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Latest by G. Torbet

The third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, Sentinel-2C, has launched aboard the final Vega rocket, flight VV24, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on 5 September at 03:50 CEST (4 September 22:50 local time).

Europe’s Vega rocket makes its final flight

Europe has launched its Vega rocket for the last time, on a mission to carry the Earth-observation Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite into orbit.
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Astronaut captures a meteor exploding in the atmosphere over Earth

An incredible new video taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station shows a meteor exploding as it hits the planet's atmosphere.
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft docked at the space station.

Boeing Starliner to depart space station tomorrow without its crew

Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft is set to depart from the International Space Station on Friday, September 6.
An artist’s concept of Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander on the Moon’s South Pole.

Intuitive Machines to carry NASA experiments to the moon in 2027

Intuitive Machines, which managed the first lunar landing by a commercial entity, will be returning to the moon with more NASA payloads in 2027.
The galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154 is so massive it is warping the fabric of space-time and distorting the appearance of galaxies behind it, an effect known as gravitational lensing. This natural phenomenon magnifies distant galaxies and can also make them appear in an image multiple times, as NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope saw here.

James Webb spots another pair of galaxies forming a question mark

Webb has stumbled across a question mark-shaped galaxy, and the reasons for its uniqueness reveal how the telescope looks at some of the most distant galaxies.
This image shows a small portion of the field observed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) for the Cosmic Evolution Early Release Science (CEERS) survey. It is filled with galaxies. The light from some of them has traveled for over 13 billion years to reach the telescope.

James Webb is explaining the puzzle of some of the earliest galaxies

Webb has been causing bafflement in the field of cosmology. But the problem isn't that the universe is broken — it's that early black holes were playing tricks.
New NASA Sonifications Listen to the Universe's Past

Celebrate Chandra’s 25th anniversary by listening to the sounds of space

NASA has released a new set of sonifications from some historic images taken by the venerable Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Illustration of the highest-resolution detections ever made from the surface of Earth

Event Horizon Telescope can now take images of black holes that are 50% sharper

The Event Horizon Telescope, which took the first-ever image of a black hole, has made the highest-ever resolution observations taken from the Earth's surface.
This image of our own Moon was taken during Juice’s lunar-Earth flyby on 19 August 2024. The main aim of JANUS’s observations during the lunar-Earth flyby was to evaluate how well the instrument is performing, not to make scientific measurements.

Juice spacecraft snaps images of the Earth and moon as it passes by

The European Space Agency's Juice spacecraft recently made a flyby of both Earth and the moon on its way to Jupiter, and it took some gorgeous images.
Spaceflight participant Anna Menon tests a portable ultrasound device as part of the TRISH-sponsored research complement for Polaris Dawn.

Here are the experiments that will be conducted on SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission

Several institutions are sending experiments into orbit as part of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, including investigations into human health in space.
Crews moved the cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter out of NASA Marshall’s Building 4708 to the agency’s Pegasus barge on August 21. The barge will ferry the adapter first to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, where it will pick up additional SLS hardware for future Artemis missions, and then travel to NASA Kennedy. In Florida, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will prepare the adapter for stacking and launch.

Another piece of NASA’s mega moon rocket ships out

NASA is continuing work on another key piece of space infrastructure: its Space Launch System.
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts (from top) Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams pose on June 13, 2024 for a portrait inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station’s Harmony module and Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.

Starliner astronauts to return to Earth in SpaceX Dragon next year

Two NASA astronauts stuck in orbit for over two months after their Boeing Starliner spacecraft developed a fault will return to Earth in a SpaceX Dragon craft.
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft that launched NASA’s Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station is pictured docked to the Harmony module’s forward port on Wednesday, July 3, 2024.

NASA to announce decision about stuck Starliner astronauts tomorrow

It's now been more than two months since the Boeing Starliner launched on what was supposed to be a one-week mission. NASA will provide an update tomorrow.
This artist's concept shows a hypothetical white dwarf, left, that has exploded as a supernova. The object at right is CWISE J1249, a star or brown dwarf ejected from this system as a result of the explosion. This scenario is one explanation for where CWISE J1249 came from.

Citizen scientists spot mysterious object shooting out of the galaxy at 1 million mph

Citizen scientists have spotted an object that is traveling at such a speed that it will shoot out of the Milky Way and head out into intergalactic space.
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Juice spacecraft slingshots around Earth and moon in world’s first maneuver

The Juice spacecraft swung back home on its way to Jupiter and used both Earth and the moon's gravity to slingshot it forward, in the first lunar-Earth flyby.
NASA’s Cold Atom Lab, shown where it’s installed aboard the International Space Station, recently demonstrated the use of a tool called an atom interferometer that can precisely measure gravity and other forces — and has many potential applications in space.

