Skywatching

Geminid meteor shower 2025 thrills skywatchers with an end-of-year celestial firework show (photos)

By Anthony Wood published

The Geminid meteor shower peaked overnight on Dec. 13.

Meteors & Meteor Showers
A series of white streaks of meteor showers are seen in a pale blue night sky over some mountain peaks at the bottom of the image

December's overlooked meteor shower peaks next week — will the Ursids surprise us?

By Joe Rao published

December's faint Ursid meteor shower returns under dark skies, offering a small chance of unexpected activity.

Meteors & Meteor Showers
A meteor is pictured shooting diagonally through a starry night sky.

Watch the Geminid meteor shower peak tonight from the comfort of home with this free livestream

By Anthony Wood published

The Geminid meteor shower occurs as Earth passes through the debris from asteroid (3200) Phaethon

Meteors & Meteor Showers
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Spaceflight

A Japanese H3 rocket launches the Michibiki 6 navigation satellite from Tanegashima Space Center on Feb. 2, 2025.

Launch of Japan's Michibiki 5 navigation satellite scrubbed late in countdown

By Mike Wall published

The planned launch of Japan's Michibiki 5 navigation satellite atop an H3 rocket tonight (Dec. 16) was scrubbed with less than a minute left in the countdown.

Launches & Spacecraft
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
Graphic illustration with 'space calendar' in large blue neon letters and 2025 below it in smaller white letters. Below the title are four neon images depicting a meteor or comet, a telescope, a rocket launch and an astronaut's helmet. There is a starry background to the entire image.

Space calendar 2025: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!

By Space.com last updated

Reference Keep up with all the rocket launches, astronomical events and mission milestones for 2025 with our space calendar.

Reference
An artist's illustration of NASA's Explorer 16 satellite, which launched on Dec. 16, 1962 to study the micrometeoroid environment in space.

On this day in space! Dec. 16, 1962: NASA launches 1st meteoroids mission Explorer 16

By Hanneke Weitering, Elizabeth Howell last updated

On Dec. 16, 1962, NASA launched the Explorer 16 spacecraft to study micrometeoroids near Earth.

Launches & Spacecraft
An image of Earth from space, showing Ethiopia and the Middle East covered with brown and gray streaks of ash

Satellite watches volcano spew ash over Middle East | Space photo of the day for Dec. 16, 2025

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

The ash plume disrupted flights as far away as India.

Satellites
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Science & Astronomy

A grayscale image shows a close up of the sun and shows a solar wind changing direction, curving to the left of the image

NASA's Parker Solar Probe captures solar wind doing a 'U-turn'

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

NASA's Parker Solar Probe captured solar material looping back to the sun, revealing how it recycles magnetic energy and shapes future solar storms.

The Sun
an illustration shows PSR J2322-2650b, a strange lemon-shaped exoplanet orbiting a pulsar

James Webb Space Telescope discovers a lemon-shaped exoplanet unlike anything seen before: 'What the heck is this?'

By Robert Lea published

"This was an absolute surprise. It's extremely different from what we expected."

Exoplanets
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Space Photo of the Day

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Entertainment

a girl in a blue jumpsuit in the wastelands

How to watch 'Fallout' Season 2 online and from anywhere

By Jeff Spry published

Okey Dokey! Prime Video's post-apocalyptic adventure heads for New Vegas starting tonight!

Space Movies & Shows

Fallout games ranked, worst to best

By Fran Ruiz published

With the Fallout TV show venturing back out into the Wasteland, what better time to rank every Fallout game from worst to best?

Space Games
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What's Up In Space Today

Search For Life

A silhouette of a planet is in front of a giant sun with a small planet to the right of the image

Which exoplanet in the TRAPPIST-1 system could be habitable? Scientists are modeling the star to find out

By Samantha Mathewson published

Frequent flares from the nearby star TRAPPIST-1 could offer new clues in the search for habitable planets beyond Earth.

Search for Life
A reddish dusty surface is seen with an orange sun in the background

Beyond the habitable zone: Exoplanet atmospheres are the next clue to finding life on planets orbiting distant stars

By Morgan Underwood published

But being in this sweet spot doesn't automatically mean a planet is hospitable to life.

Search for Life
"Wow!" signal printout. The comment on the side inspired the event's name.

SETI's 'Noah’s Ark' – a space historian explores how the advent of radio astronomy led to the USSR’s search for extraterrestrial life

By Gabriela Radulescu published

An expert dives into the history of radio astronomy and the search for life beyond our Earth.

Search for Life
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Technology

A man wearing a red hoodie and tan pants points to a nearby drone hovering over rippling sand dunes

NASA tests drones in Death Valley | Space photo of the day for Dec. 15, 2025

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

To develop more robust next-generation aerial explorers, NASA's Mars Exploration program is turning to drones.

Technology
An illustration showing a data center in space with various white modules of servers

Data centers in space: Will 2027 really be the year AI goes to orbit?

By Domenico Vicinanza published

Assuming Google does manage to launch a prototype in 2027, will it simply be a high-stakes technical experiment – or the dawning of a new era?

Technology
A SpaceX rocket lifts off in the background behind the sign for Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

US Space Force to get 'next level' tech to combat drones near Cape Canaveral launch sites

By Brett Tingley published

The U.S. Space Force is boosting its ability to deter and defeat drones and other uncrewed aerial systems near Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Eastern Range.

Aerospace
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