Skywatching

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

Night sky tonight: Catch the mighty hunter Orion shine in the southeast on Dec. 17

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

Aurora forecast for Dec. 17 - Northern lights limited despite fast solar wind

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

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

Auroras

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
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Spaceflight

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
A gray spacecraft is seen floating above the ocean on Earth

Crewed Russian spacecraft meets up with ISS | Space photo of the day for Dec. 17, 2025

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

The Soyuz launched on Nov. 27, 2025 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

International Space Station
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
A mockup of a private space shuttle with different compartments for key areas in the overall round structure

Experiments on a private space station: Vast asks scientists for research proposals

By Andrew Jones published

The California startup Vast has opened a call for scientific research aboard its Haven-1 private space station, which is set to launch atop a SpaceX rocket next year.

Human Spaceflight
An Arianespace Ariane 6 rocket launches two Galileo navigation satellites from Kourou, French Guiana on Dec. 17, 2025.

Europe's Ariane 6 rocket launches its 1st pair of Galileo navigation satellites (video)

By Josh Dinner last updated

Europe's Ariane 6 rocket launched a pair of Galileo satellites just after midnight on Wednesday (Dec. 17), adding to the continent's geopositioning constellation.

Launches & Spacecraft
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Science & Astronomy

Artist's concept of the two Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft orbiting the moon. NASA launched the twin probes in September 2011 to study the moon's gravitational field in unprecedented detail.

On this day in space! Dec. 17, 2012: NASA's 2 GRAIL orbiters slam into the moon

By Hanneke Weitering, Elizabeth Howell last updated

On Dec. 17, 2012, NASA's GRAIL mission crashed into the moon.

The moon

What is the moon phase today? Lunar phases 2025

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 2025.

Reference
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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' Season 2 review: A stark warning against letting tech billionaires decide humanity's fate

By Fran Ruiz published

Amazon and Bethesda return to the Wasteland with a second Fallout season that's all about New Vegas and not letting businessmen and fanatics run the world.

Space Movies & Shows
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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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