There was something behind the clouds. Upon close inspection, it was the Moon, which was hard to see yesterday around noon above the small village of Cessy, France. But soon, it was not only the Moon. As expected, a bright dot suddenly appeared from behind the Moon — the planet Venus far in the distance.
The proximity to the waning moon offers a good opportunity for spotting them. To the naked eye, they will appear as a small group of bright points next to the moon, as if they were diamonds. Binoculars will allow you to make out many more. The encounter will happen again on September 30, when the
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Historically, humankind has sent only one thing to the moon at a time so that it has the whole metaphorical highway to itself. But NASA’s planned moon base is expected to have a lot more concurrent traffic in the future, which means it’s time to start writing rules for a busier road. Engineers from Texas
If you missed the spectacular solar eclipse earlier this month, you have a chance to catch another stunning astronomical phenomenon: a partial lunar eclipse and “blood moon” that will occur on Thursday night into Friday early morning. Earth’s shadow will cover nearly all of the bright lunar disk and will cast a reddish or orange
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story, originally published in December, was revised Aug. 26, 2026 with an update on a new phase of testing, including video from a recent test run and new images. To help NASA and commercial partners better understand the science of lunar landings, specifically the hazards that may occur when a lander’s engine
