Today’s hidden fact · Sunday, August 9, 2026

Voyager Is the Farthest Human Object Ever — and It Still Calls Home Daily

Voyager 1 is over 24 billion km away, so far its radio signal takes 22+ hours to arrive, sent by a transmitter weaker than a refrigerator bulb.

Read the full fact Scroll to the edge of the universe →

74 hidden facts to explore
15 launches on the horizon
6 asteroids passing this week
Daily updates, with no humans involved

Right now in space

The Space Station LIVE

A football-field-sized lab, falling around Earth at 8 km every second.

Speed
Altitude
Position

Contacting the tracking station…

Humans off Earth right now

12

ISS Oleg Kononenko · Nikolai Chub · Tracy Caldwell Dyson · Matthew Dominick · Michael Barratt · Jeanette Epps · Alexander Grebenkin · Butch Wilmore · Sunita Williams

Tiangong Li Guangsu · Li Cong · Ye Guangfu

Next rocket leaves in

days
hrs
min
sec

Checking the launch schedule…

Closest space rock this week

138971 2001 CB21 watched by NASA

Tuesday, Sep 29 · passes 8,096,702 km away — 21.1× the Moon's distance · ~842 m wide · 36,822 km/h

The cosmos right now

Live from NASA and the world's launch pads — refreshed every morning.

NASA Picture of the Day

Chance Triple Alignment: Plane, Space Station, Sun

Chance Triple Alignment: Plane, Space Station, Sun

This shot captured an unexpected silhouette. Which is it? It isn't the sunspots, the small dark regions caused by concentrated magnetic fields visible around the Sun's bright disk. Sunspots typically last for weeks and were expected, since these spots were se…

© Petr Horalek / Inst. Physics Opava · NASA APOD · Sep 22

Upcoming Rocket Launches

  1. Long March 8A | Unknown Payload

    Sep 23, 13:30 UTC · China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
    Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

  2. Long March 6A | Unknown Payload

    Sep 24, 08:45 UTC · China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
    Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

  3. Electron | Owlright, Owlright, Owlright (StriX Launch 13)

    Sep 26, 00:15 UTC · Rocket Lab
    Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

  4. Falcon 9 Block 5 | USSF-385

    Sep 26, 11:56 UTC · SpaceX
    Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

  5. Starship | Starlink Group 31-1 (Starship Flight 14)

    Sep 28, 12:15 UTC · SpaceX
    SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA

  6. Falcon 9 Block 5 | Crew-13

    Oct 1, 15:10 UTC · SpaceX
    Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

  7. Falcon 9 Block 5 | Transporter 18 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare)

    Oct 1, 18:08 UTC · SpaceX
    Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

  8. SR75 | Flight 2

    Oct 5, 00:00 UTC · HyImpulse
    SaxaVord Spaceport

  9. Ariane 64 Block 2 | Amazon Leo (LE-04)

    Oct 7, 00:00 UTC · Arianespace
    Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

  10. Nuri | NeonSat-2 to 6

    Oct 7, 03:23 UTC · Korea Aerospace Research Institute
    Naro Space Center, South Korea

  11. Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 15-25

    Oct 10, 16:00 UTC · SpaceX
    Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

  12. H3-24 | Martian Moon eXplorer (MMX)

    Oct 19, 19:41 UTC · Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
    Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

  13. Falcon 9 Block 5 | Bandwagon 5 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare)

    Oct 31, 00:00 UTC · SpaceX
    Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

  14. Falcon 9 Block 5 | Dragon CRS-2 SpX-35

    Oct 31, 00:00 UTC · SpaceX
    Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

  15. Falcon 9 Block 5 | SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer A

    Oct 31, 00:00 UTC · SpaceX
    Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Asteroids Passing Earth This Week

  • 138971 2001 CB21watched by NASA

    2026-09-29 · misses us by 8,096,702 km · ~842 m wide · 36,822 km/h

  • 2012 VB37

    2026-09-23 · misses us by 10,304,606 km · ~34 m wide · 22,855 km/h

  • 2016 LY8

    2026-09-25 · misses us by 13,142,327 km · ~107 m wide · 26,214 km/h

  • 2008 ST

    2026-09-26 · misses us by 14,878,930 km · ~16 m wide · 22,191 km/h

  • 523934 1998 FF14watched by NASA

    2026-09-28 · misses us by 15,393,501 km · ~325 m wide · 84,523 km/h

  • 2018 HN

    2026-09-25 · misses us by 16,612,224 km · ~44 m wide · 42,456 km/h

Distances look huge — the Moon is 384,400 km away. Anything under a few million km counts as a close shave in space terms.

Don't just read the universe — play with it

The Journey

Scroll from your rooftop to the edge of the observable universe. Every stop is real.

Begin the voyage →

Live Orrery

The real solar system, computed from orbital mechanics. Scrub time and watch the maths.

Run the simulation →

Daily Quiz

Five questions, one round a day, same for the whole planet. Build your streak.

Play today's round →

How Big Is It?

Put Earth next to the Sun. Then next to a black hole. Watch your brain give up.

Compare anything →

Speak Universe

Black hole, light-year, quasar — every space term, explained like a human.

Learn the language →

More facts to fall into