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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
May 14, 2026
Messier Catalog at Uniform Scale
What are some of the most interesting astronomical objects you can see in the night sky? Armed with a good pair of binoculars or a small telescope, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you can look for the very popular objects in the Messier Catalog. Most of them, but not all, are also visible from the southern half of the Earth. The featured image shows all 110 objects in the catalog at uniform scale – the same magnification. Charles Messier created the catalog in the 18th century. He was interested in comets, and his catalog was a list of known comet-like "objects to avoid" in the sky when observing or hunting for comets. The deep sky objects in the catalog include a supernova remnant (the Crab Nebula, M1), other galaxies (such as Andromeda, M31), nebulae (e.g. the Orion Nebula, M42, a star-forming region) and stellar clusters (such as the Pleiades, M45, a bright young open cluster).
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhTHt1-R_5g
Great Spiral in Space, Pole Shift Impact Admitted | S0 News and frens
May.14.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THDI7DplOew
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5uXMnVKhvY (Royal Astronomical Society: Rum's Dazzling Dark Skies)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCkC9ZgXDiU (EarthMaster: A comparison of the most recent Earthquake swarm near Brawley Vs 2021 Swarm. Wed Night update)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PITMVytnCUg (On the Pulse with Silki: ⚠️LARGE UNDERWATER VOLCANO ERUPTS UNDERWATER ! Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea !)
https://watchers.news/2026/05/14/g2-geomagnetic-storm-watch-issued-for-may-15-aurora-possible-across-northern-us/
https://news.okstate.edu/articles/engineering-architecture-technology/2026/study-highlights-growing-importance-of-multi-day-storms-in-future-u.s.-flood-risk
https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/the-hurricane-tax-what-climate-change-means-for-your-homeowners-insurance-rates
https://wanaen.com/are-irans-capital-earthquakes-linked-to-storms-and-explosions/
https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/75910
https://x.com/SunWeatherMan/status/2054602405510259097
https://x.com/StefanBurnsGeo/status/2054616764189970619
https://meteoagent.com/schumann-resonance-forecast
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes-volcanoes/news/302324/Volcano-earthquake-report-for-Thursday-14-May-2026.html
https://www.tornadohq.com/
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/index.php/
https://www.spaceweather.gov/index.php/phenomena/galactic-cosmic-rays
https://www.spaceweather.gov/index.php/products/goes-solar-ultraviolet-imager-suvi
https://spaceweather.com/
2026 space apocalypse: Ex-CIA 'psychic spy' prophesied disaster for Earth linked to Sun and a comet
May 14, 2026, 14:01 IST | Updated: May 14, 2026, 14:01 IST
Story highlights
A solar catastrophe could be coming this year, if a former CIA psychic spy is to be believed.
Retired Major Ed Dames is no more, but he talked about the impending event for decades, saying that the Sun and a comet could devastate Earth.
A former CIA psychic spy passed away in March this year, but not before having his final vision, which prophesied a major catastrophe for the world.
He warned that a "Killshot" could soon devastate Earth, and it will come from none other than the source of life - The Sun. According to Retired Major Ed Dames, the solar maximum will deal a killer blow to our planet.
The Sun will blast so much material with enormous force into space that millions could die instantly on Earth. The 76-year-old was part of secret government experiments to get a peek at the enemy's plans during the Cold War.
Dames claimed that this would just be the initial stage of the event, setting in motion a "Killshot sequence" that will begin with the Solar Maximum.
The Sun has been extremely active for the past few years, and its activity is expected to continue to remain intense till the end of 2026.
Comet C/2023 A3 is also part of the concoction and will contribute to the solar disaster.
Dames said in his last interview that communication systems and power grids would fail, causing chaos. This huge infrastructure failure would act as a catalyst for violence and disease, and governments across the world would not do anything to help their people.
"You wake up, and there's no power, and there's no water, and there's no gasoline, it's going to be a bad nightmare scenario," Dames said in an October 2025 which was released last month.
