The Perseids peak on Aug 12–13 and officially continue through Aug 23, so on Aug 20–21 you may still catch a few meteors, with rates around 10–20 per hour under darker skies when the Moon is about 8% illuminated on Aug 20 and 3% on Aug 21. The Kappa Cygnid shower peaks around Aug 18…
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On August 19, CAS Space launched the Lijian-1 (Kinetica-1) Y10 from Jiuquan, deploying seven satellites including ThumbSat-1 and ThumbSat-2 (~100 grams each) built in Mexico. The Lijian-1 is the eighth flight in the Kinetica-1 series and CAS Space says it can loft 50+ satellites per mission with launch costs below $10,000 per kilogram to orbit,…
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3I/ATLAS was first spotted on July 1, 2025 by the ATLAS telescope in Río Hurtado, Chile, and officially designated 3I/2025 A1 (ATLAS), the third confirmed interstellar object after 1I/‘Oumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019). It is traveling through the inner solar system at about 60–61 kilometers per second relative to the Sun on a hyperbolic trajectory,…
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A G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm is forecast for Aug 19, 2025 with Kp expected to reach 5, potentially making the aurora visible in at least 15 U.S. states. NOAA SWPC predicts auroras could be seen from Alaska across the Pacific Northwest to the Upper Midwest and New England, possibly including Iowa and northern Illinois. The…
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In late August 2025, a six-planet parade—Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—will be visible in the pre-dawn sky along with a rare Black Moon. The Black Moon moment occurs around 2:06 a.m. EDT on Saturday, August 23, 2025 (6:06 UTC), placing the new moon between Earth and Sun. The Black Moon itself is invisible,…
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From Aug 18 to 20, a rare six-planet lineup (Mercury through Neptune) may be visible above the horizon before sunrise, with Mercury mag 0, Venus mag −4, Jupiter mag −2, Saturn mag ~0.5, Uranus mag 5.7 and Neptune mag 7.8. On the mornings of Aug 19 and 20, Venus and Jupiter form a bright dawn…
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United States: Moon Missions, Mega-Constellations & Scientific Milestones Europe: Weather Satellite Success & Space Safety Initiatives Asia: Ambitious Launches, New Satellites & Spaceflight Firsts Space Security & Policy: The Final Frontier Turns Battleground Sources: NASA News Releases and Blogs nasa.gov nasa.gov nasa.gov; Spaceflight Now spaceflightnow.com; Reuters reuters.com; Gizmodo gizmodo.com gizmodo.com; NDTV ndtv.com ndtv.com; Times of…
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On August 19, 2025, NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center forecast a minor geomagnetic storm (G1) that could make the Northern Lights visible across 14+ U.S. states. Areas fully or partially within tonight’s aurora visibility zone include Alaska; Washington; Idaho; Montana; North Dakota; South Dakota; Minnesota; Wisconsin; Michigan; Maine; Vermont; New Hampshire; New York; Iowa; and…
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The Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED is an 80 mm apochromatic doublet refractor using FPL-53 ED glass with 600 mm of focal length at f/7.5. The Evostar 80ED OTA weighs about 2.5 kg and is roughly 24 inches long with the dew shield, typically sold as an OTA with accessories rather than a full mount kit. The…
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The Perseids meteor shower remains active Aug 18–23, 2025, with peak rates up to 50–100 meteors per hour under dark skies, but a bright Moon 84% full on Aug 12 reduced peak rates to about 10–20 per hour; by Aug 18–19 the Moon wanes to ~23% and ~15% illumination, improving viewing. Auroras could appear around…
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