There is a particular moment every July when the night sky makes perfect sense to me. Every time I step outside at night, I instinctively look overhead for the Summer Triangle. Not because it’s the most spectacular sight in the sky. In fact, the vast asterism is almost suspiciously simple: three bright stars, large enough to cut through twilight and light pollution without much…
A Long March-3B carrier rocket carrying the Tianlian II-06 satellite blasts off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center on July 23, 2026 in Xichang, Sichuan Province of China. (Image credit: Zhou Quan/VCG via Getty Images)
Lightning struck a Chinese rocket shortly after…
Hubble telescope watches unique nova explosion fire cosmic 'bullets' through the Milky Way at 20 million mph
July 27, 2026
Using NASA’s long-serving Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered that a stellar explosion in the Milky Way is blasting out cosmic bullets travelling at 20 million miles per hour.
The cosmic explosion in question is V445 Puppis, which erupted in 2000 and is…
LOS ANGELES — Standing in the shadow of the space shuttle Endeavour, a group of retired NASA astronauts announced their plan to travel the country visiting colleges to try to inspire younger generations to get out and vote. This campaign comes as we lead up to the November midterm election.
This past year, a group of retired NASA astronauts teamed up for a single cause: to defend the U.S.
The moon’s south pole has long been the target of NASA’s Artemis lunar landing missions, but one Artemis astronaut is questioning if that’s still the best plan.
NASA’s Victor Glover, who piloted the Artemis II mission around the moon this past April…
The James Webb Space Telescope's disappearing 'Little Red Dots' may lead to another cosmic puzzle
July 24, 2026
Paleontologists now know that many of the dinosaurs didn’t disappear but instead evolved into modern birds, and new research suggests that “cosmic dinosaurs” observed by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) didn’t go extinct either. Rather, they may…
'The court has to intervene now': Indigenous groups and conservationists condemn SpaceX's South Texas land swap
July 23, 2026
The fight continues against SpaceX’s controversial South Texas land swap.
That deal, which the company made with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), gives SpaceX 727 acres (294 hectares) of public land that’s currently part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge. In exchange, the company hands over 683 acres (276 hectares) of its territory in the area, not all…
Swelling from a razor-thin crescent into a cratered world before fading back into the darkness, Mars gave NASA’s Psyche spacecraft both a spectacular view — and a 1,000-mph boost toward its namesake asteroid.
A new time-lapse video released by NASA, stitched from…
Metal spheres found in Australia show how little we still know about falling space debris, experts say
July 23, 2026
Once again, the “Land Down Under” is on the apparent uptick for falling space debris.
In early July, the Australian Space Agency reported that objects recovered, dubbed “space balls,” are likely pressure vessels from a space launch vehicle. Six…
SpaceX launches satellite repair drone with 10-foot robotic arms to Earth orbit (video)
July 22, 2026
SpaceX launched a trailblazing satellite-servicing mission today (July 21).
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 GMT).
SpaceX called today’s launch MRV-MEV, because it’s sending up a Mission Robotic Vehicle and three Mission Extension Pods (MEPs). These spacecraft will be operated by SpaceLogistics, a…