A mysterious comet would then make an appearance in the inner solar system and would further rile up things.
Dames talked about the solar apocalypse for decades
This was not the first time he talked about the Killshot, and claimed that it was imminent on several previous occasions. In fact, he had been predicting it for decades. But the dates came and went, and his predictions failed to materialise.
He then talked about it for the last time in this interview, claiming that the warning signs were finally appearing. Dames said that the first had a vision about the solar encounter when he was participating in the classified psychic espionage programs tied to Project Stargate.
The US intelligence program ran from the 1970s to 1995 and was based on the idea of "remote viewing" with a psychic base to gather information on hidden targets. He talked about Solar Cycle 25 being the dangerous period for Earth, the one we are currently witnessing.
Sun unleashed solar flare this week
Astronomers have recorded large sunspots many times, and one of them unleashed a solar flare on Sunday (May 10). "Right now, we're at the beginning of the solar cycle. 25 Solar Max.
Solar Max should last for about two years, and the sun's doing unprecedented stuff. There are more solar spots than there have been in the last 20-something years," Dames said.
He added that while it would be the beginning of the kill shot sequence, Comet C/2023 A3 would also play a role in the solar apocalyptic disaster.
However, the comet, officially known as C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, has not shown any signs of being a danger to Earth.
Dames claims that the solar radiation this time would be unlike anything seen in the past and will actually hit ground level, "resulting in the initial deaths of millions with implications resulting in economic collapse, war…
"He said only some places on Earth will remain relatively safe when this happens.
https://www.wionews.com/trending/2026-space-apocalypse-ex-cia-psychic-spy-prophesied-disaster-for-earth-linked-to-sun-and-a-comet-1778746498801
other space objects
https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/bright-meteor-creates-lens-flare-005039873.html
https://aasnova.org/2026/05/13/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-through-the-eyes-of-rubin-observatory/
https://www.sci.news/astronomy/europa-clipper-juice-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-14765.html
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/a-tale-of-three-gas-clouds-orbiting-the-supermassive-black-hole-at-the-center-of-the-milky-way-1eab664788dd
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-3/nasa-outlines-preliminary-artemis-iii-mission-plans/
https://interestingengineering.com/space/nasa-artemis-iii-orion-spacex-docking
extra NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/05/13/crew-preps-for-dragon-arrival-and-keeps-up-research-maintenance/
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/fresh-food-delivery-for-space-station/
https://www.planetary.org/articles/house-appropriators-advance-key-nasa-funding-bill
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/ice-moves-out-of-aniak/
https://spacedaily.com/nasa-research-suggests-strategic-napping-improves-alertness-and-performance-and-most-workplaces-ignore-it/
NASA Outlines Preliminary Artemis III Mission Plans
May 13, 2026
NASA is moving quickly to define next year’s Artemis III mission in Earth orbit, a crewed flight that will test rendezvous and docking capabilities between the agency’s Orion spacecraft and commercial landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX.
Since a February announcement adding an Artemis mission ahead of crewed landing missions to the Moon’s South Pole region, engineers have been evaluating mission profile options and operational considerations for Artemis III to ensure the test flight helps the agency and its partners reduce risk ahead of the next Americans landing on the Moon during Artemis IV.
“While this is a mission to Earth orbit, it is an important stepping stone to successfully landing on the Moon with Artemis IV.
Artemis III is one of the most highly complex missions NASA has undertaken,” said Jeremy Parsons, Moon to Mars acting assistant deputy administrator, NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate in Washington.
“For the first time, NASA will coordinate a launch campaign involving multiple spacecraft integrating new capabilities into Artemis operations.
We’re integrating more partners and interrelated operations into this mission by design, which will help us learn how Orion, the crew, and ground teams all interact together with hardware and teams from both lander providers before we send astronauts to the Moon’s surface and build a Moon Base there.”