Quantum breakthrough achieved in the coolest place on the space station

The Cold Atom Lab on the International Space Station has made use of atom interferometry in space to detect environmental changes.
One of the navigation cameras aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover captured this view looking back at the “Bright Angel” area on July 30, the 1,224th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

Perseverance rover gears up for a big climb to the rim of the Jezero Crater

The Perseverance rover on Mars is set to begin its newest challenge: a slog up the rim of the Jezero Crater that will take months to complete.
An artist’s concept of an Artemis astronaut deploying an instrument on the lunar surface.

NASA agreement with oil company BP could see its technology used on moon

While most often used to drill for oil on Earth, BP has entered an agreement with NASA that could see its technology used to drill for resources on the moon.
An illustration of NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) on the lunar surface.

NASA’s axed moon rover could be resurrected by Intuitive Machines

Lunar scientists were shocked when NASA announced that it was canceling work on its moon rover VIPER. Now, the mission may have the chance to go ahead.
More than 3 billion years ago, Mars was warm, wet, and had an atmosphere that could have supported life. This artist's rendering shows what the planet may have looked like with global oceans based on today's topography.

Mars has ‘oceans’ worth’ of water – but it’s deep underground

Researchers have identified what they believe could be oceans' worth of water on Mars. There's just one snag: it's deep underground.
Featured in this new image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope is Messier 106, also known as NGC 4258. This is a nearby spiral galaxy that resides roughly 23 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, practically a neighbour by cosmic standards. Messier 106 is one of the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to our own and two supernovae have been observed in this galaxy in 1981 and 2014.

James Webb Telescope captures gorgeous galaxy with a hungry monster at its heart

A new image from the James Webb Space Telescope shows off a nearby galaxy called Messier 106.
This artist’s concept depicts the NEOWISE spacecraft in orbit around Earth. Launched in 2009 to survey the entire sky in infrared, the spacecraft took on a more specialized role in 2014 when it was reactivated to study near-Earth asteroids and comets.

NASA says goodbye to our planetary protector, the asteroid-spotting NEOWISE mission

Fifteen years after a launch that was intended to begin just a seven-month mission, NASA's NEOWISE spacecraft has finally shut down.
A bright Perseid meteor streaked down on August 7, 2010, over buildings at the Stellafane amateur astronomy convention in Springfield, Vermont.

How to see the stunning Perseid meteor shower this weekend

This weekend will see the peak of one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year: the Perseids.
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Gaia data shows hundreds of tiny moons orbiting around asteroids

New data about binary asteroids comes from ESA's Gaia mission, a space-based telescope which has spotted new potential moons around 350 asteroids.
Boeing Space's Starliner docked at the International Space Station in June 2024.

Stuck Starliner astronauts could be brought home on a SpaceX Dragon

NASA previously said it was focused on getting the astronauts home using the Starliner. But the agency is now considering using a different vehicle.
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Meet the SpaceX Crew-10 astronauts

NASA has revealed the four astronauts who will make up Crew-10. They will launch to the ISS next year, around February 2025.
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Hubble images a pair of tiny dwarf galaxies

A pair of new Hubble images show small dwarf galaxies, one of which is thought to be the result of a historical merger.
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Why SpaceX is delivering a penny, a hexnut, and two balloons to the ISS on Saturday

On Saturday, NASA, SpaceX, and Northrop Grumman are launching a resupply mission to the International Space Station loaded up with scientific experiments.
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on July 23.

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket arrives at Kennedy. Next stop: the moon

NASA's epic Space Launch System rocket has recently been on an epic journey, traveling 900 miles from New Orleans to Florida via barge.
A shower of Perseid meteors lights up the sky in 2009 in this NASA time-lapse image.

Head out tonight for the chance to see one of three meteor showers

It's an exciting time to be a sky-watcher this week, as no less than three meteor showers are occurring. Here's how to watch.
Boeing's Starliner capsule docked at the ISS.

The Boeing Starliner still isn’t ready to come home

The Boeing's Starliner is performing its first crewed test flight, and what was supposed to be a one-week test has turned into a multiweek debacle.
mars 2020 perseverance rover

Perseverance rover finds tantalizing hints of possible ancient life on Mars

Perseverance has located some tantalizing indications of possible microbial life on Mars — although it's too early for scientists to be sure.
Artist’s impression of a cold gas giant orbiting a red dwarf. Only a point of light is visible on the JWST/MIRI images. Nevertheless, the initial analysis suggests the presence of a gaseous planet that may have properties similar to Jupiter.

James Webb takes rare direct image of a nearby super-Jupiter

The James Webb Space Telescope has directly imaged a gas giant beyond our solar system, and it's one of the coldest exoplanets observed so far.
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See 25 gorgeous images of space to celebrate Chandra’s 25th birthday

Today, July 23, marks the 25th anniversary of one of NASA's lesser known but highly prolific space telescopes.