Understanding space, one story at a time
Launches, discoveries, satellites and the climate seen from orbit: every article says what was observed, with which instrument, and what cannot be concluded yet.
The questions everyone asks
Three numbers to get your bearings
400 km
the altitude of the Space Station: straight up, about the length of a short domestic flight. Up there gravity is still 90 per cent of what you feel right now.
384,400 km
the average distance to the Moon: a thousand times higher than the Station. Its light takes a little over a second to reach us.
26,000 light years
how far away the black hole at the centre of our galaxy is: its light set off while Europe was deep in the last ice age.
To look at the sky is to look back in time.
Choose where to start
Follow the news, pick up a concept you are missing, or look closer at what Italy does in space.
Discoveries
New planets, telescopes and research results: what was actually observed, and what we can genuinely conclude from it.
Missions and launches
Launches, arrivals and operations: who is doing what, with which objectives and on what timeline.
Earth and climate
Ice, oceans, soil, wildfires and floods: what the data measured from orbit actually says.
Italy in space
National programmes, research and industry: where Italy takes part and what role it plays.
Space explained
Plain guides to orbits, rockets, telescopes and the words space news tends to assume you already know.
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Space explained
September 2026 Celestial Events: Venus, Galaxies, Harvest Moon
A few days later, on September 26, the Harvest Moon will illuminate the eastern sky, flanked by Saturn, also visible without instruments.