EarthSky

The eye of Hurricane Melissa – strongest Atlantic hurricane of 2025 – on October 28, 2025. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite captured this image while looking down from space – from 500 miles (750 km) high – shortly before Melissa hit the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica. Now NOAA has released its Atlantic hurricane season forecast for 2026. What will this year bring? Image via Copernicus Sentinel-2. Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one plac

In this image from 10 days after the May 22, 2011, EF5 tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, piles of rubble mark where people’s homes once stood. It’s now been 15 years since the Joplin tornado, which killed 158 people directly and 5 through a deadly fungus it stirred up. Image via Bob Webster/ Wikimedia Commons. The 15-year anniversary of the deadly Joplin tornado On May 22, 2011, an EF5 tornado with winds of more than 200 miles (322 km) per hour devastated Joplin, Missouri. It was th

Leo the Lion’s brightest star is Regulus, aka the Lion’s Heart. Regulus marks the bright dot at the bottom of a backward question mark that forms Leo’s head and shoulders. This pattern is called the Sickle. An easily identifiable triangle depicts the Lion’s hindquarters and tail, with the star Denebola marking the tail of the Lion. Chart via EarthSky. Don’t miss the next unmissable night sky event. Sign up for our free newsletter for daily night sky updates, as well as the late

This is the list of tropical cyclone names for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season. Read about the names of hurricanes below. Read: NOAA’s hurricane season forecast for 2026 Atlantic hurricane names for 2026 NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has just released its hurricane season outlook for 2026. But what are the names for the 2026 Atlantic tropical cyclones and hurricanes? See the complete list of 2026 tropical cyclone and hurricane names in the image above. If any of these storms be

View larger. | Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system. Are there ice volcanoes on Ganymede? It’s possible, and now a new study has identified several good candidates. NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this view of Ganymede on June 7, 2021. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SwRI/ MSSS/ Kalleheikki Kannisto. Ganymede is Jupiter’s largest moon. It has a deep ocean beneath its outer icy surface. Does it also have ice volcanoes? A new international study has

View larger. | Artist’s concept of the TRAPPIST-1 system, including rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet TRAPPIST-1e (lower right). In 2029, Canada’s POET micro-satellite mission will start searching for similar Earth-sized exoplanets around small, cool stars. Image via NASA/ ESA/ CSA/ STScI/ Joseph Olmsted (STScI)/ Webb Space Telescope. Astronomers have found a growing number of Earth-sized exoplanets around other stars. But there are many more waiting to be discovered. Canada’s POET

Terry O’Leary of Virginia Beach, Virginia, captured the classic anvil shape of cumulonimbus clouds – out the window of an airplane – in early summer 2003 over central Virginia. Image via NASA GLOBE Clouds. Love wildlife and the natural world? Get the latest animal stories – as well as space and night sky updates – delivered to your inbox. What are cumulonimbus clouds? Cumulonimbus clouds are among the most awe-inspiring of cloud formations. They might start as low a

Have you heard of synchronous fireflies? It’s an amazing night spectacle where thousands of these glowing insects pulse in perfect rhythm across a forest, turning the darkness into a living wave of light. Image via P. Driessche/ National Park Service. Love wildlife and the natural world? Get the latest animal stories – as well as space and night sky updates – delivered to your inbox. Synchronous fireflies It’s synchronous firefly season! Every year between mid-May and mid

Severe weather, tornadoes possible across parts of the U.S. Sunday and Monday. This composite of 7 images shows the evolution of a tornado. Image via Jason Weingart/ Wikimedia Commons. Severe weather is expected across parts of the United States Sunday and Monday – May 17 and 18, 2026 – with forecasters calling for the risk of large hail, damaging wind gusts and strong tornadoes. Warm and muggy air will be in place ahead of a strong cold front. These conditions will help initiate sto

On June 8 and 9, 2026, Venus and Jupiter will have a spectacular conjunction. They’ll be approximately 3 moon-widths apart (roughly 1.5 degrees). But you can start watching them get closer now! See more charts for the nights leading up to the Venus-Jupiter conjunction below. Image via EarthSky. Don’t miss the next unmissable night sky event. Sign up for EarthSky’s free newsletter and get daily night sky updates! See the Venus-Jupiter conjunction As seen from all of Earth, an amazing

