Hubble sees baby stars in Large Magellanic Cloud | Space photo of the day for Jan. 21, 2026.

Star formation can feel like a distant, abstract concept, until you see it mapped across a landscape of gas and dust. A recent image from the Hubble Space Telescope looks at the the N159 star-forming complex within the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the Milky Way's clos…

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On this day in space: Jan. 21, 1960: 'Miss Sam' the rhesus monkey launched into space.

On January 21, 1960, a monkey named Miss Sam launched on a Little Joe rocket to help NASA test the launch escape system for its new Mercury spacecraft. This spacecraft would ultimately carry the first American astronauts into space. Miss Sam didn't fly all the way to spa…

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Watch private German rocket attempt history-making launch from Norway today.

A German company will attempt to make spaceflight history today (Jan. 21), and you can watch the action live. Isar Aerospace plans to launch its Spectrum rocket from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway today, during a window that opens at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT; 9 p.m. local t…

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Blue Origin launching 6 people to suborbital space on Jan. 22.

Six space tourists will launch to the final frontier on Thursday (Jan. 22), and you can watch the action live. Blue Origin is scheduled to launch its NS-38 suborbital mission from West Texas on Thursday, during a window that opens at 9:30 a.m. EST (1430 GMT; 8:30 a.m. local …

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Mysterious polar weather on Jupiter and Saturn could be key to understanding their insides.

Scientists may finally know why Jupiter and Saturn have very different weather patterns at their poles, despite having similar sizes and compositions. The discovery could help researchers probe deep into the interiors of these giant gaseous planets. Observations of the two s…

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NASA's Crew-11 astronauts to discuss medical evacuation from International Space Station today.

Four astronauts will discuss their shorter-than-expected space mission during a press conference today (Jan. 21). The members of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission, the first ever to be medically evacuated from the International Space Station (ISS), will talk to reporters at NASA&…

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Red Cross announces severe emergency blood shortage, calls on Americans to donate.

The American Red Cross declared a severe emergency blood shortage on Monday and called on people to donate. The humanitarian organization, which says it's the largest supplier of blood products for hospitals and for patient need in the U.S., said the demand from hospital…

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Era of ‘global water bankruptcy’ is here, UN report says.

The world has entered an era of “global water bankruptcy” that is harming billions of people, a UN report has declared. The overuse and pollution of water must be tackled urgently, the report’s lead author said, because no one knew when the whole system could collapse, with …

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NASA Astronaut Suni Williams Retires.

After 27 years of service, NASA astronaut Suni Williams retired from the agency, effective Dec. 27, 2025. Williams completed three missions aboard the International Space Station, setting numerous human spaceflight records throughout her career. “Suni Williams has been a tra…

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Comet Wierzchos buzzes the sun later today.

Solar system comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) makes its closest approach to the sun today (Jan. 20) during an event known as perihelion, when it will pass a little over half the Earth-sun distance from our parent star, causing it to brighten significantly. Comet Wierzchos makes i…

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Severe G4 geomagnetic storm sparks jaw-dropping northern lights worldwide.

We were expecting a show and boy did it deliver. Skywatchers around the world were treated to stunning auroras that surged far beyond their usual polar limits, lighting up mid-latitude skies during a severe G4 geomagnetic storm. Northern lights were reported across mid-latitu…

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ISS astronaut evacuation shouldn't interfere with upcoming Artemis 2 moon mission, NASA chief says.

NASA is bringing some of the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) back to Earth early due to medical concerns with one the astronauts. That shouldn't cause any delays in the preparations to rollout and launch the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket…

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Jupiter is at its best and brightest of 2026 tonight! Here's what to expect as the gas giant reaches opposition.

Jupiter will be at its most spectacular in 2026 in the early hours of Jan. 10, as it shines above the eastern horizon among the stars of the constellation Gemini. Here's where to look and what to expect as the gas giant draws closest to Earth around opposition. The visib…

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How does NASA handle astronaut medical issues in space?

NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman were expected to perform a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Thursday (Jan. 8), but it was called off Wednesday afternoon (Jan. 7) due to "medical concerns" with an unidentified crew member. Those conc…

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US plans to ‘run’ Venezuela and tap its oil reserves, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro.

