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Here's a guide to the major astronomical events of the next year, as well as space launches and milestones for spacecrafts already in travel.

This may look like a nebula in deep space, but this glowing cloud was photographed in Earth's atmosphere. The photo was taken shortly after a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched with 10 Iridium communications satellites.

Feed and inspire a kid's thirst for space with these book picks by Space.com's writers and editors.

Some of the brightest and swiftest shooting stars will bedazzle the night sky this year during the Orionid meteor shower, which will peak between Oct. 20 and 22 and continue through early November.

The last human to step off the moon is the latest astronaut to be memorialized with the naming of a space station-bound cargo ship.

The newfound asteroid 2017 TD6 will give Earth a close shave on Oct. 19, 2017, when the object flies by Earth at an estimated 119,000 miles away.

Many people step into their home gardens for a bit of DIY therapy. A new study suggests that astronauts could also reap the psychological benefits of gardening.

Commercial lunar lander company Moon Express announced an agreement with NanoRacks Oct. 10 to carry commercial payloads to the surface of the moon.

As NASA develops a plan to carry out a new administration policy calling for a human return to the moon, companies developing lunar landers and related infrastructure are seeking to play a role.

The answer is one 1 astronomical unit. How far is that?

Two methods that scientists use to measure the expansion of the universe produce different answers. A recent episode of NASA's ScienceCasts video series explores this conundrum.

Heat and light from the sun make life on Earth possible.

NASA will launch a small rocket from Virginia's Eastern Shore early Wednesday (Oct. 4) to test a supersonic parachute system for future spacecraft bound for Mars. The launch may be visible to observers along the U.S. East Coast, weather permitting.

Astronomers have pinpointed five pairs of merging black holes using three different space and ground-based instruments and two sky surveys.

After spending months or years in space during future long-term missions, returning to Earth can be challenging for astronauts — and one set of researchers is finding out just how challenging using a life-size spacecraft model.

For the first time ever, scientists around the world detected gravitational waves and light from the collision of a pair of neutron stars. See the epic discovery in pictures here.

Four trailblazing figures from NASA's history are set to launch as new Lego minifigures. As-tronauts Sally Ride and Mae Jemison, as well as programmer Margaret Hamilton and astrono-mer Nancy Grace Roman, feature in the Lego Ideas set, "Women of NASA."

A new market for super high-speed weapons is fueling investments in rocket engine technologies as companies seek to gain an edge.

General Atomics is better known for building Predator combat drones and mining uranium than building spacecraft, but that could change as the company develops an interest in building defense-focused cubesats.

An international team of astronomers detected the first gravitational waves from merging neutron stars, and found proof they are the source of the universe's heavy elements, including gold and platinum.