Space and astronomy
Everything we have published on Space and astronomy, newest first. Background, research and plain explanation — not only the headline of the day.
What Lake Bonneville Left Behind
The drying of the massive lake exposed playas that became the setting for feats of engineering and technological ingenuity, as well as epic tales of exploration and desperation.
The Woman Beside the Code
Margaret Hamilton helped make Apollo software resilient, but the famous photograph tells a richer team story than the lone-genius legend.
Europe’s Scorching Summer
A series of heat waves in 2026 is breaking records and taking a toll in Europe.
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4982–4987: Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming
By Allison Dries-Padilla, Missions Operations Specialist at Malin Space Science Systems Earth planning date: Friday, Aug. 14, 2026 This week of Curiosity Mars rover operations takes us back to our “re
TB 26-04 Updates and Modernization of NASA’s Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) Code
For more information, contact Mark K. Leader, Glenn Research Center, mark.leader@nasa.gov Download the PDF version NASA’s Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) code is a foundational tool for p
NASA Shares Views of August Solar Eclipse from Ground, Air, Space
On Aug. 12, a total solar eclipse darkened skies over Greenland, Iceland, and Spain. As the Moon covered the Sun, it briefly revealed the Sun’s wispy outer atmosphere — the corona — to those in the pa
NASA Updates Next Steps for Commercial Swift Boost Mission
Due to an ongoing commercial spacecraft attitude control issue, NASA and Katalyst Space announced Wednesday the LINK spacecraft will not capture or boost an agency satellite to a higher altitude to ex
Human-Related Microbes May Survive Moon’s South Pole, NASA Finds
Lee esta historia en español aquí. Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA sc
The Day Is Getting Longer by 1.78 Milliseconds a Century. Broken Clay Tablets Are How We Know.
Scribes in Babylon timed eclipses against a water clock and pressed the results into clay. Twenty-seven centuries of such records show the Earth slowing down - and slowing rather less than the tides say it should.
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
Volunteer Develops Machine-Learning Tool to Identify Rare Clouds
Certain kinds of clouds are misbehaving – appearing more often and lower in the sky than they used to. To help identify the factors influencing these changes, scientists have asked people around the w
Summer Triangle Corner: Deneb
Bird constellations abound in the night sky, including Cygnus, the majestic swan. Easy to find with its dazzling stars, it is one of the few constellations that look like its namesake, and it is full
NASA Competition Invites Students to Help Imagine a Future Enabled by Lunar Technologies
NASA is asking U.S.-based collegiate teams to submit bold, original concepts to the 2027 edition of a student challenge focused on aerospace innovation that could help the agency envisi
NASA Announces MAX POWER: America’s Newest Aerospace Expo, Airshow
In honor of America’s historic 250th anniversary, NASA announced on Friday MAX POWER, a public exposition of American air and space innovation, Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, on and near the agency’s Kennedy Spac
Chasing Fire Clouds in Utah
NASA aircraft are sampling smoke lofted high into the atmosphere by one of the most formidable cloud types in the sky—towering, smoke-infused pyrocumulonimbus.
The Blurry Mirror That Explains Why We Build Telescopes in Space
A telescope in orbit escapes the atmosphere that blocks and blurs light from the ground — a trade that has taken astronomers eight decades, several funding crises and one very embarrassing mirror to get right.
A mosque built by a transgender person raises questions about faith and belonging in Pakistan
A transgender man in Pakistan built a mosque hoping it would offer an inclusive space for worship. Instead, he faces harassment from neighbors amid growing attacks on the trans community.
Stops Along the Path of Totality
Western Iceland and northern Spain are among the few Northern Hemisphere locations experiencing a total solar eclipse on August 12, 2026.
Quality Assessment Report Evaluates Polar Geospatial Center EarthDEM Elevation Products
CSDA’s assessment reports help inform the user community about the quality of commercial Digital Elevation Models (DEMs).
