• Audit Report: DOGE Produced Unreliable Savings Figures

    We finally have more information on what the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), being run by Elon Musk and friends, was doing (or not doing) while it was laying waste to the federal government last year. We have learned from a recent US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that the savings figures claimed by DOGE…

  • Pic of the Week: Solar Eclipse Over Berlin

    This image is just one of many highlighted by CNN from this week’s solar eclipse. Go to this link for more.

  • NASA Helps with Mining the Moon

    While everyone was staring up at the dark Moon covering the bright sun during today’s eclipse, NASA was busy chatting about new ways to view the Moon. The image above is one of many that can be created using NASA data to assist commercial companies trying to understand the lunar terrain while looking for useful…

  • Solar Eclipse – August 12, 2026

    The solar eclipse is almost here. The map above from The Arctic Portal shows you the path of tomorrow’s eclipse, which reaches its maximum over Iceland. NASA also has a number of handy maps for past and future eclipses at its Eclipse Data site, though it is a bit technical. The graphic for tomorrow’s eclipse…

  • Space Stories: Renaming Wallops, Powering Voyager 2, and Catching the Solar Eclipse

    Here are some recent space-related stories of interest. —WBOC News: “Push to Rename NASA Wallops Facility Sparks Debate Over Eastern Shore History“ A request to honor one of the Eastern Shore’s most accomplished aerospace leaders is facing growing opposition from people who say changing the Wallops name could erase an important piece of local history. The…

  • Study Findings: Verification of the Outer Space Treaty with Cosmic Protons

    Nature abstract of study findings: The Outer Space Treaty (OST) was opened to signatures in 1967 and, since then, 117 countries, including China, the USA and Russia, have become part of it. Among other stipulations, the treaty bans the placement of nuclear weapons in outer space. Recently, the US government has raised worries that Russia is testing nuclear-armed…

  • Space Quote: LINK May Still Be in the Game

    “LINK originally was in a multi-axis spin rotating at about 9 degrees per second, which resulted in sporadic communications and impeded LINK’s progress toward Swift. Using a series of burns from one of LINK’s electric propulsion thrusters, the Katalyst team now has slowed that spin to about 1.47 degrees per second. Katalyst plans to keep LINK at that spin rate as…

  • Podcast: Is It Really an Exomoon?

    The recent news about the discovery of the first exomoon stirred up the astronomy community, including astronomy professor David Kipping, who needed to address it immediately on his Cool Worlds podcast. The episode, “We Need to Talk About That “First Exomoon” Discovery,” is basically an hour-long monologue by Dr. Kipping as he discussed the discovery,…

  • Pic of the Week: Surface of the Sun

    This week’s image is from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) National Solar Observatory (NSO). It shows the highest resolution image ever captured of the Sun’s surface. The image was captured by the Inouye Solar Telescope located in Maui, Hawaii. Here is more from the NSF about this image: Using the world’s most powerful solar…

  • Television: The Sci-Fi Space Shows of 2026

    It has already been a pretty good year for television shows set in space, with the following series already premiering their first or new season since January: Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, first season, Paramount+, premiered on January 15, 2026 For All Mankind, fifth season, Apple TV, premiered on March 27, 2026 Star City, first season,…