TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
July 7, 2026
NGC 6188: Dragons of Ara
Where can you find dragons fighting in the night sky? In the southern constellation of the Altar: Ara. The dragons are, of course, actually made of suggestively shaped gas and dust. The celestial home of the mythological battling beasts is cataloged as NGC 6188 and located about 4,000 light years away near the edge of a large molecular cloud. Massive, young stars of the embedded Ara OB1 association were formed there only a few million years ago, sculpting the dark shapes and powering the nebular glow with stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation. Joining NGC 6188 on this cosmic canvas, visible toward the lower right, is unusual emission nebula NGC 6164, also created by one of the region's massive stars. This impressively wide field picture, captured from Queensland, Australia, spans over 2 degrees (four full Moons).
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2HHxfDsaJw
Turk-quoise?
Geomagnetic Changes - Faster and Stronger | S0 News and wild weather frens
July.7.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTdDI7R8g1A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swL-7EvVGec (S0: The Acceleration of Disaster - Observers Live #47)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyqoOdI0c6E (Thornews: MAJOR USA HEATWAVE NEXT WEEK! 17 inches of Rain in Ohio! Super Typhoon Bavi heads to Mainland China!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6RyIfJ7oXY (EarthMaster: Swarm of Moderate Earthquakes south of Iceland. Southern California activity. Monday Night)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=240zOLgGIW8 (Ray's Astro: A STRANGE Signal Under ANTARCTICA Just Got MORE Mysterious)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_MZ8pUflUU (Republic World: Monsoon Havoc In Maharashtra: Mumbai, Pune, Nashik Hit By Heavy Rain | 13 Dead)
https://caliber.az/en/post/sun-records-highest-number-of-solar-flares-in-two-years
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/mission-drishti-indias-largest-privately-developed-earth-observation-satellite-loses-communication-after-solar-storm/article71192310.ece
https://www.newser.com/story/392347/whoopi-goldberg-stranded-in-italy-by-mount-etna-burst.html
https://www.aol.com/articles/tornado-macroburst-confirmed-ohio-cutting-145339040.html
https://kstp.com/kstp-news/top-news/suspected-tornado-hits-detroit-lakes-leaving-2-injured-and-widespread-damage/
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/mumbai-rains-today-live-updates-heavy-monsoon-rainfall-weather-news-imd-red-alert-forecast/liveblog/132206267.cms
https://odishabytes.com/floods-tornadoes-landslides-extreme-weather-in-china-kills-20-injures-331-xi-orders-all-out-rescue/
https://watchers.news/2026/07/07/historically-rare-tornado-strikes-huanggang-causing-extensive-urban-damage-in-hubei-province-china/
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/07/06/world/quake-tracker-chile.html
https://www.kob.com/news/top-news/at-least-3-earthquakes-reported-in-new-mexico-in-24-hour-period/
https://wicnews.com/trinidad-tobago/45-magnitude-earthquake-shakes-trinidad-early-tuesday-morning
https://www.unhcr.org/ph/mindanao-earthquake
https://meteoagent.com/schumann-resonance-forecast
https://www.weatherbug.com/news/Severe%20Storms%20Erupt%20Across%20Northern%20Plains?source=news
https://www.tornadohq.com/
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes-volcanoes/news.html
https://www.spaceweather.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=07&month=07&year=2026
chekt
2 asteroid flybys yield new closeup images
July 7, 2026
2 asteroid flybys yield new closeup images
Space agencies from both China and Japan have just shared images from flybys of two different asteroids in our solar system.
On July 2, 2026, China’s Tianwen-2 probe flew past asteroid Kamo’oalewa from a distance of just 12.5 miles (20 km). Then on July 5, 2026, Japan’s Hayabusa2 flew past asteroid Torifune from a mere 6.2 miles (10 km) distant.
Both space agencies caught images of the asteroids. Kamo’oalewa might be a chunk of the moon ejected in a giant impact. And Torifune revealed itself to be two rubble piles joined together, or what astronomers call a contact binary.
Flyby of asteroid Kamo’oalewa
On July 6, 2026, the China National Space Administration said:
The Tianwen-2 probe has arrived at its target asteroid and begun scientific exploration.
Tianwen-2’s target is the asteroid Kamo’oalewa, which is a near-Earth asteroid. The asteroid has a strange orbit that keeps it in unison with Earth.
This resonant orbit makes it a quasi-satellite of Earth. A 2024 study showed Kamo’oalewa might have once been a part of the moon that blasted off during an impact that formed the lunar crater Giordano Bruno.
