China has made great strides in exploring space in recent years, rocketing astronauts to its own space station and bringing back rocks from the moon.

A NASA spacecraft has blasted off on a quest to explore Jupiter's moon Europa and reveal whether its hidden ocean might hold the keys to life.

A massive NASA spacecraft has set sail for Jupiter and its moon Europa.

NASA has given the go-ahead to next month’s launch to Jupiter’s moon Europa.

Mars and Jupiter are cozying up in the night sky for their closest rendezvous this decade.

Astronomers have directly observed a super Jupiter around a nearby star.

Comcast has blacked out 15 regional sports networks offered by Bally Sports, escalating a contract dispute with their distributor.

New research suggests there’s less oxygen on the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa than thought.

Authorities are seeking at least five people in an armed robbery of the St. Louis Cardinals complex in the Dominican Republic on Friday.

Astronomers have discovered what could be two planets sharing the same orbit around their star.

There's another chance to see five planets lined up in the sky.

A federal bankruptcy judge has ordered Diamond Sports to pay the full value of its media contracts to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers.

A new work by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, written for an upcoming NASA mission, is a glance at outer space that returns back to Earth.

A crucial radar antenna on a spacecraft bound for Jupiter is no longer jammed.

A European spacecraft has blasted off on a quest to explore Jupiter and three of its ice-encrusted moons.

There's a special chance this week to see five planets lined up in the night sky.

Some planets will be easier to see than others in late March

Astronomers have discovered 12 new moons around Jupiter, putting the total count at a record-breaking 92.

NASA's Juno spacecraft has made the closest approach to Jupiter's tantalizing, icy moon Europa in more than 20 years.

The gas giant won't be this close again for another 4,352 years

The world's newest and most powerful space telescope is showing Jupiter as never before, auroras and all.

A rare display of five planets can be seen each morning through the end of the month

Many familiar faces with impressive resumes are in new places following one of major league baseball’s wildest free agent frenzies.

For all the vitriol, Major League Baseball owners and players have closed the gap in recent weeks and are negotiating on similar frameworks for a new collective bargaining agreement.

Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem and chief union negotiator Bruce Meyer met for 1 1/2 hours and discussed the major issues in the stalled talks to reach a deal that would end Major League Baseball’s lockout.

As Rob Manfred stood behind a podium in the left-field corner of Roger Dean Stadium, fans chanted at the baseball commissioner from outside the spring training home of the Miami Marlins and St_ Louis Cardinals: “We want baseball!”.

Major League Baseball extended its deadline for salvaging opening day and a 162-game season until Tuesday at 5 p.m. after a marathon of 13 bargaining sessions over 16 1/2 hours produced progress toward a deal but left the sides still far apart.

Representatives for the league and union paused exchanging formal proposals and instead held a series of smaller meetings with one day left until Major League Baseball's deadline to salvage an on-time start to the regular season.

Major League Baseball negotiations took several steps forward and overcame a possible breakdown, leaving less than two days until management’s deadline for an agreement to salvage opening day on March 31 and a 162-game schedule.

Baseball players and owners took a first step toward salvaging opening day, nearing agreement on an amateur draft lottery during lockout negotiations that included a surprise one-on-one meeting between Commissioner Rob Manfred and union head Tony Clark.

Another negotiating session produced only minor movement and no proposals on big-money issues, leaving Major League Baseball four days from management’s Monday night deadline for a deal to salvage opening day and a 162-game season.

Major League Baseball gave locked out players five days to salvage March 31 openers and a full season, telling the union that games would be canceled if a labor contract is not agreed to by the end of Monday.

Another day ran off the clock in talks to salvage opening day when locked-out baseball players proposed what they considered a small move forward in drawn-out labor negotiations and management termed it a third straight step backward.

Baseball negotiations have resumed with new intensity in an effort to salvage opening day.

Major League Baseball’s negotiations to salvage opening day resume at a new venue: Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida.

Justin Verlander reached a $25 million deal to remain with the Houston Astros as he comes back from Tommy John surgery, and Brandon Belt accepted an $18.4 million qualifying offer from the San Francisco Giants.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot, a storm so big it could swallow Earth, extends surprisingly deep beneath the planet's cloud tops.

A NASA spacecraft named Lucy has rocketed into the sky with diamonds on a 12-year quest to explore a record-setting eight asteroids.

