"Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools."
--1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket work.

"Correction: It is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum. The 'Times' regrets the error."
NY Times, July 1969.

— New York Times

Astronomy

ERIS spots spiral disc around young star | Space photo of the day for July 31, 2025

Space.com - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 9:00am
A possible planet may be carving the disc around the young star
Categories: Astronomy

Step aside, Captain Kirk! Spock is Star Trek's real interstellar ladies' man

Space.com - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 9:00am
Spock may be renowned for his impeccable logic, but "Strange New Worlds" has offered a glimpse of the Vulcan's surprisingly complicated love life
Categories: Astronomy

Critics of de-extinction research hit by mystery smear campaign

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 8:38am
Several researchers who have been critical of Colossal Biosciences’ plans to revive extinct animals say they have been targeted by online articles trying to discredit them
Categories: Astronomy

Critics of de-extinction research hit by mystery smear campaign

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 8:38am
Several researchers who have been critical of Colossal Biosciences’ plans to revive extinct animals say they have been targeted by online articles trying to discredit them
Categories: Astronomy

Wildfires burn in northern Portugal

ESO Top News - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 8:20am
Image: Copernicus Sentinel-2 captured wildfires burning in northern Portugal on Wednesday, 30 July.
Categories: Astronomy

New world record! Weather satellites detect 515-mile-long lightning flash

Space.com - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 8:00am
Meet the astonishing phenomenon of megaflash lightning.
Categories: Astronomy

Lightning Strike Sets New Record for Longest Ever Measured

Scientific American.com - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 8:00am

A lighting flash that spanned from East Texas to an area near Kansas City in 2017 is officially the longest lightning strike ever measured, according to the World Meteorological Organization

Categories: Astronomy

The best new science fiction books of August 2025

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 7:30am
From a fresh take on Stephen King’s The Stand to a new novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky set on a poisoned world, August has a bumper crop of new science fiction novels
Categories: Astronomy

The best new science fiction books of August 2025

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 7:30am
From a fresh take on Stephen King’s The Stand to a new novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky set on a poisoned world, August has a bumper crop of new science fiction novels
Categories: Astronomy

Why Earth Is Rotating Extra Fast This Summer, Shortening Days by Milliseconds

Scientific American.com - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 7:00am

As Earth spins through space, its rate of rotation changes. Here’s why

Categories: Astronomy

Nearby super-Earth K2-18 b may be a water-rich ocean planet: 'This has certainly increased the chances of habitability'

Space.com - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 6:00am
The search for life beyond the solar system is heating up. Though biosignatures around super-Earth K2-18b remain unconfirmed, the JWST has found the planet could be a water-rich ocean world.
Categories: Astronomy

Watch SpaceX launch Crew-11 astronauts to the ISS for NASA today after delay

Space.com - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 12:01am
The four astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission are scheduled to launch toward the International Space Station Friday (Aug. 1), and you can watch the action live.
Categories: Astronomy

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APOD - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 12:00am

Meteors from the


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Thu, 07/31/2025 - 12:00am


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Mars' Seasonal Frost Could Briefly Host Liquid Water

Universe Today - Wed, 07/30/2025 - 8:58pm

What can brine (extra salty) water teach scientists about finding past, or even present, life on Mars? This is what a recent study published in Communications Earth & Environment hopes to address as a researcher from the University of Arkansas investigated the formation of brines using 50-year-old data. This study has the potential to help researchers better understand how past data can be used to gain greater insights on the formation and evolution of surface brines on the surface of Mars.

Categories: Astronomy

Seasonal Frosts Could Lead to Patches of Briny Water on Mars' Surface

Universe Today - Wed, 07/30/2025 - 8:58pm

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 22, 2025 Recent research led by Vincent Chevrier of the University of Arkansas offers new evidence that brines-salt-rich liquid water-could form on the Martian surface under specific seasonal conditions. Drawing on decades of research, Chevrier used atmospheric data from NASA's Viking 2 lander alongside advanced computer simulations to demonstrate that seasonal frost could briefly melt, creating small qu

Categories: Astronomy

The Universe's Brightest Flash Reveals the Secrets of Cosmic Jet

Universe Today - Wed, 07/30/2025 - 8:58pm

Scientists studying the brightest gamma ray burst ever recorded have discovered evidence that these explosions produce complex, layered jets rather than simple uniform beams. This remarkable finding helps solve a long standing puzzle about how the universe's most powerful explosions work and opens new possibilities for observing similar events under challenging conditions.

Categories: Astronomy

Ancient Siberian ice mummy is covered in 'really special' tattoos

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Wed, 07/30/2025 - 8:01pm
Tattoos may have been widespread in prehistory, with scientists discovering a plethora of body art on a pastoralist who died in the 3rd or 4th century BC
Categories: Astronomy

Ancient Siberian ice mummy is covered in 'really special' tattoos

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Wed, 07/30/2025 - 8:01pm
Tattoos may have been widespread in prehistory, with scientists discovering a plethora of body art on a pastoralist who died in the 3rd or 4th century BC
Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX, NASA say Crew-11 astronaut mission is 'go' for launch to ISS on July 31

Space.com - Wed, 07/30/2025 - 6:11pm
Mission managers with NASA and SpaceX polled 'go' to proceed with a launch attempt of the Crew-11 astronaut mission to the ISS on Thursday (July 31).
Categories: Astronomy