ASTRONOMY NEWS
4 epic myths hiding in the May sky — and how to find them
on May 9, 2026 at 15:00
Discover the tales behind four famous spring constellations.
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 209 — Astronauts for America
by info@space.com (Space.com Staff) on May 9, 2026 at 14:47
On Episode 209 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Garrett Reisman and Steve Lindsey, the leaders of the new organization Astronauts for America.
on May 9, 2026 at 13:00
Voyager, the iconic twin spacecraft that NASA launched in 1977, are still flying in interstellar space. But their power is dwindling, and it’s unclear how much longer they can last.
by jdinner@space.com (Josh Dinner) on May 9, 2026 at 10:00
Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy partnered with Artemis 2 commander Reid Wiseman to create stunning, never-before-seen views of the far side of the moon.
by mwall@space.com (Mike Wall) on May 8, 2026 at 22:01
The Pentagon released a new tranche of UFO files on Friday (May 8). Among the documents are nearly 30 videos, which feature a range of intriguing objects.
Black holes slamming into scorching stars may be causing mysterious blue flashes in the cosmos
on May 8, 2026 at 21:00
Powerful bright blue cosmic explosions called Luminous Fast Blue Optical Transients could be caused when a black hole or neutron star slams into the universe’s hottest class of star.
Monopoly sucks, but this new ‘Star Wars’ video game spinoff might add some galactic sizzle
by stingrayghost@gmail.com (Jeff Spry) on May 8, 2026 at 19:00
If you only knew the power of Boardwalk
on May 8, 2026 at 18:00
What sci-fi gets right (and mostly wrong) about all the ways that space wants to kill you.
This is your best chance to spot the Milky Way’s core in May
on May 8, 2026 at 17:00
See the glowing arch of our Milky Way’s core at its peak in the spring sky
by Alan MacRobert on May 8, 2026 at 09:13
Jupiter, shining high the western dusk, inches down day toward brighter Venus. Venus, meanwhile, creeps toward the horntip stars of Taurus and stands between them on May 13th. The post This Week’s Sky at a Glance, May 8 – 17 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
by David Dickinson on May 8, 2026 at 08:00
The imminent lunar impact of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket booster highlights the growing amount of space debris near the Moon. The post SpaceX Booster Will Hit the Moon This August appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
by Monica Young on May 7, 2026 at 20:13
Astronomers may have found the missing link required to understand one of the James Webb Space Telescope’s most puzzling discoveries. The post Astronomers Spot Possible Missing Link to Webb’s Little Red Dots appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
by Arielle Frommer on May 7, 2026 at 13:00
The James Webb Space Telescope has observed the surface of a bare rocky exoplanet, revealing old, dark rock akin to that on our Moon. The post Nearby Super-Earth Has No Atmosphere and a Dark, Moon-like Surface appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
by Sean Walker on May 6, 2026 at 19:37
The manufacturer of the highly coveted Questar telescope has closed its shutters after 76 years of serving the astronomy community. The post Questar Ceases Operations appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
by Daniel Johnson on May 5, 2026 at 17:56
Leo, the Lion, is one of the most recognizable of the spring constellations, with its large size, distinctive shape, and plentiful bright stars. The post Meet the Constellations: Leo, the Lion appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
by Colin Stuart on May 4, 2026 at 15:00
Observations — including from an amateur astronomer — show that the Plutino 2002 XV93 has a thin wisp of air around it. The post Astronomers Find Atmosphere Around a Pluto-like World appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
by Alan MacRobert on May 1, 2026 at 08:59
Venus hangs in place in the western twilight while Aldebaran and the Pleiades continue their downward slide behind it. And if Venus is the Evening Star, then bright Jupiter, high to its upper left, counts as the False Evening Star. The post This Week’s Sky at a Glance, May 1 – 9 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
by Monica Young on April 30, 2026 at 15:18
The most recent interstellar visitor was crisscrossing our galaxy for some 10 to 12 billion years before it came near the Sun. The post Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Has Cold, Ancient Origins appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
by Mark Thompson (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/mark) on May 9, 2026 at 14:56
More than 300 million kilometres from the nearest mechanic, NASA’s Curiosity rover found itself in a situation that would make any engineer break into a cold sweat. A rock got stuck to its drill and wouldn’t let go. What followed was a week long, long distance rescue operation that says as much about the ingenuity of the people behind the machine as it does about the extraordinary challenges of exploring another world.