China’s mission to the asteroid began back on May 29, 2025, with the launch of Tianwen-2. After a journey of what the space agency called about 400 days and 1 billion kilometers (621 million miles), Tianwen-2 will now:
… conduct more detailed scientific explorations to obtain information on the asteroid’s shape, material composition, and internal structure, providing support for preparations for sampling.
Flyby of asteroid Torifune
Hayabusa2’s journey to Torifune has taken much longer. The mission launched to space in December 2014. At that time, its target was the asteroid Ryugu.
In 2020, Hayabusa2 rendezvoused with Ryugu and took samples that it sent back to Earth. Analysis of the samples show they are rich in primitive organic material.
After Ryugu, JAXA sent the Hayabusa2 probe on an extended mission to Torifune. The probe arrived at 18:30 Japan Standard Time on July 5, 2026. Hayabusa2 made several observations during its flyby.
JAXA is still acquiring this data, so expect more revelations about the asteroid to come!
But Hayabusa2’s extended mission is not over. After a couple swings past Earth, the space probe is headed for the tiny asteroid 1998 KY26.
The asteroid is just 11 meters (36 feet) in diameter. Hayabusa2 should arrive at the asteroid in 2031.
Bottom line: Japanese and Chinese space agencies both completed asteroid flybys in early July, 2026. See the closeup images here.
https://earthsky.org/space/2-asteroid-flybys-torifune-kamooalewa-images/
https://www.jaxa.jp/press/2026/07/20260706-3_j.html
https://www.xinhuanet.com/20260706/eb8cbec6dfc94a0c84a24e6940334f1d/c.html
extra space objects
https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/spectacular-meteor-shower-to-light-up-south-africas-skies-this-july/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_ll-jCjLxI (Dobsonian Power: LIVE UFO HUNT)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekCkGnraoZ4 (Angry Astronaut: They can't be serious! Antimatter Starships are possible, say Musk and Isaacman!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltOJNvLWVgc (John Lenard Walson: #USSPACECOM #SpaceCommand #USSpaceForce #SpaceForce #UnitedStatesSpaceCommand)
Artemis II astronaut Jeremy Hansen stepping down from Canadian Space Agency
Tue, July 7, 2026 at 11:17 AM
Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, who became the first non-American to fly around the moon on NASA's Artemis II mission, announced he is stepping down from his full-time role with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) after nearly two decades.
"Today, I am sharing a significant next step in my journey.
This September, after 32 years of military service and 17 years as a Canadian Space Agency astronaut culminating in the incredible privilege of flying around the Moon on Artemis II I will be transitioning from my full-time role at the CSA," Hansen wrote in a social media post on Monday.
This is far from a departure. My commitment to seeing Canada thrive remains absolute. To ensure continuity in this mission, the Royal Canadian Air Force is enabling my transition into a Reservist role.
This unique position is a deliberate launchpad designed to leave the door open for creative, ongoing ways to support and enable the vital work happening in Canada with respect to space, and I’m excited for the new challenges it will bring," he added.
The announcement comes just months after Hansen completed the historic Artemis II mission, a nearly 10-day crewed flight around the moon alongside NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch.
The mission marked the first crewed lunar voyage in more than 50 years and made Hansen the first Canadian to travel into deep space.
In a statement, the CSA praised Hansen's "leadership, dedication and professionalism," saying he helped inspire a new generation of Canadians while advancing the country's role in human space exploration.
Hansen said he remains committed to advancing Canadian innovation and exploration in space.
https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/artemis-ii-astronaut-jeremy-hansen-stepping-down-from-canadian-space-agency-nasa-moon-lunar-flyby-mission-earth-splashdown-christina-koch-reid-wiseman-victor-glover-jeremy-hansen-lunar-earth-kennedy-space-center-solar-eclipse
https://x.com/Astro_Jeremy/status/2074181856040452235
https://x.com/csa_asc/status/2074182155412942992
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2074212290375692660
The simple reason NASA’s chief says Flat Earthers won't exist by the end of the decade
14:23 7 Jul 2026 GMT+1
Jared Isaacman plans to live stream the lunar missions
The chief of NASA has revealed the reason why Flat Earthers won’t exist by the end of the decade.
Jared Isaacman, who is the head of NASA, appeared in a YouTube video last month where he spoke to Jack Gordon about the future of the lunar missions.
