Technologies
NASA Leans Into Solar Eclipse With 3 Rocket Launches: Here’s What’s Up With That
The space agency isn’t letting today’s solar eclipse go to waste.

We’re just hours away from North America’s last total solar eclipse until 2044, and as we prepare to look to the sky, NASA is preparing to launch three rockets.
Before, during and after the eclipse on Monday, NASA will fire three sounding rockets to determine how the total eclipse could affect radio communications on Earth. The findings could pave the way for NASA to develop new technologies to protect radio communications during both brief and extended periods when solar behavior disrupts particles on Earth.
Stargazers from Mexico to the US and Canada are standing by for the last total solar eclipse to pass over the contiguous US for the next 20 years. The duration of totality, or the time during which the moon completely shrouds the sun from view, will last 4 minutes and 27 seconds. The eclipse will reach Texas at approximately 1:10 p.m. ET and Maine by 2:22 p.m. ET. By 4:17 p.m. ET, it will move beyond the eastern North American border.
Firing rockets during an eclipse may sound like it comes straight from a sci-fi movie, but it’s a technique that’s been used for years to measure scientific data and theories. Indeed, eclipses provide critical, if short-lived, opportunities for scientists to gather information on a variety of topic areas to test whether their concepts are accurate.
Arguably the most important finding during an eclipse occurred in May 1919, when scientists discovered during a total eclipse that some stars appeared to be in the wrong place, according to NASA. The finding provided critical evidence to support Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity and the idea that the sun or other large celestial objects have so much gravity that they can bend light and distort spacetime.
NASA’s rocket launches on Monday won’t necessarily have that same gravitas, but science works in increments. The launches will be streamed live, so you can see what happens. Here’s how.
Why is NASA firing rockets during the eclipse?
The space agency is firing three sounding rockets, or rockets carrying scientific instruments, into the ionosphere, the region of the Earth’s atmosphere between the lower atmosphere, where we live, and space.
The ionosphere is scientifically important because it’s made up of particles that become ionized, or electrically charged, when they interact with the sun’s radiation. According to NASA, the ionosphere thins at night and thickens when the sun’s rays are hitting it. The ionosphere can be unpredictable, since it’s highly sensitive to disruption.
«Earth’s terrestrial weather and space weather can impact these particles, making it a dynamic region and difficult to know what the ionosphere will be like at a given time,» NASA says.
Another thing: the ionosphere affects communication, and especially high-frequency communication like radio waves. That could, for instance, create disturbances in communications with pilots in the air or with government agencies doing research. But radio waves traveling to and from satellites aren’t just of concern to aviators and scientists. They’re also vital elements of daily life, from satellite internet services like SpaceX’s Starlink to the GPS signals that underlie all manner of financial transactions and that help you get where you’re going.
From a site in Virginia, NASA’s three rockets will be launched into the ionosphere 45 minutes apart: before the eclipse starts; when the eclipse is ongoing; and after the eclipse has reached its peak. The rockets will reach a maximum altitude of 260 miles, allowing them to spend plenty of time in the ionosphere, which spans 55 miles to 310 miles above the Earth’s surface.
Each of the rockets is carrying four two-liter soda bottle-sized instruments that will be ejected during flight to evaluate any ionosphere disturbances, or perturbations, during the eclipse.
«Gathering the data on these perturbations will help scientists validate and improve current models that help predict potential disturbances to our communications, especially high frequency communication,» NASA says.
Has NASA fired rockets at an eclipse before?
This isn’t the first time NASA has fired rockets during an eclipse. In October, NASA fired the same three rockets from its White Sands Test Facility in North Mexico during an annular solar eclipse. The agency said that it was able to recover the rockets and refurbish them, allowing them to be used in Monday’s mission.
Thanks to that mission, scientists were able to see ionosphere disturbances after it fired the second and third rockets, during and after the eclipse, respectively. NASA didn’t see any ionosphere disturbance during the first launch.
However, this time around, the rockets are equipped with additional instruments, allowing them to capture more information than they did last year, NASA says.
When is NASA firing its rockets?
