Cosmic Dispatch
Space
Eyes on the void.
NASA · Astronomy Picture of the Day
The Case of the Mysterious Maybe Meteor
Whatdunit? What disappeared while crossing a partially eclipsed Sun? Let’s present the evidence. The 24 frames-per-second video was taken in Spain (40°34'30.3"N 1°12'28.8"W) at 20:28 local time on August 12, 2026. The Perseids meteor shower was at its peak during this time. Is this a meteor? Meteor showers trace back to a region of the sky called a radiant point that corresponds to where the Earth is crossing a comet’s path. The object’s path might trace back to the Perseids’ radiant point in the Perseus constellation. The object trails a smaller angle on the sky than the 0.5 degree Sun and Moon, which is smaller than expected for a meteor. Its brightness does not extend much past the Sun, but a meteor burning up in the sky would not need sunlight to be seen. Perhaps the sunlight is reflecting off of the object? After cross-referencing the location, time, and point in the sky with a flight database, the culprit is found to be an airplane contrail!
VR supports research into spaceflight-related mental health
As humanity gets closer to the possibility of long-term interplanetary travel, psychologists have started raising concerns about astronauts' mental health. Researchers at Texas A&M University condu…
My 5 favorite sights to see in the night sky with binoculars
Here are our top picks on what to look for when using binoculars to explore the night sky.
On this day in space! Aug. 19, 1997: 1st Filipino satellite launches into orbit
On Aug. 19, 1997, the Philippines launched its own satellite for the first time.
Perseverance rover watches alien solar eclipse on Mars | Space photo of the day for Aug. 19, 2026
What a view.
Career Spotlight: Mechanic (Ages 14-18)
What does a mechanic do? Machines and engines are all around us. They power everything from cars and boats to airplanes and even rockets. Mechanics are experts who know how machinery works, especia…
I sailed to Greenland for a total solar eclipse — what I saw left me speechless
I understood the science and had seen thousands of eclipse photographs, but nothing prepared me for the emotion of watching totality unfold above the icebergs and fjords of East Greenland.
Astronomers catch hot birth of galaxy cluster more than 11 billion light-years away
Astronomers have detected an enormous cloud of gas tens of millions of degrees hot surrounding one of the most extreme structures known in the early universe. The study offers one of the clearest v…
Astronomers discover a giant, rocky 'mega-Earth' 23 times more massive than our planet
"This isn't what we expected at all."
Fly around Schiaparelli Crater with Mars Express
Video: 00:04:10 ESA’s Mars Express takes us on another mesmerising flight, this time around one of the biggest craters on Mars. Despite measuring a huge 460 km across, Schiaparelli Crater seems to …
China successfully recovers rocket stage on land for the first time
China has successfully recaptured the first stage of a rocket on land for the first time, state media reported Wednesday, as the country seeks to advance its space program.
Behind the Lens: Meet NASA Johnson’s Photographers
Photographers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have documented some of the most defining moments in human spaceflight. From astronaut training and engineering tests to mission control oper…
APOD: 2026 August 19 – The Case of the Mysterious Maybe Meteor
APODScienceAPODAPOD: 2026 August 19 – The…Today’s APODArchiveSubmissionsIndexSearchCalendarRSSEducationAboutDiscuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image…
Touchdown! Private Chinese rocket aces landing on 2nd-ever flight (video)
The Beijing-based company LandSpace landed its Zhuque-3 rocket this evening (Aug. 18), notching a huge milestone for commercial Chinese spaceflight.
Mars attacks: How much dust from the red planet is safe to breathe?
