Mashable

SAVE $120: As of June 18, get the Ecovacs Deebot T50 Pro Omni Robot Vacuum and Mop for $679.99, down from its usual price of $799.99. That's a discount of 15%.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Ecovacs Deebot T50 Pro Omni Robot Vacuum and Mop $679.99 at Amazon
$799.99 Save $120 Get Deal

There's a better way to clean your home. You don't have to force yourself to vacuum every mess manually. You don't even have to mop if you don't want to — not when robots exist. Robot vacuums and mops are getting better and more affordable all the time, so it might be time to invest in one, especially when you can get a deal like this pre-Prime Day discount.

As of June 18, get the Ecovacs Deebot T50 Pro Omni Robot Vacuum and Mop for $679.99, down from its usual price of $799.99. That's $120 off and a discount of 15%.

SEE ALSO: The best handheld vacuums for tackling pet hair

The Deebot T50 Pro is a slim but powerful robot vacuum and mop that offers 15,000 Pa of suction and edge-to-edge cleaning. It has extendable side brushes in addition to mop heads to make sure you can get every nook and cranny of your home, as well as AI-powered obstacle avoidance so it doesn't get hung up running into a table again and again while cleaning.

It's also super thin at just 3.19 inches, so it barely has a footprint if space is a premium at your home. It can tackle just about any mess on its own as it powers through dirt and debris as well as pet and human hair trapped in your carpet with its ZeroTangle 2.0 setup. It can also switch seamlessly from vacuum to mop and handles all its own maintenance as it empties its dustbin, refills its own water, and auto-dispenses cleaning solution.

You can even control it with your voice and AI assistant, so if you're not into using the app or manually setting things up, you just don't have to. If you're ready to stop expending so much energy on keeping a tidy home, let a robot handle it. This pre-Prime Day discount should get you sorted.

Best home and kitchen deals

• Skylight Frame 10-inch Digital Picture Frame — $139.99 (List Price $159.00)

• Ninja Crispi Air Fryer — $159.99 (List Price $179.99)

• Birdfy AI Smart Solar Powered Bird Feeder with Camera — $159.99 (List Price $249.99)

• KitchenAid Artisan Series 5-Quart Tilt Head Stand Mixer — $449.95

• Eufy Omni C20 Robot Vacuum and Mop With Self-Emptying Base — $459.99 (List Price $699.99)

Though 2025 won't mark the return of astronauts into deep space as NASA had hoped, launchpads still will be scorching-hot from a procession of robotic spacecraft attempting to land on the moon. 

How many of these moon landings will succeed? Will the number top the two-ish (one of which made a heckuva comeback) last year? 

Giant commercial rockets, such as SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's New Glenn, will likely also have several uncrewed orbital test launches as they iron out the kinks in their hardware. And while people await scientific missions to distant solar system destinations, a few probes will send home close-up pictures of planets as they snag gravitational boosts from flybys. 

Here's a round-up of space missions and cosmic events just around the bend. Bookmark this calendar and look for updates from Mashable throughout the year. 

SEE ALSO: NASA leader doubts Elon Musk will push Trump to axe moon rocket BepiColombo makes final Mercury flyby: Jan. 8

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, but it's perhaps the most overlooked of the rocky worlds in the solar system. Hot and harder to reach than Saturn, it hasn't enjoyed the level of study that other worlds have.

But BepiColombo, a joint mission of the European and Japanese space agencies, seeks to change that. The spacecraft makes its sixth and final flyby on Jan. 8 before returning to enter orbit around the planet in late 2026. Closest approach will take the spacecraft just 160 miles above the surface of Mercury. Mission controllers will release images of the event on Jan. 9.

Two moon landers on one rocket: Jan. 15

Two small uncrewed spacecraft, one of which is carrying several NASA instruments, will try to land on the moon with a boost from the same rocket. 

Both Firefly Aerospace and Japan's ispace will ride a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket slated to leave Earth as early as 1:11 a.m. ET Jan. 15. Firefly's Blue Ghost lander was originally scheduled to lift off in late 2024, and the launch will mark its maiden voyage. The spacecraft is slated to travel for 45 days before trying to touch down in early March. 

Firefly's flight will be the first Commercial Lunar Payload Services mission of the year. The NASA program has recruited vendors from the private sector to help deliver instruments to the moon and send back crucial data.

Ispace's new Hakuto-R mission will be its second try, after it ran out of fuel and crashed on the lunar surface in April 2023. The Resilience lander is taking a long way to the moon to save on fuel, arriving about four to five months after launch.

Blue Origin's first flight for New Glenn: Jan. 16

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will soon get a chance to see his giant rocket New Glenn launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. 

His aerospace company Blue Origin started a countdown on Jan. 13, but launch controllers waved off the opportunity when a technical issue arose. The company will try again no earlier than Jan. 16, targeting a three-hour launch window that opens at 1 a.m. ET.

Blue Origin's goal is to reach orbit, and the company will also try to land its booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean so that it can be reused on future flights, though executives admit doing so would be "ambitious" on the first try. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. SpaceX tests upgraded Starship: Jan. 16

SpaceX is preparing to launch another uncrewed Starship test, this time with an upgraded spacecraft and 10 mock satellites to practice a payload deployment in space. 

This SpaceX launch would mark the seventh Starship test and feature a reused engine from the booster returned from the fifth test. Weather-related postponements have made it possible that Starship and Blue Origin's New Glenn will lift off for these tests on the same day. Starship's one-hour launch window opens at 4:00 p.m. CT.

NASA moon rover and orbiter delivery: Feb. 26

Intuitive Machines made history last year as the first company to reach the moon intact — though its lander, Odysseus, broke a landing leg and touched down tilted. 

The Houston-based company is now gearing up for a second moon landing — this time with the Athena lander. The mission, referred to as IM-2 or PRIME-1, will carry a NASA rover. The spacecraft will test a drill and mass spectrometer, a device that identifies the kinds of particles in a substance. Liftoff is targeted for a four-day launch window that opens no earlier than 7:02 p.m. ET Feb. 26.

Another spacecraft, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer, will also hitch a ride on this flight. The small satellite will orbit the moon to map out the locations of lunar water. 

Europa Clipper flies by Mars: March 1

After a successful October 2024 launch, the Europa Clipper spacecraft has been hurtling through space. It's on schedule to make its first flyby of Mars on March 1, where it will get a gravity assist to continue its journey. Its closest approach to the Red Planet is expected at 12:57 p.m. ET, when it will zip 550 miles above the Martian surface. The probe won't arrive at Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, for its mission until 2030. 

