News

A weather satellite 22,000 miles above Earth saved my 2026 total solar eclipse cruise on the Mediterranean Sea

By Joe Rao Published 20 August 26

Joe Rao took to sea aboard the cruise ship Le Boréal to watch the total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. Here's what it was like.

Mars Express orbiter captures detailed new video of the crater where Mark Watney was stranded in 'The Martian'

By Josh Dinner Published 20 August 26

Europe's Mars Express orbiter has captured stunning telemetry to create a new flyover visualization of the Red Planet's Southern Highlands and Schiaparelli Crater in magnificent detail.

Try not to be hypnotized by the 'Eye of Africa' | Space photo of the day for Aug. 20, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published 20 August 26

This geologic feature has been mesmerizing astronauts since 1965.

On this day in space! Aug. 20, 1977: Voyager 2 launches to the outer planets

By Hanneke Weitering Published 20 August 26

On this day in space! Aug. 20, 1977: NASA launched the Voyager 2 spacecraft on a mission to explore the outer planets.

Rocket Lab launches private Japanese Earth-observing satellite to orbit (video)

By Mike Wall Last updated 20 August 26

Rocket Lab launched its ninth mission for the Japanese company iQPS this morning (Aug. 20), sending an Earth-observation satellite into low Earth orbit.

James Webb Space Telescope finds 'hidden stars' making the universe's 1st galaxies much bigger than we knew

By Robert Lea Published 20 August 26

James Webb Space Telescope is finding that between the brightest stars, the cosmic skyscrapers, there are much fainter stars, meaning early galaxies are more massive than we believed.

Partial lunar eclipse live: Latest news, viewing tips and live updates from Aug. 27-28 eclipse

By Daisy Dobrijevic Published 20 August 26

Follow our live coverage as we count down to the deepest partial lunar eclipse until December 2028, with the latest news, viewing tips and live updates.

A 96% partial lunar eclipse is just 1 week away: Here's what you need to know

By Anthony Wood Published 20 August 26

Earth's curved inner shadow will darken the moon's disk during the Aug. 27-28 partial lunar eclipse.

Scientists just found the fastest known star in the Milky Way. It zooms around our black hole at 15,500 miles per second

By Stefanie Waldek Published 19 August 26

Astronomers have found the fastest known star in the Milky Way, a faint object racing around Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy.

Private mission to save NASA's Swift space telescope fails

By Josh Dinner Published 19 August 26

A private spacecraft tasked with boosting the orbit of NASA's Swift Observatory has failed in its mission, meaning the telescope will crash back to Earth later this year.