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Search results for tag #nasa

[?]grobi » 🌐
@grobi@defcon.social

Microlensing - NASA Science
-- jmbrill

Gravitational lensing is an observational effect that occurs because the presence of mass warps the fabric of space-time, sort of like the dent a bowling ball makes when set on a trampoline. The effect is extreme around very massive objects, like black holes and entire galaxies. But even stars and planets cause a detectable degree of warping, called microlensing.

Here’s how it works. Light travels in a straight line, but if space-time is bent – which happens near something massive, like a star – light follows the curve. Any time two stars align closely from our vantage point, light from the more distant star curves as it travels through the warped space-time around the nearer star.

If the alignment is especially close, the nearer star acts like a natural cosmic lens, magnifying light from the background star. Planets orbiting the lens star can produce a similar effect on a smaller scale.
Familiar and exotic worlds

The techniques commonly used to find other worlds are biased toward planets that tend to be very different from those in our solar system. The transit method, for example, is best at finding sub-Neptune-like planets that have orbits much smaller than Mercury’s. For a solar system like our own, transit studies could miss every planet.

Roman’s Galactic Bulge Time Domain Survey will help us find analogs to every planet in our solar system except Mercury, whose small orbit and low mass combine to put it beyond the mission’s reach. Roman will find planets that are the mass of Earth and even smaller – perhaps even large moons, like Jupiter’s moon Ganymede.

Roman will find planets in other poorly studied categories, too. Microlensing is best suited to finding worlds from the habitable zone of their star and farther out.
[...]

Please read more:
nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/n

CREDIT
science.nasa.gov

Alt...Roman Space Telescope Microlensing Animation CREDIT NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio

    [?]grobi » 🌐
    @grobi@defcon.social

    TOPIC>
    Gravitational Lensing

    Galaxy Lenses Galaxy from Webb
    * Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, G. Mahler
    orbi.uliege.be/profile?uid=p28
    asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/
    esawebb.org/
    nasa.gov/

    Explanation:
    Is this one galaxy or two? Although it looks like one, the answer is two. One path to this happening is when a small galaxy collides with a larger galaxy and ends up in the center. But in the featured image, something more rare is going on. Here, the central light-colored elliptical galaxy is much closer than the blue and red-colored spiral galaxy that surrounds it. This can happen when near and far galaxies are exactly aligned, causing the gravity of the near galaxy to pull the light from the far galaxy around it in an effect called gravitational lensing. The featured galaxy double was taken by the Webb Space Telescope and shows a complete Einstein ring, with great detail visible for both galaxies. Galaxy lenses like this can reveal new information about the mass distribution of the foreground lens and the light distribution of the background source.
    esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/
    esawebb.org/images/potm2503a/

    science.nasa.gov/wp-content/up
    webbtelescope.org/home
    science.nasa.gov/mission/hubbl
    science.nasa.gov/mission/hubbl
    ucdavis.edu/news/newly-discove
    science.nasa.gov/mission/hubbl

    spaceplace.nasa.gov/galaxy/en/
    science.nasa.gov/universe/gala
    science.nasa.gov/universe/gala

    apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220705.ht
    apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160420.ht
    apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap201018.ht

    apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250421.ht

    2025 April 21 What looks like a single spiral galaxy is shown with a white center surrounded by inner blue arms and outer red arms. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Galaxy Lenses Galaxy from Webb * Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, G. Mahler Explanation: Is this one galaxy or two? Although it looks like one, the answer is two. One path to this happening is when a small galaxy collides with a larger galaxy and ends up in the center. But in the featured image, something more rare is going on. Here, the central light-colored elliptical galaxy is much closer than the blue and red-colored spiral galaxy that surrounds it. This can happen when near and far galaxies are exactly aligned, causing the gravity of the near galaxy to pull the light from the far galaxy around it in an effect called gravitational lensing. The featured galaxy double was taken by the Webb Space Telescope and shows a complete Einstein ring, with great detail visible for both galaxies. Galaxy lenses like this can reveal new information about the mass distribution of the foreground lens and the light distribution of the background source. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

    Alt...2025 April 21 What looks like a single spiral galaxy is shown with a white center surrounded by inner blue arms and outer red arms. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. Galaxy Lenses Galaxy from Webb * Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, G. Mahler Explanation: Is this one galaxy or two? Although it looks like one, the answer is two. One path to this happening is when a small galaxy collides with a larger galaxy and ends up in the center. But in the featured image, something more rare is going on. Here, the central light-colored elliptical galaxy is much closer than the blue and red-colored spiral galaxy that surrounds it. This can happen when near and far galaxies are exactly aligned, causing the gravity of the near galaxy to pull the light from the far galaxy around it in an effect called gravitational lensing. The featured galaxy double was taken by the Webb Space Telescope and shows a complete Einstein ring, with great detail visible for both galaxies. Galaxy lenses like this can reveal new information about the mass distribution of the foreground lens and the light distribution of the background source. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

      [?]grobi » 🌐
      @grobi@defcon.social

      2025 February 26

      Einstein Ring Surrounds Nearby Galaxy Center
      * Image Credit & Copyright: ESA, NASA, Euclid Consortium;
      nasa.gov/
      esa.int/
      euclid-ec.org/consortium/about
      * Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre, G. Anselmi, T. Li
      cfht.hawaii.edu/~jcc/

      Explanation:
      Do you see the ring? If you look very closely at the center of the featured galaxy NGC 6505, a ring becomes evident. It is the gravity of NGC 6505, the nearby (z = 0.042) elliptical galaxy that you can easily see, that is magnifying and distorting the image of a distant galaxy into a complete circle. To create a complete Einstein ring there must be perfect alignment of the nearby galaxy's center and part of the background galaxy. Analysis of this ring and the multiple images of the background galaxy help to determine the mass and fraction of dark matter in NGC 6505's center, as well as uncover previously unseen details in the distorted galaxy. The featured image was captured by ESA's Earth-orbiting Euclid telescope in 2023 and released earlier this month.
      jpl.nasa.gov/news/euclid-disco
      euclid-ec.org/einstein-ring-in
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_6505
      arxiv.org/abs/2502.06505

      science.nasa.gov/dark-matter/

      esa.int/Science_Exploration/Sp

      apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250226.ht

      2025 February 26 A cluster of galaxies is shown with many galaxies around the cluster center. A close look at this center shows that it is encompassed by a narrow ring of light. Einstein Ring Surrounds Nearby Galaxy Center * Image Credit & Copyright: ESA, NASA, Euclid Consortium; Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre, G. Anselmi, T. Li Explanation: Do you see the ring? If you look very closely at the center of the featured galaxy NGC 6505, a ring becomes evident. It is the gravity of NGC 6505, the nearby (z = 0.042) elliptical galaxy that you can easily see, that is magnifying and distorting the image of a distant galaxy into a complete circle. To create a complete Einstein ring there must be perfect alignment of the nearby galaxy's center and part of the background galaxy. Analysis of this ring and the multiple images of the background galaxy help to determine the mass and fraction of dark matter in NGC 6505's center, as well as uncover previously unseen details in the distorted galaxy. The featured image was captured by ESA's Earth-orbiting Euclid telescope in 2023 and released earlier this month. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

      Alt...2025 February 26 A cluster of galaxies is shown with many galaxies around the cluster center. A close look at this center shows that it is encompassed by a narrow ring of light. Einstein Ring Surrounds Nearby Galaxy Center * Image Credit & Copyright: ESA, NASA, Euclid Consortium; Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre, G. Anselmi, T. Li Explanation: Do you see the ring? If you look very closely at the center of the featured galaxy NGC 6505, a ring becomes evident. It is the gravity of NGC 6505, the nearby (z = 0.042) elliptical galaxy that you can easily see, that is magnifying and distorting the image of a distant galaxy into a complete circle. To create a complete Einstein ring there must be perfect alignment of the nearby galaxy's center and part of the background galaxy. Analysis of this ring and the multiple images of the background galaxy help to determine the mass and fraction of dark matter in NGC 6505's center, as well as uncover previously unseen details in the distorted galaxy. The featured image was captured by ESA's Earth-orbiting Euclid telescope in 2023 and released earlier this month. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

        [?]grobi » 🌐
        @grobi@defcon.social

        ESA's Euclid mission is surveying the sky to explore the composition and evolution of the dark Universe.