Pursuing a Dream of Working for NASA
As a young girl raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Lindsey Waitt dreamed of working for NASA. Her dream is now a reality as she embarks on her role as a NASA test project engineer with the Artemis la
NASA Upgrades Vertical Motion Simulator for Modern Mission Needs
Imagine stepping into a machine that can make you feel like you’re flying a spacecraft, piloting a next generation air taxi, or landing on the Moon, all without leaving the ground. NASA’s Vertical Mot
NASA Data Helps Commercial Space Plan Living Off Our Moon
The barren lunar landscape has some important resources, such as water and minerals like iron and titanium, but extracting and processing them will require special equipment. Where those resources can
NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke Leaves NASA, Career Includes 4 Spaceflights
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is departing the agency on Wednesday after 30 years of service. Throughout his career, he flew four missions, spent 549 days in space, and completed nine spacewalks in suppo
APOD: 2026 August 12 – Perseids over a Little Planet
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 12 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different
The rise of Yemeni coffeehouses in Dearborn and beyond
Yemeni coffeehouses have gained culinary prominence in recent years, offering brews of coffee and tea seasoned with cardamom, ginger, cloves and other ingredients.
NASA+ Debuts on discovery+, Coming Soon to HBO Max
As NASA+ continues its expansion across multiple streaming platforms to bring space closer to home, NASA announced Monday programming is next heading to discovery+ and HBO Max. A continuous live feed
‘Heartstopper’ is helping LGBTQ+ fans find hope and community across time and space
Stories about young queer people coming of age and finding love have touched people across age and identity, bringing healing after the AIDS crisis and harsh upbringings.
Community College Instructors Bring Astronomy Textbook Into 21st Century
Teaching the beautiful and inspirational science of astronomy using only the conceptual framework offered by a traditional textbook – without incorporating the wealth of incredible resources, images a
Can we remove or decrease spaces between atoms or molecules?
Turns out, changing the way atoms and molecules are arranged in a substance can give it new and fascinating properties.
Bountiful Roebuck Bay
Tidal and seasonal shifts leave their mark on this crescent-shaped, productive bay in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.
APOD: 2026 August 11 – Six Moons of Saturn
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 11 – Six… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a diffe
Whose conservation, whose development? The Maasai struggle over land in northern Tanzania
Conservation has become a tool for “green grabbing”: The taking of community land in the name of environmental protection while opening space for tourism, hunting, and investment interests.
Taxi drivers rarely die of Alzheimer’s – how complex mental maps and spatial reasoning protect your brain
Working with and living in spatially complex environments may help delay cognitive decline, though more research is needed.
SpaceX aims to use rockets to quickly transport cargo across the Earth and into orbit – moves that would expand the global cargo system
Point-to-point rocket delivery could cut down on transportation times. But engineers will need to figure out how to integrate rockets into current transportation systems.
Spaceflight could change how astronauts swallow, eat and drink in subtle ways
A speech-language pathologist on how complex swallowing is – and how small changes from gravity can complicate the process.
Sensing the Poles’ Hidden Heat
New animations from NASA’s PREFIRE mission reveal two years of seasonal temperature swings at the Arctic and Antarctic.
Philadelphia’s failing air quality hits hardest in neighborhoods near industry and highways, where asthma rates soar
Greater Philadelphia earned failing air quality grades. A new study finds higher asthma rates near industry and major roads, especially where green space is scarce.
NASA’s SkyFall Helicopters at Work (Artist’s Concept)
Description This artist’s concept depicts NASA’s three SkyFall Mars helicopters collecting data while flying over the surface of the Red Planet. The green frequency waves emanating from the helicopter
NASA’s Lunar Development and Test Facility Prepares Artemis Hardware for Moon
Before astronauts return to the Moon’s surface through NASA’s Artemis program, the hardware they depend on must first prove it can survive the unforgiving lunar environment. At NASA’s Johnso
Legal access in a shrinking space: Building ecosystems to end statelessness
Durable ecosystems of support are not a supplement to legal strategy; they are the strategy, from community to clinic to court and back again.
Educators & Teens Get Hands-On With TEMPO Data to Help Investigate Local Air Quality
The NASA Science Activation Program’s Cosmic Storytelling with NASA Data (CosmicDS) project, led by Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, works to bring authentic NASA data into the hands of
2026 IGARSS Hyperwall Schedule
IGARSS 2026 Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth #100) for Hyperwall Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Hyperwall Agenda below. MONDAY, AUGUST 10 3:00 PM Technology Enabling the Future of Earth Scienc