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Proposed NASA cuts to space science: “Staggering”

6 days ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Human World By now you’ve probably heard about the overall drastic cuts to science proposed by the Trump administration. This weekend, the buzz is centered on the NASA science program. This is the program that sent the New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond, for example, and found thousands of exoplanets, or distant worlds outside our solar system. NASA released details of its new budget – indicating which missions would be cancelled – on Friday, May 30, 2025.
Tropical Storm Alvin is 1st of the season in Eastern Pacific

1 week ago | earthsky.org | Rachel Duensing

Earth Tropical Storm Alvin, the first tropical cyclone of the 2025 Eastern Pacific hurricane season, formed Thursday, May 29, 2025. It first developed as Tropical Depression One-E on Wednesday, May 28, more than 800 miles south-southeast off the southern tip of Baja California. According to the National Hurricane Center, by Thursday morning, the tropical depression had strengthened into Tropical Storm Alvin when it reached wind speeds of more than 39 mph.
Glacier collapse catastrophe as massive surge buries village and river

1 week ago | earthsky.org | Dave Adalian

Earth The village of Blatten in the Swiss Alps was almost entirely destroyed on Wednesday, May 28, by ice, mud and rock that fell from a glacier in the surrounding mountains. The village was home to 300 residents. Approximately 90% of the village’s buildings were crushed during the glacier collapse. The flow of the adjacent Lorza River was also blocked.
Starship Flight Test 9 soars to space, then loses control

1 week ago | earthsky.org | Deborah Byrd

At 18:37 CDT (23:37 UTC) last night, SpaceX’s Starship rocket lifted off for the 9th time. This was the first attempt to launch Starship on a reused booster stage, and it saw some success; for the first time in 3 tests, Starship made it into space. However, little else went according to plan. When attempting to deploy mock satellites, Starship’s bay doors failed to open.
What is this weird sphere in space astronomers found?

1 week ago | earthsky.org | Paul Scott Anderson

Space EarthSky’s Will Triggs talks about the odd sphere in space. Video via EarthSky. Science matters. Wonder matters. You matter. Join our 2025 Donation Campaign today. Spherical objects are common in space. They can include stars, planets and some moons. What else might there be? An international team of astronomers has found a new spherical oddity in our Milky Way galaxy. It looks like a giant bubble and is nearly perfectly circular.
See the best Milky Way photos of 2025 here

1 week ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Today's Image The 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year awards are here! Sponsored by Capture the Atlas, company co-founder and chief photographer Dan Zafra will sit down with EarthSky’s Dave Adalian at 12:15 CT (17:15 UTC) on Monday, May 26. Dan will walk us through 5 of the best winning skyscapes from the 8th annual contest winners. And he’ll give us a few pointers for making our own Milky Way works of art. Join us!Looking up has never felt more important.
Strange double starlight pulses revealed in new SETI search

2 weeks ago | earthsky.org | Paul Scott Anderson

Space Science matters. Wonder matters. You matter. Join our 2025 Donation Campaign today. HD 89389 is a sunlike star about 100 light-years from Earth. It is slightly brighter and more massive than our sun. A recent optical SETI search found a pair of very fast, identical pulses coming from the star. Optical SETI looks for light signals such as laser instead of radio signals. What caused them? An object passing in front of the star is the most likely explanation.
Can Dyson spheres be stable? New research says yes

2 weeks ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Space Science matters. Wonder matters. You matter. Join our 2025 Donation Campaign today. How would advanced alien civilizations power their massive technological needs? Astronomer Freeman J. Dyson proposed the idea of orbiting solar collectors to harvest the energy of a star. This Dyson sphere, as it came to be known, has become a popular device in science fiction. But Dyson spheres have a fatal flaw; they are unstable against gravitational forces and would eventually get torn apart.
NOAA forecast: Atlantic hurricane season above average in 2025

2 weeks ago | earthsky.org | Rachel Duensing

Earth The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released its official forecast for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. The season begins June 1 and runs through November 30. NOAA, the parent agency of the National Hurricane Center, is forecasting 13-19 total named storms (this includes both tropical storms and hurricanes), 6-10 hurricanes and 3-5 major hurricanes. Major hurricanes are those that reach category 3, 4 or 5.
New minor planet found in the distant solar system

2 weeks ago | earthsky.org | Kelly Kizer Whitt

Space Looking up has never felt more important. Please donate to help EarthSky keep bringing the sky to your screen. On May 21, 2025, the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center added a new object to their list: 2017 OF201. This is likely the largest new object found in our solar system since the minor planet 2014 UZ224, which the IAU recognized in 2016.