        But how can Euclid see the invisible? Watch this video to learn about the light-bending effect that enables scientists to trace how dark matter is distributed in the Universe.

        By making use of Euclid’s flagship simulation, the video illustrates how dark-matter filaments subtly alter the shape of galaxies. Light travelling to us from vastly distant galaxies is bent and distorted by concentrations of matter along its way. The effect is called gravitational lensing because matter (both ‘normal’ and dark matter) acts as a kind of magnifying glass.

        Scientists distinguish between strong and weak gravitational lensing. In strong gravitational lensing distortions of background galaxies or other light sources are very apparent, resulting in arcs, multiple images or so-called Einstein rings. In weak lensing, background sources appear only mildly stretched or displaced. This means we can only detect this effect by analysing large numbers of sources in a statistical way.

        The further we look, the more prominent the distortions from weak gravitational lensing are, because there are more dark-matter structures acting as lenses between us and the light sources.

        Euclid will measure the distorted shapes of billions of galaxies over 10 billion years of cosmic history, providing a 3D view of the dark matter distribution in our Universe. This will shed light on the nature of this mysterious component.

        The map of the distribution of galaxies over cosmic time will also teach us about dark energy, which affects how quickly the Universe expands. By charting the Universe’s large-scale structure in unprecedented detail, Euclid will enable scientists to trace how the expansion has changed over time.

        * CREDIT
        ESA/Euclid Consortium/Cacao Cinema

        esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/

        Alt...To understand more about the dark Universe, ESA’s Euclid will measure a phenomenon known as ‘weak lensing’, based on the principle of gravitational lensing. * CREDIT ESA/Euclid Consortium/Cacao Cinema

          [?]grobi » 🌐
          @grobi@defcon.social

          A team of astronomers used the magnifying effect of the stars located in a spiral galaxy to ‘zoom in’ to another galaxy, known as PKS 1830-211, that lies along the same line of sight from Earth but is much farther away. Thanks to this unusual set-up, they could pick out very small structures in the distant galaxy, corresponding to the vicinity of the supermassive black hole. The black hole is devouring material from its surroundings while firing powerful jets of particles that emit light up to the high energies of gamma rays. Observing these jets with ESA’s Integral and NASA’s Fermi and Swift satellites, the astronomers could measure the size of the region around the black hole where they originate.

          Our telescopes will never be powerful enough to reveal these inner regions, but the intervening gravitational lens made the measurement possible. This is the first time that gravitational microlensing has been used with gamma rays to dissect the high-energy processes taking place around a supermassive black hole.

          CREDIT
          ESA/ATG medialab

          esa.int/var/esa/storage/images

          Massive cosmic objects, from single stars to galaxy clusters, bend and focus the light that flows around them with their gravity, acting like giant magnifying glasses. This effect is called gravitational lensing or, when it is detected on tiny patches on the sky, microlensing.

          Alt...Massive cosmic objects, from single stars to galaxy clusters, bend and focus the light that flows around them with their gravity, acting like giant magnifying glasses. This effect is called gravitational lensing or, when it is detected on tiny patches on the sky, microlensing.

            [?]grobi » 🌐
            @grobi@defcon.social

            2022 July 5

            A Molten Galaxy Einstein Ring
            * Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Jha;
            physics.rutgers.edu/~saurabh/
            esa.int/
            esahubble.org/
            nasa.gov/
            * Processing: Jonathan Lodge
            instagram.com/jjlodge/

            Explanation:
            It is difficult to hide a galaxy behind a cluster of galaxies. The closer cluster's gravity will act like a huge lens, pulling images of the distant galaxy around the sides and greatly distorting them. This is just the case observed in the featured image recently re-processed image from the Hubble Space Telescope. The cluster GAL-CLUS-022058c is composed of many galaxies and is lensing the image of a yellow-red background galaxy into arcs seen around the image center. Dubbed a molten Einstein ring for its unusual shape, four images of the same background galaxy have been identified. Typically, a foreground galaxy cluster can only create such smooth arcs if most of its mass is smoothly distributed -- and therefore not concentrated in the cluster galaxies visible. Analyzing the positions of these gravitational arcs gives astronomers a method to estimate the dark matter distribution in galaxy clusters, as well as infer when the stars in these early galaxies began to form.
            apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210802.ht
            apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210823.ht
            science.nasa.gov/missions/hubb
            science.nasa.gov/missions/
            esahubble.org/images/potw2050a/
            en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitat
            noirlab.edu/science/programs/c

            apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220705.ht

            2022 July 5 The featured image shows a distant galaxy distorted into a giant arc around the center of a galaxy cluster by gravitational lensing. A Molten Galaxy Einstein Ring * Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Jha; Processing: Jonathan Lodge Explanation: It is difficult to hide a galaxy behind a cluster of galaxies. The closer cluster's gravity will act like a huge lens, pulling images of the distant galaxy around the sides and greatly distorting them. This is just the case observed in the featured image recently re-processed image from the Hubble Space Telescope. The cluster GAL-CLUS-022058c is composed of many galaxies and is lensing the image of a yellow-red background galaxy into arcs seen around the image center. Dubbed a molten Einstein ring for its unusual shape, four images of the same background galaxy have been identified. Typically, a foreground galaxy cluster can only create such smooth arcs if most of its mass is smoothly distributed -- and therefore not concentrated in the cluster galaxies visible. Analyzing the positions of these gravitational arcs gives astronomers a method to estimate the dark matter distribution in galaxy clusters, as well as infer when the stars in these early galaxies began to form. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

            Alt...2022 July 5 The featured image shows a distant galaxy distorted into a giant arc around the center of a galaxy cluster by gravitational lensing. A Molten Galaxy Einstein Ring * Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, S. Jha; Processing: Jonathan Lodge Explanation: It is difficult to hide a galaxy behind a cluster of galaxies. The closer cluster's gravity will act like a huge lens, pulling images of the distant galaxy around the sides and greatly distorting them. This is just the case observed in the featured image recently re-processed image from the Hubble Space Telescope. The cluster GAL-CLUS-022058c is composed of many galaxies and is lensing the image of a yellow-red background galaxy into arcs seen around the image center. Dubbed a molten Einstein ring for its unusual shape, four images of the same background galaxy have been identified. Typically, a foreground galaxy cluster can only create such smooth arcs if most of its mass is smoothly distributed -- and therefore not concentrated in the cluster galaxies visible. Analyzing the positions of these gravitational arcs gives astronomers a method to estimate the dark matter distribution in galaxy clusters, as well as infer when the stars in these early galaxies began to form. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

              [?]grobi » 🌐
              @grobi@defcon.social

              A Gallery of Einstein Rings - NASA Science

              The thin blue bull's-eye patterns in these eight Hubble Space Telescope images appear like neon signs floating over reddish-white blobs. The blobs are giant elliptical galaxies roughly 2 to 4 billion light-years away. The bull's-eye patterns are created as the light from galaxies twice as far away is distorted into circular shapes by the gravity of the giant elliptical galaxies. This phenomenon is called gravitational lensing, first predicted by Albert Einstein almost a century ago. Gravitational lensing occurs when the gravitational field from a massive object warps space and deflects light from a distant object behind it.