Scientists are intrigued by Europa because they believe it could hold double the water held by Earth's oceans. Could this small world in the outer solar system have conditions capable of supporting life? If NASA finds that Europa is a habitable place, a second Europa mission could return to determine if there are indeed any inhabitants. 

Firefly attempts moon landing: March 2 This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Following a successful launch in January, Firefly Aerospace will target a robotic landing in the Mare Crisium region of the moon, an ancient hardened lava flow, no earlier than 2:34 a.m. CT on March 2. Prior to descent onto the surface, NASA and Firefly intend to broadcast commentary, starting at 1:20 a.m. CT that morning. However, the broadcast will not include a live video stream of the spacecraft.

"Our available bandwidth will be dedicated to critical descent operations during landing," Firefly officials said on X, formerly called Twitter. 

Landing on the moon remains onerous. The moon's exosphere provides virtually no drag to slow a spacecraft down as it approaches the ground. Furthermore, there are no GPS systems on the moon to help guide a craft to its landing spot.

Blue Ghost shared a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Japanese company ispace, which will try to land on the moon after a failed attempt in 2023. Its Resilience lander is taking a longer route than Blue Ghost to save on fuel, arriving in May or June. 

Intuitive Machines attempts moon landing: March 6

On the heels of Firefly Aerospace's moon landing attempt, competitor space company Intuitive Machines will try to touch down just four days later.

The landing is slated for 11:32 a.m. CT on March 6. Intuitive Machines will provide live event coverage, starting at 10:30 a.m. CT / 11:30 a.m. ET. The company's lander, Athena, will attempt to descend on Mons Mouton, a plateau at the moon's south pole. Before landing, the spacecraft is expected to orbit the moon for about one week.

SpaceX tests Starship following explosion: March 6

Coming off the heels of a Starship test that ended in an explosion and a scrubbed launch on March 3, SpaceX will try to fly the rocket and empty spacecraft again as early as 5:30 p.m. CT March 6. 

The upcoming launch will be the eighth for Starship and feature several hardware changes following January's mishap. During the previous test, two flashes occurred near one of the ship's engines shortly after booster separation. A post-flight investigation determined that strong vibrations led to fuel leaks that were too much for the ship's vents to handle, leading to fires that eventually triggered the flight termination system. 

Launch of new astrophysics observatory: March 11 This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

NASA intends to launch an astrophysics observatory to create a map of the entire sky in 3D. The mission, SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), will orbit Earth while studying hundreds of millions of stars and galaxies, showing them in 102 invisible "colors." 

One of the main goals of the mission is to learn more about cosmic inflation, a brief but crucial phase of the Big Bang that contributed to the universe's expansion. It will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as early as 11:10 p.m. ET on March 11. Live launch coverage will begin at 10:15 p.m. ET. NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) probe is hitching a ride on the same rocket and will be the first to image the sun’s corona and solar wind together to better understand them as a connected system.  

European spacecraft Hera flies by Mars: March 12

Back in 2022, NASA deliberately crashed a spacecraft into a harmless asteroid to practice thwarting a space rock, should a hazardous one ever be on a collision course with Earth.

The European Space Agency is providing a follow-up to that test, known as Hera. The mission's spacecraft launched in October 2024 and will rendezvous with Dimorphos, the slammed asteroid, in 2026. But this March, it will also have a quick pop-in with Mars, closest approach at 7:51 a.m. ET, and one of the Red Planet's two moons, Deimos. Mission controllers will use the opportunity to collect data on the Martian moon. The agency plans to host a webcast image release from the flyby at 6:50 a.m. ET the next day, March 13.

Boeing astronaut crew returns home: March 18

Two astronauts whose eight-day visit to the International Space Station turned into a more than eight-month layover are expected to return to Earth in March. 

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been waiting for their ride since the space agency decided not to send them home on the spaceship they rode in on. That test vehicle, Boeing's Starliner, landed empty without any problems, but NASA hadn't wanted to risk it after the capsule experienced propulsion issues in space. 

The pair was supposed to return in a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February, but NASA announced at the end of 2024 that the flight would likely be pushed back to March. Wilmore and Williams, who were integrated into Crew-9, will fly back to Earth after the next crew arrives at the space station, allowing for a brief hand-off period. Crew-10 launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on March 14. Due to weather concerns later in the week, NASA has decided to move up the Crew-9 return. Their spaceship is expected to undock at 1:05 a.m. ET on March 18. A splashdown landing would follow at about 5:57 p.m. ET that evening.

Katy Perry and others head to space: April 14

Blue Origin will send an all-female crew to the edge of space in its next civilian astronaut mission. The flight will be the eleventh carrying passengers on the New Shepard rocket to the Kármán line, where Earth's atmosphere and outer space meet.

Katy Perry, CBS Mornings' Gayle King, and Jeff Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sánchez will join former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics scientist and social activist Amanda Nguyen, and fashion designer-turned-film producer Kerianne Flynn on the trip. The NS-31 mission will target liftoff from the company's private West Texas launch pad at 8:30 a.m. CT / 9:30 a.m. ET on April 14. Check back here for details about the webcast as the launch approaches. 

Lucy spacecraft flies by asteroid: April 20 This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

NASA launched the Lucy spacecraft on a grand 12-year asteroid tour last fall with plans to fly by several space rocks that share Jupiter’s orbit. On April 20, Lucy will encounter a small main-belt asteroid, Donaldjohanson, as a sort of test sequence before it visits seven Trojan asteroids. The asteroid, called DJ for short, is only 2.5 miles wide, with an extremely slow rotation that takes more than 10 days to complete. 

Peak of Lyrids meteor shower: April 21-22

Meteor showers happen every year or at regular intervals as Earth passes through the dusty wake of previous comets. Each time a comet zips through the inner solar system, the sun boils off some of its surface, leaving behind a trail of debris. When the planet intersects with the old comet detritus, the result can be a spectacular show, with sometimes up to hundreds of meteors visible per hour. The debris that creates the Lyrid meteor shower originates from comet Thatcher. The Lyrids, best viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, will be active from April 17 to 26.

Peak of Eta Aquariids meteor shower: May 3-4

The Eta Aquariids meteor shower, best viewed from the southern tropics, produces strong "persistent trains" of shooting stars. The shower is the first of two each year created by Halley's Comet debris. The celestial event will be active from April 20 to May 21.