NASA has released a report recommending an initial health standard for the Martian dust that astronauts could inhale during future missions. Although sending people to Mars is still years away, NAS…
Dying radio galaxies suggest a shorter, more dynamic afterlife for black hole jets
Astronomers have uncovered a previously underexplored population of faint, rapidly fading remnant radio galaxies, offering new insights into what happens after supermassive black holes stop powerin…
NASA's LRO images Falcon 9 crater on moon, learns new details
Between Aug. 11–12, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) captured a series of images of a new crater on the moon. The crater formed Aug. 5, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage impacted the surf…
A single asteroid impact may explain the appearance of Mars' moon Deimos
Deimos, the smaller and outermost of Mars' two moons, is roughly oval in shape and has a deep depression at its south pole. Unlike its heavily scarred sister moon, Phobos, Deimos is covered by a lo…
'Hidden stars' suggest that distant galaxies are much more massive than they appear
Astronomers have discovered that the most massive galaxies in the early universe contain far more small stars than expected. As a result, these early galaxies were likely much more massive than ini…
Forget 'Halo' — the latest 'Futurama' episode has a ring world covered in super-intelligent rats (exclusive)
"A ring-shaped world shaped like a ring! I shall call it Wheel World."
NASA astronaut and 1st female French spacewalker remove failed ISS antenna but run out of time for replacement
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and first female French spacewalker Sophie Adenot removed a failed antenna but ran out of time to install its replacement at the International Space Station, Aug. 18, 2026.
NASA Student Aviation Challenge Focuses on Nation’s Infrastructure
NASA’s next Gateways to Blue Skies competition invites collegiate teams to imagine innovative new ways aircraft could inspect land-based infrastructure, such as bridges and tunnels, to improve safe…
Starship lives! SpaceX craft arrives at Christmas Island after 24-day ocean ordeal
After Starship's test launch and splashdown last month, SpaceX recovery teams have successfully tugged the vehicle through a turbulent stretch of the Indian Ocean and arrived at calmer waters off t…
NASA's SkyFall Mars helicopters will feature a revolutionary antenna design
From 2021 to 2024, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter became the first vehicle of its kind to explore the Martian atmosphere and surface. With that proof of concept complete, NASA is preparing to send a t…
SpaceX launches its 100th mission of the year, sends Starlink satellites to orbit (video)
SpaceX launched its 100th mission of the year early Wednesday morning (Aug. 19), sending 24 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit.
ISS hosts first spacewalk by a Frenchwoman
Sophie Adenot became the first French woman astronaut to venture outside the International Space Station (ISS) for a spacewalk on Tuesday, accompanied by American astronaut Anil Menon.
NASA’s B777 Gets New Coat of Paint
NASA’s Boeing 777 shows off a new paint job in this Aug. 11, 2026, photo. The B777 was acquired to replace and extend the capabilities of the NASA DC-8, which was retired in 2024. The B777, set to …
Hydrogen-powered 'rocket car' tops 400 mph in record-breaking test (video)
The JCB Hydromax vehicle averaged more than 400 mph during two runs in Utah last week, becoming the fastest hydrogen-powered car in history.
A beginner’s guide to observing the night sky with a manual telescope
A telescope can help you explore the night sky, but only if you know how to use it.
Hubble, James Webb Space Telescope team up to capture the 'Black Eye Galaxy' | Space photo of the day for Aug. 18, 2026
The "Black Eye Galaxy" is captured in a gorgeous new composite image from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
On this day in space! Aug. 18, 1868: Total solar eclipse leads to discovery of helium
On this day in space! Aug. 18, 1868: Total solar eclipse leads to discovery of helium
NASA Glenn’s Legacy Forged Through Decades of Flight Research
Many of NASA’s most important aerospace breakthroughs that began in the laboratory were ultimately proven in the sky. For decades, experts at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland conducted fli…
Webb captures clearest image yet of the Lion Nebula
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged NGC 2392 (also known as the Lion Nebula), named for its distinctive appearance, which resembles a lion's face seen head-on.
It's harder to poop in space. Scientists may finally know why
Spaceflight can do strange things to the human body — including making it harder for astronauts to poop.
