The July full “Buck Moon” rises tonight to lead Saturn, Mars and Mercury in a spectacular mini planetary parade through the summer sky. Here’s what you need to know.
July’s full moon phase occurs at 10:36 a.m. EDT on July 29 (1436 GMT), when the lunar disk will appear fully illuminated. It’s often called the Buck Moon, to reflect the time when young male deer grow…
Betelgeuse, Betelgeuse! Astronomers capture clearest image yet of famous star's elusive companion
July 29, 2026
Astronomers have used the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in the Atacama Desert region of Northern Chile to discover the strongest evidence yet that the famous star Betelgeuse has a companion star. That means after a century of investigation, scientists are closer than ever…
Radio telescopes are designed to listen for signals from the stars and from distant galaxies, but scientists are also pointing out that these instruments can also track objects somewhat closer to home: junk in Earth’s orbit.
Engineers have used the famed radio…
The unique DJI Lito X1 drone is packed full of functionality and you can't buy it in the USA
July 29, 2026
Drones are more accessible than ever before, and DJI shows no signs of slowing down in its aggressive drive to take over the beginner drone market. The DJI Neo 2 is both affordable and impressive as a selfie, camera and FPV drone, but with the new DJI Lito X1, high-end features and functionality have finally made it to a beginner model.
The Lito X1 features a 48MP 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor with…
Private companies could ruin the night sky for the entire world, and international law can't stop them
July 28, 2026
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) can single-handedly green-light massive spaceflight projects that could completely change the view of the night sky for the entire world. Despite the outcry these projects have caused, space law experts say there is very…
NEW YORK — Madison Square Park in midtown Manhattan is home to some 44 tree species. And on a Thursday afternoon blanketed in wildfire smoke, a small crowd gathered to see one in particular. The slender American sweet gum looked unassuming, especially compared to the…
An 'almost blood moon' is coming on Aug. 27 and it'll be the best lunar eclipse until NYE 2028
July 28, 2026
One month from today, skywatchers across the Americas, Europe and Africa will have the chance to witness the best lunar eclipse until New Year’s Eve 2028.
On Aug. 28, Earth’s shadow will cover up to 96% of the moon’s disk in an exceptionally deep partial lunar eclipse. At maximum eclipse, only a thin sliver of the moon will remain outside Earth’s darkest shadow, creating…
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…
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 the only known “helium nova” in our galaxy. Though astronomers have been studying V445 Puppis for two decades…