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Ossama Fathy in St. Catherine, Egypt, captured this shot of the Milky Way on April 4, 2025. Ossama wrote: “From Farsh El Nabi Elias, a sacred and elevated plateau (2,000 meters or 6500 feet above sea level) near the summit of Mount Moses (Mount Sinai) in Egypt. Mount Moses is a site revered across multiple faiths.” Thank you, Ossama! Read more about which moon phase is best for stargazing below. Which moon phase is best for stargazing? That depend

Stars within 10 parsecs (about 33 light-years). This map is based on data from the GAIA space observatory and uses other references in the scientific literature. Star systems whose primary star belongs to spectral class A-K are labelled. Also includes known hydrogen clouds within 10 parsecs including two white dwarf HII regions. Image via Galaxymap.org. Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter. Stard

From the Northern Hemisphere, the bright star Vega is easy to spot on May evenings. And it marks the apex of the sun, that is, the sun’s direction of motion through the Milky Way galaxy. If you’re on the northern half of Earth’s globe, go outside on a May evening, and face northeast. You’ll easily notice Vega, a bright blue-white star. If your sky is dark, you might also see its constellation Lyra the Harp. Main image via EarthSky. Inset via LearntheSky. Don’t miss the ne

Baily’s beads are beads of sunlight, seen along the edge of the silhouetted moon, during a total solar eclipse. They’re the result of sunlight shining between mountains on the moon. These Baily’s beads are from the August 11, 1999, total solar eclipse. Image via the late, great Fred Espenak. Used with permission. Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter. May 15, 1836: On this date in

This was the Psyche spacecraft’s view of Mars on May 3, 2026. But Mars is about to get much larger from its point of view! The Psyche mission will fly by Mars on Friday, May 15, 2026, from a distance of only 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers). Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ ASU. Psyche mission flyby of Mars tomorrow The Psyche spacecraft, launched in 2023, is headed toward a rare metal asteroid, also named Psyche (16 Pysche, the 16th known asteroid ever discovered). It will arrive in 2029. But i

This is the 6th-ever selfie from the Mars Perseverance rover. Scientists assembled the selfie from 61 images the rover took on March 11, 2026. NASA released the new selfie on May 12. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ MSSS. Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter. Perseverance rover takes its 6th-ever selfie on Mars The Mars Perseverance rover has been exploring the red planet since its arrival in 2021. And on May 12,

View larger. | A UAP – Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon – from the 1969 Apollo 12 mission to the moon. The triangle of faint bluish “lights” is on the far right, highlighted in the larger square. It’s interesting. But other random colorful dots in images, even at the edges of the film, suggest it might just be an anomaly or blemish in the film used for the photos. This is just one of the 162 Pentagon UFO files released on May 8, 2026. Image via NASA/ US government.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | See the semicircle of stars here? It’s the famous constellation Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. EarthSky friend Paul Henkiel of Flagstaff, Arizona, captured this image on April 30, 2024. Paul also marked the location of the star T Corona Borealis (T CrB), a famous nova, with green indicator marks. Thank you, Paul! This time of the year is perfect for seeing Corona Borealis in the evening sky. And, if you start watching it now, you might see the upc

Here’s the winning entry for the annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest, curated by the travel blog Capture the Atlas. Alvin Wu, the winning photographer, wrote: “This image captures the Milky Way rising above a blooming field of lupines in New Zealand during November. That’s when spring wildflowers transform the landscape beneath our night sky. Using a fisheye perspective, the flowers encircle the scene … ” See more of the best Milky Way photos of 2026 b

Want to see the Blaze Star go nova in 2026? We do, too! And X marks the spot. Astronomers said an impending nova will give the constellation of the Northern Crown – Corona Borealis – a “new star” that rivals the constellation’s brightest star. But when? When?? Image via Chris Harvey/ Stellarium. Used with permission. Don’t miss the next unmissable night sky event. Sign up for EarthSky’s free newsletter and get daily night sky updates! Come on, Blaze Star! Go n