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Astronomy & Space news
China abruptly postpones ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission launch
China said on Sunday it was postponing its planned ambitious Chang'e-7 lunar mission, which was set to carry out explorations including searching for water ice on the moon.
Space Exploration
1 hour ago
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JWST peeks at Callisto's ancient scars
Of Jupiter's four Galilean moons, Callisto is the one that gets the least attention. Io is constantly being resurfaced by volcanoes. Europa has a giant liquid water ocean. And Ganymede has its own magnetic field that interacts ...
Planetary Sciences
42 minutes ago
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Mars Curiosity rover discovers massive field of polygons
The surface of Mars is home to some of the most breathtaking and awe-inspiring landscapes in the solar system. This is primarily because the Red Planet lacks several resurfacing processes that Earth possesses, including plate ...
Planetary Sciences
21 hours ago
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Near-total lunar eclipse is coming up with the Americas in prime position
Now it's the moon's turn to pull a disappearing act. After being shut out of this month's total solar eclipse, the Americas will have the best seats in the celestial house when Earth's shadow briefly envelops the moon. Almost ...
Space Exploration
Aug 22, 2026
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Earth's magnetosphere might not protect us from superstorms after all
Science seems like a straightforward endeavor. You come up with a hypothesis, collect data to prove or disprove it, and analyze that data to see whether the hypothesis is right. But anyone who actually does science will tell ...
Astronomy
Aug 22, 2026
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New solar system models show Earth is no fluke
Over the past three decades, computer models of planetary system formation have gone from fairly crude representations to sophisticated simulations using thousands of different starting points.
Planetary Sciences
Aug 21, 2026
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Interplanetary spacecraft capture a coronal mass ejection component hidden from Earth
During a coronal mass ejection (CME), the sun hurls billions of tons of magnetized plasma into space. These eruptions are among the most powerful events in the solar system, and when they are aimed toward Earth, they can ...
Stellar eruptions in the laboratory: First experimental evidence for their suppression in strong magnetic fields
An international team of astrophysicists and plasma physicists has provided the first experimental evidence that strong magnetic fields surrounding active stars can completely suppress coronal mass ejections. This offers ...
Astronomy
Aug 21, 2026
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Stellar spin may explain why repeated black hole flares grow dimmer
At the center of most galaxies lies a supermassive black hole, with a mass millions to billions of times that of our sun and some of the most extreme gravity in the universe.
Astronomy
Aug 21, 2026
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China is launching a moon mission to find water ice
We've known for nearly two decades that some form of water exists on the moon. What we still don't know is exactly how much accessible water ice lies inside permanently shadowed craters, how deeply it is buried or what form ...
Space Exploration
Aug 21, 2026
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ALMA uncovers sulfur for the first time around a rare class of supergiant star
Astronomers have discovered a chemically rich collection of sulfur-bearing molecules surrounding the rare massive star HD 87643. The observations include the first detection of sulfur monoxide and sulfur dioxide around a ...
Rescue mission is called off for NASA's aging Swift space telescope
The mission to save NASA's sinking Swift Observatory was called off Wednesday, dooming the telescope to a fiery reentry later this year.
Space Exploration
Aug 20, 2026
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Global sand dunes map reveals clues to distant worlds, including Mars
A new study from Monash University has delivered the most complete and accurate digital map of Earth's windblown sand dunes to date. The research, published in Nature Communications, answers long-standing questions about ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 20, 2026
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What beats seeing eclipses from space? Try the northern and southern lights
Eclipses may be wondrous, but nothing beats seeing the northern and southern lights from space.
Space Exploration
Aug 20, 2026
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Japan to launch probe for Mars moons in October: Space agency
Japan's ambitious mission to collect and bring back samples from one of Mars' moons will lift off Oct. 20, the space agency announced Thursday.
Space Exploration
Aug 20, 2026
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Interstellar travel IV: Solar, magnetic, & directed-energy sails
Welcome back to our series on interstellar travel! In our first installment, we examined attempts to realize nuclear propulsion and how the technology could be used to reach the nearest star. In our second, we examined how ...
Astronomy
Aug 20, 2026
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Astronomers catch hot birth of galaxy cluster more than 11 billion light-years away
Astronomers have detected an enormous cloud of gas tens of millions of degrees hot surrounding one of the most extreme structures known in the early universe. The study offers one of the clearest views yet of a galaxy cluster ...
Dark Stars may have left gravitational-wave echoes across the universe
A mysterious background of extremely low-frequency gravitational waves detected by networks of pulsars may carry information about events that began more than 13 billion years ago—including the formation of some of the first ...
Astronomy
Aug 19, 2026
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Fastest known Milky Way star offers new test of supermassive black hole's spin
Astronomers have discovered the fastest known star in our galaxy, the Milky Way, orbiting the black hole at its center. The star, named S301, was detected with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer ...
Astronomy
Aug 19, 2026
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Racing to build a radio telescope on the moon
Remember the "Wow!" signal? That high-energy radio signature occurred in 1977, when Earth was much "quieter" in the radio band. If it happened today, it probably wouldn't even move the needle on the background noise of human ...
Astronomy
Aug 19, 2026
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More news
Interworld Slingshot: Exploring a new way to find resources in space
Human-related microbes may survive moon's South Pole
VR supports research into spaceflight-related mental health
China successfully recovers rocket stage on land for the first time
Ruby-forming mineral found by Mars rover hints at violent impacts
NASA's LRO images Falcon 9 crater on moon, learns new details
A single asteroid impact may explain the appearance of Mars' moon Deimos
Mars attacks: How much dust from the red planet is safe to breathe?
ISS hosts first spacewalk by a Frenchwoman
How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm
Other news
Hot temperatures can dull blue morpho butterflies' iridescent scales
Blowing in the wind, humble balloon gets green makeover
Computer models pinpoint catalysts for replacing fossil-fueled ammonia production
Laser-cut aluminum foil could replace costly terahertz polarizers
Japan aims for the moons of Mars
Neptune's tiny moons tell the story of Triton's destructive capture
Exploring the moon will require rovers that can think for themselves
Lab-grown brain models gain a sense of place