Pluto-Like World’s Thin Atmosphere Poses a Mystery for Astronomers
by Alan Boyle (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/cosmiclog) on May 9, 2026 at 03:52
Astronomers are puzzling over another oddball on the edge of the solar system: This time, it’s an icy object less than a quarter of Pluto’s size with a thin atmosphere – a layer of gas that’s not typically found around objects so small.
Pentagon Releases UFO Files That Go Back to the Apollo Moon Missions
by Alan Boyle (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/cosmiclog) on May 8, 2026 at 21:37
The Department of Defense has released a fresh batch of images and transcripts relating to reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, formerly known as UFOs, including pictures and descriptions from NASA’s Apollo missions to the moon.
Black Holes Don’t Live Forever, But They Might Live Long Enough To Look Like White Holes
by Brian Koberlein (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/brian) on May 8, 2026 at 16:57
Black holes evaporate through Hawking radiation, meaning their days are numbered. But a new study finds they could enter a metastable stage where they look similar to white holes.
The Material Science Behind A Spacecraft’s Impact Armor
by Andy Tomaswick (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/andy-tomaswick) on May 8, 2026 at 14:48
Aerospace engineers have to consider numerous factors when designing a spacecraft, but one that comes up more and more often is the need to design against Micro-Meteoroids and Orbital Debris (MMOD). While most designers understand the threat, designing structural solutions capable of withstanding the hypervelocity impacts these undercontrolled pieces of material can cause can take a significant bite out of a mission’s mass budget. A new paper from Binkal Kumar Sharma of the University of Bremen and Harshitha Baskar, an independent researcher, provides a detailed review of cutting-edge options for defending against those deadly particles.
“Simplified Proteins” Reveal the Biochemical Dawn of Early Earth
by Andy Tomaswick (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/andy-tomaswick) on May 8, 2026 at 01:17
When researchers look up at the sky and wonder if we’re not alone, they also realize the origins of life here on Earth might hold the key to finding out. The chaotic chemical soup of our early world eventually led to the staggering complexity of modern life, but how exactly did it start? Proteins were one of the key ingredients in the early years, but we’re still only just discovering how these marvels of modern biology first managed to fold, function, and survive. A new review paper, The borderlands of foldability: lessons from simplified proteins, published recently in Trends in Chemistry, showcases how scientists are attempting to answer this question – by researching “simplified proteins”.
A Brief-ish History of SETI. Part I: “Where is Everybody?”
by Matthew Williams (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/houseofwilliams) on May 7, 2026 at 23:15
The history of SETI is long and varied, with countless contributions made by some of the most brilliant minds humanity has ever produced. In this series, we will look into the milestones and principles that have led the field to where it is today.
by Mark Thompson (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/mark) on May 7, 2026 at 23:06
Somewhere out there, hurtling through space in the darkness, is an asteroid with our name on it. We just don’t know which one yet. NASA’s answer to that uncomfortable truth is NEO Surveyor, a purpose built infrared space telescope currently taking shape in laboratories across America, and scheduled for launch in 2027. The stakes, quite literally, could not be higher.
How Massive Star Clusters Shape Galaxy Evolution
by Evan Gough (https://www.universetoday.com/authors/ion23drive) on May 7, 2026 at 18:15
A team of researchers used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope together with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to observe almost 9,000 star clusters in four nearby galaxies. They studied younger clusters that were still embedded in their natal gas clouds, and older ones that had dissipated that gas. Their results show that more massive star clusters emerge more quickly from their birth, clearing away gas and filling the galaxy with ultraviolet light. The research presents a better understanding of star formation in galaxies, something lacking in scientific simulations, as well as how and where planets can form.