Skywatching

The crescent moon joins 3 planets in a beautiful sunset sky show tonight

By Anthony Wood last updated

The crescent moon will shine alongside Jupiter, Venus and Mercury as it passes through the Beehive open star cluster on June 17.

Stargazing
A range of space gifts around a Space.com Prime Day logo against a background of a blue-white star.

Amazon Prime Day 2026: Early deals are already active on skywatching gear and space gifts

By Jase Parnell-Brookes last updated

Deals Amazon Prime Day 2026 is just over ten days away, running from Jun. 23-26 and will bring three days of discounts across skywatching optics, drones and Lego! These are the best deals that you can get right now ahead of the big day.

Deals
A bright meteor is photographed lighting up the night sky.

Watch a fireball burn a 300 mile path above the Midwest US (video)

By Anthony Wood published

The fireball traveled 300 miles in a matter of seconds before disintegrating in spectacular fashion.

Meteors & Meteor Showers
VIEW MORE

Spaceflight

An Ariane 6 rocket launches 34 Amazon Leo satellites to orbit from French Guiana on June 17, 2026.

European rocket launches record-breaking mission with Amazon internet satellites

By Mike Wall last updated

An Ariane 6 heavy-lift rocket launched a record-breaking load to orbit early Wednesday morning (June 17), carrying a batch of Amazon Leo satellites to orbit.

Launches & Spacecraft
Saudi astronaut Sultan Salman Abdelize Al-Saud, a Saudi prince, logs notes while floating in the middeck of space shuttle discovery during the STS-51G mission to deploy the Arabsat-1B communications satellite in June 1985.

On this day in space! June 17, 1985: First Arab and Muslim in Space

By Hanneke Weitering last updated

On June 17, 1985, the space shuttle Discovery launched payload specialist Sultan Salman Abdelize Al Saud as the first Arab and first Muslim in space.

61 Comments
Space Exploration
A photo of Time Square with a rocket shown on a light-up display. On the right is a light-up American Flag and on the left is a giant screen showing Elon Musk above the Nasdaq sign.

SpaceX IPO brings Starship to NYC | Space photo of the day for June 16, 2026

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire shortly after SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq.

Private Spaceflight
Astrobotic Technology’s Griffin-1 lander in a clean room.

Astrobotic unveils Griffin-1 lunar lander for NASA Moon Base mission

By Josh Dinner published

Astrobotic unveiled its next lander headed to the moon: Griffin-1, which will carry one of the heaviest payloads ever delivered to the lunar surface.

3 Comments
Space Exploration
a white and black rocket lifts off into overcast cloudy skies

SpaceX sends 24 Starlink satellites to orbit on 1st launch as a public company (video)

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday, June 15, 2026.

2 Comments
Launches & Spacecraft
VIEW MORE

Science & Astronomy

What is the moon phase today? Lunar phases 2026

By Tariq Malik, Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference See what moon phase it is tonight and find out when you can see the rest of the moon phases for 2026.

Reference

James Webb Space Telescope forecasts extreme weather on exoplanet that rains rubies and sapphires

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

"With its unprecedented observational quality, JWST gives us the most detailed glimpses into distant planets to date."

2 Comments
Exoplanets
VIEW MORE

Space Photo of the Day

A photo of Time Square with a rocket shown on a light-up display. On the right is a light-up American Flag and on the left is a giant screen showing Elon Musk above the Nasdaq sign.

SpaceX IPO brings Starship to NYC | Space photo of the day for June 16, 2026

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire shortly after SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq.

Private Spaceflight
A bright central star stands out in a field of stars against the dark backdrop of space.

Hubble spies a swarm of stars in a strange, irregular galaxy | Space photo of the day for June 15, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd published

This faint galaxy is hard to look away from.

Hubble Space Telescope
a long white rocket sits horizontal inside a hanger with its nose cone open, exposing a satellite with many components and actuators folded up into a dense rectangular shape

Satellite-boosting spacecraft inside air-launched rocket | Space photo of the day for June 12, 2026

By Brett Tingley published

A spacecraft was recently prepped for encapsulation inside of its rocket at one of NASA's launch facilities ahead of its launch to save another satellite.

Launches & Spacecraft
VIEW MORE

Entertainment

Exodus: Release window, gameplay, & everything else we know about the upcoming sci-fi RPG from ex-BioWare developers

By Fran Ruiz last updated

Matthew McConaughey leads Exodus, a bold new sci-fi RPG that looks like the spiritual successor to Mass Effect.

Space Games

These are the 7 best sci-fi games I saw at Summer Game Fest 2026

By George Yang published

This is where the fun begins.

Space Games
VIEW MORE

What's Up In Space Today

Search For Life

An illustration of our solar system. The asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter, separating our system into what we refer to as the inner and outer regions.

Was life delivered to Earth by asteroids with a helping hand from Jupiter?

By Kiona N. Smith published

Earth may have gotten some of the key ingredients for life from asteroids in the inner solar system, but not without assistance from Jupiter.

Search for Life
a cylindrical telescope in space looks at earth, both on a starry black background

NASA is building a new space telescope to search for life on nearby planets. What would it see on ancient Earth?

By Paul Sutter published

A new study analyzed how NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory might be able to confidently spot biosignatures in the atmosphere of a distant ancient Earth.

6 Comments
Search for Life

How should we handle alien detection in a world of AI, deepfakes and social media? This committee is writing the rulebook

By Keith Cooper published

If and when SETI discovers alien life, then a revised Declaration of Principles guarantees that once the discovery has been verified, its disclosure will come soon thereafter.

2 Comments
Search for Life
VIEW MORE

Technology

DJI Mavic 3 Pro one of the best camera drones in flight.

Best camera drones 2026: Capture spectacular summer snaps

By James Abbott last updated

Buying guide The best camera drones come in various designs, but they all share the best image-capture capabilities.

Buying guide

The Nikon Z fc is our choice as the best budget camera — this retro-inspired beauty is at its best price of the year in this early Amazon Prime Day deal

By Paul Brett published

Deals Our expert was impressed with the looks and performance of this mirrorless APS-C Nikon. This excellent all-round performer is now at its best price this year

Deals
Best beginner drones being flown by a child

Best beginner drones 2026: Make the most of the summer weather

By James Abbott last updated

Our picks of the best beginner drones are all easy to use but still offer excellent flying experiences with a good range of features, from brands including DJI and Potensic.

Drones
VIEW MORE