SpaceX's third Starship test of 2025: May 27

The upcoming launch will be the ninth for Starship and feature several hardware changes following two earlier mishaps this year. SpaceX intends to use a recycled booster for the first time and test releasing mock satellites into space. The company also wants to test the spacecraft’s heat shield during a fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

Japanese company tries moon landing: June 5 This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

After a failed attempt in April 2023, Japan's ispace will try to land an uncrewed robotic spacecraft on the moon and deliver a rover to its surface. 

The Hakuto-R mission is gearing up for a landing near the center of Mare Frigoris at 3:17 p.m. ET on June 5 (It will be June 6 for Japan). Livestream coverage will begin about one hour earlier, at 2:10 p.m. ET, with English translation. If conditions change, the company has identified three other potential sites for its lander, dubbed Resilience. The alternative locations have different landing dates and times. 

Private astronauts fly to ISS: June 22

Four private astronauts will launch to the International Space Station for Axiom Space's fourth mission. The flight will lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as early as June 22, though the company and NASA have not provided a time. Axiom plans to provide a live launch broadcast on axiom.space/live.

The partners delayed the mission on June 12, after NASA said it was working with Roscosmos to better understand leaks in the Russian segment of the ISS. SpaceX has also repaired a liquid oxygen leak discovered in the Falcon 9 rocket expected to take them there.

Axiom has said this mission will consist of about 60 scientific studies on the effects of spaceflight on the body and how to improve health and medical treatments on Earth. When the company flew its first private mission in 2022, it redefined the word "astronaut." For decades, that title was reserved for government space pilots and crew. More recently, uber-rich space tourists earned the distinction by breaching Earth's atmosphere. But with Axiom's private mission came a third possible description: Someone privately trained and sent into space to perform commercial scientific research. Axiom crews receive 750 to over 1,000 hours of training. 

Peak of Delta Aquariids meteor shower: July 29-30

The Delta Aquariids are another shower best observed from the southern tropics. Conditions will be favorable for viewing meteors in the morning. Astronomers suspect the interacting debris causing the event came from the strange Comet Machholz. The event will be active from July 18 to Aug. 12. 

Peak of Perseids meteor shower: Aug. 12-13 Perseids meteors streak across the sky over Bishop, California, in 2024. Credit: NASA / Preston Dyches

The popular Perseids, made up of remnants of comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, is usually a spectacular show for the Northern Hemisphere. The meteor shower is active from July 17 to Aug. 23. But don't get your hopes up this year: Experts say the waning gibbous moon, more than 80 percent full, will allow only the brightest meteors to be seen. 

Europe's Juice spacecraft flies by Venus: Aug. 31

The European Space Agency's so-called Juice mission is scheduled to fly by Venus on Aug. 31, though exact times and distances will be determined closer to the event. "Juice" is a wonky acronym for Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer.

The mission will study Jupiter's moons, including Europa, Callisto, and particularly Ganymede. These moons have intrigued scientists for years because they're thought to have liquid oceans trapped beneath icy shells. Before reaching Jupiter, the spacecraft will make flybys of Earth and Venus to get enough energy to slingshot to the outer solar system, reaching Jupiter in 2031.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Astrobotic attempts moon landing, again: fall

Astrobotic Technologies tried to become the first commercial company to land on the moon last year, but it lost its chance just a few hours into the flight because of a fuel leak. The company will try again this fall with its Griffin lander. 

Originally, this mission was supposed to carry a NASA rover to drill for ice at the lunar south pole. But VIPER — short for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover — was canceled due to cost overruns. Griffin will still launch without the rover as a flight demonstration of the lander and engines.

Peak of Orionid meteor shower: Oct. 22-23

The Orionids meteor shower marks the return of activity caused by Halley's Comet debris. In recent years, the displays have been pretty lackluster, but a waning crescent moon rising near dawn means moonlight won't obscure the shower in 2025. The celestial event will run from Oct. 2 to Nov. 12.

Peak of Southern Taurids meteor shower: Nov. 3-4

The Southern Taurids make up a complex meteor shower. Usually, the displays are weak, but Taurid meteors are more numerous sometimes. Known as a "swarm year," 2025's event could offer more fireballs as Earth plows through a group of pebble-sized fragments from the Comet Encke. But given the moon's phase, there's a good chance moonlight will interfere with viewing most Taurids. Activity will go from Oct. 13 to Nov. 27. 

A Dream Chaser spaceplane, Tenacity, is expected to launch to the International Space Station in 2025. Credit: Sierra Space Peak of the Leonids meteor shower: Nov. 16-17

The Leonids are some of the fastest-moving meteors, traveling up to 44 miles per second. The debris that causes the show comes from Comet Tempel-Tuttle, but the displays are usually pretty weak. The exceptions are years when the showers become so-called "meteor storms," but that won't likely happen again until perhaps 2035. The shower will be active from Nov. 3 to Dec. 2. 

Peak of Geminids meteor shower: Dec. 12-13

Widely regarded as the best meteor shower of the year, the Geminids can be seen from most any part of the world, especially the Northern Hemisphere. The Geminids are denser meteors, allowing stargazers to see them as low as 29 miles above ground before the cosmic dust burns up. The shower will be active between Dec. 1 and 21.

This year the moon will have a waning crescent phase, which rises around 2 a.m. local time. Prior to that, views should be moon-free. You could glimpse bright meteors by facing a direction with the moon at your back, according to the American Meteor Society.

Peak of Ursids meteor shower: Dec. 21-22

The Ursid meteors are caused by debris from Tuttle's Comet, which orbits every 13 years. This shower, often overlooked because of its close timing to Christmas, can only be observed in the Northern Hemisphere. Because of a new moon at the shower's peak, moonlight won't interfere with the show. The event will be active from Dec. 16 to 26. 

Other possible missions in 2025

• A NASA-funded science mission seeks to get to the bottom of how solar radiation strips away the tattered Martian atmosphere. Called Escapade, the mission will involve two Mars orbiters built by Rocket Lab. The flight was previously scheduled for October aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, but the inaugural flight was delayed. NASA and Blue Origin are now in talks for a new launch date for that mission in 2025.

• Sierra Space has been working on a spacecraft with the nostalgia of NASA's space shuttle program. Dream Chaser, a cargo space plane capable of runway landings, is set to launch for the first time to the ISS for a resupply mission sometime this year. 

• Following Intuitive Machines' second mission in early 2025, the company will shoot for another later in 2025 or early in 2026. If successful, the lunar landing mission, IM-3 or PRISM, will deploy rovers and study a so-called "lunar swirl."

