The Moon is still pretty full in the sky, so there’s lots of opportunity to catch a glimpse of some special features on its surface.

What is today’s Moon phase?

As of Sunday, May 3, the Moon phase is Waning Gibbous. Tonight, 98% of the moon will be be lit up, according to NASA’s Daily Moon Guide.

Without any visual aids, tonight you should be able to see the Mare Serenitatus and Vaporum, and the Oceanus Procellarum. With binoculars, you’ll see the Posidonus Crater, Endymion Crater, and the Mare Humorum. And, finally, with a telescope you’ll see all this plus the Apollo 14 and 17 landing spots, as well as the Descartes Highlands.

When is the next Full Moon?

There are two Full Moons in May, with the next due to take place on May 31.

What are Moon phases?

According to NASA, the Moon takes roughly 29.5 days to circle Earth once, going through eight distinct phases in the process. Even though we always see the same side of the Moon, the amount of sunlight hitting it changes as it moves in its orbit. The shifting light creates the changing shapes we know as full, half, and crescent Moons. Altogether, there are eight main lunar phases.

New Moon – The Moon is between Earth and the sun, so the side we see is dark (in other words, it’s invisible to the eye).

Waxing Crescent – A small sliver of light appears on the right side (Northern Hemisphere).

First Quarter – Half of the Moon is lit on the right side. It looks like a half-Moon.

Waxing Gibbous – More than half is lit up, but it’s not quite full yet.

Full Moon – The whole face of the Moon is illuminated and fully visible.

Waning Gibbous – The Moon starts losing light on the right side. (Northern Hemisphere)

Third Quarter (or Last Quarter) – Another half-Moon, but now the left side is lit.

Waning Crescent – A thin sliver of light remains on the left side before going dark again.

By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 32 seconds ago

Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans made not only Survivor history but also some really great dramatic TV with its nefarious MrBeast appearance, which aired on April 29, 2026. Even the recap was an awesome mini-movie of the drama and conflict from the previous episode, in which Christian Hubicki was voted out.

Rick Devens, under fire after his and Christian’s fake idol antics, made an alliance with Emily Flippen, who is Kaos Kass 2.0 (referring to Kass McQuillen of Survivor: Cagayun and Survivor: Cambodia). What kind of craziness will ensue from a pairing like that? He also came clean to the tribe about the fake idol he used to bluff votes away from him and toward Christy and Coach at the pairs Tribal. This impressed Joe Hunter, who admitted out loud that was a good move.

Return Of The Survivor Auction

Then it’s time for an event, but it’s not a competition. It’s auction time! The show put a new twist on this classic Survivor challenge by making its theme Comfort or Chaos. That meant that some of the “winning” bids would lead to chaotic challenges that harken back to the days of eating gross foods like bugs and worms. Aubry Bracco, whose tagline this season has been “I’m a psycho!”, asked Jeff how many things were going up to auction, causing Jeff to quip, “Since when am I the giver of information?”

The first few items were comfort foods like French fries and milkshakes, but finally, Jeff put two items up, with the caveat that there was a catch to it. Comfort or chaos? Psycho Aubry lived up to her name by winning the bid. She practically enjoyed the grub she had to eat. It won her and Rizo Velovic chocolate chip cookies and milk to kill the taste of those yucky, meaty worms. Jonathan also had to eat a sea slug, and the shocked and disgusted look on his face upon the first bite was priceless, but he did it and won Ozzy fried chicken and mashed potatoes. He made up for it with a PBJ while poor Cirie Fields couldn’t hold her stomach.

Finally, at the end of the auction, came the momentous MrBeast appearance. He actually acted sort of like a person and less like Pinocchio before the Blue Fairy got hold of him; unleashing the fateful Beware advantage without telling anyone what it was. Suddenly, there was no more auction; it became an immunity challenge.

The Immunity Challenge On Not Crossbows

There were crossbows… wait, they were not crossbows, they were those curved rockers with the ball on top. Balance the ball on the rocker, and you win. The banter referred to “Survivor’s favorite news anchor, Rick Devens” as he tried to keep his balance in the challenge (Rizo: “Take that, Savannah Louie.” Well, she’s an ex-newscaster, so it’s okay, she’s still a Survivor favorite.). Jonathan Young did a ballerina dance when he fell off. Powerhouse Tiffany Ervin won.

Tiffany has been a sleeper with not many confessionals, but I think that is more because her domination has been in her athleticism and interactions with others, rather than in her private thoughts. People have complained Tiffany hasn’t gotten a lot of edits, and she was nearly invisible early game, but only because she has been flying under the radar until the Kamila vote, quietly attacking challenges with gusto and forging relationships that have kept the target off of her, even while her allies have been made Public Enemy Number One.

Chaos At Camp

Right now, though, Ozzy Lusth seemed like Public Enemy Number One. Jonathan tried to leverage him out with negotiations around camp, but told Devens, who told Emily. We all know how that can go already, but multiply it by the impish pair being a secret alliance. As they said, “We should not be allowed to play this game… Certainly not together!”

Stephenie got pushy in her part in it, and then transferred the attention to Cirie, since Ozzy has an idol. While this worked in Devens’ favor after his antics with the fake immunity idol, it was still chaotic as no plan survived the field of battle. And, oh yeah, did we forget that Aubry, the Psycho, is also aligned with Crazy Devens and Kaos Emily? Is this the Insanity Alliance?

Tribal Council Explodes In Accusations

Discussion during Tribal Council was explosive. Doing his best Emily imitation, Devens revealed that Steph had a steal-a-vote.

