Astronomy news

SpaceX’s Starlink satellites will be visible for long stretches of the night. Credit: SpaceX

What is the future of megaconstellations?

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner approaches the International Space Station, 20 May 2022. Credit: Bob Hines/NASA

These are the big space missions to watch out for in 2023

spaceport cornwall virgin orbit plane

First launch from UK soil ends in failure

Dozens of previously obscured galaxies in the ‘zone of avoidance’ have now come to light . Artist's illustration. Credit: ICRAR

Dust from the Milky Way has been hiding a cluster of galaxies – until now

Electric Wizardry by Shane Turgeon, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Category: Aurorae. Equipment: Canon 1DX camera, 14mm f/2.5, ISO 1000, 6-second exposure

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2023 opens for entries

Virgin Orbit spaceport cornwall launch

Virgin Orbit to launch first orbital spaceflight from UK soil tonight

Image of a girl observing the Moon through her telescope.

2023 is set to be a spectacular year for observing the Moon

Artist's impression of Gaia BH1, the closest known black hole to Earth. Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine/M. Zamani

Astronomers discover the closest known black hole to Earth

What would happen if Earth's magnetic field flipped? Credit: Elen11 / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Scientists discover how a reversal of Earth’s magnetic field could affect our climate

Stuart Atkinson braved the cold at 05:45 UTC on 7 December 2022 to capture this (cropped) image of Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF. Equipment: Canon EOS 700D DSLR camera, iOptron sky tracker, 80-300mm lens at 300.

Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF, January 2023

It will take around eight seconds for Uranus to disappear behind the Moon’s leading, bright limb as occultation begins. Credit: Pete Lawrence

See planet Uranus hide behind the Moon this New Year’s Day

A Christmas Day get-together as the Moon, Mercury and Venus mingle on 25 December 2022. View at 16:45 UT. Credit: Pete Lawrence

See the crescent Moon with Mercury and Venus this Christmas Day

Night Sky by Matt Eaton, Miserton, Somerset, UK. Equipment: Nikon DSLR

See the Ursid meteor shower peak tonight

A medium-deep wide-field image showing thousands of galaxies, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, CSA, Rolf A. Jansen (ASU), Jake Summers (ASU), Rosalia O'Brien (ASU), Rogier Windhorst (ASU), Aaron Robotham (UWA), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI), Christopher Willmer (University of Arizona), JWST PEARLS Team Image Processing: Rolf A. Jansen (ASU), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Webb Telescope captures thousands of faint galaxies in brand new image

Gravitationally-lensed galaxy 9io9, discovered by TV viewers and wowing scientists ever since. Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble/Meli thev

How Stargazing Live viewers found a galaxy that’s key to the early Universe