• NASA is teaming up with India's space agency on a mission to study Earth's land and ice, involving the NISAR satellite, which will scan all of the planet's surfaces twice every 12 days to measure changes. The satellite will launch from the Indian Space Research Organisation's space port, the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, on India's southeastern coast. It was supposed to liftoff this spring, but neither agency has provided an update on the mission's status.

SAVE 66%: As of June 18, you can get the Bose 550 Dolby Atmos WiFi Bluetooth Soundbar (certified refurbished) for just $169.99, down from $499, at Woot. That's a 66% discount and a $329.01 savings.

Opens in a new window Credit: Bose Bose 550 Dolby Atmos WiFi Bluetooth Soundbar (Certified Refurbished) $169.99 at Woot
$499 Save $329.01 Get Deal

Investing in a soundbar is a big decision. They aren't cheap, and you want to make sure it's compatible with all your other devices. Although I’ve found several deals on Amazon Fire TV soundbars, I’ve been holding out for a discount on a Bose, Sonos, or Sony product, in particular. Today, my patience finally paid off; Woot just dropped a major deal.

As of June 18, you can get the Bose 550 Dolby Atmos WiFi Bluetooth Soundbar (certified refurbished) for just $169.99, down from $499, at Woot. That's a 66% discount and $329.01 in savings. And don't let "refurbished" scare you — certified refurbished items are typically tested thoroughly and come with a warranty, making them a smart way to save. Yes, it’s a 2023 soundbar — but for less than $200, it's hard to complain.

SEE ALSO: Amazon announces Prime Day 2025 dates, and the 4-day rumors are true

The 550 is compact, but still delivers that signature Bose sound quality. It features Dolby Atmos technology for immersive, realistic sound, and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, so you can easily stream your favorite songs or podcasts. AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and Spotify Connect are also supported. And with SimpleSync, you can pair the soundbar with compatible Bose headphones or speakers for a true surround sound experience.

If you're looking to seriously upgrade your TV's audio without breaking the bank, this is a deal to jump on.

The best headphones and speaker deals to shop this week

• Soundcore by Anker P20i True Wireless Earbuds — $19.98 (List Price $39.99)

• Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Headphones — $59.99

• JBL Flip 6 Portable Bluetooth Speaker — $99.95 (List Price $129.95)

• Bose SoundLink Flex Portable Speaker — $149.00

• Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones — $228.00 (List Price $348.00)

• JBL Bar 300 5.0ch Compact Soundbar — $249.95 (List Price $399.95)

SAVE $550: For a limited time, the DJI Power 1000 portable power station is on sale at Amazon for $449, down from the list price of $999. That's a 55% discount.

Opens in a new window Credit: DJI DJI Power 1000 portable power station $449 at Amazon
$999 Save $550 Get Deal

We have to wait a few more weeks to shop epic deals during Amazon Prime Day, but that doesn't mean the deals are on pause. That's especially true if you happen to go camping or live in an area that's prone to power outages. If that's the case, Amazon has a pre-Prime Day treat for you.

As of June 18, the DJI Power 1000 portable power station is on sale for $449 at Amazon, marked down from the usual price of $999. That works out to a 55% discount that shaves a massive $550 off the portable power station. But you'll want to hurry because this is an Amazon lightning deal, which means they'll only offer this sale price for a specific number of units. Today's deal also beats the sale price we spotted last week by $100.

You know them as one of the best drone brands, but DJI also makes one heck of a portable power station. The DJI Power 1000 doesn't mess around with performance thanks to its 1024Wh power supply with plenty of charging outlet options. That means you'll be in good shape for recharging phones when camping, keeping the refrigerator going during a power outage, or using the skill saw in the backyard.

Since the DJI Power 1000 weighs about 32 pounds, DJI included ergonomic carrying handles on both sides. In a pinch, you could even use the portable power station to do weighted squats while camping.

SEE ALSO: The Anker Solix C1000 portable power station is down to under $450 at Amazon

If you wind up in a power outage situation at home, the DJI Power 1000 is optimal for keeping a lamp on in the living room as well as the refrigerator chilling this week's grocery haul. It'll also mean you can still get quality sleep if you use a CPAP. Operating at just 23 decibels, the DJI Power 1000 is designed to be quiet enough to use while sleeping.

When it comes time to recharge the DJI Power 1000 portable power station, expect to get a full recharge in 70 minutes or 80 minutes if you've utilized the option to recharge via a solar panel.

Rather than watching your cell phone battery tick down to 1%, take the DJI Power 1000 portable power station on your next camping trip. While it's on a lightning deal at Amazon, the power station is down to only $449, which takes a whopping $550 off the normal price. Plus, it'll be useful year-round if your home tends to lose power.

The best tech deals to shop this week

• Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case — $169.00 (List Price $249.00)

• Roku Ultra 4K Ultimate Streaming Player (2024 Release) — $99.00 (List Price $99.99)

• Apple AirTag (4-Pack) — $74.99 (List Price $99.00)

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Wi-Fi, 40mm, S/M Green) — $199.99 (List Price $299.99)

It’s not every day we get to see a visual of the entire Sculptor Galaxy, located approximately 10-11 million light-years from Earth, in all its kaleidoscopic splendour.

Luckily for us, astronomers have created a magnificent visual map of the spiral galaxy, also known as NGC 253, using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) located in Chile. In a new study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, researchers used the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on the telescope to valiantly observe the Sculptor Galaxy for 50 hours. Then, they merged 100 images into one dazzling map.

SEE ALSO: Scientists spotted a giant comet spewing gas 2 billion miles from sun

ESO researcher Enrico Congiu led the study alongside Kathryn Kreckel and Fabian Scheuermann from Heidelberg University, Adam Leroy from Ohio State University, and a large team of researchers from all over the globe. In a statement, Congiu explained why the 65,000 light-years-wide system is so visually appealing to astronomers despite being a challenging task.

"The Sculptor Galaxy is in a sweet spot," Congiu said. "It is close enough that we can resolve its internal structure and study its building blocks with incredible detail, but at the same time, big enough that we can still see it as a whole system."

Alright, let's get to the good stuff. Here's one of the research team's images of the Sculptor Galaxy — and it's undeniably spectacular. "Regions of pink light are spread throughout this whole galactic snapshot, which come from ionised hydrogen in star-forming regions," reads the study image description. "These areas have been overlaid on a map of already formed stars in Sculptor to create the mix of pinks and blues seen here."

An image of the Sculptor Galaxy created using images from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. Credit: ESO / E. Congiu et al.

