Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter On Oct. 25, 1671, the Italian astronomer Giovanni Cassini discovered a new moon at Saturn! Iapetus was the second moon anyone had ever found orbiting Saturn, and it was the first of four moons Cassini would discover at the ringed planet. The Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens had discovered Titan, the largest of Saturn’s moons, about six years earlier. After Cassini found Iapetus, he also found the moons Rhea, Tethys…
Read MoreAPOD: 2026 October 25 – Dark Matter in a Simulated Universe
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 25 – Dark… 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. Dark Matter in a Simulated Universe Explanation: Is our universe haunted? It might look that way on this dark matter map. The gravity of unseen dark matter is the leading explanation for why galaxies rotate so fast,…
Read More‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ was afraid to say anything in season of gimmicks
Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter It didn’t take long for fans to figure out that the fourth season of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” was going to be unlike any season of “Star Trek” before it. The entire season was one giant gimmick, and that gimmick was shoving “Trek” into as many genres as possible and often directly adapting classic films from those genres. You could argue that an entire season of gimmick episodes…
Read MoreMedusa’s eye, Halloween fireballs and more: 5 skywatching targets to look out for this spooky season
Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The spooky season is officially here! To celebrate, we’ve put together a list of five Halloween-themed skywatching targets that you can enjoy with nothing but the naked eye or binoculars and, of course, clear skies. Over millennia, the night sky has helped shape human beliefs. In return, we have imprinted our myths, stories and perceptions upon it, seeing monsters and mythology in the twinkling lights of the stars and…
Read MoreAPOD: 2026 October 24 – Rosetta’s Selfie
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 24 –… 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. Rosetta’s Selfie Explanation: This Rosetta spacecraft selfie was snapped on October 7th, 2014. At the time the comet-chasing spacecraft was about 472 million kilometers from planet Earth, but only 16 kilometers from the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Looming…
Read MoreNASA, Partners Accelerate Lander Development for 2028 Moon Missions
7 Min Read NASA, Partners Accelerate Lander Development for 2028 Moon Missions As NASA returns humans to the lunar surface and establishes a long-term presence on our closest celestial neighbor, the agency and commercial human landing system providers Blue Origin and SpaceX have streamlined the designs and changed both concepts of operations for its future crewed landers. Since NASA established initial contracts with Blue Origin and SpaceX for crewed missions to the Moon, the agency has redefined Artemis III to demonstrate rendezvous and docking capabilities between test versions of landers…
Read MoreNASA’s Artemis III Mission to Test Future Moon Lander Operations
Before astronauts return to the lunar surface, NASA will first conduct one of the most ambitious and complex test missions in the agency’s history. Launching in 2027, Artemis III will send NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano aboard the Orion spacecraft into low Earth orbit to perform a series of demonstrations with test versions, or test articles, of human landing systems being developed by industry partners Blue Origin and SpaceX. During the planned 14-day mission, crews and flight controllers will…
Read MoreNASA’s Swift Mission Ends, Leaves Behind Scientific Bonanza
4 min read NASA’s Swift Mission Ends, Leaves Behind Scientific Bonanza NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory has ended its science mission now that the spacecraft is orbiting less than 171 miles (275 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. The greater atmospheric drag at this height prevents the satellite’s telescopes from steadily gazing at their astronomical targets. Swift conducted its final observation on Oct. 20. It is expected to re-enter the atmosphere in the next few weeks. NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory orbits above Earth in this artist’s concept. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight…
Read MoreRS-25 Engine Tests at NASA Stennis
Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi tested RS-25 engine No. 10001 on Oct. 21, 2026.
Read MoreNASA, Virginia Launch Power Partnership for Energy Security
3 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) NASA is helping to foster long-term energy security in Virginia. NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is partnering with the Virginia Department of Energy to support informed decisions for effective energy generation, delivery and use by providing solar, meteorological, and future weather risk datasets for energy system modeling and planning purposes. Under a new Space Act Agreement announced during a ceremony Friday, the partnership will use NASA expertise in atmospheric sciences to assist Virginia Energy in support of…
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