NASA, ESA and Artemis II missions, new discoveries, and sky events — explained for UK readers
This is where we cover space as it happens — mission updates, new discoveries, and the sky events worth stepping outside for. A lot of it centres on Artemis II right now, NASA's first crewed Moon mission since Apollo, but you'll also find fireball reports, JWST discoveries, asteroid flybys, and the odd story that's stranger than fiction (see: mysterious interstellar objects).
We try to write these the way we'd explain them to a mate down the pub — accurate, but without the jargon. Every article links back to the original NASA, ESA or peer-reviewed source, so if you want to go deeper, you can. And if a story turns out to be wrong or incomplete, we update it rather than pretend it never happened.
New here? Start with whatever's leading the grid below — it's sorted newest first. If you're after stargazing advice rather than news, our observing guides are a better fit, and if it's the unexplained-sightings side of space you're curious about, that lives in UAP & UFO research.
NASA's TESS has discovered a new planet by bending spacetime: Gaia23bra b, a super-Jupiter 40,000 light-years away, found via gravitational microlensing.
How big is the Milky Way? NASA's Chandra has found two of our galaxy's spiral arms sit about 10% further out than we thought, measured with X-ray light echoes.
The oldest quasars ever discovered: ESA's Euclid telescope has found 31 from the universe's first 770 million years, including two new record-holders.
China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has arrived at Kamo'oalewa, Earth's quasi-moon that may be a blasted-off chunk of our real Moon. Here's what happens next.
The northern horizon stays live tonight. After the first cloud from the 30 June X1.1 solar flare sparked G1–G2 (Minor to Moderate) storming over the weekend, a second coronal mass ejection is now inbound and forecast to reach Earth late on Sunday 5 July or into Monday 6 July. The Met Office expects Unsettled to Active conditions through the day, then a likelihood of further G1–G2 storming and a chance of isolated G3 (Strong) intervals once that cloud arrives — enough to bring aurora into play for Scotland, Northern Ireland and much of northern England during Sunday night's short window of darkness. The catch is still the calendar: barely two weeks past the solstice, the UK gets almost no true darkness, so timing is everything. Here's exactly when and where to look.
Hayabusa2 flies past asteroid Torifune today at 10:30am UK time, passing just 1km away at 12,000mph. Here's what's happening and how to watch live.
A potentially habitable super-Earth has been found 25 light-years away. New measurements show GJ 3378b is rocky and sits in its star's Goldilocks zone.
The Swift rescue mission was delayed mid-flight on 2 July after a problem stopped the last Pegasus rocket from launching. Here's what happened and what's next.
The Swift rescue mission launches today at 10:09am UK time. The last Pegasus rocket ever will carry a robot to catch NASA's falling telescope. Here's how to follow it.
Your July 2026 night sky guide for the UK: Mars meets Uranus in their closest pairing until 2053, Venus passes Regulus, the Delta Aquariids arrive, and noctilucent clouds glow on the northern horizon.
NASA's Moon Base just took another step forward. Administrator Jared Isaacman has unveiled a fresh round of lunar lander awards and laid out the road to landing astronauts on the Moon in 2028.
What's in the night sky tonight from the UK: the June Bootids meteor shower peaks, the Moon meets red Antares, and Mars sits beside the Pleiades before dawn.
Hubble has spotted ultraviolet light from a galaxy that existed 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang — the first clear example of the kind of galaxy that cleared the early universe's fog.
James Webb data suggests comet 3I/ATLAS formed 10–12 billion years ago — nearly as old as the universe, with 30× the deuterium of any Solar System comet.
SpaceX launched Starfall today — a disk-shaped capsule built to return up to a tonne of cargo from orbit, aimed squarely at the space-manufacturing boom.
On 24 June, ESA's Euclid releases its deepest-ever view of the Milky Way's crowded core — a 4.8-square-degree survey built to help confirm planets around other stars.
NASA's 22-year-old Swift telescope is slowly falling out of orbit. On 27 June a robot called Link launches to grab it and push it back to safety — the first rescue of its kind.
NASA has named the Artemis III crew. Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas will fly in 2027 to clear the way for the next Moon landing.
On June 5, NASA ordered five crew members to shelter in a docked SpaceX Dragon after a worsening crack in the ISS's Russian segment triggered an evacuation alert — the most dramatic sign yet that the station is running out of time.
After half a century of searching, astronomers have finally detected wind blowing from Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy.
Venus and Jupiter meet for a stunning close conjunction on June 9, Mercury joins for a rare three-planet lineup on June 12, noctilucent clouds return, and the Strawberry Moon closes out the month.
James Webb Space Telescope images M77 (NGC 1068) — revealing the active black hole, 6,000-light-year starburst ring, and hidden star formation of this Cetus Seyfert galaxy.
A newly discovered space rock will skim past Earth at just 90,000 km tonight — closer than a quarter of the Moon's distance. Here's exactly how to watch from the UK.
