Wednesday, February 18, 2026

An annular solar eclipse created a 'ring of fire' over Antarctica on February 17, with the moon covering 96% of the sun's disk for up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds, while partial eclipses were visible from parts of southern Africa and South America.^[1]

Scientists have detected a possible ultra-fast pulsar spinning every 8.19 milliseconds near Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, which could serve as a cosmic clock to study how space-time behaves under intense gravity.^[2]

Scientists have developed a new method to read information stored in Majorana qubits, which store data in paired quantum modes that naturally resist noise, confirming millisecond-scale coherence and bringing robust quantum computers closer to reality.^[3]

The United States and Iran concluded a second round of nuclear talks in Geneva, with both sides reporting progress toward 'guiding principles' for a potential agreement, though significant gaps remain over the scope of any deal.^[4]

Scientists surveying the deep Pacific seabed in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone documented nearly 800 species over five years, many previously unknown, providing crucial data on marine life where deep-sea mining may soon begin.^[5]

Ramadan 2026 began for millions of Muslims worldwide on February 18 or 19, depending on local moon sightings and astronomical calculations, with Saudi Arabia and most Middle Eastern nations observing the first day of fasting on Wednesday.^[6]