Here's another image from study, described by the research team as a "false-colour composition [that] shows specific wavelengths of light released by hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and oxygen. These elements exist in gas form all over the galaxy, but the mechanisms causing this gas to glow can vary throughout the galaxy. The pink light represents gas excited by the radiation of newborn stars, while the cone of whiter light at the centre is caused by an outflow of gas from the black hole at the galaxy’s core."

An image of the Sculptor Galaxy created using images from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. Credit: ESO / E. Congiu et al.

The Sculptor Galaxy map contains thousands of colours, a spectrum of which, the researchers explain, can help astronomers understand the system's components (known as planetary nebulae) like specific regions of dust and gas and how they all move within the galaxy. With such detailed imagery, researchers can get up really close, even to observe individual stars. "We can zoom in to study individual regions where stars form at nearly the scale of individual stars, but we can also zoom out to study the galaxy as a whole," said Kreckel in a statement.

Why is it important to identify these unique components? "Finding the planetary nebulae allows us to verify the distance to the galaxy — a critical piece of information on which the rest of the studies of the galaxy depend,” said Leroy in a statement.

There's also another image produced in the study, a more distant image of the Sculptor Galaxy, one the researchers described as a "colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). The field of view is approximately 3.7 x 3.6 degrees."

A colour composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). Credit: ESO / Digitized Sky Survey 2 / Davide De Martin

Astronomers spend hours observing galactic entities like this so we're rewarded with such pretty pictures — and Mashable's science team has you covered.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Wednesday, June 18, 2025:

AcrossHit the stores

• The answer is Shop.

Cross one's fingers

• The answer is Hope.

Here's a thought!

• The answer is Brain.

Old episode

• The answer is Rerun.

Request for a follow on social media

• The answer is AddMe.

DownTear to pieces

• The answer is Shred.

Be bad at throwing things away

• The answer is Hoard.

Drug referenced by the magic poppy field in "The Wizard of Oz"

• The answer is Opium.

Tubular pasta

• The answer is Penne.

Its sizes are measured in cups

• The answer is Bra.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Mini Crossword.

TL;DR: Watch Rune vs. McDonald in the 2025 Queen's Club Championships for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Wimbledon is fast approaching, so the best players are busy preparing for the grass season at the historic Queen’s Club. There are a number of top players competing at the in the 2025 Queen's Club Championships, including Holger Rune. The talented Dane takes on Mackenzie McDonald for a place in the quarter finals.

If you want to watch Rune vs. McDonald in the 2025 Queen's Club Championships for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Rune vs. McDonald for free

Rune vs. McDonald in the 2025 Queen's Club Championships is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2025 Queen's Club Championships by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Watch Rune vs. McDonald for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (including money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Rune vs. McDonald without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the 2025 Queen's Club Championships before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming sites from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for only $12.95 (including money-back guarantee).

Live stream Rune vs. McDonald in the 2025 Queen's Club Championships for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Watch Popyrin vs. Draper in the 2025 Queen's Club Championships for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

Wimbledon is just around the corner, so the best players are busy preparing for the grass season at the historic Queen’s Club. A number of top players are progressing well in the men's draw, and Popyrin vs. Draper is a particularly interesting matchup.

If you want to watch Popyrin vs. Draper in the 2025 Queen's Club Championships for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Popyrin vs. Draper for free

Popyrin vs. Draper in the 2025 Queen's Club Championships is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.

Live stream the 2025 Queen's Club Championships by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Watch Popyrin vs. Draper for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (including money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Popyrin vs. Draper without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the 2025 Queen's Club Championships before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to the best free streaming sites from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for streaming live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $139 and includes an extra four months for free — 61% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for only $12.95 (including money-back guarantee).

Live stream Popyrin vs. Draper in the 2025 Queen's Club Championships for free with ExpressVPN.

SAVE $30: As of June 18, Apple AirPods 4 (without ANC) are on sale for $99 at Amazon. That's 23% off their list price of $129 and marks a return to their lowest-ever price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Apple Apple AirPods 4 $99 at Amazon
$129 Save $30 Get Deal

Prime Day is coming up soon, and if you're itching to pick up some new Apple tech during the four-day-long sale event, the good news is you actually don't have to wait for the start day. There are already some great deals available at the retailer, including on AirPods 4 (without Active Noise Cancelation) which are back to their lowest-ever price right now.

AirPods 4 (without ANC) are marked down to $99 at Amazon. This is a 23% discount from their list price of $129 and marks a return to their lowest-ever price according to price tracker camelcamelcamel. If they've been on your radar, now is a great time to pick them up ahead of Prime Day.

SEE ALSO: Are you 18-24? Get 6 months of Amazon Prime for free ahead of Prime Day.

AirPods 4 boast excellent sound quality so you can enjoy your favorite songs, podcasts, and audiobooks all summer long. They also have Personalized Spatial Audio that surrounds you in the sounds you're listening to, and you'll be able to listen for hours thanks to a battery life of up to five hours. You can even push it to up to 30 hours of listening time when using the charging case.

Considering they're at their lowest-ever price, there's no better time than now to pick up the AirPods 4 (without ANC). Don't miss out on this great deal right now at Amazon.

This year's Prime Day sale is a four-day-long event running from July 8-11. If you're not yet a Prime Member but want to join in on the fun, have a look at our guide on how to sign up for Amazon Prime ahead of Prime Day.

The best early Prime Day deals, hand-picked by Mashable's team of experts

• Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case — $169.00 (List Price $249.00)

• Roku Ultra 4K Ultimate Streaming Player (2024 Release) — $99.00 (List Price $99.99)

• Apple AirTag (4-Pack) — $74.99 (List Price $99.00)

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Wi-Fi, 40mm, S/M Green) — $199.99 (List Price $299.99)

Jon Stewart's interview with the winner of the recent Pedro Pascal lookalike contest in NYC isn't like any regular interview, because it turns out the two already know each other — the contest winner, George Gountas, actually works on The Daily Show as a lighting designer.

In the clip above, Gountas describes how he came to be in the contest — someone at work told him about it, and then his wife encouraged him — before addressing Materialists star Pascal himself directly through the camera lens with a special request.

"Hey Pedro. This is Pedro #5 from New York. It would be a great, great, great gift if you could meet my wife Jenny. It would mean the world to her. We need to make this happen."

Stewart's response? "I don't see how Pedro #1 could turn down Pedro #5."

SAVE OVER $200: As of June 18, the Philips 4400 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is on sale for $799.98 at Amazon. That's 20% off its list price of $999.99.

