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<![CDATA[ Latest from Space.com ]]>
https://www.space.com
- Sat, 03 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Hubble Telescope spies 'wake' of supergiant Beutelgeuse's hidden companion star ]]>
+ Astronomers and scientists love Betelgeuse because it shines so brightly. While most stars appear as tiny points of light, Betelgeuse is large enough, and close enough, that we can study it in much greater detail. But this red supergiant star is strange, often shifting, dimming and brightening in our night sky.
In July 2025, scientists found a companion star in Betelgeuse's outer atmosphere, which could account for the red supergiant star's odd appearance. Now, using new observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as data from observatories here on Earth, scientists have detected the wake of Betelgeuse's companion star, which is named Siwarha. This new study confirms Siwarha's existence.
"The idea that Betelgeuse had an undetected companion has been gaining in popularity for the past several years, but without direct evidence, it was an unproven theory," study lead author Andrea Dupree, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), said in a NASA statement on Monday (Jan. 5).
"With this new direct evidence, Betelgeuse gives us a front-row seat to watch how a giant star changes over time," she added. "Finding the wake from its companion means we can now understand how stars like this evolve, shed material and eventually explode as supernovae."
With the combined observations of Hubble and telescopes at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory in Arizona and Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory in the Canary Islands, the researchers spotted a "pattern of changes" in Betelgeuse. They could recognize Siwarha's wake, or trail, because it's composed of material that's denser than the outer-atmospheric gases that surround it.
Scientists used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to look for evidence of a wake being generated by a companion star orbiting Betelgeuse. The team found a noticeable difference in light shown in the lefthand peak when the companion star was at different points in its orbit. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, Elizabeth Wheatley (STScI); Science: Andrea Dupree (CfA))
Every six years, when Siwarha crosses between Betelgeuse and Earth, the trail becomes visible, and due to its density, it changes the spectrum of colors emitted by the various elements in Betelgeuse's atmosphere.
"It's a bit like a boat moving through water. The companion star creates a ripple effect in Betelgeuse's atmosphere that we can actually see in the data," Dupree said. "For the first time, we're seeing direct signs of this wake, or trail of gas, confirming that Betelgeuse really does have a hidden companion shaping its appearance and behavior."
Siwarha will become visible again in 2027, and researchers are already planning new observations for the event.
The new results on Siwarha's wake were presented Monday at the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix, Arizona. The study will appear in The Astrophysical Journal.
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+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/hubble-telescope-spies-wake-of-supergiant-beutelgeuses-hidden-companion-star
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 20:06:42 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ SpaceX stacks Super Heavy booster ahead of Starship megarocket's 12th test flight ]]>
+ Just before the holidays, SpaceX took a big step toward the next test flight of its Starship megarocket.
On Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), the company posted a photo on X of the shiny Super Heavy booster that will conduct Starship Flight 12 standing in a high bay at its Starbase facility in South Texas. "Stacking complete," the photo's caption reads.
SpaceX has not yet announced a target date for that upcoming launch but has said that it's expected in the first quarter of this year.
That represents a bit of a delay, because the Super Heavy booster that was originally slated for Flight 12 buckled during testing in late November and SpaceX had to get another vehicle ready.
Starship is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, standing more than 400 feet (122 meters) tall when fully stacked. It consists of two fully reusable elements — Super Heavy and a 171-foot-tall (52 m) upper stage known as Starship, or simply Ship.
Starship flew five times last year. The giant rocket suffered problems on the first three of those suborbital test launches, but the last two, which launched in August and October, went entirely according to plan.
If you can't see SpaceX's Starship in person, you can score a model of your own. Standing at 13.77 inches (35 cm), this is a 1:375 ratio of SpaceX's Starship as a desktop model. The materials here are alloy steel and it weighs just 225g.View Deal
Flight 12 will try to extend that run of success while also breaking in the new "Version 3" of Starship. Among other modifications, this variant is a bit taller than its predecessors and will also be the first to employ SpaceX's new Raptor 3 engine.
Starship Version 3 is the first iteration of the vehicle capable of flying to Mars, SpaceX has said. And that could happen sooner than you think: Company founder and CEO Elon Musk has said he'd like to launch a few uncrewed Starships to the Red Planet during the next opportunity, which comes in the last few months of this year. (The two planets align for efficient interplanetary travel just once every 26 months.)
Starship must tick some big boxes before making that giant leap, however. For example, the vehicle still needs to reach Earth orbit and master in-space refueling.
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-stacks-super-heavy-booster-ahead-of-starship-megarockets-12th-test-flight
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 22:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:52:07 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Saros: Release date, trailers, and everything we know about PlayStation's next sci-fi adventure ]]>
+ Saros is one of the best-looking upcoming space games, and not just because it stars the rough and gruff Rahul Kohli. Saros will get in your head.
After a thinner-than-desirable selection of first-party PlayStation games in 2025, Sony is coming back stronger in 2026 with Saros. Here, the Housemarque team has taken its third-person roguelike shooter formula – as first introduced in Returnal – to the next level.
Described as an "emotional and haunting story" by Gregory Louden, Creative Director at Housemarque, Saros has a big focus on a gameplay-first experience. You'll find yourself running around the planet Carcosa as Soltari Enforcer Arjun Devraj (Rahul Kohli), exploring a lost off-world colony, trying to find answers.
While Saros is not a direct sequel, many fans are considering the game Returnal's spiritual successor; Housemarque's third-person shooter was already built around a similar time loop concept that fit the roguelite school of design oh so perfectly.
If roguelite games aren't your jam, then keep an eye out for huge sci-fi releases like Metroid Prime 4, Marathon, and Directive 8020. No matter your genre of choice, you'll be eating well in the coming months.
What is the Saros release date?
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Saros is set to release on April 30, 2026.
The game's development and marketing have been pretty straightforward so far. Housemarque started working on Saros right after Returnal launched in 2021, and it wasn't revealed to the world until February 2025.
Saros was originally slated for a March 20, 2026, release, but – announced at The Game Awards 2025 – was then bumped to April 30, 2026.
What platforms will Saros be available on?
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Saros will launch exclusively on PS5.
While chances are Sony will stick to its recent 'timed exclusives' strategy of gradually bringing first-party releases to PC, Saros is a PS5 exclusive at the time of writing.
We don't have the full list of unique features yet, but expect it to make good use of PS5's DualSense controller and 3D audio, as well as PS5 Pro's extra visual enhancements.
Saros trailers
So far, we've seen three Saros trailers. The first one was purely cinematic and a big mood setter, introducing Rahul Kohli (The Fall of the House of Usher, Midnight Mass) as Arjun Devraj, the game's protagonist.
It dropped on February 12, 2025, and you can watch it right here:
After spending most of the year without news about the game, a new PlayStation stream shared the first-ever gameplay with us. It's a 5-minute look at Arjun's abilities, some of the unique weapons he comes across, a bit of the setting, and the fresh "second chance" mechanic that reminds us of Sekiro a little bit. Take a look below:
Then on December 11, 2025 the official Saros pre-order trailer was revealed at The Game Awards. We were treated to a bit more of the story, characters, and gameplay too:
What is the plot of Saros?
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Set in the future (we don't know when), Saros takes us to the fictional planet Carcosa, where the Soltari enforcer Arjun Devraj looks into the disappearance of an entire off-world colony. It's also been teased that Arjun is looking for a specific someone, adding the emotional stakes we've learned to expect from big-budget PlayStation Studios games to the already enticing mix.
Just after watching that stylish first teaser, it's clear something rather horrifying happened on the planet, and perhaps the ominous eclipse bathing Carcosa in orange light has something to do with it. As alien monsters and twisted cosmic horrors try to stop Arjun's advances, time loop after time loop, he begins to uncover holograms that tell part of what happened there.
Of course, those who have done their homework know the saros is a period of 223 synodic months (18 years, 11 days, and 8 hours); this is used to predict Earth's Sun and Moon eclipses. The connection here is obvious, but how these cycles apply to the world of Carcosa is a complete mystery. And if that planet name sounds familiar, maybe it's because you've read Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Inhabitant of Carcosa" or the 1895 book The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers. Or perhaps you loved the hit HBO show True Detective...
What type of game is Saros?
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
At first glance, Saros is a sci-fi-themed third-person shooter with big cosmic horror elements. That alone is very appetizing, sure, but what if there was a time loop twist to the entire adventure? And what if the player character could get suits and gun upgrades that change with every run? This is all familiar to those who've played plenty of roguelite games in the past, but they're rarely seen in triple-A games.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle Saros is facing is how it can clearly differentiate itself from Returnal beyond the change in setting and main character. Why a new property instead of a sequel? Well, it appears Housemarque began to answer that question by putting lots of effort into Arjun's physical abilities, which are amplified by the combat suit he wears run after run. Predictably, it can be upgraded, but beyond improving stats and stacking more passive effects, these pickups can allow Arjun to jump much higher, literally run over the smaller enemies, or even create temporal energy shields.
When it comes to firepower, on top of the usual shiny weapons that we'll randomly come across, like in any proper roguelite, the character can block and deflect back enemy shots, and turn the eclipse's energy into powerful blasts. The downside is that overuse of such powers can corrupt Arjun and place debuffs on him. Long story short: Saros is giving players more tools of destruction and defense, but in exchange, striking a balance and learning about the risk/reward associated with powers is essential.
Does Saros have a multiplayer mode?
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Saros doesn't include local or online co-op multiplayer.
So far, we've been told Saros is strictly a single-player (albeit highly replayable) game, but considering Returnal received a free co-op mode long after launch, we wouldn't rule out Housemarque pulling the same surprise here, especially if the game is a big enough hit.
Just don't preorder or buy it at launch, expecting a multiplayer update to come.
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+ https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-games/saros-release-date-trailers-and-everything-we-know-about-playstations-next-sci-fi-adventure
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 21:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:52:33 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ NASA's Curiosity rover sends stunning new panorama from high on Mars' Mount Sharp ]]>
+ NASA's Curiosity rover has sent back a striking new "postcard" from high on the slopes of the Red Planet's Mount Sharp, offering a dramatic look at the rugged Martian landscape the robot has been exploring for more than a decade.
The recent image is a composite panorama captured in November 2025 by Curiosity's navigation cameras, spanning two Martian days, or sols, of the mission — Sols 4,722 and 4,723. Black-and-white images were taken at 4:15 p.m. local Mars time on Sol 4,722 and again at 8:20 a.m. on Sol 4,723.
Both were then combined into a single view that was tinted with cool blue and warm yellow hues to show how lighting conditions change over the course of a Martian day. "Adding color to these kinds of merged images helps different details stand out in the landscape," NASA officials said in a statement releasing the new image.
In this new view, Curiosity was positioned on a ridge overlooking a region called the boxwork formation. This region contains intricate networks of mineral-rich ridges left behind when groundwater once flowed through cracks in the rock billions of years ago.
Over time, wind erosion stripped away softer material, leaving the hardened mineral veins exposed. Scientists are interested in these features because they preserve evidence of ancient water activity and changing environmental conditions on Mars, according to the statement.
This photo captures Curiosity's shadow overlaid on the Martian boxwork terrain. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Wheel tracks visible in the foreground show the rover's slow, deliberate progress as it continues climbing Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-high (5-kilometer-high) mountain inside Gale Crater that has served as Curiosity's primary science target since landing in 2012.
The rover has been carrying out hands-on science at this location. Using the drill at the end of its robotic arm, Curiosity recently collected a rock sample from the top of the ridge at a site dubbed "Nevado Sajama." The panorama looks north across the boxwork formations and down the slopes of Mount Sharp toward the floor of Gale Crater. The crater's rim is visible on the distant horizon, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, while wheel tracks mark a shallow hollow behind the rover where Curiosity previously drilled another sample at a site called "Valle de la Luna."
Curiosity has been focused on studying boxwork terrain and other sedimentary layers that record Mars' transition from a wetter, potentially habitable world to the cold, arid planet seen today. By analyzing rock chemistry, textures and mineral veins, the rover continues to piece together the story of how water once moved through Gale Crater — and whether those ancient environments could have supported microbial life.
In recent months, the mission team has been making greater use of new multitasking and autonomy capabilities, allowing the rover to conduct science observations while simultaneously communicating with orbiters overhead. These improvements make the rover more efficient, helping to maximize science output from Curiosity's aging nuclear power source.
More than 13 years after its arrival on Mars, Curiosity is still delivering both breathtaking views and valuable science, proving that the Red Planet has many more stories left to tell.
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/mars-rovers/nasas-curiosity-rover-sends-stunning-new-panorama-from-high-on-mars-mount-sharp
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 20:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:52:26 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Hubble telescope discovers a new type of cosmic object and astronomers are on 'Cloud 9' ]]>
+ Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered a new type of cosmic object, a cloud of dark matter and gas that contains no stars. The object, located around 14 million light-years from Earth at the outskirts of the spiral galaxy Messier 94 (M94), has been nicknamed "Cloud 9."
That's a fitting nickname, given the delight scientists would have if Cloud 9 lives up to its scientific potential. The new object could not only potentially help explain how galaxies formed from gatherings of dark matter in the early universe, but could also grant insights into the very nature of this most mysterious "stuff."
"This cloud is a window into the dark universe," team member Andrew Fox of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy/Space Telescope Science Institute (AURA/STScI) for the European Space Agency (ESA), said in a statement. "We know from theory that most of the mass in the universe is expected to be dark matter, but it’s difficult to detect this dark material because it doesn’t emit light. Cloud-9 gives us a rare look at a dark-matter-dominated cloud."
Dark matter is thought to account for around 85% of the "stuff" in the universe, but remains frustratingly invisible because it doesn't interact with electromagnetic radiation such as light. That means scientists can only infer the presence of dark matter via its interaction with gravity and the influence that interaction has on ordinary matter and on light.
Outweighing the particles that comprise the atoms that compose stars, planets, moons, and everything we see around us on a day-to-day basis, dark matter is believed to have had a major influence in the early cosmos and in the shape of the universe as we see it today. This includes the matter that led to the first stars and galaxies coming together in regions of intense gravity where dark matter first gathered.
Such should also be the case with Cloud 9. Within this dark matter-dominated cloud, known as aReionization-Limited Hydrogen I Cloud (RELHIC), hydrogen gas has at least begun to gather — which would usually trigger stars being born from vast overdense patches in these clouds. However, star formation has failed to get started in the fossil remnant that is Cloud 9, likely because it seems to have failed to gather enough gas for star birth.
"This is a tale of a failed galaxy," team leader Alejandro Benitez-Llambay of the Milano-Bicocca University in Milan, Italy, said in NASA's statement. "In science, we usually learn more from the failures than from the successes. In this case, seeing no stars is what proves the theory right. It tells us that we have found in the local universe a primordial building block of a galaxy that hasn't formed."
An image of the Cloud 9 object taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. (Image credit: NASA, ESA. G. Anand (STScI), and A. Benitez-Llambay (Univ. of Milan-Bicocca); Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI))
Scientists have long theorized that RELHICs like this one exist, but they would have remained theoretical if it weren't for Hubble.
"Before we used Hubble, you could argue that this is a faint dwarf galaxy that we could not see with ground-based telescopes. They just didn't go deep enough in sensitivity to uncover stars," team member Gagandeep Anand of STScI said. "But with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, we're able to nail down that there's nothing there."
The discovery of Cloud 9 indicates there may be many more relic-stalled galaxies out in the universe waiting to be uncovered.
"Among our galactic neighbors, there might be a few abandoned houses out there," said team member Rachael Beaton, also from STScI.
RELHICs aren't to be confused with hydrogen clouds around the Milky Way, which scientists have been studying for many years. Cloud-9 is smaller, more compact, and highly spherical, making it look very different from other hydrogen clouds. Its core is composed of neutral hydrogen and is around 4,900 light-years wide, with a mass estimated to be around 1 million times that of the sun. However, the mass of Cloud 9's dark matter has been estimated at around 5 billion solar masses.
The team behind this discovery thinks that Cloud 9 has the potential to become a fully-formed galaxy full of stars at some point in the future, but only if it can gather up to 5 billion solar masses of hydrogen gas. For now, the fact that it lacks stars means that Cloud 9 offers scientists a unique opportunity to study dark matter clouds.
Meanwhile, astronomers will now be paying close attention to future astronomical surveys in the hope of discovering more failed galaxy RELHICs.
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+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/hubble-telescope-discovers-a-new-type-of-cosmic-object-and-astronomers-are-on-cloud-9
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:46:24 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ NASA may be 1 month away from historic Artemis 2 astronaut launch around the moon ]]>
+ We're at T-1 month to liftoff of NASA's next astronaut mission to the moon, if current schedules hold.
Artemis 2, the first crewed mission of NASA's Artemis program, could launch as soon as Feb. 6. The mission will fly NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on the first trip to lunar space in more than half a century, and will pave the way for what NASA intends to be an eventual permanent human presence on the moon.
The astro-quartet has spent the last few years training for their mission and completed several launch day dress rehearsals in recent months at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. When the big day arrives, they will board the Orion spacecraft atop NASA's massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and lift off on a 10-day mission to fly around the moon and back.
If all goes according to plan, their launch will place Orion in Earth orbit, where the crew will complete a series of systems checkouts on their spacecraft before committing to burn for the moon.
A translunar injection (TLI) burn of SLS's upper stage will place Orion on a free-return trajectory — a figure-eight loop around the moon that slingshots the capsule back to Earth without the need for another burn of its engines.
The trajectory doesn't insert Orion into lunar orbit, but it ensures the spacecraft and crew's return to Earth regardless of any anomalies they might encounter after TLI.
Artemis 2 will be the first mission to send humans to the moon since the end of NASA's Apollo program and the departure of the Apollo 17 astronauts from the moon in 1972, and has been nearly two decades in the making. SLS, Orion and the space agency's plans to reboot its lunar program have had an evolving architecture at the cost of nearly $50 billion since 2006, with a roughly $4 billion-per-launch price tag at the moment.
Artemis 1 launched in November 2022, successfully sending an uncrewed Orion capsule to and from lunar orbit. Designed as a spacecraft systems shakedown, NASA had hoped Artemis 1 would put the program on a quick path to Artemis 2 and returning astronauts to the moon. Artemis 2's original 2023 launch target, however, was delayed by damage to Orion's heatshield caused during Artemis 1's reentry through Earth's atmosphere.
Having devised a fix to prevent that kind of damage from occurring again, NASA hopes the upcoming launch of Artemis 2 will put the program back on track. But complications with Artemis 3's infrastructure may throw another wrench into their timeline.
Just as Artemis 1 was designed as an uncrewed shakedown of Orion during an extended spaceflight, Artemis 2 is a test flight to confirm that the spacecraft can sustain a crew in deep space. Artemis 3 will put astronauts on the lunar surface. To do so, NASA has contracted SpaceX's Starship as the Artemis program's first Human Landing Services (HLS) vehicle.
Artist's illustration of SpaceX's Starship vehicle on the moon during an Artemis astronaut mission for NASA. (Image credit: SpaceX)
NASA is targeting 2027 for the launch of Artemis 3, but delays in Starship's development may push that mission to 2028. To avoid this, former NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy announced in October that he was considering reopening the HLS contract to alternative landers that could be made ready at an earlier date.
For now, however, NASA is focused on getting Artemis 2 out the door and into space in a safe and timely manner. The full stack of the SLS rocket and Orion was completed inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC in October and is currently awaiting rollout to the pad at Launch Complex-39A, which is expected to happen in just a handful of days.
"Artemis 2 continues to make steady progress, with rollout now less than two weeks away," NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens said in a video posted on X on Jan. 2.
🚨Mission Update: Rollout for Artemis II is less than two weeks away.This milestone begins final, system-wide testing as NASA prepares to send astronauts around the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, with a launch window opening as soon as February 6. pic.twitter.com/gKRqUXIfMgJanuary 2, 2026
Once transported to LC-39A, SLS will undergo final systems checks and pad integration and complete a wet dress rehearsal to fuel and run the rocket through countdown procedures. The mission's launch window opens on Feb. 6, but NASA has yet to announce that as the official target date.
"I want more data to ensure we set proper expectations," said newly confirmed NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in a Jan. 4 post on X. "We will be very transparent about technical readiness and timelines after rollout," he added in another post that same day.
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/historic-artemis-2-moon-launch-may-be-just-1-month-away
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 18:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:11:11 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Venus reaches superior solar conjunction today: What does it mean and can you see it? ]]>
+
Celestron NexStar 8SE
(Image credit: Celestron)
We reckon the Celestron NexStar 8SE is the best motorized telescope out there as it's great for astrophotography, deep-space observing and it offers stunning detailed imagery. It is a little pricey but for what you get, it's good value. For a more detailed look, you can check out our Celestron NexStar 8SE review.
Venus will align with the sun and Earth to undergo a superior solar conjunction later today (Jan. 6), but what does that mean and, more pressingly, will you be able to see it happen? Read on to find out more.
The planets of the solar system orbit the sun in a complex and ever-shifting ballet, which can see them appear as glorious star-like objects to the naked eye for months on end or render them entirely lost from view as they slip into the glare of our parent star.
Venus — which is often referred to as Earth's twin thanks to its comparable size and rocky composition — treads a tighter orbit around our parent star than our own Blue Marble. As a result, it never strays far from the horizon, while taking it in turns to appear in the evening and morning sky — periods which astronomers refer to as "apparitions."
At 12:10 p.m. EST (17:10 GMT) on Jan. 6, Venus' orbit will see it line up behind the sun from the perspective of Earth in an event known as a superior solar conjunction, marking its transition from a morning object to an evening object, according to In-the-sky. This is also the time when Venus reaches apogee, its most distant point from Earth in its orbit.
Sadly, the glare of the sun makes it impossible to see Venus in the weeks surrounding either a superior solar conjunction or an inferior solar conjunction, when the rocky world passes between Earth and the sun. However, Venus is expected to emerge back into view in February per EarthSky and will reach its highest altitude in the morning sky on June 5.
Want to be ready to see the moon-like phases of Venus when it rises higher in the evening sky over the coming months?? Then be sure to check out our roundups of the best telescopes for viewing solar system planets that are available in 2026.
If you're new to the night sky, you may also want to see our picks of the best smartphone astronomy apps, which use augmented reality technology to help pinpoint the locations of everything from planets and nebulas to distant galaxies and stars.
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+ https://www.space.com/stargazing/venus-reaches-solar-conjunction-jan-2026
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 17:00:00 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:46:04 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Congress rejects President Trump's deep NASA budget cuts, proposes $24.4 billion for the agency ]]>
+ Congress is not on board with President Donald Trump's deep NASA budget cuts.
The White House allocated just $18.8 billion to the space agency — a 24% decrease from the previous year's funding — in its 2026 federal budget request, which was released last spring. The cuts were particularly harsh toward NASA's science portfolio, which was given just $3.9 billion — a drop of about 75%.
However, the federal budget request is just that: a request. Congress controls the nation's purse strings, and lawmakers just threw NASA a lifeline.
On Monday (Jan. 5), the House of Representatives and the Senate released a budget plan that would give the agency $24.4 billion in fiscal year 2026, which started on Oct. 1.
Much of the restored funding would go to NASA science programs.
"The bill rejects the administration’s devastating proposal to cut NASA Science by 47% and terminate 55 operating and planned missions. It instead provides $7.25 billion," a Senate bill summary states.
The budget plan is not the last word, however. The House and the Senate still need to vote on the bill — actions that could take place as soon as this week and the week after, respectively, according to Ars Technica's Eric Berger. President Trump would then need to sign it.
The restored science funding includes $500 million for the Dragonfly mission to Saturn's huge moon Titan. Dragonfly, which is targeting a 2028 launch, will use a rotorcraft to search for intriguing prebiotic chemicals on Titan, the only world beyond Earth known to harbor stable liquid on its surface.
The bill also provides $300 million to finish work on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which could launch as soon as this fall to study dark energy and galaxy and star formation.
But a very big-ticket NASA campaign does not get a reprieve: The bill doesn't support the current construction of Mars sample return, an effort that has suffered multiple delays and cost overruns over the years.
If the agency wants to bring home pristine pieces of the Red Planet — which have already been collected by the Perseverance rover — it will likely have to come up with a new way to do so.
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/congress-rejects-president-trumps-deep-nasa-budget-cuts-proposes-usd24-4-billion-for-the-agency
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:46:24 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ This Canadian crater looks like marbled meat | Space photo of the day for Jan. 6, 2026 ]]>
+ From orbit, Earth often looks more like art than geography. Satellites such as the European Union's Copernicus Sentinel missions are designed to turn that beauty into information. Rather than taking only "normal" photographs, the Sentinel-2 satellites record Earth in multiple wavelengths of light, including bands beyond human vision. Scientists then combine those wavelengths into false-color images that make it easier to tell forests from tundra, open water from ice, or bare ground from snow. The result is a view that can feel stylized while actually being highly diagnostic.
What is it?
In a recent false-color image, a Sentinel-2 satellite saw a "bauble" on Earth's surface. At a glance it resembles a red-and-white holiday ornament set into a wintry landscape. But the "bauble" is not decorative at all — it is Manicouagan crater in the Canadian province of Quebec, a remarkably circular structure that stands out even among Earth's most visible geological features.
The crater formed around 214 million years ago when an asteroid struck the region, leaving a ring-shaped scar that remains visible from space. Because of its eye-like symmetry, the formation is sometimes called the "eye of Quebec." René-Levasseur Island sits like a pupil at the center of this "eye." The feature lies roughly 435 miles (700 kilometers) northeast of Quebec City and spans about 45 miles (72 km) from east to west.
The asteroid responsible for this impact is thought to have been roughly 3 miles (5 km) in diameter, small by cosmic standards but immense by human ones. The force of that collision reshaped the bedrock, creating a structure so persistent that its geometry still dominates the landscape hundreds of millions of years later.
Where is it?
This image was taken from low Earth orbit of Manicouagan crater in the Canadian province of Quebec.
The false coloring of the Manicouagan crater makes it appear redder than it is. (Image credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA)
Why is it amazing?
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites collect data in 13 spectral bands, delivering imagery at resolutions as fine as about 33 feet (10 meters), allowing large landforms to be seen in context while still retaining local detail. In this false-color rendering, the bright white tones are snow, while ice and frozen lake surfaces appear blue, which is particularly noticeable across the broader landscape and around René-Levasseur Island. The vivid red is not fire or bare rock; it actually marks areas of thick vegetation. That red signature corresponds to boreal forest and tundra, ecosystems that are part of a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve, adding ecological significance to a site already famous for its geology.
While the crater may have formed in prehistoric times, the reservoir seen today — often referred to as Manicouagan Lake — was created in the 1960s as part of a hydroelectric project built to supply power across the province. In this satellite view, the Manicouagan River can be seen leaving the reservoir near the bottom of the image, a reminder that the crater's ring now functions as a managed system of water storage and flow. It's an unusual overlay of timelines: a catastrophic event from deep time, repurposed in the last century into infrastructure that supports daily life.
The image shows the difference in temperature between the top of a hurricane and the bottom.
The images reveal the storm's incredible power and offer vital insights into how such hurricanes form.
In late November, Hayli Gubbi erupted explosively, sending a towering plume of ash and volcanic gases high into the atmosphere.
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+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/this-canadian-crater-looks-like-marbled-meat-space-photo-of-the-day-for-jan-6-2026
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+ T6qf9kqscR7x4BmWVnLvTX
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 15:14:16 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Women who rewrote the stars: Test your knowledge of female astronomers ]]>
+ For centuries, women have gazed at the stars and asked the big questions, often without the recognition or resources their male counterparts have had. Yet despite the odds, they've charted galaxies, discovered new celestial bodies, and revolutionized the way we understand the universe. Their stories are as vast and inspiring as the cosmos itself.
This crossword quiz invites you to explore the lives and legacies of female astronomers throughout history.
You'll encounter pioneers like Caroline Herschel, who cataloged stars in the 18th century, and Vera Rubin, whose work on dark matter reshaped astrophysics. Alongside them are lesser-known but equally brilliant minds whose contributions deserve the spotlight.
So sharpen your pencil (or keyboard) and dive into this cosmic challenge. Each clue is a tribute to the women who dared to look up and ask "What's out there?" before going on to find the answers.
Try it out below and see how well you score!
]]>
+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/women-who-rewrote-the-stars-test-your-knowledge-of-female-astronomers
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+ U2Aegzf5QwuHGqmKeu8g37
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 15:14:15 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS isn't an alien spacecraft, astronomers confirm. 'In the end, there were no surprises.' ]]>
+ Space fans hoping that the intruder from beyond the solar system known as Comet 3I/ATLAS is actually an alien spacecraft may be disappointed by new research that could close the book on this speculation once and for all.
Though this hunt came up empty, the fact that 3I/ATLAS is only the third known object found in the solar system after entering from interstellar space (the others being 1I/'Oumuamua, seen in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, detected in 2019) means that it is still an object of great fascination, albeit a natural one.
"We all would have been thrilled to find technosignatures coming from 3I/ATLAS, but they're just not there," lead researcher Benjamin Jacobson-Bell from the University of California, Berkeley, told Space.com. "Finding no signals was the result we expected, due to the significant evidence for 3I/ATLAS being a comet with only natural features.
"The evidence was against 3I/ATLAS being one such probe, but we would have been remiss not to check."
Jacobson-Bell explained that scientists have even discussed conducting this exact kind of exploration using probes of our own. An example of this is the Breakthrough Starshot initiative, a concept that proposes to launch thousands of extremely lightweight probes toward Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to our sun.
"There are compelling reasons to think a spacefaring species would send probes to other star systems as a way to learn more about their stellar neighborhood," Jacobson-Bell added.
Tuning in to radio 3I/ATLAS
The team behind this research theorized that if we find them, the brightest extraterrestrial technosignatures are likely to be narrowband radio signals, because these take comparatively little energy to produce and travel well over long distances.
"Breakthrough Listen searches for life beyond Earth in a variety of ways. The Green Bank Telescope is a radio dish 100 meters wide, situated in a zone federally regulated to be free of most radio interference," Jacobson-Bell said. "Its sensitivity enables us to verify the absence of transmitters down to 0.1 watts, the strongest evidence against technology of any 3I/ATLAS observation to date."
For comparison, modern cell phones typically emit radio waves at roughly the 1-watt level.
"This is to say that if there were any transmitters on 3I/ATLAS up to ten times weaker than a cell phone, we would have found them," Jacobson-Bell continued.
The comet 3I/ATLAS races through the solar system. (Image credit: Miquel Serra-Ricart / Light Bridges)
"Humans produce a lot of narrowband radio signals, including for communication with our own spacecraft," Jacobson-Bell said. "However, by modeling our search strategy on human technological output, we end up detecting a lot of human-made signals! Therefore, we run any detections through filters to distinguish probable human-made interference from possible extraterrestrial signals."
The Green Bank Telescope covers a very broad range of radio frequencies, meaning the team is unlikely to have missed any signals purely because they were looking in the wrong part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
"We did find nine 'events,' which is our term for signals that pass certain filters in our search strategy, but on closer inspection, we could readily attribute all nine of them to known radio transmitters here on Earth," Jacobson-Bell said. It's very common to find, then discard, false alarms like this.
"Past work has shown that 3I/ATLAS looks like a comet and behaves like a comet, and our observations show that, like a comet, 3I/ATLAS is not a source of technological signals. In the end, there were no surprises."
As Jacobson-Bell pointed out, this may be perhaps slightly disappointing, but it doesn't mean that 3I/ATLAS isn't still hugely scientifically significant.
"There is considerable excitement around 3I/ATLAS because it's only the third-ever discovery of an interstellar object within our solar system," he continued. "Sending spacecraft to other star systems could be very informative, so it's tempting to imagine that some interstellar objects might be intentional probes."
Comet 3I/ATLAS streaks across a dense star field in this image captured by the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini South at Cerro Pachón in Chile. The multicolored streaks are stars in the background of the image. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the ScientistImage Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab))
Jacobson-Bell believes that discoveries of interstellar objects are likely to become much more common as the recently completed Vera C. Rubin Observatorybegins its 10-year-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST).
"Whereas each individual interstellar object is currently an anomaly, future surveys will amass such a population of interstellar objects that we'll start to be able to tell which are typical and which are actually anomalous," he said. "Some of these objects will merit follow-up observations — could their anomalies be due to technology?"
This new research and its findings regarding 3I/ATLAS thus pave a path toward answering that question.
"We hope our search helps dispel the idea that this object is artificial, but likewise we hope that public interest in interstellar objects remains strong — they're very interesting whether they're spacecraft or comets, and it's entirely possible that one day, one of them will indeed be transmitting technological signals," Jacobson-Bell concluded. "If we don't look, we'll never know."
The team's research is available as a pre-peer-reviewed paper on the repository site arXiv.
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+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-isnt-an-alien-spacecraft-astronomers-confirm-in-the-end-there-were-no-surprises
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+ sv2qnJVWFMynrbNqsLPhTH
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 13:47:51 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 13:47:53 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ China's next moonshot: Chang'e 7 could search the lunar south pole for water this year ]]>
+ China's next robotic moon mission is scheduled to launch later this year, helping set the stage for the nation's planned multi-phased lunar outpost.
The Chang'e 7 mission is on tap to reconnoiter the moon's south pole, making use of an orbiter, lander, rover and a water-seeking, well-instrumented lunar hopper.
This upcoming moon trek will also help advance the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a collaboration involving China, Russia and a number of other countries to set up a base near the lunar south pole.
Rigorous schedule
"Programmatically, the Chang'e series is on a rigorous schedule. They all launched as scheduled," said Norbert Schörghofer, a senior scientist for the Planetary Science Institute who's based in Honolulu, Hawaii.
"It's hard to know for sure what China is planning in the longer term, but since they have a successful lunar exploration program and lots of government resources, I'd fully expect they will construct a lunar base soon, perhaps using their own advanced robots," Schörghofer told Space.com.
