linked by a huge gas bridge first appeared on EarthSky.| Space | EarthSky
Exoplanets are worlds orbiting distant stars. Watch a video with an astronomer who studies them. Learn the history of our knowledge of exoplanets, and more. The post Exoplanets are worlds orbiting other stars first appeared on EarthSky.| Space | EarthSky
Comet Lemmon might be the brightest comet of 2025. It could become bright enough to see with your eye alone in late October and early November. The post Comet Lemmon might be the best comet of 2025 first appeared on EarthSky.| Space | EarthSky
New research shows there are likely many 'invisible' asteroids that share the same orbit as Venus. They could potentially pose a danger to Earth. The post ‘Invisible’ asteroids near Venus: A new danger to Earth? first appeared on EarthSky.| Space | EarthSky
Here’s an image from a brand-new simulation of our universe. It’s the largest universe simulation ever created. Blue dots mark galaxies at the centers of dark matter clumps, while red dots mark galaxies orbiting these central galaxies. Together, they trace the cosmic web: the large-scale structure of the universe. Image via Jorge Carretero & Pau Tallada (Port d’Informació Científica/ Euclid Consortium).Scientists have unveiled the largest simulation of our universe ever created. The E...| EarthSky
ispace CEO discusses HAKUTO-R – first private moon lander – after losing contact with the craft.| EarthSky
The tiny asteroid 2025 RJ2 passed close to Earth on September 15 and passed even closer to the moon earlier this morning (September 16, 2025). It posed no threat to us or the moon. Image via NASA.Tiny asteroid makes a flyby of Earth and the moon| EarthSky
View larger. | Graphic representation of deep space communications in our solar system. A new study proposes how to find aliens, or at least their communications. It found that human transmissions are most frequently directed toward spacecrafts near Mars (lower left), as well as the sun and other planets. An alien civilization could most easily detect such transmissions when Mars and Earth are in alignment, from their perspective. And we could use the same principle to search for alien signal...| EarthSky
This beauty is planetary nebula IC 418, also known as the Spirograph nebula for its intricate patterns. It is over 4,000 light-years away in the constellation Lepus the Hare. IC 418 has a long history of observations. Recently, astronomers analyzed data taken over the past 130 years. They found its central star is heating up faster than any star ever observed. However, that rate of increase in temperature is still slower than that predicted by late stellar evolution models. Image via NASA/ Th...| EarthSky
Artist’s concept of a white dwarf remnant being given a high-speed shove from its system. Such an event can happen after 2 white dwarfs merge, causing a supernova explosion. A new study suggests this is how the fastest white dwarfs in the Milky Way achieve their incredible speeds. Image via Technion Israel Institute of Technology.| EarthSky
View larger. | Artist’s concept of Mars being hit by a large asteroid impact. Mars’ interior is lumpy, but why? New research indicates that rocky debris in the planet’s mantle came from large impacts about 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists found the evidence in marsquake seismic data from the now-defunct InSight lander. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech.| EarthSky
Artist’s concept of a supermassive black hole shredding and devouring a star in what’s known as a tidal disruption event. Astronomers have spotted a star that suffered this fate but survived to battle the black hole again. Image via ESO/ M. Kornmesser.Star versus black hole| EarthSky
Michael Jaeger captured this recent image of Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon. Used with permission. Comet Lemmon is one of 5 bright comets headed toward Earth. Read more about them below.5 bright comets approaching Earth| EarthSky
During its flyby of Mars in March 2025, the Europa Clipper spacecraft tested its radar instrument. This is a small section of the image it successfully produced of Mars’ surface. See the full radargram. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ UT-Austin.| EarthSky
The world watched on television as Neil Armstrong from Apollo 11 was the 1st human to leave footsteps on the moon on July 20, 1969. It was the 1st time humans walked on another world as he stepped onto the lunar surface, Armstrong said: “That is one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” Still image via NASA video.Read all about the 1st footsteps on the moon – 56 years ago – and celebrate International Moon Day.| EarthSky
