Cosmic Fireworks, Mars Meets Uranus, and the Dawn of a New Era in Astronomy

Astronomy Daily — S05E132 — Weekend Space and Astronomy News Wrap — Saturday, July 4, 2026 It's the Fourth of July weekend edition of Astronomy Daily! This week's wrap covers the successful launch of the Swift rescue mission after a week of delays, the historic start of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's decade-long sky survey, an aurora-triggering geomagnetic storm timed for the holiday weekend, a promising nearby habitable-zone super-Earth, a brand new James Webb 'cosmic fireworks' image released for America's 250th birthday, and a rare ultra-close conjunction between Mars and Uranus visible before dawn today. In this episode: • Swift Boost mission: LINK spacecraft launches successfully on the final flight of Pegasus XL • Vera C. Rubin Observatory begins its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time from Chile • G2–G3 geomagnetic storm watch brings aurora chances for the July 4 weekend • Recap: GJ 3378 b, a potentially habitable super-Earth just 25 light-years away • JWST releases new 'cosmic fireworks' image of the FS Tau star system for America 250 • Mars and Uranus in an extremely close conjunction, visible before dawn today Links & sources: • science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift — Swift Boost mission updates • rubinobservatory.org — Vera C. Rubin Observatory LSST • swpc.noaa.gov — NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center aurora forecasts • science.nasa.gov/missions/webb — James Webb Space Telescope FS Tau image release • space.com/stargazing — Mars-Uranus conjunction viewing guide

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