Truth bombs blew up in Tribal as Jonathan and Steph were called out for targeting Ozzy. Rizo showed off how smart and analytical he is, both reasons he got so far in both 49 and 50, by demanding of Steph that she own her actions when she denied having dropped people’s names, because it’s Survivor, and if you aren’t dropping a name to vote out, you’re not playing the game. This all took place with almost 30 minutes left to the episode, heralding the events that would follow and how complicated the game was about to become.

MrBeast Reveals His Beware Advantage

MrBeast returned and explained his Beware advantage: a coin flip, where heads would provide an immunity idol and double the jackpot while tails would send the “advantage holder” home. Crazy Devens took a big swing and took the challenge.

Once again, Pinocchio acted like a real boy as MrBeast was even more excited, having been a long-time fan. He came up with this challenge, and it made for some momentous television, especially since Devens knows how to make great TV from his off-Survivor career as a news anchor (“Take that, Savannah Louie.”).

Rick Devens Flips A Coin And Wins Big

Even the jury (Benjamin “Coach” Wade, Chrissy Hofbeck, Dee Valaderes, and Christian Hubicki) was eating popcorn like Michael Jackson watching Thriller, and to top it off, the coin took a suspenseful roll before it landed: heads. Devens wins. The entire competition has now doubled. As Rizo would say, “Cinema.”

To top it off, a Survivor fan shared an old tweet from Devens:

Well, Jack, MrBeast is about to change your life. Congratulations on a lifelong dream fulfilled.

The End Of Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick’s Survivor Run

With the stakes of the game now doubled for everyone and Devens in possession of a real immunity idol, Tribal Council immediately turned live as everyone scrambled to decide who to vote for. Stephenie’s name started blowing up as no one believed Jonathan had campaigned for Ozzy (despite him talking to all of them), so she played her steal-a-vote on Devens. Rizo even admitted that he had nothing to say when writing his vote, which, coming from this constant talker, only proves how shocking the coin flip was for the tribe.

The votes fell against Stephenie, with Aubry as the only other person to receive any, which was somewhat out of left field given the episode’s events and the targets of debate. In fact, the only votes that weren’t for Steph were from her own steal-a-vote.

MrBeast Delivered Big For Survivor

There was a lot of skepticism about the MrBeast episode. He is a personality that most people either love or hate, and I admit I’m in the latter camp. So when I say that this episode was not only compelling television thanks to his twist, that is a huge concession on my part.

As a long-time Survivor fan who hasn’t decided yet who my favorite player is in this gripping season, to have the stakes raised for some of the greatest returning personalities to be put together for the show since Heroes versus Villains only elevates this season for me. Sure, the advantages have been excessive and weird, and I am still never going to forgive Jimmy Fallon for his role in Christian’s elimination, but for drama and gameplay, this season has delivered on the promise that Survivor made to its fans when it introduced its first cutthroat season.

Catch up on all the action on Paramount Plus, which has every episode of every season of Survivor, and join the battle over the title of Sole Survivor on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. EST.

When NASA makes a new timelapse video, it’s not for reminiscence or clout chasing on the Internet.

The U.S. space agency recently pulled together images from Curiosity, one of its two robotic rovers on Mars, for a scientific purpose. The two-minute video provides a quick succession of clips spanning six years of exploration at Gale Crater. Each image shows the rover ambling over crumbling lithic landscapes as it slowly climbs Mount Sharp, which rises three miles above the basin floor. 

The montage isn’t just an intriguing look back on the mission, but a tool for the rover’s science team. Using views from Curiosity’s right navigation camera, mounted on its head, the researchers analyze the sand grains shifting on the rover’s deck. 

You can watch the Martian dust churn in the rover’s treads in the Instagram post below. (The Lenny Kravitz soundtrack, though not for science, certainly adds to the appeal.) 

“Distinguishing between sand jostled by each drive and wind gusts can provide new information about seasonal changes in the atmosphere,” the agency said. 

Curiosity took these images between Jan. 2, 2020, and March 8, but the rover’s journey began long before that. After eight months and 352 million miles flying through space, the rover landed on Mars on Aug. 5, 2012. Its mission: Find out if this smaller neighboring world ever had conditions to support living creatures. 

NASA’s question was answered rather quickly. Within a year, the rover had drilled a rock sample from a long-gone lakebed and confirmed the region had the right chemistry for habitation in its ancient past, as well as potential nutrients for microorganisms. 

Since then, the rover has continued to study the alien environment using its internal chemistry lab. A recently published study revealed the rover detected 21 different organic molecules in a small rock sample, the largest set found on the Red Planet so far. Among the findings, Curiosity discovered preserved complex carbon material. Life could have produced them, though NASA can’t say for sure, as chemical reactions between water and rock could also create these molecules. 

As scientists monitor the shifting sand for clues about Mars’ seasonal changes, engineers keep a close eye on how that dust and debris put wear and tear on the vehicle. Almost since the beginning of the journey, the team has noticed sharp rocks in the terrain ravaging Curiosity’s wheels, even causing punctures. 

Before the rover’s sibling launched, NASA went back to the drawing board. Engineers built Perseverance with hardier wheels made from thicker aluminum. Each wheel is powered by its own motor and can turn in a full circle, allowing it to dodge and swerve around hazards more easily. 

Engineers inspect damage to Curiosity’s wheels on Mars on April 18, 2016.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / MSSS

But to help the elder rover, NASA has problem-solved alternative techniques, such as driving in reverse. Software engineers also provided upgrades that gave Curiosity’s team more control over individual wheel speeds to reduce the force of jagged rocky surfaces. Those efforts have kept the rover trucking, which has traveled 23 miles on Mars. 

Wheel damage isn’t the only concern in the harsh conditions on Mars. Many a mission has succumbed to the effects of blustery Martian winds, which kick up dust that then settles on solar panels.

Such was the fate of Curiosity and Perseverance‘s predecessors, Spirit and Opportunity, who died from dust choking their vital power sources.