Space, NASA and Science News

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Cosmic Sugar Rush

Scientists have discovered a sugar molecule common in raspberries and self-tanning products inside clouds of dust and gas near the Milky Way's center. The finding suggests some of life's raw ingredients may have formed in space. Astronomers previously found simpler sugar-like molecules, but erythrulose is the most complex and the first to meet the chemical definition of a true sugar—a molecule with at least three carbon atoms. Scientists identified erythrulose, which has four carbon atoms, by matching its unique radio-wave signature to lab measurements, much like a fingerprint. The technique lets astronomers catalog chemicals without collecting samples. See how scientists identify the composition of celestial matter here (w/video). Sugars are essential to life, serving as an energy source and building blocks for DNA and RNA. Erythrulose isn't used by living organisms but can be converted into important sugars. Researchers estimate millions of tons of erythrulose may have rained onto Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment roughly 4 billion years ago.

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Gus Goes to Auction

One of the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossils ever found—known as "Gus"—goes up for auction this morning with a $19M starting bid. Some experts expect the hammer price to more than double, making Gus one of the most expensive dinosaurs ever sold. See images.  Commercial paleontologists began excavating Gus in 2021 on a private ranch within South Dakota's Hell Creek Formation, where over 95% of T. rex museum specimens have been discovered. Measuring about 12.5 feet tall and 38 feet long, the skeleton suggests Gus was a very large creature that lived roughly 67 million years ago. The paleontologists spent two years hand-digging roughly 7,000 square feet to recover about 61% of Gus' bones—an exceptional amount, since even a 50% recovery rate is considered rare.  The current record for a dinosaur auction belongs to Apex, a stegosaurus sold to billionaire investor Ken Griffin for $44.6M. The specimen is on loan to New York's American Natural History Museum through late 2028.

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US-Russian crew arrives at the International Space Station for 8-month mission

A U.S.-Russian space crew arrived Tuesday at the International Space Station after launching from the Russia-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Read More.

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🌖 Astronomers have discovered what could become the first confirmed "exomoon" — a massive natural satellite orbiting a brown dwarf 71 light-years from Earth. Read the paper.

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☄️ Two annual meteor showers — the Alpha Capricornids and Southern Delta Aquariids — are both set to peak tonight. Another top show, the Perseid shower, peaks in mid-August. How to watch.

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A discarded SpaceX rocket is on a high-speed collision course with the moon

A drifting SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the moon after launching a pair of lunar landers more than a year ago. Read More.

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Moon in the crosshairs

Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Stock: Getty Images The upper stage of a SpaceX rocket will unintentionally crash into the Moon early tomorrow morning, Alex Fitzpatrick reports. 🚀 The Falcon 9 rocket launched in 2025, carrying a pair of privately funded lunar rovers. It was then left in a high Earth orbit that occasionally crosses the Moon's path. Gravity and other forces eventually sealed its fate. The resulting crater could be about 90 feet across and about 16 feet deep, scientists estimate. 🛰️ The inevitable collision is a reminder that our celestial neighborhood is getting busier by the day, with nearly 30,000 active satellites and trackable bits of space junk now orbiting Earth. SpaceX's Starlink internet constellation accounts for more than half of all commercial satellites, per Orbital Radar. Advocates lament the ever-busier night sky, which complicates both recreational stargazing and scientific observations. The Moon and the Earth as seen by the Artemis II crew on April 6. Photo: NASA via Getty Images 🔭 Yes, but: Many astronomers are looking forward to this particular event as a chance to collect valuable data about Moon collisions. It's not every day you can predict when something will smack into our nearest celestial companion. What's next: SpaceX says it's working on better ways to handle spent rocket segments involving high-orbit launches. That's a key step if the Trump administration's lunar colony dreams are to be realized. Life on the Moon would be hard enough without worrying about rocket bits raining down from above. Go deeper.

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The Moon's New Scar

A discarded SpaceX rocket segment was on track to slam into the moon this morning at around 2:35 am ET, likely creating a crater about 16 feet deep and 65 to 100 feet wide. The unintentional impact offers scientists a rare chance to study human-made lunar collisions, which could become more common with the rise of space debris. The 45-foot-long, nearly 10,000-pound second stage helped launch two lunar landers in January 2025 (scroll for rocket diagram). Atmospheric drag was supposed to pull the stage back into Earth’s atmosphere afterward, but SpaceX says conditions including solar activity redirected it toward the moon. This morning's collision will likely have occurred near the Einstein Crater at a speed of roughly 5,400 miles per hour—more than twice that of a rifle bullet—releasing as much force as about 15,000 sticks of dynamite.  The SpaceX collision is the second known accidental human-made impact on the moon, following a 2022 crash by a Chinese rocket segment that created a pair of craters (w/photos).   Space debris NASA has been closely tracking a piece of a SpaceX rocket that was expected to crash into the moon overnight. The Falcon 9 rocket carried two robotic commercial lunar landers into space. Its first stage returned safely to Earth, but instead of burning up in the atmosphere, the upper stage was pulled onto a collision course with the moon. Scientists estimate the impact will pose no danger to Earth but will leave a crater up to 90 feet in diameter on the moon's surface.

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• ☀️ Scientists have captured images of the Sun's surface in the finest detail yet, revealing a strange and dynamic facade. Go deeper.

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• 🛰️ NASA engineers this week freed up power on Voyager 2 in a plan called "Big Bang," extending its useful life for at least another year. The nearly 50-year-old probe is now in interstellar space, nearly 13.3 billion miles from Earth. Go deeper.

 

South Korean satellite captures before and after views of SpaceX rocket's moon crash

A South Korean satellite has captured the first pictures of the moon’s fresh crash scene caused by a stray SpaceX rocket. Read More.

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Spanish mountain village braces for astrotourists lured by total solar eclipse

Somosierra will be prime spot to view celestial alignment on 12 August, an event that poses logistical challenges

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/08/spanish-mountain-village-braces-for-astrotourists-lured-by-total-solar-eclipse?

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How to spot the Perseid meteor shower, a summer light show that promises to dazzle

NEW YORK (AP) — The Perseid summer light show is back — and viewing conditions are especially promising for the Northern Hemisphere.

https://apnews.com/article/perseid-meteor-shower-2026-where-to-see-b8b8679bb5baed6461e012b8c8fa4634?

How to spot the Perseid meteor shower, a summer light show that promises to dazzle

The Perseid summer light show is back — and viewing conditions are especially promising for the Northern Hemisphere. Read More.

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A Celestial Doubleheader

A total solar eclipse will sweep across the Arctic and parts of Europe today, the first visible from mainland Europe in nearly 30 years. Totality will last less than two and a half minutes at its longest. The path of totality crosses northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and a sliver of Portugal, while a partial eclipse will be visible across much of Europe, Canada, and parts of the northern US. A total eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, temporarily blocking the sun from view; visualize the path of every eclipse from 1900 to 2099. Eclipses can also affect wildlife behavior, with researchers documenting bees going quiet, owls hooting, and crickets chirping as the sky darkens. Learn about the different types of eclipses here. Separately, the Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight, potentially producing up to 100 meteors per hour under dark, new moon skies as Earth passes through debris left by Comet Swift-Tuttle. See the Perseids from space here.