Skywatching

During the Quadrantid meteor shower a meteor streaks across the star-studded sky with mountains below.

Quadrantid meteor shower: When, where & how to see it in 2026

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on Jan.3-4 and is active between Dec. 28 and Jan. 12. Our guide tells you how and where you can see the Quadrantid display.

Reference

Northern lights chances rise for Christmas as space weather remains unsettled

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Fast solar wind and a possible glancing blow from a coronal mass ejection could spark auroras over Christmas.

Auroras
graphic with night sky in large font and silhouettes of people below looking up at the night sky.

Night sky tonight Dec. 24: Look for a crescent moon — and space reindeer? (after dark)

By Jamie Carter last updated

Find out what you can see in the night sky for tonight, from planets and stars to dazzling meteor showers.

Stargazing
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Spaceflight

A tall white rocket held up by red scaffolding begins to fire its engines, creating a cloud of white smoke.

Record launches, reusable rockets and a rescue: China made big strides in space in 2025

By Andrew Jones published

China overcomes human spaceflight emergency and makes leaps with lunar hardware tests

Launches & Spacecraft
An Indian LVM3 rocket launches the BlueBird 6 smartphone satellite for AST SpaceMobile on Dec. 23, 2025.

Indian rocket launches record-breaking BlueBird 6 smartphone satellite to orbit (video)

By Mike Wall last updated

An Indian LVM3 rocket successfully launched the massive BlueBird 6 smartphone satellite for AST SpaceMobile to orbit on Tuesday night (Dec. 23).

Launches & Spacecraft
An image from inside a warehouse shows two tall white cylinders on either side of a yellow taller cylinder. The two white cylinders have red, white and blue paint with the words 'America 250' on them.

Artemis 2 moon rocket gets 'America 250' paint job | Space photo of the day for Dec. 23, 2025

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

The "America 250" logo commemorates the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Artemis
South Korean startup Innospace launches its first Hanbit-Nano rocket from Alcantara Space Center in Brazil. The launch failed about a minute after liftoff.

South Korean startup Innospace fails on its 1st orbital launch attempt

By Mike Wall published

The South Korean startup Innospace failed during its first orbital launch attempt, which sent five satellites aloft on Dec. 22 from Brazil.

Launches & Spacecraft
A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launches "The Wisdom God Guides" mission for the Japanese company iQPS from New Zealand on Dec. 21, 2025.

Rocket Lab launches final mission of 2025, sends Japanese Earth-observing satellite to orbit (video)

By Mike Wall published

Rocket Lab launched its 21st and final mission of the year over the weekend, sending a private Japanese Earth-observing satellite to orbit.

Launches & Spacecraft
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Science & Astronomy

A telescope with a triangular top wrapped in foil stands next to a scaffold with people wearing white clean suits examining it under green light.

Roman around the Christmas tree | Space photo of the day for Dec. 25, 2025

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

All the NASA engineers and scientists need is a star on top of the telescope in the cleanroom.

Astronomy
A glowing ball of blue light stands out against a black background

What old, dying stars teach us about axions as a candidate for dark matter

By Paul Sutter published

The axion could be a contender to explain the mystery of dark matter.

Stars
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Space Photo of the Day

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Entertainment

Our Editor-In-Chief, Tariq Malik, is posing with a smile and a thumbs up next to a large, brick-built spaceship

UCS Millennium Falcon versus UCS Death Star: Which is the best Lego Star Wars set?

By Alexander Cox published

The two largest and most expensive Lego Star Wars sets available go head-to-head: The UCS Millennium Falcon and the UCS Death Star. But which is best?

Space Toys & Lego
Screenshot from stop-motion animated Holiday Short "The Predator: Holiday Special "

Remember the time Predator faced off against Santa's reindeer – and lost?

By Sergio Pereira published

The reindeer ain't got time to bleed.

Space Movies & Shows
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What's Up In Space Today

Search For Life

A man looks at the camera sitting in the audience with other people wearing formal attire while a projector screen in the back is lit up with a grid-like image

We didn't find answers in 2025, but UFO researchers say the search continues

By Leonard David published

"Science doesn't always go as planned. In any case, there's a lot of work to be done."

Search for Life
Saturn's moon Titan looks a bit like Earth, but is, in fact, very different.

Surprise! Saturn's huge moon Titan may not have a buried ocean after all

By Charles Q. Choi published

"We're not certain if having widespread liquid pockets instead of a global ocean makes Titan more or less habitable."

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
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Technology

A dark room light up by blue light showing a series of servers and wires

Google's proposed data center in orbit will face issues with space debris in an already crowded orbit

By Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti published

As a space scientist, I predict that the company will soon have to reckon with a growing problem: space debris.

Technology
An illustration of a space station made of two large circular stacked rings connected by metal spires in between floating above Earth

Russia patents space station designed to generate artificial gravity

By Andrew Jones published

According to the patent, habitable modules would rotate around a central axis to simulate gravity for crew by producing an outward-pushing centrifugal force.

Technology
A model rocket, a brick built aeroplane and shuttle, a bin-shaped projector and an orange telescope are all positioned on an orange planet background.

The best last-minute holiday gifts for any die hard space superfan

By Grace Dean published

Show the space enthusiast in your life that you love them to the moon and back with the best last-minute holiday gifts available.

Technology
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