The conversation also touched on how this could result in the end of Flat Earth Theory - a belief among conspiracy theorists that the planet is more of a disc shape rather than a sphere.
Speaking to Gordon, Isaacman shared the space agency’s plans to put high definition cameras on ‘every lander, every rover’, going on to add: “We’re not leaving any doubt this time.”
He continued: “When we go to Mars someday, we want to be able to bring everyone home to talk about it, so let’s practice on the Moon.”
In response to this, Gordon said: “We’d have no more Flat Earthers, I think, in like a week.”
It seems the revelation by Isaacman that NASA intends to live stream the upcoming Moon missions more so than ever before could mean that people on the ground will be able to get new insight into what space exploration is really like.
And as an added bonus, it might put some conspiracy theories to bed.
NASA plans to put humans back on the Moon
NASA previously announced its plans to put humans back on the Moon as early as next year, including the first woman and person of color.
This groundbreaking project. known as the Artemis mission, will be the first time humans have stepped foot on the moon since the Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972.
Last year, the agency also revealed that it hopes to be able to mine resources on the lunar surface too, with a goal of excavating moon soil by 2032.
On the NASA website, it said: “We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the first long-term presence on the moon.”
“Then, we will use what we learn on and around the moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.”
The space agency hopes to be able to develop supplies of oxygen and water on the moon before mining beneath the lunar surface for minerals such as iron.
It’s not yet known exactly what treasures are hiding within the lunar rock but traces of gold have been previously identified in the soil.
https://www.uniladtech.com/science/space/simple-reason-nasa-chief-flat-earthers-wont-exist-622936-20260707
https://www.uniladtech.com/science/space/nasa-chief-ufo-imagery-interview-056486-20260707
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWRgZw2f4HQ
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
@NASAAdmin
President Trump wanted the grandest flyover in the world to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, and @SecWar and the Department of War aircraft put on a spectacular show.
The demo teams, including the @BlueAngels and @AFThunderbirds, looked outstanding!
NASA was honored to play a very small part in the opening performance, and I had the privilege of flying Acting Attorney General @DAGToddBlanche over the National Mall.
This is your determined National Aeronautics and Space Administration in action, and we are not slowing down as we return astronauts to the Moon, build the base, and prepare for where we go next!
Thank you to NASA’s incredible flight operations team and everyone who made this unforgettable tribute possible and God Bless the USA! 🇺🇸
1:33 PM · Jul 6, 2026
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2074230258132292015
https://x.com/DAGToddBlanche/status/2074239311571005479
extra Isaacman
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2074241915659104302
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2074132312996905264
https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2074144724110229806
moar social media Isaacman and NASA
NASA Moon Base
@NASAMoonBase
⚽🌕 Tonight, the USA takes on Belgium in the World Cup, and the stakes are officially out of this world.
If Team USA goes all the way and wins the championship, @NASAAdmin has challenged the Moon Base team to deliver the match ball to the Moon.
Could this become the highest-altitude assist in soccer history?
Cheer on Team USA, then stop by the NASA Moon Base booth at the Houston FIFA Fan Festival to learn more about our plan to build an outpost on the Moon.
Last edited4:26 PM · Jul 6, 2026
https://x.com/NASAMoonBase/status/2074273835264712804
https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2074282373642928619
https://x.com/astro_anil/status/2074423923484025008
https://x.com/AirForceTimes/status/2074230189383369168
https://x.com/Space_Station/status/2074192118747398573
Cartilage Engineering, Blood Pressure Studies Kick Off Week Aboard Station
July 6, 2026 6:14PM
Cartilage engineering and cardiac research to advance human health on and off the Earth topped Monday’s research schedule aboard the International Space Station.
The Expedition 74 crew members also continued spacesuit maintenance and cargo operations aboard the orbital outpost.
NASA flight engineer Jessica Meir was back working inside the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox processing cartilage cell samples to promote their growth in microgravity.
NASA flight engineer Jack Hathaway assisted with the biotechnology experiment setting up a fluorescent microscope to view the space-engineered cartilage samples.
Meir and Hathaway then packed a selection of samples for preservation in a science freezer and future analysis on Earth. Scientists will analyze the space-grown specimens to learn how to repair and regenerate injured cartilage on Earth and develop advanced fitness techniques for astronauts on a long-term spaceflight.
The duo also joined NASA flight engineer Chris Williams transferring cargo in and out of the Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft from Northrop Grumman.
Williams and Meir later worked together collecting hardware from inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module and staging the gear for stowage inside BEAM, the Bigelow Expandable Access Module.
