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Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: - KrispCall: Agentic Cloud Telephony - https://try.krispcall.com/tad - Prezi: Create AI presentations fast - https://try.prezi.com/automated_daily - Lindy is your ultimate AI assistant that proactively manages your inbox - https://try.lindy.ai/tad Support The Automated Daily directly: Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/theautomateddaily Today's topics: Auroras, eclipses, and August skies - Mid-August 2026 brought active geomagnetic storms, vivid auroras, and continued interest in major skywatching events like the Perseids and late-month lunar eclipse. This space weather and astronomy update highlights why solar activity and public observing campaigns matter for science and outreach. ISS antenna repair spacewalk update - NASA and ESA astronauts removed a failed ISS high-speed communications antenna during a demanding August 18 spacewalk, but ran out of time to install the replacement. The update explains what happened, why redundancy kept station communications safe, and why the follow-up EVA matters. Station science resumes after EVA - After the spacewalk, Expedition 75 shifted into suit servicing, cleanup, and a return to microgravity research on circulation, AI, and Earth imaging. The story shows how the ISS balances maintenance work with continuous science operations. Rocket Lab and Starlink launches - Rocket Lab prepared to launch a Japanese synthetic-aperture radar satellite for iQPS, while SpaceX kept up its rapid Falcon 9 Starlink cadence. Together, the missions illustrate the accelerating pace and commercialization of low Earth orbit. Fresh lunar crater from Falcon stage - NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter identified a fresh crater made by a discarded Falcon 9 upper stage that struck the Moon on August 5, 2026. The discovery adds a striking example of how human activity is now visibly altering the lunar surface. Mega-Earth and Rubin dwarf discovery - Astronomers announced GJ 523b, an unusually dense rocky mega-Earth, and Rubin Observatory data revealed Aquarius IV, an ultra-faint Milky Way satellite candidate. Both findings challenge current models of planet formation, dark matter structure, and early cosmic history. Black hole star and early galaxies - A newly reported black hole star may represent a hybrid class of object powered by a central black hole, while JWST detected unexpected Lyman-alpha emission from one of the earliest known galaxies. These discoveries could reshape theories of black hole growth and cosmic reionization. Earth observation missions watch change - NASA imagery of the Volga River Delta and program updates on EOS flagship satellites and SAGE III/ISS underline the importance of long-term Earth observation. Space-based monitoring remains essential for climate records, ecosystems, and environmental management. Episode Transcript Auroras, eclipses, and August skies We begin close to home, where the Sun has been stirring up Earth’s magnetic environment. A pair of geomagnetic storms kept auroras glowing across high northern latitudes, a beautiful reminder that space weather is both a spectacle and a systems challenge for satellites, communications, and power infrastructure. August has also been packed with skywatching milestones, including the recent Perseid meteor shower and total solar eclipse, with a deep partial lunar eclipse still ahead later in the month, giving astronomers and the public plenty of reasons to keep looking up. ISS antenna repair spacewalk update On the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot completed a more than six-hour spacewalk to remove a failed high-speed Space-to-Ground antenna from the Z1 truss. The job proved tougher than expected, with stubborn cables and fasteners slowing the timeline enough that the planned installation of the replacement antenna had to be postponed. Even so, station communications remain secure thanks to redundant systems, and the...
