The Perseid meteor shower peaked on August 12-13, 2025, and NASA’s Bill Cooke says under moonlit skies observers may see about 10-20 meteors per hour (versus 40-50 per hour under dark skies). By August 17-18, the Moon is a waning crescent, allowing ideal conditions to yield roughly 15-20 Perseids per hour before dawn. The minor…
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Launches and Rocket Test Highlights Space Station & Mission Updates New Discoveries and Space Science Highlights Industry and Policy Developments In summary, the period of August 16–17, 2025 was packed with noteworthy space events across the board. From rocket launches (and explosions) to pioneering science findings and significant policy moves, the global space community had…
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The Perseid meteor shower remains active on August 16–17, even though its peak occurred on August 12–13. The meteors originate from debris of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, an ancient celestial body well over 5 billion years old. Moonlight washes out fainter meteors, but a few bright Perseid fireballs have still been observed. Meteor rates predawn are expected…
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As of August 2025, there are over 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, with about 8,075 currently functioning and accounting for roughly 65% of all active satellites. Starlink satellites orbit at roughly 550 km (340 miles) altitude and are launched in batches of 50+ on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, with each satellite weighing 260–800 kg depending…
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The ISS is roughly football-field-sized, sits about 250 miles above Earth, travels at about 17,500 mph, and completes an orbit every ~92 minutes, circling Earth about 16 times per day. Its orbit is inclined about 51.6° to the equator, so its ground track passes over more than 90% of Earth’s population and it never goes…
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The Perseid meteor shower peaked on August 12–13, 2025, and on August 15–16 the Moon is in last quarter, about half-lit and rising late, providing darker evening skies. The Perseids remain active through August 23, 2025, with expert estimates of about 15 meteors per hour under moonlit conditions, meaning only roughly 10–20% of the usual…
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Perseid meteor shower remains active August 14–15, with Moonlight washing out fainter meteors and an expected rate around 10–20 per hour. Auroras could appear on August 14–15 due to solar activity, but forecasters expect only mild geomagnetic activity (Kp 5–6, G1–G2) and no major storm. Venus and Jupiter form a bright dawn pair around August…
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On its 4,608th Martian sol, NASA’s Curiosity rover captured a 5-cm coral-shaped rock nicknamed Paposo in Gale Crater, suggesting ancient liquid water in Mars’ history. A global river study radiocarbon-dating CO2 from over 700 rivers found that about 60% of river-emitted carbon comes from ancient carbon stores. The same study estimates plants and soils may…
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The Perseid meteor shower peaks around August 12–13, 2025, with a bright Moon at about 84% full that reduces typical rates from 50–75 meteors per hour to about 10–20 per hour or fewer. The best Perseid viewing is after dark, especially between midnight and dawn around 2:00–4:00 a.m. local time when the Perseus radiant is…
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The Perseid meteor shower peaks on the night of August 12 into the early hours of August 13, 2025, with an expected rate of 10–20 meteors per hour under an 84% full moon. Even with the bright Moon, the brightest Perseid fireballs and colorful streaks are expected to punch through the moonlight. The best viewing…
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