It is likely that the Chang'e 7 lunar lander will touch down near Shackleton Crater, Schörghofer advised, outfitted with an international array of scientific instruments. "Chang'e 7 is destined to find water ice and make the first in-situ measurements of water ice on the moon," he said.
A critical question is where to build the first base on the moon, said Schörghofer. Ideally, it should be near significant water ice deposits.
"Chang'e 7 will not settle how water ice is exactly distributed geographically, but it will certainly make relevant discoveries," Schörghofer said. "The Chinese will be ahead of everyone else by at least one year, but probably several years. Chang'e 7 is a key mission for the study of lunar volatiles," he added, "but we need more missions."
The candidate landing region of China's Chang'e 7 lunar lander. (Image credit: Yang Liu/Wang C. et al.)
Foreign payloads
Chang'e 7 is reportedly scheduled for liftoff in the second half of 2026.
Last year, a memorandum was signed by Russia's space agency Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA). Chang'e 7 will carry a Russian scientific instrument called Dust Monitoring of the Moon, which will study dust components and dynamics of the near-surface exosphere of the moon; registration of micrometeorites and secondary particles of lunar regolith; and the parameters of low-energy plasma near the surface of the moon.
That Russian instrument will be integrated into Chang'e 7, along with other foreign payloads from such countries as Egypt, Bahrain, Italy, Switzerland and Thailand.
Wide-field telescope
On Chang'e-7's manifest for the moon is a telescope, a collaboration between the University of Hong Kong’s Laboratory for Space Research and the International Lunar Observatory Association (ILOA) based in Waimea, Hawaii.
Steve Durst, the founding director of ILOA, told Space.com that the ILO-C is a small, wide-field telescope designed for the Chang'e 7 lunar lander. The instrument has successfully passed all flight model testing, securing its acceptance as a payload, he said.
"This advanced astronomical camera is set to launch aboard China's Chang'e 7 mission, scheduled to land near the illuminated rim of Shackleton Crater in the lunar south pole region in November 2026," Durst said. "The telescope aims to capture stunning images of the galactic plane, contributing to lunar science and inspiring future generations."
Shackleton Crater is an impact feature that lies at the moon's south pole. While peaks along the crater's rim are exposed to almost continual sunlight, the interior is perpetually in shadow. (Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University)
Research hotspot
Water ice in the lunar polar regions has emerged as a major research hotspot in lunar science, observed Yang Liu of the National Space Science Center in Beijing.
Yang and colleagues detailed Chang'e 7 mission goals at the 2nd Lunar Polar Volatiles Conference, which was held last November in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
Chang'e 7's candidate landing site is near the rim of Shackleton Crater at the lunar south pole. One of the mission's primary scientific tasks is to conduct remote sensing and on-the-spot investigations of water ice at the lunar south pole.
Chang'e 7 features an orbiter, a lander, a rover and a mini-flying probe or hopper, which together will tote to the moon a total of 18 scientific instruments.
The lander will deploy China's inaugural deep-space "landmark image navigation" system to ensure a safe and precise landing.
Mission intent, Yang stated, is to explore the environment and resources in the lunar south polar region by conducting a series of steps: orbiting, landing, roving and mini-flying.
China's Chang'e 7 moon hopper is equipped with an instrument called the Lunar soil Water molecule Analyzer, which integrates four components: a differential absorption spectrometer, lunar soil heating module, tunable laser spectrometer, and time-of-flight mass spectrometer. (Image credit: Nailiang Cao, et al.)
Water ice exploration
To achieve that objective, Chang'e 7 is equipped with six scientific payloads related to water ice exploration. These include a lunar neutron gamma spectrometer and a wide-band infrared spectrum mineral imaging analyzer, as well as a miniature synthetic aperture radar onboard the orbiter.
Mounted on the Chang'e 7 rover is a lunar Raman spectrometer and a system to measure volatiles on the lunar surface, Yang explained.
The mini-flying probe will utilize active shock-absorption technology to safely land on slopes. Notably, the hopper is equipped with a LUnar soil Water molecule Analyzer (LUWA), deemed as a critical payload designed to characterize the form, abundance and origin of water ice in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) on the moon.
On-the-spot access
The hopper is built for direct, on-the-spot access to PSRs, states a paper led by Nailiang Cao of the Anhui Institute of Optics Fine Mechanics, of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science in Hefei, China.
Making use of multiple methods, Nailiang pointed out that LUWA is expected to resolve the abundance and origin of lunar water ice.
Another paper, led by Jie Zhang of the National Space Science Center in Beijing, noted that Chang'e 7's gauging of the thermal stability of lunar ice will be key.
Considering that the floor of Shackleton Crater is one of the potential sites for exploration by Chang'e 7's hopper, "mapping the thermal stability of water ice at high spatial resolutions in these regions can help to identify high-priority locations with great potential for hosting water ice," Jie and colleagues reported.
Furthermore, Jie said that laboratory simulations support the hypothesis that the majority of the surface regolith inside Shackleton Crater is conducive to the stable preservation of water ice.
China's moon master plan calls for achieving a crewed lunar landing before 2030. (Image credit: CMSA)
Research station
Chang'e 7 will help pave the way for bigger things to come, if all goes to plan. Those "bigger things" include a crewed lunar landing, which China aims to achieve by 2030.
Hot topic: Water ice in the lunar polar regions has emerged as a major research quest in lunar science. Robotic and human explorers are on the hunt for lunar polar volatiles that can be utilized for an extended astronaut stay on the moon. (Image credit: Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii at Manoa)
The follow-on Chang'e 8 robotic mission in 2028 will test technologies for building habitats using lunar soil, said Wu Weiren, chief designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. Both Chang'e 7 and Chang'e 8 are seen as key enablers of the ILRS, which China wants to start building in the 2030s.
"We hope that on the basis of phase four of our lunar exploration program," Wu said, "there will be a large international scientific-technological research project initiated by China, with the participation of multiple countries."
The research station at the lunar south pole will be capable of automatically supplying power for itself and making telecommunications available on site.
Centered around the lunar south pole, the ILRS would be equipped with multiple systems including lunar rovers, landers, hoppers and networks. "Once assembled, we will be able to conduct long-term unmanned exploration there, as well as accommodate short-term human presence," Wu said.
Wu added that he believes that, ultimately, the construction of a lunar research station will serve China's future Mars missions. "I believe this is a very important goal for us," Wu said in an interview last year with the China Global Television Network.
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+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/chinas-next-moonshot-change-could-search-the-lunar-south-pole-for-water-this-year
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+ JWiH3dFMqi2kWRfWwtL4ZR
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+ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:54:20 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ ‘Space particle’ slams into Spain’s new communications satellite high above Earth ]]>
+ The fate of Spain's newest communications satellite is up in the air.
SpainSat NG-2 was the second military communications satellite launched for Spain last year. It was on its way to an operational location in geostationary orbit when it was struck by a "space particle," according to a Jan. 2 statement from Indra Group, the majority stakeholder of Hisdesat, which owns and operates the SpainSat NG-2 satellite on behalf of Spain’s Ministry of Defense.
SpainSat NG-2 launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Oct. 23. The satellite was meant to complete a secure communications constellation duo, but now may not get that chance.
SpainSat NG-1 also launched on a Falcon 9, heading to orbit last January. The Airbus-built 2-billion-euro ($2.3 billion USD) pair of satellites was designed as an "advanced government communications system in Europe," according to Airbus. Since its launch in October, SpainSat NG-2 has been slowly making its way toward geostationary orbit, but its status since the collision remains unknown.
According to Indra Group, the space particle impact occurred at about 31,000 miles (50,000 kilometers) in altitude. That's higher than geostationary orbit, which lies 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above Earth.
"Hisdesat implemented a contingency plan to ensure that the Ministry of Defense and other clients are not affected," Indra Group said in the statement.
"The technical team is analyzing the available data to determine the extent of the damage," the statement continued. "If necessary, SpainSat NG-2 will be replaced as soon as possible."
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spains-newest-communications-satellite-suffers-space-particle-strike-high-above-earth
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+ f8jZ58hb8t5RqoFVMX398D
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 23:00:00 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 22:26:35 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Trump administration censures former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly over 'illegal orders' video ]]>
+ The Trump administration is following through on its threats against former NASA astronaut and current U.S. Senator Mark Kelly.
In late November, Kelly (D-Ariz.) and five other Congressmen who have served in the military participated in a 90-second video reminding U.S. servicemembers not to obey illegal orders. President Donald Trump deemed the video seditious, saying that such behavior is "punishable by DEATH!"
Mark Kelly's life does not seem to be in danger, but his rank and pension may be. On Monday (Jan. 6), Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that his organization "is taking administrative action" against Kelly, a former Navy fighter pilot who has four space shuttle missions under his belt.
Six weeks ago, Senator Mark Kelly — and five other members of Congress — released a reckless and seditious video that was clearly intended to undermine good order and military discipline. As a retired Navy Captain who is still receiving a military pension, Captain Kelly knows he…January 5, 2026
"The department has initiated retirement grade determination proceedings under 10 U.S.C. § 1370(f), with reduction in his retired grade resulting in a corresponding reduction in retired pay," Hegseth wrote via X on Monday.
"To ensure this action, the Secretary of War has also issued a formal Letter of Censure, which outlines the totality of Captain (for now) Kelly's reckless misconduct. This Censure is a necessary process step, and will be placed in Captain Kelly's official and permanent military personnel file."
(Hegseth and other military leaders use the terms "Department of War" and "Secretary of War" in accordance with an executive order that Trump issued in September. But "Department of Defense" and "Secretary of Defense" remain the official names.)
Kelly has been notified of the action and has 30 days to submit a response, according to Hegseth. The "retirement grade determination process" will be complete within 45 days, the secretary added.
Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution – including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the…January 5, 2026
Kelly defended himself vigorously shortly after the video's release, saying that he would not be bullied by Trump, Hegseth or other administration officials. He reiterated that stance on Monday in the wake of Hegseth's statement.
"Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution — including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that," Kelly, who's the twin brother of fellow former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, said via X on Monday.
"If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country's history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn't get it. I will fight this with everything I've got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government," he added.
]]>
+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/human-spaceflight/trump-administration-censures-former-nasa-astronaut-mark-kelly-over-illegal-orders-video
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:12:55 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:54:59 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ 11 upcoming space and sci-fi games to be excited for in 2026 ]]>
+ 2025 was a banger year for games, filled with everything from breakout indie megahits to AAA juggernauts. It was also a year for delays, with a number of titles getting pushed out of the calendar year entirely. But last year's loss is this year's gain, so let's look at all the upcoming space and sci-fi games for 2026 to be excited for.
Some big sci-fi names are making their return to the gaming landscape this year, with Halo: Campaign Evolved and Dawn of War 4 crashing in for a landing at some point in 2026, but we've also got a load of new franchises and indie titles on the way too, across a huge swathe of genres.
Shooters, roguelites, strategy games, flight simulators — we've peered into the future and curated this list of extra-terrestrial delights for your gaming pleasure. Here's our list of 11 upcoming space and sci-fi games to be excited for in 2026.
1. Halo: Campaign Evolved
Release date: TBA 2026 |Developer: Halo Studios |Platforms: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
The Halo remake train arrives in 2026 with a fresh look at the original game, rebuilt from the ground up in Unreal 5.
The Halo grandaddy looks fresh in the new engine — looking even better than Halo Infinite — and it comes with some exciting new wrinkles. There are three never-before-seen prequel missions, a bunch of weapons, and gameplay additions from later Halos, and fully re-recorded dialogue from some of the game's main voice actors.
Most excitingly for non-Xbox gamers, Halo: Campaign Evolved will be available from day one on PlayStation 5. The only downside: as the title implies, this is a campaign-only release, so new Sony adopters won't get access to that famous Halo multiplayer.
2. Saros
Release date: April 30, 2026 |Developer: Housemarque |Platforms: PS5
Announced back in February 2025, Saros is the next sci-fi action game from developer Housemarque. Set on the "shapeshifting" alien planet of Carcosa, it follows a lone enforcer (played by Midnight Mass' Rahul Kohli) exploring a doomed colony.
Saros looks like a promising follow-up to Returnal, incorporating all the frenetic action and satisfying alien-blasting of the previous game, while also bringing in its own time-loop mechanic to justify the live-die-repeat gameplay style that Housemarque is fast becoming known for.
In the gameplay trailer, we see our main character teleporting across the landscape, gunning down aliens with a variety of weapons, and absorbing enemy projectiles before sending them flying back to destroy his foes. Like Returnal, it's also a roguelite, with Housemarque promising that permanent enhancements will be available between runs to make players more powerful and durable in future attempts.
3. Pragmata
Release date: April 24, 2026|Developer: Capcom |Platforms: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Pragmata has been on our radar since way back in 2020, but our interest was revived when it showed up at the State of Play June 2025 showcase. It's a third-person action game with two protagonists that players control simultaneously: an astronaut named Hugh and his petite android companion Diana.
Hugh drives most of the combat, with a variety of guns and a jetpack, while Diana makes life easier for him by hacking into enemy systems and robots. Together, the pair have to navigate their way through a lunar station that's lost contact and determine why the station's AI has decided to exterminate its human creators.
The result is a blend of high-octane combat interspersed with frenetic hacking puzzles that's looking like a tasty, atmospheric sci-fi cocktail. Sign us up.
4. Directive 8020
Release date: TBA 2026 |Developer: Supermassive Games |Platforms: PC (Steam)
Speaking of atmospheric, Directive 8020 looks like a delightfully gruesome addition to the space horror games line-up. It's part of the Dark Pictures Anthology from Supermassive Games, the makers of Until Dawn and The Quarry, meaning it'll be a cinematic rollercoaster with players making life-or-death decisions for the crew of a colony ship stranded on an alien planet.
In a distant future where Earth is dying, humanity pins its hopes on finding a habitable home amongst the stars. The colony ship Cassiopeia crash-lands on what it hopes is a planet that can sustain human life, but to the crew's unpleasant surprise, they discover a violent alien organism instead. This beast can take the shape of its prey, leading to paranoia and dissension on par with John Carpenter's seminal classic The Thing.
The developers have also said that the crew of the Cassiopeia may eventually have to choose between their own survival and the survival of everyone back on Earth, aka the Ellen Ripley dilemma.
On the opposite end of the vibes spectrum lives Space Tales, a manic, cartoonish real-time strategy game that pits killing machines against eldritch horrors from beyond the stars. In a tale as old as time, humanity has expanded too far, too fast in its bid to colonize all of known space, and awakened ancient (and very hostile) cosmic entities bent on our destruction.
As the representative for the armed wing of a human empire, you're tasked with subduing these Lovecraftian abominations and securing a foothold for humanity on alien worlds. With massive armies clashing across 16 distinct factions, Space Tales promises to blend RTS action with a choice-driven narrative.
The branching story will explore a galactic conspiracy, revealing that humanity's development has been influenced by dark powers beyond our comprehension.
6. Lunar Strike
Release date: TBA 2026 |Developer: Cognition |Platforms: PC (Steam), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
While most of the games on this list lean heavily into the fiction side of science fiction, Lunar Strike is aiming to deliver a near-future story grounded in real mechanics. This narrative-driven game will task you with surviving on the Moon after sabotage disables many of the core systems of a lunar colony. We chatted with the developers last year when it was revealed, and we can't wait to see more in 2026.
Despite the aggressive-sounding title, there's no combat in Lunar Strike. Instead, must investigate the history of the colony and attempt to save it from an impending disaster, all while struggling to survive in the harsh lunar environment devoid of oxygen.
As a forensic scientist, you'll discover the true nature of the colony and its history and define its legacy by choosing which elements to preserve and what to toss into the garbage bin of history. The game draws on real-world lunar research to attempt to accurately model different environments and conditions on the Moon.
7. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4
Release date: TBA 2026|Developer: KING Art |Platforms: PC (Steam)
In the grim darkness of 2004, there was only Dawn of War. This sci-fi hit helped to redefine the real-time strategy genre, focusing on tactical-level engagements that pitted the mighty space marines against the worst that the nightmarish gothic future of the Warhammer 40K universe had to offer. In 2026, Dawn of War 4 will take us back into the endless war of the far future for the first time in almost nine years.
After two divisive sequels, the latest game promises to take us back to the series' roots, letting players control four separate factions across more than 70 campaign missions. The Orks and Space Marines return alongside the Necrons and Adeptus Mechanicus, the latter of which is making its debut for the series.
Each faction has its own dedicated campaign playable either solo or in co-op, and the new combat system promises a focus on hyper-detailed combat with Warhammer's signature gory panache.
8. Remnant Protocol
Release date: TBA 2026 |Developer: Progenitor Game Studios Ltd. |Platforms: PC (Steam)
Remnant Protocol is a new twist on the space-sim, starship dogfighting formula. At its core, it promises a frenetic space combat game where you juggle ship systems and hunt down enemy fighters from the cockpit of your customizable ship, but the real draw is the strategy layer.
Remnant Protocol takes place in a galaxy fractured by civil war after the leader of a sprawling empire, the Blessed Mother, was assassinated. You play as a loyalist trying to lead the surviving faithful to deposing the usurpers and other factions attempting to fill the void left in the wake of her murder. To do so, you need to develop and manufacture new ships, make alliances, and research new tech, always trying to stay a step ahead of your opponents, who are constantly scouring for the location of your secret base.
Remnant Protocol has the potential to blend the tactical depth of X-COM with the kind of frantic dogfights you'd expect from the best space flight sims, and that sounds like an intoxicating mix.
9. Falling Frontier
Release date: TBA |Developer: Stutter Fox Studios |Platforms: PC (Steam)
There's something uniquely humbling about watching huge fleets of massive starships engage in combat across an unimaginably vast swath of stars, and Falling Frontier looks to deliver that in spades.
Falling Frontier takes place in a procedurally-generated star system, tasking you with building a faction of fractured humanity up from a single space port to a galactic empire. You'll research cutting-edge ship technology to stay ahead of your militant rivals while building colonies, spaceports, and glassing entire worlds with planet-killing orbital strikes.
One of the coolest things for us is the depth of the ship design system, which lets you modify the weapons and utility systems of your vessels to best suit your playstyle and crush your opponents. We're also huge fans of the hard sci-fi stylings of this universe — definitely one for fans of The Expanse to check out.
10. Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes
Release date: Q1 2026 |Developer: Alt Shift |Platforms: PC (Steam)
Battlestar Galactica is all about the desperate struggle for survival, and Scattered Hopes looks to distill that experience down into a compelling roguelike experience. It takes place shortly after the Cylon attack that nearly annihilated humanity, and puts you at the helm of a splinter fleet of survivors trying to link up with the main Battlestar Galactica fleet.
As in the show, you'll be running and fighting delaying actions in an attempt to evade the overwhelming Cylon forces long enough to find the core of human survivors. You'll face multiple crises of infiltration and resource management, all while trying to satisfy the disparate factions looking for a controlling stake in your little fleet.
Inevitably, the Cylons will catch you, and it's then a matter of making the best use of your fighters and nukes while you calculate an FTL escape route. The goal is to make it out of each encounter with as little damage as possible, helping as many of your people as possible to reach the main fleet. And if you fail, it's a roguelike, so you get to go again. Remember, all of this has happened before. All of this will happen again.
11. Starship Simulator
Release date: TBA|Developer: Fleetyard Studios |Platforms: PC (Steam)
For a sci-fi fan — and especially a Star Trek fan — there is no greater sci-fi fantasy than being a crew member on the starship Enterprise.
Starship Simulator aims to let us live out those Trekkie fantasies, enlisting us on board a "realistically" modeled, fully explorable starship with simulated systems composed of thousands of components. As part of a crew of more than 200 (that can be played by a mix of real players and NPCs), you'll need to maintain and fuel your seven-deck starship while exploring a full-scale Milky Way galaxy.
As you explore, you'll probe the surfaces of alien planets for relics, resources, and new technology, allowing you to upgrade your ship and its capabilities. Starship Simulator promises to bring the immersive elements that other titles have provided piecemeal all altogether in one massive gestalt simulation that, if successful, could steal hundreds of hours of your (and your friends') time. VR support is also planned for an even more immersive experience. We can't wait to get lost in this one.
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+ https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-games/11-upcoming-space-and-sci-fi-games-to-be-excited-for-in-2026
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 20:00:00 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 19:28:18 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ 'It would be a fundamental breakthrough': Mysterious dark matter may interact with cosmic 'ghost particles' ]]>
+ New research puts forward compelling new evidence that dark matter interacts with cosmic "ghost particles" called neutrinos. If that is the case, then this interaction could pose a serious challenge for the standard model of cosmology, our current best model of the universe.
Neutrinos earn their spooky nickname due to the fact that as these chargeless and virtually massless particles travel through space at near the speed of light, they barely interact with other particles, ghosting their way through solid objects like planets. In fact, the interactions between these particles and other matter are so rare and fleeting that every second, around 100 trillion neutrinos stream through your body without you feeling a thing. Dark matter is similar; even though it accounts for around 85% of the matter in the universe, whatever comprises dark matter also barely interacts with ordinary matter and light, if at all. In fact, effectively invisible, dark matter can only be inferred due to its interaction with gravity and the effect this has on light and conventional matter.
However, new findings from a team of researchers from the University of Sheffield suggest that a slight interaction, in the form of a minor exchange of momentum, exists between dark matter and neutrinos. That contradicts the so-called "Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM)" model that attempts to explain the universe's structure and evolution, which says that dark matter and neutrinos exist independently and do not interact with each other.
The evidence for this potentially paradigm-shift-inducing suggestion comes from observations of the universe in its current state, conducted by the Dark Energy Camera on the Victor M. Blanco Telescope in Chile, from galaxy maps created by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and details of the universe's distant past gathered by both the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the European Space Agency (ESA) Planck Telescope spacecraft.
These observations have revealed that the modern universe is less "clumpy" than it should be. This cosmic conundrum could be explained by interactions between dark matter and neutrinos, which would impact the way cosmic structures like galaxies form and evolve.
"Our results address a long-standing puzzle in cosmology. Measurements of the early universe predict that cosmic structures should have grown more strongly over time than what we observe today," team member Eleonora Di Valentino of the University of Sheffield said in a statement. “However, observations of the modern universe indicate that matter is slightly less clumped than expected, pointing to a mild mismatch between early- and late-time measurements. This tension does not mean the standard cosmological model is wrong, but it may suggest that it is incomplete.
"Our study shows that interactions between dark matter and neutrinos could help explain this difference, offering new insight into how structure formed in the universe," Di Valentino added.
The next step is to test this idea, something that the team thinks is possible using precise observations from future telescopes of a cosmic fossil called the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), a leftover from an event in the universe shortly after the Big Bang. Astronomers could also test this theory using a specific effect that objects of great mass have on space, and therefore light, a phenomenon called "gravitational lensing." This would allow them to better measure the distribution of ordinary matter and dark matter.
"If this interaction between dark matter and neutrinos is confirmed, it would be a fundamental breakthrough," team member William Giarè of the University of Hawaii, said. "It would not only shed new light on a persistent mismatch between different cosmological probes, but also provide particle physicists with a concrete direction, indicating which properties to look for in laboratory experiments to help finally unmask the true nature of dark matter."
The team's research was published on Jan. 2 in the journal Nature Astronomy.
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+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/dark-universe/it-would-be-a-fundamental-breakthrough-mysterious-dark-matter-may-interact-with-cosmic-ghost-particles
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 19:00:00 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:59:30 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ The universe may be lopsided, new research says ]]>
+ This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
The shape of the universe is not something we often think about. But my colleagues and I have published a new study suggests it could be asymmetric or lopsided, meaning not the same in every direction.
Should we care about this? Well, today's "standard cosmological model" – which describes the dynamics and structure of the entire cosmos – rests squarely on the assumption that it is isotropic (looks the same in all directions), and homogeneous when averaged on large scales.
But several so-called "tensions" – or disagreements in the data – pose challenges to this idea of a uniform universe.
We have just published a paper looking at one of the most significant of these tensions, called the cosmic dipole anomaly. We conclude that the cosmic dipole anomaly poses a serious challenge to the most widely accepted description of the universe, the standard cosmological model (also called the Lambda-CDM model).
So what is the cosmic dipole anomaly and why is it such a problem for attempts to give a detailed account of the cosmos?
Let's start with the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which is the relic radiation left over from the big bang. The CMB is uniform over the sky to within one part in a hundred thousand.
So cosmologists feel confident in modelling the universe using the "maximally symmetric" description of space-time in Einstein's theory of general relativity. This symmetric vision for the universe, where it looks the same everywhere and in all directions, is known as the "FLRW description".
This vastly simplifies the solution of Einstein's equations and is the basis for the Lambda-CDM model.
But there are several important anomalies, including a widely debated one called the Hubble tension. It is named after Edwin Hubble, who is credited with having discovered in 1929 that the universe is expanding.
The tension started to emerge from different datasets in the 2000s, mainly from the Hubble space telescope, and also recent data from the Gaia satellite. This tension is a cosmological disagreement, where measurements of the universe's expansion rate from its early days don't match up with measurements from the nearby (more recent) universe.
The cosmic dipole anomaly has received much less attention than the Hubble tension, but it is even more fundamental to our understanding of the cosmos. So what is it?
Having established that the cosmic microwave background is symmetric on large scales, variations in this relic radiation from the big bang have been found. One of the most significant is called the CMB dipole anisotropy. This is the largest temperature difference in the CMB, where one side of the sky is hotter and the opposite side cooler – by about one part in a thousand.
A 2013 map of the background radiation left over from the Big Bang, taken by the ESA's Planck spacecraft, captured the oldest light in the universe. This information helps astronomers determine the age of the universe. (Image credit: ESA and the Planck Collaboration.)
This variation in the CMB does not challenge the Lambda-CDM model of the universe. But we should find corresponding variations in other astronomical data.
In 1984, George Ellis and John Baldwin asked whether a similar variation, or "dipole anisotropy", exists in the sky distribution of distant astronomical sources such as radio galaxies and quasars. The sources must be very distant because nearby sources could create a spurious "clustering dipole".
If the "symmetrical universe" FLRW assumption is correct, then this variation in distant astronomical sources should be directly determined by the observed variation in the CMB. This is known as the Ellis-Baldwin test, after the astronomers.
Consistency between the variations in the CMB and in matter would support the standard Lambda-CDM model. Discord would directly challenge it, and indeed the FLRW description. Because it is a very precise test, the data catalogue required to perform it has become available only recently.
The outcome is that the universe fails the Ellis-Baldwin test. The variation in matter does not match that in the CMB. Since the possible sources of error are quite different for telescopes and satellites, and for different wavelengths in the spectrum, it is reassuring that the same result is obtained with terrestrial radio telescopes and satellites observing at mid-infrared wavelengths.
The cosmic dipole anomaly has thus established itself as a major challenge to the standard cosmological model, even if the astronomical community has chosen to largely ignore it.
This may be because there is no easy way to patch up this problem. It requires abandoning not just the Lambda-CDM model but the FLRW description itself, and going back to square one.
Yet an avalanche of data is expected from new satellites like Euclid and SPHEREx, and telescopes such as the Vera Rubin Observatory and the Square Kilometre Array. It is conceivable that we may soon receive bold new insights into how to construct a new cosmological model, harnessing recent advances in a subset of artificial intelligence (AI) called machine learning.
The impact would be truly huge on fundamental physics – and on our understanding of the universe.
]]>
+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/the-universe-may-be-lopsided-new-research-says
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:00:00 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:13:46 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ The 2026 'Super Bowl of Astronomy' starts today — here's what's happening ]]>
+ From distant exoplanets and the universe's first galaxies to the next generation of space telescopes, astronomy's biggest annual gathering is set to deliver a week of discoveries, debates and conversations that will shape the future of astronomy.
Thousands of astronomers, students, educators and space scientists are gathering in Phoenix, Arizona, this week as the 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS 247) kicks off Monday — launching what many in the field consider the Super Bowl of astronomy. Running from Jan. 4–8 at the Phoenix Convention Center, the conference will feature panels, presentations and workshops covering everything from exoplanets and galaxy evolution to the future of flagship space telescopes.
Exoplanet research is expected to be a major focus, with sessions organized by NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program Analysis Group examining the latest discoveries and debating priorities for future missions. Discussions around the proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory are likely to draw particular attention, as researchers explore how next-generation space telescopes could detect and characterize potential Earth-like planets around other stars beyond our solar system and identify biosignatures, or signs of life, in their atmospheres.
Cosmic origins and galaxy evolution will also be featured prominently throughout the week. Several sessions will showcase new results from surveys that combine data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, offering fresh insights into how galaxies formed and evolved in the early universe. Other talks will dive into the nature of brown dwarfs, faint dwarf galaxies and the structure of the Milky Way's outskirts, highlighting how recent findings are reshaping long-standing theories.
Meanwhile, NASA's Program Analysis Groups (PAGs) — including those focused on cosmic origins, physics of the cosmos and exoplanet exploration — are meeting to brainstorm science goals, mission concepts and future priorities.
Looking ahead, astronomy's next major observatory, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, will be the subject of a dedicated Town Hall meeting on the status of the mission and next steps, as well as several other breakout sessions. As Roman edges closer to launch — currently planned for no earlier than September 2026 — scientists are refining how the mission's wide-field capabilities can complement JWST and ground-based observatories, particularly in studies of dark energy, exoplanets and infrared astrophysics.
Beyond the science itself, AAS 247 underscores the increasingly collaborative nature of modern astronomy. Sessions will highlight how skilled amateur astronomers are contributing to frontline research, while workshops and networking events aim to support early-career scientists navigating an evolving research landscape.
You can find a full list of scheduled events and topics for discussion in the program available online. Daily press conferences will also be held on-site and streamed live on Zoom, where virtual attendees can ask questions, and on the AAS Press Office YouTube channel.
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+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/the-2026-super-bowl-of-astronomy-starts-today-heres-whats-happening
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:13:46 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Catch the moon dancing with bright star Regulus tonight ]]>
+ The waning gibbous moon shines close to the "kingly" star Regulus on Jan. 6 and some well-placed stargazers will even see the lunar disk glide in front of the bright star, hiding its ancient light from view completely.
Celestron NexStar 8SE
(Image credit: Amazon)
We reckon the Celestron NexStar 8SE is the best motorized telescope out there as it's great for astrophotography, deep-space observing and it offers stunning detailed imagery. It is a little pricey but for what you get, it's good value. For a more detailed look, you can check out our Celestron NexStar 8SE review.
Look to the eastern horizon around 8:50 p.m. local time on the night of Jan. 5 to spot the 85%-lit waning gibbous moon glowing 5 degrees — roughly the width of your outstretched three middle fingers — to the lower left of the bright star Regulus in the constellation Leo.
Over the course of the night, the moon will appear to travel away from the rapidly spinning star as the pair arc high overhead through the winter sky. The coming days will see the lunar disk forge a path through the constellation Virgo ahead of its third quarter phase on Jan 10, when its left half will be lit by direct sunlight as its right is veiled in inky shadow.
If you're looking skyward from eastern Europe, Asia and the Pacific you may even see the moon pass directly in front of Regulus, completely blocking its light in an event known to astronomers as an occultation.
Stargazers in parts of Russia, China and Kazakhstan will get their first glimpse of the moon passing in front of the ancient star at 10:19 a.m. EST (1519 GMT) on Jan. 6, followed by viewers in Japan and South Korea, according to In-The-Sky. The Midway Islands and Wake Islands will be the last territories to witness the occultation before it ends at 1:27 p.m. EST (1837 GMT).
Events like the Jan. 6 occultation occur because Regulus rests extremely close to the ecliptic, the name given to the band of sky that the sun and planets appear to travel across throughout the year.
Want to capture the majesty of the night sky for yourself? Then be sure to check out our roundups of the best lenses and cameras for astrophotography. If you want to make detailed observations of the moon and worlds of the solar system then be sure to check out our picks of the best telescopes available in 2026.
Editor's Note: If you capture an image of the moon with Regulus and want to share it with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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+ https://www.space.com/stargazing/catch-the-moon-dancing-with-bright-star-regulus-jan-5-6-2026
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000Tue, 06 Jan 2026 10:28:59 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ How did life begin on Earth? New experiments support 'RNA world' hypothesis ]]>
+ RNA, which is one of life's most crucial molecules dealing with the synthesis of proteins, could be common in the universe, according to a new experiment that shows how RNA could easily have formed on Earth 4.3 billion years ago.
RNA (short for ribonucleic acid) is a simpler cousin of DNA, which is the molecule that contains the genetic information for our cellular biology. RNA comes in a trio of guises. There is messenger RNA (mRNA) that is produced from DNA and contains the genetic instructions for forming proteins. Then there's ribosomal RNA (rRNA) that creates ribosomes vital for producing proteins, and finally transfer RNA (tRNA) that does the actual synthesizing of the proteins from mRNA.
Because it is a simpler molecule than DNA, RNA is thought to have formed first, and thanks to its ability to carry genetic information and create other molecules, RNA has even been heralded as a possible main player in the story of the origin of life on Earth in a hypothesis colloquially known as "RNA world." In this scenario, the first single-celled lifeforms would have used RNA rather than DNA for self-replicating and copying their genetic information.
Understanding how RNA formed has, however, been challenging. What prompted RNA's ingredients to come together just so and undergo the correct series of chemical reactions? On the face of it, the odds of RNA forming just by chance seem astronomical.
So chemists look for pathways that could inevitably lead to the formation of molecules like RNA. One pathway is known as the six-step Discontinuous Synthesis Model (DSM).
However, one of the stumbling blocks on this pathway is borate, which is a family of common compounds found in seawater. Borates are oxyanions; if ions are atoms or molecules that have a positive electrical charge, then anions have an overall negative electrical charge. Further, borates contain atoms of both boron and oxygen. The problem is that it had been thought that borates hinder some of the reactions on the chemical pathway to RNA.
