Skywatching

Aurora forecast March 16 — Northern lights possible tonight as strong solar winds continue

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

The latest aurora forecast for tonight helps you make sure you're in the right place at the right time to see the northern lights.

Auroras
a bright red cloud of dust on a starry background

Astrophotographer spends nearly 70 hours capturing a delicate blue nebula in Orion (photo)

By Anthony Wood published

Astrophotographer Emil Andronic captured a gorgeous blue reflection nebula glowing inside the red clouds of Orion's Head in the constellation Orion.

Stargazing

Get cleaner photos of the night sky by using these tips to clean your camera lens without scratching it

By Jacob Little published

Follow these tips for cleaning the different parts of your camera lens, without risking damage.

Skywatching Kit
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Spaceflight

illustration of a silvery metallic rotorcraft flying over orangish dunes

NASA begins building nuclear-powered Dragonfly drone for 2028 launch to Saturn moon Titan

By Elizabeth Howell published

Dragonfly will explore the giant Saturn moon Titan by air, helping scientists learn about the proto-ingredients of life on the satellite's hazy surface.

Missions
a triple-core rocket blasts off under a sunny, partly cloudy blue sky. smoke expands below next to an obscured launch tower, near a long white hanger with SPACEX written on the side. To the left, a bird flies away.

Rocket launch today: Is there a rocket launch and what time?

By Josh Dinner, Tariq Malik last updated

Follow Space.com's rocket launch blog for the latest on when the next rocket launch will be and how to follow it live.

Launches & Spacecraft
Satellites are pictured leaving long 'trails' in the night sky in a composite image featuring the Milky Way hanging over a stone monument.

SpaceX plan for 1 million orbiting AI data centers could ruin astronomy, scientists say

By Tereza Pultarova published

SpaceX's plan to launch one million orbiting data centers to space worries astronomers, who say the satellite streaks caused by the proposed constellation would severely impair observations.

Satellites
NASA's Artemis 2 moon rocket is seen inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 25, 2026, after rolling back from the launch pad.

NASA says its Artemis 2 moon rocket is all fixed up. It could launch astronauts to the moon on April 1

By Josh Dinner published

NASA has completed the Artemis 2 flight readiness review and plans to launch the historic moon mission as soon as April 1.

Artemis
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo craft is pictured installed to the Unity module’s Earth-facing port as the International Space Station orbited 262 miles (422 kilometers) above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Africa.

ISS astronauts take out the space trash | Space photo of the day for March 12, 2026

By Brett Tingley published

A photo captures Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL freighter being jettisoned away from the International Space Station carrying thousands of pounds of garbage, headed for a fiery demise.

Launches & Spacecraft
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Science & Astronomy

a massive underground chamber lined wall-to-wall with golden orbs

Deep underground, a telescope may soon detect ghosts of stars that died before Earth existed

By Pablo Martinez Mirave published

With the help of an extremely powerful telescope deep underground in Japan, astronomers may be able to catch a glimpse of ghost particles from long-dead stars.

Stars
An illustration shows two neutron stars colliding and merging

A state of matter last seen just after the Big Bang may exist inside neutron stars — and scientists think they can prove it

By Keith Cooper published

As binary neutron stars spiral around each other to merge, their gravitational tidal forces distort each other's shape and structure, potentially revealing clues as to what lies within them.

Stars
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Space Photo of the Day

SpaceX's Ship 39 looks cool as it undergoes cryosystem checks on Sunday March 8

SpaceX's Ship 39 is so cool in Starship V3 test | Space photo of the day for March 9, 2026

By Robert Lea published

SpaceX engineers tested Ship 39's propellant system, leading to some stunning images.

Space Exploration
An image of RCW 36 in which the Milky Way nebula appears like a vast cosmic bird of prey

Cosmic Hawk spreads its wings| Space photo of the day for March 6, 2026

By Robert Lea published

The Milky Way nebula RCW 36 resembles a stunning cosmic bird of prey in an incredible Very Large Telescope image.

Galaxies
an impressive red spiral structure with a bright point of light at the very center.

Spectacular spiral galaxy revealed by James Webb Space Telescope | Space photo of the day for March 4, 2026

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

The James Webb Space Telescope captured a stunning spiral galaxy 65 million light-years away, revealing glowing dust clouds and stellar nurseries.

James Webb Space Telescope
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Entertainment

Boys from the Dwarf: Looking back at 'Red Dwarf', the sci-fi show that had a huge impact on my childhood

By Robert Lea published

Red Dwarf's scouse technician Dave Lister was the last human alive, a down-on-his-luck slobbish space-hero long before Peter Quill guarded the galaxy.

Space Movies & Shows
a man is shocked by a sci-fi arm weapon

Sci-fi shooter 'Marathon' comes to life in hilarious marketing prank (video)

By Jeff Spry published

It's just a prank, bro!

Space Games
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What's Up In Space Today

Search For Life

The SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array in Northern California searches for radio signals that could have been generated by intelligent alien life.

Where are all the aliens? Maybe space weather is scrambling their transmissions

By Keith Cooper published

We may be missing alien radio signals because they have become smeared beyond the narrowband detectors that SETI utilizes, a new study suggests.

Search for Life
The average distance between Earth and Marsthe two planets is 140 million miles (225 million km). The distance between the two planets affects how long it would take to travel between the two.

Did Earth life actually begin on Mars? Asteroid impacts could let microbes planet-hop, study suggests

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

"Life might actually survive being ejected from one planet and moving to another."

Search for Life
a rust orange yellow sky and landscape features a rocky surface in the foreground, with a large pointed hill beyond.

'War of the Worlds' in reverse? Mars dirt could help fight off a microbial invasion from Earth

By Keith Cooper published

Tests conducted with tardigrades suggest that there is something in Martian dirt that dramatically reduces biological activity.

Search for Life
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Technology

A YACHANCE Night Light Star Projector, with box and remote.

Yachance Night Light star projector review

By Kim Snaith published

The Yachance Night Light star projector is a geared firmly towards children.

Technology

Get the best sub-250g drone, the DJI Mini 5 Pro and save $500

By Chris McMullen published

Deals The DJI Mini 5 Pro is the best sub-250g drone ever made and now $500 off at Amazon; this Fly More Combo bundle packs in extra batteries, an LCD remote and more!

Deals
Artist's illustration of a white inflatable habitat on the moon.

Could NASA use expandable habitats for its Artemis moon bases? These two companies are betting millions

By Josh Dinner published

Voyager Technologies is backing lunar habitat developer Max Space with a new multi-million-dollar investment aimed at accelerating development of expandable modules for future missions to the moon.

Technology
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