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August 2026 has certainly given us plenty to talk about. From major medical breakthroughs and new clean-energy projects to a spectacular solar eclipse and devastating natural disasters, the month brought a little bit of everything. And while today’s memes are here to keep things light, it’s worth taking a moment to look around the world and remember some of the bigger events that shaped the past few weeks.
One of the biggest medical developments of the month came from the U.S., where the Food and Drug Administration approved daraxonrasib (Rasonque) on August 26 for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who had already received at least one systemic treatment. The once-daily pill targets RAS proteins, which play a major role in driving tumor growth. In the clinical trial used for the approval, patients taking daraxonrasib had a median overall survival of 13.2 months, compared with 6.7 months for those receiving standard chemotherapy. The drug isn't a cure, but doctors see the approval as an important new option for a cancer that has historically been extremely difficult to treat.
August also brought a spectacular celestial event as a total solar eclipse swept across Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain and a small part of Portugal on August 12. During totality, the Moon completely covered the Sun, briefly turning daytime skies dark along the narrow path of totality. Much of Europe and parts of North America also experienced a partial eclipse. NASA noted that people in parts of mainland Europe and Africa even had the unusual opportunity to see the Sun setting while still partially eclipsed.
Eclipses are spectacular partly because of an extraordinary coincidence: the Sun is about 400 times wider than the Moon, but it is also roughly 400 times farther away from Earth, making the two appear almost exactly the same size in our sky. In Sun Moon Earth, astronomer and physicist Tyler Nordgren explores how solar eclipses went from being feared as terrifying omens to becoming valuable tools for understanding our place in the cosmos. He also points out that total solar eclipses are not a permanent feature of Earth's skies. The Moon is slowly drifting away from Earth because of tidal interactions, at roughly 3.8 centimeters (1.5 inches) per year. Eventually, the Moon will appear too small to completely cover the Sun. In roughly 600 million years, Earth is expected to experience its final total solar eclipse, after which observers will only see partial and annular eclipses—the famous "ring of fire."
While the eclipse offered a glimpse of the wonders happening above us, some of August’s biggest developments were much closer to home. India took a major step toward cleaner transportation with the launch of its first domestically developed hydrogen-powered passenger train. Flagged off in Haryana on July 17, the 10-coach train operates on the 89-kilometer Jind–Sonipat route and can carry around 2,600 passengers, with an approved operating speed of up to 75 km/h. By the end of August, the train had already clocked roughly 6,000 kilometers in service, marking an encouraging early milestone for the project.
Unlike conventional diesel trains, the hydrogen train uses fuel cells to generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. The process produces water vapor and heat as its direct byproducts, rather than the exhaust emissions associated with diesel combustion. Indian Railways describes the project as a pilot initiative designed to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen-powered rail travel and gather operational experience before considering the technology for other non-electrified routes.
Not every major event was something to celebrate. On August 10, a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia, becoming the strongest earthquake recorded in the country this century. The epicenter was near San José del Palmar in Chocó, while major damage was reported across cities including Pereira and Cali. Buildings collapsed, hospitals and other infrastructure were damaged, and rescue teams searched through rubble for survivors. The death toll continued to rise in the days that followed, eventually passing 200, while thousands were injured and hundreds remained missing.