Now, a team of biochemists led by Yuta Hirakawa of Tohoku University in Japan and the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Florida say that chemists have been getting it wrong and that borates are actually beneficial to the formation of RNA.
Hirakawa's team performed experiments in which they added the ingredients of RNA — the five-carbon sugar ribose, phosphates and the four nucleobases used by RNA (adenine, guanine, cytosine and uracil) — to a mixture that also included borates and basalt. They then heated the mixture and allowed it to dry out, mimicking conditions that they argue would have been common around underground aquifers on the early Earth.
Basalt from an underground "constrained" aquifer could have provided the catalyst for the formation of RNA. (Image credit: Steven A. Benner.)
What they found was that RNA had formed in the mixture. Furthermore, the borates hadn't hindered anything at all, but actually supported some of the steps in the DSM model, such as stabilizing the ribose molecules that can often be unstable and break down, and facilitating the production of phosphates.
These findings have also been bolstered by new discoveries about the sample of material brought to Earth from the asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission. In particular, with the recent announcement of the discovery or ribose in the Bennu sample, all the ingredients of RNA have now been identified in the 120 grams (4.2 ounces) of dirt and stones that OSIRIS-REx delivered to Earth from Bennu.
Hirakawa's team envisage that the impact of a 500-kilometer-wide (310 miles) protoplanet, similar in size to the asteroid Vesta and loaded with RNA's ingredients, could have brought RNA's building blocks to our planet en masse. They estimate that this impact, and the production of RNA, would have taken place 4.3 billion years ago, 200 million years after Earth's birth and 200 million years before the oldest evidence for life on Earth yet found, in isotopes of carbon found in 4.1-billion-year-old deposits of the mineral zircon.
Borate minerals and the decomposition of ribose. (Image credit: Steven A. Benner.)
Previously, RNA had only been formed in a laboratory through human intervention to deliberately trigger chemical reactions. Hirakawa's team argue that their research is the first time that RNA has been produced in the lab without humans getting involved, although critics argue that even the act of putting all the building blocks of RNA together in a test tube is a human intervention.
Impacts with large asteroids also occurred in the early days of Mars' history, meaning that the building blocks of RNA would also have been delivered to the Red Planet. Intriguingly, borates have also been detected on Mars, meaning everything should have been in place to produce RNA there too.
Although RNA is not life, RNA is essential to almost all life that we know of. If RNA did form on Earth quickly, geologically speaking, then it could have provided a shortcut to the first simple organisms to arise on our planet.
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/search-for-life/how-did-life-begin-on-earth-new-experiments-support-rna-world-hypothesis
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:00:00 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:13:46 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Carina Nebula shines with white-blue stars | Space photo of the day for Jan. 5, 2026 ]]>
+ Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) took a stunning image of the star cluster known as Westerlund 2, located in a stellar nursery called Gum 29 found within the Carina Nebula. The cluster is 6-to-13 light-years across and has some of the hottest and biggest stars found in the Milky Way.
What is it?
While the Westerlund 2 cluster was the subject of Hubble's 25th anniversary image in 2015, JWST has taken a different view of the area, resulting in what previous telescopes struggled to count: the cluster's faintest members.
The JWST helped uncover for the first time the full population of brown dwarfs in this massive young star cluster, including objects as small as around 10 times the mass ofJupiter.
Brown dwarfs are grouped under the "dwarf" umbrella because they are star-like objects that form from collapsing gas clouds, yet never become big enough to sustain long-term hydrogen fusion like true stars.
Faint brown dwarf stars can be seen in this image from the James Webb Space Telescope. (Image credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, V. Almendros-Abad, M. Guarcello, K. Monsch and the EWOCS team)
Why is it amazing?
Finding brown dwarfs in this harsh and brilliant environment is important because it helps astronomers answer a key question: How efficiently are low-mass objects, like brown dwarfs, being made when there's intense radiation in the area? A complete census of the stars in the image lets scientists compare the Westerlund 2 cluster to quieter star-forming regions and test whether extreme conditions change the "mix" of the objects that are formed.
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+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/carina-nebula-shines-with-white-blue-stars-space-photo-of-the-day-for-jan-5-2026
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 13:11:36 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:13:13 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ January full moon wows skywatchers with a striking 'Wolf Supermoon' (photos) ]]>
+ The January full moon soared through the winter sky on Jan. 3, putting on an awe-inspiring display as it flooded the night with reflected sunlight to kick off a new year of spectacular lunar milestones. Read on to see jaw-dropping images of the first full moon and supermoon of 2026.
January's moon — often known as the "Wolf Moon" in reference to the packs of famished carnivores that can be heard howling this time of year — turned full as it sat close to its minimal distance to Earth in its 27-day orbit, giving rise to an enchanting supermoon.
A supermoon can appear up to 30% brighter and 14% larger than the smallest moon of the year, presenting a gorgeous sight to the naked eye and an unmissable target for photographers attempting to capture the fully-lit face of Earth's closest cosmic companion.
Experienced photographers seized the opportunity to line up impressive compositions as the Wolf Moon prowled low over the eastern horizon on the nights surrounding Jan. 3, before tracking it as the lunar disk leapt high overhead to hunt the stars through the night sky.
The January full Wolf Supermoon in photos
Photographer Gary Hershorn captured a gorgeous view of the moon hanging above the New York City skyline, where it joined the artificial glow of the city to cast columns of light across the Hudson River, as wisps of cloud played through the sky overhead.
The moon shines over New York on Jan. 4, a day after turning full. (Image credit: Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Hershorn also captured a classic image of the lunar disk as it appeared to skim the Statue of Liberty's torch in New York around sunset on that same day (Jan. 3).
The Statue of Liberty snapped with her torch touching the moon on Jan. 3 in New York. (Image credit: Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
Kevin McCarthy snapped a beautifully detailed shot of the Wolf Supermoon's silvery light in the skies over North Carolina on Jan. 3, highlighting the bright streaks of material cast out from young impact sites.
"It was cloudy and we had rain for most of the day in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the skies cleared at sunset, giving me a clear view as the Wolf Super Moon rose," McCarthy told Space.com in an email. "This photo was hand-held and I took a series of images to make sure I could capture one with maximum clarity."
The Wolf Moon captured over North Carolina. (Image credit: Kevin McCarthy)
The next image was taken on the night of Jan. 3 as the moon rose over the historic hilltop that plays host to the Glastonbury Tor, in Somerset, U.K.
Matt Cardy's photo appears to show the moon balanced atop the 14th-century tower, as stargazers gather to witness the natural light show.
The Wolf Supermoon rises over the Glastonbury Tor in Sumerset, UK, on Jan. 3. (Image credit: Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Cardy also used his telephoto lens to capture the lunar disk as it passed through a collection of Christmas lights, the unfocused light from which encircled the silvery moon with a multitude of yellow-orange spheres
The moon shines among Christmas lights in the skies above the U.K. (Image credit: Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Photographer Lisa Shislowski was also able to take a colorful view of Earth's natural satellite from her vantage point in Plantation, Florida.
"About 20 minutes before the sunrise this morning, the skies were pastel in color," said Shislowski in an email to Space.com. "The full moon was getting closer to setting through the fog over the Everglades in Weston, Florida. It was truly beautiful to see."
The Wolf Moon viewed from the Florida Everglades. (Image credit: Lisa Shislowski)
Photographer Wang Jianmin lined up a majestic shot of the full moon positioned at the apex of a traditional tower in the city of Lianyungang in China's Jiangsu Province on Jan. 3.
The Wolf Moon captured as it shone at the apex of a traditional building in China on Jan. 3. (Image credit: Photo by Wang Jianmin/VCG via Getty Images)
Kirill Kudryavtsev opted to capture both the ancient and the new at once, by snapping a commercial airliner as it soared past the lunar disk in the skies over Frankfurt, Germany, on Jan. 2, leaving a dense exhaust trail that bisected the dark basaltic plains scarring the lunar disk.
An airliner crosses the lunar disk in the skies over Germany. (Image credit: Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images)
The next shot immortalized the moon as its light reflected in the freezing waters of a wild river running through the snowy landscape in the Mengen district of Bolu, Turkey, on Jan. 2, mere hours before the lunar disk turned full. Its orange light is the result of an atmospheric effect called Rayleigh Scattering, wherein particles deflect the bluer wavelengths of light reflected from the lunar surface, while allowing redder wavelengths to pass through relatively unaffected.
The Wolf Moon prowls through the sky over Turkey. (Image credit: Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Photographer Adnan Farzat captured the Wolf Moon as it rose over Paris above an ocean of clouds on the night of Jan. 3. Subtle dark patches on the lunar surface betray the presence of colossal basaltic plains, where lava flows coated vast swathes of Earth's natural satellite, before solidifying in the extreme environment of space.
The moon caught rising over Paris in January 2026 (Image credit: Photo by Adnan Farzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images )
Sun Yongdong froze a moment in time as the orange moon rose above the serene mountains in Beijing, China, later that same night.
A Wolf Moon rises over Beijing, China in January 2026. (Image credit: Photo by Sun Yongdong/VCG via Getty Images)
Our next lunar view comes courtesy of Ismeal Adnan Yaqoob, who imaged the lunar disk on the night of Jan. 3 as it passed the apex of the Royal Clock Tower over Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
The moon shines over Mecca on the night of Jan. 3. (Image credit: Photo by Ismael Adnan Yaqoob/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Finally, photographer Aditya Irawan was able to take a gorgeously detailed shot of the full Wolf Moon as it hung in the skies over West Java in Indonesia. Tycho Crater dominates the right side of the lunar disk, as the Kepler and Copernicus impact sites brighten the southern lunar maria.
A detailed shot of the Wolf Moon dominating the skies over West Java. (Image credit: Photo by Aditya Irawan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Editor's Note: If you would like to share your lunar astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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+ https://www.space.com/stargazing/january-full-moon-2026-wows-skywatchers-with-a-striking-wolf-supermoon-photos
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 11:55:57 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 12:49:44 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Moon rush: These private spacecraft will attempt lunar landings in 2026 ]]>
+ 2026 is shaping up to be a spectacular year for lunar exploration, with a growing fleet of commercial missions set to attempt to land on Earth's celestial neighbor.
It will be a huge year for the moon overall. NASA plans to send humans back to the vicinity of the moon with the Artemis 2 mission no earlier than February, while China, in the second half of the year, aims to land at the lunar south pole and seek out water ice with its robotic Chang'e 7 spacecraft. But it's not only national agencies targeting Earth's companion, as commercial companies are also taking aim with a series of robotic landers at what could be the start of a sustained, more market-driven lunar presence for humanity.
Below are the commercial missions currently targeting lunar landing attempts in 2026, pending launch schedules and mission readiness.
Blue Origin: Blue Moon Pathfinder Mission 1
Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin is set to take its first shot at the moon with the Blue Moon Mark 1 pathfinder. The robotic lander is due to launch on a New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral as soon as early 2026, the company said in November, soon after the rocket successfully launched NASA's ESCAPADE Mars mission.
The mission is designed to be a technology demonstration of the Blue Moon Mark 1 cargo lander design, including precision landing systems and propulsion tech that will support later commercial and NASA payload deliveries to the lunar surface, with a capacity of up to 6,600 pounds (3,000 kilograms).
The lander will target the lunar south pole and will carry a NASA SCALPSS payload that will study how the lander's exhaust interacts with the moon's surface during the landing. There's a lot at stake: Blue Origin is a prime contractor for NASA's Human Landing System (HLS) with its Blue Moon lander, which is intended to land astronauts on the moon later this decade, making Mark 1 pathfinder a key rehearsal.
Firefly: Blue Ghost M2
Texas-based Firefly is gearing up to return to the moon one year after its historic landing of Blue Ghost in Mare Crisium on the near side. Blue Ghost M2 is the next step in the company's push to become a repeatable commercial lunar delivery provider. It will fly as part of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, while also carrying commercial and international payloads.
Blue Ghost M2 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than the second quarter of 2026, aiming to land on the far side of the moon — a feat that only China has achieved to date, with Chang'e 4 in 2019 and Chang'e 6 in 2024. Among six government and commercial payloads will be the Rashid Rover 2 for the United Arab Emirates and a wireless power receiver for Volta Space.
The mission also carries the European Space Agency's Lunar Pathfinder orbiter, which will be deployed into lunar orbit by Firefly's Elytra orbital transfer vehicle. Elytra will also act as a communications relay for Blue Ghost M2 during its 10 days of operations. A comms relay is a necessity, because the far side of the moon is not visible from Earth.
A view of Blue Ghost lander on the moon (Image credit: NASA/Firefly Aerospace)
Intuitive Machines: IM-3
Intuitive Machines will attempt its third lunar landing in the second half of 2026 with IM-3, looking to build on the efforts of the IM-1 Odysseus spacecraft in February 2024 and last year's IM-2 Athena, both of which toppled onto their side shortly after touching down on the lunar surface.
IM-3, again using the NOVA-C lander, will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and target a landing in the Reiner Gamma region on the near side, which features a mysterious lunar swirl with an associated local magnetic field. The lander will be packed with science payloads, including magnetometers and plasma instruments, as part of the CLPS program.
Astrobotic: Griffin mission 1
Astrobotic's first moon lander, Peregrine, launched in January 2024 but suffered a propulsion anomaly due to a faulty valve and ended up in the Pacific Ocean. But the Pennsylvania-based company is back with its first Griffin lander, currently scheduled to launch no earlier than July 2026 on a Falcon Heavy rocket.
Griffin-1 will target the south pole of the moon. It was initially planned to carry NASA's VIPER rover to seek out volatiles, but the rover has moved to a later mission, following its cancellation and subsequent revival. Instead, Astrolab's four-wheeled, 1,000-pound (450 kg) FLIP moon rover will join Griffin-1 for the ride, along with Astrobotic's own, much smaller CubeRover. The lander will also carry further small commercial and cultural payloads.
Together, the missions represent another expansion of efforts to explore the moon, testing technologies and deploying science payloads that will be used for or inform future missions, including the Artemis program, as well as growing the commercial footprint in space. How the missions perform will signal if private moon landers are ready to move from the experimental to the routine.
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+ https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/moon-rush-these-private-spacecraft-will-attempt-lunar-landings-in-2026
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+ tACfmE5BSbSSy9PrWEMFo9
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+ Mon, 05 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:56:10 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ SpaceX launches 1st Starlink satellites of 2026 on new Falcon 9 rocket (video) ]]>
+
The first Starlink satellites to join SpaceX's megaconstellation in 2026 were launched today (Jan. 4) on a brand new Falcon 9 rocket.
The fresh booster, carrying 29 of the internet broadband relay units, lifted off on Sunday at 1:48 a.m. EST (0648 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The satellites (Starlink Group 6-88) reached low Earth orbit approximately nine minutes after leaving the ground and were successfully deployed about an hour later.
"Deployment of 29 Starlink satellites confirmed," SpaceX posted to the social media network X.
The Falcon 9's first stage (Booster 1101) made its first return to Earth, touching down on the drone ship "Just Read the Instructions," which was pre-staged in the Atlantic Ocean.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 Starlink satellites launches from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (Image credit: SpaceX)
SpaceX's Starlink network, which is approaching 9,500 active satellites, provides access to broadband internet in areas around the world where connectively is otherwise sparse or nonexistent. This now includes Venezuela, after the U.S. raid on the country’s capital, seizing President Nicolás Maduro.
"Starlink is providing free broadband service to the people of Venezuela through February 3, ensuring continued connectivity," SpaceX announced on X on Sunday.
The launch was SpaceX's second for 2026, 595th completed since 2008 and 555th landing since 2015.
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-starlink-6-88-b1101-ccsfs-jrti
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+ Sun, 04 Jan 2026 17:06:18 +0000Sun, 04 Jan 2026 18:06:23 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ The risk of falling space junk hitting airplanes is on the rise, experts warn ]]>
+ Space debris is a growing problem, and not just in Earth orbit.
Once a week, on average, a spacecraft (or part of one) falls back into Earth's atmosphere; most of these objects are empty rocket stages, but some are dead satellites whose low orbits finally decayed enough for them to slip into the atmosphere. They're basically like human-made meteors, but most of them don't survive long. This is because of the heat and shredding force that come with high-speed collisions with the air. However, some bits of debris from the objects can exist long enough to plummet through the sky, ranging from dust-mote-sized particles to whole propellant tanks. And this can be a big problem.
There's a risk one of those stray pieces can hit a passing aircraft — that risk is small, but it's growing enough that experts are now trying to figure out how to reduce it.
We've been lucky so far
Even in space, what goes up sometimes comes back down: spent rocket stages, defunct satellites and other bits of space debris are falling back into Earth's atmosphere with increasing regularity. And as satellite constellations and general spacecraft operations continue to become more common, the risk of deorbiting space debris will only go up.
There's a 26% chance that sometime in the coming year, space debris will fall through some of the world's busiest airspace during an uncontrolled re-entry, according to a paper published early in 2025 by researchers at the University of British Columbia. The odds of that debris actually striking an aircraft (or vice versa) are small but measurable: By 2030, the chances of any given commercial flight hitting a piece of falling space debris could be around 1 in 1,000, according to a 2020 study.
Those odds don't sound terribly daunting if you're the gambling type, but given the number of planes crisscrossing the friendly skies at any given moment, that's a lot of rolls of the dice. And it's a high-stakes gamble; risk includes not just the likelihood of an event, but the potential outcome (hundreds of people dead, in this case of that 2020 study). That's partly because commercial aircraft carry so many passengers, but it's also because it takes a much smaller bit of debris to cause a catastrophe in the air than on the ground, especially where jet engines are concerned.
"Aircraft can be affected by much smaller pieces of debris. For example, airplanes flying through the ash of a volcano is risky because of the small particles," European Space Agency space debris system engineer Benjamin Virgili Bastida told Space.com. "Kind of a similar thing could happen with re-entering debris." Virgili Bastida and his colleagues recently published a paper in the Journal of Space Safety Engineering outlining the challenges of deciding when and where to close airspace for falling space debris.
Lessons learned from Long March
One of the best known incidents of space debris affecting air traffic happened in November 2022, when the core stage of a Chinese Long March 5B rocket re-entered Earth's atmosphere. It was the fourth time a Long March 5B had made an uncontrolled re-entry, and this time its ground track passed over Spain, prompting a flurry of airspace closures.
The Long March rocket was an unusual problem even by space debris standards; the roughly 20-ton core stage was much, much more massive than most spacecraft and rocket parts that drop back into the atmosphere (and China is no longer using that version of the rocket now that the final modules of its Tiangong space station are in orbit). China's space agency also wasn't very forthcoming about the rocket's track or the fact that it was going to re-enter the atmosphere at all. But despite being an anomaly, the Long March incident is also a good illustration of both the potential danger and the need for more specific warnings, rather than broad ones.
Despite a few other close calls and airspace closures in recent years — like a SpaceX spacecraft that re-entered over European airspace in the summer of 2025, prompting airspace closures — we've been lucky so far. But maintaining that streak, without causing air-traffic gridlock by closing too much airspace for too little reason, is going to require a lot of work on multiple fronts.
"What we are trying to investigate in the studies we are running is to see what is really the threshold for risk for an aircraft," said Virgili Bastida. "At what risk should we react?"
Other pieces of the puzzle include limiting the amount of debris that even makes it to the altitudes where most planes fly (around 30,000 to 40,000 feet or 9,144 to 12,192 meters), more accurately predicting where and when spacecraft will re-enter, and coordinating between space agencies and air traffic controllers to make the decision-making progress less clunky. And none of that is as easy as it sounds.
Really wide margins of error
It's still surprisingly hard to predict exactly where and when an uncontrolled satellite is going to fall into the atmosphere. Even during a doomed spacecraft's final orbit or two, the margin of error allows for several hours, which translates into thousands of miles of distance due to the speed most re-entering satellites move. The huge uncertainty presents air traffic controllers with a difficult choice: take no action and risk lives (even if the chances are small), or close a huge swath of airspace, which will inevitably cost millions of dollars and create air traffic delays that take hours to unsnarl.
For example, the 2022 Long March 5B airspace closure in Spain delayed, canceled, or rerouted more than 300 flights; Enaire (the Spanish equivalent of the FAA), shut down a strip of airspace about 62 miles (100 kilometers) on either side of the rocket stage's path for about 40 minutes. But the debris only spent about five minutes of that time in the affected airspace, according to Virgili Bastida.
"There's a desire to be more specific and make those windows and closures as narrow and constrained as safety allows," space and aviation analyst Ian Christensen, senior director for private sector programs at the Secure World Foundation, told Space.com. Christensen added that both the FAA and the International Civil Aviation Organization are already working with the space launch industry — companies like SpaceX, ULA and Blue Origin, among others — to develop narrower, more specific airspace closures for rocket launches. Those efforts are likely to apply to dealing with the other end of spaceflight, returning debris, as well.
To get there, space agencies and air traffic controllers need two key types of information. First, when and where will the spacecraft hit the atmosphere? How much of it will survive intact down to 40,000 feet? Exactly what part of the sky will that debris be falling through (and when)?
Second, how big a threat is that debris to a passing aircraft? That answer depends on the size, speed and features of the aircraft, and researchers are in the process of working out models that can offer more specific answers. It will then be up to space agencies and air traffic controllers, working together, to decide when the risk is high enough to close a patch of sky — and for how long.
"If we react at every risk, half of the world will be impacted every now and then, so it's not feasible," said Virgili Bastida. "Do we react for everything which has a chance to reach the ground? Or do we react only for the very large objects, as we did for the Long March?"
Agencies in charge of aviation and air traffic control in individual countries (like the FAA in the U.S. and the Civil Aviation Administration of China in China) will eventually have to define how much risk requires them to close airspace for falling space debris. That could include factors like the likely size of the pieces and the chances of an impact, so a standard might look something like, "If there's a 1 in 3,720 chance of particulate matter getting sucked into a jet engine, we should close the airspace." (Those numbers are just for illustration.)
Better predictions need more data
The margin of error is so large, in part, because we don't really know much about the detailed physics of the upper edge of the atmosphere, between 62 and 124 miles (100 and 200 kilometers) up. The term "upper edge" is misleading, in fact, because the transition from vacuum to air is more gradual, and the altitude where it happens depends on temperature and other factors — including how active the sun is at that moment. All of those factors affect how quickly the atmosphere's drag can slow down a spacecraft and pull it in.
Satellites don't spend much time passing through this rarefied region, and most of them are already dead and in the process of being disintegrated by the friction of the thin air against their hulls.
"There is very little information on this region of the atmosphere, so the models are just kind of extrapolated down or up," said Virgili Bastida.
Building better models requires more data, and one way of getting that data is ESA's upcoming DRACO (Destructive Re-entry Assessment Container Objective) mission. When it launches in late 2027, DRACO will measure — in 200 sensors' worth of detail — exactly how a small satellite disintegrates during its plunge into Earth's upper atmosphere. Its goal is to measure not just the spacecraft's trajectory on the way down, but exactly when different components burn or break apart.
To do that, DRACO's lead system engineer Alex Rosenbaum and his team are fitting the DRACO capsule with components in a range of different materials, each outfitted with sensors to measure its temperature and the time and altitude of its fiery demise. There will even be a mock-up of a propulsion bay and a composite fuel tank, even though DRACO won't actually have working propulsion. The capsule itself won't survive, which is the point. A black box, similar to the flight data recorders used on commercial aircraft, will escape the high-altitude breakup via parachute.
"It is a very peculiar mission because it will be very short," Rosenbaum told Space.com. "We are working for several years on a mission that will be operative for a couple of hours."
Meanwhile, there's the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee — a group of 13 space agencies whose members include JAXA, ESA, Roscosmos, CNSA and ISRO. IADC runs an annual exercise called a Re-Entry Campaign, in which members choose "an interesting test case" from among the defunct satellites due to drop back into Earth's atmosphere in the coming months. Member agencies pool their information on the object and their predictions about the time and path of its re-entry. Afterward, they compare what actually happened to their predictions in order to help test and refine those models. It's steady work with cumulative results — not too dramatic but very important.
The Re-Entry Campaigns and DRACO will help improve predictions and shed light on how to reduce the amount of space debris by designing satellites and rocket stages that disintegrate as completely as possible at high altitudes. But once space agencies and air traffic controllers have that data, someone is going to have to decide what to do with it.
What exactly does that look like?
Agencies have to talk to each other
First, air traffic controllers and national aviation authorities will need good information from, and regular communication with, the agencies that monitor space traffic and space junk. In the U.S., the FAA and the Department of Transportation, both of which regulate space launches as well as aviation. And at the United Nations, the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs is working with the Secretariat of the Civil Aviation Authority to build the kinds of connections that help experts exchange data and work together on studies.
And second, since the paths of re-entering spacecraft often cross national borders, aviation agencies and air traffic controllers in multiple countries will need to be able to communicate and plan. The Long March 5B incident in 2022 demonstrated what happens without that coordination: the Spanish airspace closures "concentrated and forced aircraft into other areas, which were still, anyway, under the remaining track," according to Virgili Bastida and his colleagues in their paper.
Building the kind of coordination that could make the next incident go more smoothly is crucial — and it needs to happen before the next incident, according to Virgili Bastida and his colleagues. That coordination is likely to take the form of standards: criteria and guidelines that define what's appropriate to do in a particular situation. In aviation, standards come from national agencies like the FAA and the European Union Safety Agency, or from international organizations like the International Civil Aviation Organization (a U.N. agency).
"The aviation world is very driven by standards, and we're seeing a lot of activity in the space world around standards as well," said Christensen. "Those give us ways to develop technical mitigation approaches, technical solutions, and then implement them at the national level with some coordination internationally.
"The sky is not going to fall on your head"
We may be approaching a future where closures or delays for re-entering space debris are as common as weather-related delays now. But if Virgili Bastida gets the world he's hoping for, that future is one in which we won't even notice, because re-entries will be predicted in advance and flight plans can just route around the affected areas.
"I'm optimistic that at the technical level and at the operational level, we'll be able to work on this issue and make significant success," said Christensen.
In the meantime, Virgili Bastida suggests that while policymakers and engineers need to be thinking about space debris and air traffic, the average traveler shouldn't lose sleep over the risks.
"The probability of being hit by space debris is very low, much lower than any other risk that we have in normal life. So even if there are many re-entries and it's kind of worrisome, it should not be your main worry," said Virgili Bastida. "The sky is not going to fall on your head. But we are working on ways to do it even better."
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/the-risk-of-falling-space-junk-hitting-airplanes-is-on-the-rise-experts-warn
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+ Sun, 04 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000Fri, 02 Jan 2026 20:35:19 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ The next frontier in space is closer than you think – welcome to the world of very low Earth orbit satellites ]]>
+ This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Which is why it's fortunate there's another orbit, even closer to Earth, that promises to help alleviate the crowding. It's called VLEO, or very low Earth orbit, and is only 60 to 250 miles (100 to 400 kilometers) above the Earth's surface.
As an engineer and professor who is developing technologies to extend the human presence beyond Earth, I can tell you that satellites in very low Earth orbit, or VLEO, offer advantages over higher altitude satellites. Among other benefits, VLEO satellites can provide higher-resolution images, faster communications and better atmospheric science. Full disclosure: I'm also a co-founder and co-owner of Victoria Defense, which seeks to commercialize VLEO and other space directed-energy technologies.
Advantages of VLEO
The images from very low Earth orbit satellites are sharper because they simply see Earth more clearly than satellites that are higher up, sort of like how getting closer to a painting helps you see it better. This translates to higher resolution pictures for agriculture, climate science, disaster response and military surveillance purposes.
End-to-end communication is faster, which is ideal for real-time communications, like phone and internet service. Although the signals still travel the same speed, they don't have as far to go, so latency decreases and conversations happen more smoothly.
Much weather forecasting relies on images of clouds above the Earth, so taking those pictures closer means higher resolution and more data to forecast with.
Because of these benefits, government agencies and industry are working to develop very low Earth orbit satellites.
The holdup: Atmospheric drag
You may be wondering why this region of space, so far, has been avoided for sustained satellite operations. It's for one major reason: atmospheric drag.
Space is often thought of as a vacuum. So where exactly does space actually start? Although about 62 miles up (100 kilometers) – known as the the von Kármán line – is widely considered the starting point, there's no hard transition where space suddenly begins. Instead, as you move away from Earth, the atmosphere thins out.
In and below very low Earth orbit, the Earth's atmosphere is still thick enough to slow down satellites, causing those at the lowest altitudes to deorbit in weeks or even days, essentially burning up as they fall back to Earth. To counteract this atmospheric drag and to stay in orbit, the satellite must constantly propel itself forward – like how riding a bike into the wind requires continuous pedaling.
For in-space propulsion, satellites use various types of thrusters, which provide the push needed to keep from slowing down. But in VLEO, thrusters need to be on all, or nearly all, of the time. As such, conventional thrusters would quickly run out of fuel.
Fortunately, the Earth's atmosphere in VLEO is still thick enough that atmosphere itself can be used as a fuel.
Innovative thruster technologies
That's where my research comes in. At Penn State, in collaboration with Georgia Tech and funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, our team is developing a new propulsion system designed to work at 43 to 55 miles up (70 to 90 kilometers). Technically, these altitudes are even below very low Earth orbit – making the challenge to overcome drag even more difficult.
Our approach collects the atmosphere using a scoop, like opening your mouth wide as you pedal a bike, then uses high-power microwaves to heat the collected atmosphere. The heated gas is then expelled through a nozzle, which pushes the satellite forward. Our team calls this concept the air-breathing microwave plasma thruster. We've been able to demonstrate a prototype thruster in the lab inside a vacuum chamber that simulates the atmospheric pressure found at 50 miles (80 km) high.
This approach is relatively simple, but it holds potential, especially at lower altitudes where the atmosphere is thicker. Higher up, where the atmosphere is thinner, spacecraft could use different types of VLEO thrusters that others are developing to cover large altitude ranges.
Our team isn't the only one working on thruster technology. Just one example: The U.S. Department of Defense has partnered with defense contractor Red Wire to develop Otter, a VLEO satellite with its version of atmosphere-breathing thruster technology.
Another option to keep a satellite in VLEO, which leverages a technology I've worked on throughout my career, is to tie a lower-orbiting satellite to a higher-orbiting satellite with a long tether. Although NASA has never flown such a system, the proposed follow-on mission to the tether satellite system missions flown in the 1990s was to drop a satellite into much lower orbit from the space shuttle, connected with a very long tether. We are currently revisiting that system to see whether it could work for VLEO in a modified form.
An air-breathing thruster firing in a vacuum chamber at Penn State. (Image credit: Ethan Kravet)
Other complications
Overcoming drag, though the most difficult, is not the only challenge. Very low Earth orbit satellites are exposed to very high levels of atomic oxygen, which is a highly reactive form of oxygen that quickly corrodes most substances, even plastics.
The satellite's materials also must withstand extremely high temperatures, above 2,732 degrees Fahrenheit (1,500 degrees Celsius), because friction heats it up as it moves through the atmosphere, a phenomenon that occurs when all spacecraft reenter the atmosphere from orbit.
The potential of these satellites is driving research and investment, and proposed missions have become reality. Juniper research estimates that $220 billion will be invested in just the next three years. Soon, your internet, weather forecasts and security could be even better, fed by VLEO satellites.
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/the-next-frontier-in-space-is-closer-than-you-think-welcome-to-the-world-of-very-low-earth-orbit-satellites
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+ Sun, 04 Jan 2026 15:00:00 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 14:09:41 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Live long and loiter: Why NASA's ESCAPADE probes will wait a year in space before heading to Mars ]]>
+ A space saga is underway, a celestial long and winding road that may also have consequences for future settlers firmly planted on the Red Planet. When NASA's Mars-bound ESCAPADE spacecraft were launched atop Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on Nov. 13, 2025 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, the dual craft weren't placed on your standard route to reach the Red Planet.
At liftoff, Earth and Mars weren't in planetary position for a direct trip by the probes. So, the twin ESCAPADE probes (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) were sent into a "loiter" orbit, one that loops around Earth's Lagrange point 2 (L2), roughly a million miles away, opposite the sun. ESCAPADE is tasked with analyzing how the solar wind interacts with Mars' magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet's atmospheric escape. That's a blustery way to say the mission will provide critical insights into Mars' climate history and evolution.
The next move is scheduled for the fall of 2026, when Earth and Mars align and the two spacecraft — tagged as "Blue" and "Gold" — use Earth's gravity to slingshot toward the Red Planet. With engines firing, both spacecraft will embark on a trans-Mars injection in November 2026. After long-haul cruises they'll undertake Mars orbit insertion maneuvers in September 2027. But that extra time in space could have some consequences for the twin probes, ESCAPADE scientists say.
"The extra 12 months in space does add some additional wear-and-tear to the spacecraft," said Rob Lillis, principal investigator of the ESCAPADE mission at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory in California.
"However we are confident that Blue and Gold will be robust enough to operate until the end of their nominal science mission in May 2029 and hopefully for many years beyond that," Lillis told Space.com.
NASA's ESCAPADE spacecraft launch atop Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on Nov. 13, 2025 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Image credit: Blue Origin)
Wide-open windows
Space loitering, kidney bean paths, gravity assists, hyperbolic orbits and wide-open windows — enter the world of Jeffrey Parker, Chief Technology Officer at Advanced Space in Westminster, Colorado, the chief architect behind the ESCAPADE mission's roundabout road trip to Mars.
Advanced Space worked with the ESCAPADE mission team since its very beginning, engaging with UC Berkeley and NASA by iterating many versions of the mission depending on launch vehicle decisions, liftoff target dates, designing spacecraft orbits, and the "get out of town" interplanetary cruise phase of the dual probes to Mars.
All that tweaking was about "how do you get to Mars when the launch vehicle is not necessarily going to Mars," Parker told Space.com. "It was a long saga, with many, many, many changes."