Opens in a new window Credit: Philips Philips 4400 Series Fully Automatic Espresso Machine $799.98 at Amazon
$999.99 Save $200.01 Get Deal

Amazon Prime Day is right around the corner, but thankfully, you don't have to wait for the sale event to start in order to take advantage of some nice deals. Amazon already has quite a few deals worth considering. If you've been looking to pick up an espresso machine to help you start your mornings on the right foot, the retailer currently has a nice deal on the Philips 4400 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine that's worth checking out.

The Philips 4400 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine has received a 20% discount at Amazon, dropping its price from $999.99 to $799.98. It's quite an impressive machine as well, boasting 12 hot and cool recipes to choose from. It's currently listed as a limited-time deal, so if it has caught your eye, now is the time to pick it up.

SEE ALSO: Are you 18-24? Get 6 months of Amazon Prime for free ahead of Prime Day.

As mentioned before, there are 12 recipes to choose from with this Philips espresso machine: espresso, coffee, cappuccino, latte macchiato, iced coffee, americano, caffè crema, latte, ristretto, coffee with milk, iced americano, and iced espresso. It also features noise-reducing technology, so you can brew in the early mornings without waking up the whole house.

Why wait for Prime Day? Don't miss out on the Philips 4400 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine marked down to $799.98 at Amazon.

This year's Amazon Prime Day event runs from July 8-11 (yep, four days!). If you're curious on how to join in on the action this year, check out our guide on how to sign up for Amazon Prime ahead of Prime Day to learn more.

The best deals this week, hand-picked by Mashable's team of experts

• Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case — $169.00 (List Price $249.00)

• Roku Ultra 4K Ultimate Streaming Player (2024 Release) — $99.00 (List Price $99.99)

• Apple AirTag (4-Pack) — $74.99 (List Price $99.00)

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Wi-Fi, 40mm, S/M Green) — $199.99 (List Price $299.99)

"That blue umbrella is still stashed under my bed," Carletta says, recalling the fateful evening that she was declared 'cringe' by a certified Cool person. Two years ago, the policy analyst met her friends at a wine bar in New York and carried an extra umbrella in case someone forgot and got stuck in the rain. "This girl — she does ballet, has the longest eyelashes, and moves through the world effortlessly — said it was a bit try-hard and cringe of me, you bet I've never lugged another umbrella again," Carletta confesses. 

If that made you wince even a little, you're probably familiar with the apparent social prison of being caught in a cringe moment. Lately, it seems as if we're playing a complex game where you have to duck fast enough to dodge any allegations of cringe. Emojis can be cringe (the awkward grimace, the skull, the thumbs up!), liking someone's Instagram Story within seconds of posting can be cringe, calling it a Brat Summer in 2025 can be cringe — anything goes. People have published books on how to avoid being cringe in the digital age, while TikTok has multiple hashtags from #DatingCringe to #CringeFriend that have amassed tens of millions of posts. 

SEE ALSO: Has social media made sightseeing deeply uncool?

But the internet's cringe-obsession could be keeping young people from pursuing the things in life they want the most.

What does cringe mean, and why does it matter?

So what is this all-too-familiar feeling that makes you want to curl up in a ball and crawl out of your skin? "Cringe is a type of vicarious embarrassment that you feel when you or someone else deviates from a social expectation. It is usually experienced in the presence of others and makes us feel like we don't belong," explains Morgan Cope, an assistant professor of psychology at Centre College. 

While cringe itself is a social emotion, this race to curate a persona that knows what's in and what's out seems to be holding us back from developing honest and vulnerable relationships. 

Per Hinge's Gen Z report, 56 percent of young daters believe that worrying about rejection has held them back from pursuing a romantic connection, while a study from market research firm Morning Consult reveals that 51 percent of Gen Z feel too socially awkward to develop meaningful relationships. 

"The fear of cringe first impacts your relationship with yourself by creating self-doubt and then bleeds into how you interact with others by dissuading you from showing up authentically," Cope adds. In the internet era, when anyone can become a viral TikTok within seconds, we are so focused on protecting our performative image of coolness that seeking genuine friendships takes a backseat.

So, how can we overcome this anxiety of cringe purgatory and learn to be vulnerable again? Speaking to those who have battled cringe, and the experts with tips on how to refocus our priorities, Mashable has a guide to working it all out. 

Acknowledge that it's impossible to always be cool

Alina, a sales associate from London, has stopped liking strangers' Instagram Reels unless they feature puppies. "When you're scrolling on Instagram, it shows if someone you follow has liked the video — I despise this feature. I'm always scared of double-tapping on videos that are ha-ha funny at the moment but may seem cringe to someone else later. I don't want that to define me," she shares. 

In the internet era, when anyone can become a viral TikTok within seconds, we are so focused on protecting our performative image of coolness that seeking genuine friendships takes a backseat.

At a time when the average American spends over seven hours a day online, we have convinced ourselves that what we post, share, and (in this case) like is a micro-expression of who we are. In the hopes of staying on top of the social ladder, people often restrict themselves online, transforming a space that was once a shrine for silly selfies and wholesome moments with friends into a hyper-curated grid of shareable content. 

Club this with the present techno-cultural landscape where icks (turn offs) and trends change at breakneck speed, and you quickly realise, it is nearly impossible to keep up with what is or isn't classified as cringe. 

Cope reminds us, "The social expectation from people is rapidly evolving online. Even if you try to keep up with trends, the act of being cool and not cringe is always just out of reach, pushing you to endlessly participate in this self-evolution and impeding a true understanding of your own likes and dislikes." 

We need to realise that chasing this ideal is standing in the way of real conversations and long-lasting connections. After all, how can we develop authentic relationships if we're too busy jumping on the bandwagon of the latest trend? 

Lean into the intimacy of being cringe

Maybe the memes were right all along: to be cringe is to be free. If the anxiety of coming across icky suppresses our quirks and forces us to play it cool when we want to reach out, it erases the messy, honest parts of us that make us who we are. 

"Love lies in the moments we let our guard down, to have deep, meaningful relationships, we have to stop trying to be palatable," says Moe Ari Brown, Hinge's love and connection expert. This is often easier said than done, so Brown suggests taking it one little step at a time. 

"Practice micro-moments of realness, instead of going all-in immediately, start by sharing something personal. You could say, 'This is a little awkward, but I want to be honest.' These moments build trust and emotional muscle memory," the expert explains. 

It could also help to gently shift your mindset around raw, open conversations. Make a conscious effort to avoid skipping to the worst-case scenario and assuming someone will find you weird. Give them the chance to surprise you or to understand you better. 