              The bull's-eye patterns are so-called "Einstein rings," which are the most elegant manifestation of the lensing phenomenon. Einstein rings are produced when two galaxies are almost perfectly aligned, one behind the other.

              The images were taken between August 2004 and March 2005 by the Hubble telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys. They are part of an ongoing survey, called the Sloan Lens ACS (or SLACS) Survey, of about 150 galaxies to hunt for gravitational lenses. So far, the survey has netted 19 new gravitational lenses, adding significantly to the 100 or so previously known lenses. The survey also has identified eight new Einstein rings. Only three such rings had been seen previously in visible light.

              Credit:
              NASA, ESA, and the SLACS Survey team: A. Bolton (Harvard/ Smithsonian), S. Burles (MIT), L. Koopmans (Kapteyn), T. Treu (UCSB), and L. Moustakas (JPL/Caltech)

              science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/

              A Gallery of Einstein Rings - NASA Science The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposal 10174. Members of the SLACS team include: A. Bolton (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), S. Burles (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), L. Koopmans (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute), T. Treu (University of California - Santa Barbara), and L. Moustakas (Jet Propulsion Lab/Caltech).

              Alt...A Gallery of Einstein Rings - NASA Science The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposal 10174. Members of the SLACS team include: A. Bolton (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA), S. Burles (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), L. Koopmans (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute), T. Treu (University of California - Santa Barbara), and L. Moustakas (Jet Propulsion Lab/Caltech).

                [?]grobi » 🌐
                @grobi@defcon.social

                2022 May 11

                Gravity's Grin
                * Image Credit: X-ray - NASA / CXC / J. Irwin et al. ;
                arxiv.org/abs/1505.05501
                chandra.harvard.edu/
                chandra.harvard.edu/
                * Optical - NASA/STScI
                stsci.edu/

                Explanation:
                Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, published over 100 years ago, predicted the phenomenon of gravitational lensing. And that's what gives these distant galaxies such a whimsical appearance, seen through the looking glass of X-ray and optical image data from the Chandra and Hubble space telescopes. Nicknamed the Cheshire Cat galaxy group, the group's two large elliptical galaxies are suggestively framed by arcs. The arcs are optical images of distant background galaxies lensed by the foreground group's total distribution of gravitational mass. Of course, that gravitational mass is dominated by dark matter. The two large elliptical "eye" galaxies represent the brightest members of their own galaxy groups which are merging. Their relative collisional speed of nearly 1,350 kilometers/second heats gas to millions of degrees producing the X-ray glow shown in purple hues. Curiouser about galaxy group mergers? The Cheshire Cat group grins in the constellation Ursa Major, some 4.6 billion light-years away.
                en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_
                chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2015
                apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111221.ht
                lsst.org/science/dark-matter

                apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220511.ht

                2022 May 11 Gravity's Grin * Image Credit: X-ray - NASA / CXC / J. Irwin et al. ; Optical - NASA/STScI Explanation: Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, published over 100 years ago, predicted the phenomenon of gravitational lensing. And that's what gives these distant galaxies such a whimsical appearance, seen through the looking glass of X-ray and optical image data from the Chandra and Hubble space telescopes. Nicknamed the Cheshire Cat galaxy group, the group's two large elliptical galaxies are suggestively framed by arcs. The arcs are optical images of distant background galaxies lensed by the foreground group's total distribution of gravitational mass. Of course, that gravitational mass is dominated by dark matter. The two large elliptical "eye" galaxies represent the brightest members of their own galaxy groups which are merging. Their relative collisional speed of nearly 1,350 kilometers/second heats gas to millions of degrees producing the X-ray glow shown in purple hues. Curiouser about galaxy group mergers? The Cheshire Cat group grins in the constellation Ursa Major, some 4.6 billion light-years away. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

                Alt...2022 May 11 Gravity's Grin * Image Credit: X-ray - NASA / CXC / J. Irwin et al. ; Optical - NASA/STScI Explanation: Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, published over 100 years ago, predicted the phenomenon of gravitational lensing. And that's what gives these distant galaxies such a whimsical appearance, seen through the looking glass of X-ray and optical image data from the Chandra and Hubble space telescopes. Nicknamed the Cheshire Cat galaxy group, the group's two large elliptical galaxies are suggestively framed by arcs. The arcs are optical images of distant background galaxies lensed by the foreground group's total distribution of gravitational mass. Of course, that gravitational mass is dominated by dark matter. The two large elliptical "eye" galaxies represent the brightest members of their own galaxy groups which are merging. Their relative collisional speed of nearly 1,350 kilometers/second heats gas to millions of degrees producing the X-ray glow shown in purple hues. Curiouser about galaxy group mergers? The Cheshire Cat group grins in the constellation Ursa Major, some 4.6 billion light-years away. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

                  [?]grobi » 🌐
                  @grobi@defcon.social

                  2023 November 10

                  UHZ1: Distant Galaxy and Black Hole
                  * Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Ákos Bogdán; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI;
                  chandra.harvard.edu/
                  * Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & K. Arcand

                  Explanation:
                  Dominated by dark matter, massive cluster of galaxies Abell 2744 is known to some as Pandora's Cluster. It lies 3.5 billion light-years away toward the constellation Sculptor. Using the galaxy cluster's enormous mass as a gravitational lens to warp spacetime and magnify even more distant objects directly behind it, astronomers have found a background galaxy, UHZ1, at a remarkable redshift of Z=10.1. That puts UHZ1 far beyond Abell 2744, at a distance of 13.2 billion light-years, seen when our universe was about 3 percent of its current age. UHZ1 is identified in the insets of this composited image combining X-rays (purple hues) from the spacebased Chandra X-ray Observatory and infrared light from the James Webb Space Telescope. The X-ray emission from UHZ1 detected in the Chandra data is the telltale signature of a growing supermassive black hole at the center of the ultra high redshift galaxy. That makes UHZ1's growing black hole the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays, a result that now hints at how and when the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed.
                  chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/uhz1/
                  webbtelescope.org/contents/new

                  apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130408.ht
                  arxiv.org/abs/2308.02750
                  arxiv.org/abs/2305.15458

                  apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231110.ht

                  2023 November 10 UHZ1: Distant Galaxy and Black Hole * Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Ákos Bogdán; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; * Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & K. Arcand Explanation: Dominated by dark matter, massive cluster of galaxies Abell 2744 is known to some as Pandora's Cluster. It lies 3.5 billion light-years away toward the constellation Sculptor. Using the galaxy cluster's enormous mass as a gravitational lens to warp spacetime and magnify even more distant objects directly behind it, astronomers have found a background galaxy, UHZ1, at a remarkable redshift of Z=10.1. That puts UHZ1 far beyond Abell 2744, at a distance of 13.2 billion light-years, seen when our universe was about 3 percent of its current age. UHZ1 is identified in the insets of this composited image combining X-rays (purple hues) from the spacebased Chandra X-ray Observatory and infrared light from the James Webb Space Telescope. The X-ray emission from UHZ1 detected in the Chandra data is the telltale signature of a growing supermassive black hole at the center of the ultra high redshift galaxy. That makes UHZ1's growing black hole the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays, a result that now hints at how and when the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.

