
International Space Station will be in the skies above your house on these dates; when and where to watch in major US cities
The International Space Station (ISS) will be visible in the night sky across the United States over the next several days, at the end of July, offering a great viewing opportunity for skywatchers. The ISS adds to the celestial show as summer nights bring clear skies and stargazing events like meteor showers and lunar eclipses.The station orbits the Earth every 93 minutes, traveling at about 28,000 kilometers per hour (17,500 mph).
Also Read: Europe and US doors shut, North Korean air hostesses welcome Russian guests after medical check as Moscow resumes Pyongyang flight It doesn't pass over the same spot each time due to its orbital inclination of 51.6 degrees to the equator. Still, it circles the planet 15.5 times daily, and it can be spotted frequently at certain times of year.
In Los Angeles, the ISS will be visible twice Monday night, first at 8:43 PM PT, then again at 10:17 PM. The next opportunity comes Tuesday at 9:29 PM, with similar viewing times continuing through July 27 and 28.In New York, residents can catch the station tonight and tomorrow at 10:11 PM ET and 9:22 PM, respectively. Additional sightings are expected on July 28 and 30.This viewing opportunity is not limited to the coasts; people across the US will have chances to watch the ISS this week.
You won't need a telescope or binoculars. The ISS is bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. It is around the size of an American football field and orbits 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth, reflecting sunlight. It appears as a steady, fast-moving white light gliding across the sky, not blinking or flashing like a plane.
To track the ISS and know precisely when it will be visible from your location, you can use NASA's official Spot the Station tracker or download their mobile app, which sends notifications about upcoming flyovers.

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Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
New Hubble photo shows cotton candy-like nebula in a nearby dwarf galaxy
Source: NASA The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a nearby dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, has just received a stunning spotlight, thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope . Using five special filters, including ultraviolet and infrared, Hubble captured a breathtaking view of swirling gas and dust glowing in pink, blue, and green. These colorful wisps, nicknamed 'cotton candy clouds,' reveal active star-forming regions hidden to the human eye. The image is not just beautiful, it's full of important scientific data. Seen only from the Southern Hemisphere, the LMC offers a rare look into galaxy evolution and the life cycle of stars just 160,000 light-years from Earth. What are cotton candy clouds captured by Hubble telescope Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) captured the scene using five filters, including ultraviolet and infrared, that isolate wavelengths invisible to our eyes. Each wavelength gets a distinct color assignment: shorter (UV) light becomes blue or purple, longer (IR) appears red. The result: shimmering gas clouds that resemble brightly coloured cotton candy The N11 Nebula: Candy Floss at Cosmic Scale The colourful filaments belong to N11 (also known as LHA 120‑N 11), the second‑largest star‑forming region in the LMC. Spanning about 1,000 light‑years, this nebula contains cavities and shells carved by young, massive stars and past supernovae. Its billowing pink gas resembles fairground candy floss, more intense and dramatic in close‑up views. Studying regions like N11 helps astronomers learn how stellar winds and radiation shape interstellar clouds and trigger new generations of stars. Where is it and why it matters The scene unfolds within the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located about 160,000 light‑years away in the southern constellations Dorado and Mensa. Though small, the LMC plays a big role in understanding galaxy evolution. Alongside the Small Magellanic Cloud, it orbits the Milky Way and is connected by the Magellanic Bridge of gas. Scientists believe the LMC may interact with our galaxy in roughly 2.4 billion years, well before the predicted collision with Andromeda in about 10 billion years How Hubble turns raw data into vivid art The Hubble telescope collects data across multiple wavelengths. Experts then combine and assign colors to each filter's output, balancing aesthetics with scientific clarity. Blue or purple tones often represent ultraviolet, while reds correspond to infrared. Though the final image is visually striking, it's grounded in real measurements and helps researchers understand gas composition, density, and star‑forming activity within the nebula What makes the image special This Hubble photo stands out for its combination of scientific insight and visual beauty. It's a powerful example of how advanced space instruments can illuminate the interstellar medium, revealing stellar nurseries and the dynamic processes inside a neighbouring galaxy. For anyone curious about galaxy evolution, nebula structure, or how scientists convert invisible light into dazzling images, this view is both enlightening and inspiring. Also read| 10 stunning sights from NASA's eye on the universe


Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Indian Express
C Raja Mohan writes: Trump's techno-capitalism, tech broligarchy and India's challenge
An important anniversary in India's technological history passed largely unnoticed last week — the launch of the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in 1975. A pioneering collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), SITE used the American ATS-6 satellite to beam educational programmes in local languages to over 2,400 villages across six of India's most underdeveloped states. The content included primary education, health awareness, agricultural practices, and national integration. SITE remains a landmark in the technological imagination of India's developmental state. For the US, the project was an expression of 'scientific internationalism'— the Cold War-era belief that modern science and technology could advance peace and prosperity through international collaboration. But that idealism quickly faltered. Following India's 1974 nuclear test, Washington's enthusiasm for technology cooperation gave way to non-proliferation anxieties. It would take three decades to overcome these disputes and rebuild bilateral trust. This effort culminated in the launch of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) under President Joe Biden in 2023, aimed at reinvigorating India-US cooperation in advanced technologies. Whether ICET can survive renewed political turbulence in the bilateral relationship — marked by differences on Russia, trade, and Pakistan — remains uncertain. Yet, a more structural challenge looms: The increasingly divergent trajectories of the Indian and American technology ecosystems. Even in 1975, the SITE programme featured private sector participation. The ATS satellite was built by the Fairchild Corporation (now defunct). But in the years since, the American technology landscape has undergone a dramatic transformation. NASA, once the dominant actor in space, now shares the stage with private firms like Elon Musk's SpaceX, which conducts more launches annually than the government agency itself. Over the past two decades, America's dynamic technology sector has not only accelerated innovation but also given the US a strategic edge over its rivals. The US government continues to play a vital role — particularly in defence procurement and standard-setting — but increasingly acts as a catalyst rather than a controller. China, by contrast, has charted a different course. Since Deng Xiaoping's call for 'scientific modernisation' in the late 1970s, the Chinese state has pursued a centralised, mission-driven model of technological advancement. Decades of double-digit growth, rapid industrialisation, and heavy investment in scientific research and higher education have propelled China into the front ranks of global technological power, especially in AI and space technology. Despite starting later than India, China's civilian space programme now competes with that of the US and is expanding its global footprint through initiatives like the Digital and Space Silk Roads. India's own trajectory remains moored somewhere in between the American and Chinese models. Recent reforms have introduced greater dynamism into India's space sector, but Delhi is still some distance from fully mobilising its private sector to secure a larger share of the global space economy or rejuvenating its higher education and scientific research establishments. While India finds its footing, the global tech landscape is being reshaped by dramatic developments in the US. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has unveiled two major initiatives — on AI and cryptocurrency — that symbolise a novel approach to techno-politics. Unlike Biden, who sought to regulate and constrain Big Tech, Donald Trump has given it a free hand. In embracing Silicon Valley's libertarian elite, Trump is remaking the American state not as a regulator of big technology, but as its enthusiastic enabler. What emerges is a distinct philosophy of techno-capitalism: Unapologetically post-liberal, aggressively nationalist, fiercely deregulatory, and ambitiously expansionist. Trump's 2025 AI policy prioritises dismantling regulatory barriers, building data infrastructure, promoting AI-led manufacturing, and mobilising hundreds of billions of dollars in public and private investment. While all major economies aspire to grow AI, the combination of American capital and Silicon Valley's technological prowess sets the US apart. Trump's techno-capitalism also extends into financial innovation. The recently enacted 'GENIUS Act' marks a decisive break from the Biden administration's cautious approach to cryptocurrencies. The Act creates a framework for dollar-backed stablecoins, requiring them to be fully backed 1:1 by liquid US assets such as cash or short-term treasuries. It also mandates reserve disclosures and consumer protections, laying the groundwork for mainstream adoption of stablecoins as digital payment systems. The policy aims to reinforce the US dollar's role as the world's reserve currency and counter growing calls for 'de-dollarisation,' including from BRICS nations. Rejecting the idea of a central bank digital currency, the Trump administration is also setting up a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and has ended prosecutions of major crypto firms initiated during the Biden years. Here too, the