The spot is bigger than the earth, and winds are moving in excess of 400 mph

At 5 years old, Dr. Laura Jones-Wilson knew exactly what she wanted to do when she grew up. Now, at 36 years old, she’s living her dream.

NASA's Juno spacecraft has provided the first close-ups of Jupiter's largest moon in two decades.

Authorities are asking for help in finding a 7-week-old baby girl from North Carolina who was last seen in Danville.

In this Feb. 4, 2021, photo provided by the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, Arvy, a brown pelican rescued from the icy Connecticut River on Jan. 27, sits in a bathtub at the home of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary hospital director Stephanie Franczak in Florida after the bird was flown to the Jupiter, Fla., wildlife sanctuary. Apparently blown far off course, Arvy is recovering from pneumonia and frostbite at the wildlife center. (Stephanie Franczak/Busch Wildlife Sanctuary via AP)KILLINGWORTH, Conn. – A pelican that got blown off course and was rescued in chilly Connecticut has been flown to Florida, where he is recovering from pneumonia and frostbite. The brown pelican, nicknamed Arvy, was rescued from the icy Connecticut River on Jan. 27. “He is a Southern bird, he is not supposed to be north of the Carolinas and Virginia,” Carolina Young, spokesperson for the Florida sanctuary, told the Register.

Four games were postponed because of players testing positive or quarantining under the COVID-19 protocol. DePaul’s previously postponed game at St. John’s on Jan. 2 has been rescheduled for Feb. 20. Major League Baseball last week proposed a one-month delay in starting spring training due to the coronavirus pandemic. ___The Cleveland Indians will not be allowing fans to watch their spring training workouts in Arizona due to the COVID-19 pandemic. AdThere has not yet been a decision on whether fans will be able to attend spring training games.

If you like to stargaze, we’re pleased to report that the skies will be busy for you over the next week! Early forecasts call for clear skies on these evenings but make sure you check back for updates on the expected cloud cover. This will require an early wake-up call as the planet’s visit with the near-new moon will happen before dawn next Monday. Again, check the forecast Sunday night before you go to bed to make sure clouds won’t obscure your view. Switching gears to your forecast, there’s not a whole lot going on in the weather world this week up until Friday.

If you couldn’t see it where you live, we wanted to make sure you didn’t miss this astrological phenomenon. [Here’s how to spot the rare ‘Christmas Star’ on Monday]What many are calling the “Christmas Star” is actually two planets. Despite being 400 million miles away from each other Saturn and Jupiter will appear closers than they have since the 13th century.

ROANOKE, Va. – You’ll want to make sure you don’t miss tonight’s astronomical marvel! Despite being 400 million miles away from each other Saturn and Jupiter will appear closers than they have since the 13th century. Since the event is happening so close to Christmas, many have dubbed the phenomenon the “Christmas Star.”In Southwest and Central Virginia here’s what to do so you don’t miss it! It takes Jupiter about 12 Earth years to do the same. (Credit: WKMG)The Great Conjunction occurs because Jupiter has the inside track while orbiting the sun in our solar system.

(Bill Ingalls/NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Jupiter and Saturn will merge in the night sky Monday, appearing closer to one another than they have since Galileo’s time in the 17th century. Jupiter passes its neighbor Saturn in their respective laps around the sun every 20 years. Saturn and Jupiter have been drawing closer in the south-southwest sky for weeks. Despite appearances, Jupiter and Saturn will actually be more than 450 million miles (730 million kilometers) apart. A telescope will not only capture Jupiter and Saturn in the same field of view, but even some of their brightest moons.

As Christmas nears, astronomers are urging citizens to look to the sky in a few weeks to witness something not seen in almost 800 years. Forbes reported that Jupiter and Saturn will look like a “double planet” for the first time since the Middle Ages. You’ll be able to witness the event in the sky through binoculars or a small telescope, according to NASA. Plus, Jupiter & Saturn appear closer than in decades, and the winter solstice arrives. Some astronomers believe that the “star of Bethlehem” was a conjunction between Jupiter, Saturn and Mars.

ROANOKE, Va. – Before we get into the meat and potatoes of this article, it’s important to note that there’s been some hardcore clickbait out there regarding this month’s upcoming planetary conjunction. Having said that, we’ll take any additional brightness we can get in the final days and weeks of 2020. This planetary conjunction ought to do just that. In the nights prior to the ‘great conjunction,’ Jupiter and Saturn will appear closer together in the southwest sky about an hour after sunset. It’s definitely a needed dose of brightness in the final days of what has been a challenging year for many.