Parker's expertise was harnessed in a way so that ESCAPADE didn't have to wait 2.1 years before the planets lined up again. A central judgment that made that feasible was switching from ion propulsion to a chemical propellant system, a trade that increased the size of propellant tanks on each spacecraft to hold more fuel.
"Having that extra fuel really did help," said Parker, and gave rise to multiple choices of trajectories, even looping around Earth endless times to a Venus swing-by to get to Mars.
"It's really hard to beat the planetary alignment at launch," Parker said, with ESCAPADE specialists ultimately finding that the L2 loitering strategy was the way to go, he said, an approach that offered a "degree of freedom."
ESCAPADE mission timelines for the route to Mars. (Image credit: Advanced Space)
Reasonable assumptions
Lillis gave details regarding the loiter orbit decision. Both ESCAPADE spacecraft have multiple redundant systems so that a single event upset or even a serious single event latch-up from a cosmic ray or solar energetic particle will not endanger the mission, Lillis said. "We have now checked and commissioned both redundant sides of both spacecraft and found all systems healthy," he said.
Lillis said that the ESCAPADE team attempted to quantify the additional risk using reasonable assumptions, and shared their findings with NASA earlier this year. "We were both satisfied that the extra 12 months in space did not significantly reduce overall mission success likelihood," he said.
Indeed, the loiter orbit requires several trajectory correction maneuvers. However, because the orbit is flexible, said Lillis, none of these are critical, in the sense that they can be re-tried or delayed if they don't go just right the first time.
And in fact, one of these was already delayed. In an update posted on Dec. 15, NASA wrote that one of the twin probes' initial trajectory correction maneuvers were delayed when low thrust was observed from one of the spacecraft, but noted that "there are no long-term impacts from the trajectory correction delay."
The long and winding road to the Red Planet by the twin ESCAPADE spacecraft. (Image credit: Advanced Space)
All eyes on slingshots
"The loiter does add some risk from the critical trans-Mars injection engine maneuver," Lillis said. The two spacecraft must burn their engines for just the right duration, at the right time, at low Earth altitude on Nov. 7 and 9, 2026 in order to slingshot themselves to Mars.
"If the engines fail to light, we would miss the interplanetary transfer window and have to wait two more years for a chance to get to Mars. However, that is almost a year away and we'll have lots of opportunities to practice and become comfortable with our propulsion systems," Lillis said, "so we see this as an acceptable risk."
For Parker at Advanced Space, that boost in velocity for the ESCAPADE twins to head off to Mars is a critical maneuver. "We will have all eyes on that maneuver to make sure that it is completed successfully," he said.
Clever engineering
ESCAPADE is a product of NASA's Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program, an endeavor geared to showcase low-cost science spacecraft. But to maintain a lower overall cost, SIMPLEx missions have a higher risk posture and lighter requirements for oversight and management, notes the space agency.
Rocket Lab, the private space entrepreneurial firm, designed, built, integrated, and tested the ESCAPE probes at its space systems production complex in Long Beach, California.
Morgan Connaughton, a spokesperson for Rocket Lab explains that the company doesn't like to focus on what could go wrong. While Blue and Gold have to withstand extreme environments, "we've designed them to do just that," she told Space.com.
In a post-launch blog from Rocket Lab, the company explained that keeping spacecraft in tip-top shape for years takes some clever engineering and notable materials science.
An illustration of NASA's twin ESCAPADE probes in orbit around Mars. (Image credit: Rocket Lab USA/UC Berkeley)
State of electronics
"Just like in any electronic device, chips degrade, sensors drift, radios get noisy. On top of that, cosmic rays and the Sun's own eruptions can upset electronics. And all parts of the spacecraft are sensitive to high and low temperatures," the Rocket Lab statement adds. "To prevent our propellant lines from freezing when they spend months facing the darkness of space, there are heaters and insulating blankets."
All in all, Rocket Lab said they've made sure everything on the ESCAPADE twins can work for years on end "by regularly checking the state of electronics, testing our valves to make sure they aren't stuck, and have redundant components for critical parts such as computers, radios, star trackers, inertial measurement units, etc."
Template for tomorrow
Meanwhile, Parker at Advanced Space senses that the ESCAPADE voyages to Mars serves as a template for tomorrow.
"The notion of building up a colony on Mars means you are going to have to send lots of spacecraft," said Parker.
ESCAPADE enables launches to Mars outside the two-week period every two years, Parker advised. It's a key to sending goods and eventually humans to the Red planet anytime, countering possible logjams due to uncompromising launch windows for direct inject Mars opportunities.
"You could have a sequence of launches," said Parker, "all flying together in a string of pearls, flying by the Earth in rapid succession and end up flying the same interplanetary window. Folks on the surface of Mars could expect the next fleet of spacecraft showing up every couple of years. And ESCAPADE is demonstrating how to do that," he concluded.
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+ https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/live-long-and-loiter-why-nasas-escapade-probes-will-wait-a-year-in-space-before-heading-to-mars
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+ Sun, 04 Jan 2026 13:00:00 +0000Fri, 02 Jan 2026 17:57:59 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ 2026 begins a golden age of solar eclipses: How to see 3 total solar eclipses and 3 'ring of fire' eclipses in 3 years ]]>
+ 2025 saw a lull in solar eclipse excitement. Sure, there was a dramatic sunrise solar eclipse in the northeast U.S. and Canada back in March, and another in New Zealand in September. But the year lacked the kind of eclipse everyone should see at least once in their lives: a total solar eclipse.
That drought is about to end. From 2026 to 2028, Earth will experience a double eclipse cascade — three total solar eclipses (August 2026, August 2027 and July 2028) and three annular solar eclipses (February 2026, February 2027 and January 2028) — a repetition of a pattern last seen from 2008 to 2010.
For eclipse chasers who want to experience one of nature's greatest events — and for anyone who missed the 2024 total solar eclipse in North America — the coming years offer multiple chances for immersion and redemption in the shadow of the moon. One thing's for sure: 2026 marks the start of a brief golden age of opportunities for solar eclipse chasers.
Three total solar eclipses in two years
The path of totality on Aug. 12, 2026. (Image credit: Michael Zeiler/EclipseAtlas.com)
The excitement begins with a total solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2026. It will be the first total eclipse visible from Europe since 2015 and the first from mainland Europe since 1999.
The path of totality for the August 2026 solar eclipse will begin in remote Siberia, cross eastern Greenland and western Iceland, and then sweep across northern Spain, before exiting just east of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. Observers in Greenland's Scoresby Sund, Iceland's Reykjanes and Snæfellsnes peninsulas, and the Spanish cities of Leon, Burgos and Valladolid will be within the path and see the sun's ghostly corona. While totality will last just over two minutes at its maximum, the low position of the eclipsed sun — particularly in Spain — will offer some dramatic photographic opportunities.
On Aug. 2, 2027, a total solar eclipse lasting up to 6 minutes, 22 seconds will see the moon's shadow move slowly across southern Spain, North Africa and the Middle East. Totality will be visible from historic and cultural landmarks, including the temple- and monument-strewn Luxor, Egypt, offering a near-guaranteed view of the sun's corona in clear skies (although dust storms are possible). No wonder it's being dubbed the "eclipse of the century."
The path of totality on Aug. 2, 2027. (Image credit: Michael Zeiler/EclipseAtlas.com)
Less than a year later, on July 22, 2028, another total solar eclipse will cut across the Australian Outback and New Zealand. For the first time since 1857, totality will grace Sydney, Australia's largest city, while remote parts of Western Australia will enjoy over five minutes of totality, with clear skies likely.
The path of totality on July 22, 2028. (Image credit: Michael Zeiler/EclipseAtlas.com)
A rare opportunity
Most people consider themselves lucky to see just one total solar eclipse in their lifetime. But from August 2026 to July 2028, dedicated eclipse chasers can experience three shows across three continents.
The trio also offers a range of travel styles, such as chasing eclipses from Arctic and Mediterranean cruise ships in 2026, photographing the eclipsed sun above ancient temples in 2027, and combining stargazing and Outback road trips in 2028. All three eclipses occur during the Northern Hemisphere summer, a time when many can travel more easily.
Although it's rare, this sequence of three total solar eclipses within a two-year period is not unique. In fact, a trio of total solar eclipses begins every 18 years, 11 days and eight hours — the length of one Saros, the cycle of the sun and moon that determines when and where solar eclipses occur. After one Saros cycle, the Earth-moon-sun geometry is almost the same, so a similar eclipse happens again.
From 2026 to 2028, three separate Saros cycles — each producing a total solar eclipse — are in resonance. Looking back in time, there are similar trios, from 1990 to 1992 and from 2008 to 2010, although most of these eclipses took place in remote regions and were difficult to access or troubled by clouds. A trio will occur again from 2044 to 2046, and two are in North America.
Although it may not be unprecedented, the eclipse trio we're about to encounter is the most travel-friendly and geographically spectacular in decades. This is generational.
Best places to see the 2026, 2027 and 2028 total solar eclipses
Planning ahead is crucial for witnessing the three total solar eclipses, each of which has a unique character.
Aug. 12, 2026 total solar eclipse: Choose a cruise near Greenland, urban comforts in Reykjavik, a trip to rural Spain, or a sunset eclipse over the sea from Majorca.
Aug. 2, 2027 total solar eclipse: From southern Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt, expect clear skies and a very long totality. However, head to Luxor, Egypt (home of the longest totality of the remaining 21st century), for the ultimate bragging rights.
July 22, 2028 total solar eclipse: Sydney will be busy, but head to the Kimberley region of Western Australia or north of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory for the best clear-sky experience.
Beyond the "big three"
This golden age isn't limited to total solar eclipses. The timeline also includes a trio of annular — or "ring of fire" — solar eclipses in three consecutive years, within just 708 days. Annular eclipses may not be as interesting as total solar eclipses, but they are special.
There's a quiet start on Feb. 17, 2026, with an annular solar eclipse visible only from a remote region of Antarctica. But after that, there's a classic Atlantic-to-Africa track in 2027 and, in 2028, a travel editor's dream when the Galápagos Islands and Spain see a ring of fire. For Spain in 2028, it will be the third major solar eclipse in just 532 days — a gift like no other for European eclipse chasers.
Upcoming annular solar eclipse:
Feb. 17, 2026 annular solar eclipse: This event is for extreme adventurers only, though Antarctic cruises may offer views of a partial solar eclipse.
Feb. 6, 2027 annular solar eclipse: This annular eclipse will be visible from parts of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria (sunset). Choose between a high eclipse over Patagonia's likely clear skies and a risky sunset view from West Africa.
Jan. 26, 2028 annular solar eclipse: The path of annularity crosses the Galápagos Islands, mainland Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana, Morocco, Portugal and Spain (sunset), presenting an amazing opportunity for a Galápagos cruise or a trip to southern Portugal or Spain.
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+ https://www.space.com/stargazing/eclipses/2026-begins-a-golden-age-of-solar-eclipses-how-to-see-3-total-solar-eclipses-and-3-ring-of-fire-eclipses-in-3-years
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+ Sun, 04 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000Sun, 04 Jan 2026 15:31:01 +0000
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+ <![CDATA[ Space.com headlines crossword quiz for week of Dec. 29, 2025: Which meteor shower peaks in early January? ]]>Every week, Space.com delivers the latest discoveries, launches, and cosmic curiosities from across the universe. From groundbreaking research aboard the International Space Station to dazzling new images from the James Webb Space Telescope, the stories are as vast and varied as space itself. But how closely have you been paying attention?
To celebrate the thrill of space exploration and the joy of learning, we've created a special crossword puzzle built entirely from this week's top Space.com stories. It's a fun, brain-tickling way to revisit the highlights, whether you're a casual stargazer or a die-hard astrophysics fan.
Expect clues that span planetary science, rocket launches, stargazing, and entertainment tied to the stars. If you read about it on Space.com last week, it might just show up in this puzzle. And if you didn't? Well, now's your chance to catch up while flexing your trivia muscles.
So channel your inner astronaut or astronomer, and dive into this week's interstellar quiz. The answers are out there, you just have to connect the clues.
Try it out below and see how well you do!
]]>
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- <![CDATA[ Northern lights may be visible in 18 states tonight ]]>
- Heads up aurora chasers! The northern lights may light up skies across the northern U.S. tonight (Jan. 2-3) according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
An incoming coronal mass ejection (CME) — a vast plume of plasma and magnetic field from the sun — is forecast to deliver Earth a blow sometime on late Jan. 2 but more likely in the early hours of Jan. 3, according to the U.K. Met Office. If it arrives as expected, the CME could trigger minor (G1) to moderate (G2) geomagnetic storm conditions.
This is good news for aurora chasers as it raises the chance of seeing the northern lights at mid-latitudes.
Where can I see the northern lights tonight?
States that could see auroras tonight
Aurora forecast courtesy of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. (Image credit: Map: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Graphic created in Canva Pro.)
Based on the latest NOAA aurora forecast map, the following 18 U.S. states appear fully or partially above the aurora view line:
Alaska
North Dakota
Minnesota
Montana
Wisconsin
South Dakota
Michigan
Idaho
Maine
Vermont
New Hampshire
Washington
Iowa
Oregon
New York
Wyoming
Nebraska
Illinois
But remember, auroras can be very fickle. The list is based on current forecast data at the time of publication, but if conditions strengthen, northern lights could reach much farther south than expected. Equally, if conditions don't align, we could end up twiddling our thumbs, with no auroras at all.
Northern Hemisphere aurora forecast courtesy of the U.K. Met Office
What time should I look for the northern lights tonight?
The northern lights could be visible across 18 U.S. states tonight (Jan. 2-3) as soon as it gets dark, so it's worth keeping an eye on the sky (and your aurora alerts) throughout the evening, especially in areas with clear, dark skies.
According to NOAA's 3-day forecast, geomagnetic storm activity is expected to be best at the following times:
4 p.m. - 10 p.m. EST (2100-0300 GMT): Minor (G1) geomagnetic storm conditions possible.
How can I see the northern lights from where I live?
If you live in one of the 18 U.S. states forecasted to potentially catch sight of the northern lights tonight, there are a few things you can do to give yourself the best chance of seeing them.
Find a north-facing vantage point, ideally with a clear view of the northern horizon. Try and get as far away from light pollution as possible.
Use your phone camera first to scan the sky for signs of auroras. Phone cameras are a great way to pick out faint auroras before your eyes spot them. This will give you a good idea of where to focus your attention.
One of the trickiest — but most important — steps is letting your eyes adapt to the dark for at least 30 minutes. This allows your night vision to fully develop, making it much easier to spot faint auroras. But be warned: even a brief glance at a non-red light source (yes, that includes checking your phone) can undo that adaptation, meaning you'll need to wait another 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust again.
Wear warm clothing! Part of the fun of aurora hunting is the chase. Be prepared to sit or stand outside for hours if conditions are looking promising, as you won't want to miss the show when it starts!
We recommend downloading a space weather app that provides aurora forecasts based on your location. One option I use is "My Aurora Forecast & Alerts," available for both iOS and Android. However, any similar app should work well.
I also use the "Space Weather Live" app, which is available on iOS and Android, to get a deeper understanding of whether the current space weather conditions are favorable for aurora sightings.
]]>
+ <![CDATA[ Northern lights may be visible in 18 states Jan. 2-3 ]]>
+ Heads up aurora chasers! The northern lights may light up skies across the northern U.S. Jan. 2-3 according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).
An incoming coronal mass ejection (CME) — a vast plume of plasma and magnetic field from the sun — is forecast to deliver Earth a blow sometime on late Jan. 2 but more likely in the early hours of Jan. 3, according to the U.K. Met Office. If it arrives as expected, the CME could trigger minor (G1) to moderate (G2) geomagnetic storm conditions.
This is good news for aurora chasers as it raises the chance of seeing the northern lights at mid-latitudes.
Where can I see the northern lights tonight?
States that could see auroras tonight
Aurora forecast courtesy of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. (Image credit: Map: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Graphic created in Canva Pro.)
Based on the latest NOAA aurora forecast map, the following 18 U.S. states appear fully or partially above the aurora view line:
Alaska
North Dakota
Minnesota
Montana
Wisconsin
South Dakota
Michigan
Idaho
Maine
Vermont
New Hampshire
Washington
Iowa
Oregon
New York
Wyoming
Nebraska
Illinois
But remember, auroras can be very fickle. The list is based on current forecast data at the time of publication, but if conditions strengthen, northern lights could reach much farther south than expected. Equally, if conditions don't align, we could end up twiddling our thumbs, with no auroras at all.
Northern Hemisphere aurora forecast courtesy of the U.K. Met Office
What time should I look for the northern lights tonight?
The northern lights could be visible across 18 U.S. states tonight (Jan. 2-3) as soon as it gets dark, so it's worth keeping an eye on the sky (and your aurora alerts) throughout the evening, especially in areas with clear, dark skies.
According to NOAA's 3-day forecast, geomagnetic storm activity is expected to be best at the following times:
4 p.m. - 10 p.m. EST (2100-0300 GMT): Minor (G1) geomagnetic storm conditions possible.
How can I see the northern lights from where I live?
If you live in one of the 18 U.S. states forecasted to potentially catch sight of the northern lights tonight, there are a few things you can do to give yourself the best chance of seeing them.
Find a north-facing vantage point, ideally with a clear view of the northern horizon. Try and get as far away from light pollution as possible.
Use your phone camera first to scan the sky for signs of auroras. Phone cameras are a great way to pick out faint auroras before your eyes spot them. This will give you a good idea of where to focus your attention.
One of the trickiest — but most important — steps is letting your eyes adapt to the dark for at least 30 minutes. This allows your night vision to fully develop, making it much easier to spot faint auroras. But be warned: even a brief glance at a non-red light source (yes, that includes checking your phone) can undo that adaptation, meaning you'll need to wait another 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust again.
Wear warm clothing! Part of the fun of aurora hunting is the chase. Be prepared to sit or stand outside for hours if conditions are looking promising, as you won't want to miss the show when it starts!
We recommend downloading a space weather app that provides aurora forecasts based on your location. One option I use is "My Aurora Forecast & Alerts," available for both iOS and Android. However, any similar app should work well.
I also use the "Space Weather Live" app, which is available on iOS and Android, to get a deeper understanding of whether the current space weather conditions are favorable for aurora sightings.
]]>
https://www.space.com/stargazing/auroras/northern-lights-may-be-visible-in-18-states-tonight
YcENLPeDSGbPZHtxoBcSHM
- Fri, 02 Jan 2026 16:12:27 +0000Fri, 02 Jan 2026 16:12:20 +0000
+ Fri, 02 Jan 2026 16:12:27 +0000Mon, 05 Jan 2026 09:05:56 +0000
@@ -276,7 +807,7 @@
<![CDATA[ Nature carves colossal snowman in Siberia | Space photo of the day for Jan. 2, 2026 ]]>
- On June 16, 2025, NASA's Landsat 8 satellite caught a chain of elongated, oval lagoons near Billings and Cape Billings on Russia's Chukchi Peninsula that lines up so perfectly that — when viewed from above — it resembles a stacked snowman pressed against the shore.
Billings, established in the 1930s as a Soviet port and supply point, sits on a narrow spit of land separating the Arctic Ocean from connected coastal lagoons, exactly the kind of geomorphic "edge zone" where land, water, ice, and wind constantly reshape one another.
Despite mid-June being among the warmest times of year in Billings, the landscape in the image is still locked in ice. NASA notes that ice cover is routine even then, with average daily minimum temperatures around −30.9°F (−0.6°C ) in June that see these lagoons frozen and sea ice crowding the coast.
What is it?
Since launching in February 2013, Landsat 8 has been one of the world's most reliable tools for tracking Earth's surface, quietly collecting consistent, repeatable imagery that scientists use to monitor everything from crop health and wildfire scars to shifting shorelines and shrinking ice. Operated by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, the mission was built to extend the long-running Landsat archive and keep observations comparable over decades.
Landsat 8 carries two primary instruments. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) measures reflected sunlight in visible through shortwave-infrared wavelengths, producing multispectral images at 90-foot (27-meter) resolution and a sharper 45-foot (13-meter) panchromatic band across a wide swath, making it well suited for mapping broad landscapes while still capturing meaningful detail.
Just as important as sharpness is consistency. Landsat’s regular revisit cycle (16 days for Landsat 8 on its own, and effectively more frequent coverage when paired with other Landsat satellites) allows researchers to compare "like with like" across seasons and years, an essential ingredient for detecting environmental change rather than just photographing it.
Where is it?
This image was taken in low Earth orbit above Russia’s Chukchi Peninsula in Siberia.
Snow, land and ocean all meet in this satellite image. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.)
Why is it amazing?
It's easy to treat the "snowman" as a delightful visual coincidence — and it is — but the real value of the image is what it reveals about permafrost landscapes, coastal Arctic dynamics, and why satellites like Landsat remain indispensable for observing them.
The photo captures a moment when frozen lagoons, sea ice, and shoreline all coexist in mid-June, a useful context for understanding seasonal ice persistence in a region where timing affects ecosystems, coastal erosion and human activity. Landsat's moderate resolution is ideal here: wide enough to put the whole coastal system in view, detailed enough to separate lagoon ice, sea ice and land surface features.
The story even puts the scale into perspective: this segmented "snowman" spans roughly 14 miles (22 kilometers ) from top to bottom. By comparison, Guinness World Records lists the tallest snowperson as .02 miles (37.21 meters), a record set in Bethel, Maine — meaning the Siberian "snowman" isn't just bigger; it's bigger by orders of magnitude.
]]>
+ On June 16, 2025, NASA's Landsat 8 satellite caught a chain of elongated, oval lagoons near Billings and Cape Billings on Russia's Chukchi Peninsula that lines up so perfectly that — when viewed from above — it resembles a stacked snowman pressed against the shore.
Billings, established in the 1930s as a Soviet port and supply point, sits on a narrow spit of land separating the Arctic Ocean from connected coastal lagoons, exactly the kind of geomorphic "edge zone" where land, water, ice, and wind constantly reshape one another.
Despite mid-June being among the warmest times of year in Billings, the landscape in the image is still locked in ice. NASA notes that ice cover is routine even then, with average daily minimum temperatures around −30.9°F (−0.6°C ) in June that see these lagoons frozen and sea ice crowding the coast.
What is it?
Since launching in February 2013, Landsat 8 has been one of the world's most reliable tools for tracking Earth's surface, quietly collecting consistent, repeatable imagery that scientists use to monitor everything from crop health and wildfire scars to shifting shorelines and shrinking ice. Operated by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, the mission was built to extend the long-running Landsat archive and keep observations comparable over decades.
Landsat 8 carries two primary instruments. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) measures reflected sunlight in visible through shortwave-infrared wavelengths, producing multispectral images at 90-foot (27-meter) resolution and a sharper 45-foot (13-meter) panchromatic band across a wide swath, making it well suited for mapping broad landscapes while still capturing meaningful detail.
Just as important as sharpness is consistency. Landsat’s regular revisit cycle (16 days for Landsat 8 on its own, and effectively more frequent coverage when paired with other Landsat satellites) allows researchers to compare "like with like" across seasons and years, an essential ingredient for detecting environmental change rather than just photographing it.
Where is it?
This image was taken in low Earth orbit above Russia’s Chukchi Peninsula in Siberia.
Snow, land and ocean all meet in this satellite image. (Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.)
Why is it amazing?
It's easy to treat the "snowman" as a delightful visual coincidence — and it is — but the real value of the image is what it reveals about permafrost landscapes, coastal Arctic dynamics, and why satellites like Landsat remain indispensable for observing them.
The photo captures a moment when frozen lagoons, sea ice, and shoreline all coexist in mid-June, a useful context for understanding seasonal ice persistence in a region where timing affects ecosystems, coastal erosion and human activity. Landsat's moderate resolution is ideal here: wide enough to put the whole coastal system in view, detailed enough to separate lagoon ice, sea ice and land surface features.
The story even puts the scale into perspective: this segmented "snowman" spans roughly 14 miles (22 kilometers ) from top to bottom. By comparison, Guinness World Records lists the tallest snowperson as .02 miles (37.21 meters), a record set in Bethel, Maine — meaning the Siberian "snowman" isn't just bigger; it's bigger by orders of magnitude.
]]>
https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/nature-carves-colossal-snowman-in-siberia-space-photo-of-the-day-for-jan-2-2026
@@ -409,7 +940,7 @@
<![CDATA[ Space Force shows off snowy new Alaska radar post | Space photo of the day for Jan. 1, 2026 ]]>
- Early in December, the U.S. Space Force's Combat Forces Command (CFC) formally accepted operational responsibility for the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) after the successful completion of a series of tests. This advanced radar system now moves from extended testing into real-world, day-to-day use to support U.S. missile defense.
What is it?
Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) is a cutting-edge ground-based radar system designed to detect, track and discriminate long-range ballistic missile threats with high precision. With its higher precision, the system can better tell the difference between something dangerous (like anintercontinental ballistic missile) and things that aren't dangerous (like debris). That sorting task is what the "discrimination" in its acronym refers to.
LRDR has been in the works for years. In late 2021, the Missile Defense Agency marked the radar's initial tests in Alaska, kicking off the long process of testing, training and integration into the larger missile defense network.
Where is it?
The LRDR is located at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska.
The LRDR is now part of the larger Space Force missile defense network. (Image credit: U.S. Space Force)
Why is it amazing?
Missile defense isn't just about seeing something, it's also about knowing what you're seeing in time to respond. LRDR is designed to provide more precise tracking and discrimination data which the Space Force says can improve interceptor precision and shorten reaction times.
Now controlling LRDR, the Space Force emphasizes that the system will be continuously monitoring our skies and atmosphere, making the system a key sentinel in the U.S. missile defense strategy.
]]>
+ Early in December, the U.S. Space Force's Combat Forces Command (CFC) formally accepted operational responsibility for the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) after the successful completion of a series of tests. This advanced radar system now moves from extended testing into real-world, day-to-day use to support U.S. missile defense.
What is it?
Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) is a cutting-edge ground-based radar system designed to detect, track and discriminate long-range ballistic missile threats with high precision. With its higher precision, the system can better tell the difference between something dangerous (like anintercontinental ballistic missile) and things that aren't dangerous (like debris). That sorting task is what the "discrimination" in its acronym refers to.
LRDR has been in the works for years. In late 2021, the Missile Defense Agency marked the radar's initial tests in Alaska, kicking off the long process of testing, training and integration into the larger missile defense network.
Where is it?
The LRDR is located at Clear Space Force Station in Alaska.
The LRDR is now part of the larger Space Force missile defense network. (Image credit: U.S. Space Force)
Why is it amazing?
Missile defense isn't just about seeing something, it's also about knowing what you're seeing in time to respond. LRDR is designed to provide more precise tracking and discrimination data which the Space Force says can improve interceptor precision and shorten reaction times.
Now controlling LRDR, the Space Force emphasizes that the system will be continuously monitoring our skies and atmosphere, making the system a key sentinel in the U.S. missile defense strategy.
]]>
https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/space-force-shows-off-snowy-new-alaska-radar-post-space-photo-of-the-day-for-jan-1-2026
@@ -427,533 +958,5 @@
-
- <![CDATA[ What to expect from the planets in 2026 — key dates and sky events ]]>
- Want to know when each planet will be at its best or when you can catch eye-catching planetary pairings in 2026?
This guide breaks down the major planetary events of the year, from conjunctions to oppositions to close planet-star encounters.
Mercury,the smallest of the planets visible to the naked eye, appears as an evening star in the western sky, setting about an hour after the sun. As a morning star, it rises about an hour before the sun in the eastern sky. To view the planet, a clear, unobstructed view of the horizon is essential. Mercury usually appears as a bright "star" with a yellowish or ochre tint.
Visibility windows in 2026
Evenings: Feb. 5–26; June 1–22; Sept. 28–Oct. 19
Mornings: March 27– April 17; July 26– Aug. 16; Nov. 13– Dec. 4
When will it be at its best?
Evening: Feb. 5–26
Morning: Nov. 13– Dec. 4
On the evening of Feb. 18, about 30 minutes after sunset, Mercury will sit just 1 degree above a slender waxing crescent moon low in the west-southwest.
Venus
Venus will shine bright in the evening sky from March through October. Here is shines over the Ghar Lapsi cliff face in Malta, while the Orion Nebula is seen on the right. (Image credit: William Attard McCarthy - McCarthy's PhotoWorks/Getty Images)
Venus, with its nearly circular orbit and a diameter only 400 miles (640 kilometers) smaller than Earth's, shines with a brilliant, steady silvery light.
Visibility windows in 2026
Evenings: March 8– Oct. 14
Mornings: Nov. 3– Dec. 31
When will it be at its best?
Venus reaches greatest brilliancy in the evening sky on Sept. 19 and in the morning sky on Nov. 29. In late September through mid-October, and again through most of November, Venus will show a striking crescent phase in telescopes and steady binoculars.
Notable conjunctions:
March 8: Venus passes 1 degree to the upper right of Saturn.
June 9: Venus passes 1.6 degrees to the upper right of Jupiter — a brilliant sight in the west-northwest 45 minutes after sunset.
Nov. 7 (morning): Shortly before sunrise, look low to the east-southeast for Venus, a crescent moon, and the star Spica, all fitting within 2.5 degrees.
Mars
Mars, long associated with Ares, the Greek god of war,shines like a star with a yellowish-orange hue and can vary considerably in brightness.
Visibility in 2026
Mornings: March 18- Dec. 31
When will it be at its best?
This is an "off" year for Mars. The planet begins 2026 lost in the sun's glare and reaches solar conjunction on Jan. 9, sitting on the far side of the solar system about 223 million miles from Earth.
Mars begins to reappear in the third week of March, rising before sunrise among the faint stars of Aquarius. It moves into Taurus for the first half of summer, shining only around magnitude +1.3.
Sky highlights:
Sept. 25: Castor and Pollux point directly toward Mars.
Oct. 11: Mars passes through the Beehive Cluster in Cancer — an attractive sight in binoculars.
Nov. 26: Mars passes 1.7 degrees above Regulus in Leo, creating a dramatic color contrast.
By late December, Mars brightens to magnitude –0.1 and will rival Arcturus in both color and brightness.
Feb. 19, 2027: Mars reaches its next opposition, so it steadily approaches Earth late in 2026.
Notable conjunctions:
April 20: Mars aligns closely with Saturn and Mercury.
July 4: Mars passes just 0.1 degree south of Uranus, offering a superb guidepost for locating Uranus.
Nov. 16: Mars passes 1.2 degrees to the upper left of Jupiter.
Jupiter
Jupiter and Venus will shine close together on June 9, 2025. (Image credit: Kerrin / 500px/Getty Images)
Jupiter, the giant planet with a diameter about 11 times bigger than Earth's, shines with a bright silver-white luster.
Visibility windows in 2026
Mornings: Jan. 1–9; Aug. 19– Dec. 31
Evenings: Jan. 10–July 7
Jupiter reaches opposition on Jan. 10 and shines brightest from Jan. 1–22 at magnitude –2.7 in Gemini. It enters Cancer on June 22 and Leo on Sept. 24, where it remains through year's end.
On June 9, Jupiter pairs with Venus in a stunning "double planet" display low in the west-northwest at dusk.
Oct. 6 lunar occultation
On the morning of Oct. 6, observers across most of North America (excluding the far West) and northern Cuba will witness a spectacular lunar occultation of Jupiter. A waning crescent moon will slide directly in front of Jupiter, hiding it for up to an hour depending on location. Jupiter disappears behind the bright limb and reemerges dramatically from the moon's dark side.
Saturn
Saturn shines as a yellowish-white "star" of moderate brightness. Its famous rings, invisible to the naked eye, turned edge-on in 2025 and were nearly impossible to see for weeks. They are now slowly opening up again.
Constellation path in 2026:
Starts in Aquarius (to Jan. 14)
Enters Pisces (Jan. 14– April 8)
Moves through Cetus (April 9– June 2)
Back into Pisces (June 3–Sept 4)
Back into Cetus (from Sept. 5 onward)
Visibility windows in 2026
Evenings: Jan. 1–March 8; Oct. 4–Dec. 31
Mornings: April 12– Oct. 3
Saturn reaches opposition on Oct. 4 and is brightest Sept. 24–Oct. 9.
Notable conjunctions:
Feb. 15: Saturn sits less than 1 degree from Neptune, though Neptune is much fainter.
Apr. 20: Saturn aligns with Mars and Mercury.
Uranus
Uranus can be glimpsed with the naked eye under very dark skies by keen-eyed observers. At magnitude +5.6, it is easily found with binoculars; small telescopes show a tiny greenish disk.
Uranus spends all of 2026 in Taurus.
Visibility windows in 2026
Evenings: Jan. 1–May 5; Nov. 25– Dec. 31
Mornings: June 9–Nov. 24
Uranus reaches opposition on Nov. 25 and is brightest Oct. 24–Dec. 30.
On July 4, Uranus sits only 0.1 degree north of Mars, making Mars an ideal pointer to the seventh planet. Mars will outshine Uranus by a factor of about 158.
Neptune
Neptune remains in Pisces throughout 2026. At magnitude +7.8, it is visible only in binoculars or a telescope and appears bluish-gray.
Visibility windows in 2026
Evenings: Jan. 1–March 6; Sept. 25–Dec. 31
Mornings: April. 8– Sept. 24
Neptune reaches opposition on Sept. 25 and is brightest July 28–Nov. 24.
On Feb. 15, Neptune lies less than 1 degree to the upper right of Saturn, though Neptune is only about 1/525 as bright.
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- https://www.space.com/stargazing/what-to-expect-from-the-planets-in-2026-key-dates-and-sky-events
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- Thu, 01 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:37:23 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Are image-stabilized binoculars good for stargazing? ]]>
- Binoculars are an amazing tool for stargazing, and they are especially useful for beginners, as they often don’t need as much astronomy knowledge as you would need for operating a telescope. They do require a steady hand, though, for detailed views, and this can be a problem for many stargazers using them. Normally, the only way to counteract this would be to use a binocular tripod or have the world’s stillest hands. Cue image-stabilized binoculars.