                  Alt...2023 November 10 UHZ1: Distant Galaxy and Black Hole * Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Ákos Bogdán; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; * Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & K. Arcand Explanation: Dominated by dark matter, massive cluster of galaxies Abell 2744 is known to some as Pandora's Cluster. It lies 3.5 billion light-years away toward the constellation Sculptor. Using the galaxy cluster's enormous mass as a gravitational lens to warp spacetime and magnify even more distant objects directly behind it, astronomers have found a background galaxy, UHZ1, at a remarkable redshift of Z=10.1. That puts UHZ1 far beyond Abell 2744, at a distance of 13.2 billion light-years, seen when our universe was about 3 percent of its current age. UHZ1 is identified in the insets of this composited image combining X-rays (purple hues) from the spacebased Chandra X-ray Observatory and infrared light from the James Webb Space Telescope. The X-ray emission from UHZ1 detected in the Chandra data is the telltale signature of a growing supermassive black hole at the center of the ultra high redshift galaxy. That makes UHZ1's growing black hole the most distant black hole ever detected in X-rays, a result that now hints at how and when the first supermassive black holes in the universe formed. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.

                    [?]grobi » 🌐
                    @grobi@defcon.social

                    "Let's see what our telescopes are capable of with the help of gravitational lensing:"

                    Take a Tour of Pandora's Cluster

                    NASA's James Webb Space Telescope presents a new view of Abell 2744, also known as Pandora's cluster, displaying various depths of space in a single image. Ranging from a foreground star in our own galaxy ... to the mega cluster forming as multiple massive galaxy clusters merge 4 billion light years away ... to the even more distant galaxies behind the cluster, whose light is magnified and distorted by the mega-clusters' warping of space time. Without the cluster's magnification boost, even the Webb Telescope could not see these faint, extremely distant galaxies. Some features that Webb shows distinctly like this dusty red galaxy were not detected at all when the Hubble Space Telescope studied the region. Astronomers are using this image to choose certain galaxies for follow up to get precise distance measurements and details about intriguing features.

                    This small red dot is a distant source of infrared light that has so far defied characterization. It must be extremely compact because even with the visual stretching caused by the cluster's warped space-time, it still appears as a tiny dot. One theory is that it is a glowing disk of gas surrounding a supermassive Black hole in the early universe. Webb's follow-up observations will further reveal the wonders of Pandora's cluster, and uncover a new understanding of the universe.

                    Credits
                    *Video
                    STScI, Danielle Kirshenblat
                    * Music
                    PremiumBeat Music, Klaus Hergersheimer
                    * Science
                    Ivo Labbe (Swinburne), Rachel Bezanson (University of Pittsburgh)
                    * Image Processing
                    STScI, Alyssa Pagan

                    webbtelescope.org/contents/med

                    Alt...This video tours Pandora’s Cluster (Abell 2744), a region where multiple clusters of galaxies are in the process of merging to form a megacluster. Astronomers estimate 50,000 sources of near-infrared light are represented in this image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. The concentration of mass in Pandora’s Cluster is so great that the fabric of spacetime is warped by gravity, creating an effect that makes the region of special interest to astronomers: a natural, super-magnifying glass called a “gravitational lens” that they can use to see very distant sources of light beyond the cluster that would otherwise be undetectable, even to Webb. These lensed sources, which are particularly prominent in the lower right area, appear red in the image, and often as elongated arcs distorted by the gravitational lens. The video also highlights a mysterious object that appears to be no more than a red dot. One theory is that this source of infrared light is a glowing disk of gas surrounding a supermassive black hole in the early universe. Credits *Video STScI, Danielle Kirshenblat * Music PremiumBeat Music, Klaus Hergersheimer * Science Ivo Labbe (Swinburne), Rachel Bezanson (University of Pittsburgh) * Image Processing STScI, Alyssa Pagan

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                      NASA Telescopes Discover Record-Breaking Black Hole

                      The main image of this release features a glimpse of a black hole in an early stage of its development, just 470 million years after the Big Bang.

                      The composite image shows data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope. It features scores of seemingly tiny celestial objects in a sea of black. This is the galaxy cluster Abell 2744. When magnified, the tiny white, orange, and purple celestial objects are revealed to be spiral and elliptical galaxies, and gleaming stars. Many of these colorful specks appear to float in a neon purple cloud of X-ray gas in the center of the image, some 3.5 billion light-years from Earth.

                      Just to the right of center, at the edge of the purple gas cloud, is a tiny orange speck. This speck is far in the distance, well beyond the Abell galaxy cluster. It represents a galaxy 13.2 billion light-years from Earth containing a supermassive black hole.

                      In this composite image packed with celestial objects, the tiny orange speck is easily overlooked. Therefore, the main image of the release is also presented fully labelled. In the labelled version of the image, a thin box outlines the distant galaxy, and two enlargements are inset at our upper left. In the enlargement showing Chandra data, a hazy, neon purple oval with a light pink core is shown. This purple oval represents intense X-rays from a growing supermassive black hole estimated to weigh between 10 and 100 million suns. The purple oval is not visible in the composite image because of the way the Chandra data was processed.

                      This black hole is located in the distant galaxy in the center of the enlargement showing Webb data.

                      chandra.si.edu/photo/2023/uhz1/

                      * video compressed with
                      $ ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vcodec libx265 -crf 20 out.mp4

                      Alt...* video compressed with ffmpeg -crf 20 The composite image shows data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope. It features scores of seemingly tiny celestial objects in a sea of black. This is the galaxy cluster Abell 2744. When magnified, the tiny white, orange, and purple celestial objects are revealed to be spiral and elliptical galaxies, and gleaming stars. Many of these colorful specks appear to float in a neon purple cloud of X-ray gas in the center of the image, some 3.5 billion light-years from Earth. Credit X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Ákos Bogdán; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare & K. Arcand |

                        [?]grobi » 🌐
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                        TOPIC> Gravitational Lensing
                        starts here:
                        defcon.social/@grobi/114374350

                        Gravitational Lensing - Nature's Boost

                        For me, this is the most wonderful scientific statement on the phenomenon of gravitational lensing!

                        Senior Project Scientist Dr. Jennifer Wiseman calls this 'miracle' 'Nature's Boost'.

                        See the sparkle in her eyes and hear the enthusiasm in her voice when she explains this phenomenon to us in her understandable and accessible way.

                        It is not that scientists do not see miracles or are not touched by those .. for them it is just not a sin or a drama to fathom the background to newly discovered phenomena.