Hours after an audacious military operation that plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country, President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other na…

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The 1st full moon of 2026 rises tonight! Here's what to expect from January's supermoon Wolf Moon

The January 2026 full moon is upon us! Here's what to expect when the "Wolf Moon" prowls over the horizon tonight, kicking off a spectacular natural light show as the first full moon (and supermoon) of 2026. A full moon occurs when the moon sits opposite the su…

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Moon landings, asteroid missions and new telescopes: Here are the top spaceflight moments to look forward to in 2026.

From astronauts circling the moon to spacecraft reaching Mercury and asteroids near Earth, 2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for space exploration. Governments and private companies alike are preparing missions that could redefine how humans live and work in space, de…

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Tesla loses world's biggest electric vehicle maker title as sales fall for 2nd year.

Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row. Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025,…

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On this day in space: Dec. 30, 1930: 1st photo of the curvature of the Earth.

On Dec. 30, 1930, the first-ever photo of the Earth's curvature was taken. This photo was taken by Lieutenant Colonel Albert William Stevens, who was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps and an aerial photographer. He also happened to be a balloonist, and he once broke a…

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Iran says it launched 3 satellites to space on Russian rocket.

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-observ…

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Trump launches Christmas night airstrikes on ISIS 'Terrorist Scum' in Nigeria after killings of Christians.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. launched airstrikes in northwest Nigeria on Christmas night targeting ISIS militants he accused of killing Christians, calling the operation decisive and warning further attacks would follow if the violence continues. "Tonight, at my…

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US Senate confirms Jared Isaacman as new NASA administrator.

NASA finally has an official, permanent leader. The U.S. Senate voted today (Dec. 17) 67-30 to confirm billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, ending more than a year of uncertainty as the space agency has followed marching orders from tem…

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What time will interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS be closest to Earth tonight ?

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth early on Friday, Dec. 19. While it won't come close enough to pose any risk to our planet, astronomers have calculated the precise moment when the comet reaches its minimum distance to us. According to t…

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James Webb Space Telescope confirms 1st 'runaway' supermassive black hole rocketing through 'Cosmic Owl' galaxies at 2.2 million mph.

Astronomers have made a truly mind-boggling discovery using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST): a runaway black hole 10 million times larger than the sun, rocketing through space at a staggering 2.2 million miles per hour (1,000 kilometers per second). That not only makes…

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VW stops production at German site for first time.

A red electric ID.3 GTX signed by workers would be the last car made at the plant, Volkswagen Saxony said, making the glass-walled "Transparent Factory" the first domestic site in the company's 88-year history to have production completely shut down. "The …

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Glaciers to reach peak rate of extinction in the Alps in eight years.

Glaciers in the European Alps are likely to reach their peak rate of extinction in only eight years, according to a study, with more than 100 due to melt away permanently by 2033. Glaciers in the western US and Canada are forecast to reach their peak year of loss less than …

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This supermassive black hole flung out matter at 134 million mph: 'On a scale almost too big to imagine'

Supermassive black holes are notoriously messy eaters, but the behemoth at the heart of spiral galaxy NGC 3783 really takes the cake — and then flings it out into space at a fifth the speed of light. Astronomers recently spotted a gale of hot, charged particles erupting from…

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Russian Soyuz capsule lands on Earth to return crew of 3 home after months on International Space Station.

Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut are safely back on Earth after spending eight months aboard the International Space Station. Soyuz MS-27 crewmates Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky of the Russian federal space corporation Roscosmos, along with Jonny Kim o…

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Could future astronauts build houses on Mars with bacteria?

Settling Mars has been a hot topic for years due to its close proximity and the similarities it shares with Earth like an atmosphere and water. Even NASA has set its sights on sending humans to Mars some time in the 2030s. However, spaceflight is expensive, and getting peopl…

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NASA discovers 'space gum' and sugars 'crucial to life' in asteroid Bennu samples brought to Earth.

Scientists have detected several sugars essential for life in the samples brought back from asteroid Bennu, NASA announced on Tuesday (Dec. 2). Analyzing pristine fragments of the asteroid delivered to Earth by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft in 2023, a team led by Yoshihir…

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