Image stabilization (IS) makes stargazing with binoculars a smooth, shake-free experience. Whilst observation wobbles are more commonly associated with higher magnifications, IS is a useful feature for binoculars of any magnification. Lower magnification models like the Canon 10x42 IS WP L are good for starhopping across constellations and getting a wide view of star fields. Higher magnification models, such as the Fujifilm TS-L 1640 and Canon 18x50 IS are better for getting steady close-up views of star clusters and galaxies.
Our favorite models
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We have tested a range of image stabilized (IS) binoculars from the big optics companies and we rate them highly, often giving four or five-star ratings in our expert reviews.
Canon has a huge range of IS binoculars and they cater to a wide range of needs with magnifications ranging from 8x to 18x. We tested out their 10x42L IS WP binoculars and gave them a huge five stars for their bright and colorful images, delivered by lens coatings and advanced optical elements. They offer an image correction angle of 0.8 degrees, and whilst this can counteract small movements, it can struggle with excessive wobbling and shaking.
On the matter of image-stabilization angle, Fujifilm has blown most of the competition out of the water. Depending on the model, they offer a huge three or six-degree correction angle and can counteract stronger movements. We tested the TS-L 1640 binoculars for observing star clusters and think they delivered the smoothest handheld observation we have seen. Their three-degree correction angle meant panning and tilting were shake-free, and at a magnification of 16x, we were able to see night sky objects up close and in steady detail.
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Nikon offer a more compact answer to image-stabilized binoculars with their Stabilized 12x25 S binoculars. We gave them five stars in our review and thought they were an amazing compact addition to the image-stabilized binoculars market. We observed constellations and asterisms with them, and they provided much more detailed views than naked-eye viewing. They also come at a hugely affordable price point, on sale for just under $700 at the time of writing.
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Benefits of using image stabilized binoculars
(Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
Image stabilization (IS) makes for an amazing stargazing experience with your binoculars, and it is hard to go back to using non-IS binoculars after trying a pair. Where wobbles would start to make high magnification binoculars unusable without a tripod, IS makes these magnifications entirely usable with handheld observations. This is very useful for stargazers without telescopes who want to observe deep space objects that require powerful magnification, like star clusters, nebulas and galaxies.
They are also a great option for people who travel a lot to go stargazing, as they are much lighter than carrying a telescope and a tripod around. It makes stargazing much more accessible and easy because all you need to do is grab your image-stabilized binoculars to have steady views of the night sky.
Things to consider before buying image stabilized binoculars
(Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
If you want a pair of image-stabilized (IS) binoculars, we would advise considering a few things first. It goes without saying that binoculars with IS are much more expensive than their non-IS counterparts of the same magnification and objective lens diameter. And whilst IS models are lighter and smaller than a full telescope set-up, the addition of batteries and the stabilization system can make these models heavier than regular binoculars.
You should also think about what you would use the binoculars for. If you were serious about deep-space observation, a telescope would be worthwhile, as they can gather much more light and can be used for detailed astrophotography with astrocams. If you travel a lot and are serious about stargazing, or even wildlife observation, IS binoculars would be a worthwhile investment. If you rarely use binoculars or don’t travel a lot, then it might not be worth forking out the extra for image stabilization.
Some models with stronger image stabilization are actually geared towards serious marine use, and you might not even need that much stabilization if you rarely set foot on a boat or unstable surface. High-end models can reach prices between $1500 and $2000, depending on the specs, so if you are a casual binoculars user, your money might be better spent elsewhere, like on a telescope or camera.
Verdict
(Image credit: Kimberley Lane)
If you have the budget for it and are an avid binocular user, we would recommend image-stabilized (IS) binoculars for one of the best observation experiences available. What used to be shaky stars become slow and detailed views of objects in the night sky. They are also great for wildlife observation and bird watching, with the image stabilization allowing easier tracking of moving subjects.
They do come at a serious premium though when compared to regular binoculars or even telescopes. For the same money or less, you could get Unistellar’s smart Envision binoculars with AR overlay or even a budget smart telescope like the ZWO Seestar S50 or S30. Careful consideration is needed when putting down this amount of money on optics, but if you are in the market for a binoculars upgrade or really need the sturdiest views of the stars, IS binoculars won’t let you down.
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- https://www.space.com/stargazing/are-image-stabilized-binoculars-good-for-stargazing
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- mXGrvGHEU5uwetgwMR8W4F
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- Thu, 01 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000Fri, 19 Dec 2025 12:43:25 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Scientists are getting our robotic explorers ready to help send humans to Mars ]]>
- As the moon and Mars take center stage in human spaceflight, scientists are leveraging existing space missions to lay the groundwork for a sustained human presence off-planet.
From pinpointing water resources on the moon to shielding crews from harmful radiation and managing abrasive dust, researchers described how new results from in-service missions are addressing practical challenges of exploration at a press briefing Dec. 17 at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) meeting in Louisiana.
The scientific work highlighted at the briefing comes as NASA prepares for a renewed push in human exploration. On Dec. 18, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the agency to return astronauts to the moon by 2028 and begin building the "initial elements" of a permanent lunar base by 2030, with newly sworn-in NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman leading the effort.
At the AGU briefing, scientists said they are helping support those ambitions by adapting tools and datasets originally developed for Earth to support future moon and Mars missions.
For instance, Gina DiBraccio, a heliophysicist and acting director of the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, discussed a decision-support tool initially designed to track space weather near Earth that has been extended to incorporate data from Mars missions, helping astronauts assess radiation risks in near real time from the Martian surface.
The dashboard integrates data from multiple Mars missions, including NASA's MAVEN orbiter, Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, with additional data sources planned, DiBraccio said. The project is envisioned as an all-in-one display astronauts could access on a tablet, allowing crews to monitor space weather events such as solar flares and determine whether protective measures are needed.
"It's really one of the first steps of tools that astronauts will be able to use to understand and assess space weather from the surface of Mars," DiBraccio said.
Other long-running missions at Mars are also producing critical datasets for understanding radiation hazards, scientists said.
Shannon Curry, MAVEN's principal investigator at UC Boulder, highlighted a newly completed catalog of Martian space weather events compiled from the now-silent orbiter data spanning a full solar cycle from 2014 through 2025. The catalog allows scientists to quantify radiation levels in orbit — some of which can penetrate Mars' thin atmosphere and reach the surface — during periods of both low and high solar activity.
"This really informs, over a full solar cycle, what we can expect to see, and when we can expect to see it," Curry said.
Scientists also stressed the importance of pinpointing water resources on the moon, particularly near the lunar south pole, where NASA plans to land astronauts under its Artemis program.
The four astronauts chosen for the Artemis 2 mission to the moon. (Image credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
"The challenge right now is that the datasets don't actually agree exactly where the water is," Bethany Ehlmann, the director of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, told reporters during the briefing.
"We know broadly it's in the south pole, we know broadly there are few craters of interest," she said. "But it's like saying, 'There is water in the city of New Orleans — somewhere.'"
A new imaging spectrometer NASA selected in July could help address that uncertainty, she said. The instrument, which could be used in moon orbit, is designed to act as "enhanced eyes" for astronauts and scientists by mapping water and minerals, and identifying science-packed sites for collecting samples.
Another focus of the briefing was lunar dust, a persistent challenge during the Apollo era. Fine, abrasive particles damaged spacesuits and equipment, and Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt famously suffered the first recorded case of extraterrestrial hay fever after exposure to moon dust.
"I think dust is probably one of our greatest inhibitors to a nominal operation on the moon," Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan said during a post-mission debrief. "I think we can overcome other physiological or physical or mechanical problems except dust."
Scientists are now tackling that challenge through new instruments and missions.
One of them, DUSTER — short for Dust and Plasma Environment Surveyor — has been selected for NASA's Artemis IV mission. Led by Xu Wang of the University of Colorado Boulder, the $24.8 million project will deploy a suite of instruments on a rover to record dust and plasma conditions near the lunar surface and assess how they respond to human activity.
Another instrument the team is developing is a Compact Electrostatic Dust Analyzer (CEDA), designed to measure key properties of lunar dust, Wang said. The instrument is designed to operate either on the surface or aboard orbiting spacecraft and to survive hard landings regardless of orientation.
"Dust is everywhere on the moon," Wang told reporters on Wednesday. "You can't go around it. You have to deal with and live with it."
Work is also underway to understand whether Mars' localized magnetic fields could provide astronomers limited natural protection from radiation. Initial modeling based on orbital observations suggests crustal magnetic fields locked into Martian rocks could offer shielding over distances of a few miles.
To map those regions in greater detail, teams are working to further miniaturize magnetometers that could be mounted on aerial vehicles, such as small drones similar to NASA's now-retired Ingenuity helicopter, enabling surface surveys at much finer resolution than is possible from orbit, according to Jared Espley, a space scientist at NASA Goddard who is involved with the research.
Together, the work underscores how robotic missions are critically shaping the future of human exploration, scientists said.
"It's really not a question of robotic exploration or human exploration," Ehlmann said. "It is an 'and' — it's robotic and human exploration and how we do these best together."
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/human-spaceflight/scientists-are-getting-our-robotic-explorers-ready-to-help-send-humans-to-mars
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- CcEQnaXnsAiZGhVUfsKUrX
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- Wed, 31 Dec 2025 22:00:00 +0000Tue, 23 Dec 2025 20:06:22 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Lego Star Wars 2025: A year in review ]]>
- Over 30 Lego Star Wars sets have been released in 2025, which, if you're a collector, is an awful lot to keep up with. Especially considering that this year we've also seen the most expensive Lego Star Wars set ever released (the Ultimate Collector's Series Death Star, with its eye-watering $999.99 price tag — but more on that later). It’s been a very strong year for sets, though, with a good range of playsets and display sets, and plenty to please both adults and kids alike.
The Star Wars universe has had a quiet year with the second season of Andor on Disney Plus and… Well, that's about it. With sets typically based on current TV shows and movies, Lego hasn't had a great deal of new material to work with, which is perhaps why we’ve seen so many reimagined models. A new Death Star, a new Grogu, AT-S, we could go on.
Still, re-designed sets are no bad thing. The new UCS Death Star is like nothing we've seen before, and this year's Grogu With Hover Pram offers something completely different from 2020's The Child. There are some surprisingly unique designs, too, like a Star Wars logo for the first time, and a brick-built Wicket the Ewok.
It's hard to call 2025's Lego Star Wars releases anything but a success overall. Below, we'll go into more detail about the best Lego Star Wars sets from the year and exactly what made them a success.
Playsets
The Republic Juggernaut certainly looks impressive with its 10 oversized wheels, but it's a little on the pricey side. (Image credit: Lego)
There's one thing to be said about the Lego Star Wars playsets of 2025: They've been expensive. Outside of battle packs and microfighters, the cheapest set released this year was $29.99 (A 92-piece 4+ Mando and Grogu's N-1 Starfighter). Pocket-money priced sets have simply not existed this year, with the majority of playsets costing upwards of $69.99 — some substantially more.
There’s the 815-piece Republic Juggernaut, for example, with a $159.99 price tag that rivals some Ultimate Collector's Series sets. Made up of 813 pieces, it's a rather unique set thanks to its 10 large wheels. And thanks to steering that works simply by tilting the model, it's a fun set to play with.
The Force Burner Snowspeeder, the only Lego Star Wars set from the 'Rebuild the Galaxy' sub-theme to release in 2025. (Image credit: Lego)
There's also the 976-piece Battle of Felucia Separatist MTT, another set with a price tag of $159.99. Based on The Clone Wars, this blue and gray vehicle comes with an army of Battle Droids and Commando Droids featuring plenty of moving parts, stud shooters and opening panels to access the interior.
Neither of them is a bad set, but it does make us wonder what the cut-off price should be for a playset. It's a lot of money for something that children will roll and swoosh around. More reasonably, we've had the $54.99 Force Burner Snowspeeder, the only set to release this year under Lego's fun 'Rebuild the Galaxy' sub-theme. There was also the 707-piece Jango Fett's Starship, which cost $69.99 — a nice alternative for those who didn't want to pay for the larger UCS version.
A smattering of other sets finish off the round-up of Lego Star Wars playsets from 2025, including Ahsoka's Jedi Interceptor for $44.99 and a $69.99 Rebel U-Wing Starfighter. There are some decent sets in here, but it's hard not to be a little disappointed with the lack of sub-$40 sets.
Display sets
We think the Lego Star Wars Acclamator-Class Assault Ship is one of the best sets of 2025. (Image credit: Kim Snaith)
Where playsets have lacked a little in 2025, Lego Star Wars display sets have certainly shone. These sets have come in a range of shapes and sizes, with surprisingly reasonable prices in some cases. Not all sets carry an 18+ age rating, with some builds being more family-friendly than others (including the excellent Grogu and Hover Pram, which we rated very highly at the beginning of the year).
The Star Wars Logo model is simple but effective. (Image credit: Future)
The Brick-Built Star Wars Logo has also been a pleasant surprise, and a set we thoroughly enjoyed building this year. Its MSRP is just $59.99, which feels reasonable enough, but we've frequently seen it discounted, too. While it might not be the most exciting set ever designed, it's a great addition to any Star Wars display or makes for a great backdrop.
Lego Star Wars helmets have had a good year, after a two-year hiatus between March 2023 and March 2025. They came back with a bang, with three helmets making it onto shelves: Kylo Ren, Jango Fett and AT-AT Driver. A great selection, with the standout being the AT-AT Driver thanks to its unique design and colorful injection of red.
That's far from it, either. We've also had a strong selection of 10+ and 12+ age-rated display models, some of which we've never seen before. We've already mentioned Grogu with Hover Pram, but we also got a model of K-2SO, Chopper, a Battle Droid with STAP and, of course, a brick-built Wicket the Ewok.
Ultimate Collector's Series sets
Look at the sheer size of the Lego Star Wars UCS Death Star! (Image credit: Lego)
2025 has been a momentous year for UCS sets, for more than one reason. First, we've had three Ultimate Collector's Series sets in 12 months – that's the first time it's happened since 2002. Second, one of the sets (the Death Star) is a record-breaker on two counts: it's the largest Star Wars set ever released, in terms of piece count, and it's the most expensive Lego set to date.
But first, let's talk about the two smaller UCS sets. First was Jango Fett's Firespray Class Starship, released in May. Costing $299.99, it's very much a mid-priced set, and being similar to Boba Fett's Starship (and Slave 1 before it), it isn't the most elusive or attractive set on the market. Following it in August came the AT-ST Walker. Again, not the most innovative set — we've had several AT-STs before — but it's the first time we've had an UCS version. And with a price tag of $199.99, it's one of the most reasonably priced Ultimate Collector's models we’ve had in years. A big win for people who don't have a huge Lego budget but still want something aimed at adult collectors.
Jango Fett's Firespray Class Starship is rather impressive, but it's very similar to previous sets. (Image credit: Lego)
And for the people who do have a huge Lego budget? That's where the $999.99 Death Star comes in. We have mixed feelings about this set. On the one hand, it's hugely impressive due to its side. On the other hand, it's far too expensive and the fact that it's only a cutaway of the Death Star, rather than a complete sphere, gives us pause. Is it as good as 2016's Death Star? It's down to personal opinion, really.
Overall, it's safe to say we've been spoiled on the UCS front this year, with something to suit practically all budgets. We're intrigued to see if we'll get three sets in 2026, or if Lego will go back to delivering the standard two.
Festive specials
Have you ever seen a Lego Star Wars set looking so festive? (Image credit: Lego)
We had tomention the fantastic Gingerbread AT-AT Walker, which was released alongside this year's festive sets. Costing $59.99 and being made up of 697 pieces, it not only offers excellent value for money, but it's one of the most fun Lego Star Wars sets we've seen in a while. This gingerbread-colored AT-AT is decorated with holiday lights and white strips made to look like icing — it's simply adorable.
Of course, we also got an obligatory Star Wars Advent calendar for 2025. Its price has remained steady at $44.99, as it has been for a number of years, although its value is questioned by how much you like the minifigures and miniature builds included in any given year. This year, the standout minifigures are a unique printed C3PO and Jawa wearing a holiday sweater.
It’s been a very strong year for Lego Star Wars, particularly for grown-ups and collectors. For Star Wars fans with an excess of disposable cash, the Ultimate Collector's Series Death Star is surely a must-have. But even for fans with more limited income, the wide range of display models available has made 2025 a very good year indeed.
It's perhaps not been a great year for playsets, with the best playsets costing almost as much as a lower-priced UCS set. There have been very few sets under $40, aside from a smattering of battle packs and Microfighters, but we see those every year. Hopefully, Lego strengthens its offerings at the bottom end of its price range for next year.
Overall, though, we can't be too disappointed. The good certainly outweighs the bad, with some truly unique sets landing on shelves over the last 12 months. We can't pick a favorite, but we do have a soft spot for Grogu, and the Acclamator-Class Assault Ship is still one of the best value sets we've seen this year.
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- https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-toys-lego/lego-star-wars-2025-a-year-in-review
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- hh66jVWUjHFA8vYfC9yvJ
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- Wed, 31 Dec 2025 21:05:00 +0000Fri, 19 Dec 2025 12:39:10 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Upcoming sci-fi movies in 2026: 10 good reasons to head to theaters this year ]]>
- For all the embarrassment of riches on TV, cinema remains a really big deal for any genre fan. Our guide to the best upcoming sci-fi movies in 2026 features a blockbuster mix of popular franchises, intriguing one-offs, and one of the greatest directors of all time heading back to alien visitation territory.
After seven years away, "Star Wars" returns to the big screen with "The Mandalorian and Grogu", while "Supergirl" takes James Gunn's new-look DC Universe into outer space. Denis Villeneuve makes a third trip to Arrakis in "Dune: Part Three", and — in what's likely to be the biggest release of the year — Robert Downey Jr reunites with the Marvel Cinematic Universe for "Avengers: Doomsday".
It's not all about ongoing sagas, however, as Ryan Gosling saves the world in "Project Hail Mary", and Steven Spielberg deals with UFOs (sound familiar?) in his latest, as-yet-untitled project. We'll also find out what happens when Prince Adam holds aloft his magic sword and yells, "By the power of Grayskull!"
Project Hail Mary
Release date: March 20, 2026 |Cast: Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung
Screenwriter Drew Goddard worked wonders with his Oscar-nominated adaptation of Andy Weir's "The Martian", and a decade later he's back to bring the author's most recent novel to the screen. In "Project Hail Mary", our sun is one of many stars afflicted by a mysterious plague, prompting humanity to launch a mission to fix the problem before it kills all life on Earth.
Ryan Gosling plays the teacher turned reluctant astronaut who has the fate of an entire planet on his shoulders. Luckily, he's not alone in the cosmos as an alien engineer, nicknamed Rocky, has arrived at Tau Cetiwith a similar agenda. If they can work out how to communicate, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship…
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Release date: April 3, 2026 | Cast: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key
It may not have been a big hit with the critics but the first "The Super Mario Bros Movie" was a massive power-up compared to the risible Bob Hoskins version from the '90s. Indeed, its mega box office take — second only to "Barbie" in 2023 — proved that Hollywood is, at long last, getting a feel for turning videogame icons into movie stars.
This inevitable sequel riffs on the titular Wii game, blasting Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad into outer space to face off against Bowser Jr. Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Keegan-Michael Key respawn in their roles from the first movie. Benny Safdie (director of UFC biopic "The Smashing Machine") comes on board as Bowser's malevolent offspring, while Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson, becomes Nintendo royalty as alien princess Rosalina.
Mortal Kombat II
Release date: May 8, 2026 | Cast: Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson
It's a case of mid-'90s déjà-vu as two giants of the beat-'em-up videogame world renew hostilities on the big screen. "Street Fighter" lands in October, but first to the punch is "Mortal Kombat II", the more sci-fi of the duo and a sequel to the 2021 reboot.
That movie was more successful than expected, and this follow-up adds "The Boys" star Karl Urban to the fight card for round two. He stars as '90s action movie star Johnny Cage, a reluctant conscript in a "war for the fate of your world", forced to use his martial arts skills to protect Earthrealm (that's us) from the evil alien forces of Shao Kahn.
Sonya Blade Kano, Jax, and Scorpion all return to the arena, while fans of the game will recognise big-screen newcomers like Kitana (Adeline Rudolph) and Jade (Tati Gabrielle).
The Mandalorian and Grogu
Release date: May 22, 2026 | Cast: Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White
It's telling that the movie chosen to bring "Star Wars" back to theaters for the first time since 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker" is a follow-up to a TV series. While "Episode IX" was a major disappointment, "The Mandalorian" has been a crowd-pleasing jewel in the Disney+ crown, the one show that — for its first couple of seasons, at least — everybody loved.
The titular duo's promotion to the big screen sees them ditching the bounty hunting to help the New Republic hunt down rogue Imperials. "The Fantastic Four: First Steps"' Pedro Pascal is back as Din Djarin, joined by Sigourney Weaver as a New Republic colonel, and "The Bear"'s Jeremy Allen White voicing Jabba the Hutt's nephew, Rotta.
Release date: June 5, 2026 | Cast: Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Idris Elba
Aside from Frank Langella's scenery-devouring performance as bony big bad Skeletor, the first live-action "Masters of the Universe" movie lacked the requisite power of Grayskull. The lucrative toy line was already in decline by the time the film landed in 1987, while the Earth-set, Dolph Lundgren-fronted adaptation bore little relation to the popular cartoon series.
Expect a rather more faithful adaptation second time out, as toy giant Mattel looks to He-Man and co to follow in Barbie's box-office conquering footsteps. Director Travis Knight has prior experience of transferring action figures to the big screen with "Transformers" spin-off "Bumblebee", and he's assembled a big-name cast for the trip to Eternia, including Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn, Idris Elba as Man-at-Arms, and Jared Leto as Skeletor. Meanwhile, British actor Nicholas Galitzine wields the Sword of Power as He-Man.
Supergirl
Release date: June 26, 2026 | Cast: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham
Both hail from Krypton and have a penchant for capes, but that's where the "Superman" / "Supergirl" similarities end. While Clark Kent took the easy route to Earth, the cynical, hard-drinking Kara Zor-El went the long way round, growing up among her fellow Kryptonian survivors in Argo City.
The new film (directed by "Cruella"'s Craig Gillespie) is based on Tom King and Bilquis Evely's 2021-2022 comic-book series "Woman of Tomorrow", and — according to the official synopsis — sees Supergirl embarking "on an epic, interstellar journey of vengeance and justice." See? Very un-Superman.
Expect a whistlestop tour of DC's version of outer space, as Kara (played by "House of the Dragon"'s Milly Alcock) wisecracks her way across various alien planets with crowd-pleasing pooch Krypto. Former Aquaman Jason Momoa gets a new DC role as alien bounty hunter Lobo.
Disclosure Day
Release date: June 12, 2026 | Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "ET", "War of the Worlds"… Whether they're friendly or hostile, Steven Spielberg knows a thing or two about alien visitations. But with "Disclosure Day" (the title's only just been revealed), he's been taking a leaf out of "Super 8" collaborator JJ Abrams' book, and playing his cards extremely close to his chest.
A bit of mystery from one of Hollywood's greatest entertainers is something to be cherished, of course, and the first trailer teases without giving much away. The gist, however, seems to be that extra-terrestrials make contact with a selected few, before promising to go public to the entire world — good luck dealing with the ramifications of that one, human race!
Spielberg's bringing a quality cast along for the ride, with Emily Blunt taking the lead as a Kansas City weather presenter who starts talking alien live on air. She's joined by Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, and Wyatt Russell. Regular Spielberg wordsmith David Koepp ("Jurassic Park", "War of the Worlds", "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull") is on screenplay duties, working from the director's own story.
Toy Story 5
Release date: June 19, 2026 | Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Greta Lee, John Ratzenberger
No, the toys aren't blasting off to outer space, but this fifth instalment does feature around 50 confused Buzz Lightyears — all of them on a similar voyage of "you are a child's plaything" self-discovery as Pixar's original (not-)flying toy. Meanwhile, pull-string cowboy Woody is back in the fold after joining Bo Peep on a mission to rehome lost toys, as the playroom dynamic gets shaken up by the arrival of a frog-faced tablet named Lily Pad (voiced by "Tron: Ares"' Greta Lee).
If you're wondering if we need another "Toy Story", it's worth remembering that many said the same thing before the third and fourth movies, and they turned out pretty well. Also, Andrew Stanton (a man who knows a thing or two about the franchise, having co-written every movie so far) is on board as director.
Avengers: Doomsday
Release date: December 18, 2026 | Cast: Robert Downey Jr, almost every MCU actor you can think of, and a few surprises
It's well over six years since the brilliant "Avengers: Endgame" wrapped up Marvel's Infinity Saga in style. Multiverses and numerous Disney+ TV shows have made the MCU rather more unwieldy in the interim, but hopes are high that this fifth outing for Earth's Mightiest Heroes can restore the record-breaking franchise to past glories.
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo know a thing or two about epic superhero team-ups — they previously called the shots on "Captain America: Civil War" and the last two "Avengers" films — but even they might have their work cut out wrangling "Doomsday"'s epic cast. As well as MCU regulars like Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, and Anthony Mackie, the roster features X-Men veterans Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammer, and James Marsden.
And then there's the return of Robert Downey Jr, who swaps Iron Man's armor for another metal mask in his new role as Latverian troublemaker Dr Doom.
Release date: December 18, 2026 | Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Robert Pattinson
For a book series that was once considered unfilmable, Frank Herbert's "Dune" is proving to be remarkably adaptable. After turning the first novel into two films, director Denis Villeneuve is wrapping up his desert trilogy with a film inspired by Herbert's follow-up, "Dune Messiah".
This time out, Fremen chosen one Paul Atreides is juggling his new role as emperor of the known universe with the ongoing battle to maintain control of Arrakis and its valuable spice. Paul's decision to marry Princess Irulan at the end of "Part Two" is sure to have some major ramifications, particularly as a significant time jump looks likely — the book's set 12 years after its predecessor.
Most of the original cast return, along with "The Batman" star Robert Pattinson (reportedly playing the villainous Scytale). "Dune: Part Three" might, however, blink first and shift its release date to avoid a Barbenheimer-style clash with that big Marvel team-up — though we will admit that "Avengers: Dunesday" has a rather nice ring to it…
Dimensions: 27 x 63 x 53.5cm (10.5 x 25 x 21-inches)
Recommended age: 18+
I'm a huge fan of the Space Shuttle programme, and shed a tear when the last shuttle was retired in 2011. Admittedly, it wasn't particularly cost-effective, but for me, it was the face of post-Space Race space travel. The International Space Station likely wouldn't exist without it.
Now, thanks to Lego's Icons range, you can commemorate the Space Shuttle, carried as it often was, on the back of a Boeing 747. This 2,417-piece Lego Icons Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is effectively the replacement for the also-retired Lego NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set, albeit with a slightly higher price tag at $229.99 / £199.99.
At 25 inches long, it's not as big as, say, the Lego UCS Star Wars Venator set, but you'll still need a reasonably-sized table or unit to display it on; it's unlikely to fit on your average shelf. It'll take you 8 - 10 hours to build, which leaves the question: Is it worth the effort?
For the answer, read on for my Lego Icons Shuttle Carrier Aircraft review. And if it leaves you wanting more, we have rounded up the best Lego space sets.
The Lego Icons Shuttle Carrier Aircraft set is split into 16 bags. (Image credit: Future / Chris McMullen)
Lego Icons Shuttle Carrier Aircraft: The build
A fun build, with some interesting techniques
Shuttle and jet each have their own instruction book
Includes 19 stickers, too many for our taste
The Lego Icons Shuttle Carrier Aircraft took me ten hours to put together, working at a relatively leisurely pace. It's split into sixteen paper bags, which seems daunting at first, but it means you'll never have to look far for the piece you need.
It's split into two builds and two manuals. One for the Space Shuttle Enterprise and one for the plane, a Boeing 747, used to taxi the shuttle back and forth. The set's rated for builders 18+, but the shuttle is within the reach of junior builders and, taking three or so hours to put together, shouldn't test their patience too much.
The bigger set, the jet, is a little fiddlier and requires more dexterity to assemble, so I'd recommend that it be an adult-assisted build at least. If you're working solo, it's advisable to start with the shuttle. That's not to ease yourself into the build, however. Instead, it's because once you've got the shuttle together, you can glance at it to spur you on through the jet's initial section.
Want to share the fun? Have one person build the shuttle while another builds the Boeing. (Image credit: Future / Chris McMullen)
Because, while the Lego Icons Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is, on the whole, a fun set to assemble, it's not super motivating to start with a chunk of skinless fuselage that resembles nothing in particular.
Fortunately, once you're over that speed bump, the build comes into its own, taking on the shape and coloring of the custom Boeing 747. It's constructed in sections, beginning with the central fuselage and gears, then the cockpit, the tail, the wings and finally the tail fins.
This build employs a diverse and satisfying range of building techniques that will have you smiling when, section by section, it all comes together. Admittedly, I was puzzled as to why that opening jet section required so many cogs and connectors. But I had a big grin on my face as I turned the cog on the underside and watched the plane's gears raise and lower.
A neat touch is the way that the four engines attach, using a combination of a hinged piece and a flat triangle to hold each steady. I'd never in a million light-years have come up with that.
The Lego Icons Shuttle Aircraft Carrier Shuttle starts to come together, though it's better to start with the shuttle. (Image credit: Future / Chris McMullen)
Unfortunately, there is one blot on this build, and that's the presence of 19 (count 'em) stickers. The majority of these are used to apply the NASA etc logos to the shuttle and the jet and, statistically, you're bound to get a hair or a piece of dust behind one of them. That, or you'll end up having to realign them to get everything just right.
Unfortunately, these stickers are transparent, which amplifies the visibility of smudges and fingerprints. My shuttle and jet are currently displayed facing left, because the right-side NASA sticker is faintly off-white.
Lego Icons Shuttle Carrier Aircraft: Design
Shuttle and jet and be displayed separately, on or off stand
Shuttle wheels and engines are stored inside cargo bay
Cargo bay doors can stick
Unlike the Lego City Modular Space Station, which we also reviewed, the Lego Icons Shuttle Aircraft Carrier is not built with play in mind. The shuttle itself is sturdy enough to be swooshed around outside, but while the jet is just as well put together, it's so large that I wouldn't recommend it. I already bumped a Lego Star Wars AT-ST to its doom today, and I'm not repeating that mistake.
However, there is a degree of interactivity in that the space shuttle can be removed from the plane. Unlike the jet itself, the landing gear has to be physically removed, but they, with the engines, can be stored neatly inside the shuttle's cargo bay.
The one snag is that the shuttle's cargo bay doors can catch, to the point you may need two fingers to close them properly. It's not a deal-breaker, but given how much effort Lego has put into getting the set right (stickers aside) it's slightly disappointing.
The Lego Icons Shuttle Aircraft Carrier Shuttle's cargo bay opens to hold the engines and wheels. (Image credit: Future / Chris McMullen)
The set's appearance, however, is anything but a letdown. You have the option of displaying it on the included stand, in a take-off position, and that's absolutely the best way to behold it. It's a seriously striking set, and as accurate as you could hope for, given its scale.
You don't have to apply much pressure to remove and reattach the shuttle from the jet; unlike the wheels and the engines, there's nowhere to store the tail cone. Nor will you be peeking inside the jet, not least because it isn't minifigure scale.
But it's still impressively detailed, down to the aforementioned working gears, and gorgeous to look at. And, if you're a relative stranger to the space shuttle, the base plaque and the manuals contain a host of useful factoids.
Should you buy the Lego Icons Shuttle Carrier Aircraft?
The Lego Icons Shuttle Aircraft Carrier Shuttle, with the Boeing, can be displayed on wheels or on a stand. (Image credit: Future / Chris McMullen)
If you've the slightest interest in the space shuttle, and aren't buying for play, this Lego Icons Shuttle Aircraft Carrier is absolutely worth your money, especially since the previous shuttle set has been retired. Am I okay with all those stickers? No, but unless Lego takes their NASA range to the next level, I can't see them manufacturing printed elements for one or two sets.
Perched atop a suitably sized shelf or table, this is as impressive and as accurate as you could hope a set of this scale to be, and it's a blast to build, too. And while it's worth the $229 asking price, it's always worth keeping your eyes open for the best Lego deals; I saved 20% on this set during Black Friday.
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- https://www.space.com/entertainment/lego-icons-shuttle-carrier-aircraft-review
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- Wed, 31 Dec 2025 18:05:00 +0000Fri, 19 Dec 2025 17:15:25 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ NASA chief Jared Isaacman says Texas may get a moonship, not space shuttle Discovery ]]>
- Houston, we may have a problem ... for your senators' plans to bring a NASA space shuttle to Texas.
NASA's new chief Jared Isaacman said a controversial proposal to move the space shuttle Discovery to Texas from its current home on display at a Smithsonian Air and Space Museum hangar in Virginia, may end with a different spacecraft entirely landing in Houston.
"My predecessor has already selected a vehicle," Isaacman said of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who led NASA as acting chief until this month, in a CNBC interview on Dec. 27. "My job now is to make sure that we can undertake such a transportation within the budget dollars that we have available and, of course most importantly, ensuring the safety of the vehicle." Isaacman officially took charge at NASA on Dec. 18, a day after being confirmed by the Senate.
The plan to move space shuttle Discovery, NASA's most-flown orbiter, to Houston was originally laid out by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). The Texas senators included a provision for the move in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law over the summer.
Cruz and Cornyn have said that Houston, home to NASA's Johnson Space Center where astronauts train and Mission Control is located, should have its own iconic human spaceflight vehicle on display. Discovery flew 39 space missions between 1984 and 2011, when NASA shuttered the shuttle program.