                        science.nasa.gov/mission/hubbl

                        * video converted and compressed with
                        $ ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vcodec libx265 -crf 25 out.mp4

                        Alt...For the past 31 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has continued its important mission of uncovering the mysteries of the universe. One of those mysteries that Hubble has helped us begin to understand is gravitational lensing. * Director, Producer & Editor: James Leigh * Director of Photography: James Ball * Additional Photography, Coloring & Mix: Matthew Duncan * Sound Recordist: Alex Jennings * Production & Edit Assistant: Lucy Lund * Production & Post: Origin * GSFC Support: Lynn Bassford Maureen Disharoon James Jeletic Jeannine Kashif Erin Kisliuk Paul Morris * Music Credits: “Transitions” by Ben Niblett [PRS] and Jon Cotton [PRS] via Atmosphere Music Ltd. [PRS] and Universal Production Music. * video converted and compressed with $ ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vcodec libx265 -crf 25 out.mp4

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                          Gravitational Lensing Today

                          Excerpts from "Hubble Gravitational Lenses" by Andrea Gianopoulos and "For the First Time Hubble Directly Measures Mass of a Lone White Dwarf" by NASA Hubble Mission Team

                          Today, Hubble astronomers continue to use the century-old General Relativity/Eddington Experiment to measure distant objects in the universe. For the first time, they measured the mass of a lone white dwarf — the dense, burned-out remnant of a Sun-like star — by seeing how much its gravity deflected the light from a background star. The researchers found that the white dwarf, called LAWD 37, is 56 percent the mass of our Sun, which agrees with earlier theoretical predictions of the white dwarf's mass and corroborated current theories of how white dwarfs evolve as the end product of a typical star's evolution.

                          When the mass of the lensing object is much larger, like a large galaxy or cluster of galaxies, the effects of gravitational lensing can resemble a house of mirrors. The gravitational lens not only bends and magnifies the light of distant objects, but distorts it in both space and time.

                          One example of this spacetime distortion lies in the galaxy cluster 0024+1654, seen above. The gravitational lens forms as a result of the cluster's tremendous gravitational field that bends light to magnify, brighten, and stretches the image of a more distant object. How distorted the image becomes and how many copies are made depends on the alignment between the foreground cluster and the more distant galaxy, which is behind the cluster. In this photograph, light from the distant galaxy bends as it passes through the cluster, dividing the galaxy into five separate images. The light also distorted the galaxy's image from a normal spiral shape into a more arc-shaped object.

                          science.nasa.gov/mission/hubbl
                          science.nasa.gov/missions/hubb

                          Alt...This simulation shows a gravitational lens moving against a background field of galaxies. The object passing between the camera and the background galaxies warps space due to its gravity. The warped space bends the path of light from background galaxies, making them appear distorted and brighter. Credit: NASA, Frank Summers (STScI)

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                            Euclid Opens Data Treasure Chest: Insights into the Depths of the Universe ESA's

                            Euclid mission publishes first survey data.

                            19. March 2025 Today, the European Space Agency's Euclid mission released its first batch of survey data, including a preview of its deep fields. Here, hundreds of thousands of galaxies in different shapes and sizes are the focus and show an insight into their large-scale arrangement in the cosmic web. The data sharing covers a huge area of the sky in three mosaics. It also includes numerous galaxy clusters, active galactic nuclei and transient phenomena, as well as the first classification study of more than 380 000 galaxies and 500 gravitational lensing candidates compiled by combined artificial intelligence and citizen science initiatives. All this paves the way for the wide range of topics that the detective of the dark universe Euclid will tackle with his extensive data set.

                            Euclid combines high-resolution imaging with large sky coverage for the first time.

                            "Euclid's unique observational capabilities could help to better determine the expansion rate of the universe through gravitational-wave observations," explains Miguel Zumalacárregui, group leader in the Department of Astrophysical and Cosmological Relativity at @mpi_grav in the Potsdam Science Park. To this end, the researchers want to correlate gravitational waves measured by @LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA with Euclid's galaxy catalogues. In addition, the large number of gravitational lensing systems discovered by Euclid plays an important role. "Euclid's observations could also be crucial for the detection of the first gravitational waves, which are split into multiple images by gravitational lensing," Zumalacárregui adds.

                            aei.mpg.de/1240587/euclid-open

                            This image shows examples of gravitational lenses that Euclid captured in its first observations of the Deep Field areas. Using an initial sweep by artificial intelligence models, followed by citizen science inspection, expert vetting and modelling, a first catalogue of 500 galaxy-galaxy strong lens candidates was created, almost all of which were previously unknown. This type of lensing happens when a foreground galaxy and its halo of dark matter acts as a lens, distorting the image of a background galaxy along the line of sight towards Euclid. With the help of these models, Euclid will capture some 7000 candidates in the major cosmology data release planned for the end of 2026, and in the order of 100 000 galaxy-galaxy strong lenses by the end of the mission, around 100 times more than currently known. Credits: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, * image processing by M. Walmsley, M. Huertas-Company, J.-C. Cuillandre

                            Alt... This image shows examples of gravitational lenses that Euclid captured in its first observations of the Deep Field areas. Using an initial sweep by artificial intelligence models, followed by citizen science inspection, expert vetting and modelling, a first catalogue of 500 galaxy-galaxy strong lens candidates was created, almost all of which were previously unknown. This type of lensing happens when a foreground galaxy and its halo of dark matter acts as a lens, distorting the image of a background galaxy along the line of sight towards Euclid. With the help of these models, Euclid will capture some 7000 candidates in the major cosmology data release planned for the end of 2026, and in the order of 100 000 galaxy-galaxy strong lenses by the end of the mission, around 100 times more than currently known. Credits: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, * image processing by M. Walmsley, M. Huertas-Company, J.-C. Cuillandre

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                              From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                              A gravitational lens is matter,
                              such as a cluster of galaxies or a point particle, that bends light from a distant source as it travels toward an observer. The amount of gravitational lensing is described by Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity. If light is treated as corpuscles travelling at the speed of light, Newtonian physics also predicts the bending of light, but only half of that predicted by general relativity.

                              Orest Khvolson (1924) and Frantisek Link (1936) are generally credited with being the first to discuss the effect in print, but it is more commonly associated with Einstein, who made unpublished calculations on it in 1912 and published an article on the subject in 1936.

                              In 1937, Fritz Zwicky posited that galaxy clusters could act as gravitational lenses, a claim confirmed in 1979 by observation of the Twin QSO SBS 0957+561.

                              Unlike an optical lens, a point-like gravitational lens produces a maximum deflection of light that passes closest to its center, and a minimum deflection of light that travels furthest from its center. Consequently, a gravitational lens has no single focal point, but a focal line. The term "lens" in the context of gravitational light deflection was first used by O. J. Lodge, who remarked that it is "not permissible to say that the solar gravitational field acts like a lens, for it has no focal length". If the (light) source, the massive lensing object, and the observer lie in a straight line, the original light source will appear as a ring around the massive lensing object (provided the lens has circular symmetry). If there is any misalignment, the observer will see an arc segment instead.
                              >>

                              Alt...This schematic image shows how light from a distant galaxy is distorted by the gravitational effects of a foreground galaxy, which acts like a lens and makes the distant source appear distorted, but magnified, forming characteristic rings of light, known as Einstein rings.

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                                <<_>>

                                From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                                This phenomenon was first mentioned in 1924 by the St. Petersburg physicist Orest Khvolson, and quantified by Albert Einstein in 1936. It is usually referred to in the literature as an Einstein ring, since Khvolson did not concern himself with the flux or radius of the ring image. More commonly, where the lensing mass is complex (such as a galaxy group or cluster) and does not cause a spherical distortion of spacetime, the source will resemble partial arcs scattered around the lens. The observer may then see multiple distorted images of the same source; the number and shape of these depending upon the relative positions of the source, lens, and observer, and the shape of the gravitational well of the lensing object.

                                [TODAY:
                                Using an initial sweep by artificial intelligence models, followed by citizen science inspection, expert vetting and modelling, a first catalogue of 500 galaxy-galaxy strong lens candidates was created, almost all of which were previously unknown. This type of lensing happens when a foreground galaxy and its halo of dark matter acts as a lens, distorting the image of a background galaxy along the line of sight towards Euclid.

