Skywatching

Aurora forecast March 12 - Northern lights fairly quiet tonight before uptick in activity tomorrow

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

Your cosmic catch: A home guide to identifying and observing meteorite features

By Heather Barker published

Our how-to for observing a meteorite through a microscope.

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

Night sky tonight (March 11): The third quarter moon takes flight in the predawn sky

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

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.

Northrop Grumman's 1st 'Cygnus XL' cargo spacecraft departs the space station

By Mike Wall last updated

Northrop Grumman's first "Cygnus XL" cargo ship departed the International Space Station Thursday morning (March 12), and is scheduled to deorbit and burn up in Earth's atmosphere this weekend.

International Space Station
An artist's illustration shows the four MMS spacecraft in orbit within Earth's magnetic field.

On this day in space: March 12, 2015: NASA launches Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

By Hanneke Weitering last updated

On March 12, 2015, NASA launched four satellites on a mission to study a weird phenomenon in Earth's magnetic field called magnetic reconnection.

Space Exploration
Graphic illustration with 'space calendar' in large blue neon letters and 2023 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 2026: 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 2026 with our space calendar.

Reference
A spacecraft with solar panels heads for an asteroid in the darkness of space

NASA's DART planetary defense mission reveals asteroids hurling 'cosmic snowballs' at each other

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

New images from NASA's DART asteroid-smashing mission show space rocks exchanging material in a slow process that reshapes their surfaces over millions of years.

Asteroid & Comet Missions
a rocket launches on the left while a spacecraft flies above the lunar surface on the right.

NASA just picked a new upper stage for its SLS moon rocket amid Artemis shakeup

By Josh Dinner published

NASA has wasted no time in selecting the vehicle that will replace the upper stage on its new plans for a standardized Space Launch System rocket.

Artemis
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Science & Astronomy

Astronomers witness colossal supernova explosion create one of the most magnetic stars in the universe for the first time

By Robert Lea published

Astronomers have discovered that the birth of neutron stars with magnetic fields trillions of times stronger than Earth's magnetosphere is the "magic trick" behind superbright supernovas.

Stars

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
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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

a director and an actress working on a sci-fi spaceship set

'In the old days, we were staring at a f ***ing green screen with tape marks on it': We talk to 'Star Trek' legend Jonathan Frakes about directing 'Starfleet Academy' season 1's penultimate episode

By Jeff Spry published

'The scope of 'Starfleet Academy' in terms of design, art direction, visual effects, practical effects, and graphics is massive.'

Space Movies & Shows

'War Machine' succeeds where 'Transformers' fails, by making its giant robot feel real

By Sergio Pereira published

Autobots, roll out – out of the way, that is, because War Machine is proving how to do human vs intergalactic machine conflict better.

Space Movies & Shows
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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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