The universe isn't scattered randomly — it's built on a vast hidden skeleton of dark matter filaments. James Webb just gave us our best look at it yet.
On Friday 15 May, NASA's Psyche probe will swing just 4,500 km from the surface of Mars in a gravity assist that will fling it toward one of the most mysterious objects in the solar system: a metal world that may be the exposed core of a dead planet.
Saturn makes its first morning appearance of 2026, Venus closes the gap on Jupiter through Taurus, and a New Moon opens up the darkest skies of the month — your UK stargazing guide for May 10–16.
Astronomers have detected a thin atmosphere around a 500-kilometre Kuiper Belt object — far too small and cold to hold one. The discovery, published in Nature Astronomy, could rewrite what we know about the outer Solar System.
A massive, dust-choked galaxy discovered just 400 million years after the Big Bang is challenging everything astronomers thought they knew about how galaxies form.
Halley's Comet debris lights up the predawn sky, Venus and Jupiter put on an evening show, and Vesta is still at its best — your UK stargazing guide for May 4–10.
Vesta is at opposition — its closest and brightest of 2026. At magnitude 5.7 it's right at the naked-eye limit from dark skies, and an easy binocular target from anywhere. Here's exactly how to find it in Libra tonight, and why Vesta is one of the most extraordinary objects in the solar system.
Eta Aquariid meteors peak before dawn on 5–6 May — fragments of Halley's Comet hitting the atmosphere at 150,000 mph. Here's your complete UK guide to where, when and how to watch, including tips for beating the moonlight.
For three years, astronomers have been baffled by hundreds of mysterious red objects in JWST's images. Now Chandra has detected X-rays from one — and the explanation is unlike anything in the known universe.
NASA's moon astronauts stood in the Oval Office as the agency confirmed Artemis III for late 2027 and a crewed lunar landing in 2028 — with the SLS rocket already at Kennedy Space Center.
Two independent research teams have found the strongest evidence yet for Population III stars — the very first generation of stars to form after the Big Bang — hiding in a tiny clump of gas 13.4 billion light-years away.
SpaceX's triple-core beast roars back to life today, hurling a 6.6-ton satellite toward geostationary orbit and sticking a double booster landing at Cape Canaveral.
The Full Flower Moon rises on May 1, Venus blazes through Taurus, Jupiter dominates Gemini, and the Eta Aquariid meteors start building toward their peak — your UK stargazing guide for April 27 to May 3.
Blue Origin reused a New Glenn booster for the first time on 19 April — but an upper-stage engine failure put the customer's satellite in a useless orbit. The FAA has grounded the rocket.
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first detailed image of the planetary nebula where cosmic buckyballs — hollow spheres of 60 carbon atoms — were originally discovered. The structures are breathtaking.
NASA celebrated Hubble's 36th anniversary by revisiting the Trifid Nebula — and by comparing the new image with one taken 29 years ago, astronomers can see a stellar nursery evolving on human timescales.
A chemistry experiment never before performed beyond Earth has revealed 21 organic molecules in 3.5-billion-year-old Martian rock — seven of them detected on Mars for the first time, including a DNA precursor.
The Lyrid meteor shower peaks tonight under near-perfect conditions. The Moon sets early, the skies are dark, and fireballs are on the menu. Here's your hour-by-hour BST guide for the night of April 22/23.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is fully assembled and ready for its journey to space. With 200 times Hubble's field of view, it will map billions of galaxies, discover thousands of exoplanets, and probe the mystery of dark energy.
Astronomers have captured a supermassive black hole reawakening after 100 million years of silence, blasting plasma jets nearly a million light-years across space in one of the most dramatic 'reborn' black hole events ever recorded.
Blue Origin launched a previously-flown New Glenn booster for the first time today — a milestone that closes the gap with SpaceX and could reshape how we think about the cost of getting to space.
The Lyrid meteor shower peaks on the night of April 22–23 with dark skies guaranteed, Venus snuggles up to Uranus and the Pleiades, and a crescent Moon puts on a three-way show with Venus and Jupiter — here's your UK guide for April 20–26.
NASA has formally greenlighted its support for ESA's Rosalind Franklin Mars rover, confirming a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch no earlier than late 2028 — and making it SpaceX's first-ever mission to Mars.
Comet PanSTARRS is now visible to the naked eye and approaching perihelion. A razor-thin Moon meets Venus and the Pleiades on Friday. The Lyrids are building. And the darkest skies of the month start tonight. Here's your complete guide to the best week of stargazing in 2026 so far.
A brightening comet before dawn, Venus and Jupiter dominating the evening sky, and the Lyrid meteor shower building toward its peak — this is one of the best weeks for amateur astronomers in 2026.
Comet C/2025 R3 (PanSTARRS) reaches perihelion on 19 April and could become visible to the naked eye. Here's everything you need to know — including when, where, and how to spot it from the UK.
