Sky and Solar

SpaceX fires up Starship ahead of megarocket’s 1st orbital flight (video)
21 August 2026

SpaceX completed a single-engine test-firing of its next Starship spacecraft to prepare for its coming test flight, which will be the first to reach orbit.
'Dark stars' could be the seeds of supermassive black holes, scientists say
21 August 2026

A mysterious hum of gravitational waves that fills the cosmos may be the echo of long-dead "dark stars" that served as the seeds of the first supermassive black holes.
SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites, lands rocket on ship at sea (video, photos)
21 August 2026

SpaceX launched yet another Starlink mission today (Aug. 21), sending 29 more of the broadband satellites to orbit from Florida's Space Coast.
Ancient stars dazzle in a celestial chandelier | Space photo of the day for Aug. 21, 2026
21 August 2026

Stars scattered across the cosmos sparkle in the appropriately named Chandelier Cluster.
On this day in space! Aug. 21, 1914: Total solar eclipse expedition crashed by WWI
21 August 2026

On Aug. 21, 1914, a total solar eclipse temporarily darkened skies across Europe and Asia.

How to observe the 12 August 2026 solar eclipse
07 August 2026

On the evening of 12 August 2026, the Moon will pass between Earth and the Sun, producing a striking solar eclipse. Find out how, when and where to observe it safely.
Falcon 9 lunar impact: More than a new crater
05 August 2026

Today’s impact of a spent Falcon 9 rocket stage on the Moon may sound dramatic, but it is neither the first human-made object to strike our natural satellite nor the largest.
Euclid opens a new window on the first billion years of cosmic history
25 July 2026

One of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy is how the Universe managed to grow enormous black holes so quickly.
Caught in the act: the wind that could kill a galaxy
10 June 2026

A powerful wind in the early Universe may explain why some massive galaxies lived fast and died young by stopping forming stars far sooner than expected.
Europe’s Mars rover may land in the remains of a vast ancient water system
04 June 2026

New orbital mapping suggests Rosalind Franklin’s Oxia Planum landing site is part of a clay-rich region hundreds of kilometres wide, raising the possibility that it records a much larger watery episode in Mars’s early history.
Moon dust preserves record of life’s building blocks
14 April 2026

The Moon may preserve a record of the raw ingredients that helped life begin on Earth. New analysis of lunar samples returned by China’s Chang’e missions has revealed a diverse suite of organic compounds embedded within the soil.