APOD: 2026 August 3 – Vaporizing Meteor Photobombs the Lacerta Nebula

NeRD

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 3 –… 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. Vaporizing Meteor Photobombs the Lacerta Nebula Explanation: What’s happening to this meteor? This bright meteor streak appeared and disappeared quickly during a long exposure of the Great Lacerta Nebula, seen faintly in red toward the center of the image. The meteoroid, likely…

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Gears of War: E-Day: Release date, platforms & everything else we know about Marcus Fenix’s return

NeRD

Microsoft and Xbox are currently facing all sorts of troubles (many of their own doing) in the shape of sweeping layoffs, studio cuts, and calls to boycott their products, to name a few. Extremely talented developers (who deserve much better) still put out exciting video games regardless, and with the remake of Halo: Combat Evolved out now, we look to Gears of War: E-Day, the series’ first mainline entry since 2019. While there are plenty of upcoming space games worth keeping tabs on, Gears of War’s return feels special for…

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On this day in space! Aug. 2, 1971: Apollo 15 makes 1st-ever televised liftoff from the moon

NeRD

On Aug. 2, 1971, a lunar liftoff was televised for the first time. Apollo 15 astronauts David Scott and James Irwin spent three days on the moon before departing in the lunar module, named “Falcon.” An RCA TV camera was mounted onto their lunar rover, which Scott parked about 300 feet away with the camera pointed at Falcon. Flight controllers in Mission Control Houston had the option to move the camera, but because of some technical difficulties, they opted to leave the camera pointed in the same direction during liftoff.…

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Double digits! Air-launched ‘Talon A’ hypersonic vehicle notches big flight milestone

NeRD

A cutting-edge hypersonic vehicle just hit a big flight milestone. Stratolaunch’s reusable, autonomous Talon-A craft now has more than 10 successful flights under its belt, the California-based company announced late last month. “Reaching more than 10 successful hypersonic flights with Talon-A is a testament to our team’s dedication and the robustness of our technology,” Stratolaunch President and CEO Zachary Krevor said in a July 22 statement. “We are transforming hypersonic testing from a rare event into a routine service, empowering our customers to innovate at unprecedented speed.” Stratolaunch’s Talon-A reusable…

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APOD: 2026 August 2 – A Fire Rainbow over West Virginia

NeRD

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 2 – A Fire… 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 Fire Rainbow over West Virginia Explanation: What’s happening to this cloud? Ice crystals in a distant cirrus cloud are acting like little floating prisms. Known informally as a fire rainbow for its flame-like appearance, a…

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Move over He-Man, Mattel’s Major Matt Mason space toys could still be blasting off for Hollywood

NeRD

As evidenced by Paramount’s live-action “Transformers” movies and the recent “Masters of the Universe” film released by Amazon MGM Studios, nostalgic toy lines can serve as fertile grounds for a variety of engaging Hollywood projects leaning into vintage intellectual properties. With Mattel ramping up their own film production efforts and toy-to-screen endeavors after enormous success with “The Barbie Movie” and hi-octane plans for Hot Wheels movies rolling into theaters, the toys-to-silver screen craze shows no sign of slowing down. What could be next? We think there’s a perfect choice hiding…

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This Week In Space podcast: Episode 221 — Starship Can Float?

NeRD

Starship Can Float? – Roman Space Telescope Ready to Launch! – YouTube Watch On On Episode 221 of This Week In Space, Tariq Malik and guest host Rick Jenet of the National Space Society talk about SpaceX’s Starship Flight 13, which deployed new Starlink V3 satellites and stunned viewers when the ship survived reentry intact enough to float in the ocean for days afterward. They also discuss NASA’s Roman Space Telescope, now just a month from launch, and an in-progress emergency effort to save the ailing Swift Space Observatory using…

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Dinosaur-killing asteroid may have caused firestorms 17 times hotter than the thermal limit lethal to humans

NeRD

Scientists once suspected that a brutal, years-long winter starved the dinosaurs following an asteroid impact 66 million years ago. New evidence suggests a more violent end: widespread firestorms that may have burned even thick-skinned dinosaurs to a crisp within hours. The roughly six-mile-wide (10-kilometer-wide) asteroid struck Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, excavating the Chicxulub crater and vaporizing enormous quantities of rock. Some of that material condensed into tiny droplets called spherules, which spread around the planet before falling back through Earth’s atmosphere at several miles per second. As the spherules slowed, their…

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August Podcast: Three Big Events!

NeRD

This month we’ve got three big celestial events to cover: eclipses of the Sun and Moon, and especially good prospects for the Perseid meteor shower. Plus we’ll track down a few planets, and gaze at the center of our galaxy. So load up on the bug juice, and come along on this month’s Sky Tour. The post August Podcast: Three Big Events! appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

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