NASA's other retired shuttles - Atlantis, Endeavour and Enterprise test vehicle, which never reached space - are on display at museums in Florida, California and New York City, respectively. Two other shuttles, Challenger and Columbia, were lost in tragic space accidents in 1986 and 2003, respectively.
But there's a catch to moving Discovery. (Several of them, actually.) NASA gave the shuttle to the Smithsonian outright in 2012, so moving it to Houston would require the government to claw back the orbiter.
And there's the cost. The One Big Beautiful Bill set aside $85 million to cover the cost of Discovery's move, but critics have said that budget pales in comparison to the actual funds needed to move the 100-ton spacecraft safely, as well as construct a building for its final display. Officials with the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, where Discovery is currently on display, estimate it would cost up to $150 million alone just for the move.
Space Shuttle Discovery mounted atop a 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) approaches the runway for landing at Washington Dulles International Airport, Tuesday April 17, 2012, in Sterling, Va. NASA's shuttle carrier planes are now retired. (Image credit: NASA/Paul E. Alers)
Finally, there's the question of how to physically move the space shuttle.
Discovery is 122 feet (37.2 meters) long and has a wingspan of 78 feet (23.8 m). NASA originally flew the shuttle to the Udvar-Hazy center atop aShuttle Carrier Aircraft (a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet), then used a series of cranes to hoist the orbiter to the ground. The agency's two Shuttle Carrier Aircraft have since been retired, one of which is on display at Space Center Houston with a mock shuttle atop it.
Space shuttle Discovery on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
With all that as background, Isaacman told CNBC that assuring the safety of Discovery and weighing the costs of a move to Houston will factor into deciding whether NASA will actually push for the shuttle's relocation.
"And if we can't do that, you know what? We've got spacecraft that are going around the moon with Artemis 2, 3, 4 and 5," Isaacman told CNBC.
NASA is currently preparing to launch four Artemis 2 astronauts around the moon as early as February 2026. The space agency hopes to launch its Artemis 3 moon landing mission by 2028. Both missions and their follow ups on Artemis 4 and Artemis 5 would send astronauts to the moon using an Orion spacecraft, which will launch on a giant Space Launch System rocket.
"One way or another, we're going to make sure the Johnson Space Center gets their historic spacecraft right where it belongs," Isaacman said.
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/nasa-chief-jared-isaacman-says-texas-may-get-a-moonship-not-space-shuttle-discovery
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- Wed, 31 Dec 2025 17:34:12 +0000Wed, 31 Dec 2025 17:34:13 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ The race to mine the moon is on – and it urgently needs some clear international rules ]]>
- This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
The vision of mining space for resources is no longer science fiction. The moon's proximity to Earth and the presence of precious resources make it an increasingly attractive prospect for exploitation.
Resources thought to be present on the moon include uranium, potassium, phosphorus, water ice, platinum group metals and helium-3. The last of these is a rare isotope that could help power relatively clean fusion energy in future.
There are billions of dollars in it for companies able to kickstart mining operations, even if such returns are still years away. Technological breakthroughs in launch and exploration capabilities are occurring at breakneck pace. In the US, Seattle-based startup Interlune, working with Iowa industrial manufacturer Vermeer, is developing an electric lunar excavator designed to extract helium-3.
Their prototype can process up to 100 metric tons of lunar soil per hour. Interlune plans a 2027 mission to confirm helium-3 concentrations before deploying a pilot plant in 2029.
The Pittsburgh-based space company Astrobotic is developing the Griffin-1 lander to transport a rover designed by the California-based company Astrolab for surface analysis. A different lander called Nova-C, built by Intuitive Machines in Houston, is being designed to conduct analysis of lunar soil and rock under Nasa's Prism programme. Prism is a science and technology initiative designed to support various aspects of lunar exploration.
Meanwhile, Nasa's Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment 1 (Prime-1), which was carried to the moon this year by an Intuitive Machines lander, demonstrated Honeybee Robotics' Trident drill on the lunar surface. Trident both drills and extracts samples of lunar soil.
SpaceX's giant Starship rocket, which has a large payload capacity and reusable design, could send multiple large experiments to the moon, and cut launch costs by as much as US$250–US$600 (£188-£451) per kg. Assuming it overcomes its teething problems, Starship could be the game changer that makes large-scale lunar infrastructure and resource missions economically viable.
While US-led initiatives have been commonplace in lunar exploration, new political and corporate players are emerging globally. China aims to achieve human lunar landings by 2030, with plans for the robotic construction of lunar bases in partnership with Russia and other nations. This would establish an international Lunar Research Station by 2035.
An illustration of the electric lunar harvester, developed by Interlune, designed to mine minerals on the moon. (Image credit: Interlune)
Australia's 2026 rover will put its mining expertise to work extracting oxygen and collecting soil on the moon, while Japan's Slim mission focuses on precision landings that can target resource-rich areas. At the same time ispace, a Japanese company, is developing a mini rover to explore lunar resources.
In the EU, the Argonaut programme is developing the ESA (European Space Agency)'s first lunar lander, with the involvement of a growing body of industrial enterprises across Europe. These missions are critical for gathering data and capabilities needed to understand what’s actually available on the moon and how we might one day mine it.
Frozen treaties
Yet despite evolving technical capabilities, the international legal framework governing exploitation of the moon is both very limited and frozen in the Cold War era. The 1967 outer space treaty established that space cannot be subject to national appropriation, but debate remains as to whether this prohibition extends to private entities extracting resources.
The treaty's article I declares exploration shall benefit "all mankind", yet provides no mandatory mechanism for sharing benefits, leaving it entirely to nations that have conducted activities to decide how, or whether, to share benefits at all.
The 1979 moon agreement attempted to designate lunar resources as the "common heritage of mankind" and establish an international regime for exploitation. This agreement received only 15 ratifications, and none from spacefaring powers. The "common heritage" concept met fierce opposition from industrialized countries, who viewed it as restricting their technological advantage.
National legislation, as well as other types of agreement, has filled the vacuum. The US Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 granted American citizens rights to extract space resources. Luxembourg, UAE and Japan followed with similar laws. The Artemis accords of 2020, which are non-binding arrangements between the US and other countries, have provided for voluntary coordination among like-minded states. They have established principles for lunar activity including transparency and safety zones.
However, they function more as a coalition agreement than a universal law. Clear international property-rights frameworks would determine which nations capture value. The current state of ambiguity primarily benefits those with clearer frameworks and first-mover advantages, and indicates a missed opportunity for equitable benefit-sharing from space resources.
The pursuit of profit raises paramount scientific and environmental concerns. Astronomers caution that large-scale mining activities could disrupt ongoing research and preservation of the lunar environment, leading to calls for development of comprehensive lunar laws and regulations to manage these activities responsibly.
ESA's push for a zero debris charter, which it hopes will gain global recognition by 2030, reflects a growing awareness that mining and resource use in space must go hand in hand with responsible behavior.
As lunar mining and exploration accelerate, the security dimension also becomes increasingly complex and fraught, with the potential for conflict between nations. Valuable lunar resources such as water ice and rare metals are concentrated in limited, highly contested regions.
In the absence of internationally binding governance agreements, the risk of overlapping claims, operational interference and even direct confrontation is real. Exclusion zones and safety zones around mining sites could serve as flashpoints for disputes over access, resource rights and commercial interests.
The possibility of competing governance frameworks, such as the Artemis Accords and the Outer Space Treaty, to manage claims could further exacerbate the risk of conflict. The urgent need for international cooperation and transparent, equitable frameworks is clear.
The international community stands at a crossroads. The technology enabling lunar resource extraction is arriving faster than most anticipated. Policymakers and legislators have a waning opportunity to design and implement governance that keeps pace with innovation and growing appetites for lunar resources.
Binding international agreements – particularly between the great space powers – which emphasize principles of stewardship, clarify access rights and support common benefits from lunar development would ensure the moon becomes a proving ground for the equitable and sustainable development of space.
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- https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/the-race-to-mine-the-moon-is-on-and-it-urgently-needs-some-clear-international-rules
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- Wed, 31 Dec 2025 17:00:00 +0000Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:36:55 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Former United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno joins competitor Blue Origin for national security projects ]]>
- It's official: Tory Bruno, the longtime chief of the launch provider United Launch Alliance (ULA) has joined the competition.
Bruno, who led ULA for nearly 12 years and oversaw the development of that company's new Vulcan rocket, has joined Blue Origin, the private spaceflight company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos. Bruno will oversee a newly formed National Security Group at Blue Origin, the company said on Dec. 26.
"Welcome to Blue Origin, Tory Bruno," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp wrote on social media during the announcement. "We share a deep belief in supporting our nation with the best technology we can build. Tory brings unmatched experience, and I’m confident he’ll accelerate our ability to deliver on that mission."
Bruno served as ULA president and CEO since 2014 and watched over the retirement of that company's Delta family of rockets. ULA is a collaborative project by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Bruno also led the company as ULA developed its new Vulcan Centaur rocket, which uses Blue Origin's BE-4 rocket engines on its first stage and is designed to be the company's new workhorse booster.
At Blue Origin, Bruno will apparently oversee the company's national security projects for its massive New Glenn rocket. Blue Origin launched its first two New Glenn rockets in 2025, and successfully landed the first stage of the new booster during a November mission that also launched NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars probes. The company aims to fly U.S. national security missions alongside flights for commercial and civilian government customers.
"We are going to bring important, innovative, and urgently needed capabilities to our Nation," Bruno wrote on social media. "Can’t wait to get started."
Jeff Bezos welcomed Bruno into the Blue Origin fold with a hearty post on social media.
"Welcome, Tory. Gradatim Ferociter!" Bezos wrote, using Blue Origin's Latin motto "Step by Step, Ferociously."
"Thanks, Jeff," Bruno replied. "We are going to do important work together."
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/former-united-launch-alliance-ceo-tory-bruno-joins-competitor-blue-origin-for-national-security-projects
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- vgMhAd2boPMVxqUqkn7ZwT
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- Wed, 31 Dec 2025 16:37:26 +0000Wed, 31 Dec 2025 16:37:28 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Big Bear glows with big stars | Space photo of the day for Dec. 31, 2025 ]]>
- Recently, the Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of a dwarf galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. Markarian 178 (Mrk 178) is one of over 1500 "Markarian galaxies," a class defined by their unusually strong ultraviolet emission first catalogued by Armenian astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian.
This small, cloud-like galaxy is dominated by clusters of young, hot, blue stars, yet it also contains a striking red-tinged region. This reddish glow is the signature of something dramatic happening inside: a population of massive, short-lived Wolf–Rayet stars whose powerful stellar winds carve their imprint directly into the galaxy's spectrum.
What is it?
Wolf-Rayet stars are in a brief, turbulent phase of their lives. Having exhausted the hydrogen in their cores, they shed their outer layers in violent stellar winds, producing strong emission lines—particularly from ionized hydrogen and oxygen—that appear red in specialized Hubble filters. Wolf–Rayet stars live only a few million years, so their presence indicates that new stars formed very recently. Yet astronomers were initially puzzled as Mrk 178 has no obvious large neighboring galaxies that could have triggered such activity. It's a puzzle that continues to be a focus for many astronomers.
Where is it?
Mrk 178 is located around 13 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.
A mystery surrounding Mrk 178's Wolf-Rayet stars is a headscratcher. (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Annibali, S. Hong)
Why is it amazing?
Galaxies like Mrk 178 resemble the small, rapidly star-forming galaxies that populated the young cosmos. Studying them today provides clues to how the first galaxies built up their mass and how heavy elements spread through the universe.
As Hubble and ground-based telescopes continue to probe its structure and history, this glittering blue dwarf will help illuminate some of the most powerful forces shaping our cosmos.
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- https://www.space.com/astronomy/galaxies/big-bear-glows-with-big-stars-space-photo-of-the-day-for-dec-31-2025
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- Wed, 31 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000Wed, 31 Dec 2025 17:36:03 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ SpaceX shatters its rocket launch record yet again — 165 orbital flights in 2025 ]]>
- Surprise, surprise: SpaceX shattered its single-year launch record again in 2025.
Elon Musk's company has now set a new mark six years in a row, and the numbers are getting pretty silly. The record has risen from 25 orbital liftoffs in 2020 to 31 (2021) to 61 (2022) to 96 (2023) to 134 (2024) and, now, to a whopping 165. And that's not including five non-orbital Starship test flights by SpaceX.
That's a launch almost every other day, a staggering cadence that leaves other companies — and entire nations — in the dust. Indeed, SpaceX launched nearly twice as many orbital missions as China did this year, and the company's 2025 output represented about 85% of the United States' total tally.
All 165 of those launches were conducted by SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9, which features a reusable first stage. (There were no liftoffs by the powerful Falcon Heavy, which hasn't flown since October 2024.) And those Falcon 9 boosters came back to Earth for a safe landing on all but three occasions.
Two of the exceptions were launches in January and October that sent massive Spainsat NG communications satellites to geostationary transfer orbit. These were heavy lifts for the Falcon 9 first stage, which didn't have enough fuel left over for a return to Earth.
The other non-landing was a failed attempt, suffered during the launch of a batch of Starlink internet satellites on March 3. The booster actually touched down successfully on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean as planned that day, but it tipped over after a fire broke out near its base and damaged a landing leg.
Speaking of Starlink missions: They dominated SpaceX's manifest this year, making up 123 of the 165 Falcon 9 launches. Together, those missions lofted more than 3,000 satellites for the Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists of more than 9,300 active spacecraft.
SpaceX notched a number of other milestones during this very busy year. For example, the company pulled off its 500th rocket landing and 500th launch of a used rocket in 2025. And it repeatedly extended the record for most launches by a single Falcon 9 booster, which currently stands at 32.
The 165 Falcon 9 missions weren't SpaceX's only liftoffs this year, though. The company also launched five suborbital test flights of Starship, a fully reusable vehicle that's the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. SpaceX lost at least one of the megarocket's two stages during the first three Starship flights of the year, but the most recent two, in August and October, were unalloyed successes.
We should see a lot more Starship action in 2026, including the stainless-steel vehicle's first orbital flight — and maybe, if things go exceedingly well, an uncrewed trip to Mars.
Correction: An earlier version of this story initially reported the number of SpaceX's orbital launches as 167 in 2025. It has been corrected to 165, per the company's records.
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/private-spaceflight/spacex-shatters-its-rocket-launch-record-yet-again-167-orbital-flights-in-2025
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- jtr2rmbeJN8XKffXSeyfw9
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- Wed, 31 Dec 2025 14:00:00 +0000Wed, 31 Dec 2025 18:15:24 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ New Year's Eve sky: Here's what to look out for on the final night of 2025 ]]>
- Tear your eyes away from fireworks this New Year's Eve (Dec. 31) to witness a magnificent natural light show, complete with twinkling constellations and star clusters, the steady light of planets and the awe-inspiring sight of the waxing gibbous moon shining in the constellation Taurus.
The moon will be visible halfway up the eastern horizon in the hours following sunset, with the delicate light of the Pleiades open star cluster vying for attention 5 degrees — roughly the width of your three middle fingers held at arm's length — to the upper right of the 95%-lit lunar disk.
Look directly below the moon to find the stars of the constellation Orion twinkling close to the eastern horizon. The brightest point of light to Orion's left is no star at all, but rather the "king of the planets," Jupiter. On the final night of 2025, Jupiter shines in the constellation Gemini, close to its two brightest stars — Castor and Pollux.
Saturn's steady light can also be seen shining halfway up the southern horizon around this time. A telescope with an aperture of around 6 inches will help reveal its famous rings as a thin line bisecting the planet's cloud tops. The rings are currently oriented edge-on to Earth, but will gradually open up throughout 2026 to reveal their majestic, sweeping structure, including a 2,980-mile (4,800-kilometer) gap known as the Cassini Division.
The night sky looking east after sunset on New Years Eve (Image credit: Created by Anthony Wood in Canva)
By midnight, Saturn will have slipped below the horizon, while the moon and Jupiter will stand high overhead. Look roughly 40 degrees above the northern horizon — approximately the width of four clenched fists stacked on top of each other — to find the bright star Polaris, around which the entire sky appears to rotate. To its right you'll spot the familiar sight of the Big Dipper, tilted so that it appears to be standing on the end of its handle.
Celestron NexStar 8SE
(Image credit: Amazon)
Looking for a telescope companion to explore the skies with in 2026? We reckon the Celestron NexStar 8SE is the best motorized telescope out there as it's great for astrophotography, deep-space observing and it offers stunning detailed imagery. It is a little pricey but for what you get, it's good value. For a more detailed look, you can check out our Celestron NexStar 8SE review.
Those same stars will glide silently through the night as the last moments of 2025 fade and the first of a new year begins, heralding the start of another year of incredible stargazing opportunities.
Clear skies and a Happy New Year from everyone here at Space.com!
Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
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- https://www.space.com/stargazing/new-years-eve-sky-heres-what-to-look-out-for-on-the-final-night-of-2025
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- i4mdb8QLjP59gyY6xK4mfL
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- Wed, 31 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:35:22 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Space debris led to an orbital emergency in 2025. Will anything change? ]]>
- Earth is surrounded by human-made debris that orbits our planet. The problem is worsening every year, and 2025 was no different.
Space debris experts say nearly 130 million pieces of orbital junk are zipping around our planet: high-speed leftovers from rocket stage explosions, abandoned satellites, as well as bits and pieces of junk from space hardware deployments. Some of this meandering mess is the result of the deliberate demolition of spacecraft by way of anti-satellite weapons testing.
All this space clutter means increased risk of collisions that generate more debris — better known as the Kessler syndrome. That cascading effect was detailed back in 1978 by NASA scientists, Donald Kessler and Burton Cour-Palais in the seminal space physics paper "Collision frequency of artificial satellites: The creation of a debris belt." 47 years later, the problem has only gotten worse, and as several debris strike incidents this year show, we still have no good way to solve or even slow down the accumulation of orbital debris around our planet.
Debris strike prompts emergency launch
As China's Shenzhou-20 astronauts were preparing to undock from the country's space station on Nov. 5, that crew found that their spacecraft had developed tiny cracks in its viewport window. The cause was tagged to an external impact from space debris, rendering the craft unsuitable for a safe crew return.
This incident called for the first emergency launch mission in China's human spaceflight program; an uncrewed, cargo-loaded Shenzhou-22 spaceship was launched on Nov. 25.
The Shenzhou saga ended well with the Chinese astronauts safely returning to Earth aboard the Shenzhou-21 spacecraft. It was the first alternative return procedure activated in the history of China's space station program.
However, the Shenzhou-20 landing delay is not just a procedural footnote. It's a signal about the state of our orbital commons, said Moriba Jah, a space debris expert and professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
"A crew return was postponed because microscopic debris compromised a spacecraft window," Jah told Space.com. "That decision, to delay and substitute vehicles, reflects responsible risk management grounded in incomplete knowledge. It also exposes the deeper issue. That is, our collective inability to maintain continuous, verifiable understanding of what moves through orbit," he said.
Every fragment we leave aloft, said Jah, "adds to a rising tide of uncertainty."
Wanted: data fidelity and transparency
That uncertainty is not merely statistical, it is epistemic, Jah said. "When the rate at which uncertainty grows exceeds the rate at which knowledge is renewed, safety margins erode," advocating the designing of missions, governance frameworks, and information systems that "regenerate knowledge faster than it decays," he said.
A cracked window of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft, Jah said, "traces back to gaps in global tracking, attribution, and accountability. Until nations and companies treat data fidelity and transparency as part of safety engineering, similar near-misses will recur."
China's decision to delay the Shenzhou-piloted vessel's re-entry until its engineers were confident in the assessment "was an act of epistemic humility — recognizing what was unknown and adjusting accordingly. Such humility should be codified, not exceptional," he said.
In practice, Jah said that the Shenzhou-20 episode should push the international community toward auditable stewardship, that is, common baselines for orbital situational awareness, interoperable knowledge graphs, and certification programs that recognize missions restoring order rather than adding risk.
"Only by aligning engineering, policy, and information ethics can we prevent 'routine' anomalies from becoming precursors to catastrophe," Jah said. "If we learn the right lesson, this will not be remembered as a lucky escape but as a turning point," he said, adding that "evidence that safety in orbit begins with honesty about what we do and do not know, and with the will to regenerate knowledge faster than we lose it."
Ignoring long-term effects
Darren McKnight is a senior technical fellow of LeoLabs, a group dedicated to space domain awareness.
For McKnight the biggest issues in 2025 were:
Proliferation of satellite constellations, some responsibly like Starlink, Iridium, and OneWeb and some poorly like China's "Thousand Sails" megaconstellation and its "Guowang" satellite internet payloads, leaving rocket bodies at a high rate and at high altitudes and not working with other constellations to "show your work, share your work, and understand context."
Abandonment of rocket bodies in orbits that will linger for more than 25 years. The good news is there can be a 30% reduction in debris-generating potential in low Earth orbit by removing the top 10 statistically-most-concerning objects. The bad news, however, is that the global community is leaving rocket bodies at an accelerating rate despite the known negative, long-term effects for doing so.
"Some operators in low Earth orbit are ignoring known long-term effects of behavior for short-term gain," McKnight said, a situation he senses that parallels the early stages of global warming.
"Some will not change behavior until something bad happens." McKnight concluded.
In an era of increasing global launch rates, heightened by the buckshot approach to tossing mega-satellite constellations into Earth orbit, there’s also escalating anxiety about the ramifications from reentry of defunct space hardware. (Image credit: Chelsea Thompson/NOAA)
"The space sector is growing exponentially, with over 12,000 spacecraft deployed in the past decade and many more planned as the world embraces the benefits provided by satellite services. This growth presents significant environmental challenges at all layers of the atmosphere," the document explains.
Specifically flagged by the UNEP are air pollution from launch emissions, spacecraft emissions in the stratosphere, as well as space debris re-entry and the potential to alter Earth's atmospheric chemistry and dynamics with implications for climate change and depleting stratospheric ozone.
The UN group's bottom line?
"A multilateral, interdisciplinary approach is needed to better understand the risks and impacts and how to balance them with the essential daily services and benefits that space activity brings to humanity," the document states.
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/space-debris-led-to-an-orbital-emergency-in-2025-will-anything-change
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- PYPSGbyL6qSXE2AKjoMif4
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- Tue, 30 Dec 2025 22:00:00 +0000Tue, 23 Dec 2025 20:06:49 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Govee Galaxy Light Projector 2 Pro review ]]>
- We continue to review the ever-growing list of the best star projectors that are entering the market, and we get especially excited when brands we rate release new models.
In September, Govee released two new models to its star projector portfolio, joining the now year-old Govee Star Light Projector (Nebula), which we reviewed earlier this year.
The first, Govee Star Light Projector (Ocean Wave), is only slightly different from the aforementioned model, offering dynamic water-inspired patterns as opposed to Nebula-inspired ones.
The other, which we are reviewing, is the model H609D, a disk-based projector. It projects an 8K ultra-high-definition image from the supplied disks. It still includes a built-in speaker, white noise effects and laser 'stars'. But does it stand up against the stiff competition in the disk-based star-projector world? Let's find out.
Govee Star Light Projector review
Govee Galaxy Light Projector 2 Pro: Design
★★★★
The Govee Star Light Projector is fairly large and weighty, but it feels like a premium product. (Image credit: Tantse Walter)
Nicely designed packaging
Fairly large footprint
Quality-looking unit
As with the Govee Star Light Projector (Nebula), the packaging of the Govee is nicely designed and stylish. It is a large rectangular box made from high-quality materials and the unit is packed securely inside with polyethylene foam. It would be wonderful to give or receive as a gift.
Image 1 of 1
The packaging is lovely and protects the unit well. (Image credit: Tantse Walter)
Unlike some units we've reviewed, the spelling and grammar are correct (we often find them as a result of poor translations), which can instantly reduce the perceived integrity of the product.
The on-body buttons control the basic functionality. Unfortunately, they still don't glow in the dark, making them quite difficult to see in the dark. (Image credit: Tantse Walter)
This relatively large projector comes with a separate rubberized stand. The purpose is not entirely clear, except to give the user the freedom to adjust the projection angle from ceiling to wall, although other models have incorporated this functionality into their main stands. It is not a drawback, just an observation.
The unit adopts a modern capsule-style design, moving away from the American football shape seen in previous Govee models. Its interface is straightforward, with the projector lens and lasers positioned on one side and a disk tray with four control buttons on the top. It is a sleek, unobtrusive device that would blend comfortably into most interiors.
The eight supplied disks are packaged in a compact booklet, which we prefer to the individual plastic cases often used for single disks. The book format is far more practical for storing small, thin slides.
Govee Galaxy Light Projector 2 Pro: Performance
★★★★
Fast smart home connection using "Matter"
Bright enough for use in dark rooms and on dark walls
Noisy motor
As with the previous version of the Govee projector, "Matter" connectivity means we were up and running in seconds, unlocking all functionality in the Govee app and linking it to our Google Home account. You can also integrate it with Alexa, which we expect is just as easy a process.
The projector and stand are two separate objects. We appreciated the rubberized casing around the stand. (Image credit: Tantse Walter)
As this is a disk-based projector, there is limited customization in terms of colors and patterns, as it does not offer this functionality. The stars either 'diffuse' or 'gather', head from the outside edge in, or the inside edge out. That said, there are still several 'scene' modes displayed on the app, that tweak things like the rotation speed, the arrangement and movement style of the lasers and add 'white noise'.
The Class 1 lasers are very bright, even in a brightly lit room; however, the disk-based projection requires a dark room, even when it's at full brightness.
The lasers are the most dynamic we have seen. They don't simply rotate in a circle; the different scene selections activate some lasers, turn others off, make some bright and some dull, and some move quickly, while others move slowly. You get the idea. They are more like dancing fireflies than predictable laser dots. This was our favorite thing about the device.
In a dark room, the projections are bright with vivid colors. (Image credit: Tantse Walter)
The disk-based projections are attractive, but there is no indication of what each disk is meant to depict. Unless you are already familiar with nebulae or space imagery, you are essentially looking at something pretty without knowing what it represents. Disks from previous models are not compatible with this unit; the new disks use a square format, and we have not yet found anywhere to purchase additional ones.
We also noticed that most of the detail in each projection sits around the outer edge of the disk. A more even distribution would have avoided the effect of a colorful ring with a largely empty centre. Naturally, the further the projector is from the wall or ceiling, the larger that circle becomes. It is also worth mentioning that a few Amazon reviewers report that the disk images fade quickly. We have not used the unit long enough to confirm this ourselves, but it is concerning, given that we still do not know where replacement disks can be sourced.
We were hopeful that the motor noise present in the Govee Nebula we reviewed earlier this year would be addressed. The unit is pleasantly quiet at first, at least until the cooling fan activates. The fan is obviously necessary to prevent overheating, but it is fairly loud and typically switches on after 20–30 minutes of use. On several occasions, we used the projector to fall asleep, only to be woken by the fan's whirr. It is something to keep in mind if you plan to use it as a sleep aid without white noise or music to mask the sound. If you are using the projector while watching a film, gaming or hosting a party, the noise is unlikely to be an issue.
Govee Galaxy Light Projector 2 Pro: Functionality
★★★★
The projector is fairly large compared with other models we've tested like the Pococo and Orzorz projectors. (Image credit: Tantse Walter)
Smart integration is great
Requires mains power
Good Bluetooth Speaker
Although you can use the on-body buttons for basic controls, the Govee app unlocks all of the star projector's advanced features.
Setup through the dedicated Govee app is seamless — no error messages, no frustrating reboots or restarts. It just works.
20 scene modes adjust the speed, brightness, white noise track (if enabled) and laser direction. The variations between modes are subtle, but distinct enough to have standouts — our favorites being Cosmic Waves and Interstellar Travel.
Within the app, you can control the sleep timer and the wake-up timer. The unit is set to turn off automatically after 120 minutes. This is apparently designed to help increase the disks' lifespans. We'd have preferred it to be a little longer, to account for watching alongside long movies or an evening gaming stint, but it's easy enough to turn the unit off and on again to restart the timer.
As well as being able to pair the star projector with another Bluetooth device (like your phone) to play music, it also comes with 50 'white noise' sounds — though 'ambient noise' would be a better description. There is themed music and sound effects, but funnily enough, no actual 'white noise'.
The speaker is good enough for a pleasant listening experience. Lacking large amounts of bass, like most Bluetooth speakers do, but good enough for background music, podcasts, audiobooks and spa music.
This is a mains-powered unit and, unfortunately, isn't rechargeable. In reality, you're likely to find a good spot for your projector and leave it there rather than moving it around too often, so this isn't a deal breaker for us.
Should I buy the Govee Galaxy Light Projector 2 Pro?
Buy it if:
✅ You are looking for a disk-based projector that you don't need to move too often: This is a mains-powered unit, best for keeping in situ.
✅ You like buying from reputable manufacturers: Govee is a trusted manufacturer of ambient lighting solutions, not a distributor of mass-produced 'cheap' units.
Don't buy it if:
❌ You want something with a small footprint: If space is limited, you'll want something that occupies less of it.
❌ You don't want a disk-based projector: For that, try the previous model, the Govee Star Light Projector, which allows you to customize a plethora of lights and patterns to your liking.
This isn't a budget-friendly star projector; in fact, it sits at the pricier end of the spectrum (unless we're talking about the truly expensive ones). At the time of writing, it's currently retailing for $149.99, which we do think is pretty steep, especially when much cheaper models are available and probably do just as good a job. For example, the Orzorz Galaxy Lite disk-based projector is one of the best models we have reviewed for image vividness and brightness; however, it lacks a built-in speaker.
For a good 'lights and patterns' style projector, the Cadrim, which we reviewed earlier this year, is a very affordable option that operates quietly and only takes up a tiny amount of space. It is controlled by a supplied remote control rather than an app, so it's great for keeping children off their screens, too. The Cadrim would be a good option to give as a gift, whereas this Govee model would be better as an indulgent 'me to me' holiday purchase.
If a disk-based projector without a speaker is definitely what you are after, the Sega Toys Homestar Matataki is our top choice for a plug-in device, and the Pococo Galaxy Star Projector is the best rechargeable option. For a disk-based option with a speaker, this is the best we've come across to date.
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- https://www.space.com/technology/govee-galaxy-light-projector-2-pro-review
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- HAR8qPoDtiwwHJvs527egd
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- Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:05:00 +0000Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:38:43 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Artemis 2 moon astronauts rehearse for launch day (photos) ]]>
- NASA's first crewed mission toward the moon in more than half a century moved closer to liftoff recently, as the Artemis 2 astronauts completed a full launch day dress rehearsal in Florida.
The four astronauts set to fly around the moon on the Artemis 2 mission participated in the launch day dress rehearsal on Dec. 20 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. The test marked a milestone in final preparations for NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen for their journey around our nearest celestial neighbor in early 2026.
The dress rehearsal, also known as a countdown demonstration test, simulated the launch day timeline, including the astronauts suiting up in spacesuits, a walkout and getting in and out of their Orion spacecraft, according to a NASA statement.
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen (right) and NASA’s Victor Glover and Christina Koch exit the elevator at the 275-foot level of the mobile launcher as they walk toward the crew access arm and prepare to board their Orion spacecraft atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket during the Artemis 2 countdown demonstration test on Dec. 20, 2025, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The action took place at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at KSC, where Orion and its European Service Module and the gigantic Space Launch System (SLS) rocket are being prepared and tested ahead of rollout and launch.
Artemis 2 is currently slated to launch from KSC no earlier than Feb. 5, 2026. The mission will mark the first time astronauts will journey to the vicinity of the moon since Apollo 17 in December 1972.
The following mission, Artemis 3, will attempt to land astronauts on the surface of the moon. The mission is officially scheduled for 2027, but reports suggest that it will not launch until 2028 at the earliest.
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/artemis-2-moon-astronauts-rehearse-for-launch-day-photos
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- mxcKrezuWppsJS9MFXQm23
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- Tue, 30 Dec 2025 17:04:39 +0000Wed, 31 Dec 2025 17:36:03 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ What constellation am I? A starry personality quiz ]]>
- When you look up at the night sky, you're gazing at stories written in stars.
Across cultures and centuries, constellations have been used to explain myths, guide travelers, and inspire dreamers. Each one carries its own symbolism, energy, and mystery, just like people do.
This quiz is designed to connect your quirks, strengths, and hidden sides with the constellation that resonates most with you.
So, are you ready to discover your cosmic twin? Step into the universe, answer a few revealing questions, and let the night sky tell you: What constellation am I?
Try it out below!
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- https://www.space.com/stargazing/constellations/what-constellation-am-i-a-starry-personality-quiz
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- FuQzF6RvoU2NBkUtSBrba8
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- Tue, 30 Dec 2025 17:00:00 +0000Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:33:08 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Golden satellite insulation sparkles during test | Space photo of the day for Dec. 30, 2025 ]]>
- Earth's orbital environment is becoming increasingly crowded. Thousands of satellites—many of them inactive, damaged, or out of fuel—now circle the planet alongside fragments of debris from past collisions.
As more and more satellites enter orbit, one of the biggest questions becomes: how can these satellites approach and maneuver around each other safely? To answer that question, Luxembourg-based companies LMO and ClearSpace carried out a carefully designed simulation using the European Space Agency's Guidance, Navigation and Control Rendezvous, Approach and Landing Simulator (GRALS).
What is it?
GRALS is part of ESA's Guidance, Navigation and Control Test Facilities and is built to recreate close-proximity operations in space with remarkable realism. The satellite model shown in this image was developed by ClearSpace to replicate the geometry, materials, and visual complexity of real satellites.
Its crinkled gold thermal insulation, metallic structures, and the cup-shaped reflective thruster are not just aesthetic details but critical features that influence how light behaves in space and how cameras perceive an object during a rendezvous.
To ensure reliability, engineers combine computer-generated imagery used to train AI systems with physical testing on increasingly realistic models. Smaller models simulate long-range approaches, while larger, high-fidelity replicas like the one shown are used to test the most delicate, close-range phases of a rendezvous.
