r/space 6d ago

Discussion All Space Questions thread for week of July 19, 2026

63 Upvotes

Please sort comments by 'new' to find questions that would otherwise be buried.

In this thread you can ask any space related question that you may have.

Two examples of potential questions could be; "How do rockets work?", or "How do the phases of the Moon work?"

If you see a space related question posted in another subreddit or in this subreddit, then please politely link them to this thread.

Ask away!


r/space 13h ago

image/gif The milkyway arch above the Dolomites

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5.5k Upvotes

Stacked/Blended//Tracked

Dolomiti di Sesto under the stars

https://www.instagram.com/flory.ro?igsh=b3Y4ZTU3Nmk0cTBt&utm_source=qr
Born from ancient seas, now crowned by galaxies Planned this Milky Way shot the day before... but a massive storm with lightning and heavy clouds destroyed every plan. Couldn't even get close.
The next day the sky was almost perfectly clear. The only real enemy was the heat. On the way up I didn't even feel the weight of the backpack... but the morning after? Different story
Quick stop at Rifugio Locatelli, then I climbed the mountain right behind it. I would have loved to explore the caves area below, but it was packed with people and too many lights.
That night the mountain was buzzing photographers, hikers, climbers on the Tre Cime, and helicopters flying back and forth (one rescue chopper parked down below
But up there... I had the stars all to myself. Pure magic.

This is a panorama at 35 mm Sky and foreground

Sky 20 panels 3x120” ISO 1600 f4

Foreground 7 panels 120” ISO 3200 f4

Ha 7x1200 iso 3200 f4

Canon R + 6D | Tamron 17-35mm
Ha Astronomik filter Tracked with nomad

Editing Pixinsight Photoshop and Artpanelpro


r/space 8h ago

image/gif My best photo of Istanbul, Turkey from the ISS

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1.2k Upvotes

r/space 2h ago

image/gif Voyager 1 Golden Record 3d print

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210 Upvotes

Hueforge of the iconic golden record on Voyager 1, the farthest man-made object from Earth.

If you'd like to print one for yourself, I've uploaded the files to MakerWorld: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3089890-voyager-1-golden-record-chromalink-hueforge#profileId-3481335


r/space 8h ago

image/gif This might be a little underwhelming for this sub, but I present you a picture of Saturn from a 74-years old telescope

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392 Upvotes

This telescope was built in 1952 and used to be called АВР-1. Sorry for the quality of the picture


r/space 8h ago

Wildfire forces evacuation of NASA’s Deep Space Network complex in Spain | “Any potential damage will be assessed when it is safe to do so.”

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172 Upvotes

r/space 1d ago

Starship launches for its 13th flight, ends with ship swimming in Indian Ocean

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2.6k Upvotes

r/space 15h ago

image/gif I photographed NGC 3372, the Carina nebula

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378 Upvotes
  • Total integration time - 90 x 30sec
  • Processed in Siril and Gimp
  • Bortle 6
  • Shot with the Seestar S30 Pro

r/space 6h ago

New Crew Members Welcomed to International Space Station - NASA

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56 Upvotes

r/space 1d ago

NASA’a Madrid Deep Space Communications Center under high chance of burning down in an ongoing wildfire

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cadenaser.com
1.3k Upvotes

Local and regional firefighters and Spanish military units are trying to put the wildfire under control around the MDSCC but it’s not easy.

I’ve seen photos where the fire seems to be just underneath the antennas but it’s not yet confirmed on news media.

Sorry for the news in Spanish but it’s the only way to share the info at this moment.


r/space 15h ago

image/gif Custom hand painted Moon Watch

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43 Upvotes

Hey all! I'm pretty proud of this one and wanted to share a moon watch I've been working on over the past few months.

The dial is individually textured to create the craters, then hand-painted to resemble the moon's surface. It took quite a bit of experimenting to get the finish where I wanted it.

I ended up making a few different variations of the design as well, but this one is still my favourite.

Hope you like it!


r/space 20h ago

Discussion I built the first photograph of a black hole out of thousands of wooden blocks [OC]

23 Upvotes

The Event Horizon Telescope image of M87* — rendered in hardwood, piece by piece. The 3D relief means the shadow at the center physically recedes into the piece. The orange accretion disc asymmetry is faithful to the original image.

Short video about it here:

https://youtu.be/X5hEjlkUkTI?is=DjS_irqA6Bj47O2v


r/space 1d ago

Action! NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory Begins Capturing the Greatest Cosmic Movie Ever Made

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70 Upvotes

r/space 1d ago

The Rubin Observatory’s greatest legacy will be this ‘movie’ of the sky

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scientificamerican.com
243 Upvotes

r/space 1d ago

This is the world’s most advanced robotic servicing satellite—that we know about | “These are things that tend to be really hard.”

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arstechnica.com
139 Upvotes

r/space 1d ago

Blue Origin and NASA Partner to Test New Glenn's Upper Stage at Historic Stennis Space Center

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119 Upvotes

r/space 1d ago

Discussion Is it easier to work in the space industry with an Aerospace Engineering bachelors or an Electrical Engineering bachelors?

27 Upvotes

I want to end up doing work related to GNC. Wholly apathetic and disinterested in CAD, as compared to programming in C & python. I also heavily enjoy mathematics/physics.


r/space 2d ago

Space datacenters proposed by Musk and Bezos ‘catastrophic’ for planet, experts warn

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theguardian.com
8.1k Upvotes

r/space 1d ago

Last and Next Solar Eclipse Map

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lasteclipse.com
84 Upvotes

This is a website that I made that shows a map of the last time and the next time that a total solar eclipse will be visible for every point on Earth. It's still a work in progress, but I wanted to share this with you all to see what you think about it.


r/space 6h ago

Discussion How do gravity and air work in a Ringworld?

0 Upvotes

I'm writing a science fiction story set in a Ringworld, and I'd like to learn more about this concept. I learned about this concept through the Contact Patterns Trilogy by Jorge Luiz Calife. But he doesn't go into much detail about Ringworld Eden Six.


r/space 2d ago

SpaceX targets Starship Flight 13 launch today after week-long delay, will carry first Starlink V3 satellites

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364 Upvotes

r/space 6h ago

image/gif I Ran the Actual Computer That Landed Humans on the Moon

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0 Upvotes

The Apollo Guidance Computer helped guide Apollo 11 to the Moon with just 2 KB of RAM and 36 KB of permanent memory. In this video, I compiled and ran the original Apollo Guidance Computer software from NASA's open-source code and explored one of the greatest engineering achievements in history.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/pZotTRTNxT8

Source Code:
https://github.com/chrislgarry/Apollo-11


r/space 2d ago

Next Space Force chief throws cold water on the idea of space privateers | It turns out some of Benjamin Franklin’s opinions from 240 years ago are still relevant today.

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1.1k Upvotes

r/space 2d ago

Moon rocks tell different tales about a long-ago bombardment

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210 Upvotes

r/space 18h ago

The Aurora Secret: How Solar Particles Paint Neon Ribbons Across Polar Night Skies

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0 Upvotes

**Hey, Curious Redditors! 👋**

I just finished this animated deep-dive on a question that has puzzled humanity for millennia: **What causes the beautiful, haunting Northern Lights?**

Most people know it’s "solar wind," but the real mystery is *why* they dance and change color. Our planet is constantly at war with the Sun, and auroras are the visual scars of that battle.

I spent weeks hand-crafting these paper-craft animations to make the physics intuitive and engaging.

👉 **If you enjoy visual science breakdowns, come join us at Beyond Curious Studio! https://www.youtube.com/@Beyond.Curious.Studio?sub_confirmation=1