News

How to invade planet Earth: An alien's guide to bringing the human race to its knees

By Richard Edwards Published 2 July 26

From "Independence Day" to "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", movies and TV shows are packed with advice for anyone aspiring to conquer this unassuming blue dot.

On this day in space! July 2, 1985: Space probe launches to Halley's Comet

By Hanneke Weitering Last updated 2 July 26

The Giotto space probe, launched in 1985 on an Ariane 1 V14 launcher, brushed past the hidden nucleus of Halley's comet in 1986.

'Flying saucer' arrives at NASA for Artemis 3 moon mission in time for World UFO Day | Space photo of the day for July 2, 2026

By Chelsea Gohd Published 2 July 26

Just in time for UFO Day.

Rocket issue delays NASA launch of rescue mission to save Swift space telescope

By Josh Dinner Last updated 2 July 26

Northrop Grumman has delayed the launch of its Pegasus XL rocket on a mission to save NASA's SWIFT space telescope from falling out of orbit.

In 1776, the moon was a clock, a calendar and a streetlight — and it was 31 feet closer to Earth

By Stefanie Waldek Published 2 July 26

The moon that rose on July 4, 1776, was slightly closer to Earth than it is today.

Sun fires off 10 solar flares in 24 hours as multiple Earth-bound CMEs raise northern lights hopes for July 4 weekend

By Daisy Dobrijevic Published 2 July 26

Multiple CMEs are heading toward Earth, with G1-G2 geomagnetic storm conditions possible as the holiday weekend begins.

Atlas V rocket launches 29 Amazon Leo broadband satellites to orbit from Florida (video)

By Mike Wall Last updated 2 July 26

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched 29 more Amazon Leo internet satellites to orbit from Florida early Thursday morning (July 2).

'Rocket's Red Glare': How NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission celebrated America's 250th birthday

By Josh Dinner Published 1 July 26

NASA joined in the semiquincentennial celebrations this year by painting "America 250" on the rocket that launched the Artemis 2 astronauts around the moon.

This weird 'hot Jupiter' exoplanet has a hotspot in the wrong place, and astronomers aren't sure how

By Robert Lea Published 1 July 26

Astronomers have discovered a curious new exoplanet that challenges assumptions about hot Jupiters, some of the most extreme planets in the universe.

The growing number of satellites in orbit could soon make telescopes obsolete. 'For astronomy, this would obviously be catastrophic'

By Tereza Pultarova Published 1 July 26

If the number of satellites in Earth's orbit exceeds 100,000, humanity may lose its ability to study the universe from the planet's surface. Some companies want to put millions into space.