Hathaway configured a temporary sleep station being installed in the Columbus laboratory module before three new crew members visit the space station next week.
ESA (European Space Agency) flight engineer Sophie Adenot worked throughout Monday on spacesuit maintenance inside the Quest airlock.
Adenot spent a couple of hours cleaning cooling loops inside a pair of spacesuits that Williams and Meir wore during a robotics repair spacewalk on June 30.
Hathaway joined Adenot at the end of the job and helped her clean up Quest, place protective covers on the spacesuits, and power down spacewalking systems.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, station commander and flight engineer respectively, partnered together on Monday and studied how weightlessness affects blood flow in the tiny vessels, or the micro-circulatory system.
They first attached light-based sensors to their forehead, fingers, and toes. Next, they pointed a laser beam at their skin that interacted with the sensors providing signals measuring their blood flow and distribution. Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev also explored how living in space affects the respiratory system by wearing an acoustic sensor around their necks that recorded their rapid exhalation.
Flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent most of his shift conducting a photographic survey inside the space station’s Roscosmos segment.
Fedyaev photo-documented the condition of stowage areas for future usage as well as inventoried items to secure cargo and other hardware.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/07/06/cartilage-engineering-blood-pressure-studies-kick-off-week-aboard-station/
extra NASA
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/the-world-cup-from-250-miles-up/
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/science-news/2026/07/07/nasas-coffies-science-center-makes-breakthrough-on-solar-enigma/
https://aviationweek.com/space/commercial-space/nasa-releases-draft-rfp-iss-replacement-plan
https://www.govconwire.com/articles/greg-heckler-nasa-scan-program-space-comms
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/thats-going-to-come-back-and-bite-us-former-nasa-chief-questions-artemis-moon-lander-plans
extra extra
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasa-takes-flight-for-americas-250th/
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/roman/2026/07/06/telescope-milestone-nasas-roman-moves-vertical-ahead-of-processing/
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/about/data-metrics/esdis-metrics/weekly-metrics/6-8-2026
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/july-2026-satellite-puzzler/
'That's going to come back and bite us': Former NASA chief questions Artemis moon lander plans
July 7, 2026
The former head of NASA is questioning the agency's plans to return astronauts to the moon, asking whether the crewed landers selected for the Artemis program are the right vehicles to get the job done.
Jim Bridenstine, who served as NASA administrator during President Donald Trump's first term, joined Space.com's Tariq Malik and co-host Rod Pyle on the This Week in Space podcast on June 12 to discuss his recently appointed position as CEO of Quantum Space and current events in the space industry.
During the show, Bridenstine voiced skepticism about the architecture of NASA's Artemis moon landers, both of which are trailing in development compared to the Orion spacecraft with which they're being designed to fly.
"The architecture is extraordinarily complicated," Bridenstine said. He compared the Artemis plan unfavorably to NASA's approach during the Apollo program, which he argued was much less complex.
"They designed that thing to be as simple as you could possibly make it, and because of that they were able to land on the moon eight years after John F. Kennedy declared that we were doing it," Bridenstine said of the Apollo architecture.
NASA has contracted both SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon to be the crewed lunar landers for the Artemis program, and plans to use one of them to perform the first Artemis moon landing in 2028, on the Artemis 4 mission.
That's a tight timeline for SpaceX and Blue Origin, whose spacecraft have faced ongoing delays in their development.
Neither lander has managed to make it to orbit yet, and both have a number of qualification tests to accomplish before NASA will certify the vehicles to fly with astronauts aboard, including uncrewed lunar landing demonstrations.
For some development perspective, Bridenstine brought up NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which, though also severely delayed for years leading up to its debut, managed a completely successful mission right out of the gate.
"The first time SLS launched, it was rated for crew, and it was ready to go to the moon on the first launch. That's hard to do, and yet it did it," he said.
"This is the challenge," Bridenstine said. "We still don't have a lander, and without a lander, you can't land on the moon. It's really that simple, and I worry that over time that's going to come back and bite us."
1/2
During NASA's Apollo missions to the lunar surface in the 1960s and '70s, the Saturn V rocket launched the astronauts aboard their return capsule, with their moon landing vehicle stowed beneath.
In contrast, NASA's Artemis missions, which launch Orion on SLS, require separate launches on different launch vehicles to get the moon landers off Earth.
"The genius of Apollo was its simplicity," Bridenstine said.