                                With the help of these models, Euclid will capture some 7000 candidates in the major cosmology data release planned for the end of 2026, and in the order of 100 000 galaxy-galaxy strong lenses by the end of the mission, around 100 times more than currently known.]

                                Alt...An analysis of the distortion of SDP.81 caused by this effect has revealed star-forming clumps of matter.

                                  [?]grobi » 🌐
                                  @grobi@defcon.social

                                  TOPIC> Exoplanets

                                  Searching for other worlds
                                  -- by Anthony Greicius

                                  Fewer than 100 exoplanets have been directly imaged, because most planets are so faint they get lost in the light from their parent star. The other four methods of planet detection are indirect. With the transit method, for instance, astronomers look for a star to dim for a short period as an orbiting planet passes in front of it.

                                  To account for the possibility that something other than an exoplanet is responsible for a particular signal, most exoplanet candidates must be confirmed by follow-up observations, often using an additional telescope, and that takes time. That’s why there is a long list of candidates in the NASA Exoplanet Archive (hosted by NExScI) waiting to be confirmed.

                                  “We really need the whole community working together if we want to maximize our investments in these missions that are churning out exoplanets candidates,” said Aurora Kesseli, the deputy science lead for the NASA Exoplanet Archive at IPAC. “A big part of what we do at NExScI is build tools that help the community go out and turn candidate planets into confirmed planets.”

                                  The rate of exoplanet discoveries has accelerated in recent years (the database reached 5,000 confirmed exoplanets just three years ago), and this trend seems likely to continue. Kesseli and her colleagues anticipate receiving thousands of additional exoplanet candidates from the ESA (European Space Agency) Gaia mission, which finds planets through a technique called astrometry, and NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which will discover thousands of new exoplanets primarily through a technique called gravitational microlensing.

                                  Exerpt from:
                                  nasa.gov/universe/exoplanets/n

                                  CREDIT:
                                  Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

                                  Many telescopes contribute to the search for and study of exoplanets, including some in space (artists concepts shown here) and on the ground. Doing the work are organizations around the world, including ESA (European Space Agency), CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and NSF (National Science Foundation). CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                  Alt... Many telescopes contribute to the search for and study of exoplanets, including some in space (artists concepts shown here) and on the ground. Doing the work are organizations around the world, including ESA (European Space Agency), CSA (Canadian Space Agency), and NSF (National Science Foundation). CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech

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                                    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                                    [...]

                                    C/2025 R2 was not discovered earlier in part because of the Holetschek effect as the comet was less than 30 degrees from the Sun between August 7 - September 13. Between August and September the comet had rapidly brightened from magnitude 11 to magnitude 8. The comet is not likely in an outburst, however it is currently unknown how quickly it will dim or if it will completely disintegrate.

                                    C/2025 R2 is officially the 20th comet discovered through SOHO's SWAN instrument according to its discoverer, Vladimir Bezugly.

                                    C/2025 R2 (SWAN) came to perihelion one day after discovery on 12 September 2025 at a distance of 0.5 AU (75 million km) from the Sun. Earth will cross the comet's orbit around 5 October 2025 and it may produce a meteor shower. It will make its closest approach to Earth at a distance of 0.26 AU (39 million km; 24 million mi) on 19 October 2025. It will cross the celestial equator on 3 November 2025.

                                    As the comet was discovered near perihelion, the closest approach to the Sun is reasonably well known. But the aphelion (farthest distance from the Sun) is currently constrained by the low spatial resolution of about 1° per pixel STEREO-A observations in August, and without the STEREO-A observations, there is only a short 4-day observation arc for the orbit determination. Aphelion is anywhere from 60+ AU from the Sun with an orbital period of hundreds to thousands of years. The Minor Planet Center (using observations through September 15th) estimates an orbital period of 1400 years with aphelion around 250 AU, and JPL (using observations through September 14th) estimates an orbital period of 20000 years with aphelion beyond 1000 AU. ..

                                    Text Credits:
                                    Contributors to Wikimedia projects

                                    Image Credit:
                                    Filipp Romanov

                                    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2025_R

                                    On 2025-09-13 I confirmed the new bright comet SWAN25B remotely using iTelescope.net T59 (0.51-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD) located at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia. I measured: magnitude of the coma = +8.9 mag., coma diameter = 2 arcminutes with a straight tail (which becomes wider away from the coma) at least 18 arcminutes in length (up to the edge of the frame), PA = 112 degrees. Images: stacked 3x10 sec. (RGB) and single 60 sec. (Luminance filter). Credit text & image Filipp Romanov Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) imaged from the Siding Spring Observatory on 13 September 2025 with a 0.5 m (20 in) telescope. Discovery Discovered by SOHO–SWAN Vladimir Bezugly Discovery date 11 September 2025 Designations Alternative designations SWAN25B, CK25R020 Orbital characteristics Epoch 13 September 2025 (JD 2460931.5) Observation arc 32 days Earliest precovery date 13 August 2025 Number of observations 83 Aphelion 1600±9000 AU Perihelion 0.5035±0.0002 AU Eccentricity 0.999±0.003 Orbital period 1400–20000(?) years Inclination 4.47°±0.002° Longitude of ascending node 335.7° Argument of periapsis 307.77° Last perihelion 12 September 2025 TJupiter 0.884 Earth MOID 0.047 AU Jupiter MOID 0.042 AU Physical characteristics Comet total magnitude (M1) 12.4±0.9 Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) 10±2 Apparent magnitude 6.0 (2025-09-15)

                                    Alt...On 2025-09-13 I confirmed the new bright comet SWAN25B remotely using iTelescope.net T59 (0.51-m f/6.8 reflector + CCD) located at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia. I measured: magnitude of the coma = +8.9 mag., coma diameter = 2 arcminutes with a straight tail (which becomes wider away from the coma) at least 18 arcminutes in length (up to the edge of the frame), PA = 112 degrees. Images: stacked 3x10 sec. (RGB) and single 60 sec. (Luminance filter). Credit text & image Filipp Romanov Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) imaged from the Siding Spring Observatory on 13 September 2025 with a 0.5 m (20 in) telescope. Discovery Discovered by SOHO–SWAN Vladimir Bezugly Discovery date 11 September 2025 Designations Alternative designations SWAN25B, CK25R020 Orbital characteristics Epoch 13 September 2025 (JD 2460931.5) Observation arc 32 days Earliest precovery date 13 August 2025 Number of observations 83 Aphelion 1600±9000 AU Perihelion 0.5035±0.0002 AU Eccentricity 0.999±0.003 Orbital period 1400–20000(?) years Inclination 4.47°±0.002° Longitude of ascending node 335.7° Argument of periapsis 307.77° Last perihelion 12 September 2025 TJupiter 0.884 Earth MOID 0.047 AU Jupiter MOID 0.042 AU Physical characteristics Comet total magnitude (M1) 12.4±0.9 Comet nuclear magnitude (M2) 10±2 Apparent magnitude 6.0 (2025-09-15)

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                                      Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN)

                                      Below the horizon. Rise: 9:47 | Tran: 14:46 | Set: 19:44
                                      Alt: -29.26° Az: 70.51° Direction: East-North-East

                                      Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) is in the constellation of Virgo, at a distance of 117,117,474.3 kilometers from Earth. The current Right Ascension is 13h 35m 39s and the Declination is -11° 36’ 24” (apparent coordinates). The latest observed magnitude of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) is 7.3 (data provided by COBS).

