EarthSky | Updates on your cosmos and world

Sun

Sun news: Big sun blast sparks geomagnetic storm and auroras

C. Alex Young

Visible planets and night sky guide for August

EarthSky's visible planets and night sky guide. Late this evening, the moon will hang near Saturn. And don't miss this week’s best sky sights in a new video.

Marcy Curran

August 3, 2026

Space

Is a giant planet orbiting Tabby’s Star? Maybe

Astronomers in the U.K. and France said this month they might have found a giant planet orbiting Tabby's Star. It might explain the star's unusual dimming.

Paul Scott Anderson

August 2, 2026

Space

Does asteroid Nysa have 3 lobes and a moon?

The asteroid Nysa might be the first-known 3-lobed body. And the new observations also reveal a tiny moon orbiting the asteroid.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

August 2, 2026

Human World

August birthstone: Peridot, spinel, or sardonyx

The August birthstone can be crystalline green peridot, colorful spinel, or banded sardonyx. Take your pick of these colorful gemstones, August babies!

Editors of EarthSky

August 2, 2026

Tonight

Find the Andromeda Galaxy using Cassiopeia

Leave the city behind this weekend, and go galaxy-hunting! Cassiopeia - one of the easiest constellations to identify - points the way to the Andromeda Galaxy.

Bruce McClure

August 2, 2026

Space

Star formation in Andromeda – our neighbor – is winding down

Star formation in Andromeda - the giant spiral next door to us - is winding down, astronomers say. And it could be related to a nearby dwarf satellite galaxy.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

July 31, 2026

Earth

Lake Powell is shrinking toward ‘dead pool’ levels

Lake Powell is the 2nd-largest reservoir in the U.S. But with climate and usage stresses, the lake is shrinking. It could reach dead pool by spring 2027.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

July 31, 2026

Astronomy Essentials

Planet-observing tips: Here’s how to tour the solar system

Get our top tips for planet-observing, from the innermost and elusive Mercury out to faint blue Neptune and everything in between. Top tips here!

Kelly Kizer Whitt

July 31, 2026

Astronomy Essentials

Look for Mercury farthest from the morning sun on August 2

Mercury will reach its greatest elongation - greatest distance from the sunrise - on August 2, 2026. Look east at dawn. It'll be close to Jupiter on August 15.

Editors of EarthSky

July 31, 2026

Space

Wandering black hole spotted shredding a star

Astronomers have spotted a wandering black hole shredding a star. This supermassive black hole is not at the center of a galaxy ... It's roaming the outskirts.

Kelly Kizer Whitt

July 30, 2026