Three years after its first test flight, SpaceX's Starship rocket will attempt Monday to enter Earth orbit, a key step in developing the massive launch vehicle for future missions to the moon and Mars.
Space Exploration
Sep 28, 2026
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89
The fall equinox is Tuesday, when light and darkness split the day evenly. It marks the beginning of fall for the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere.
Earth Sciences
Sep 22, 2026
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8
Most kids learn in elementary school that the seasons are caused by Earth rotating on a tilted axis during its yearly orbit around the sun. The substantial tilt, about 23.5 degrees, is thought to be the result of an ancient ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 22, 2026
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25
Scientists have long speculated why Venus, with a size, mass and structure similar to Earth's, doesn't have a moon. New UC Riverside research shows that our hungry twin likely swallowed it.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 20, 2026
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201
A team of researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, spotted a rare kind of planet that's unusually hot and eccentric. TOI-1355 b orbits its star, TOI-1355, which is also much hotter than our sun, in a strange ...
Astronomy
Sep 18, 2026
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80
Halley's Comet captures the imagination in a way that few other astronomical objects do. When it last made its approach toward the sun (admittedly when this author, who is now middle-aged, was 1 year old in 1986), humanity ...
Space Exploration
Sep 8, 2026
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21
After an eight-year journey, a spacecraft carrying European and Japanese probes began the monthslong, high-risk approach to Mercury on Thursday to study the sun-scorched planet.
Planetary Sciences
Sep 5, 2026
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293
Venus is one of the solar system's most unusual planets. It may sometimes be called "Earth's twin" because of its similar size and density, but it rotates on its axis in the opposite direction of most planets, has surface ...
More than 3 billion miles (4.8 billion kilometers) from Earth, an ancient icy object is slowly awakening. As it drifts inward through the solar system, the frozen body known as Centaur 450P/LONEOS has begun releasing gas ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 1, 2026
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50
What's so special about spotting Phobos crossing in front of the sun? Sure. It's just another image of Phobos crossing the disk of the sun, as seen from the surface of Mars. Like so much of the modern space era, these images, ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 1, 2026
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22