                                      * URL'S associated with the images:
                                      1. to 2. theskylive.com/planetarium?obj
                                      3. 5. 6. theskylive.com/c2025r2-tracker
                                      4. theskylive.com/3dsolarsystem?o

                                      On this website you can follow the current data of the comet live:
                                      theskylive.com/c2025r2-info

                                      CREDIT
                                      TheSkyLive.com
                                      ----

                                      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

                                      C/2025 R2 (SWAN)

                                      C/2025 R2 (SWAN), formerly known as SWAN25B, is a non-periodic comet discovered on 11 September 2025 by Vladimir Bezugly through SWAN imagery. As of 17 September 2025, the comet has an apparent magnitude of +6.9 with a solar elongation of 30 degrees and is observable near the star Spica in 50 mm (2.0 in) binoculars. It is better seen from the Southern hemisphere.

                                      Observational history

                                      The comet was first spotted in images from the SWAN instrument onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) by amateur astronomer Vladimir Bezugly on 11 September 2025. The presence of the comet was confirmed by other amateur astronomers, having an estimated magnitude of 7.4 and featuring a tail about 2 degrees long. The comet upon discovery was located in the constellation of Virgo and it was better seen from the southern hemisphere as it was higher in the sky after sunset.
                                      [...]

                                      Please read more in next post.

                                      Text Credits:
                                      Contributors to Wikimedia projects

                                      Star map showing the position of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) in the constellation of Virgo on September 18, 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees.

                                      Alt...Star map showing the position of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) in the constellation of Virgo on September 18, 2025. Field of view: 50x30 degrees.

                                      Star map showing the position of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) in the constellation of Virgo on September 18, 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees.

                                      Alt...Star map showing the position of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) in the constellation of Virgo on September 18, 2025. Field of view: 15x9 degrees.

                                      Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes.

                                      Alt...Simplified high-resolution deep sky chart showing the current position of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN). Field of view: 60 x 40 arcminutes.

                                      3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System.

                                      Alt...3D animated visualization of the orbit of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) relative to the other major objects in the Solar System.

                                      Light curve of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

                                      Alt...Light curve of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN), i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.

                                      Distance of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

                                      Alt...Distance of comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.

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                                        theskylive.com/3dsolarsystem?o

                                        Interactive 3D Orbit Visualization

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                                          2025 September 18

                                          Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN)
                                          * Image Credit & Copyright: Team Ciel Austral
                                          cielaustral.com/

                                          Explanation:
                                          A new visitor from the outer Solar System, comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) also known as SWAN25B was only discovered late last week, on September 11. That's just day before the comet reached perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun. First spotted by Vladimir Bezugly in images from the SWAN instrument on the sun-staring SOHO spacecraft, the comet was surprisingly bright but understandably difficult to see against the Sun's glare. Still close to the Sun on the sky, the greenish coma and tail of C/2025 R2 (SWAN) are captured in this telescopic snapshot from September 17. Spica, alpha star of the constellation Virgo, shines just beyond the upper left edge of the frame while the comet is about 6.5 light-minutes from planet Earth. Near the western horizon after sunset and slightly easier to see in binoculars from the southern hemisphere, this comet SWAN will pass near Zubenelgenubi, alpha star of Libra, on October 2. C/2025 R2 (SWAN) is scheduled to make its closest approach to our fair planet around October 20.
                                          app.astrobin.com/i/i5qsgj
                                          earthsky.org/space/new-comet-s
                                          cobs.si/obs_list?id=2659
                                          en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2025_R

                                          spaceplace.nasa.gov/comets/en/
                                          science.nasa.gov/mission/soho/

                                          apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250918.ht

                                          2025 September 18 Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) * Image Credit & Copyright: Team Ciel Austral Explanation: A new visitor from the outer Solar System, comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) also known as SWAN25B was only discovered late last week, on September 11. That's just day before the comet reached perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun. First spotted by Vladimir Bezugly in images from the SWAN instrument on the sun-staring SOHO spacecraft, the comet was surprisingly bright but understandably difficult to see against the Sun's glare. Still close to the Sun on the sky, the greenish coma and tail of C/2025 R2 (SWAN) are captured in this telescopic snapshot from September 17. Spica, alpha star of the constellation Virgo, shines just beyond the upper left edge of the frame while the comet is about 6.5 light-minutes from planet Earth. Near the western horizon after sunset and slightly easier to see in binoculars from the southern hemisphere, this comet SWAN will pass near Zubenelgenubi, alpha star of Libra, on October 2. C/2025 R2 (SWAN) is scheduled to make its closest approach to our fair planet around October 20. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                          Alt...2025 September 18 Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) * Image Credit & Copyright: Team Ciel Austral Explanation: A new visitor from the outer Solar System, comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) also known as SWAN25B was only discovered late last week, on September 11. That's just day before the comet reached perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun. First spotted by Vladimir Bezugly in images from the SWAN instrument on the sun-staring SOHO spacecraft, the comet was surprisingly bright but understandably difficult to see against the Sun's glare. Still close to the Sun on the sky, the greenish coma and tail of C/2025 R2 (SWAN) are captured in this telescopic snapshot from September 17. Spica, alpha star of the constellation Virgo, shines just beyond the upper left edge of the frame while the comet is about 6.5 light-minutes from planet Earth. Near the western horizon after sunset and slightly easier to see in binoculars from the southern hemisphere, this comet SWAN will pass near Zubenelgenubi, alpha star of Libra, on October 2. C/2025 R2 (SWAN) is scheduled to make its closest approach to our fair planet around October 20. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

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                                            2025 September 15

                                            Earth During a Powerful Solar Storm
                                            * Video Credit: NASA's SVS, SWRC, CCMC, SWMF; T. Bridgman et al.
                                            nasa.gov/
                                            svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/
                                            science.gsfc.nasa.gov/heliophy
                                            ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/
                                            clasp.engin.umich.edu/research
                                            svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/search/?peop
                                            svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4189/

                                            Explanation:
                                            Can our Sun become dangerous? Yes, sometimes. Every few years our Sun ejects a scary-large bubble of hot gas into the Solar System. Every hundred years or so, when the timing, location, and magnetic field connections are just right, such a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) will hit the Earth. When this happens, the Earth not only experiences dramatic auroras, but its magnetic field gets quickly pushed back and compressed, which causes electric grids to surge. Some of these surges could be dangerous, affecting satellites and knocking out power grids -- which can take months to fix. Just such a storm -- called the Carrington Event -- occurred in 1859 and caused telegraph wires to spark. A similar CME passed near the Earth in 2012, and the featured animated video shows a computer model of what might have happened if it had been a direct hit. In this model, the Earth's magnetopause becomes so compressed that it went inside the orbit of geosynchronous communication satellites.

                                            apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250915.ht

                                            Alt...2025 September 15 Your browser does not support the video tag. Earth During a Powerful Solar Storm * Video Credit: NASA's SVS, SWRC, CCMC, SWMF; T. Bridgman et al. Explanation: Can our Sun become dangerous? Yes, sometimes. Every few years our Sun ejects a scary-large bubble of hot gas into the Solar System. Every hundred years or so, when the timing, location, and magnetic field connections are just right, such a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) will hit the Earth. When this happens, the Earth not only experiences dramatic auroras, but its magnetic field gets quickly pushed back and compressed, which causes electric grids to surge. Some of these surges could be dangerous, affecting satellites and knocking out power grids -- which can take months to fix. Just such a storm -- called the Carrington Event -- occurred in 1859 and caused telegraph wires to spark. A similar CME passed near the Earth in 2012, and the featured animated video shows a computer model of what might have happened if it had been a direct hit. In this model, the Earth's magnetopause becomes so compressed that it went inside the orbit of geosynchronous communication satellites. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                              [?]grobi » 🌐
                                              @grobi@defcon.social

                                              TOPIC> Our Sun

                                              2025 July 30
                                              Four images of the Sun's edge are shown. In each a loop of bright material is captured above the Sun's surface.