NASA plans to launch all three rockets from its Wallops Island facility in Virginia. The first rocket will launch at approximately 2:40 p.m. ET, with the second rocket launching at approximately 3:25 p.m. ET. NASA plans to launch the final rocket by 4:05 p.m. ET.
As always, timing on the launches depends on a variety of factors, including on-the-ground conditions, and may be subject to change. But since the eclipse isn’t waiting for NASA to be ready to fire rockets, expect the space agency to try to keep a tight schedule to ensure it doesn’t miss its window to capture data.
How can I watch NASA fire rockets at the eclipse?
If you’re interested in watching NASA’s rocket-firing mission, the agency will livestream it from its official Wallops Island YouTube page. It’ll also be featured during NASA’s official solar eclipse broadcast
The rocket-only livestream will begin at 2:30 p.m. ET. NASA will start airing its solar eclipse coverage at 1 p.m. ET.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, July 12
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 12.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It’s one of those long Saturday puzzles, and a few clues are tricky. Read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Havana’s home
Answer: CUBA
5A clue: Last word in many bowling alley names
Answer: LANES
6A clue: Lots and lots
Answer: SOMUCH
7A clue: Left-leaning social media site
Answer: BLUESKY
8A clue: Hepburn of «Breakfast at Tiffany’s»
Answer: AUDREY
9A clue: Word after «break» or «banana»
Answer: BREAD
10A clue: Car loan figs.
Answer: APRS
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: They always shoot their shot
Answer: CAMERAS
2D clue: Brand-new
Answer: UNUSED
3D clue: Woman with «the good hair,» in a famous Beyoncé lyric
Answer: BECKY
4D clue: In need of moisturizer
Answer: ASHY
5D clue: «We can’t hear you back here!»
Answer: LOUDER
6D clue: Drink noisily
Answer: SLURP
7D clue: ___ ghanouj
Answer: BABA
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for July 12, #292
Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for July 12, No. 292

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those classic purple categories, where you probably won’t figure it out before you’ve answered all the others. Need help? Read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.
Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta
Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Show Me State.
Green group hint: Old Line State.
Blue group hint: Gridiron greats.
Purple group hint: Names begins with a certain creature.
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Missouri teams.
Green group: Maryland teams.
Blue group: Hall of Fame football coaches.
Purple group: Sports people or terms starting with an animal.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is Missouri teams. The four answers are Blues, Cardinals, Chiefs and Royals.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is Maryland teams. The four answers are Maryland, Navy, Orioles and Ravens.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Hall of Fame football coaches. The four answers are Levy, Madden, Noll, and Shula.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is sports people or terms starting with an animal. The four answers are batter, Catchings, Cowherd and dogleg.
Technologies
CNET Daily Tariff Price Tracker: I’m Watching 11 Key Products for Changes, Here’s What’s Happened
The deadline for the start of Trump’s heaviest tariffs has been delayed until next month, leaving consumers stuck with more uncertainty over prices.
For the last three months, tariffs have been a hot topic, leaving consumers and businesses alike worried: Will they hike prices and by how much? It’s a question more relevant than ever this week, as President Trump punts another major deadline down the road and price-slashing Amazon’s Prime Day sales wind down as the week ends.
Amid those worries, I’ve been tracking prices every day for 11 key products likely to be hit by tariff-induced price increases, and the answer I’ve come to so far is this: Not so much, at least not yet. The winding road of tariff inflation still stretches before us into an uncertain future, so the threat of price hikes continues to cloud the horizon.
To date, I’ve seen two noteworthy price increases, one for the Xbox Series X and the other for a popular budget-friendly 4K TV. Some other products — including Apple’s popular AirPods and printer ink — have gone on sale for brief periods.
CNET Tariff Tracker Index
Above, you can check out a chart with the average price of the 11 products included in this piece over the course of 2025. This will help give you a sense of the overall price changes and fluctuations going on. Further down, you’ll be able to check out charts for each individual product being tracked.
We’ll be updating this article regularly as prices change. It’s all in the name of helping you make sense of things, so be sure to check back every so often. For more, check out CNET’s guide to whether you should wait to make big purchases or buy them now and get expert tips about how to prepare for a recession.
