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Astronomy and spaceflightMon 26 Oct 2026 · 12 of 12

APOD Highlights Dark Matter Simulation and Rising Focus on Dark Energy

Unsupported claims · 5/6 supported1 cited · 1 min read

nasa.gov reports that the Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2026‑10‑25 features a computer‑simulated dark matter map with black filaments and orange clumps of baryonic matter . nasa.gov reports that dark matter is the leading explanation for rapid galaxy rotation, fast galaxy‑cluster orbits, strong gravitational lensing, and the distribution of visible matter . nasa.gov reports that such computer simulations produce statistical matches to astronomical observations . nasa.gov reports that dark energy, not dark matter, is now considered the strangest source of gravity in the universe . nasa.gov reports that the image originates from the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium Space Show titled “Dark Universe” .

Why it matters. nasa.gov reports that this re‑ranking places dark energy at the forefront of cosmological investigations .

Earlier on Astronomy and spaceflight

Sun 25 Oct 2026Rosetta selfie highlighted on APOD; details of Philae’s final pre‑separation imagenasa.gov reports that the Astronomy Picture of the Day on 2026‑10‑24 featured a selfie taken by the Rosetta spacecraft on 7 October 2014. nasa.gov reports that at the time of the selfie Rosetta was about 472 million kilometres from Earth and roughly 16 kilometres from the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov‑Gerasimenko. nasa.gov reports that the image shows dust and gas streaming from the comet’s double‑lobed nucleus and sunlight glinting off one of Rosetta’s 14‑metre solar arrays, captured using two combined exposures from the CIVA camera on the still‑attached Philae lander. nasa.gov reports that the chosen primary landing site for Philae was on the visible hemisphere of the smaller lobe of the nucleus and that this was the last picture taken by Philae’s camera before the lander separated from Rosetta on 12 November 2014. nasa.gov reports that after separation Philae captured another image looking back toward Rosetta and began its descent to the comet’s nucleus.Sat 24 Oct 2026NASA, Blue Origin and SpaceX Accelerate Lunar Lander Development for 2028 Missionnasa.gov reports that NASA, Blue Origin and SpaceX are accelerating development of crewed lunar landers for missions targeting a 2028 Moon landing. nasa.gov reports that Artemis III has been redefined to demonstrate rendezvous and docking between test landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX and NASA’s Orion spacecraft in low Earth orbit next year. nasa.gov reports that both Blue Origin and SpaceX are developing crew and cargo versions of their lunar landers for near‑term Artemis missions. nasa.gov reports that NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the effort is executing President Trump’s National Space Policy to return American astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028 and establish a Moon Base.Fri 23 Oct 2026NASA APOD Highlights First Green Star White Dwarfnasa.gov reports that the Astronomy Picture of the Day for 2026‑10‑22 features an illustration of the white dwarf WD J1330+6435, described as “The First Green Star”. nasa.gov reports that white dwarfs are small, faint stellar remnants left after a Sun‑like star exhausts its nuclear fuel. nasa.gov reports that some white dwarfs can appear yellow, green, cyan, pink, or purple because trace elements accreted onto them alter the color of their atmospheres. nasa.gov reports that these colored white dwarfs are too faint to be seen with the naked eye from Earth.