The mission is planned to carry out a series of objectives designed to demonstrate critical systems needed for a future lunar landing.
During the Artemis III mission, the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida with four crew members.
Instead of using the interim cryogenic propulsion stage as the upper stage of the rocket, NASA will use a “spacer,” a representation of the mass and overall dimensions of an upper stage but without propulsive capabilities.
The spacer will maintain the same overall dimensions and interface connection points as the upper stage between the Orion stage adapter and launch vehicle stage adapter.
Design and fabrication activities for the spacer are progressing rapidly at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Material for the barrel section and the upper and lower rings is currently being machined at Marshall in preparation for upcoming welding operations.
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After the rocket delivers Orion to orbit, the spacecraft’s European-built service module will provide propulsion to circularize Orion’s orbit around the planet in low Earth orbit.
This orbit increases overall mission success by allowing more launch opportunities for each element as compared to a lunar mission — SLS carrying Orion and its crew, SpaceX’s Starship human landing system pathfinder, and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 human landing system pathfinder.
Informed by Blue Origin and SpaceX capabilities, NASA also is defining the concept of operations for the mission. While some decisions are yet to be determined, astronauts could potentially enter at least one lander test article.
The crew will spend more time aboard Orion than during Artemis II, further advancing the evaluation of life support systems, and for the first time will demonstrate the docking system performance.
The mission will inform lander rendezvous and habitation concepts and mission operations in preparation for future surface missions.
The agency also plans to test an upgraded heat shield during Orion’s return to Earth to enable more flexible and robust reentry profiles for future missions.
Over the coming weeks, NASA will continue to refine specific plans for the flight, including a timeline for identifying astronauts to train for mission operations, options to evaluate Axiom’s AxEMU spacesuit lander interfaces ahead of lunar surface missions, mission duration, and potential science operations for the flight.
NASA has asked for industry input on potential solutions to improve the communications with the ground during the mission since the Deep Space Network will not be used.
The agency also is seeking both international and domestic interest in potentially flying CubeSats to deploy in Earth orbit, and may share other opportunities as the concept of operations for the mission is further defined.
As part of the Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
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NASA-Supported Space Tech Advances Earthly Construction
May 13, 2026
An innovative 3D printing process that advanced NASA’s approach to outfitting a lunar habitat is making buildings on Earth beautiful, efficient, and strong.
Instead of building structures layer by layer, Branch Technology Inc. of Chattanooga, Tennessee, has developed a process the company calls Freeform 3D Printing, which creates shapes with lightweight lattice structures that can be filled or covered.
The company uses the technique to manufacture visually interesting, modular building elements, such as wall panels and cladding.
“Our process eliminates a ton of material from something that otherwise might be printed solid all the way through,” said David Goodloe, who leads Branch Technology’s Advanced Concepts team, which manages the company’s NASA collaborations.
In 2017, the company won Phase II of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, a public competition to build a habitat for deep space exploration.
Tracie Prater, a technical manager in the Habitat Systems Development Branch at NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, served as a subject matter expert for the challenge and worked with Branch Technology on a cooperative agreement.
“With the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, teams were focused on how to build a large habitat structure on a planetary surface,” said Prater. “But once that structure is pressurized and ready for crew occupancy, how do you populate it with systems and supplies?
That’s what Branch was looking at through the cooperative agreement — what their on-demand fabrication process enables in terms of novel designs for interior items.”
NASA’s parameters for the habitat challenge led Branch to develop its nozzles to extrude unique lattice structures as well as more traditional layers.
The company uses this dual capability frequently in its wall panels where traditionally printed sections offer solid substrates for attaching fasteners.
The polymers Branch extrudes were informed by its materials science research for the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, which asked that print material be made of something like the dust and rocks found on the Martian surface and mission recyclables.
Branch came up with a basalt fiber-reinforced plastic and from that work went on to develop an optimal loading recipe for its terrestrial “inks.”
