Tech

A view of the Advanced Composite Solar Sail System

NASA spacecraft captures 1st photo of its giant solar sail while tumbling in space

By Monisha Ravisetti published

NASA's testing a solar sail system in space, and the spacecraft that brought the tech there has snapped a photo.

Tech
A short clip of lots of blue lines jetting past you like wind.

'Unbreakable' quantum communication closer to reality thanks to new, exceptionally bright photons

By Peter Ray Allison published

Scientists build a new light source for quantum communications by combining existing technologies together to create a stronger and more robust quantum signal.

Tech
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Spaceflight

a white space capsule is seen through a spacecraft window, with earth in the background

Boeing's Starliner all packed up to return to Earth from ISS today

By Mike Wall published

Boeing's Starliner capsule is all packed up and ready to depart the International Space Station today (Sept. 6) at 6:04 p.m. EDT (2204 GMT).

Human Spaceflight
view of parachutes deploying above a spacecraft

'We're confident in it': Boeing Starliner's parachute team readies for Crew Flight Test landing without astronauts on Sept. 7

By Elizabeth Howell published

Boeing Starliner's parachutes will be tested once more during an uncrewed test on Sept. 7. It was originally supposed to host astronauts, but NASA changed the plan mid-mission.

Human Spaceflight
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Science & Astronomy

A red orb is seen with a reddish gradient around it.

Mars leaks faster when closer to the sun

By Keith Cooper published

NASA's MAVEN mission and the Hubble Space Telescope have teamed up to reveal new insights into how Mars' water is leaking into space.

Mars
Striations are seen on a blurred glowing red-orange ring in space.

The 1st Milky Way black hole image was groundbreaking — the next could be even better

By Keith Cooper published

By demonstrating the ability for joint observations at the short radio wavelength of 0.87mm, the Event Horizon Telescope has improved its observational acuity by half.

Black Holes
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Meet the team

Search For Life

a flying saucer ringed by lights is barely visible through dense trees

Belief in alien visits to Earth is spiraling out of control – here's why that's so dangerous

By Tony Milligan published

Belief in alien visitors is no longer a quirk, but a widespread societal problem. This belief is slightly paradoxical as we have zero evidence that aliens even exist.

Search for Life
The sky looks dark with red glowing streaks. On the ground, there are a bunch of gray structures that together make up the MWA.

SETI searches for alien life in over 1,000 galaxies using unexplored radio frequencies

By Keith Cooper published

New findings could elevate SETI into an extragalactic search for life beyond Earth.

Search for Life
radio telescopes point up at the dark night sky with mountains in the background

Are we alone? Intelligent aliens may be rare, new study suggests

By Keith Cooper published

A new interpretation of the famous Drake equation finds little reason to be optimistic about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Search for Life
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Skywatching

Six jets in formation fly through a cloudy blue sky over a city's center square, a tall monument tower standing in the middle with building surrounding.

I'm headed to Indiana to prove myself wrong about solar eclipses on April 8

By Monisha Ravisetti published

Solar eclipses have never felt like a big deal to me, but I'm headed to Indiana Motor Speedway to give one a chance on April 8.

Eclipses
the sun sets behind a giant stone head on a lush green island

An annular solar eclipse will put a 'ring of fire' above one of the most isolated spots on Earth: Easter Island

By Joe Rao published

Thousands of skywatchers will gather for a view of the ringed sun from perhaps one of the most isolated and remote spots on the face of the Earth: the legendary and mystical Easter Island.

Eclipses
a square sail-like spacecraft above earth, with the sun distantly visible

NASA's solar sail spacecraft is visible in the night sky. Here's how to see it

By Brett Tingley published

NASA's Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) can be seen with the naked eye as it orbits Earth, and can be tracked with a helpful app.

Stargazing
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Entertainment

Shot of Apollo 13 on launch pad from Apollo 13 Survival documentary on Netflix

Netflix's 'Apollo 13: Survival' is a superb examination of NASA's finest hour (review)

By Jeff Spry published

A review of the new Netflix documentary, "Apollo 13: Survival" now streaming.

Entertainment
Two male astronauts in peril aboard a spaceship

'Slingshot' exclusive: Director Mikael Håfström discusses his haunting new sci-fi thriller

By Jeff Spry published

An exclusive interview with Swedish director Mikael Håfström about his new space thriller, "Slingshot."

Entertainment
Still from the movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023). Here we see 5 Transformers standing together. From left to right, there is Optimus Prime (large blue and red robot that can turn into a truck), Optimus Primal (a robot gorilla with piercing green lights for eyes), and then the yellow Transformer Bumblebee. To the left there appear 2 other Transformers (a mechncialy bird in the sky and a blue blocky robot in the background.

Transformers movies in order: chronological & release order

By Fran Ruiz last updated

With Transformers One on the horizon, now is a prime time to put the existing Transformers movies in order, both chronological and by release date.

Space Movies & Shows
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References

an illustration of the night sky

September full moon 2024 guide: The Super Harvest Moon gets eclipsed

By Jesse Emspak last updated

The full moon of September, called the Harvest Moon, will be on Sept. 17 and undergo a partial lunar eclipse visible from anywhere on the night side of Earth.

Stargazing
Still from the movie Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023). Here we see 5 Transformers standing together. From left to right, there is Optimus Prime (large blue and red robot that can turn into a truck), Optimus Primal (a robot gorilla with piercing green lights for eyes), and then the yellow Transformer Bumblebee. To the left there appear 2 other Transformers (a mechncialy bird in the sky and a blue blocky robot in the background.

Transformers movies in order: chronological & release order

By Fran Ruiz last updated

With Transformers One on the horizon, now is a prime time to put the existing Transformers movies in order, both chronological and by release date.

Space Movies & Shows
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 2024: 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 2024 with our space calendar.

Reference
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