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Week in images: 06-10 July 2026
Week in images: 06-10 July 2026
Discover our week through the lens
Mathematicians put AI to work on Fermat's last theorem
Mathematicians put AI to work on Fermat's last theorem
Why the controversy over de-extinction risks missing the point
Efforts to revive the thylacine and woolly mammoth are forcing conservationists to face a long-overdue debate over what kind of natural world we want to build
Is Earth the only planet with total solar eclipses?
Other planets have moons, too. Do they get eclipses like we do?
The sneaky maths trick for solving problems without answering them
The sneaky maths trick for solving problems without answering them
‘Dark’ comets sprouting tails could help solve interstellar mysteries
A strange class of comet could explain the enigmatic behavior of ‘Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object—and even shed light on how Earth became habitable
This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 10 – 19
The bright, distinctive pattern of Upper Scorpius is on its best display in the south right after nightfall. Telescopic treasures await. In the west, Regulus now departs from Venus.
The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, July 10 – 19 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Earth from Space: Great Bear Lake, Canada
2026 eclipse: 5 citizen science projects you can contribute to
2026 eclipse: 5 citizen science projects you can contribute to
Where Venezuela’s Earthquakes Shifted the Ground
- Earth
- Earth Observatory
- Image of the Day
- EO Explorer
- Topics
- More Content
- About
Where Venezuela’s Earthquakes Shifted the Ground
- Earth
- Earth Observatory
- Image of the Day
- EO Explorer
- Topics
- More Content
- About
How 'Star City' Reimagined the Space Race With Soviets as the Stars
How do you capture the mood of the 1960s space race in a fictional universe where the Soviets beat the Americans to the moon? The production team for Apple TV's "Star City" series rose to the challenge.
NASA Sets Coverage for Astronaut Anil Menon Launch to Space Station
NASA astronaut Anil Menon will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft to the International Space Station on Tuesday, July 14, accompanied by cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, where they will join the Expedition 74 crew advancing scientific research.
Menon, Dubrov, and Kikina will lift off at 10:47 a.m. EDT (7:47 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Live launch and docking coverage is available 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.
After a two-orbit, three-hour trip to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at 1:56 p.m. to the Prichal module. Shortly afterward, hatches will open between the Soyuz and the orbiting laboratory.
Once aboard, the trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, and Chris Williams, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev, and Andrey Fedyaev.
NASA’s coverage schedule is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Tuesday, July 14
9:45 a.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
10:47 a.m. – Launch
1:10 p.m. – Rendezvous and docking coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
1:56 p.m. – Docking
3:30 p.m. – Hatch opening and welcome coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
3:55 p.m. – Hatch opening
Menon, Dubrov, and Kikina will spend about eight months aboard the orbital complex as International Space Station Expedition 74/75 crew members before returning to Earth in April 2027. This will be Menon’s first spaceflight and the second for both Dubrov and Kikina.
During his stay on the station, Menon will conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations aimed at advancing human space exploration and benefiting life on Earth. He will continue research to refine in-space production of semiconductor crystals to enable the large-scale manufacturing of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence, and improved medical devices. Menon also will perform ultrasound using augmented reality and artificial intelligence methods that could eliminate the need for medical support from Earth on future space missions. He will be a test subject helping researchers understand how blood flow is affected in space to protect future astronauts. He also will test bioprinting vascular constructs in microgravity to improve understanding of the aging process to advance therapeutic developments.
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not 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.
To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:
-end-
Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
NASA Sets Coverage for Astronaut Anil Menon Launch to Space Station
NASA astronaut Anil Menon will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft to the International Space Station on Tuesday, July 14, accompanied by cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, where they will join the Expedition 74 crew advancing scientific research.
Menon, Dubrov, and Kikina will lift off at 10:47 a.m. EDT (7:47 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Live launch and docking coverage is available 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.
After a two-orbit, three-hour trip to the station, the spacecraft will automatically dock at 1:56 p.m. to the Prichal module. Shortly afterward, hatches will open between the Soyuz and the orbiting laboratory.
Once aboard, the trio will join NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, and Chris Williams, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev, and Andrey Fedyaev.
NASA’s coverage schedule is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Tuesday, July 14
9:45 a.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
10:47 a.m. – Launch
1:10 p.m. – Rendezvous and docking coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
1:56 p.m. – Docking
3:30 p.m. – Hatch opening and welcome coverage begins on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube.
3:55 p.m. – Hatch opening
Menon, Dubrov, and Kikina will spend about eight months aboard the orbital complex as International Space Station Expedition 74/75 crew members before returning to Earth in April 2027. This will be Menon’s first spaceflight and the second for both Dubrov and Kikina.
During his stay on the station, Menon will conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations aimed at advancing human space exploration and benefiting life on Earth. He will continue research to refine in-space production of semiconductor crystals to enable the large-scale manufacturing of components needed for high-performance computers, artificial intelligence, and improved medical devices. Menon also will perform ultrasound using augmented reality and artificial intelligence methods that could eliminate the need for medical support from Earth on future space missions. He will be a test subject helping researchers understand how blood flow is affected in space to protect future astronauts. He also will test bioprinting vascular constructs in microgravity to improve understanding of the aging process to advance therapeutic developments.