Wildfires, drought and extreme heat, 2026
Earth observation satellites help us monitor phenomena such as wildfires, drought and heatwaves from space. This page is updated on a regular basis with a selection of ESA’s most recent news-relate…
Ruby-forming mineral found by Mars rover hints at violent impacts
So far, most of the minerals found on Mars tell a story of lava poured out by ancient volcanoes, followed by long stretches in which water trickled through and slowly reshaped the rock. However, so…
Nuking an asteroid on short notice could save us
Readers of a certain age will remember a golden era of asteroid films, capped by two with very different endings. "Deep Impact" drove home the devastating consequences of letting a large piece of r…
See gorgeous views of the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse captured from space
Orbiting spacecraft captured incredible views of the moon's shadow darkening Earth during the Aug. 12 total solar eclipse.
Hera's Mars flyby guided impact study of Deimos moon
Watch European astronaut make history during spacewalk today
On Aug. 18, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot will become the first French woman ever to perform a spacewalk, and you can watch the historic action live.
APOD: 2026 August 18 – Perseids from Perseus
APODScienceAPODAPOD: 2026 August 18 –…Today’s APODArchiveSubmissionsIndexSearchCalendarRSSEducationAboutDiscuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or …
Hubble solves merger mystery from Milky Way's early years
Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, grew to its current size in part by consuming smaller galaxies. Now, new data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show definitive evidence of a dwarf galaxy merging w…
How an ancient collision with another galaxy transformed the Milky Way
The Milky Way has a secret history of galaxy mergers that we are only now starting to uncover.
China bounces back from Long March rocket explosion with back-to-back launches (video)
China's space program has returned to flight after an Aug. 10 Long March 7A rocket explosion, launching both a Long March 12 and a Long March 2C rocket on Sunday (Aug. 16).
The best Ruko drone to date is half-price at Amazon but you'll have to hurry
Looking to take to the skies? This beginner-friendly Ruko F11 PRO 2 is a mind-blowing $280 off, but you'll have to hurry because this lightning deal ends soon.
Scientists find dead star that predicts our sun's future: 'Broken apart and returned to the galaxy'
A composite image of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Kitt Peak four-meter telescope and MOTHRA reveal the Helix Nebula. We can see the bow shocks, particularly on the left.
How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm
Our sun is capable of storms far bigger than we've ever recorded. Studying the world's oldest trees suggests we could soon be due one of these gargantuan events.
Stellar explosions come into focus with new nuclear reaction measurements
In two separate papers published in Physical Review Letters, researchers investigated the nuclear reactions that take place inside supernovae and X-ray bursts—two of the universe's most powerful ex…
Mega-Earth GJ 523b is 23 times as massive as our planet—but only 2.5 times as wide
It's nearly 170 million years old. It's more than 2.5 times the size of Earth. And it's the first exoplanet discovered and cataloged by researchers with the Wisconsin Center for Origins Research (W…
The 1st 'Star Wars: Ahsoka' season 2 trailer finally gives us a release date (video)
Our first look at 'Star Wars: Ahsoka' season 2 promises huge space battles, Clone Wars flashbacks, and a lot more Anakin Skywalker.
First pair of feeding supermassive black holes found in a Green Pea galaxy
Astronomers have discovered the first confirmed dual active galactic nucleus in a Green Pea galaxy, revealing two supermassive black holes growing at the same time inside a compact, intensely star-…
Scientists find 3 supermassive black holes on the verge of collision inside a distant galaxy
A greedy galaxy that existed less than 1.3 billion years after the Big Bang is hoarding supermassive black holes.
These eight Lego Star Wars Smart Play sets are out now and Marvel needs to be next.
From all-in-one to compatible sets, these are the eight Lego Star Wars Smart Play sets you won't want to miss.
Wildfire smoke blankets volcanoes across the Pacific Northwest | Space photo of the day for Aug. 17, 2026
The wildfires ripping across North America have created massive plumes of smoke.