Antarctica Study Finds Physical Contact Increased Tension for Isolated Crew

Antarctica Study Finds Physical Contact Increased Tension for Isolated Crew

Researchers tracking 12 people during a 10-month overwintering mission at Concordia Station in Antarctica discovered that frequent physical contact increased interpersonal tension rather than social support. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the findings reveal critical social dynamics that could impact future crewed missions to Mars. Long-duration space missions demand that … Read more

NASA Moon Guide: Waning Crescent Phase at 37% on August 7

NASA Moon Guide: Waning Crescent Phase at 37% on August 7

Skywatchers can spot prominent craters and landing sites before the August 28 Full Moon begins the next cycle. The lunar cycle approaches its final transition as the illuminated side of the Moon turns away from Earth, rendering the natural satellite virtually invisible in the night sky. This point in the lunar calendar leaves only a … Read more

Environmental Groups Challenge FCC Approval of Reflect Orbital Satellite

Environmental Groups Challenge FCC Approval of Reflect Orbital Satellite

Four environmental groups petitioned the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday to reverse its approval of Reflect Orbital’s plan to launch the Earendil-1 demonstration satellite, which will carry a 59-foot mirror to beam on-demand sunlight to Earth, citing risks to astronomy, wildlife, and human eye safety. The pushback centers on a July 9, 2026, regulatory decision … Read more

NASA Astronauts Complete Spacewalk to Prep ISS Solar Array Upgrade

Two astronauts in white bulky spacesuits work outside a large space station set against the blackness of space

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and The Times of India successfully completed a 6-hour, 27-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Thursday, August 6, 2026. The extravehicular activity marked the seventh and final set of mounting hardware installations required for the station’s new solar arrays, marking a key milestone in augmenting the orbiting laboratory’s power … Read more

Iberia To Operate Special Solar Eclipse Flight In 2026

Iberia will operate flight IB1473 on August 12, 2026, using an Airbus A321XLR to observe a total solar eclipse from 33,000 feet over Palencia, Spain. Carrying Shelios project researchers to study the solar corona, the mission also features Starlink satellite internet to livestream the event globally. Instead of scrambling for a clear horizon on the … Read more

How to photograph the August 2026 solar eclipse

How to photograph the August 2026 solar eclipse

On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, a total solar eclipse will sweep across parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of Portugal, according to NASA. Observers located within this narrow path of totality will experience a temporary darkening of the skies as the Moon completely obscures the Sun, briefly … Read more

Ancient Hunters Selectively Targeted Female Woolly Mammoths, DNA Study Finds

Ancient Hunters Selectively Targeted Female Woolly Mammoths, DNA Study Finds

Ancient human hunters and scavengers across Eurasia and North America selectively targeted female woolly mammoths between 30,000 and 20,000 years ago, according to a recent ancient DNA analysis of 521 mammoth remains published in the journal Current Biology. Genetic Evidence Reveals a Striking Female Bias at Ice Age Sites For more than a century, archaeologists … Read more

Wandering Supermassive Black Hole Shreds Star in Galaxy Outskirts

Illustration of a bright star stretched into a long thin stream of gas as it is pulled into a dark accretion disc around a

Astronomers have discovered a wandering supermassive black hole shredding a star approximately 30,000 light-years away from its host galaxy’s center. The discovery marks the first optical tidal disruption event found in the outskirts of a host galaxy, challenging long-held theories about where these cosmic phenomena occur. Astronomers Detect First Peripheral Tidal Disruption Event The phenomenon, … Read more

Researchers Find Tropical Forest Carbon Allocation Unaffected by Soil Fertility

Researchers studying a 4.1 x 10^6 yr soil chronosequence in tropical montane forests discovered that plant carbon allocation remains largely unaffected by broad shifts in soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability, challenging long-held assumptions about how vegetation adapts to shifting nutrient constraints. Nutrient Availability and Forest Productivity Along a 4.1 times 10^6 Chronosequence When plants encounter … Read more

SpaceX Launches 24 Starlink Satellites on 90th Falcon 9 Flight of the Year

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink internet satellites from California

SpaceX launched 24 Starlink internet satellites into low Earth orbit on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base. The mission marked the 90th Falcon 9 flight of the year and the 70th dedicated to building out the Starlink megaconstellation, which now counts nearly 10,900 spacecraft. Mission Details and Booster Reuse Milestones at … Read more