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NASA Looking for Private Organizations to Take Over Spitzer Mission

Artist’s concept of the Spitzer Space Telescope seen against the infrared sky. WASHINGTON — NASA is considering handing over operations of one of its flagship “Great Observatories” to a private organization that would also be responsible for funding the spacecraft. In a request for information (RFI) issued Oct. 12 , NASA said it was looking […]

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SpaceX Ties ULA's Annual Launch Record With 16th Launch This Year

WASHINGTON — SpaceX’s Oct. 30 launch of the Koreasat-5A telecommunications satellite doubled the number of Falcon 9 missions completed in a single year  and ties the company with United Launch Alliance’s record of 16 launches in one year. The successful mission took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 3:34 p.m. Eastern, deploying the satellite 36 minutes […]

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Bible May Record Oldest Known Solar Eclipse

A total solar eclipse seen on Aug. 21, 2017, from Wyoming. The Old Testament Book of Joshua may contain the oldest known reference to a solar eclipse recorded by humanity. And it occurred 3,224 years ago today (Oct. 30). If so, this poetic reference firms up the dates of the reign of the Egyptian pharaoh […]

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This image of auroras on Jupiter is a composite of ultraviolet observations by the Hubble Space Telescope taken in 2016 and a visible light image of the planet taken in 2014.

Jupiter's Northern, Southern Lights Beat Out of Sync

Researchers have spotted Jupiter’s southern X-ray aurora for the first time, revealing that it moves and pulses out of sync with the gas giant’s northern lights. Here, Jupiter’s south pole can be seen from an altitude of 32,000 miles (52,000 km) as imaged by NASA’s Juno spacecraft. Astronomers have finally detected X-rays blazing from Jupiter’s […]

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Space Station Halloween! Astronauts Go All-Out with Zero-G Costumes

Clockwise, from left: Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazansky, ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli, NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut (and space station commander) Randy Bresnik pose for Halloween 2017 aboard the International Space Station. Welcome to the spookiest space station. Spiderman has no problem scaling the walls […]

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How Big is the Sun? | Size of the Sun

The sun is the largest and the most massive object in the solar system, but it is just a medium-sized star among the hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. This image from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows the sun at 12:45 PM EDT on July 12, 2012 during an X1.4 […]

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How Was the Sun Formed?

In a wide expanse of space, gravity drew dust and gas together to create the young solar system. The sun formed first from the vast material, with the planets close behind. But how did a sea of swirling particles become the brightest star in our sky?  “The sun is terrifying and gorgeous, and it’s also […]

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Space-Age Halloween! The Best Space Costumes of 2017

Space.com staff celebrates Halloween at the office in New York City. In 2016, associate editor Sarah Lewin dressed up as Tabby’s Star, the possible “alien megastructure.” Staff writer Hanneke Weitering dressed up as Saturn, the hula hooping champion of the solar system. Happy Halloween! Space fans have come up with some pretty stellar costumes this […]

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Halloween Night Sky 2017: Don't Miss These Celestial Treats

Saturn and a gibbous moon shine in the early evening Oct. 31. For the most part, across approximately three-quarters of the United States, skies will be clear on Tuesday evening as costumed kids arrive at the door looking for candy or some other Halloween treat.  If you plan to accompany children around the neighborhood, you […]

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Watch a Minotaur (Rocket) Launch to Space This Halloween!

Orbital ATK’s Minotaur-C launch vehicle stands tall on Space Launch Complex 576E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The rocket will launch several Earth-imaging satellites into orbit on Oct. 31, 2017. The private spaceflight company Orbital ATK will spend this Halloween launching a Minotaur into space.  Despite its name, this Minotaur is not a […]

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