Happy Fourth of July, Space Fans! As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, we here at Space.com got to thinking. How have things changed in space since 1776? What was the night sky like? What have we learned and where might we go in the next 250 years?The results are what you see below. A series of stories (some serious and some less so) about the last 250 years of space exploration, NASA and American achievements in space and what lies ahead. We even took a look at what Space.com might have looked like if we were around in 1776. Take a look!Posted by spacecom on This Week In Space podcast: Episode 217 — America in SpaceOn Episode 217 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik discuss the progression of American space efforts. (Image credit: TWiT)On Episode 217 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik discuss the progression of American space efforts. Since 1958, the United States has been part of the spaceflight adventure, and since the mid-1960s has led in just about any category that counts. In this episode, we review which flights launched or landed on July 4, and relive some of our very favorite US space missions of all time! Watch the podcast for FREE here!What did the night sky look like on the 1st Independence Day 250 years ago?Independence Hall in Philadelphia. (Image credit: Wirestock via Getty Images)What did the evening sky look like for Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and their contemporaries on July 4, 1776? To understand the sky more fully, it helps to look at how people in 1776 tracked celestial events and what they would have expected to see overhead. Read our full story by Skywatching Columnist Joe Rao.Human flight was still 7 years away in 1776. Now, we're headed back to the moonThe United States has lived almost exactly half its life in the aerospace era. (Image credit: NASA)We made some halting steps over the centuries — getting kites aloft in ancient China, for example, and drawing up ambitious but unrealized flying machines during the Renaissance — but our boots were still firmly rooted on the ground when the United States of America was born on July 4, 1776. Read how things have changed in 250 years as told by Spaceflight and Tech Editor Mike Wall.Celebrate 250 years of America with the Estes Liberty Star model rocketThe new Estes Liberty Star model rocket. (Image credit: Estes / Future)Aside from fireworks, what better way to celebrate 250 years of independence than by launching your own model rocket into the sky? The limited edition Estes Liberty Star rocket is the perfect model for the job, decked out with a blue and red styling and featuring beginner friendly assembly for an easy setup. Our E-commerce Writer Harry Bennett has the deal.You can get the Estes Liberty Star America 250th Celebration model rocket for $38.84 on AmazonAmerica 250: A star whose light headed to us in 1776Spica shines in the constellation Virgo 250 light-years from Earth. (Image credit: Roberto Mura via Wikimedia Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.)The United States' 250th birthday is right around the corner and what better way to celebrate than by looking for a star whose light began its journey to Earth around the time the Declaration of Independence was signed? Read about what makes Spica a 1776 star here from Anthony Wood.4 night sky targets to celebrate America 250The Milky Way arches into the skies over Nevada. Don't miss it. (Image credit: Photo by DAVID BECKER/AFP via Getty Images)The United States' 250th birthday is almost here, so why not take a break from the fireworks and explore four America-themed wonders hiding in the summer night sky? Our Skywatching Writer Anthony Wood is our guide here.Space science has come a long way since July 4, 1776. Here's a look back at the sagaAn illustration shows two colliding black holes flanked by dark matter. (Image credit: Robert Lea (created with Canva))To celebrate 250 years of the U.S. as an independent nation, Space.com takes you on a journey through some common misunderstandings of the universe through the years and the roles American scientists played in clearing up that cosmic confusion. Read about it here from Astronomy Writer Rob Lea.America 250: How has telescope technology evolved since the dawn of the U.S.?The Yerkes one-meter refractor on display at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. (Image credit: The Field Museum Library/Wikimedia Commons)The past 250 years of optical telescopes have seen revolutionary discoveries and technology that the telescope's inventor, a seventeenth century spectacle-maker by the name of Hans Lippershey, maybe wouldn't have believed possible. Space.com Contributing Writer Keith Cooper has the tale here.In 1776, the moon was a clock, a calendar and a streetlight — and it was 31 feet closer to EarthThe moon has changed. (Image credit: Getty Images)After Americans declared independence on July 4, 1776, a waning gibbous moon rose in the night sky. To the people celebrating the birth of a new nation, it would have looked much the same as the moon we see today. But there was one subtle difference: 250 years ago, the moon was about 31 feet (9.4 meters) closer to