APOD: 2026 September 19 – A Zodiacal Night

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APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 19 –… 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 image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Night SkyAnnotation A Zodiacal Night Explanation: Also known as the false dawn, a luminous band of zodiacal light is captured in this dark night skyscape. The serene view was recorded just before the beginning of astronomical twilight during…

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NASA Invites Media to Albania Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony

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Credit: NASA The Republic of Albania will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 12 p.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 21, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, becoming the 73rd country signatory. NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson will host Albania’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha and Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to the United States Ervin Bushati for the ceremony, together with U.S. Department of State officials. This event is in person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 10 a.m. on Sept.…

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NASA-JAXA XRISM Mission Sees Pulsar Gathering Companion’s ‘Wind’

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5 min read NASA-JAXA XRISM Mission Sees Pulsar Gathering Companion’s ‘Wind’ Using data from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory, astronomers have directly observed a giant star’s outflow, called a stellar wind, being captured by its compact companion and providing the power source for strong X-ray flares. The research is part of NASA’s exploration of the extreme universe to better understand how the cosmos works. “We’ve never before seen clear indications of wind plasma falling onto a compact object,” said Roi Rahin, a researcher at UMBC (University of…

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APOD: 2026 September 18 – Messier 33: The Triangulum Galaxy

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APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 18 –… 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 image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Messier 33: The Triangulum Galaxy Explanation: The small, northern constellation Triangulum harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, Messier 33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy. M33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter,…

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NASA Awards Launch Services for StarBurst Gamma-Ray Detector

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Credit: NASA NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the agency’s StarBurst mission, a small satellite designed to investigate neutron star mergers and the origins of short gamma-ray bursts. StarBurst will launch aboard a Bandwagon rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida no earlier than 2028. The selection is a firm-fixed-price task order under NASA’s VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract. This indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract allows NASA to acquire launch services during…

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NASA Invites Media to SpaceX’s 35th Resupply Launch to Space Station

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches on May 15, 2026, carrying about 6,500 pounds of science, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station during the company’s 34th commercial resupply mission for NASA. Credit: NASA Media accreditation is open for the next cargo launch that will deliver NASA science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. The 35th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for NASA will lift off on a Falcon 9 rocket. NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than October to launch…

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NASA Unveils Enterprise, the First Space Shuttle

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The rollout ceremony for NASA’s first space shuttle, OV-101, coincided with Constitution Day of the nation’s bicentennial on Sept.17, 1976. Although the orbiter was originally planned to be named Constitution, Star Trek fans successfully convinced President Gerald Ford to name it Enterprise after the series’ fictional starship.

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APOD: 2026 September 17 – A Treasure Chest in the Carina Nebula

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APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 17 – A… 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 image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. A Treasure Chest in the Carina Nebula Explanation: This treasure chest is full of stars. The featured image was obtained with NASA‘s James Webb Space Telescope and shows a dust pillar in the Carina Nebula inside our…

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Summer Goes Out With a Heat Dome

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Earth Observatory Science Earth Observatory Summer Goes Out With a Heat Dome Earth Earth Observatory Image of the Day EO Explorer Topics All Topics Atmosphere Land Heat & Radiation Life on Earth Human Dimensions Natural Events Oceans Remote Sensing Technology Snow & Ice Water More Content Collections Global Maps World of Change Articles Earth Matters Blog Blue Marble: Next Generation EO Kids Mission: Biomes About About Us Subscribe 🛜 RSS Contact Us Search   An area of high pressure over the south-central U.S. produced unseasonable and, in some places, record-breaking…

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Passion Meets Precision at NASA’s Flight Research Lab

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4 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Derek Abramson, Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory chief engineer, left, communicates with the Edwards Air Force Base air traffic control tower for approval to fly the Alta-X drone near NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. Justin Link, small uncrewed aircraft pilot, second from left, and laboratory chief pilot Justin Hall await flight clearance. Researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston developed the advanced guidance and navigation system known as the…

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