Look and see

DART’s impact with Dimorphos gave the asteroid moonlet a tail. Astronomers using a ground-based telescope observed a trail of dust stretching more than 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) from the asteroid (toward the upper right in the image). Image credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/SOAR/NSF/AURA.

SpaceX might help move Hubble into a higher orbit. NASA signed an unfunded Space Act Agreement with the private company on Sept. 22 to study the possibility of using a Dragon spacecraft to boost the Hubble Space Telescope into a higher orbit. Hubble’s orbit has slowly been decaying in the 32 years it has been in operation. Boosting it to a higher, more stable orbit could add years to its operating life.

NASA is now targeting November for the Artemis I launch. The Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule weren’t damaged by Hurricane Ian, but NASA has decided to skip the October launch window and wait until November. NASA said in a statement that this decision was partly made in order to give employees at Kennedy Space Center time to address the needs of their families and homes after the storm.

When it comes to JWST’s amazing images, it’s hard to pick favorites. Nevertheless, we went ahead and started a collection of our top picks from among the many stunning photos coming back from the newest space telescope. Included among them is this jaw-dropping view of Jupiter with its polar auroras. Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Jupiter ERS Team; image processing by Judy Schmidt.

A huge telescope aboard a 747 aircraft made its last flight on Sept. 30. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), which was a joint mission between NASA and the German Aerospace Center, made 921 flights over the course of its 12 years of operation, observing celestial magnetic fields, star-forming regions, comets, nebulae, and the center of our galaxy. Astronomer Margaret Meixner joined this week’s Planetary Radio to talk about the unique mission and the many things it taught us about the Universe.

Happy World Space Week! This annual, international celebration of all things space runs from Oct. 4-10 and this year focuses on the theme of “Space and Sustainability.” Learn more about the celebrations happening in person and online.

Thank you to everyone that supported the Planetary Academy Kickstarter campaign! While the successful campaign has ended, we plan to open up general enrollment in this new kids membership program later this year. Sign up for the waitlist here and we'll let you know when we’re ready to welcome the next class of Academy members.