Are you afraid of cringe, or are your friends?

Friendship coach and educator Danielle Bayard Jackson believes the first step to undoing the fear of cringe is to identify if the feeling is rooted in you or borrowed from the people around you. "The frequency matters: if I'm always afraid of being cringe or of looking foolish, that could be rooted in a deeper self-esteem issue," she says. "But if it comes up with a specific set of people, it may expose a fragility in the relationship." 

In the case of the latter, it is important to introspect on why these individuals have this impact on you. Could it be that you feel intimidated in their presence? Could it be that their actions make you feel less than? If this is a burgeoning relationship that matters to you, it may be worth having a conversation to flag how you're feeling. It is also paramount to remember that your friends are not drawn to you because of how cool you are, as cliché as it sounds, it's the deeper, gooey stuff matters a lot more. 

Okay, you did something cringe. So what? 

While we are socialised to believe that an embarrassing moment is the be-all and end-all, it is actually far from it. If someone is ready to receive and create space for a relationship, whether you use uncool emojis or outdated slang is not going to send them running to the hills. In fact, a Bumble spokesperson told Mashable that 36 percent of Gen Z believe they can move past an ick. Even if you think of the people closest to you, it's likely that you didn't build those connections by being perfect and distant. 

Carletta is trying to be more expressive, too. "The umbrella thing stays with me, but I am putting myself in more uncomfortable spots. I recently approached a girl in a cafe to compliment her outfit and only realised later that I had something in my teeth. The old me would die from the embarrassment of seeming like a friendless loser, but the new me is trying to laugh it off as cute cringe," she says.

In the moments that we feel critical of ourselves, it's important to unpack the cringe taboo and remember that we are complex, multidimensional individuals. Yes, we can do stupid, silly things that may be deemed uncool by the social powers that be, but by accepting our whole selves, we are opening up space for real, unfiltered relationships where vulnerability isn't withheld, it's invited. 

Amazon gift cards usually come with the starting balance printed on the physical card or mentioned in the email if you receive an eGift card. But what if you want to check the balance on a gift card that you previously redeemed to see if you have enough left over to splurge during the four-day Prime Day sale in 2025 (which officially kicks off on July 8)? Or maybe you want to reload a gift card you've already used up? Check the state of your gift cards before your summer shopping spree by following the steps below.

How to check your Amazon gift card balance on your desktop

Follow these simple steps to check or reload your Amazon gift card balance:

1. Open the Amazon website.

2. Click on Accounts & Lists on the top right corner of the screen.

   Credit: Screenshot: Amazon website

3. A new menu page will open on the website. Select Gift cards.

   Credit: Screenshot: Amazon website

4. Once you click, you'll be able to see the existing balance on your gift card. If you are checking the balance on an unredeemed gift card and wish to redeem it, you can click on Redeem a Gift card. You can also opt to Reload your card in this menu or check your transaction history which is listed below the gift card balance.

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon website How to check your Amazon gift card balance in the app

1. Open the app and click on the account icon at the bottom of the landing page (the little person illustration). Then choose Account at the top of the landing page.

   Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

2. Scroll down until you see the Payments section.

3. In the Payments section, click on Manage gift card balance.

   Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

4. Use the new menu that opens to check your gift card balance, reload your gift card, or check past activity.

Credit: Screenshot: Amazon

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: Hints and answers for June 18 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for June 18, 2025 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

To eat.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no recurring letters.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter M.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

MUNCH.

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for June 18

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.

Have a Visa gift card that you keep forgetting to use? Prime Day is the perfect rainy day to break that bad boy out — you'll be able to squeeze way more out of those free funds when just about everything is discounted. And BTW, the shopping event is four days long this year, a first for the summer shopping event. Prime Day 2025 officially kicks off on July 8 and runs all the way through July 11.

Adding a Visa gift card on Amazon isn't the process that you'd expect, though. While it is technically a gift card, it can't be registered as a gift card like an official Amazon gift card would. Instead, you'll have to register the gift card like you would register a legit Visa debit or credit card to start using it as a payment method.

SEE ALSO: How to sign up for Amazon Prime How to add a Visa gift card to make purchases on Amazon

The process might seem complicated, but follow these simple steps and should have no issues:

1. Go to Amazon on your phone, tablet, or computer and find your Account tab. On the mobile app, your Account lives in the little person icon at the bottom of the screen and in the three horizontal lines at the bottom right side of the screen. On a web browser, hover over Accounts & Lists at the top right corner of the webpage, then select Account from the dropdown menu that appears.

2. Once there, scroll to find the Your Payments tab. This option will take you to your digital wallet where you can view your added payment methods.

3. Click on Add a payment method. Because the gift card is a Visa, it functions like a regular debit or credit card, so scroll down to the credit or debit cards category to add the new card.

4. You'll then be prompted to add the necessary card information like the card number and expiration date.

5. Then, it'll ask for the Billing Address. Prepaid Visa gift cards aren't tied to a name or address, so you won't actually receive a billing statement. You can add your own address to be quick, or call the customer service number to get the card issuer's address.

SEE ALSO: Walmart vs. Amazon: Which retail giant has the best deals?

There are a few caveats to consider when using a Visa gift card on Amazon. First, not all Visa gift cards may work as debit or credit cards on Amazon. Some may require users to use a CVV to authorize a purchase. Since Amazon doesn't ask for this information while adding payment methods, these Visa gift cards might not go through.

Also, Amazon doesn't allow users to combine multiple cards for a single transaction. This means that you can't cover your total with two Visa gift cards, or use up the remaining gift card balance as a partial payment and cover the rest with another credit or debit card. Keep an eye on your cart total as you chip away at it and make sure that the total order cost (including shipping and taxes) doesn't exceed the account balance.

There is, however, a workaround for tracking that Visa gift card balance. You can use the Visa gift card to add or reload funds on an Amazon gift card, which you can then apply toward future Amazon purchases. Once you add a Visa gift card as an Amazon payment method to your account by following the steps above, you can purchase an Amazon gift card for the full amount of the Visa gift card balance (taking into account any fees the Visa card may deduct upon use), or follow these steps to access your existing Amazon gift card balance and reload funds.