The architecture for the Artemis missions is much more complex. Starship and Blue Moon will both require refueling flights in order to land astronauts on the lunar surface and then launch them back to orbit around the moon to rendezvous with Orion.
The exact number of refueling flights for each lander is unknown, but a recent report from NASA's Office of Inspector General estimated Starship will need at least 15 additional launches to replenish its tanks enough for a full lunar landing mission.
Ahead of the planned Artemis 4 landing, NASA will launch a practice run with Orion and both of the two landers in low Earth orbit (LEO) in mid-to-late 2027. That mission, Artemis 3, will see the astronauts rendezvous and dock with both landers over the course of about two weeks.
According to NASA's current plan, Artemis 3 astronauts will have the opportunity to board Blue Moon during their mission, but Starship will fly with a docking adapter only, and not a functional crew cabin — a likely sign of Starship's development progress, and what NASA expects of the spacecraft's capabilities within the next year.
NASA had previously tapped Starship as the lunar lander for Artemis 4, but its performance, as well as Blue Moon's, during Artemis 3 could possibly spur a change in that decision.
The agency already voiced dissatisfaction with Starship's development last year, when it announced the possible reopening of the Artemis 3 lander contract due to SpaceX delays.
"They're behind," Sean Duffy, who was then NASA's acting administrator, said at the time. "They've pushed their timelines out, and we're in a race against China."
Bridenstine voiced a similar sentiment. "Whatever it takes to build a lander soonest is what we ought to be doing as a country," he said.
2/2
yeah, could use a little clarification, and wide sweeping panoramic videos
SpaceX just launched the 1st-ever nuclear-powered commercial satellite
July 7, 2026
The world's first commercially built nuclear-powered satellite has reached orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The BOHR (Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability) satellite, built by Florida-based company City Labs, launched to space early this morning (July 7) on SpaceX's Transporter-17 rideshare mission.
Transporter-17's Falcon 9 rocket, which was carrying a total of 81 payloads, lifted off early this morning from the SpaceX pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and began delivering its payloads to their various orbits about 50 minutes later.
BOHR is a novel cubesat demonstration mission from City Labs, which is testing out its proprietary "NanoTritium" betavoltaic micropower source in space for the first time.
Similar to how spacecraft like NASA's Voyager probes' radioisotope thermoelectric generators produce power from the heat emitted from their plutonium cores, City Lab's NanoTritium device harnesses the beta particles emitted from the radioactive decay of tritium, which can be converted directly to electricity using a semiconductor.
“This is a historic step for commercial nuclear power in space,” said City Labs CEO Peter Cabauy in a statement.
BOHR is designed as a pathfinder mission to test the feasibility of City Labs' new technology, which is meant to provide continuous power to spacecraft without a reliance on solar energy.
Though its tritium core isn't actually BOHR's power source — the cubesat is still dependent on solar power for general operations — City Labs' technology could help introduce new vehicles capable of exploring places that current spacecraft can't operate for long periods of time, like permanently shadowed regions at the moon's poles.
The moon's south pole, specifically, has come into focus as the target region for NASA's Artemis lunar landing missions.
An abundance of water ice there, and its potential for extraction as a resource, makes the lunar south pole particularly suited to support long-term habitation of the moon, and NASA is actively funding the development of nuclear reactor technology to support that goal.
"City Labs’ BOHR arrives as the first commercial answer to that challenge," the company said in a statement.
Though the cubesat's NanoTritium power source cannot produce nearly enough energy to power something like a moon base, City Labs sees its application scaling to eventually be able to do so.
One benefit of using tritium as the basis for a power system is the low radiation levels it emits. "City Labs’ tritium-based power systems… are engineered for safe handling, transportation, and integration within standard commercial launch environments," the company stated.
BOHR, and City Labs' tritium development, was funded under a Department of Defense contract.
It's also the first nuclear-powered mission to be greenlit under the Federal Aviation Administration's nuclear launch approval under Trump's National Security Presidential Memorandum-20, which was issued in 2019.
City Labs hopes the success of this mission will pave the way for more nuclear-powered spacecraft to support national defense as well as private space missions in the future.
"BOHR demonstrates that safe, compact, and regulatory-approved nuclear power systems are ready for routine commercial deployment," Cabauy said.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-just-launched-the-1st-ever-nuclear-powered-commercial-satellite
https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/business/korea-launches-first-agriculturefocused-satellite-on-space-x-rocket/12760165
https://www.spacex.com/launches/transporter17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFGj4aen9OU