Astronomy Magazine: Space News, Observing, Planets, Galaxies

Top Stories

Case closed on long-standing space weather mystery

A photoillustration of a thick crescent Moon against a black sky, filling the right side of the frame. The sunlit crescent curves along the left edge, showing gray maria and many craters, and the rest of the Moon's disk is in shadow. Just off the Moon's lower-left limb sits Jupiter, a small tan disk with visible cloud bands, lined up with its four Galilean moons as tiny points of light: from left to right, Ganymede, Jupiter, Io, Callisto, and Europa. The scene shows the jovian system a few minutes before the Moon occults it. Empty black space fills the left side of the image.

Observing, Planets, The Moon, Upcoming Events

See the Moon occult Jupiter October 6

Telescopes and Equipment

New astronomy products to fall for this month

Hubble image of variable star RS Puppis

How to become a variable star observer

Picture of the Day

A circular all-sky photo framed by a ring of reddish grass and dark trees that curls around the edges like a tunnel. Inside, a deep blue sky full of stars is crossed from left to right by the Milky Way, a hazy band with a glowing pinkish core and dark streaks on the left. Pale yellow-gray light rims the horizon, and a small bright red light glows at the bottom above a dirt track.

Gegenschein over Shennongjia

Huang Dandan, taken from Shennongjia, Hubei, China

The gegenschein, a faint glow of sunlight scattered back toward Earth by dust grains in the inner solar system, sits in Aquarius at the point directly opposite the Sun in this all-sky view. The Milky Way arcs across the center, and the red light at bottom is a beacon atop a weather-radar tower. The photographer stitched a panorama of 30-second exposures taken at f/1.8 and ISO 3200 with a modified Sony mirrorless camera, a 20mm lens, and a soft-focus filter.

In the Sky

Telescopic simulation of Saturn and its moons, dated October 3, 2026, midnight EDT. Saturn is shown ringed at center with the moon Dione labeled faintly near the top of the planet, while the moon Tethys appears as a bright point to the right. A 15 arcsecond scale bar sits at lower right.

The Sky Today on Saturday, October 3: Dione transits Saturn

What’s Launching This Week

Robotic Spaceflight, What’s Launching This Week

Starship reaches orbit on 14th test flight

Today in the History of Astronomy

A black-and-white photograph shows a group of men standing outdoors, engaged in conversation. The central figure wears a dark leather jacket and has his left arm held horizontally in a large, white cast. To his left and right, other men in trench coats, leather jackets, and fedoras look toward him under bright, high-contrast outdoor lighting.

Human Spaceflight, Today in the History of Astronomy

Oct. 3, 1942: The V-2 successfully launches

More News

Case closed on long-standing space weather mystery

Satellite photograph of the contiguous United States at night, showing city lights as golden points and clusters against a dark navy landmass and black ocean. The eastern two-thirds of the country glow densely and almost continuously along the coasts and around the Great Lakes, while the western half shows sparser, more isolated clusters of light concentrated along the Pacific coast and scattered through the interior.

How can I reduce my personal contribution to light pollution?

Photograph of Saturn against a black background, tilted with its northern hemisphere tipped toward the viewer and pale cream and tan cloud bands crossing its globe. The wide ring system casts a dark shadow band across the planet's upper portion, with a faint bluish tint visible at the upper edge of the rings where they cross in front of the disk.

Sky This Week, The Sky This Week

The Sky This Week from October 2 to 9: Saturn at its best

Photograph of Saturn against a dark background, seen nearly edge-on with its ring system stretching horizontally across the globe and casting a thin shadow band on the planet. The pale gold and tan cloud bands are visible, with a bright white storm feature swirling in the planet's southern hemisphere.

October 2026: What’s in the sky this month?

Astronomy Newsletter

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

Product Recommendations

Visit The Space Store

Popular Explorations