motivation is not just economic—it is geopolitical. At the ideological heart of this techno-capitalist revolution is Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist and co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, and a staunch supporter of Trump's tech agenda. Thiel insists that true innovation arises not from state mandates or regulatory frameworks, but from visionary entrepreneurs liberated from liberal-democratic constraints. His worldview blends libertarian individualism with a muscular nationalism that sees China as America's principal technological adversary. This marks a decisive break from the techno-optimism of the 1990s, when the rise of the internet was seen as heralding a borderless, decentralised world where the state would gradually recede. That dream proved short-lived. Governments reasserted themselves through regulation, surveillance, and digital sovereignty. Today, we are witnessing the rise of a new state-capital compact—a 'tech broligarchy' in which Silicon Valley elites and Washington collaborate to pursue technological supremacy not for utopian ends, but for strategic advantage. This alliance is central to Trump's broader effort to reconfigure global trade, finance, and security. Whether one supports or opposes this project, its ambition and momentum are undeniable. If even a fraction of the current AI hype is realised and a portion of the planned investment materialises, American techno-capitalism will loom large over the world's economic future. India cannot remain untouched by these shifts. The celebrated Indian IT sector— long a symbol of the country's global economic integration and a major contributor to its GDP—now faces serious vulnerabilities. As AI begins to automate many of the services that defined India's IT outsourcing boom, traditional jobs may disappear or become obsolete. Add to this Trump's growing hostility toward H-1B visas, and the threat to India's digital workforce becomes even more acute. India's ambition to be a major exporter of tech talent could also be undermined by the West's rising techno-nationalism and hostility to immigration. We are only at the beginning of this techno-capitalist revolution. Will its march be inevitable and triumphant? The alliance between American populism and Silicon Valley could unravel over time due to internal contradictions or commercial rivalries. But the structural shifts now underway in American techno-capitalism—and their global implications—are likely to be enduring. For India, the imperatives are clear. There is an urgent need to overhaul the domestic tech sector, expand investment in scientific research, and better integrate private enterprise into national innovation strategies. The country must also prepare its industry, workforce, and regulatory institutions for a new era of technological transformation. The writer is contributing editor on international affairs for The Indian Express and senior fellow at the Council for Strategic and Defence Research


News18
6 hours ago
- News18
NASA Aims For Nuclear Reactor On Moon By 2030 To Beat China, Russia
Last Updated: The envisioned system would generate at least 100 kilowatts of power, which is enough to support lunar bases, research missions, and future commercial activity. NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy has urged the NASA to accelerate efforts to deploy a nuclear reactor on the Moon, emphasising the need to outpace global competitors such as China and Russia. Speaking at a recent space policy conference, Duffy described the development of lunar nuclear power as vital for advancing America's space exploration ambitions and securing its national interests in space, according to ABC News. 'It's about winning the second space race," a senior NASA official told Politico, underscoring the urgency behind the push. Duffy believes that establishing a reliable nuclear power source on the Moon will be a foundational step toward enabling long-term lunar habitation, deeper exploration of Mars, and strengthening the US foothold in space. NASA has been directed to fast-track the development of a surface nuclear reactor with an ambitious target to have it operational on the Moon by 2030. The envisioned system would generate at least 100 kilowatts of power, which is enough to support lunar bases, research missions, and future commercial activity. In his recent proposal, Duffy called on private aerospace and energy companies to submit reactor designs that could be tested and eventually deployed on the lunar surface. Duffy also proposed that the US should accelerate plans to replace the aging International Space Station (ISS) to maintain its leadership in orbital operations and refocus on lunar and Martian exploration. He warned that rivals like China and Russia are advancing their own plans to dominate key areas of space. In fact, in May 2025, China and Russia announced plans to build an automated nuclear power station on the Moon by 2035, raising alarms in the US about potential 'keep-out zones" being declared on the lunar surface. This isn't the first time NASA has invested in nuclear technology for space. In 2022, the agency awarded three contracts totalling $5 million to develop initial reactor concepts under its Fission Surface Power Project. Duffy was appointed acting administrator in July 2025 following the retirement of former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.