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not 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.
To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:
-end-
Joshua Finch / Jimi Russell
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov / james.j.russell@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
NASA Space Telescope Maps Magnetic Fields of ‘Lighthouse’ Pulsar
For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) to directly measure the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within what is often referred to as the Lighthouse Nebula. The results provide new insight into the structure of some of the most extreme objects in the cosmos, as NASA continues to explore the secrets of how the universe works. A paper describing the results published Thursday in the Astrophysical Journal.
Scientists have successfully measured the magnetic field of the Lighthouse pulsar’s nebula using NASA’s IXPE. Their measurements confirm the theory that high-energy particles escape along the galaxy’s magnetic field lines. This composite image contains X-ray data from IXPE in blue (highlighted in the inset), the Chandra X-ray Observatory in purple, and radio data from CSIRO in green. The starfield is optical data from the 2MASS optical survey. X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./J.T. Dinsmore et al.; IXPE: NASA/MSFC/J.T. Dinsmore et al., Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Optical: 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare Fast facts
- A pulsar is a type of neutron star with a strong magnetic field that spins incredibly fast. The pulsar at the center of the Lighthouse Nebula is rotating 16 times per second.
- Neutron stars are the leftover cores of massive stars, formed at the end of their life cycles, that possess more mass than the Sun. They are condensed down to the size of a city, making them natural laboratories for studying extreme physics.
- Polarization is a property of light that describes the direction of its electric field vibrations. The polarization degree is a measurement of how aligned those vibrations are with each other.
In June 2025, IXPE spent nearly 18 days focused on the Lighthouse Nebula.
Astronomers studied two narrow X-ray offshoots extending from the pulsar to better understand how electrons at nearly the speed of light interact with this energetic system. The longer offshoot is known as the “filament,” and the shorter one is the “trail.”
When high-energy particles from the pulsar collide with the gas of interstellar space, they form a bow shock, like the bow wave formed at the front of a speeding boat. Most particles become trapped behind this bow shock, forming the turbulent trail behind the pulsar.
Researchers have suspected since 2008 that the highest-energy particles escape through this bow shock into interstellar space, flowing along the galaxy’s magnetic field lines to create the nebula’s long, thin filament.
“We wanted to test that theory,” said Jack Dinsmore, undergraduate student at Stanford University, who led the study. “The ‘smoking gun’ would come by measuring the polarization of the light, which indicates the magnetic field direction. If the magnetic field points along the filament, that confirms that the filament’s particles are flowing along the field.”
One challenge with these measurements is that the Lighthouse Nebula is relatively faint. To address this, IXPE scientists developed advanced analysis methods that use every bit of data, avoiding simplifying steps that could limit information. With these new tools and the new observations of the Lighthouse, the science team successfully measured the filament’s polarization. These techniques also gave a polarization measurement of the trail, and the pulsar’s emission signal.
Their analysis confirmed with more than 99% confidence that the magnetic field does indeed align with the particles’ flow.
While the parallel direction confirms models for the particle’s motion, the polarization degree was high enough to raise new questions.
“Many of the models for filaments assume strong magnetic turbulence,” said Roger Romani, a Stanford University professor who co-authored this paper. “The high polarization degree we measured indicates lower turbulence than such models require.”
The IXPE observations also showed that the magnetic field responsible for X-ray emission had to be parallel to the trail. However, the authors collected radio frequency observations showing a magnetic field pointing almost exactly perpendicular.
“The striking divergence in magnetic field orientations observed between radio and X-ray wavelengths provides compelling evidence for the highly structured nature of these objects,” said Niccolò Bucciantini of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics and co-author of the study. “This marks the first clear indication that particles of different energies occupy distinct regions within the system, hinting at the presence of multiple, and potentially very different, acceleration mechanisms at work.”
More about IXPEThe IXPE mission, which continues to provide unprecedented data enabling groundbreaking discoveries about celestial objects across the universe, is a joint NASA and Italian Space Agency mission with partners and science collaborators in 12 countries. It is led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and BAE Systems, Inc. manages spacecraft operations together with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder.
Learn more about IXPE’s ongoing mission here:
About the Author Michael AllenShare
Details Last Updated Jul 09, 2026 Editor Lee Mohon Contact Joel Wallace Location Marshall Space Flight Center Related Terms Explore More 3 min read NASA’s IXPE Measures White Dwarf Star for First TimeBy Michael Allen For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry…
Article
6 months ago
4 min read NASA’s IXPE Obtains First X-ray Polarization Measurement of Magnetar Outburst
What happens when the universe’s most magnetic object shines with the power of 1,000 Suns…
Article
1 year ago
8 min read NASA Telescopes Tune Into a Black Hole Prelude, Fugue
NASA released three new pieces of cosmic sound Thursday that are associated with the densest…
Article
1 year ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA IXPE
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is NASA’s first mission to study the polarization of X-rays.
