2026-04-09 00:06:16
NASA has made available more than a dozen mobile wallpapers of photos taken during the Artemis II mission for free download. Basic Apple Guy has made some wallpapers of his own (that are slightly larger than NASA’s and better for iPhones). I have also made a few of my own: Earth Rising Over the Moon With the Orion Capsule in the Foreground, A Sliver of Earth Over the Moon, and Kubrickian Earth.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Interstitial tip: if you’re using an iPhone with iOS 26, tap the Spatial Scene button when you’re editing your wallpaper and the phone will turn any of these images into a 3D-ish scene that moves when you move your phone. Works best with images containing multiple objects (like the Earthrises). Makes you feel a little bit more like you’re there. (This is also an amazing setup.)
These are all real photos, cropped from the originals shared by NASA on Flickr and their website.
I also went back and looked at some of the images from the Artemis I mission, which sent an Orion capsule around the Moon without a human crew. Here are a few wallpapers made from photos from that mission: Earth Moon Capsule, Lens Flare Trio, and Lunar Surface.
Again, these three are from the Artemis I mission in late 2022. The first one works especially well with the Spatial Scene mode on iOS 26.
Tags: artemis · astronomy · Earth · iPhone · Moon · NASA · photography · science
2026-04-08 22:23:35
“I have a feeling that everyone likes using AI tools to try doing someone else’s profession. They’re much less keen when someone else uses it for their profession.”
2026-04-08 20:43:45
Resident Advisor: there are signs that Boards of Canada might release some new music soon. Please let this be true, we need this!
2026-04-08 02:16:06
A guide to which Apple chargers to use with which Apple products in order to charge the quickest. (Your charger’s wattage really matters when the device’s battery level is 0-50%. After that, less so.)
2026-04-08 00:30:00
This shot from Artemis II of the Moon eclipsing the Sun is one of the most breathtaking astronomical photos I’ve ever seen. Holy shit.
Captured by the Artemis II crew during their lunar flyby on April 6, 2026, this image shows the Moon fully eclipsing the Sun. From the crew’s perspective, the Moon appears large enough to completely block the Sun, creating nearly 54 minutes of totality and extending the view far beyond what is possible from Earth.
Thanks to KDO reader Scott for pointing me to NASA’s Flickr account, which is possibly the easiest way to look at photos taken by the Artemis II mission. Like this one:
And this one — then maybe I’ll stop (maybe):
P.S. If you need some Artemis II wallpapers for your phone, right this way.
Tags: artemis · astronomy · Moon · NASA · photography
2026-04-08 00:03:51
I missed that author Tracy Kidder died a few weeks ago. Kidder wrote the excellent The Soul of a New Machine, which won a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize.