These innovations exemplify the purpose of NASA’s Technology Transfer program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate, which uses space-based solutions to improve life on Earth.
For 50 years, NASA has documented the everyday benefits of space technology through the agency’s Spinoff publication.
https://www.nasa.gov/technology/tech-transfer-spinoffs/nasa-supported-space-tech-advances-earthly-construction/
extra NASA and space
https://x.com/CanadianPM/status/2054682157273043183
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-twinkling-pulsar-reveals-invisible-space.html
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1128096
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/earth-photobombs-a-satellite-deploying-its-giant-reflector-space-photo-of-the-day-for-may-14-2026
https://www.space.com/stargazing/that-bright-light-after-sunset-venus-is-starting-a-summer-show-thats-impossible-to-miss
https://washingtonian.com/2026/05/14/this-exhibit-turns-smithsonian-telescope-data-into-a-virtual-space-walk/
https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/05/a-new-us-military-wargame-series-began-by-simulating-a-nuclear-weapon-in-orbit/#main
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/us-space-command-allies-ops-plan-orbital-warfare/
https://www.presidentialprayerteam.org/2026/05/14/general-stephen-whiting-commander-u-s-space-force-command/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn2OBKDbgaw
extra Space Force
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4485915/daf-selects-partner-for-commercialized-on-base-lodging/
https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/Article-Display/Article/4485549/acquiring-minds-episode-19-jam
A new US military wargame series began by simulating a nuclear weapon in orbit
May 13, 2026 11:04 AM |
US Space Command is inviting commercial companies to participate in a new series of classified wargames. The first exercise simulated a scenario involving a potential nuclear detonation in orbit.
Gen. Stephen Whiting, the senior officer in charge of Space Command, discussed the new wargame series Tuesday in a discussion hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
Space Command is responsible for military activities in space and is separate from the Space Force, which provides the people and equipment to support those operations.
The new wargames, called Apollo Insight, combine military and commercial expertise to respond to simulated threats in space. Space Command plans to conduct four Apollo Insight “tabletop exercises” this year.
“We’ve done one already,” Whiting said. “We did one focused on a nuclear payload on orbit, which, of course, is a future we do not want to see, and that would violate the Outer Space Treaty.
But we brought 60-something companies together at the classified level to share insights into what such a detonation might do, and then get their good ideas about how we could leverage capability to have today or future technologies that might help us going forward.”
The wargame presented a “notional worst-case scenario” and also included participation from US allies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
“While the event was classified, discussions covered a range of topics including the importance of domain awareness for detection and characterization and the threats facing US and allied space superiority,” Space Command said in a press release.
WMDs in LEO
Two years ago, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, publicly warned that Russia was moving to deploy a nuclear weapon in orbit.
Officials from the Biden administration later acknowledged that Russia is considering such an action, which would violate restrictions in the Outer Space Treaty on placing weapons of mass destruction into orbit.
The detonation of a nuclear weapon in low-Earth orbit would likely destroy or incapacitate thousands of satellites, disabling critical military and civilian networks providing surveillance and communication services.
US officials have said the nuclear option would render portions of low-Earth orbit useless for up to a year, with knock-on effects rippling through every nation.
One former US defense official characterized a nuclear explosion in orbit as not an attack just on the United States, but an “attack on the world.”
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US officials don’t believe Russia has yet put a nuclear weapon into orbit, but they now believe the Russian military is operationalizing conventional anti-satellite weapons. Russia has launched several mysterious satellites into orbits shadowing the US government’s most advanced spy satellites.
Space Command plans to host three more Apollo Insight commercial wargames this year. The next one will focus on orbital maneuver warfare.
Later this year, officials will simulate additional scenarios involving proliferated satellite constellations across different orbital regimes and missile warning and missile defense.
The Pentagon, in recent years, has emphasized the importance of commercial technologies and services in 21st-century warfare.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has highlighted the utility of commercial satellite networks, like Starlink, to provide communications on the battlefield.
