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News

Astronomy news from around the world.

Discoveries, sky images, and what to watch for this week, gathered every hour from observatories and space agencies.

Images of the week

Fresh views of the universe.

NASA's DAVINCI Probe Can Stand the Heat
NASA Image of the Day · NASA's DAVINCI Probe Can Stand the Heat An engineering model of NASA’s DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) descent probe passed a key test that ran from Aug. 28 to Sept. 10, showing it can survive the… (opens in a new tab)
A swirling galaxy
ESO Picture of the Week · A swirling galaxy (opens in a new tab)
Galaxies in a cosmic house of mirrors
ESA/Webb Picture of the Month · Galaxies in a cosmic house of mirrors (opens in a new tab)

Astronomy worldwide

The latest discoveries.

Releases and pictures from NASA, ESA/Webb, ESA/Hubble, ESO, and NSF NOIRLab. Each story opens on the original institution’s site.

Spaceflight

Next launches.

Rockets leaving for orbit and beyond in the coming days, from launch sites around the world. Launch times are “no earlier than” estimates and often slip.

Next launch · SpaceX

SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer A (opens in a new tab)

Falcon 9 Block 5

Go for launch

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Tranche 1 Transport Layer A is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer…

  • Polar orbit
  • Government

Photo: SpaceX, CC BY-NC 2.0.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation

Long March 12 (opens in a new tab)

Payload not yet announced

Go for launch

Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

File photo of Long March 7: China News Service, CC BY 4.0.

Sky and space this week

What to watch for.

Space station passes

Visible from Rockville, MD

  • Working out the next passes…

A pass is visible when the station is lit by the Sun and the sky is dark. Times are local time in Rockville.

See every satellite on the globe

Aurora and space weather

3.7Kp index now
Below storm level
  • Tue, Oct 6 (UTC)Kp 3.7Below storm level
  • Wed, Oct 7 (UTC)Kp 2.7Below storm level
  • Thu, Oct 8 (UTC)Kp 2.7Below storm level

ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 5 Oct 5 (UTC)

WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 5 expected Oct 5 (UTC)

WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 4 expected Oct 5 (UTC)

Kp 5 or higher is a geomagnetic storm on NOAA’s G1–G5 scale. Fairbanks sits under the auroral oval, so even Kp 1–3 nights can bring aurora when the sky is dark and clear; around Washington, D.C. it usually takes a strong storm near Kp 7 or more.

NOAA aurora dashboard (opens in a new tab)

Asteroid close approaches

Objects passing within 0.05 au (about 19 lunar distances) of Earth in the next 60 days. Sizes are estimated from brightness.

Sources and image credits Updated hourly · last update 48 minutes ago
Fresh views of the universe.
NASA Image of the Day · ESO Picture of the Week · ESA/Webb Picture of the MonthNASA images are generally public domain; ESO and ESA/Webb images are CC BY 4.0. Full credits appear on each original page.
The latest discoveries.
NASA (United States) · ESA (Europe) · ESA/Webb (Europe) · ESA/Hubble (Europe) · ESO (Europe and Chile) · NSF NOIRLab (United States and Chile) · ALMA (Chile) · NAOJ (Japan) · Keck Observatory (Hawaiʻi) · NSF NRAO (United States) · SETI Institute (United States)Headlines and summaries come from each institution’s public news feed; full image credits appear on the original release.
Next launches.
The Space Devs Launch LibraryEach name opens the launch on Space Launch Now. Mission photos are credited on each card; when a mission has no openly licensed photo, a file photo of the same rocket from Wikimedia Commons is shown.
What to watch for.
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center · U.S. Naval Observatory · NASA · NASA/JPL CNEOS · CelesTrakTimes are shown in the site’s time zone, except station passes, which use local time in Rockville, MD.
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