Skywatching

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What should I look at with my new telescope?

By Jamie Carter published

From the moon and Jupiter to famous nebulae and galaxies, here’s your beginner-friendly guide to what to point your brand-new telescope at.

Skywatching Kit
A Christmas tree is pictured in a snow-covered opening bordered by a forest, as a starry night sky twinkles above.

Christmas 2025 skywatching guide: What you can see in the night sky on Dec. 25

By Anthony Wood published

The night sky is the Christmas gift that just keeps giving.

Stargazing
During the Quadrantid meteor shower a meteor streaks across the star-studded sky with mountains below.

Quadrantid meteor shower: When, where & how to see it in 2026

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks on Jan.3-4 and is active between Dec. 28 and Jan. 12. Our guide tells you how and where you can see the Quadrantid display.

Reference
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Spaceflight

An illustration of the Soviet space station Salyut 4, which launched into orbit on Dec. 26, 1974.

On this day in space: Dec. 26, 1974: Salyut 4 Space Station Launches into Orbit

By Hanneke Weitering, Chelsea Gohd last updated

On Dec. 26, 1974, Salyut 4, a Soviet space station, launched into orbit around Earth.

Space Exploration
A group of people wearing dark blue shirts and black pants stand on stage with an American flag behind them and an officer kneeling down with a blue flag for the US Space Force placed in front of them.

Space Force Guardians show off shiny new duds | Space photo of the day for Dec. 26, 2025

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

It marks the first time newly commissioned Space Force Guardians have graduated Officer Training School (OTS) wearing this uniform.

Space Exploration
A tall white rocket held up by red scaffolding begins to fire its engines, creating a cloud of white smoke.

Record launches, reusable rockets and a rescue: China made big strides in space in 2025

By Andrew Jones published

China overcomes human spaceflight emergency and makes leaps with lunar hardware tests

Launches & Spacecraft
An Indian LVM3 rocket launches the BlueBird 6 smartphone satellite for AST SpaceMobile on Dec. 23, 2025.

Indian rocket launches record-breaking BlueBird 6 smartphone satellite to orbit (video)

By Mike Wall last updated

An Indian LVM3 rocket successfully launched the massive BlueBird 6 smartphone satellite for AST SpaceMobile to orbit on Tuesday night (Dec. 23).

Launches & Spacecraft
An image from inside a warehouse shows two tall white cylinders on either side of a yellow taller cylinder. The two white cylinders have red, white and blue paint with the words 'America 250' on them.

Artemis 2 moon rocket gets 'America 250' paint job | Space photo of the day for Dec. 23, 2025

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

The "America 250" logo commemorates the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Artemis
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Science & Astronomy

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What is the moon phase today? Lunar phases 2025

By Tariq Malik, Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference See what moon phase it is tonight and find out when you can see the rest of the moon phases for 2025.

Reference
the sun shines on snowy permafrost

From record warming to rusting rivers, 2025 Arctic Report Card shows a region transforming faster than expected

By Twila A. Moon, Rick Thoman, Matthew L. Druckenmiller published

Overall, the Arctic is warming more than twice as fast as the Earth as a whole.

Climate Change
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Space Photo of the Day

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Entertainment

Our Editor-In-Chief, Tariq Malik, is posing with a smile and a thumbs up next to a large, brick-built spaceship

UCS Millennium Falcon versus UCS Death Star: Which is the best Lego Star Wars set?

By Alexander Cox published

The two largest and most expensive Lego Star Wars sets available go head-to-head: The UCS Millennium Falcon and the UCS Death Star. But which is best?

Space Toys & Lego
Screenshot from stop-motion animated Holiday Short "The Predator: Holiday Special "

Remember the time Predator faced off against Santa's reindeer – and lost?

By Sergio Pereira published

The reindeer ain't got time to bleed.

Space Movies & Shows
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What's Up In Space Today

Search For Life

A man looks at the camera sitting in the audience with other people wearing formal attire while a projector screen in the back is lit up with a grid-like image

We didn't find answers in 2025, but UFO researchers say the search continues

By Leonard David published

"Science doesn't always go as planned. In any case, there's a lot of work to be done."

Search for Life
Saturn's moon Titan looks a bit like Earth, but is, in fact, very different.

Surprise! Saturn's huge moon Titan may not have a buried ocean after all

By Charles Q. Choi published

"We're not certain if having widespread liquid pockets instead of a global ocean makes Titan more or less habitable."

Search for Life
A silhouette of a planet is in front of a giant sun with a small planet to the right of the image

Which exoplanet in the TRAPPIST-1 system could be habitable? Scientists are modeling the star to find out

By Samantha Mathewson published

Frequent flares from the nearby star TRAPPIST-1 could offer new clues in the search for habitable planets beyond Earth.

Search for Life
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Technology

A dark room light up by blue light showing a series of servers and wires

Google's proposed data center in orbit will face issues with space debris in an already crowded orbit

By Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti published

As a space scientist, I predict that the company will soon have to reckon with a growing problem: space debris.

Technology
An illustration of a space station made of two large circular stacked rings connected by metal spires in between floating above Earth

Russia patents space station designed to generate artificial gravity

By Andrew Jones published

According to the patent, habitable modules would rotate around a central axis to simulate gravity for crew by producing an outward-pushing centrifugal force.

Technology
A model rocket, a brick built aeroplane and shuttle, a bin-shaped projector and an orange telescope are all positioned on an orange planet background.

The best last-minute holiday gifts for any die hard space superfan

By Grace Dean published

Show the space enthusiast in your life that you love them to the moon and back with the best last-minute holiday gifts available.

Technology
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