AstroUpon @AstroUpon

May ends with a rare skywatching event: a Blue Moon on May 31, 2026, along with four visible planets. The Blue Moon will not actually appear blue. It simply means there are two full moons in the same calendar month, which is uncommon because the Moon’s cycle lasts about 29.5 days. This will be the first Blue Moon since August 2023, and the next one will not occur until December 2028. Around the same time, Mars and Saturn may be visible before sunrise in the eastern sky, while Venus and Jupiter may be seen after sunset as they appear to move closer together.

The “immortal jellyfish” may be the closest thing nature has to a reset button. Known as Turritopsis dohrnii, this tiny jellyfish can revert back to its juvenile stage after reaching adulthood, essentially restarting its life cycle. But it is not truly impossible to kill. It can still die from disease, injury, starvation, being eaten by predators, or failing to complete the transformation process. Still, unlike most animals, it has the rare ability to biologically turn back time, potentially over and over again.

Starlink-powered buoys streamed live video from the Indian Ocean during Starship Flight 12.

The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29 billion contract today to develop the Space Data Network Backbone, a satellite constellation designed to provide secure, high-speed global data transport for military operations.

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NASA has unveiled an ambitious long-term plan to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon, centered around a massive lunar base near the Moon’s south pole. The project is part of the Artemis program and could eventually span “hundreds of square miles,” with astronauts living and working there full-time by around 2032. The first phase begins with three robotic “Moonbase” missions planned for 2026 and 2027. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin was awarded a major contract to help deliver cargo and equipment to the lunar surface using its Blue Moon lander system. The first mission, Moonbase 1, is expected to launch in fall 2026 and will test technologies needed for future astronaut missions. Other companies involved include Astrobotic, Astrolab, Lunar Outpost, and Intuitive Machines. NASA says the lunar base will act as a stepping stone for future Mars missions. Plans include deploying rovers, habitats, power systems, communications infrastructure, and eventually semi-permanent living quarters for astronauts. The agency has also shifted focus away from the planned Lunar Gateway space station in favor of building infrastructure directly on the Moon’s surface.

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NGC 3660 is a beautiful spiral galaxy similar to our Milky Way, featuring bright blue spiral arms and a glowing central bar made of stars, dust, and gas. Hidden within the image is also SN 2026cff, a recently discovered supernova shining just beside the galaxy’s core. Farther in the distance lies the far more unusual galaxy known as Burçin’s Galaxy, formally cataloged as LEDA 1000714. At its center appears to be an old elliptical galaxy, but what makes it extraordinary are the two massive rings of stars surrounding it — a rare structure astronomers are still trying to fully understand. Scientists believe Burçin’s Galaxy may have formed after absorbing one or more smaller galaxies over billions of years. Even today, it remains a cosmic mystery and an active topic of research, showing how much of the universe is still waiting to be explained.

Cape Grim in Tasmania, Australia, has the cleanest air on the habitable Earth, especially when winds come from the Southern Ocean and the air has not passed over major land. The air is so pure that scientists use it to measure the planet’s natural background atmosphere.

Jupiter’s southern hemisphere captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft during a close flyby of the gas giant planet.

Stunning views of Earth from the International Space Station’s Cupola are a familiar sight. What’s far more rare is seeing the Cupola itself from space, captured here alongside astronaut Alexander Gerst and the module’s thick protective shutters.

SpaceX’s Starship performs its dramatic flip maneuver and landing burn during the final moments of Flight Test 12.

WATCH: A meteor blazed behind the Mayon Volcano in the Philippines while the volcano is actively erupting.

Inside the glowing star-forming region IC 2944, located about 7,600 light-years away, mysterious dark clouds known as Thackeray’s Globules drift through space. First discovered in 1950 by astronomer A. D. Thackeray, these massive clouds of gas and dust are each more than a light-year wide and may have the potential to form new stars.

Watch a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch 29 Starlink satellites into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast.

A Glimpse of Another World: Sunrise on Mars. Captured by the NASA’s InSight lander. The sunrise was photographed by the Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC) mounted on the end of InSight’s robotic arm. It captured this specific sequence of images on April 24, 2019 (the 145th Martian day, or “sol,” of its mission) right around 5:30 a.m. local Mars time.

NASA’s Psyche probe captured incredible new views of Mars during its flyby on May 16, offering a stunning perspective of the Red Planet from deep space.

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In 1961, the Soviet Union detonated the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created. This footage captures the moment the 50-megaton hydrogen bomb exploded over the Arctic test site, unleashing a fireball nearly 5 miles wide and a mushroom cloud that climbed over 40 miles into the atmosphere.

Meet our galactic next-door neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy! 🌌 Located roughly 2.5 million light-years away, it's the most distant object you can spot from Earth with the naked eye. Fun fact: in about 4.5 billion years, Andromeda and our Milky Way are destined to collide and merge into one giant elliptical galaxy. Until then, we get to enjoy spectacular views like this! 🔭✨ #Andromeda #Space #Astronomy #Astrophotography #Cosmos #Stargazing

Inside NGC 1929, Massive Stars Are Blasting a Giant Bubble Into Space.

International Space Station Transit Across the Moon

Incredible shot of Starship from yesterdays launch.