Space News - Latest Space and Astronomy News

Liftoff of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on its twelfth suborbital mission to space and back from the company's West Texas launch site on Dec. 11, 2019. On board for this flight was the first batch of thousands of Club for the Future postcards.

Blue Origin will launch its upgraded New Shepard space capsule today. Here's how to watch live.

By Elizabeth Howell

"Mannequin Skywalker" will fly to space Thursday (Jan. 14) as part of a big test for Blue Origin's budding human spaceflight program — and you can watch the event live.

star wars the mandalorian coffee table book

Exclusive: 'Star Wars' scholar Phil Szostak on his stellar new concept art book for 'The Mandalorian'

By Jeff Spry

The veteran "Star Wars" author takes a deep dive into the first season production process of Disney+'s "The Mandalorian" in a beautiful new coffee table gift book

Omega debuts next generation of NASA-qualified Speedmaster moonwatches

By Robert Z. Pearlman

A new generation of the first watch worn on the moon carries on its iconic Apollo-era look while introducing the highest level of precision available from a modern Swiss-made chronograph.

An artist's rendering of a 10-million-year-old star system with a gas-giant planet like Jupiter.

Gas giant exoplanet with weirdly long orbit may bear clues about our solar system

By Kasandra Brabaw

Scientists were able to measure the orbit of exoplanet GOT 'EM-1b, a gas giant nearly 1,300 light-years from Earth.

"Shooting stars" rain down on Big Bend National Park in Texas in this photo of the 2016 Perseid meteor shower.

Imaginary Earths: Countless Falling Stars

By Charles Q. Choi

What if the world were constantly bombarded with space-rock smashups, big enough and frequent enough to shape the course of entire cultures?

An artist's illustration of MethaneSat, a methane-tracking satellite launching in October 2022 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

MethaneSAT picks SpaceX for satellite launch to track methane levels in Earth's atmosphere

By Samantha Mathewson

SpaceX has been selected to launch MethaneSAT’s newest methane-tracking satellite in 2022.

Virgin Orbit's carrier plane, Cosmic Girl, hauls the company's LauncherOne rocket aloft on the Launch Demo mission on May 25, 2020. LauncherOne did not reach orbit on the flight.

Virgin Orbit now targeting Sunday for 1st spaceflight

By Mike Wall

Virgin Orbit's Launch Demo 2 mission will lift off Sunday (Jan. 17), if all goes according to plan.

This illustration (made using real images and data) shows the moon in shadow during the "new moon" lunar phase.

January new moon 2021: Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury get together in the 'moonless' sky

By Jesse Emspak

The new moon of January will occur at 12 a.m. EST (0400 GMT) on Wednesday, Jan. 13.

This artistic visualization shows J0313-1806, the most distant (and therefore earliest) quasar ever found.

The most distant quasar ever found is hiding a seriously supermassive black hole

By Chelsea Gohd

Scientists have found the most distant quasar yet known — and it's home to a seriously supermassive black hole.

boeing solar arrays international space station

Boeing to boost space station power supply with new solar arrays

By Robert Z. Pearlman

The International Space Station will soon be augmented with six new arrays to power its continued and expanded use.

NASA will test the engines of its SLS megarocket at the Stennis Space Center in a hot fire test on Saturday Jan. 16, 2021.

NASA is finally ready to test-fire the engines of its SLS megarocket

By Chelsea Gohd

NASA plans to test-fire the four main engines of its first SLS heavy-lift booster on Saturday (Jan. 16) at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

Artist's illustration of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity landing via sky crane in August 2012. NASA's Mars 2020 rover Perseverance will land in the same fashion on Feb. 18, 2021.

NASA's InSight Mars lander may 'hear' Perseverance rover's landing next month

By Mike Wall

The landing of NASA's Perseverance Mars rover next month will make serious waves, some of which may help scientists better understand the Red Planet's structure.

Magnetar J1818.0-1607, which lies 21,000 light-years away from Earth in the Milky Way galaxy.

Astronomers spot the fastest spinning magnetar ever seen

By Chelsea Gohd

About 21,000 light-years from Earth, far-off in the Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have spotted the fastest-spinning (and possibly the youngest) magnetar ever seen.

Dream Chaser is capable of touching down on any runway that can welcome a Boeing 737.

Dream Chaser space plane's first flight slips to 2022 due to pandemic-related delays

By Nola Taylor Redd

Delays, many related to COVID, have pushed the first flight of the Dream Chaser space plane to 2022.

Researchers used pulsars shown in the inset to calculate dark matter's affect on how stars move within the Milky Way.

Scientists are getting closer in race to find gravitational wave background and dark matter

By Charles Q. Choi

Astronomers may be getting closer to discovering as-yet hidden cosmic secrets, such as the nature of dark matter and the presence of widespread distortions in space-time.

Artist’s rendition of TOI-561, one of the oldest, most metal-poor planetary systems discovered yet in the Milky Way galaxy.

Rocky 'super-Earth' planet spotted orbiting one of the Milky Way's oldest stars

By Samantha Mathewson

A rocky exoplanet known as TOI-561b was found circling one of the oldest stars in our Milky Way galaxy. The exoplanet is about 50% larger than Earth.

A SpaceX CRS-21 Cargo Dragon spacecraft makes the first automated undocking of a U.S. supply ship from the International Space Station on Jan. 12, 2020.

SpaceX Cargo Dragon supply ship makes 1st autonomous undocking from space station

By Elizabeth Howell

A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship made its first-ever autonomous undocking from the International Space Station Tuesday (Jan. 12)

'The Expanse' exclusive: Naomi and Filip have a heated family chat in new clip from season 5, episode 7

By Jeff Spry

In this exclusive clip from "The Expanse" season 5, episode 7, Naomi tries to sever her son's misguided loyalty to the Free Navy and his mad terrorist father.

A Rocket Lab Electron booster stands on the pad in New Zealand ahead of the planned Jan. 16 launch of the "Another Leaves the Crust" mission.

Rocket Lab targets early Saturday for microsatellite launch

By Mike Wall

Rocket Lab's first launch of 2021 will take place this weekend, if all goes according to plan.

This artist's illustration shows the exoplanet KOI-5Ab transiting across the face of a sunlike star, which is part of a triple-star system located 1,800 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.

It's really there! Kepler space telescope's 2nd-ever exoplanet candidate finally confirmed.

By Mike Wall

Astronomers just confirmed the existence of KOI-5Ab, which was first flagged as a potential planet by NASA's pioneering Kepler space telescope way back in 2009.