ESA has unveiled the 1st images from Proba-3, an ambitious mission using 2 satellites to reveal the sun's outer atmosphere through artificial solar eclipses. The post First images from Proba-3, the 2-part sun observer first appeared on EarthSky.| Sun | EarthSky
View larger. | Aomawa Shields, UC Irvine associate professor of physics and astronomy, led the new white dwarf study. Scientists have thought that planets around white dwarfs would be uninhabitable, but this new study shows how some some white dwarf planets might be able to support life. Image via Steve Zylius/ UC Irvine.| EarthSky
View larger. | Artist’s illustration of Cassini spacecraft flying through the water vapor plumes of Enceladus. A new study from researchers in the UK has found that Enceladus’ subsurface ocean might have layers that make it difficult to find traces of life on Enceladus. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ Space Science Institute.| EarthSky
Happy Valentine’s Day! We’re sharing the love by celebrating some of the many heart-shaped objects you can find from way out in the depths of space to closer to our neighborhood in the solar system to right here on Earth.| EarthSky
Artist’s concept shows NASA’s Parker Solar Probe touching the sun. Parker Solar Probe was closest to the sun at 11:53:48 UTC (5:53:48 a.m. CST) December 24, 2024. It came within 3.86 million miles (6.2 million km) of our star. That was an exciting day for humanity! Image via NASA.The 2025 EarthSky Lunar Calendar is now available! A unique and beautiful poster-sized calendar. Makes a great New Year’s gift. Get yours today!| EarthSky
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Jeremy Likness in Newport, Oregon, captured this telescopic view of the Andromeda galaxy on July 9, 2024. Jeremy wrote: “It’s a galaxy so near it could be interacting with our stars. It’s so big and bright that you can photograph it with an ordinary camera. The Andromeda galaxy, named for the constellation it hangs out in, is located just off the edge of the distinct ‘W’ of Cassiopeia. I used a hydrogen-alpha filter to find the red emissions hang...| EarthSky
In this 1-minute video, EarthSky’s Kelly Kizer Whitt tells you about the UFO-spotting camera that’s being planned for the surface of Mars.| EarthSky
Here’s how Asteroid RW1 looks like from Gonzaga, Cagayan, Philippines. Best shot so far!! ? pic.twitter.com/eYgQsHqxFP| EarthSky
View larger. | This is an artist’s concept of a Dyson sphere, showing a massive structure of independently orbiting arched panels. All that’s missing is a ravaged planet or moon … the source of the raw materials for this giant structure. Image via Kevin Gill/ Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0 DEED).Earth’s biggest construction project| EarthSky
What’s the Bad Astronomer, Phil Plait, thinking about today? He’s thinking about the wealth of knowledge about our home galaxy, the Milky Way, provided by ESA’s awesome GAIA space observatory.| EarthSky
As seen in this artist’s concept, the Blue and Gold orbiters in the Mars mission ESCAPADE will launch in 2025. Scientists and engineers built the probes on a shoestring budget, to see if it could be done. The probes will take 11 months to reach the red planet and are designed to study Mars’ magnetosphere. Image via Rocket Lab/ UC Berkeley.Mars mission to study magnetosphere on the cheap| EarthSky
Mars probably had liquid water on its surface billions of years ago. But Mars’ water disappeared over time, leaving the planet cold and dry. Where did Mars’ water go?| EarthSky
This incredible video from September 26, 2022, shows the perspective of the DART spacecraft as it approached and then struck the asteroid Dimorphos. The final 5 1/2 minutes are condensed into the shortened video. Via NASA/ Johns Hopkins APL/ YouTube.| EarthSky
The sun has passed from one of its 11-year activity cycles into another. Scientists predict the new cycle will be about as calm as the previous one.| EarthSky | Updates on your cosmos and world
This is one example of seeing SpaceX’s Starlink in your sky. This artist’s concept shows a trail of Starlink satellites, each an individual dot reflecting sunlight. They would move across the sky in a line like a train.. Image via Star Walk: How to track SpaceX’s Starlink satellites.View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Peter Forister in Gordonsville, Virginia, took this image at 7:38 p.m. on September 24, 2022. Peter wrote: “Spectacular sunset colors with the SpaceX Starlink rocket la...| EarthSky
