APOD: 2026 September 19 – A Zodiacal Night

NeRD

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…

Read More

NASA Invites Media to Albania Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony

NeRD

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.…

Read More

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

NeRD

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…

Read More

NASA Awards SpaceX Three Crew Flights to Space Station

NeRD

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft launches NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station on March 14, 2025. NASA/Aubrey Gemignani Editor’s note: This feature was updated on Sept. 18, 2026, to add additional details on mission readiness dates. To continue regular crew transportation to the International Space Station, NASA has awarded SpaceX three additional missions through a contract modification. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract, this change brings the total missions for SpaceX to 17 and helps NASA to…

Read More

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

NeRD

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,…

Read More

NASA Awards Launch Services for StarBurst Gamma-Ray Detector

NeRD

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…

Read More

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

NeRD

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…

Read More

NASA Unveils Enterprise, the First Space Shuttle

NeRD

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.

Read More

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

NeRD

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…

Read More