The Astros announced Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, that Verlander needs Tommy John surgery and could miss the entire 2021 season. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)HOUSTON – Astros ace Justin Verlander had Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. That means the earliest Verlander could pitch for would be in the 2022 season and it might not be for the Astros. He attempted a comeback after he was injured, but announced on Sept. 19 that he would need Tommy John surgery. Verlander joined the Astros in a trade on Aug. 31, 2017 and his stellar performance helped them to their first World Series title that season.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Jupiter and its enticing moon Europa shine in a new photo by the Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble snapped the picture last month when the planet was 406 million miles (653 million kilometers) away, and the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore released it Thursday. Europa, which is smaller than our own moon, appears as a pale dot alongside its giant, color-streaked gas planet. NASA plans to launch a spacecraft, the Europa Clipper, later this decade to see if conditions there might be ripe for life. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education.

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump will highlight his environmental agenda as he campaigns in the battleground states of Florida and North Carolina on Tuesday. The White House says Trump will stop in Jupiter, Florida, on Tuesday to remind voters there of his conservation and environmental protection efforts in the Everglades region. For the federal budget year beginning Oct. 1, the White House said, Trump asked Congress for $250 million in annual funding to accelerate construction of infrastructure for the Everglades as part of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration. The president will also hold a campaign rally Tuesday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Trump narrowly won both states in the 2016 presidential election.

ROANOKE, Va. – While many fireworks displays have been canceled, there may be a few other things that catch your eye this holiday weekend! The full ‘Buck’ moon rises on the 4th, and it does so in conjunction with a few friends. Penumbral eclipse to occur this weekendThe last thing is something you won’t see. This is called ‘aphelion,' or the farthest point away from the sun in Earth’s annual orbit. Aphelion takes place this 4th of July weekendThis further proves that our seasons on Earth aren’t dictated by our distance from the sun, but rather the angle of the sun.

It now has 82 known moons; Jupiter has 79. It now has 82 known moons; Jupiter has 79. But 17 of the 20 have a retrograde orbit of Saturn, meaning they essentially orbit backwards from the planet and other moons. The retrograde moons were also likely part of a larger body, and their name are derived from Norse mythology. Gas, dust and collisions in outer spaceOne of the prograde moons has an angle of 36 degrees, similar to the other prograde moons close to Saturn named for Gallic mythology.

ROANOKE, Va. - Skywatchers, be sure to look to your south and southwest Thursday night. Just make sure to do so before 10:45, as that's when the moon sets. The moon will be in very "close" quarters to Jupiter from our vantage point, and the sky should be clear enough for a good view of it! Far to the left of the moon will be Saturn. By Saturday night, the moon will appear very close to Saturn, with Jupiter farther to your right.

(CNN) - Loki, named for the Norse god of mischief, is about to unleash an eruption on Jupiter's moon Io, according to astronomers. And Loki is the most powerful volcano on Io. Rathbun presented a poster about predicting Loki's eruptions this week at the European Planetary Science Congress - Division for Planetary Sciences Joint Meeting 2019 in Geneva. Volcanoes are usually hard to predict because a variety of factors can lead to eruptions, Rathbun noted. "Loki is named after a trickster god, and the volcano has not been known to behave itself," Rathbun said.

(CNN) - Jupiter's turbulent beauty comes from its wild atmosphere full of storms, artfully swirling clouds and big bands of color wrapping around the gas giant. "ALMA enabled us to make a three-dimensional map of the distribution of ammonia gas below the clouds. They were able to track the storms inside Jupiter's colorful belts, much like we track them on Earth, and realized the storms create plumes above the ammonia ice clouds. When the storm clouds reach the coldest part of the atmosphere, they spread out like cumulonimbus clouds that cause lightning and thunder on Earth. The plumes bring up ammonia gas from deep in the atmosphere to high altitudes, well above the main ammonia cloud deck."

Venus and Mars are currently blocked from our view by the sun, but this week is a great chance to catch Jupiter and Saturn in conjunction with the moon. The nearly full moon will appear very close to Jupiter on the night of August 9. Like Jupiter, Saturn will also appear in the sky once night falls and be visible until dawn, east of Jupiter. On the evening of August 11, the moon will appear to the right of Saturn and then on its left on August 12. Other tribes also called it the "moon when all things ripen" the "blueberry moon" or the "wheat cut moon."