Commercial companies are also at the vanguard of drone and anti-drone technology used every day in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
In many ways, the Space Force has led the way in the Pentagon’s push for deeper partnerships with commercial industry.
The Space Force has inked contracts with emerging space companies—non-traditional primes, in military contracting parlance—to buy services, manufacture satellites and payloads, and launch rockets.
Commercial companies now or will soon provide the US military with not just communications and launch services, as they have for decades, but overhead imagery, navigation, refueling, weather data, and surveillance of other satellites in space, among other things.
“I say often that I think US commercial space industry is a massive advantage for us in the United States,” Whiting said. “Just look at the investment levels, the innovation, the speed at which they’re delivering capability, and we absolutely have to be able to leverage that capability.”
Whiting said Space Command and the Space Force could also use commercial satellites as targets to test the military’s ability to continuously track an object through a “high delta-V” maneuver—a large impulse making a significant change to its orbit.
Such maneuvers could be used by an adversary’s satellite to escape detection or set up for an attack on a US satellite.
“Since Russia invaded Ukraine, there’s been some persistent satellite communications jamming, GPS jamming, and frequently these companies are the first to detect that, and so they inform us of that,” Whiting said.
“Now, the question of, do these companies need indemnification, or some other contractual mechanism that helps them with the risk level they’re assuming, that is something that the Office of Secretary of War for Space Policy has identified as a national level issue to be worked.”
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Africa forward summit: Africa’s space race takes off
Thu, May 14, 2026 at 6:53 AM PDT
Kenya’s Shared Space Network Cuts Data Costs
Africa is stepping up its ambitions in the space sector, with more countries launching satellites to support agriculture, climate monitoring, security and disaster management.
Yet one major challenge remains: how to access and process the data efficiently and affordably.
At the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, SkyConnect unveiled a new model that connects idle satellite ground stations into a shared network, reducing costs and speeding up data delivery.
Described as the “Airbnb of ground stations,” the platform allows countries to monetize underused infrastructure while avoiding heavy upfront investments.
Nathan Juglar, one of the project leaders, says the CAPEX-free model could help African countries move beyond dependence on foreign assistance and become profitable, sovereign players in the global space economy.
The initiative could unlock practical benefits ranging from crop monitoring and food security to environmental protection and early-warning systems.
Mauritius Turns Brain Drain into Brain Gain
Brain drain continues to deprive many African countries of skilled professionals. Mauritius is pursuing a different strategy.
The island nation is attracting talent from across Africa and positioning itself as a hub for innovation, technology and high-value services.
By combining political stability, favorable tax policies and a strong business environment, Mauritius is transforming itself into a destination for entrepreneurs, digital specialists and investors.
Its “brain gain” approach is helping diversify the economy beyond tourism and building a modern service sector designed for long-term growth.
Juba’s Youth Build a Digital Economy
In Juba, young entrepreneurs are harnessing digital tools to grow businesses despite major obstacles.
Only about 13 percent of South Sudan’s population has internet access, one of the lowest connectivity rates in the world.
Conflict, inflation and infrastructure shortages continue to weigh heavily on the economy.
Still, a new generation of traders and innovators is using mobile phones, social media and digital payments to create income opportunities.
Their efforts are helping to build a resilient, fast-growing digital economy in South Sudan’s capital.
https://www.aol.com/news/africa-forward-summit-africa-space-135335626.html
https://www.africanews.com/2026/05/14/africa-forward-summit-africas-space-race-takes-off-business-africa/
extra UK and Chyna
https://www.imeche.org/news/news-article/clumsy-astronauts-and-space-drugs-uk-faces-hurdles-and-opportunities-of-in-orbit-manufacturing
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/china-launches-zhuque-2e-y5-rocket-into-space/3937635
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/lifestyle/leisure/article/3353364/how-stratospheric-balloon-flights-could-be-about-redefine-space-tourism