Methodology
We’re checking prices daily and will update the article and the relevant charts right away to reflect any changes. The following charts show a single bullet point for each month, with the most recent one labeled «Now» and showing the current price. For the past months, we’ve gone with what was the most common price for each item in the given month.
In most cases, the price stats used in these graphs were pulled from Amazon using the historical price-tracker tool Keepa. For the iPhones, the prices come from Apple’s official materials and are based on the 128-gigabyte base model of the latest offering of the iPhone 16. For the Xbox Series X, the prices were sourced from Best Buy using the tool PriceTracker. If any of these products happen to be on sale at a given time, we’ll be sure to let you know and explain how those price drops differ from longer-term pricing trends that tariffs can cause.
The 11 products we’re tracking
Mostly what we’re tracking in this article are electronic devices and digital items that CNET covers in depth, like iPhones and affordable 4K TVs — along with a typical bag of coffee, a more humble product that isn’t produced in the US to any significant degree.
The products featured were chosen for a few reasons: Some of them are popular and/or affordable representatives for major consumer tech categories, like smartphones, TVs and game consoles. Others are meant to represent things that consumers might buy more frequently, like printer ink or coffee beans. Some products were chosen over others because they are likely more susceptible to tariffs. Some of these products have been reviewed by CNET or have been featured in some of our best lists.
- iPhone 16, 128GB
- Duracell AA batteries, 24-pack
- Samsung DU7200 65-inch TV
- Xbox Series X
- Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C case
- HP 962 CMY Printer Ink
- Anker 10,000-mAh, 30-watt power bank
- Bose TV speaker
- Oral-B Pro 1000 electric toothbrush
- Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook, 256GB
- Starbucks 28-ounce ground dark roast coffee
Below, we’ll get into more about each individual product, and stick around till the end for a rundown of some other products worth noting.
iPhone 16
The iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand in the US, so this was a clear priority for price tracking. The iPhone has also emerged as a major focal point for conversations about tariffs, given its popularity and its susceptibility to import taxes because of its overseas production, largely in China. Trump has reportedly been fixated on the idea that the iPhone can and should be manufactured in the US, an idea that experts have dismissed as a fantasy. Estimates have also suggested that a US-made iPhone would cost as much as $3,500.
Something to note about this graph: The price listed is the one you’ll see if you buy your phone through a major carrier. If you, say, buy direct from Apple or Best Buy without a carrier involved, you’ll be charged an extra $30, so in some places, you might see the list price of the standard iPhone 16 listed as $830.
Apple’s been taking a few steps to protect its prices in the face of these tariffs, flying in bulk shipments of product before they took effect and planning to move production for the US market from China to India. A new Reuters report found that a staggering 97% of iPhones imported from the latter country, March through May, were bound for the US. This latter move drew the anger of Trump again, threatening the company with a 25% tariff if they didn’t move production to the US, an idea CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly shot down in the past. This came after Trump gave a tariff exemption to electronic devices including smartphones, so the future of that move seems in doubt now.
Duracell AA batteries
A lot of the tech products in your home might boast a rechargeable energy source but individual batteries are still an everyday essential and I can tell you from experience that as soon as you forget about them, you’ll be needing to restock. The Duracell AAs we’re tracking are some of the bestselling batteries on Amazon.
Samsung DU7200 TV
Alongside smartphones, televisions are some of the most popular tech products out there, even if they’re an infrequent purchase. This particular product is a popular entry-level 4K TV and was CNET’s pick for best overall budget TV for 2025. Unlike a lot of tech products that have key supply lines in China, Samsung is a South Korean company, so it might have some measure of tariff resistance.
After spending most of 2025 hovering around $400, this item has now seen some notable upticks on Amazon, most recently sitting around $450. This could potentially be in reaction to Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs against South Korea this week.
Xbox Series X
Video game software and hardware are a market segment expected to be hit hard by the Trump tariffs. Microsoft’s Xbox is the first console brand to see price hikes — the company cited «market conditions» along with the rising cost of development. Most notably, this included an increase in the price of the flagship Xbox Series X, up from $500 to $600. Numerous Xbox accessories also were affected and the company also said that «certain» games will eventually see a price hike from $70 to $80.
