Most anticipated comet of the year makes closest approach to Earth this weekend

Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas made its closest pass to Earth this weekend, but weather permitting, it should be visible to the naked eye until the end of October. Here's what to know.

Watch magical moment man proposes under dreamy purple aurora

The geomagnetic storm this week helped make the aurora incredibly vibrant, and brought Northern Light displays to much of the northern U.S.

Watch: 'Comet of a century' puts on beautiful show while zooming by Earth

Astronomers said Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS reached perihelion, its closest point to the Sun, on Sept. 27 and will spin back around for another visit to Earth's neighborhood. On or before Oct. 12 will be the next chance to see the celestial show.

NOAA orders next generation of hurricane hunter aircraft

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced recently it awarded a contract to Georgia-based Lockheed Martin Aeronautics for two specialized C-130J Hercules aircraft. The planes are expected to join NOAA’s fleet by 2030.

Rare 'ring of fire' eclipse to dazzle Easter Island, parts of South America

An annular solar eclipse, known as the "ring of fire," will be visible on Wednesday, primarily over the Pacific, with Easter Island, parts of Argentina, and Chile in its path.

Earth is getting a temporary second moon this fall

Earth will soon have a visitor — and not of the extraterrestrial kind. Astronomers found a small asteroid that will orbit our planet this fall, becoming a "mini-moon" temporarily.

WATCH: SpaceX's Polaris Dawn crew completes first private spacewalk

Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 integrated payment processing solutions, participated in the first ever private spacewalk by a group of astronauts who left a SpaceX capsule after a delay of a few hours, testing a new line of spacesuits in the company's riskiest mission yet.

A record number of human beings are now in orbit

For the first time, there are 19 human beings orbiting the planet. They represent three different countries and are aboard three different spacecraft.

Polaris Dawn live updates: SpaceX launches 4 private astronauts for historic spacewalk mission Tuesday morning

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 5:23 a.m. ET carrying four Polaris Dawn mission private astronauts to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday morning.