Astronomy Essentials
Tonight
Visible planets and night sky guide for August
Visible planets and night sky guide: Watch for the moon to sweep past the famous Teapot in Sagittarius - in the direction to the Milky Way's center - tonight.
Space
A first! 3 supermassive black holes discovered in 1 galaxy
For the first time, astronomers have discovered 3 supermassive black holes in a single galaxy in the early universe. Two of them are merging!
Space

Voyager 2 confirms Neptune’s rings on August 22 in 1989

NASA's Voyager 2 confirmed the discovery of Neptune's rings on August 22, 1989, when it took images of a faint, continuous ring system around the planet.
Favorite Star Patterns

Teapot of Sagittarius points to the Milky Way’s center

As you gaze toward the famous Teapot asterism in the constellation Sagittarius, you are looking toward the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
Earth

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds are fire-generated thunderstorms

This summer, NASA has been studying pyrocumulonimbus clouds, or fire-driven thunderstorms. Researchers are flying planes right into the plumes for samples.
Space

Astronomers discover a black hole star, a new type of object

Astronomers believe the little red dots we see in the early universe are a newly discovered type of object called a black hole star.
Space

Detecting whispers from the early universe … from the moon

A tiny UK satellite called CosmoCube is to listen for signals from the early universe. It will use the dark side of the moon to block out noise from Earth.
Space

Voyager 2 spacecraft launched 49 years ago today

Voyager 2 realized the vision of what was originally called a Grand Tour of the outer solar system. It is the only craft that has visited all 4 outer planets.
Constellations

Sagitta the Arrow lies inside the Summer Triangle

Sagitta the Arrow is a dim constellation that lies inside the Summer Triangle. It contains one Messier object, a small globular cluster.
Space

Mission to save Swift spacecraft fails, will crash back to Earth

NASA said on August 19, 2026, the mission to save the Swift spacecraft will not work after attitude control issues. Swift will crash back to Earth this year.