After 10 days in space, a record-breaking lunar flyby, and the furthest distance any humans have ever travelled from Earth, the Artemis II crew splashes down in the Pacific tonight. Here's the full reentry timeline and how to watch.
NASA has released the first official photos from the Artemis II lunar flyby — including a 54-minute solar eclipse from deep space, a new Earthrise, and the far side of the Moon in stunning detail.
The lunar flyby is complete. Orion has swung around the Moon, broken the human distance record, witnessed Earthrise over the far side, and is now coasting back toward Earth. Splashdown: April 11.
The Artemis II crew will fly within 4,070 miles of the Moon this evening, break Apollo 13's distance record, witness Earthrise over the far side, and see a solar eclipse from lunar orbit. Here's the full schedule and how to follow along live.
Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) disintegrated six hours before perihelion on 4 April, reaching magnitude –0.6 before breaking apart. The hoped-for Easter Comet display will not happen — here's what the SOHO data tells us.
The Artemis II crew has crossed the halfway mark to the Moon, sent back stunning aurora photos of Earth, practised CPR in zero gravity, and dealt with a temperamental toilet. The historic lunar flyby is 48 hours away.
Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) reaches perihelion tomorrow, skimming just 161,000 km above the Sun's surface. SOHO is already watching. Here's how to follow the action — and how to spot it if it survives.
It happened. At 6:24 p.m. ET on April 1, 2026, NASA's SLS rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center carrying four astronauts on humanity's first crewed voyage to the Moon in 54 years.
NASA has scrapped the Lunar Gateway after a decade of work, switching to a $20 billion Moon surface base. But Europe already delivered a €1 billion module — what happens to it now, and what does this mean for future Moon missions?
It's happening — Artemis II launches tonight at 11:24 PM BST, sending four astronauts around the Moon for the first time in 54 years. Here's everything you need to know about today's events and where to watch live.
A sungrazing comet discovered in the Atacama Desert is about to skim just 161,000 km above the Sun's surface. If it survives, Comet MAPS could light up the evening sky in time for Easter.
The Moon occults Regulus on Sunday, the Pink Full Moon rises on Thursday, and Artemis II blasts off for the Moon on Wednesday — the most eventful week in the sky this year.
Tonight the waxing gibbous Moon slides right past Jupiter high in the evening sky — a gorgeous naked-eye pairing framed by the twin stars of Gemini. Here's exactly when and where to look from the UK.
Astronomers have quietly announced the discovery of 15 new moons — 11 for Saturn and 4 for Jupiter. It brings Saturn's total to 285 and Jupiter's to 101, and the solar system's combined moon count to 442.
On the morning of 17 March 2026, a 7-ton asteroid blazing at 45,000 mph lit up the skies from Wisconsin to Maryland before exploding above Ohio with the force of 250 tons of TNT — and dropping real meteorites into a field south of Cleveland.
A solar flare from active region AR4392 launched a coronal mass ejection directly at Earth — it arrives tomorrow evening. Scotland and northern England have a genuine shot at seeing the northern lights.
Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to confirm a new type of planet that shouldn't be able to exist — a world where the entire surface is a permanent ocean of molten rock, kept alive by a sulphurous atmosphere.
NASA has confirmed April 1, 2026 as the launch date for Artemis II — the first crewed mission to the vicinity of the Moon in 54 years. Here's everything you need to know.
With Artemis II weeks away and a major programme restructure announced in February 2026, here is the definitive guide to every Artemis mission — what each one does, when it launches, and how the plan has changed.
Only the third interstellar object ever detected, 3I/ATLAS has stunned scientists with alien water, extraordinary levels of methanol, and deuterium ratios unlike anything in our solar system. And this Sunday, it passes Jupiter.
NASA has identified the culprit behind the helium flow issue that forced Artemis II off the launch pad — a dislodged seal in a quick disconnect fitting. With repairs complete and additional work underway in the VAB, a rollout later this month puts an April launch back in reach.
NASA has fundamentally redesigned Artemis III — the mission will no longer land on the Moon. Instead, astronauts will dock with commercial landers in Earth orbit as a test run, with the first actual lunar landing now planned for 2028.
Just days after a successful wet dress rehearsal raised hopes for a March launch, a helium flow anomaly in the rocket's upper stage has forced NASA to roll Artemis II back to the Vehicle Assembly Building. March is now ruled out — so when will four astronauts finally fly to the Moon?
NASA continues preparations for the historic Artemis II mission, addressing technical challenges as the agency targets a March 2026 launch for humanity's first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years.
Reading about a launch or a close asteroid pass is one thing — seeing it (or the sky it happens under) is better. These two cover most space-news moments, from watching a launch window to tracking down a newly reported fireball's radiant.
Browse all our equipment guides →
Affiliate disclosure: links to First Light Optics use our referral code. You pay the same price — we earn a small commission that helps keep WatchTheStars free.