Chandra X-ray Observatory
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
James Webb Space Telescope
Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…
NASA Space Telescope Maps Magnetic Fields of ‘Lighthouse’ Pulsar
For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) to directly measure the magnetic fields of PSR J1101−6101, a pulsar located within what is often referred to as the Lighthouse Nebula. The results provide new insight into the structure of some of the most extreme objects in the cosmos, as NASA continues to explore the secrets of how the universe works. A paper describing the results published Thursday in the Astrophysical Journal.
Scientists have successfully measured the magnetic field of the Lighthouse pulsar’s nebula using NASA’s IXPE. Their measurements confirm the theory that high-energy particles escape along the galaxy’s magnetic field lines. This composite image contains X-ray data from IXPE in blue (highlighted in the inset), the Chandra X-ray Observatory in purple, and radio data from CSIRO in green. The starfield is optical data from the 2MASS optical survey. X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./J.T. Dinsmore et al.; IXPE: NASA/MSFC/J.T. Dinsmore et al., Radio: CSIRO/ATNF/ATCA; Optical: 2MASS/UMass/IPAC-Caltech/NASA/NSF; Image processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare Fast facts- A pulsar is a type of neutron star with a strong magnetic field that spins incredibly fast. The pulsar at the center of the Lighthouse Nebula is rotating 16 times per second.
- Neutron stars are the leftover cores of massive stars, formed at the end of their life cycles, that possess more mass than the Sun. They are condensed down to the size of a city, making them natural laboratories for studying extreme physics.
- Polarization is a property of light that describes the direction of its electric field vibrations. The polarization degree is a measurement of how aligned those vibrations are with each other.
In June 2025, IXPE spent nearly 18 days focused on the Lighthouse Nebula.
Astronomers studied two narrow X-ray offshoots extending from the pulsar to better understand how electrons at nearly the speed of light interact with this energetic system. The longer offshoot is known as the “filament,” and the shorter one is the “trail.”
When high-energy particles from the pulsar collide with the gas of interstellar space, they form a bow shock, like the bow wave formed at the front of a speeding boat. Most particles become trapped behind this bow shock, forming the turbulent trail behind the pulsar.
Researchers have suspected since 2008 that the highest-energy particles escape through this bow shock into interstellar space, flowing along the galaxy’s magnetic field lines to create the nebula’s long, thin filament.
“We wanted to test that theory,” said Jack Dinsmore, undergraduate student at Stanford University, who led the study. “The ‘smoking gun’ would come by measuring the polarization of the light, which indicates the magnetic field direction. If the magnetic field points along the filament, that confirms that the filament’s particles are flowing along the field.”
One challenge with these measurements is that the Lighthouse Nebula is relatively faint. To address this, IXPE scientists developed advanced analysis methods that use every bit of data, avoiding simplifying steps that could limit information. With these new tools and the new observations of the Lighthouse, the science team successfully measured the filament’s polarization. These techniques also gave a polarization measurement of the trail, and the pulsar’s emission signal.
Their analysis confirmed with more than 99% confidence that the magnetic field does indeed align with the particles’ flow.
While the parallel direction confirms models for the particle’s motion, the polarization degree was high enough to raise new questions.
“Many of the models for filaments assume strong magnetic turbulence,” said Roger Romani, a Stanford University professor who co-authored this paper. “The high polarization degree we measured indicates lower turbulence than such models require.”
The IXPE observations also showed that the magnetic field responsible for X-ray emission had to be parallel to the trail. However, the authors collected radio frequency observations showing a magnetic field pointing almost exactly perpendicular.
“The striking divergence in magnetic field orientations observed between radio and X-ray wavelengths provides compelling evidence for the highly structured nature of these objects,” said Niccolò Bucciantini of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics and co-author of the study. “This marks the first clear indication that particles of different energies occupy distinct regions within the system, hinting at the presence of multiple, and potentially very different, acceleration mechanisms at work.”
More about IXPEThe IXPE mission, which continues to provide unprecedented data enabling groundbreaking discoveries about celestial objects across the universe, is a joint NASA and Italian Space Agency mission with partners and science collaborators in 12 countries. It is led by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and BAE Systems, Inc. manages spacecraft operations together with the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder.
Learn more about IXPE’s ongoing mission here:
About the Author Michael AllenShare
Details Last Updated Jul 09, 2026 Editor Lee Mohon Contact Joel Wallace Location Marshall Space Flight Center Related Terms Explore More 3 min read NASA’s IXPE Measures White Dwarf Star for First TimeBy Michael Allen For the first time, scientists have used NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry…
Article
6 months ago
4 min read NASA’s IXPE Obtains First X-ray Polarization Measurement of Magnetar Outburst
What happens when the universe’s most magnetic object shines with the power of 1,000 Suns…
Article
1 year ago
8 min read NASA Telescopes Tune Into a Black Hole Prelude, Fugue
NASA released three new pieces of cosmic sound Thursday that are associated with the densest…
Article
1 year ago
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA IXPE
The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is NASA’s first mission to study the polarization of X-rays.
Chandra X-ray Observatory
Hubble Space Telescope
Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.
James Webb Space Telescope
Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…