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An illustration of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope fully unfolded in space.

Scientist admits 'space telescope' photo is actually chorizo in tasty Twitter prank

By Tariq Malik published

A physicist's stunning new photo of Proxima Centauri from the James Webb Space Telescope, was just a slice of chorizo.

Large, bright full moon to the upper right of the image above a red and white lighthouse with water in the foreground.

Sturgeon Supermoon: August's Sturgeon Full Moon will be the last of 4 in a row

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

The final supermoon of the year will rise this week (Aug. 11). The full Sturgeon moon with likely outshine the Perseid meteor shower which peaks Aug. 11-12.

360-degree panorama with the Curiosity rover in the center of the image. The rover is surrounded by rusty red rocks and some large hills.

On This Day In Space: Aug. 6, 2012: Curiosity Rover Lands on Mars

By Hanneke Weitering published

On Aug. 6, 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover successfully touched down on the Martian surface.

Artist's rendering of concept design for Axiom Station berthed at the Harmony module of the International Space Station.

NASA, private companies count on market demand for future space stations after ISS

By Josh Dinner published

Senior officials from companies selected by NASA to develop new low Earth orbit space stations are eager for market input to drive their purpose.

Promotional art for "Earth's Shadow" depicting an evil-looking alien.

Explore a mysterious exoplanet in new video game 'Earth's Shadow'

By Jeff Spry published

Earth's Shadow is a terrifying new sci-fi video game just launched on Steam that takes place on the mysterious exoplanet of Sumbra.

Buzz Lightyear Forever Stamps

Buzz Lightyear blasts from 'Infinity to Forever' with these cool new U.S. Postal Service stamps

By Jeff Spry published

The U.S. Postal Service releases a new First-Class stamp series featuring "Toy Story's" Buzz Lightyear

Tech

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China's Shenzhou 14 crewed mission launches atop a Long March 2F rocket on June 4, 2022.

China launches mysterious reusable 'test spacecraft' to Earth orbit

By Mike Wall published

For the second time in two years, China has launched a classified reusable vehicle — thought to be a robotic space plane — on a mystery mission to Earth orbit.

A visualisation of the European ExoMars rover on the surface of the Red Planet.

Europe's troubled Mars rover still vital in the search for life on the Red Planet

By Tereza Pultarova published

Europe's unlucky first Martian rover ExoMars can still play a big role in answering the question whether there has ever been life on the Red Planet?

Spaceflight

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360-degree panorama with the Curiosity rover in the center of the image. The rover is surrounded by rusty red rocks and some large hills.

On This Day In Space: Aug. 6, 2012: Curiosity Rover Lands on Mars

By Hanneke Weitering published

On Aug. 6, 2012, NASA's Curiosity rover successfully touched down on the Martian surface.

Artist's rendering of concept design for Axiom Station berthed at the Harmony module of the International Space Station.

NASA, private companies count on market demand for future space stations after ISS

By Josh Dinner published

Senior officials from companies selected by NASA to develop new low Earth orbit space stations are eager for market input to drive their purpose.

Science & Astronomy

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A Russian Soyuz rocket launches the Kosmos 2558 military satellite from Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Aug. 1, 2022.

The top space stories of the week!

By Elizabeth Howell published

Russia launches possible stalker spacecraft, Russia clarifies its International Space Station departure timeline, and Blue Origin launches six people to space.

A NASA graphic depicting a galaxy with a red half-circle superimposed over it to represent the mass of dark matter believed to be found there.

The dark matter hypothesis isn't perfect, but the alternatives are worse

By Paul Sutter published

It's true that the dark matter hypothesis has its shortcomings — and, of course, we haven't found any dark matter particles yet. But the truth is that the alternatives are much worse.

Meet The Team

Search For Life

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NASA's Mars rover Perseverance collected its 12th Red Planet rock sample on Aug. 3, 2022.

Perseverance Mars rover bags 12th Red Planet rock sample

By Mike Wall published

NASA's car-sized Perseverance Mars rover drilled out and sealed up its 12th rock sample on Wednesday (Aug. 3), its fourth such operation in less than a month.

robot on dusty Martian rocks

The Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars for 10 years. Here's what we've learned.

By Stefanie Waldek published

Curiosity landed on Mars on Aug. 5, 2012, with one main goal: to determine whether the planet was once habitable. In 10 years, it has answered that question and many others.

Martian panorama showing the view back down Mount Sharp at the center of the image and rounded hills in the distance.

Celebrate 10 years of NASA's Curiosity rover with these incredible images (gallery)

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars for 10 years, taking incredible photos as it goes. We take a look at some of its best images here.

Skywatching

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A turtle crossing a road.

Artificial light at night can change the behavior of all animals, not just humans

By Therésa Jones, Kathryn McNamara published

Nocturnal behaviors have been evolved to take advantage of the darkness of night. Yet today, they are under an increasing threat from the presence of artificial lighting.

After the sudden outburst in 2007, the coma of comet 17/P Holmes became temporarily wider than the sun.

Skywatchers can see debris from spectacular comet outburst this month

By Tereza Pultarova published

Debris produced by the most spectacular comet outburst ever observed will be visible from Earth later this month even to amateur telescopes. Here is how to look for it.

The Petzl Actik Core with the red lamp turned on

Petzl ACTIK CORE 450 headlamp review

By Tantse Walter published

Review Might this be the perfect headlamp for sky watchers, and everyone else? We put it to the test.

Review

Entertainment

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Promotional art for "Earth's Shadow" depicting an evil-looking alien.

Explore a mysterious exoplanet in new video game 'Earth's Shadow'

By Jeff Spry published

Earth's Shadow is a terrifying new sci-fi video game just launched on Steam that takes place on the mysterious exoplanet of Sumbra.

Buzz Lightyear Forever Stamps

Buzz Lightyear blasts from 'Infinity to Forever' with these cool new U.S. Postal Service stamps

By Jeff Spry published

The U.S. Postal Service releases a new First-Class stamp series featuring "Toy Story's" Buzz Lightyear

picture showing hosts of this week in space

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 23 — Space Sci-Fi and Reality

By Space.com Staff published

Rod Pyle and Geoffrey Notkin discuss the intersection of science fiction and reality in space exploration.

References

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Best tripods for astrophotography: Image shows person using camera and tripod at night

Best tripods: For astrophotography, landscape, and more

By Diana Jarvis published

Here's our round-up of the best tripods on the market, and we think every astrophotographer should have one.

Two people with headlamps looking out at the night sky from atop a rocky cliff at night

Best headlamps 2022: best lights for stargazing and general lowlight scenes

By Tantse Walter published

A guide to the best headlamps that keep your hands free and won't ruin your night vision when stargazing or taking astrophotographs.

Martian panorama showing the view back down Mount Sharp at the center of the image and rounded hills in the distance.

Celebrate 10 years of NASA's Curiosity rover with these incredible images (gallery)

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars for 10 years, taking incredible photos as it goes. We take a look at some of its best images here.