Cosmic Dispatch
Space
Eyes on the void.
Life after the moon: Artemis II's Christina Koch steps down from active astronaut duty
Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch will become NASA's acting deputy chief engineer on Nov. 1. All four Artemis II crewmates have now stepped away from active spaceflight duties.
'The X-Files' is officially returning as Hulu picks up Ryan Coogler's 'reimagining' of the sci-fi icon
Trust no one.
Cosmic 'jellyfish' wows skywatchers after SpaceX launch | Space photo of the day for Oct. 14, 2026
A "jellyfish" in the early-morning sky created by SpaceX's launch of the CRS-35 cargo mission on Oct. 13, 2026.
The 1st SpaceX Starship to survive a launch to space just came home to its launch site
After surviving its splashdown and a grueling journey at sea, SpaceX's Ship 40 has returned to Starbase, where engineers will study the first recovered Starship upper stage for clues to future reus…
'Dungeon Crawler Carl' author Matt Dinniman talks inspirations, success, and the upcoming Peacock TV series (interview)
'Luckily I’m still in love with this story, and I am in love with writing it.'
Four years ago, NASA punched an asteroid. Europe's Hera probe arrives this month to inspect the wreckage
NASA's DART mission made a cosmic mess four years ago — and now a new spacecraft is ready to scout out exactly what the first-of-its-kind collision accomplished.
NASA develops batteries to power humanity's return to moon
If you've ever had your car start sluggishly, or not at all, on a particularly frigid winter morning, you know standard batteries do not like extreme cold. That's why NASA researchers are working t…
A trip to Mars could come at a heartbreaking cost
When astronauts first travel to Mars or anywhere else in deep space, they will have to contend with two problems that our planet protects us from on its surface—radiation and weightlessness. Scient…
APOD: 2026 October 14 – Mars and the Beehive Under an Aurora
What a cosmic coincidence! In today’s image, Mars joins the Beehive cluster below an auroral curtain and above a horizon of happy little trees near Lansjärv, Sweden.
Hurricane Simon Lurks Off the Mexican Coast
Though it remained offshore, the storm lashed coastal areas with high winds and flooding—and produced remarkable rippling patterns in the upper atmosphere.
Scientists discover that some of the universe's biggest explosions may have never happened at all
Scientists have discovered that some of the universe's most powerful explosions, hypernovas, may not happen at all.
On this day in space! Oct. 14, 1947: Test pilot Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, the first X-plane
On Oct. 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time! Here's why it mattered.
NASA Names Astronaut Christina Koch Acting Deputy Chief Engineer
NASA engineer and astronaut Christina Koch will serve as the agency’s acting deputy chief engineer beginning on Sunday, Nov. 1, following the retirement of Katherine Van Hooser, who will conclude m…
New evidence points to two feeding black holes just 175 parsecs apart lurking in the early universe
Astronomers have found two actively feeding supermassive black holes separated by just 175 parsecs (570 light-years) in a galaxy seen when the universe was only about 2 billion years old. The syste…
How lessons from fisheries management could help us govern Earth's orbital space
The space industry is rapidly expanding. About 20,000 satellites already circle Earth, a number that could reach 100,000 by 2030. They bring growing environmental costs: space debris, collision ris…
Comparing Off-World Rover Driving Distances
Description This infographic illustrates the distances driven by various rovers on the surface of Earth’s Moon and Mars. Of the vehicles shown, the NASA Mars rovers Perseverance and Curiosity are s…
Astronomical nanosatellite VERTECS completes initial operations and begins scientific observations
A research team from the Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kwansei Gakuin University, Tokyo City University, Kanazawa University, the University of Tokyo and other institutions has successfully compl…
Trailblazing technique uncovers real shape of scorching-hot exoplanet atmospheres
Until now, the alien white-hot worlds of exoplanets have been depicted as circular, but new research has revealed the true shape of their atmospheres to be a deformed sphere rather than a perfect c…
See the original Galileo shuttle from 'Star Trek' in its new home at the Original Series Set Tour in New York
This iconic spaceship will now live long and prosper in its brand-new Star Trek Tour home.
Earth's poles shifted surprisingly fast during the age of dinosaurs, ancient sea levels reveal
The location of Earth's geographic poles has changed several times over the past 320 million years in a process known as true polar wander.
How to watch 'VisionQuest' online — stream the MCU's 'WandaVision' spinoff series from anywhere
How to watch "VisionQuest", the MCU spinoff starring Paul Bettany, James Spader and Todd Stashwick. Cheapest options, where to watch in US, UK, Canada, Australia and beyond.
SpaceX rocket launch creates incredible 'space jellyfish' visible throughout US East Coast (photos)
The SpaceX cargo launch to the International Space Station on Tuesday morning (Oct. 13) created a dazzling display seen up and down the US East Coast.
2 spacecraft in orbit and 8 more coming soon: Varda has big plans for in-space manufacturing
Reentry provider Varda Space Industries is currently flying two spacecraft in Earth orbit and has eight more missions planned in the next year.
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover breaks interplanetary driving record — and it's far from done
NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has broken the record for the farthest distance driven on a world beyond Earth, passing its smaller cousin Opportunity.
Astronaut captures mesmerizing auroras with iPhone from ISS | Space photo of the day for Oct. 13, 2026
Auroras paint the International Space Station purple in new iPhone photo from orbit.
On this day in space! Oct. 13, 1773: Astronomer Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy before we ever knew it was a galaxy
On Oct. 13, 1773, a French astronomer named Charles Messier discovered the "Whirlpool Galaxy," also known as Messier 51, or M51. Here's why it mattered.