Where is it?
This photo was taken at the ESA's technical center, ESTEC, in the Netherlands.
Using both models and AI, engineers can work to maneuver satellites as safely as possible. (Image credit: ESA-SJM Photography)
Why is it amazing?
The thousands of satellites orbiting Earth pose growing risks to operational spacecraft and to the long-term sustainability of space activities. Before a spacecraft can refuel, repair, or safely deorbit another satellite, it must be able to see, identify, and approach its target with exceptional accuracy. Vision-Based Navigation systems are key to making this possible. Much like self-driving cars rely on cameras and AI to interpret their surroundings, VBN-equipped spacecraft must interpret light, shadow, reflections, and rapidly changing viewpoints in the harsh environment of space.
Facilities like GRALS play a critical role in bridging the gap between theory and reality. By testing real hardware against realistic satellite models under space-like lighting conditions, engineers can expose weaknesses, validate AI training, and build confidence that autonomous systems will behave safely once deployed in orbit.
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/golden-satellite-insulation-sparkles-during-test-space-photo-of-the-day-for-dec-30-2025
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- 3dCj2QyjwxeNfbo53vXi5n
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- Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:23:07 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ How NASA changed in 2025 — possibly forever ]]>
- For an agency shooting for the moon and onward to Mars, NASA in 2025 has been on a roller coaster ride of proposed budget cuts, personnel layoffs, and potential elimination of science missions.
A key question: Have these various traumas changed NASA dramatically, and potentially permanently?
Battle lines are being drawn and now Congress has to spin up their views as to the space agency's overall stability and, indeed, its future. As for what's ahead, it's all sausage making — political style. The outcome for NASA is literally a to-be-determined matter of time and space.
Corporate/agency history
"Clearly, things have changed," said Henry Hertzfeld, a research professor of space policy and international affairs at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, noting that his observations are from afar, not from within the space agency.
"A lot of very experienced people with a lot of 'corporate/agency history' are now gone from the agency. Some may have retired soon anyway, but that is not an excuse or explanation of the changes," Hertzfeld told Space.com.
Since the whole policy office at NASA was eliminated, said Hertzfeld, many of those people and functions are gone. Whether, for example, economics and other policy offices will be missed or not is arguable, he said.
"But I do think not having them is a significant loss of talent and input into NASA programs and decisions," Hertzfeld said.
Long-term loss
Like many suggest, if Congress doesn't act with funding, the real loss is in the science area.
"There will be fewer new initiatives and many cuts in the work that now won't be done across the board," said Hertzfeld.
"The science part of NASA is relatively small but it is the one true research area that has produced significant learning and information over the years. And, it will be a long-term loss since the agency will likely face more difficulty in hiring and keeping highly trained and skilled scientists," Hertzfeld said. "They will go elsewhere … and elsewhere is not the government."
People hold signs outside on a sunny day in protest of NASA budget cuts, July 20, 2025. (Image credit: Space.com / Josh Dinner)
Investment dollars
Hertzfeld said that one less well understood impact is the rapid funding of various defense and security space efforts.
"We read about the significant increase in private sector investment activity oriented toward space. But what is really happening is that the Department of Defense spending on buying more from companies is the main driver of these investment dollars," said Hertzfeld. "NASA programs and needs are no longer the main stimulus for 'commercial' space activity."
The resulting innovation and products for new space activities, Hertzfeld added, will primarily benefit the security aspects and not so much the civil space programs. "Thus, the aggregate commercial and government space sector will benefit, but quite differently from what we experienced in history," he said.
Heightening concerns
Keith Cowing is founder of the private NASA overseer website, NASA Watch. He is passionate about the space agency's revered history and its future.
"While every NASA field center saw workforce reductions of around 20%, perhaps no center was more drastically affected by budget cuts than NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center," pointed out Cowing.
There was a long term plan in place that would have morphed Goddard over the course of nearly a decade to better adapt it to future NASA needs, Cowing told Space.com. That plan was co-opted by Administration personnel in place at NASA Headquarters, he said, to accelerate and expand Goddard facility closures that will result in half of the center's buildings and laboratories being mothballed, he said.
"These cuts are a standout when compared to changes elsewhere at NASA," Cowing said, "so much so that the House Oversight and House Science, Space and Technology committees sent repeated inquiries to NASA asking for an explanation."
The result is that "NASA has been slow to respond, thus heightening concerns about the overall impact on NASA science programs as presented by the White House in its FY 2026 budget request," Cowing said.
Tremendous challenge
Marcia Smith is founder and editor of the informative SpacePolicyOnline.com
NASA is not "crippled," Smith said, but time will tell the effects of the loss of personnel.
"I certainly don't know the names and positions of all the 4,000 or so people who left, but of the people I personally know, they were the best of the best," Smith advised. "Now, surely, a lot of terrific people are still there, but how they're going to manage to execute whatever programs remain with so many excellent colleagues gone will be a tremendous challenge."
Both what's happening at the NASA Goddard field center and given layoffs of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) talent, "is extremely worrisome to American leadership in space science," said Smith.
Smith observed that it may well be the effect on morale is the most dramatic effect.
"People who have spent their lives keeping America as the world leader in civil space science and technology basically being told their work is valueless and can be erased with the wave of a 'DOGE wand.' That's tough," Smith said.
DOGE stands for the Department of Government Efficiency, a special commission put in place by President Donald Trump, established to slash federal spending.
Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye addresses press and supporters on Capitol Hill on Oct. 5, 2025. (Image credit: Planetary Society)
Years to rebuild
NASA does what no other organization — public or private — can do, said Jack Kiraly, director of government relations for the Planetary Society, a member-funded nonprofit organization based in Pasadena, California that's dedicated to advancing space science and exploration.
"The agency has led the world in the exploration of space, redefining our understanding of the universe, and inspiring countless innovations in science and technology," Kiraly told Space.com.
Kiraly sees the events of 2025 as a profound shock to NASA and the space community.
"The agency will begin the new year with a civil servant workforce smaller than what it had at the dawn of human spaceflight in 1961. Nearly 4,000 scientists, engineers and space professionals have left the agency through pressured resignation and layoffs amid rapid reorganizations and funding uncertainty," said Kiraly.
That action represents a loss of specialized expertise and institutional knowledge that will take years to rebuild, added Kiraly.
Pivotal moment
Beyond the immediate impacts, said Kiraly, the termination of NASA awards valued at more than $315 million and the reduction of future research opportunities have disrupted the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pipeline that trains the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators.
Because NASA's activities involve every state and more than 75% of congressional districts, these effects will be felt nationwide, Kiraly said.
"The damage is real, but it doesn't have to be permanent," Kiraly said. "Congress has, in a bipartisan way, signaled to the White House and the public that they intend to fully fund NASA in 2026, rejecting the worst of the cuts proposed earlier this year."
And given the confirmation of Jared Isaacman to be NASA's Administrator "brings new leadership and momentum at a pivotal moment for the agency," Kiraly concluded.
]]>
- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/how-nasa-changed-in-2025-possibly-forever
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- Tue, 30 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:23:07 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Our 10 favorite Space.com reader astronomy photos of 2025 ]]>
- The sky served up no shortage of spectacle in 2025 —from lunar liaisons, solar prominences and fleeting meteor showers, to aurora and nebula scenes that unfold on a scale almost too massive for the human mind to comprehend.
And while we experience the cosmos first through the human eye, our vision has limits. We can't zoom in on distant nebulas, see the faintest glows, or safely take in the brightest targets — and much of the electromagnetic spectrum is invisible to us entirely.
Thankfully, the Space.com community is packed with talented photographers and observers armed with sophisticated cameras, clever techniques and powerful telescopes capable of revealing the hidden majesty of the cosmos. Read on for a selection of breathtaking images captured by astrophotographers around the world and featured on Space.com throughout 2025.
10 Incredible astrophotography highlights of 2025
1. Plasma twists above the solar surface
A solar prominence extends out from the sun (Image credit: Mark Johnston)
Astrophotographer Mark Johnston captured a jaw-droppingly detailed view of hydrogen plasma suspended in the powerful magnetic field above the sun on Oct. 20 from Willow Springs, Arizona, using a TEC160FL refractor telescope fitted with specialized filters.
2. A nebula shark is spied hunting through the depths of space
A cosmic shark hunts through deep space. (Image credit: Ronald Brecher)
Ronald Brecher, meanwhile, set his sights further afield, targeting a spectacular deep-spacenebula vista in the constellation Cepheus, some 650 light-years from Earth, which happens to resemble a vast cosmic shark swimming through deep space.
3. The moon and sun meet over Stonehenge
Partial solar eclipse sequence over Stonehenge, U.K. (Image credit: Josh Dury)
This gorgeous composite shot detailing the phases of a partial solar eclipse unfolding above the ancient monument of Stonehenge was captured by award-winning photographer Josh Dury as the moon slid between the sun and Earth on March 29.
4. Comet Lemmon twists in the solar wind
Astrophotographer Dan Bartlett captured this view of comet Lemmon (Image credit: Dan Bartlett)
In a year packed full of phenomenal cometary capers, astrophotographer Dan Bartlett captured a staggering image of comet C/2025 A6 (LEMMON) looking its best as it shone in the skies over June Lake, California, on Sept. 26, as its tail twisted in the relentless stream of the solar wind.
5. The northern lights from 36,000 feet
When a severe G4 geomagnetic storm hit, this Dreamliner pilot had the perfect front-row seat. (Image credit: Matt Melnyk)
Of course, not all of the best astrophotography subjects exist beyond Earth's atmosphere. Airline pilot Matt Melnyk snapped an impressive view of the northern lights shining in the upper atmosphere from a height of 36,000 feet (11 kilometers), while shepherding a Boeing 787 from London to Calgary during a geomagnetic storm on Nov. 12.
6. A cosmic baboon rages light-years from Earth
The Raging Baboon Nebula, as captured by astrophotographer Greg Meyer in 2025. (Image credit: Greg Meyer)
Astrophotographer Greg Meyer captured light of a more ancient variety while imaging a nebula 500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Corona Australis, which takes on the shape of a mandrill with glowing blue eyes in long-exposure photography.
7. Perseid meteors race the Milky Way
Perseid meteors streak towards Durdle Door in this 2025 image from photographer Josh Dury. (Image credit: Josh Dury)
This stunning composite from Josh Dury shows shooting stars belonging to the annual Perseid meteor shower streaking towards the horizon alongside the glowing band of the Milky Way above the iconic Durdle Door rock formation in Dorset, United Kingdom.
8. An 'Elve' red halo flashes to life over the Italian Alps
An "elve" lasts for less than a thousandth of a second. (Image credit: Valter Binotto)
Valter Binotto, meanwhile, was able to capture a split-second view of a red ring manifesting over the Italian Alps on Nov. 17. This strange phenomenon, known as an "elve", is a super-rare form of lightning that occurs in the upper atmosphere, which lasts less than a thousandth of a second and can span up to 300 miles (480 km) in diameter, according to NOAA.
9. Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) crosses the Eagle Nebula
Astronomer Daniele Gasparri seized the opportunity to image the glowing green coma and diffuse tail of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) as it passed in front of the Eagle Nebula in the constellation Serpens, the serpent on the night of Oct. 17. Look to the left of the comet to find the iconic Pillars of Creation — vast collections of dust and gas made famous by the Hubble Space Telescope — nestled beneath a population of stars close to the nebula's glowing core.
Finally, photographer Osama Fathi captured a beautiful composite scene chronicling the rise of the Sept. 7 "Blood Moon" as it soared into the skies over the chalk formations in Egypt's White Desert, while contending with the shifting light conditions and destabilizing gusts of wind.
Feeling inspired to take the first steps on your own astrophotography journey? Then why not check out our picks of the best cameras and lenses for imaging the night sky to ensure that you're ready for 2026.
Editor's Note: If you would like to share your astrophotography with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
]]>
- https://www.space.com/stargazing/astrophotography/our-10-favorite-space-com-reader-photos-of-2025
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- WTwSNuBdhWWcgWx9iW6kt3
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- Tue, 30 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000Tue, 30 Dec 2025 15:21:39 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Celestis books Stoke Space rocket for 2nd-ever deep space memorial flight for human remains ]]>
- Texas-based Celestis Inc., the space burial remembrance company that has made a name for itself delivering cremated remains and DNA samples of friends, celebrities, and loved ones into near-space, Earth orbit, the moon and into deep space is expanding its horizons with the announcement of a new launch partner for a future Voyager flight.
After a comprehensive selection process, Celestis has chosen Stoke Spaceand its new Nova rocket as the launch provider for its next deep-space Voyager mission named "Infinite Flight," traveling beyond our Earth-moon system and into a permanent heliocentric orbit up to 185 million miles away.
This mission is slated to lift off from Space Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral sometime in late 2026 and represents only the second commercial odyssey of its, the first of which was 2024’s "Enterprise Flight" that carried remains of "Star Trek" luminaries, three former U.S. Presidents, and "2001: A Space Odyssey's" Douglas Trumbull.
Promotional art from Celestis. (Image credit: Celestis)
"The 'Infinite Flight' continues what began nearly thirty years ago when we promised that remembrance could itself be an act of discovery," said Charles M. Chafer, Celestis Co-Founder and CEO. "Our Voyager missions ensure that every story we carry into space helps extend humanity’s presence across the solar system. To fly aboard Nova, one of the most advanced reusable launch systems ever built, is both a technical and symbolic leap forward."
Stoke Space's Nova is a medium-lift, 100% reusable two-stage rocket built by the Kent, Washington-headquartered aerospace firm founded by former Blue Origin principles, Andy Lapsa and Tom Feldman. It’s schedule to lift off on its first orbital test flight in 2026.
Stoke Space's new Nova rocket will commence orbital testing in 2026. (Image credit: Stoke Space)
Last month, Charles Chafer revealed news that his company has opened reservations for its pioneering "Mars300" spaceflight that endeavors to send human DNA to orbit around the Red Planet as early as 2030 once a suitable launcher becomes available.
The Houston company has previously utilized the launch services of various aerospace firms using a variety of rockets, including United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan Centaur. This past summer, European spacecraft manufacturer The Exploration Company (TEC) hosted a Celestis Memorial Spaceflight payload employing a Falcon 9 rocket blasting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on SpaceX's Transporter 14 rideshare mission. Unfortunately, TEC's Nyx capsule carrying the remains of 166 people failed to deploy its parachute during reentry over the Pacific Ocean and Celestis' "Earth Rise" cargo capsules were lost.
With mission management services being carried out by Ensemble, Celestis' "Infinite Flight" hopes to launch on its long journey in Q4 2026.
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/celestis-books-stoke-space-rocket-for-2nd-ever-deep-space-memorial-flight-for-human-remains
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- Mon, 29 Dec 2025 22:00:00 +0000Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:31:54 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ 10 most expensive Lego Marvel sets on the market right now ]]>
- When it began, Lego's range of sets centered around Marvel superheroes was squarely aimed at children. Sets were small and basic, easy for young hands to build independently.
There are still plenty of those around, of course, but as time has gone on, more and more adult-focused Lego Marvel sets have been introduced into the range. Adult-focused sets generally mean expensive sets — and so here we are looking at the 10 most expensive Lego Marvel sets you can get.
Compared to Lego Star Wars, Marvel sets are relatively inexpensive. Of course, there are the outliers — the number one set on this list will set you back $499.99. But with Lego Star Wars sets costing up to $1,000 and a large range of Ultimate Collector's Series sets, it's much more aimed at collectors than Marvel. In this list, there's a good mix of playsets and adult-focused display sets, ranging between $100 and $500.
Some sets on this list are brand new, while others are due to retire very soon, but they're all currently available. If you want more Lego Marvel content, why not take a look at our guide to the best Marvel sets?
10 most expensive Lego Marvel sets you can get
1. Avengers Tower
The most expensive Lego Marvel set is, unsurprisingly, also the most impressive. (Image credit: The Lego Group)
Set specifications
Price: $499.99 / £429.99
Set number: 76269
Number of pieces: 5201
Age rating: 18+
Release date: November 2023
Here we have it: the most expensive Lego Marvel set currently available. The impressive, meter-tall Avengers Tower costs a staggering $499.99, but at 5201 pieces and 36 inches tall, it's worth every penny for the amount of detail it packs. It's the ultimate set for any Marvel fan, and it’s one we're very proud to have in our collection.
Like The Daily Bugle, Avengers Tower comes with a lot of minifigures: 31 in total here. The most popular Marvel characters all feature here, along with some less common choices. The collection includes Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Ant-Man, Nick Fury, Wong, Hawkeye, Wanda Maximoff and a whole lot more.
But it's the building itself that really sells this set. The glass-fronted Avengers Tower really shines in Lego form, and the careful details included here help bring it to life. It's striking from the outside, but lift away the side of the building and you'll find lots of detail inside, too. There's space for all the minifigures to exist within and around the tower, as well as space to recreate iconic scenes from the Avengers movie franchise. It's a set that will take pride of place on any Lego display — as long as you've got enough space for it.
2. Daily Bugle
At over 30 inches tall, the Lego Daily Bugle is a seriously impressive set. (Image credit: LEGO|Disney)
Set specifications
Price: $349.99 / £299.99
Set number: 76178
Number of pieces: 3789
Age rating: 18+
Release date: June 2021
One of the first adult-focused Lego Marvel sets to hit the shelves, we'll be sad when the Daily Bugle retires. It's been around for four years now, so if you don't yet own it, we’d recommend picking it up sooner rather than later. This 32-inch-tall skyscraper not only packs in a huge amount of detail, but it also has an epic collection of 25 minifigures. It's a collector's dream, basically.
We won't list each and every minifigure, but there's a fantastic mix of heroes and villains; pretty much everyone you'd expect to find from the Spider-Man universe, with some more left-field choices such as Spider-Ham and lesser-seen minifigures such as Black Cat, Punisher and Blade. They can be placed in and around the Daily Bugle building, with many minifigures designed to be hung on the outside, making it look like it's the site of an epic battle.
The building itself is a joy to behold, though. Some of its windows are made to look like they've been blown out, mid-explosion, and the fronts of each floor can lift away to allow access to the interior. You'll find fully kitted-out offices here, with plenty of neat details to enjoy. Perhaps the highlight, though, is the brick-built Daily Bugle sign that sits atop the building: it's a truly iconic feature.
3. X-Men: The X-Mansion
Large, colorful and with a lot of detail, the X-Mansion is a fantastic set for Lego collectors and X-Men fans alike. (Image credit: Lego)
Set specifications
Price: $329.99 / £289.99
Set number: 76294
Number of pieces: 3093
Age rating: 18+
Release date: November 2024
With the X-Mansion, we're still in serious collector's territory. This 3,093-piece set is packed with stunning detail and a strong suite of minifigures to bring it to life. It's an 18+ set, so it's firmly in display territory, but its modular design with lift-away storeys makes it impossible not to want to play with it.
This is a set absolutely packed with details that fans of X-Men will adore. The Mansion has a fully-furnished interior, where you'll find Professor X's laboratory, Wolverine's bedroom, a medical lab, a classroom, a library and a Danger Room training facility. There are plenty of accessories in each room, too, and space for the 10 included minifigures to exist within the building.
The included minifigures are Wolverine, Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Iceman, Bishop and Magneto. There's also a large buildable Sentinel figure. It may be expensive, but we think the Lego Marvel X-Men: X-Mansion offers excellent value, and it's a set you'll be proud to have on display.
4. Guardians of the Galaxy: The Milano
This chunky ship comes with a display stand, making it great to show off on a shelf. (Image credit: The Lego Group)
Set specifications
Price: $179.99 / £159.99
Set number: 76286
Number of pieces: 2090
Age rating: 12+
Release date: August 2024
If you like ships and vehicles, the Milano is quite possibly the Lego Marvel set for you. It's not the first version of the iconic Guardians of the Galaxy ship we've had, and it probably won't be the last, but it is the largest and the most detailed. With an age rating of 12+, this sits somewhere between being a playset and a display set. It features a brick-built display stand, though the ship has enough moving parts that those who do want to play with it won't be disappointed.
Guardians fans will love the minifigures included here: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and a tiny Baby Groot. Made up of 2090 pieces, the ship features plenty of detail too: the top lifts off, providing full access to the interior, where you'll find a chill-out area, a flight deck and a communal area. There's space for the minifigures to exist in these areas, if you want to play with the set.
If not? This is a stunning-looking model, and its stand is sturdy enough to hold it in a flight position. The blue and orange detailing to the exterior make it an eye-catching model, and the adjustable wings and moveable rear boosters add some welcome detail, too.
5. Spider-Man vs. Oscorp
It's a little on the expensive side, but Spider-Man vs. Oscorp is a great set for fans of cityscapes. (Image credit: The Lego Group)
Set specifications
Price: $139.99 / £119.99
Set number: 76324
Number of pieces: 808
Age rating: 10+
Release date: August 2025
For Lego fans who enjoy cityscapes and building their own Lego City, we think Lego Marvel Spider-Man vs. Oscorp is a great choice, even if it is a little pricey given its size. Despite having almost 500 pieces fewer than the Iron Man Mark 3 set, it will set you back $10 more, making this the most expensive pure playset on this list. If you like dioramas, imaginative play and minifigures, however, it may be worth the asking price.
Spider-Man vs. Oscorp comes with eight minifigures: Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Miles Morales, Eddie Brock, Ghost-Spider, Norman Osborn, Kraven the Hunter and Green Goblin. There's a nice mixture of heroes and villains for kids to play with, and of course, there are plenty of interactive features on the set to facilitate that.
To start with, Miles comes with a motorbike and Green Goblin comes on his glider. The building itself has plenty of neat details too: it features Miles Morales' apartment, the Oscorp building and Venom's apartment, each one filled with relevant details to bring the spaces to life.
6. Iron Man Mark 3 Collectors' Edition
New for 2026, this is a fantastic set for collectors. (Image credit: The Lego Group)
Set specifications
Price: $129.99 / £119.99
Set number: 76344
Number of pieces: 1297
Age rating: 18+
Release date: January 2026
Here's an upcoming set, due to launch on January 1st. A brick-built model of Iron Man Mark 3, it's very much designed to be looked at and admired rather than played with.
Iron Man Mark 3 does have poseable limbs, however. It features a jointed neck, waist, shoulders, wrists and hands, which allows you to recreate numerous iconic Iron Man poses. The legs are the only parts that don't move, but they're positioned to offer optimum stability to the model.
We're quite excited to get our hands on this model, actually: at $129.99, it's a good price point for a display set that offers a great amount of detail without breaking the bank. It's also not too large that it's going to dominate a living space: at 15 inches tall, it's big enough to command attention without taking over.
7. Avengers: Age of Ultron Quinjet
The Lego Marvel Avengers: Age of Ultron Quinjet comes with a brick-built stand for easy display. (Image credit: The Lego Group)
Set specifications
Price: $129.99 / £109.99
Set number: 76325
Number of pieces: 1131
Age rating: 12+
Release date: August 2025
We'd say that Lego Marvel Avengers: Age of Ultron Quinjet is equal parts play and display. Thanks to a brick-built display stand, the model will look fantastic on a shelf. But it can easily be lifted away, swooshed through the air, and opened up to be interacted with. Whether you want smaller hands playing with a $130 set, that's up to you. But Lego gives you the option.
The set comes with five minifigures that Avengers fans will surely love: Black Widow, Iron Man, Quicksilver, Ultimate Ultron and Hawkeye. Black Widow also comes with her iconic motorcycle, and Hawkeye is equipped with a bow and arrow.
The ship itself has plenty of interactive parts. The cockpit opens up, with room for three minifigures inside, and there's a rear door that opens up to allow Black Widow's motorcycle to drive in and out. Oh, and the stand included in the set can be rotated 360 degrees, which is a seriously impressive touch, especially for a set at this price point.
8. Spider-Man Final Battle
A model of the head of the Statue of Liberty, this is a fun set for both play and display. (Image credit: The Lego Group)
Set specifications
Price: $109.99 / £94.99
Set number: 76261
Number of pieces: 900
Age rating: 10+
Release date: August 2023
While Lego Marvel Spider-Man Final Battle is categorized as a playset, with an age rating of 10+, we think it's more suited to being a display set. The set is essentially a model of the head of the Statue of Liberty covered in scaffolding, with a good selection of minifigures all battling it out around it.
The minifigures here are perhaps the strongest part of the set, and are the reason it carries a $109.99 price tag. It comes with three different versions of Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland), Electro, Doctor Strange, Green Goblin, Ned, MJ and Doc Ock. The set is designed in such a way that minifigures can be positioned to look like they're flying through midair, while others can grab hold of a scaffold or perch on a narrow beam to signify action. It's an effective-looking set that really does benefit from being admired rather than played with.
There are some interactive features, however. Our favorite is that the Sandman's hand can pop out of the top of the model. There's also a flap at the back that reveals a portal, and a soft web that can be used to entangle enemies.
9. Spider-Man vs. Mysterio: The Daily Bugle
A smaller version of The Daily Bugle, this is a great playset for kids. (Image credit: The Lego Group)
Set specifications
Price: $99.99 / £99.99
Set number: 76342
Number of pieces: 781
Age rating: 10+
Release date: January 2026
Lego Marvel Spider-Man vs. Mysterio: The Daily Bugle is a brand new set, available to pre-order now for a January 2026 release. What's particularly neat is that this is essentially a scaled-down version of the larger, designed-for-adults Daily Bugle set, turned into a playset suitable for kids. Of course, it's nowhere near as detailed as that larger version, but as far as playsets go, it looks rather neat, and comes with a decent range of minifigures (Spider-Man, Miles Morales, Ghost Spider, J. Jonah Jameson, Mysterio, Venomized Captain America and Rhino).
The four-floor skyscraper that forms the Daily Bugle office is open at the back, but each room has been furnished with some nice little details. There's an office space, a newsroom tech suite and a reception area, along with an opening safe and a working lever that changes the billboard on top of the building. Since it's designed for play, there are plenty of accessories that the included minifigures can pick up and interact with, such as a photocopier machine, a skateboard, Captain America's shield, a pizza tray and more.
That's not to say that it won't still look rather nice on display if you've not managed to pick up the larger version of the set. Standing 13 inches tall, it's only a third of the height of the larger, The Daily Bugle set, but it's substantial enough to be eye-catching on a shelf or desktop.
10. Marvel Logo and Minifigures
The Lego Marvel Logo is made much more interesting by the fact its minifigures can literally pop out of it. (Image credit: Kim Snaith)
Set specifications
Price: $99.99 / £89.99
Set number: 76313
Number of pieces: 931
Age rating: 12+
Release date: January 2025
A brick-built Marvel logo isn't going to be for everyone, but if you have a Lego Marvel display, we think this will make the perfect centerpiece. Not only does it feature an accurate and sizeable recreation of the Marvel logo, but it comes with five minifigures (Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Black Widow) that literally break out of the model when it's put on display. It's a neat and effective touch that elevates this set from being more than just a logo.
In our Marvel Logo and Minifigures review, we praised the mechanisms that form part of the pop-out system. There's a bit of Technic work involved, which elevates the build somewhat, making it a little more interesting and taxing. It is a little on the expensive side, though, considering what it is. But still, at nearly 1,000 pieces, it doesn't offer bad value for money, even if it's not the most exciting Lego Marvel set there's ever been.
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- https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-toys-lego/10-most-expensive-lego-marvel-sets-available-right-now
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- Mon, 29 Dec 2025 21:00:00 +0000Fri, 19 Dec 2025 16:37:59 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Flat Earth, spirits and conspiracy theories — experience can shape even extraordinary beliefs ]]>
- This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
On Feb. 22, 2020, "Mad" Mike Hughes towed a homemade rocket to the Mojave Desert and launched himself into the sky. His goal? To view the flatness of the Earth from space. This was his third attempt, and tragically it was fatal. Hughes crashed shortly after takeoff and died.
Hughes' nickname – Mad Mike – might strike you as apt. Is it not crazy to risk your life fighting for a theory that was disproven in ancient Greece?
But Hughes' conviction, though striking, is not unique. Across all recorded cultures, people have held strong beliefs that seemed to lack evidence in their favor – one might refer to them as "extraordinary beliefs."
For evolutionary anthropologists like me, the ubiquity of these kinds of beliefs is a puzzle. Human brains evolved to form accurate models of the world. Most of the time, we do a pretty good job. So why do people also often adopt and develop beliefs that lack strong supporting evidence?
In a new review in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, I propose a simple answer. People come to believe in flat Earth, spirits and microchipped vaccines for the same reasons they come to believe in anything else. Their experiences lead them to think those beliefs are true.
Theories of extraordinary belief
Most social scientists have taken a different view on this subject. Supernatural beliefs, conspiracy theories and pseudoscience have struck researchers as totally impervious to contrary evidence. Consequently, they have assumed that experience is not relevant to the formation of those beliefs. Instead, they've focused on two other explanatory factors.
The first common explanation is cognitive biases. Many psychologists argue that humans possess mental shortcuts for reasoning about how the world works. For instance, people are quite prone to seeing intentions and intelligence behind random events. A bias of this kind might explain why people often believe that deities control phenomena such as weather or illness.
The second factor is social dynamics: People adopt certain beliefs not because they’re sure that they’re true but because other people hold those beliefs, or they want to signal something about themselves to others. For example, some conspiracy theorists may adopt strange beliefs because those beliefs come with a community of loyal and supportive co-believers.
Both of these approaches can partly explain how people come to hold extraordinary beliefs. But they discount three ways that experience, in tandem with the other two factors, can shape extraordinary beliefs.
A popular flat-Earth map shows the North Pole at the center of the world and a ring of Antarctic ice surrounding the edge of our planet. (Image credit: Creative Commons cc 4.0/ PizzaPlanet)
1. Experience as a filter
First, I propose that experience can act as a filter. It determines which extraordinary beliefs can successfully spread throughout a population.
Take the flat Earth theory as an example. We know with absolute certainty that it's false, but it's no more or less wrong than a theory that the Earth is shaped like a cone. So what makes flat Earth so much more successful than this equally incorrect alternative?
The answer is as obvious as it seems – the Earth looks flat when you're standing on it, not cone-shaped. Visual evidence favors one extraordinary belief over the others. Of course, scientific evidence clearly shows that the Earth is round; but it’s not surprising that some people prefer to trust what their eyes are telling them.
2. Experience as a spark
My second argument is that experience acts as a spark for extraordinary beliefs. Strange experiences, such as auditory hallucinations, are difficult to explain and understand. So people do their best to explain them – and in doing so, they come up with beliefs that seem fittingly strange.
For this pathway, sleep paralysis is a good case study. Sleep paralysis happens in the space between sleeping and waking – you feel like you're awake, but you can't move or speak. It’s terrifying and quite common. And interestingly, sufferers usually feel like there's a threatening agent sitting on their chest.
As a scientist, I interpret sleep paralysis as the result of neural confusion. But it’s not difficult to picture how someone without a scientific background – that is, nearly every human being in history – might interpret the experience as evidence of supernatural beings.
Many people link sleep paralysis and alien abduction to try to rationalize their experiences. (Image credit: Shutterstock)
3. Experience as a tool
To me, the third potential route to extraordinary beliefs is especially intriguing. In many cases, people don't just develop extraordinary beliefs; they develop immersive practices that make those beliefs feel true.
For instance, imagine that you're a farmer living in the highlands of Lesotho in southern Africa, where I conduct ethnographic fieldwork. You suffer a series of miscarriages, and you want to know why. So you go to a traditional healer – she tells you that you can learn the answer from your ancestors by drinking a hallucinogenic brew. You drink the brew. Soon after, you begin to see spirits; they speak to you and explain your misfortune.
Clearly, an experience like this one might reinforce your belief in the existence of spirits. Such immersive practices – such as prayer, ritualistic dance and the religious use of psychoactive substances – create evidence that makes the associated beliefs feel true.
What's next?
Extraordinary beliefs are not inherently good or bad. In particular, religious beliefs provide meaning, security and a sense of community for billions of people.
But some extraordinary beliefs are sources of serious concern: Misinformation about science and politics is rampant and immensely dangerous. By recognizing how those beliefs are shaped by experience, researchers can find better ways to combat their spread.
Just as importantly, though, my suggested perspective might encourage more compassion and kinship toward people who hold beliefs that seem very different from yours. They are not "mad" or insincere. Like any other human being, they think the evidence is on their side.
]]>
- https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/flat-earth-spirits-and-conspiracy-theories-experience-can-shape-even-extraordinary-beliefs
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- Mon, 29 Dec 2025 19:00:00 +0000Mon, 29 Dec 2025 15:41:10 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Iran says it launched 3 satellites to space on Russian rocket: report ]]>
- Iran has launched a trio of new satellites into space with the help of a Russian rocket, the country's state media reported Sunday (Dec. 28).
The satellites launched into orbit atop a Russian Soyuz rocket as part of a rideshare mission that also launched two Earth-observation satellites for Russia and 47 other satellites for various customers.
"These satellites were designed and produced by Iranian scientists ... despite all the sanctions and threats," Iran's ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told state TV according to the Reuters wire service. Iran's activities in space have been affected by ongoing sanctions from Western nations over its nuclear program.
According to Iran's IRNA news agency the three new satellites, called Paya, Zafar 2 and Kowsar, are Earth-observation satellites to be used to monitor Iran's agriculture, map natural resources and the environment.
Russia's space agency Roscosmos launched the Iranian satellites alongside two Russian Aist-2T Earth observation satelites and dozens of cubesats aboard a Soyuz 2.1b rocket on a mission that lifted off from the country's Vostochny Cosmodrome in Siberia. Fifty-two satellites were launched in all.
In addition the Aist-2T and Iranian satellites, the Soyuz rocket carried a small satellite for the Sputnix Group based in the United Arab Emirates, as well as cubesats for Russian universities, and a satellite to measure climate change and space weather for the Russian Hydrometeorological Service, according to Russia's TASS news service.
