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Scientists spot a new crater on the Moon

Telescopes and Equipment

New astronomy products to fall for this month

Have astronomers discovered the first moon outside of our solar system?

A promotional graphic on a dark blue starfield background. On the left in gold and white text: "Starmus VIII, The Search for Truth," "First Time in Spain, Artemis II Astronauts," the names Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Jeremy Hansen, and "October 2026, Tenerife, Canary Islands." On the right, three astronauts in orange spacesuits with helmets removed stand close together, smiling toward the camera, with a NASA patch and name tag visible on the center suit. A row of small sponsor and institutional logos runs along the bottom.

Artemis 2 crew lands at Starmus VII — 15 years after Armstrong, Aldrin, and Leonov launched its lengacy

Picture of the Day

A straight two-lane road stretches toward a dark horizon, flanked by trees and grassy fields. Above it, the pale, textured band of the Milky Way arcs across the sky with a bright, pinkish glow at its core, while dozens of streaking meteors — white, green, and orange — shoot down through the stars in different directions. A faint yellowish glow lingers along the horizon.

On the Way

Radoslav Zboran, taken from Ejulve, Spain

The center of the Milky Way rises as Perseid meteors streak through the frame above a quiet Spanish road. The photographer blended multiple 10-second exposures at f/2 and ISO 6400 with a modified Canon 6D and a Sigma 35mm lens to build the panorama.

In the Sky

Star chart of the constellation Pisces labeled at upper left, dated September 30, 10 P.M. EDT, showing the asteroid Nausikaa marked as a small red dot near center among scattered white and pale orange field stars. A compass arrow indicates north and east at upper left, and a 2 degree scale bar sits at lower right.

The Sky Today on Wednesday, September 30: Asteroid Nausikaa at opposition

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 grainy, black-and-white photograph shows a cluster of bright white, blurred spots and hazy cloudlike patches spread across the center against a dark, mottled background. Two prominent bright white areas glow near the middle, surrounded by soft, misty white halos that drift outward. Several smaller, distinct round white dots are scattered around the main central cluster and across the edges of the frame.

Today in the History of Astronomy

Sept. 30, 1880: Henry and Anna Draper photograph M42

More News

A Voyager 2 spacecraft image of Neptune showing the planet as a sphere with vivid blue and teal atmospheric bands, a large dark storm system visible in the southern hemisphere, and bright white clouds including a prominent high-altitude cloud streak near the center. The planet's limb glows with a subtle golden hue against the black background of space.

Sky This Week, The Sky This Week

The Sky This Week from September 25 to October 2: Neptune at opposition

Features, Science

Finding light’s true nature

Hubble image of variable star RS Puppis

How to become a variable star observer

JWST uncovers how massive star clusters drive galaxy evolution

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