NASA
Every Cosmic Herald story on NASA — missions, launches, discoveries, and the business of space, newest first.
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Stargazing
Late July 2026: A Fattening Moon, Edge-On Saturn, and a Meteor Shower Fighting the Light
The last ten days of July 2026 hand skywatchers a First Quarter Moon growing into the Full Buck Moon on 29 July, a nearly edge-on Saturn, evening Venus in Leo, and Delta Aquariid meteors that a near-full Moon will mostly drown out.
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Stargazing
This Week's Sky: An Apollo-11 Twin Moon, a Stalling Mercury, and Titan Circling Saturn (July 20-24)
From July 20-24, 2026, the Metonic cycle serves up a Moon that echoes Apollo 11's landing night, Mercury stalls to end its retrograde in Gemini, and Titan hangs easily beside Saturn.
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Stargazing
The Southern Delta Aquariids Are Warming Up for a Moonlit Late-July Peak
The Southern Delta Aquariids peak the night of July 30-31, 2026, but a full moon just one day earlier means the best views come from patient pre-dawn watching in the week before.
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Stargazing
A Delicate Trio at Dusk: Moon, Venus, and Regulus Share the Sky July 15-17
A waxing crescent Moon glides past Venus and Regulus on three straight evenings this week, brushing 0.5° from the heart of Leo on July 16 before closing to within 2° of Venus the next day.
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Stargazing
Predawn Sky Guide: Moon Lines Up With Mars, Saturn and Uranus on July 11-12
A waning crescent Moon points the way to Mars, Saturn, and a binoculars-only Uranus in the predawn eastern sky on July 11-12, 2026, part of a busy month of lunar-planetary conjunctions.
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Stargazing
The August 2026 Night Sky Guide
August 2026 stacks a rare eclipse double-header around its best night: a moonless Perseid peak on Aug 12-13, Venus at its evening best, and a deep 93%-covered partial lunar eclipse lighting up the Sturgeon Moon on Aug 27-28.
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Stargazing
The Total Solar Eclipse of August 12, 2026: The Complete Viewing Guide
On August 12, 2026 the Moon's shadow sweeps from the Arctic across Greenland, Iceland, and Spain — the first total solar eclipse to reach mainland Europe since 1999. Exact times, best viewing spots, weather odds, safety rules, and what U.S. skywatchers will and won't see.
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Stargazing
July Skies: Earth's Aphelion, a Saturn-Moon Pairing, and Comet Tempel 2 Brightening
Earth swings out to its farthest point from the Sun this week even as July's night sky delivers a Moon-Saturn close pass, a four-body dawn alignment, and a comet edging toward binocular visibility.
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Stargazing
Mars and Uranus Just Had Their Closest Meeting Until 2053
Before dawn on July 4, 2026, Mars and Uranus squeezed to just 0.1° apart in Taurus — their tightest conjunction until 2053 — with bright Mars acting as a signpost to the far dimmer ice giant.
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Stargazing
Comet 10P/Tempel 2 Brightens to Its Best Since 1967 — What Else to Watch in the July 2026 Sky
A short-period comet is having its best apparition in nearly 60 years, and NASA's July guide pairs it with thin-tilt Saturn rings, a pre-dawn Moon-Mars-Saturn lineup, and prime Milky Way viewing around the July 14 new moon.
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Stargazing
The Blaze Star on the Brink: Why Sky-Watchers Are Still Waiting for T Coronae Borealis to Erupt
A recurrent nova 3,000 light-years away should brighten to naked-eye visibility any night now — but T Coronae Borealis blew past its statistically favored June 25 date and still sits at baseline. Here's why the watch continues.
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Stargazing
A Skyscraper-Sized 'Peanut' Buzzes Earth: Tracking Asteroid 1997 NC1's June 27 Flyby
Potentially hazardous asteroid (152637) 1997 NC1 — a slowly spinning, peanut-shaped ~1-km body — passed safely within 6.7 lunar distances on June 27, 2026, doubling as a backyard-telescope target and a planetary-defense radar opportunity.
