SpaceX's satellites will populate the night sky, affecting how we observe the stars. And this is just the beginning of private satellite mega-constellations.

If nothing else, the global pandemic of the Coronavirus has slowed the world down and in effect, our minds too. In our socially-distanced states, we are bound to be thinking more about what we are doing in our lives, where we are heading, and what our futures will entail, both collectively as a planet and as individuals.

Beth Moon slept under ancient baobabs and waited out the clouds to photograph Earth’s arboreal beauty at night. By Catherine Zuckerman.

Tourists heading to central Idaho will be in the dark if local officials get their way. The first International Dark Sky Reserve in the United States would fill a chunk of the state's sparsely populated region that contains night skies so pristine that interstellar dust clouds are visible in the Milky Way.

Open cluster in Gemini

Open cluster in Perseus

Located in the costellation Triangulum

Elliptical galaxy in Andromeda

Sb type galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

Globular cluster in Capricorn

The Hubble Space Telescope has identified nine monster stars in outer space, all with a mass of over 100 times that of the Sun. The stars are part of the cluster R136, and have become the largest group of massive stars ever found. The star cluster is located 170,000 light years from Earth, and the findings will help astronomers learn about the origin of giant stars. The report was published in the Monthly Notices Of The Royal Astronomical Society.

Open cluster in the constellation Cygnus

Astronomers stitched together more than 700 maps to create the most detailed image ever of our galaxy from the Southern Hemisphere. [Big]

Globular cluster in Sagittarius

Comprised of the stars Rigel, Aldebaran, Capella, Castor and Pollux, Procyon and Sirius

Also known as the Dumbbell Nebula, M27 is located in the constellation Vulpecula

Open cluster in the constellation Scutum

Open cluster in Sagittarius

Earthlings can now observe a rare celestial gathering: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are all in alignment in our sky - and will continue to be for around a month. The last time the five paraded in a line was December 2004 to January 2005. From January 20 to February 20 sky-gazers can see the five planets almost literally lined up, as their positions along the ecliptic (the sun’s perceived path in our sky) form a diagonal line.

No matter where you are on Earth on December, January and February evenings, you're looking toward bright stars in our local spiral arm.