Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.

— Inscription on Columbus' caravels

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What If the Universe Had No Beginning? Part 1: A Wave Function for the Universe

Universe Today - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 10:08am

The equations of general relativity give up at the singularity. Decades before Stephen Hawking dared to guess what came before, John Wheeler and Bryce DeWitt built the strange mathematical machinery that would make the question askable in the first place.

Categories: Astronomy

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 8:00am

Comet R3 PanSTARRS might be best remembered as an Orion comet.


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 8:00am

What are some of the most interesting astronomical objects you can see in the night sky?


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 8:00am


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 8:00am


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 8:00am

These people are not in danger.


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

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APOD - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 8:00am

Orion never had a sword like this.


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 8:00am

Like salsa verde on your favorite burrito, a green


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

NASA reveals new clues to 2027’s Artemis III, the final test mission before a moon landing

Scientific American.com - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 8:00am

NASA is starting to paint in some of the details of its planned 2027 Artemis III mission, but key questions, such as who its astronauts will be, are yet to be answered

Categories: Astronomy

Scientists catalog the ‘fractal dimensions’ of more than 130,000 islands

Scientific American.com - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 7:00am

The “coastline paradox” helped to define fractals, but coastlines themselves turn out to be less fractal than thought

Categories: Astronomy

Himalayan wolf-dog hybrids emerge as a threat to wolves and people

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 4:00am
In Ladakh, Himalayan wolves are increasingly breeding with feral dogs, giving rise to a new animal known as khipshang that could injure humans and outcompete other carnivores
Categories: Astronomy

Himalayan wolf-dog hybrids emerge as a threat to wolves and people

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Sat, 05/16/2026 - 4:00am
In Ladakh, Himalayan wolves are increasingly breeding with feral dogs, giving rise to a new animal known as khipshang that could injure humans and outcompete other carnivores
Categories: Astronomy

NASA Science, Cargo Launch on 34th SpaceX Resupply Mission to Station

NASA News - Fri, 05/15/2026 - 6:52pm
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon cargo spacecraft atop, launched Friday, May 15, 2026, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.Credit: NASA+

The 34th SpaceX commercial resupply mission under contract with NASA is headed to the International Space Station with new scientific experiments after lifting off at 6:05 p.m. EDT Friday on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The SpaceX spacecraft, loaded with nearly 6,500 pounds of cargo for the space station’s Expedition 74 crew, is scheduled to autonomously dock at about 7 a.m. Sunday, May 17, to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module.

Watch NASA’s live rendezvous and docking coverage beginning at 5:30 a.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

In addition to cargo for the crew aboard the space station, Dragon will deliver several new experiments, including a project to determine how well Earth-based simulators mimic microgravity conditions, a bone scaffold made from wood that could produce new treatments for fragile bone conditions like osteoporosis, and equipment to help researchers evaluate how red blood cells and the spleen change in space. The Dragon spacecraft also will carry a new instrument to study charged particles around Earth that can impact power grids and satellites, an investigation that could provide a fundamental understanding of how planets form, and an instrument designed to take highly accurate measurements of sunlight reflected by Earth and the Moon.

These experiments are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that aren’t possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the station until mid-June, when it will depart and return to Earth with time-sensitive research and cargo, ahead of splashing down off the coast of California.

Learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Danielle Sempsrott / Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
danielle.c.sempsrott@nasa.gov / leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated May 15, 2026 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Categories: NASA

NASA Science, Cargo Launch on 34th SpaceX Resupply Mission to Station

NASA - Breaking News - Fri, 05/15/2026 - 6:52pm
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon cargo spacecraft atop, launched Friday, May 15, 2026, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.Credit: NASA+

The 34th SpaceX commercial resupply mission under contract with NASA is headed to the International Space Station with new scientific experiments after lifting off at 6:05 p.m. EDT Friday on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The SpaceX spacecraft, loaded with nearly 6,500 pounds of cargo for the space station’s Expedition 74 crew, is scheduled to autonomously dock at about 7 a.m. Sunday, May 17, to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module.

Watch NASA’s live rendezvous and docking coverage beginning at 5:30 a.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

In addition to cargo for the crew aboard the space station, Dragon will deliver several new experiments, including a project to determine how well Earth-based simulators mimic microgravity conditions, a bone scaffold made from wood that could produce new treatments for fragile bone conditions like osteoporosis, and equipment to help researchers evaluate how red blood cells and the spleen change in space. The Dragon spacecraft also will carry a new instrument to study charged particles around Earth that can impact power grids and satellites, an investigation that could provide a fundamental understanding of how planets form, and an instrument designed to take highly accurate measurements of sunlight reflected by Earth and the Moon.

These experiments are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that aren’t possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the station until mid-June, when it will depart and return to Earth with time-sensitive research and cargo, ahead of splashing down off the coast of California.

Learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
james.j.russell@nasa.gov

Danielle Sempsrott / Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
danielle.c.sempsrott@nasa.gov / leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated May 15, 2026 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Categories: NASA

A New Theory of Dark Matter Could Solve Three Cosmic Mysteries

Universe Today - Fri, 05/15/2026 - 5:41pm

A study led by UC Riverside physicist Hai-Bo Yu suggests that a new type of dark matter could explain three astrophysical puzzles across vastly different environments.

Categories: Astronomy

Bizarre Venus Surface Formations Puzzle Planetary Scientists

Universe Today - Fri, 05/15/2026 - 5:34pm

Enigmatic crownlike surface formations on Venus hold keys to understanding our twin planet’s deep interior. Or so says a new paper presented at the recent European Geosciences Union 2026 general assembly in Vienna.

Categories: Astronomy

Hantavirus can persist in semen for years, but that doesn’t mean it remains contagious

Scientific American.com - Fri, 05/15/2026 - 3:45pm

Researchers know very little about how long the Andes version of the hantavirus can remain in human hosts

Categories: Astronomy

A real Mr. Snuffleupagus? Meet the ocean’s strangest new fish species

Scientific American.com - Fri, 05/15/2026 - 2:45pm

A strange, tiny fish that resembles the famous Sesame Street character camouflages amid red algae thanks to its flamboyant reddish “hairs”

Categories: Astronomy

NASA Captures Volatile Changes in Earth's Artificial Light

Universe Today - Fri, 05/15/2026 - 2:10pm

A study of NASA's Black Marble data reveals a pattern of regional volatility in nighttime illumination across the planet.

Categories: Astronomy

This startup wants to make drugs in orbit. If it succeeds, it could transform the space economy

Scientific American.com - Fri, 05/15/2026 - 2:00pm

Varda’s plan to develop medicines in microgravity has its advantages, but it requires a big up-front cost

Categories: Astronomy