Opens in a new window Credit: Visa Add a Visa gift card to your Amazon account Learn More

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for June 18 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Gloomy weather

• Green: Precisely

• Blue: Parts of a group

• Purple: Anatomy terms

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Qualities of a rainy day

• Green: Squarely

• Blue: Contents of a pod

• Purple: Body parts plus a starting letter

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #738 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Qualities of a rainy day: COLD, GRAY, WET, WINDY

• Squarely: DEAD, EXACTLY, RIGHT, SMACK

• Contents of a pod: ASTRONAUT, COFFEE, PEA, WHALE

• Body parts plus a starting letter: BARM, LEAR, RANKLE, SHIP

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for June 18

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

If you're reading this, you're looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times' elevated word-search game.

Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There's always a theme linking every solution, along with the "spangram," a special, word or phrase that sums up that day's theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you're feeling stuck or just don't have 10 or more minutes to figure out today's puzzle, we've got all the NYT Strands hints for today's puzzle you need to progress at your preferrined pace.

SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Answer, hints for June 18 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for June 18 NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Down time

The words are mood-related.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

These words are ways to describe a somber mood.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today's NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today's spangram is Sadness

Featured Video For You Strands 101: How to win NYT’s latest word game NYT Strands word list for June 18

• Melancholy

• Blue

• Woebegone

• Sadness

• Doleful

• Teary

• Gloomy

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable's Games page has more hints, and if you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Strands.

SAVE $20: As of June 18, Soundcore Anker Life Q20 headphones are on sale for $39.98 at Amazon. That's a 33% saving on the list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Soundcore Soundcore Anker Life Q20 $39.98 at Amazon
$59.99 Save $20.01 Get Deal

Prime Day has officially been announced for 2025, and good news: there's not long to wait. But if you're in need of some great deals right now, then look no further than this stellar deal on the Soundcore Anker Life Q20 headphones. As of June 18, you can take home these impressive headphones for under $40, now just $39.98.

These headphones use custom 40mm drivers to provide clear, hi-res audio. They feature hybrid active noise cancellation with four built-in microphones that reduce background sounds like traffic and airplane noise by up to 90%. Double tap to activate the BassUp technology, a function that (as the name suggests) boosts the bass when listening to bass-heavy music.

SEE ALSO: Get this huge Hisense TV at its best-ever price ahead of Prime Day

Battery life is impressive too, offering up to 40 hours with noise cancellation and 60 hours in standard mode. Plus, a quick five-minute charge gives you around four hours of playtime. Not needing to charge daily is always a plus.

Head to Amazon to grab this latest Soundcore deal ahead of Prime Day.

The best early Prime Day deals, hand-picked by Mashable's team of experts

• Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case — $169.00 (List Price $249.00)

• Roku Ultra 4K Ultimate Streaming Player (2024 Release) — $99.00 (List Price $99.99)

• Apple AirTag (4-Pack) — $74.99 (List Price $99.00)

• Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (Wi-Fi, 40mm, S/M Green) — $199.99 (List Price $299.99)

Donald Trump's newly announced Trump Mobile network and T1 smartphone have been roundly mocked by Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert, and in the video above Jimmy Kimmel joins in.

"Their website was a mess from the get-go. When they launched yesterday their coverage map said Gulf of Mexico instead of Gulf of America, so he had them take that down, there have been reports that it is difficult to even order the phone, and even though they're billing the phones as all-American and made in the USA, the phone appears to be a reskinned version of a Chinese phone made by a company called Wingtech," says Kimmel in his Tuesday night monologue.

"Wingtech sells the same phone on Amazon for $171 right now. But once it gets spray-painted gold and emblazoned with the word Trump, it's $500. He's selling an all-American Chinese phone. I wonder if he'll slap some tariffs on himself for this."

To emphasise how ridiculous this whole thing is, Kimmel ends with a simple comparison. "I just want you to imagine Barack Obama, while he was in office, selling something like this," he says. "You think Fox News would be excited about that?"

For more information on the T1 smartphone itself, here's how it compares to the iPhone 16.

Humans are not static creatures. Living is a process of discovery — of the world, of each other, and of yourself. As such, the name a person is given at birth isn't always the name they wish to carry to death. There are countless reasons why someone may choose to change their name, including marriage, affirmation of their gender identity, or simple dislike of the name they currently hold.

Fortunately, Facebook allows users to easily change their name on their profile, so you aren't stuck forever with the one you entered when first creating your account. Facebook itself changed its company name to Meta, after all.

Here's how to change your name on your Facebook account.

How to change your Facebook account name on desktop Total Time

• 2 min

What You Need

• Desktop or laptop

Step 1: Open Facebook.

Step 2: Click on the down arrow icon in the top right corner of your screen to open a menu.

Step 3: Click the "Settings & privacy" cog icon.

Step 4: Click the "Settings" cog icon and in the search bar type "Name."

Credit: Mashable screenshot / Facebook

Step 5: Click "Name" in the search results.

Credit: Mashable screenshot /Facebook

Step 6: Enter your new name, then click "Review Change."

Step 7: Choose how you want your name to be displayed — either your full first, middle, then last name; just your first and last name; or your surname, middle, then first name. Then enter your Facebook password and click "Save changes."

How to change your Facebook account name on mobile Total Time

• 2 min

What You Need

• Smartphone
• Facebook app

Step 1: Open the Facebook app.

Step 2: Tap the "Menu" profile picture icon in the bottom right corner of your screen.

Step 3: Tap the cog icon in the top right corner of your screen to open your settings.

Step 4: Search "Name" in the search bar and select it.

Step 5: Enter your new name, then tap "Review Change."

Step 6: Choose how you want your name to be displayed — either your full first, middle, then last name; just your first and last name; or your surname, middle, then first name. Then enter your Facebook password and tap "Save changes."

It's a good idea to check for spelling mistakes before confirming the change, as well as make sure you're happy to stick with your new name for a while. Facebook doesn't let you change your name again within 60 days of altering it, so if you have second thoughts you'll just have to live with it for at least two months.

SEE ALSO: How to unlink Facebook and Instagram

There are some restrictions as to what Facebook considers a valid name. The social media platform refuses to accept titles such as Doctor or Queen, as well as offensive and suggestive words. It also won't allow symbols, numbers, unusual capitalisation, or punctuation, though X Æ A-Xii Musk is still normal enough by Facebook's standards.

Unfortunately, Facebook won't accept characters from multiple languages either. Anyone with an English first name and Chinese middle name for example will therefore have to transliterate one or the other to make their whole name fit under Facebook's rules.

However, Mashable was pleased to discover and is delighted to report that "Honey Glazed Ham" is considered a perfectly reasonable name.

Found my new pen name. Credit: Facebook

UPDATE: Jun. 18, 2025, 10:24 a.m. UTC This story was originally published Nov. 8, 2023 and was updated June 18, 2025.