'We basically did Top Gun in space': 'Star Trek Starfleet Academy' warps back into action in March 2027 for sophomore year in the final frontier
The sophomore season of "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" will warp back to the small screen in March 2027 when the limited series returns for its final season on Paramount+.
The great Halley's Comet disappointment of 1986 — and the discoveries that changed astronomy forever
What disappointed skywatchers in 1986 became a scientific triumph, as an international fleet of spacecraft revealed the secrets of the world's most famous comet.
A faint glow from the early universe could help solve the mystery of dark energy
Hydrogen may be the most common element in the cosmos, but scientists could use it to do something unique: uncover the nature of dark energy.
'Space Gal' Emily Calandrelli launches into the Marvel Universe this week on Disney Jr.'s 'Iron Man' series (exclusive)
Real-life astronaut and science communicator Emily Calandrelli will make a guest appearance in the upcoming episode of Disney Jr.'s animated "Marvel's Iron Man and his Awesome Friends" on Oct. 14.
NASA JPL testing readies Voyager technologies lander for moon mission
A commercial lander that will be at the forefront of NASA's efforts to establish a moon base, humanity's first lunar outpost, has passed a series of critical tests at the agency's Jet Propulsion La…
New solar model maps sun more accurately by checking far-side activity
A Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)-led team has developed an improved model for predicting solar events that incorporates activity on the far side of the sun. The team studied near-simultaneous …
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 Starlink mission for 1st time in more than 3 weeks (video)
SpaceX launched 27 of its Starlink broadband satellites to orbit today (Oct. 12), the first such mission for a Falcon 9 rocket since Sept. 19.
Structure in the unstructured: New phenomenon discovered in the solar wind
Turbulence is ubiquitous and occurs every day, such as when milk is stirred into coffee or in the stormy motions of the ocean and the atmosphere. Media in space and astrophysical systems can also d…
Webb spots possible early-universe supernova just days after it happened
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has detected a possible supernova in the early universe just days after the star exploded. Called AT 2026abck, the transient lies in a star-forming galaxy at a…
Planetary systems reveal two distinct families tied to their host stars
Analyzing a sample of 300 of the best-characterized planetary systems among the more than 1,000 known in the Milky Way, an international research team led by the Italian National Institute for Astr…
Space waves reveal where Earth's magnetic shield is under pressure
A new study led by researchers at the University of Oulu in Finland sheds light on a poorly understood part of space weather: where powerful waves form at the edge of Earth's magnetic shield and wh…
NASA's SpaceX CRS-35 mission to launch health research
NASA experiments focused on human and plant health and drug-resistant organisms will travel to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission for the agen…
Vera Rubin Observatory spots the largest ultra-fast spinning asteroid yet
The speed of an asteroid's spin can tell astronomers a surprising amount about what it is made of. However, existing approaches to measuring spin based on telescope observations can often produce m…
SpaceX successfully launches 6,300 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station
SpaceX successfully launched more than 3 tons of cargo toward the International Space Station on Tuesday morning (Oct. 13).
Astronomers witness supermassive black hole gorge on a cosmic meal before 'burping' radio jets 300 days later
Using the NASA spacecraft Swift, astronomers observed a supermassive black hole burping radio jets 300 days after a heavy cosmic meal.
The moon could turn astronauts into 'walking, high voltage capacitors' that accidentally zap spacecraft
NASA is asking for ideas to stop static electricity from zapping astronauts or critical hardware during moon missions.
The 'Halloween Fireballs' are coming. Here's what to expect from the Taurids this October
The Southern and Northern Taurid meteor showers will produce occasional bright, slow-moving meteors worldwide during October and November, with moon-free peaks in 2026.
Namibian salt flats look like an alien planet | Space photo of the day for Oct. 12, 2026
The Etosha Pan in northern Namibia, the largest salt flat in the country, looks otherworldly in this satellite photo.
How the impossible geometry of 'Tomb Raider III''s UFO level was made
Bigger on the inside? Where have we heard that before?
On this day in space! Oct. 12, 1964: The Soviet Union launches Voskhod 1, the 1st multi-person cosmonaut crew, into space
On Oct. 12, 1964, the Soviet Union launched Voskhod 1, a 24-hour crewed mission that achieved several "firsts" for human spaceflight. Here's why it mattered.
Primordial helium further confirms our understanding of the Big Bang
In the early moments of the big bang, two elements were forged: hydrogen and helium. Technically, the tiniest traces of light elements such as lithium were produced as well, but nothing of conseque…
NASA demonstrates next-generation heat shield technologies
NASA is taking an unusual approach to testing heat shields that can keep astronauts safe as they return from missions to the moon and Mars: taking out the trash.
Alternative gravity theory offers possible explanation for dark energy changing over time
For many years, the simplest view of dark energy has been that it remains unchanged. Throughout cosmic history, the mysterious ingredient believed to drive the universe's accelerated expansion is t…
The dying sun could tear the solar system apart sooner than thought
The fate of our solar system is written in the stars—well, one star to be precise: the sun. Estimates of what the end will look like once the sun sheds much of its mass and ultimately dies vary wid…
Physics Nobel highlights Antarctica's role in exploring the cosmos
When Belgian American particle physicist Francis Halzen was awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in physics "for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy …
ALMA catches a dying star mid-transformation, with a ring from its last outburst
Astronomers have used radio observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to catch a dying star in the middle of a dramatic transformation, and the data show a ring that…
The Preliminary Lunar Science Report for Artemis II is out
On April 1, 2026, the crew of the Artemis II mission launched into space atop NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). Roughly 3 1/2 hours after launch, the rocket's upper stage separated from the Orion s…