Space News - Latest Space and Astronomy News

Strawberry Moon lunar eclipse of 2020 occurs today. Here's what to expect.

By Meghan Bartels

Sharp-eyed skywatchers in parts of the world may be able to catch a slight lunar eclipse today as Earth embarks on a new "eclipse season," although North American viewers will be out of luck.

This Cassini image reveals the northern hemisphere of Saturn as it nears its summer solstice.

The rings of Saturn are 'ringing' like a bell

By Nola Taylor Redd

Saturn’s ringing rings are revealing insights about the planet’s interior.

An image taken on June 3, 2020, shows the arm of the InSight lander gently pushing the heat probe into Mars.

The 'mole' on Mars is finally underground after a push from NASA's InSight lander

By Meghan Bartels

There's a light at the end of the tunnel for the first mole to burrow into the surface of Mars, scientists hope.

President Donald Trump speaks inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after SpaceX's successful astronaut launch on May 30, 2020.

Trump campaign pulls 'Make Space Great Again' video that may have violated NASA regulations

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA was unaware of the video before its release on June 3.

Almost like snowflakes, the stars of the globular cluster NGC 6441 sparkle peacefully in the night sky, about 13 000 light-years from the Milky Way’s galactic center in this image released June 1, 2020 from the Hubble Space Telescope team.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff

Sparkling stars shine like cosmic snowflakes in this image from the Hubble Space Telescope, which shows the globular cluster NGC 6441 13,000 light-years from the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

NASA astronaut and SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft commander Doug Hurley, flanked by his crewmate Bob Behnken and Expedition 63 commander Chris Cassidy, displays the U.S. flag "captured" by SpaceX as the first U.S. company to launch astronauts to the space station, on Monday, June 1, 2020.

Astronauts 'capture the flag' for SpaceX in race to reach space station

By Robert Z. Pearlman

SpaceX has won NASA's "capture the flag" contest for commercial space companies racing to be the first to launch astronauts to the International Space Station.

An artist's illustration of the massive explosion that rocked the center of the Milky Way galaxy 3.5 million years ago. Our distant hominid ancestors likely would have seen the resulting flare.

Ancient explosion in Milky Way's core lit up gas outside the galaxy

By Elizabeth Howell

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is further probing the remnants of a massive space explosion visible from Earth 3.5 million years ago.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on its debut flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 4, 2010.

On This Day in Space! June 4, 2010: SpaceX’s 1st Falcon 9 rocket reaches orbit

By Hanneke Weitering

SpaceX's debut Falcon 9 rocket soars into space on its maiden flight during a June 4, 2010 test launch.

Happy birthday, Falcon 9! SpaceX's workhorse rocket debuted 10 years ago today

By Mike Wall

SpaceX's famous Falcon 9 rocket has now been flying for a decade.

A new visualization, made with data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other space telescopes, allows users to experience 500 years of cosmic evolution around the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Visit the Milky Way's supermassive black hole with 'Galactic Center VR' visualization (video)

By Elizabeth Howell

A new virtual reality experience lets you fly closely, but safely, towards the supermassive black hole embedded in the heart of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises." The sequel to "Star Wars" was even better than the original, a rare feat.

The effect of 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' can still be felt after 40 years

By Scott Snowden

With an epic plot twist that was shrouded in secrecy, this was the equivalent of an "Avengers" movie four decades ahead of its time.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 60 Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 3, 2020.

SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites and lands rocket in dazzling nighttime liftoff

By Amy Thompson

SpaceX successfully launched a new batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit today (June 3) and nailed a rocket landing at sea to top off the mission.

Examples of Einstein ring gravitational lenses, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Astronomers turn back time to solve Einstein ring mystery

By Chelsea Gohd

Astronomers time traveled through archives of data to spot an object that made history in the 1980s and solve a long-standing cosmic mystery.

Artist's illustration of NASA's Mars 2020 rover Perseverance exploring the Red Planet. Perseverance's three-week launch window opens on July 17, 2020.

Life on Mars? Meet the new rover built to give us the answer

By Roger Wiens

NASA's Curiosity rover has shown that Mars was habitable billions of years ago. And NASA is about to launch another rover, called Perseverance, to look for signs of Red Planet life.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket seen here, carrying the Iridium-8 mission in 2019, will launch on its fifth flight to carry 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on June 3, 2020.

SpaceX to launch 60 Starlink satellites for megaconstellation tonight. Here's how to watch.

By Tariq Malik

SpaceX will launch its next batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit tonight (June 3) after two weeks of weather delays and the company's historic first astronaut flight.

An artist's depiction of a rapidly rotating neutron star, or pulsar, snatching material.

Pulsar caught binging on star before brilliant x-ray blast

By Meghan Bartels

You can't rush a superdense star as it gobbles up bites of a neighbor for nearly two weeks before shooting off a burst of X-rays thousands of times brighter than our sun.

Replay! SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites

By Space.com Staff

SpaceX will launch another batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket today (June 3) 9:25 p.m. EDT (0125 GMT on June 4). Watch it live here!

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, on May 30, 2020, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA's SpaceX launch is not the cure for racial injustice on Earth

By Chelsea Gohd

The inspiration that human spaceflight brings cannot erase the anger and pain of communities around the United States who are reeling from violence and racial injustice.

An artist's illustration of Mars with rings and part of the solar system's ringed planet club.

Martian moon's orbit suggests the Red Planet had a ring

By Elizabeth Howell

A cycle of moon formation through ring systems could explain the slightly tilted orbit of Deimos, the smaller of Mars' two moons.

Earthrise, as soon from lunar orbit by the Apollo 14 astronauts in 1971.

Earth from space: 'Overview effect' could help troubled country, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson says

By Mike Wall

Neil deGrasse Tyson thinks we could all use a strong dose of the overview effect right now.