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/iran-says-it-launched-3-satellites-to-space-on-russian-rocket-report
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- Mon, 29 Dec 2025 17:30:08 +0000Mon, 29 Dec 2025 17:31:15 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ 12 times rockets and spacecraft crashed and burned in 2025 ]]>
- 2025 was a very busy year for spaceflight, for better and for worse.
We saw quite a few milestones notched in the final frontier this year, including the first-ever fully successful private moon landing and the official arrival of Blue Origin's New Glenn heavy lifter on the spaceflight scene. But there were a number of failures as well, some of them quite dramatic.
Here's a brief rundown of 12 of 2025's most memorable mishaps. One caveat first, though: There is no shame in being on the following list. Spaceflight is hard, and coming up short sometimes is part of the deal. It took SpaceX four tries to reach orbit for the first time, after all, and look at where the company is today.
12. Indian rocket fails during satellite launch
India attempted to launch an Earth-observing radar satellite on May 17, 2025, but a problem with the mission's rocket resulted in a failure. (Image credit: ISRO)
An Indian PSLV-XL rocket launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on May 17, carrying the EOS-09 Earth-observing radar satellite aloft for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). But EOS-09 didn't make it to its destination: The PSLV-XL suffered an issue with its third stage about six minutes into flight, and the satellite was lost.
11. Firefly Aerospace suffers a 1-2 punch
View from the upper stage of Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket during its sixth-ever launch on April 29, 2025, which ended in failure. (Image credit: Firefly Aerospace/NSF via YouTube)
Texas company Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket lifted off from California on April 29 on its sixth-ever mission, hauling a technology demonstration for Lockheed Martin toward low Earth orbit. Alpha's upper stage got about 200 miles (320 kilometers) up, but it failed to reach orbital velocity due to a problem suffered shortly after stage separation, and the payload was lost.
Firefly diagnosed the problem and began gearing up for Alpha's return to flight. But the company then suffered another setback on Sept. 29: The Flight 7 first-stage booster exploded on the stand during testing. The company traced the problem to a "process error" during integration and aims to launch Flight 7 (with a different first stage) in early 2026.
10. Landspace's Zhuque-2 rocket fails
Landscape's Zhuque-2 rocket launches on its successful debut mission in 2023. The rocket suffered a launch failure on Aug. 14, 2025. (Image credit: VCG via Getty Images))
The Zhuque-2, a two-stage rocket operated by Chinese startup Landspace, failed on its sixth-ever mission, which launched Aug. 14 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The company did not disclose the payloads that were riding on the rocket. It was the second failure for the Zhuque-2, whose engines burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen, like SpaceX's Raptor, which powers the company's Starship megarocket.
9. Galactic Energy's Ceres-1, too
Liftoff of Galactic Energy's second Ceres-1 solid rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Dec. 7, 2021. The 22nd launch of the rocket, on Nov. 9, 2025, ended in failure. (Image credit: Galactic Energy)
Nearly three months later, another Chinese rocket went up in flames — a Ceres-1, built by Beijing-based Galactic Energy. The Ceres-1 launched Nov. 9 from Jiuquan, carrying two commercial Earth-observing satellites and a third spacecraft manifested by a Chinese university. The rocket's first three stages performed well, according to media reports, but its fourth and final stage suffered an anomaly that doomed the mission.
There may have been another Chinese rocket failure this year as well. A Kuaizhou 1A vehicle — built by the company ExPace, a subsidiary of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation — apparently exploded on a pad at Jiuquan before launch on March 1, though reports of its demise remain unconfirmed.
8. Japan's H3 rocket fails during launch of navigation satellite
The H3 rises into the sky on Dec. 21, 2025. (Image credit: JAXA)
Japan suffered a failure, too, with just 10 days left in 2025. The country's H3 rocket experienced a problem with its second stage on Dec. 21, during the launch of the Michibiki 5 navigation satellite. The rocket did not deliver Michibiki 5 to the proper orbit, and officials with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) declared the satellite lost.
7. The 1st orbital launch from European soil crashes and burns
On March 30, the German company Isar Aerospace launched its Spectrum rocket from Andøya Spaceport in Norway. It was the first liftoff for Spectrum and the first-ever orbital flight from European soil, but it didn't last very long: The rocket suffered an anomaly 18 seconds into flight, crashed back to Earth and exploded, generating a blazing orange fireball in a gorgeous wintry landscape.
6. Australia's 1st homegrown orbital rocket comes up short
A similar story unfolded a few months later half a world away. On July 29, Australian company Gilmour Space debuted its Eris rocket from the Bowen Orbital Spaceport in coastal Queensland. It was the first-ever orbital launch attempt for a homegrown Australian rocket, but Eris soon came back to Earth: It slid sideways off the pad and fell back to terra firma 14 seconds after liftoff.
5. South Korean's 1st private orbital rocket, too
South Korean startup Innospace made history this year as well, launching the nation's first-ever private orbital rocket on Dec. 22. However, that vehicle, the Hanbit-Nano, suffered an anomaly about a minute into flight and came crashing back to Earth.
So it was a tough year for rocket debuts all the way around. But that's not exactly surprising: It's always been rare for a new launcher to ace its first-ever liftoff.
4. Returning boosters that didn't stick the landing
China's Zhuque-3 blasts off from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone on December 3, 2025 (Image credit: VCG / Getty Images)
There were four failed landing attempts during orbital launches this year — one each by the first-stage boosters of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket (on Jan. 15), SpaceX's Falcon 9 (on March 3), Landspace's Zhuque-3 (on Dec. 3) and the Chinese government's Long March 12A (on Dec. 22).
It's not entirely fair to include any of them on this list, as all four rockets reached orbit as planned, and landing the booster was a secondary objective for each of them. Plus, it was the first-ever flight for New Glenn (which stuck the landing on its second launch this past November), Zhuque-3, and the Long March 12A (both of which were attempting China's first-ever orbital booster touchdown). The loss of the Falcon 9 was the only landing hiccup for SpaceX this year out of more than 160 attempts. Still, they were technically failures, and all were memorable.
3. Private American lander tips over on the moon
A selfie captured by Intuitive Machines' Athena lander shortly after it touched down near the moon's south pole on March 6, 2025. (Image credit: Intuitive Machine)
On March 6, Athena, a robotic lander built by the Houston company Intuitive Machines, landed successfully on the moon with a passel of NASA science payloads. But Athena soon toppled over. Its prone position prevented some payloads from deploying properly, and the lander couldn't collect enough sunlight to recharge its batteries. Intuitive Machines declared Athena dead a day later.
It was the second such outcome in a little over a year for Intuitive Machines. The company made history in February 2024 with the lunar landing of its Odysseus spacecraft. But Odysseus toppled over as well, apparently after breaking a leg during its touchdown, cutting its mission short.
Intuitive Machines will be back on the moon soon, if all goes to plan: Its third robotic mission for NASA is currently targeted for the first half of 2026.
2. Private Japanese lander crashes into the moon
Resilience, a lunar lander built by the Japanese company ispace, snapped this photo of the moon during a close flyby on Feb. 15, 2025. (Image credit: ispace)
The Tokyo-based company ispace tried to put its Resilience lander down on the moon on June 5 but came up short; the vehicle slammed hard into the gray dirt in the Mare Frigoris ("Sea of Cold"). It was the second such setback for ispace, which also failed during a lunar landing try in April 2023.
There were plenty of silver linings on both missions, however; the company's lander made it to lunar orbit successfully on both occasions, notching a number of milestones but coming up short during the final stages of descent. And ispace plans to try again in 2027.
1. Starship's test-flight fireworks
SpaceX's Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, launched five times in 2025, on suborbital test flights from the company's Starbase site in South Texas. The first three did not go entirely according to plan.
On Jan. 16, Starship's first stage, a huge booster called Super Heavy, successfully came back to Starbase, where it was caught by the launch tower's "chopstick" arms. But the Ship upper stage exploded less than 10 minutes after liftoff, raining debris down over the Turks and Caicos Islands. A similar outcome occurred on March 6's test flight, which was the second Starship launch of 2025 and the eighth overall.
Flight 9, which lifted off on May 27, was something of a step backward for Starship, as both stages were lost prematurely (though Ship did fly for quite a bit longer than it managed to do on Flight 7 and Flight 8). A few weeks later, on June 18, the program suffered another setback: The Ship that SpaceX was prepping for Flight 10 exploded on a test stand at Starbase.
But SpaceX, and Starship, bounced back: The vehicle aced Flight 10 and Flight 11, which launched on Aug. 26 and Oct. 13, respectively. The company is now gearing up for the first test flight of Starship Version 3, a bigger and more powerful variant that will be capable of reaching Mars — the destination that SpaceX has long had in mind for the vehicle. Part of that prep featured the buckling of a Super Heavy during testing on Nov. 21, but SpaceX, as usual, is powering through.
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- https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/11-times-rockets-and-spacecraft-crashed-and-burned-in-2025
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- CqXgUYCRxFcZPVSjffCaNS
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- Mon, 29 Dec 2025 15:40:04 +0000Mon, 29 Dec 2025 15:40:05 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ ISS astronaut snaps stunning nighttime photo of Florida and Cuba | Space photo of the day for Dec. 29, 2025 ]]>
- At 2:23 am Eastern time on March 19, 2025, an astronaut aboard the International Space station (ISS)captured a striking nighttime view of Earth, where shimmering moonlight dances across dark ocean waters while clusters of city lights outline the Florida Peninsula, the Caribbean, and parts of Central America.
Dense clusters of illumination trace major population centers, including the bright corridor from Miami to Fort Lauderdale along Florida's southeastern coast, the Tampa–St. Petersburg area on the Gulf Coast, and the Orlando metropolitan region near the center of the peninsula. Smaller but still discernible patterns of light mark the Florida Keys, Nassau in the Bahamas, and Havana and other cities across Cuba.
What is it?
Besides the stunning city lights, what sets this image apart is the presence of moonglint, the nighttime counterpart to sunglint. Much like sunlight reflecting off the ocean's surface during the day, moonglint occurs when moonlight reflects off water at just the right angle to reach the observer.
In this case, the observer was a crewmember on the ISS, orbiting hundreds of miles above Earth. At the time, the moon was in a waning phase and about 78% illuminated, bright enough to produce a concentrated reflection across the sea, especially near the Florida Keys and Cuba.
The photograph was taken using a Nikon Z9 digital camera with a 28-millimeter lens, giving a wide field of view similar to that of the human eye. This perspective allows viewers to appreciate the curvature of the planet, accentuated by a thin, faint green layer of airglowalong the horizon, a reminder of Earth's atmosphere glowing softly against the darkness of space.
Where is it?
This photo was taken aboard the ISS, around 248 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth.
Moonglint and airglow are both phenomena featured in this image. (Image credit: NASA/Expedition 72 crew)
Why is it amazing?
Nighttime images of Earth reveal patterns of human settlement, infrastructure, and land use that are difficult to capture during the day. Scientists use such observations to study urban growth, energy consumption, andlight pollution, while also tracking how human activity intersects with natural environments.
The appearance of moonglint is especially valuable for researchers. Reflections of moonlight off the ocean can help scientists study sea-surface conditions, such as roughness and wave patterns, even at night. When combined with other data sources, these observations improve understanding of ocean–atmosphere interactions and refine models used in climate and environmental research.
The image shows the difference in temperature between the top of a hurricane and the bottom.
The images reveal the storm's incredible power and offer vital insights into how such hurricanes form.
A powerful geomagnetic storm created a series of brilliant auroras recently for observers across North America.
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- https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/iss-astronaut-snaps-stunning-nighttime-photo-of-florida-and-cuba-space-photo-of-the-day-for-dec-29-2025
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- vWswQEyFnEFSJsEhAavC7C
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- Mon, 29 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:09:52 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Does physics say that free will doesn't exist? ]]>
- You are currently making a conscious, willful decision to read this article. But physics says every action has a cause. So did you really make this decision as freely as you thought?
One of the bedrock philosophical concepts under all of physics is something called causal determinism. It says that every effect has a cause, and that if you know the current state of a system, you can use the power of physics to predict how it behaves. If effects happened without causes, then there wouldn't be much need for physics. And if we couldn't predict how systems would behave, then we wouldn't be very good at our jobs.
With this philosophy, physics has made enormous progress in advancing our understanding of the universe, from subatomic quantum systems to the Big Bang. And a part of that universe contains these weird things called brains that have the curious property of consciousness and the ability to freely make decisions.
So, at first glance, it seems like our understanding of physics forbids free will. We don't really have a choice, because if we had perfect knowledge of all the molecules and electrical activity in our brains, then we must be able to determine our choices in advance.
But there are three aspects of physics that add some wrinkles to this line of thinking.
The first is chaos theory. Some systems are easy to predict. But others, like double pendulums and weather patterns, are much harder to tackle. In these special kinds of systems, even a minuscule amount of uncertainty in the measurement of the initial state of a system very quickly compounds into complete ignorance about its future behavior. Strangely, these systems are perfectly deterministic; causes always lead smoothly to effects, so there's no mystery there. But they are impossible to predict well into the future.
The second wrinkle comes from quantum mechanics, which tells us that it's impossible to predict the outcomes of many kinds of experiments involving subatomic particles. Probabilities rule the day there, and the best we can do is assign chances to certain outcomes. Quantum mechanics is still a deterministic theory of nature — but again, it places a layer of ignorance over our understanding. We can't say for sure where a particle will go or how it will behave; we can only say what might happen. But it's not clear if the probabilistic rules of quantum mechanics apply to things like neural connections in the brain and the rise of consciousness, which is an emergent phenomenon.
The last wrinkle is exactly that: emergence. Fundamental descriptions of nature do not automatically guarantee an understanding of more complex systems. For example, we have an incredibly sophisticated theory of particle physics, based on quantum field theory, but that sophisticated theory works only when describing quantum systems. We have no quantum field theory description of how a star forms, or why chocolate tastes so good. We have to adopt other laws and theories to describe the systems as a whole.
None of these wrinkles gives a clear-cut yes-or-no answer to the question of free will. But they do show that our understanding of physics is limited. Most philosophers believe in a class of ideas under the heading of "compatibilism," which says that free will and physics can live together in harmony. It might be that our understanding of nature is not yet sophisticated enough to explain how free will can work with causal determinism.
In other words, if we work hard enough, we might someday reach a level of understanding that preserves causal determinism and all the usual physics goodness while including things like free will in a framework that makes sense.
Either way, we have no choice but to keep asking.
]]>
- https://www.space.com/science/particle-physics/does-physics-say-that-free-will-doesnt-exist
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- rZVa92RV8aRoZouuRkgqPN
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- Mon, 29 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000Mon, 29 Dec 2025 15:40:59 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ 13 must-see moon events in 2026: Eclipses, supermoons, conjunctions and more ]]>
- A bevy of supermoons, a dramatic total solar eclipse and a "blood moon" total lunar eclipse are some of the highlights of the coming lunar year, which will also include plenty of beautiful close conjunctions of the crescent moon and planets.
Here are some dates for this year's moon-gazing diary.
1. The year's first supermoon: Jan. 3, 2026 (dusk)
See a supermoon on Jan. 3, 2026. (Image credit: Hal Bergman via Getty Images)
The first full moon of 2026, January's Wolf Moon, will be a supermoon, meaning it will appear larger and brighter because it will be at or near its closest point to Earth in its elliptical orbit. Although it's the first of three supermoons in 2026, it's the last in a series of four from the back end of 2025.
2. "Ring of fire" annular solar eclipse: Feb. 17, 2026 (daytime)
An annular solar eclipse will occur on Feb. 17, 2026. (Image credit: goh keng cheong via Getty Images)
Will anyone be able to see the "ring of fire" annular solar eclipse on Feb. 17, 2026? The moon will eclipse up to 96% of the sun's center for up to 2 minutes, 20 seconds, but only for scientists at a few research stations — the French-Italian Concordia Station in the interior and the Russian Mirny Station in Queen Mary Land on the Davis Sea coast. A partial solar eclipse will be seen across Antarctica and from parts of southern Africa and Argentina.
Crescent moon and Mercury: Feb. 18, 2026 (after sunset)
See a young moon and Mercury on Feb. 18, 2026. (Image credit: Stellarium)
About 45 minutes after sunset on Feb. 18, something relatively rare will be on show: a conjunction between a superslim crescent moon and the elusive planet Mercury. Visible low in the western sky, the moon will be barely 2%-lit, so you'll likely need binoculars to see it. Below will be Venus, with Saturn above.
4. "Blood moon" total lunar eclipse: March 2-3, 2026 (night to early morning)
Don't miss the total lunar eclipse on March 2-3, 2026. (Image credit: Jonkman Photography via Getty Images)
Total lunar eclipses often come in threes. There were two in 2025, one of which wowed skywatchers in North America, and the final in the trio comes in early March 2026 — the last until 2029. During this event, the full Worm Moon will transit Earth's shadow to become a reddish-orange "blood moon" for 58 minutes as seen from parts of western North America, Australia, New Zealand, East Asia and the Pacific.
5. Crescent moon and Venus: March 20, 2026 (after sunset)
See the crescent moon close to Venus on March 20, 2026. (Image credit: Stellarium)
The sight of a young moon close to a bright planet will be on offer about 45 minutes after sunset on March 20, when a 5%-lit waxing crescent moon will hang above the bright planet Venus. Find an unobstructed western horizon, and take along a pair of binoculars.
6. Crescent moon, Venus and the Pleiades: April 19, 2026 (after sunset)
See a crescent moon, Venus and the Pleiades on April 19, 2025. (Image credit: Stellarium)
Look west an hour after sunset on April 19 for a spectacular panorama close to the sinking stars of Orion as a 9%-lit waxing crescent moon gets close to the Pleiades (also known as the "Seven Sisters" star cluster), with bright Venus below.
7. Total solar eclipse: Aug. 12, 2026 (daytime)
A total solar eclipse will be visible from parts of Europe on Aug. 12, 2026. (Image credit: Tegra Stone Nuess via Getty Images)
Even though it won't be visible, the moon will arguably perform its greatest trick of all on Aug. 12, 2026, when its silhouette will perfectly block the sun for up to 2 minutes, 18 seconds, as seen from eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain. All of Europe will experience a deep partial solar eclipse, while North America will see a small partial eclipse.
8. Partial lunar eclipse: Aug. 27-28, 2026 (after dark)
Don't miss the partial lunar eclipse on Aug. 27-28, 2026. (Image credit: Apostoli Rossella via Getty Images)
The second lunar eclipse of 2026 — which will be visible from North America, South America, Europe and Africa — won't quite live up to the first in March. Although the moon will enter Earth's central shadow in space, a 4% sliver of it won't, causing the lunar surface to turn mostly reddish. Although there will be no totality, the edge of Earth's shadow will gradually move across the moon and back again, which is always a grand sight.
9. Moon in the Beehive Cluster: Sept. 8, 2026 (before sunrise)
See a crescent moon close to M44 on Sept. 8, 2026. (Image credit: Stellarium)
Look east about 45 minutes before sunrise to see a lovely 9%-lit waning crescent moon just beneath the Beehive Cluster, also known as M44, which contains about 1,000 stars and is located 600 light-years from the solar system. You'll need binoculars to see M44 properly.
10. Moon in conjunction with Saturn: Sept. 26, 2026 (after sunset)
See the moon close to Saturn on Sept. 26, 2026. (Image credit: Stellarium)
Saturn will be prominent in the night sky in late 2026, but it will become most noticeable when the moon passes close by. That happens in the east on Sept. 26, just before the moon turns full.
11. A crescent moon and Jupiter: Oct. 6. 2026 (before sunrise)
See a crescent moon close to Jupiter on Oct. 6, 2026. (Image credit: Stellarium)
Here comes a rare and special sight: a very close conjunction of the moon and Jupiter, with just 10 arc seconds (three-thousandths of a degree) separating them. Best seen in the east about 90 minutes before sunrise, the moon will be about 20% lit, with "Earthshine" visible on its night side, closest to the giant planet.
12. A crescent moon close to Mars and Jupiter: Nov. 2, 2026 (before sunrise)
The moon and Mars will be in close conjunction on Nov. 2, 2026. (Image credit: Stellarium)
Mars won't be in the night sky for much of the first half of 2026, but by October, it will be visible in the southeast before sunrise. On Nov. 2, 2026, the Red Planet will be visited by a 43%-lit waning crescent moon, with Jupiter just below.
13. The closest supermoon since 2019: Dec. 23, 2026 (dusk)
Don't miss the supermoon on Dec. 23. (Image credit: Cavan Images via Getty Images)
In 2026, there will be three supermoons — on Jan. 3, Nov. 24 and Dec. 23 — but one is a standout. The full moon on Dec. 23 will be the closest full moon to Earth since 2019. At just 221,668 miles (356,740 kilometers) from our planet, it will edge out the Feb. 19, 2019, supermoon by about 60 miles (100 km), making it the biggest and brightest full moon in nearly eight years. However, two supermoons will come even closer on Feb. 10, 2028, and March 30, 2029.
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- https://www.space.com/stargazing/13-must-see-moon-events-in-2026-eclipses-supermoons-conjunctions-and-more
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- Mon, 29 Dec 2025 11:00:00 +0000Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:07:57 +0000
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- <![CDATA[ Fujifilm GFX 100S II review ]]>
- The Fujifilm GFX 100S II is the company’s answer to a portable version of the GFX 100 II, their medium-format flagship. It lacks the full hybrid capability of the GFX 100 II, which features massive 8K video capability and extended video recording connectivity. Both of the cameras boast the same 102MP sensor and X-Processor 5, but the GFX 100 S II is lighter and is primarily focused on shooting stills.
It's definitely one of the best cameras for photography, as it can handle a range of different styles, including landscape, portrait, nature and astrophotography. We tested it for all of these styles, and we think it is a great camera for the astrophotographer who uses extreme cropping or is involved in publishing large-scale prints. It doesn’t come cheap, but it crafts amazing imagery with huge amounts of detail and dynamic range, which makes subjects pop.
Fujifilm GFX 100S II review
Fujifilm GFX 100S II: Design
The Fujifilm GFX 100S II offers a lot of customization. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
Huge medium-format sensor
102MP sensor resolution
Highly customizable
The design of the GFX 100S II is sleek and portable for a medium-format camera. At 1.95 lbs (883 g), it is fairly heavy compared to some full-frame models but it is actually lighter than the Nikon Z9 and Canon EOS R3. It is even lighter than its direct 100MP competitor from Hasselblad.
What makes this camera stand out is the huge medium-format sensor, which measures 43.8 mm x 32.9 mm and is approximately 1.7 times bigger than a full-frame sensor. In theory, a larger sensor should be able to capture more light, and therefore, we should expect a medium-format camera to be a strong choice for astrophotography. We think it would be a good choice for astrophotographers who are interested in large-scale prints or for photographers who do a lot of cropping. This is thanks to the 102MP sensor resolution, which allows extraordinary detail to be retained when an image is blown up or extremely cropped.
The top controls feature a mode dial with six custom shooting modes for professionals who need lots of flexibility. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
Specifications
Sensor: Medium format 102MP
Lens mount: Fujifilm GFX
ISO range: 80-12,800 (expandable from 40 to 102,400)
Video: 4K at 30p
Weight: 1.95 lb (883 g) incl. battery and memory card
Memory card slots: Double SD UHS-II slots
The top controls feature a mode dial with six custom shooting modes for professionals who need lots of flexibility when shooting different subjects and styles. An easy mode switch takes you easily from still to video shooting and vice versa. For a camera with so much customizability, the range of buttons does not feel too overwhelming and is actually very intuitive. Take, for example, the exposure compensation found just in front of the shutter button, which makes adjusting exposure easy and quick during shooting.
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The mode dial on the Fujifilm GFX 100S II. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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The Fujifilm GFX 100S II has many buttons but not so many as to be overwhelming. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
The back panel reflects the same ethos, with a range of buttons but not too many as to be confusing. I found myself using the quick menu button a lot to change a range of things, including file capture type, film recipe simulation, ISO and timer settings. The quick menu is a small Q on the back of the body placed where it is easy to access with the right-hand thumb. A joystick makes it easy to move through the 16 customizable menu items.
The three-way tilting main LCD screen helps when shooting some high and low angles, but you would expect a fully articulating screen for the premium price of over $5000.
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The back LCD screen tilts three ways. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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The Fujifilm GFX 100S II offers good grip thanks to its trademark Bishamon-Tex leather-like coating. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
Fujifilm GFX 100S II: Performance
We liked how the Fujifilm GFX 100S II performed during our testing period. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
Shutter button lacked response
Three-way tilt of LCD screen was useful for astrophotography
Performed well for astrophotography
You can feel the professional weight of the GFX 100S II during handheld use, but it handles well thanks to a deep-shaped grip covered in Fujifilm’s trademark Bishamon-Tex leather-like coating. This was especially useful when handling the camera with heavier GFX lenses, which added considerable weight to the setup.
Whilst the operation of such a pro-level camera did seem intimidating, it was relatively simple to change exposure settings using the rear and front command dials on the body of the camera. I found the pressing of the shutter button didn’t have as hard a physical response as a Sony camera, so the actual process of shooting the frame felt a tad delayed. This is just my preference and the camera response speed is definitely not slow.
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The three-way tilting LCD screen is handy for everyday shooting as well as astrophotography on a tripod. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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Heavier GFX lenses added considerable weight to the setup, but the trademarked leather-coated grip helped handheld use. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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Whilst heavier than full-frame cameras, the GFX 100S II feels sturdy and powerful in the hand. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
Despite not being a fully articulating LCD screen, the three-way tilt screen did help a lot during astrophotography shoots when the camera was tripod-mounted and aimed at the night sky.
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The Milky Way | ISO 3200 20mm f/4 15s | Bortle Level 4 (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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The Milky Way | ISO 4000 20mm f/4 13s | Bortle Level 4 (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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We used the wide-angle GF 20-35mm f/4 R WR lens for shooting larger subjects like the Milky Way and constellations. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
I managed to shoot a range of night sky targets while shooting with the GFX 100 S II. I used the GF 20-35mm f/4 R WR lens to capture lots of wide-angle targets in the night sky. I captured the galactic core of the Milky Way with plenty of dust lanes visible. Some of these open wide shots that capture the Milky Way were prone to some color noise when cropping into the photograph from ISO 3200 upwards. With a larger-than-full-frame sensor, I would expect better noise handling, but it wasn’t anything that post-processing couldn’t fix.
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NGC 752 and the Triangulum galaxy (M33) | ISO 3200 110mm f/2 8s | Bortle Level 4 (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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The Pleaides star cluster and Perseus. | ISO 6400 20mm f/4 5s | Bortle Level 4 (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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The Pleiades | ISO 2500 110mm f/2 5s | Bortle Level 4 (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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The Big Dipper (cropped) | ISO 6400 35mm f/4 8s | Bortle Level 4 (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
I shot a few other deep space objects like star cluster NGC 752, the Triangulum Galaxy (M33) and the Pleiades star cluster (M45) using the GF 110mm f/2 lens and offered a closer telephoto length for some fainter deep space objects. The full-frame equivalent of using a 110mm lens on this medium format sensor is 87mm.
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The moon (cropped) | ISO 100 110mm f/2 1/500s | Bortle Level 5 (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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The moon | ISO 100 110mm f/2 1/500s | Bortle Level 5 (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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A Perseid meteor | ISO 2500 30mm f/3.5 10s | Bortle Level 4 (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
This focal length is not good for serious telephoto photography and therefore, the moon was still quite small in my frame. Even with an extreme crop, a strong level of detail is retained in the lunar disk and is a testament to the 102MP sensor.
Fujifilm GFX 100S II: Functionality
The Fujifilm GFX 100S II has significant upgrades compared to its predecessor. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
Dual SD-card slots
No mode for protecting night vision
X-processor 5, AI-powered autofocus, eight stops of in-body-image stabilization and a 5.76 million dot OLED viewfinder
The GFX 100S II is full of premium features and functionality you would expect from a camera of this calibre. The camera feels like it is tailored towards the individual with six custom shooting modes on the dial, four assignable function buttons and custom touch gestures on the rear LCD. The trademark Fujifilm quick menu button makes finding all necessary settings easier because you don’t have to go into the more complex main menu.
The Fujifilm GFX 100S II is a great camera for astrophotography but sadly has no specific night vision mode. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
The camera uses the NP-W235 lithium-ion battery, rated at 530 frames per charge, and it never gave up on me during a long session of interval shooting for the Perseid meteor shower. The battery is charged via the USB-C port on the left side of the camera body, which also doubles up for external SSD recording and data transfer. It also features a micro-HDMI port and two 3.55 mm jacks for microphone input and headphone output. The GFX 100S II has dual SD-card slots, which gives you a good level of storage, but I am disappointed that there is no CFexpress card slot, especially as 102MP photo files are not small.
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The secondary LCD monitor on the Fujifilm GFX100S II displays white on black for daytime use. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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The secondary LCD monitor on the Fujifilm GFX100S II can be illuminated, displaying black on white with a backlight, for nighttime use. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
The secondary LCD monitor on the top of the camera body is helpful for quickly reading your exposure settings while shooting and the amount of frames remaining on the memory card. In darker environments, you can illuminate this secondary LCD so you can see this information at night, but there is no specific mode that helps preserve night vision.
The GFX 100S II brings significant upgrades to its predecessor, including the new X-processor 5, AI-powered autofocus, eight stops of in-body-image stabilization and a 5.76 million dot OLED viewfinder.
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The medium format sensor of the camera, combined with the GF 20-35mm f/4 R WR lens, allows for a super-wide perspective on shots. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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I also liked using the GF 110mm f/2 R WR lens, given that it had the widest aperture out of the lenses we tried. It was good for closer shots of smaller objects in the sky. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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We used a wide range of GFX lenses with the Fujifilm GFX100S II, including the GF 63mm f/2.8 R WR lens (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
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Some GFX lenses come in focal lengths that mirror standard lens sizes on a full-frame equivalent. The full-frame equivalent of the GF 30mm f/3.5 R WR lens is a classic 24mm wide-angle lens. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
How we tested the Fujifilm GFX 100S II
We tested the Fujifilm GFX 100S II in a range of places and for different styles of photography. (Image credit: Harry Bennett / Future)
I tested the Fujifilm GFX 100S II with a range of lenses: the GF 110mm f/2 R LM WR, the GF 20-35mm f/4 R WR, the GF 63mm f/2.8 R WR and the GF 30mm f/3.5 R WR. For astrophotography testing, I went to a Bortle 3 area in some fields and took photos of the Milky Way, the Big Dipper, the moon and some deep space objects. During testing in the UK, nighttime temperatures were on average between 54-59 degrees Fahrenheit (12-15 degrees Celsius).
I also tested the camera out for a range of other photography styles, including landscape, art and portraiture.
User reviews of the Fujifilm GFX 100S II
Users of the GFX 100S II praise the sharp image quality delivered by the 102MP sensor and the impressive dynamic range.
The upgraded eight steps of in-body image stabilization is praised and, whilst autofocus is improved, some users note that it is slower than the best full-frame models (think Sony A1 or Nikon Z9).
The large raw file sizes are also pointed out as being troublesome to deal with in volume, making storage and computer upgrades inevitable.
Should you buy the Fujifilm GFX 100S II
Buy it if:
✅ You are a professional photographer: The Fujifilm GFX 100S II is a highly advanced medium-format camera with 102MP resolution, high customizability and strong professional functionality that suits a wide range of photography styles, in and out of the studio.
✅ You produce large-scale prints or use extreme cropping: Thanks to the super high-resolution sensor, the photos you take can be blown up much larger without becoming distorted. The same works if you need to crop into a small portion of the image without sacrificing detail.
Don't buy it if:
❌ You are a beginner or intermediate photographer: If you are getting into photography or are an advanced hobbyist, this camera is likely overkill. It's hard to justify spending that much money on a camera unless you make money from it.
❌You only shoot astrophotography: Whilst being a strong astro performer, it does lack astro-specific features like night-vision mode and we would expect stronger, higher ISO noise handling from a camera with a bigger sensor. You might be better off with a dedicated astrophotography camera.
The GFX 100S II is a camera for the professional market and is suited to someone who makes money from photography, as the price tag is not for the faint of heart. Despite this, it has a host of features that would benefit the professional portrait, landscape and studio photographer.
If you are an astrophotographer who is well versed in post-processing, using dark frames to reduce noise and has a focus on producing large-scale prints, I would highly recommend the GFX 100S II. Thanks to the size and 102MP resolution of the sensor, this camera is able to capture a wide portion of the night sky in relatively good detail and whilst there are some star trails, a star tracker would really help resolve high-resolution detail.
This extra width added by the medium format sensor helps those who want a wide focal length but hinders those who work at extreme telephoto lengths. With the GFX range of lenses rather limited and expensive, it really is worth thinking about what kind of shooting you want to do with this camera. They also lack features from modern full-frame lenses, such as f/1.4 apertures on wide focal lengths and wide apertures on telephoto lenses.
If the Fujifilm GFX 100S II isn't for you
For those who want a camera that works even harder and can handle heavy hybrid use with 8K video and a CFexpress slot, we would recommend Fujifilm’s flagship model, the GFX 100 II.
If the jump to medium-format seems like overkill, a strong full-frame camera might seem more suitable. Our best camera overall is the Nikon Z8, which features a full-frame 45MP sensor and has a dedicated red mode for preserving night vision. The Sony A7R V is another great full-frame alternative, with strong AI-powered autofocus and a strong 61MP sensor.
If you want a Fujifilm camera but don’t fancy paying your life away for it, go for the Fujifilm X-T50. It has a 40MP APS-C sensor and a film simulation dial for easy changing of styles. We used it for astrophotography, and it performed well, capturing the planets Jupiter and Mars as well as the Orion nebula (M42).
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- https://www.space.com/stargazing/skywatching-kit/fujifilm-gfx-100s-ii-review
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