We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

— Oscar Wilde

Astronomy

One week until the blood moon total lunar eclipse lights up September's sky

Space.com - Sun, 08/31/2025 - 6:00am
A total lunar eclipse will take place on Sept. 7-8, creating a spectacular blood moon effect.
Categories: Astronomy

Aurora alert! Incoming cannibal solar storm could spark Labor Day northern lights show

Space.com - Sun, 08/31/2025 - 5:43am
A pair of solar eruptions may combine into a powerful "cannibal CME," boosting chances for dazzling auroras over Labor Day.
Categories: Astronomy

TESS Spotted 3I/ATLAS Two Months Before It Was Discovered - It Was Even Active Then

Universe Today - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 8:41pm

One of the advantages of having so many telescopes watching large parts of the sky is that, if astronomers find something interesting, there are probably images of it from before it was officially discovered sitting in the data archives of other satellites that noone thought to look at. That has certainly been the case for our newest interstellar visitor, 3I/ATLAS, which, though discovered in early July, had been visible on other telescopes as early as May. We previously reported on Vera Rubin’s detection of 3I/ATLAS well before it was officially found, and now a new paper has found the interstellar object in TESS’s data going back to early May - and it looks like it may have been “active” around that time.

Categories: Astronomy

A New Theory of the Universe’s Origins Without Inflation

Universe Today - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 8:41pm

How exactly did the universe start and how did these processes determine its formation and evolution? This is what a recent study published in Physical Review Research hopes to address as a team of researchers from Spain and Italy proposed a new model for the events that transpired immediately after the birth of the universe. This study has the potential to challenge longstanding theories regarding the exact processes that occurred at the beginning of the universe, along with how these processes have governed the formation and evolution of the universe.

Categories: Astronomy

Asteroid Bennu Is Like A Time Capsule From The Early Solar System

Universe Today - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 8:41pm

New research based on samples from asteroid Bennu show that the asteroid contains materials from throughout the Solar System. Some of its materials are from even more distant realms: the asteroid contains stardust from stars that existed long before our Solar System did.

Categories: Astronomy

The Great Filter Part 3: This is the End

Universe Today - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 8:41pm

What about the middle stages? The march from single-celled organisms doing their single-celled thing to intelligent creatures that can wield tools and leave feedback reviews about them?

Categories: Astronomy

GJ 1132 b Doesn't Have An Atmosphere, According To New JWST Data

Universe Today - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 8:41pm

Astronomers sometimes find conflicting data when trying to answer a question. This is a normal part of the scientific process, and it simply means that more data is needed to prove or disprove the theory they are trying to test. One prominent example of conflicting data in recent exoplanet research was that of planet GJ 1132 b, which either had or didn’t have an atmosphere, depending on which data set was being used. A new paper from researchers using more observational time on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) can now definitively say that, most likely, GJ 1132 b doesn’t have an atmosphere - and that finding has wider implications for exoplanet research more generally.

Categories: Astronomy

New 'Jump Space' trailer blasts off with intense interstellar action ahead of September launch (video)

Space.com - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 12:00pm
Leap into the killer cosmic combat for Keepsake Games' retitled first-person PvE shooter
Categories: Astronomy

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 175 — More AI in Space

Space.com - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 10:35am
On Episode 175 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and and Tariq Malik are joined by Daniel Selva to talk about crew interactions and trust with AI using computers.
Categories: Astronomy

Neptune Know-It-All: A Neptune trivia quiz

Space.com - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 10:00am
In this quiz, you’ll test your knowledge of Neptune's features, moons, and the science that keeps astronomers fascinated.
Categories: Astronomy

Inside the search for sustainable aviation fuels, which are on the federal chopping block

Space.com - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 9:00am
The Trump administration's "One Big, Beautiful Bill" slashes federal funding for efforts to create renewable or sustainable types of fuel for aircraft.
Categories: Astronomy

NASA employees fear worsening conditions as new Trump executive order eliminates their right to unionize

Space.com - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 8:00am
The change comes just in time for Labor Day.
Categories: Astronomy

NASA employees fear worsening conditions as new Trump executive order eliminates their right to unionize

Space.com - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 8:00am
A new executive order signed by President Donald Trump removes NASA employees from federal labor-management protections, under the justification of national security.
Categories: Astronomy

See the half-lit first quarter moon shine in the grasp of a celestial scorpion tonight

Space.com - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 6:00am
The moon will appear in the constellation Scorpius at sunset on Aug. 30-31.
Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites to orbit from California (video)

Space.com - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 1:30am
It was the 107th Falcon 9 mission of the year.
Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites to orbit from California (video)

Space.com - Sat, 08/30/2025 - 1:30am
SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites today (Aug. 30), sending 24 of them up from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Categories: Astronomy

James Webb Space Telescope spots odd planet-forming disk around infant star

Space.com - Fri, 08/29/2025 - 5:00pm
The James Webb Space Telescope has observed a planet-birthing disk of gas and dust around a young star, uncovering some strange and unexpected chemistry.
Categories: Astronomy

Uranus quiz: Do you know the Tilted Planet?

Space.com - Fri, 08/29/2025 - 4:41pm
This quiz will challenge your knowledge of Uranus's strange rotation, chilly atmosphere, and curious collection of moons.
Categories: Astronomy

Virginia is for (space) lovers: Rocket Lab opens new seaside launch pad for reusable Neutron rocket

Space.com - Fri, 08/29/2025 - 3:46pm
"Today marks an extraordinary milestone, not just for Rocket Lab, but for the future of space access in America."
Categories: Astronomy

Virginia is for (space) lovers: Rocket Lab opens new seaside launch pad for reusable Neutron rocket

Space.com - Fri, 08/29/2025 - 3:46pm
Rocket Lab's new Launch Complex 3 will launch Neutron rockets that can land themselves on land or at sea just like SpaceX rockets.
Categories: Astronomy