Earth than it is now. Contributing Writer Stefanie Waldek explains it all here.In 1776, the solar system only had 6 planets. Now, it has 8. Does it end there?Our definition of a planet has changed over the years — causing a bit of confusion. (Image credit: wasan prunglampoo/Getty Images)Over the past 250 years, the number of "planets" in our solar system has ranged from six to nine — and, briefly, even 11 — depending on what astronomers knew at the time and how they defined a planet. As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, that changing tally offers a unique lens on humanity's evolving understanding of the cosmos since 1776. Read how our understanding of the planets changed here from Contributing Writer Samantha Mathewson.'Rocket's Red Glare': How NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission celebrated America's 250th birthday(Image credit: Space.com / Josh Dinner)It doesn't get more America than giant rockets and missions to the moon. That's why NASA painted two giant "America 250" logos on the rocket that launched the Artemis 2 astronauts around the moon earlier this year. Space.com Spaceflight Writer Josh Dinner has the story on Artemis 2's America 250 livery here. He even took the photo you see above.How NASA's 'America 250' celebrations are reaching from the sky to the moonNASA has big plans for July 4 — the 250th anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence — which involves both aircraft and spacecraft. (Image credit: NASA/John Kraus)NASA is taking the "America 250" birthday celebration to new heights. "From the earliest days of exploration, to the first steps on the moon and the missions shaping our future, NASA represents the spirit of discovery that defines our nation," the agency wrote on a webpage marking the milestone anniversary. Read how NASA is celebrating 250 years of America here by Elizabeth Howell.Stunning new NASA space telescope images reveal the universe in red, white and blue for America 250Four new "red, white and blue" images released by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory to celebrate the United States' 250th anniversary. (Image credit: NASA/CXC/SAO)NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has released four stunning images of cosmic wonders, depicted in red, white and blue to coincide with the United States' 250th anniversary on July 4. Space.com Managing Editor Brett Tingley has the story.Infant stars celebrate their independence with cosmic fireworksThe protostars of the star system FS Tau as seen by the JWST. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI))NASA released this image to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of the U.S. It is a fitting tribute as the protostars break away from the molecular cloud in which they formed to become fully fledged stars in their own right. Read what cosmic fireworks they reveal here in a story by Rob Lea.America at 500: Where will we be in space in 2276?Looking so far into the future is so difficult as to be a fool's errand. But it's fun! (Image credit: NASA)When the U.S. was born, humanity was still seven years away from balloon-borne flight. Where might we be another 250 years from now, should the nation be fortunate enough to survive that long? Read what the next 250 years might bring for America in space here by Mike Wall.Those are some great reads, but America isn't the only "Independence Day" celebration going on this year. There is another anniversary that we celebrated this week, but it's not a country, it's a movie.'Independence Day' at 30: Roland Emmerich & Dean Devlin talk blowing up the White House and crafting a true sci-fi classic (interview)(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)We often talk about certain works of art ushering in or being ushered in by, but "Independence Day" ("ID4") truly broke the mold for how huge tentpole pictures were marketed three decades ago, something that still reverberates today. So, to celebrate "Independence Day" on its 30th anniversary, we connected with the dynamic creative duo of director Roland Emmerich and screenwriter Dean Devlin ("Universal Soldier," "Stargate," "Godzilla") for a jog down memory lane to remember one of the greatest sci-fi movies in history. Read about "Independence Day" in our exclusive interview by Contributing Writer Jeff Spy.'Independence Day' still proves the versatility of the original 'The War of the Worlds'"Independence Day" isn't technically "The War of the Worlds" but it's still one of the most successful adaptations of HG Wells' genre-defining novel. (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)"Independence Day" definitely isn't "The War of the Worlds". But here's the contradiction. "Independence Day" totally is "The War of the Worlds". Read exactly why that is here by writer Richard Edwards.That's going to be a wrap for our Space.com's America 250 celebration!Thank you all for joining us and we hope you had as much fun reading these features as we had making them. We wish you all the best if you're celebrating the Fourth of July festivities in the United States this Independence Day. Maybe in 2276, we'll be celebrating from the moon and Mars ... or perhaps somewhere beyond