Initially, we were tracking the price of the much more popular Nintendo Switch as a representative of the gaming market. Nintendo has not yet hiked the price of its handheld-console hybrid and stressed that the $450 price tag of the upcoming Switch 2 has not yet been inflated because of tariffs. Sony, meanwhile, has so far only increased prices on its PlayStation hardware in markets outside the US.
AirPods Pro 2
The latest iteration of Apple’s wildly popular true-wireless earbuds are here to represent the headphone market. Much to the chagrin of the audiophiles out there, a quick look at sales charts on Amazon shows you just how much the brand dominates all headphone sales. For most of the year, they’ve hovered around $199, but ahead of Prime Day sales this week they are currently on sale for $149.
HP 962 CMY printer ink
This HP printer ink includes cyan, magenta and yellow all in one product and recently saw its price jump from around $72 — where it stayed for most of 2025 — to $80, which is around its highest price over the last five years. We will be keeping tabs to see if this is a long-term change or a brief uptick.
This product replaced Overture PLA Filament for 3D printers in this piece, but we’re still tracking that item.
Anker 10,000-mAh, 30-watt power bank
Anker’s accessories are perennially popular in the tech space and the company has already announced that some of its products will get more expensive as a direct result of tariffs. This specific product has also been featured in some of CNET’s lists of the best portable chargers.
Bose TV speaker
Soundbars have become important purchases, given the often iffy quality of the speakers built into TVs. While not the biggest or the best offering in the space, the Bose TV Speaker is one of the more affordable soundbar options out there, especially hailing from a brand as popular as Bose. You can currently get this model at a healthy discount for Prime Day, down to $200 from $280.
Oral-B Pro 1000 electric toothbrush
They might be a lot more expensive than their traditional counterparts but electric toothbrushes remain a popular choice for consumers because of how well they get the job done. I know my dentist won’t let up on how much I need one. This particular Oral-B offering was CNET’s overall choice for the best electric toothbrush for 2025.
While this product hasn’t seen its price budge one way or another most of the year, there is a $10 coupon listed on Amazon right now.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5i Chromebook
Lenovo is notable among the big laptop manufacturers for being a Chinese company making its products especially susceptible to Trump’s tariffs.
Starbucks Ground Coffee (28-ounce bag)
Coffee is included in this tracker because of its ubiquity —I’m certainly drinking too much of it these days —and because it’s uniquely susceptible to Trump’s tariff agenda. Famously, coffee beans can only be grown within a certain distance from Earth’s equator, a tropical span largely outside the US and known as the «Coffee Belt.»
Hawaii is the only part of the US that can produce coffee beans, with data from USAFacts showing that 11.5 million pounds were harvested there in the 2022-23 season — little more than a drop in the mug, as the US consumed 282 times that amount of coffee during that period. Making matters worse, Hawaiian coffee production has declined in the past few years.
All that to say: Americans get almost all of their coffee from overseas, making it one of the most likely products to see price hikes from tariffs.
Other products
As mentioned, we occasionally swap out products with different ones that undergo notable price shifts. Here are some things no longer featured above, but that we’re still keeping an eye on:
- Nintendo Switch: The baseline handheld-console hybrid has held steady around $299 most places — including Amazon — since it released in 2017. Whether that price will be affected by tariffs or the release of the Switch 2 remains to be seen. This product was replaced above with the Xbox Series X.
- Overture PLA 3D printer filament: This is a popular choice on Amazon for the material needed to run 3D printers. It has held steady around $15 on Amazon all year. This product was replaced above by the HP 962 printer ink.
Here are some products we also wanted to single out that haven’t been featured with a graph yet:
- Razer Blade 18 (2025), 5070 Ti edition: The latest revision of Razer’s largest gaming laptop saw a $300 price bump recently, with the base model featured an RTX 5070 Ti graphics card now priced at $3,500 ahead of launch, compared to the $3,200 price announced in February. While Razer has stayed mum about the reasoning, it did previously suspend direct sales to the US as Trump’s tariff plans were ramping up in April.
- Asus ROG Ally X: The premium version of Asus’s Steam Deck competitor handheld gaming PC recently saw a price hike from $799 to $899, coinciding with the announcement of the company’s upcoming Xbox-branded Ally handhelds.
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