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The person shot is in serious but stable condition, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a press conference.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Austin Councilmember Mike Siegel)

The lions were found dead inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a popular wildlife reserve in Tanzania. Deaths raise concerns over wildlife poisonings in East Africa.
(Image credit: Mosa'ab Elshamy)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has faced a major electoral setback in two state elections, with his center-right party losing ground. The far-right Alternative for Germany party made significant gains.
(Image credit: Markus Schreiber)

President Trump has claimed that military operations are needed at his proposed triumphal arch in Washington D.C., in order to protect national security. A federal court is weighing the arch's legality.
(Image credit: Jen Golbeck)
APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Explanation: When does a nebula look like a comet? In this crowded starfield covering over two degrees within the high-flying constellation of the Swan (Cygnus), the eye is drawn to the Cocoon Nebula. A compact star forming region, the cosmic Cocoon punctuates a nebula bright in emission and reflection on the lower right, with a long trail of interstellar dust clouds to the left, making the entire complex appear a bit like a comet. Cataloged as IC 5146, the central bright head of the nebula spans about 10 light years, while the dark dusty tail spans nearly 100 light years. Both are located about 2,500 light years away. A bright star near the colorful nebula’s center likely supplies power and helps clear out a cavity. The long dusty filaments of the tail, although dark in this visible light image, hide stars in the process of formation. The featured image was captured in July from Death Valley, California, USA.
APOD’s main NASA site is moving: From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod
Tomorrow’s picture: triple eclipse
| Date: | September 21, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Credit & Copyright: | Piotr Czerski |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |
APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Explanation: If you went outside at the same time every day and took a picture that included the Sun, how would the Sun’s position change? A visual answer to that question is an analemma, a composite image taken from the same spot at the same time over the course of a year. The featured analemma was composed from images taken every few days at noon near the village of Callanish in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, UK. In the foreground are the Callanish Stones, a stone circle built around 2700 BC during humanity’s Bronze Age. It is not known if the placement of the Callanish Stones has or had astronomical significance. The ultimate causes for the figure-8 shape of this and all analemmas are the tilt of the Earth axis and the ellipticity of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. At the solstices, the Sun will appear at the top or bottom of an analemma. The featured image was taken near the December solstice and so the Sun appears near the bottom. Equinoxes, however, correspond to analemma middle points — not the intersection point. In two days there will be an equinox (“equal night”), when day and night are equal over all of planet Earth. Many cultures celebrate a change of season at an equinox.
APOD’s main NASA site is moving: From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod
Tomorrow’s picture: open space
| Date | September 20, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Credit & Copyright: | Giuseppe Petricca |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |
APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

Explanation: Also known as the false dawn, a luminous band of zodiacal light is captured in this dark night skyscape. The serene view was recorded just before the beginning of astronomical twilight during September’s star party at the remote Hanle Dark Sky Reserve, Ladakh, India, planet Earth. At about 4,500 meters altitude, the dark sky reserve presents a haven for hardy stargazing and astrophotography enthusiasts. While meteors streak through the night, bright planet Jupiter appears immersed in the faint zodiacal glow near the eastern horizon. Follow the zodiacal band toward the zenith to find open star cluster M44 and a yellowish tinged planet Mars near the center of the frame. In fact, serendipitous detections of interplanetary dust by NASA’s Juno spacecraft suggest Mars itself is the source of dust that back scatters sunlight and creates zodiacal light in planet Earth’s night.
APOD’s main NASA site is moving: From apod.nasa.gov to science.nasa.gov/apod
Tomorrow’s picture: only sunny days
| Date | September 19, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Credit & Copyright: | Neelam and Ajay Talwar (TWAN) |
| Authors & editors: | Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Robert Nemiroff, Keighley Rockcliffe |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |
The Republic of Albania will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 12 p.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 21, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, becoming the 73rd country signatory.
NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson will host Albania’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha and Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to the United States Ervin Bushati for the ceremony, together with U.S. Department of State officials.
This event is in person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 10 a.m. on Sept. 21 to: hq-media@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.
In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.
The Artemis Accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety, transparency, and coordination of civil space exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords
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Camille Gallo / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
camille.m.gallo@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov