Astronomy Magazine: Space News, Observing, Planets, Galaxies

Top Stories

Robotic Spaceflight

SpaceX launches Starship test flight ‘lucky number 13’

Deep-Sky Objects, Observing

Hidden wonders of the universe

A richly detailed telescope image of a star-forming nebula, filled with swirling clouds of blue, orange, and pink gas and dust. Dark pillars of dense dust cut through the center of the image, surrounded by glowing nebular material and hundreds of orange and yellow stars scattered throughout. A bright cluster of young stars illuminates the lower right portion of the image, casting a warm glow against the surrounding gas clouds.

RCW 36: A bird of prey sails away

Robotic Spaceflight

China catches its first reusable booster

Picture of the Day

Bright orange-gold clouds billow upward across the bottom of the frame, their edges rimmed with fire against a deep blue background streaked with dark, wispy filaments. A patch of green cloud glows in the upper right corner, and a bright star shines at the lower left amid a scattering of faint stars.

The Pelican aglow

Tony Hallas from Foresthill, California

IC 5070 is an emission region that forms the Pelican Nebula, lying around 2,000 light-years away in Cygnus. The region is filled with billowing gas clouds and finely woven strands of dust, all being sculpted and lit by radiation from nearby hot young stars. Double-lobed outflows — like the one visible at the top of of the pillar at center — betray the presence of stars still forming, just breaking out of their natal cocoons. The imager captured this spectacular scene as a two-frame mosaic in SHO and RGB filters with a 14-inch scope.

In the Sky

A detailed rendering of a nearly full Moon against a black background. The lunar surface is sharply rendered, showing the contrast between the bright highland regions and the darker maria, with prominent crater ray systems and numerous impact craters visible across the disk.

The Sky Today on Wednesday, July 29: July’s Full Buck Moon rises

What’s Launching This Week

What’s Launching This Week

A classified NRO launch and a Chinese triple-header set to launch this week

Today in the History of Astronomy

A black-and-white photograph shows three men in suits standing indoors and interacting in front of a white fireplace mantle. The man in the center holds two small, rolled documents while smiling toward the man on the left, who wears glasses and a lighter-colored suit, as the man on the right looks on with a smile. The indoor setting is brightly lit, with part of a flag visible on the far left and potted plants resting on the mantle in the background.

Human Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

July 29, 1958: NASA is founded

More News

Astrophotography

Reader Gallery July 2026

A golden Full Moon in a dark blue sky seen through the branches of a foreground tree.

Observing, The Moon

2026 Full Moon calendar: When to see the Full Moon and phases

Observing, Science

July 2026: Astro Letters

Robotic Spaceflight

China catches its first reusable booster

Astronomy Newsletter

Get newsletters, updates and special offers via email from Astronomy.com!

Product Recommendations

Visit The Space Store

Popular Explorations