                                              Coronal Loops on the Sun
                                              * Image Credit & Copyright: Andrea Vanoni
                                              andreavanoni.wixsite.com/astro

                                              Explanation:
                                              Our Sun frequently erupts in loops. Hot solar plasma jumps off the Sun's surface into prominences, with the most common type of prominence being a simple loop. The loop shape originates from the Sun's magnetic field, which is traced by spiraling electrons and protons. Many loops into the Sun's lower corona are large enough to envelop the Earth and are stable enough to last days. They commonly occur near active regions that also include dark sunspots. The featured panel shows four loops, each of which was captured near the Sun's edge during 2024 and 2025. The images were taken by a personal telescope in Mantova, Italy and in a very specific color of light emitted primarily by hydrogen. Some solar prominences suddenly break open and eject particles into the Solar System, setting up a space weather sequence that can affect the skies and wires of Earth.
                                              science.nasa.gov/sun/
                                              science.nasa.gov/solar-system/

                                              SpacePlace:
                                              spaceplace.nasa.gov/all-about-
                                              youtu.be/2g1epPppIOM
                                              spaceplace.nasa.gov/spaceweath

                                              apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250730.ht

                                              2025 July 30 Four images of the Sun's edge are shown. In each a loop of bright material is captured above the Sun's surface. Coronal Loops on the Sun * Image Credit & Copyright: Andrea Vanoni Explanation: Our Sun frequently erupts in loops. Hot solar plasma jumps off the Sun's surface into prominences, with the most common type of prominence being a simple loop. The loop shape originates from the Sun's magnetic field, which is traced by spiraling electrons and protons. Many loops into the Sun's lower corona are large enough to envelop the Earth and are stable enough to last days. They commonly occur near active regions that also include dark sunspots. The featured panel shows four loops, each of which was captured near the Sun's edge during 2024 and 2025. The images were taken by a personal telescope in Mantova, Italy and in a very specific color of light emitted primarily by hydrogen. Some solar prominences suddenly break open and eject particles into the Solar System, setting up a space weather sequence that can affect the skies and wires of Earth. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                              Alt...2025 July 30 Four images of the Sun's edge are shown. In each a loop of bright material is captured above the Sun's surface. Coronal Loops on the Sun * Image Credit & Copyright: Andrea Vanoni Explanation: Our Sun frequently erupts in loops. Hot solar plasma jumps off the Sun's surface into prominences, with the most common type of prominence being a simple loop. The loop shape originates from the Sun's magnetic field, which is traced by spiraling electrons and protons. Many loops into the Sun's lower corona are large enough to envelop the Earth and are stable enough to last days. They commonly occur near active regions that also include dark sunspots. The featured panel shows four loops, each of which was captured near the Sun's edge during 2024 and 2025. The images were taken by a personal telescope in Mantova, Italy and in a very specific color of light emitted primarily by hydrogen. Some solar prominences suddenly break open and eject particles into the Solar System, setting up a space weather sequence that can affect the skies and wires of Earth. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                @grobi@defcon.social

                                                2024 August 18

                                                A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO
                                                * Image Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO AIA Team
                                                nasa.gov/
                                                nasa.gov/goddard
                                                sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/

                                                Explanation:
                                                One of the most spectacular solar sights is an erupting prominence. In 2011, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressively large prominence erupting from the surface. The dramatic explosion was captured in ultraviolet light in the featured time lapse video covering 90 minutes, where a new frame was taken every 24 seconds. The scale of the prominence is huge -- the entire Earth would easily fit under the flowing curtain of hot gas. A solar prominence is channeled and sometimes held above the Sun's surface by the Sun's magnetic field. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month and may erupt in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) expelling hot gas into the Solar System. The energy mechanism that creates a solar prominence is a continuing topic of research. Our Sun is again near solar maximum and so very active, featuring numerous erupting prominences and CMEs, one of which resulted in picturesque auroras just over the past week.

                                                TOPIC> Auroras
                                                defcon.social/@grobi/114646611

                                                apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240818.ht

                                                Alt...2024 August 18 A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO * Image Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO AIA Team Explanation: One of the most spectacular solar sights is an erupting prominence. In 2011, NASA's Sun-orbiting Solar Dynamic Observatory spacecraft imaged an impressively large prominence erupting from the surface. The dramatic explosion was captured in ultraviolet light in the featured time lapse video covering 90 minutes, where a new frame was taken every 24 seconds. The scale of the prominence is huge -- the entire Earth would easily fit under the flowing curtain of hot gas. A solar prominence is channeled and sometimes held above the Sun's surface by the Sun's magnetic field. A quiescent prominence typically lasts about a month and may erupt in a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) expelling hot gas into the Solar System. The energy mechanism that creates a solar prominence is a continuing topic of research. Our Sun is again near solar maximum and so very active, featuring numerous erupting prominences and CMEs, one of which resulted in picturesque auroras just over the past week. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                  [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                  @grobi@defcon.social

                                                  Released Thursday, July 10, 2025

                                                  The Closest Images Ever Taken of the Sun’s Atmosphere

                                                  On its record-breaking pass by the Sun in December 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe captured stunning new images from within the Sun’s atmosphere. These newly released images — taken closer to the Sun than we’ve ever been before — are helping scientists better understand the Sun’s influence across the solar system, including events that can affect Earth.

                                                  Parker Solar Probe started its closest approach to the Sun on Dec. 24, 2024, flying just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface. As it skimmed through the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, in the days around the perihelion, it collected data with an array of scientific instruments, including the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe, or WISPR.

                                                  Learn more - science.nasa.gov/science-resea

                                                  Credits:
                                                  NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
                                                  NASA Scientific Visualization Studio

                                                  Alt...Released Thursday, July 10, 2025 The Closest Images Ever Taken of the Sun’s Atmosphere On its record-breaking pass by the Sun in December 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe captured stunning new images from within the Sun’s atmosphere. These newly released images — taken closer to the Sun than we’ve ever been before — are helping scientists better understand the Sun’s influence across the solar system, including events that can affect Earth. Parker Solar Probe started its closest approach to the Sun on Dec. 24, 2024, flying just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface. As it skimmed through the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, in the days around the perihelion, it collected data with an array of scientific instruments, including the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe, or WISPR. Learn more - https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasas-parker-solar-probe-snaps-closest-ever-images-to-sun/ Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center NASA Scientific Visualization Studio

                                                    [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                    @grobi@defcon.social

                                                    2025 August 11

                                                    Closest Ever Images Near the Sun
                                                    * Video Credit: NASA, JHUAPL, Naval Research Lab, Parker Solar Probe
                                                    nasa.gov/
                                                    jhuapl.edu/
                                                    nrl.navy.mil/
                                                    nasa.gov/content/goddard/parke

                                                    Explanation:
                                                    Everybody sees the Sun. Nobody's been there. Starting in 2018, though, NASA launched the robotic Parker Solar Probe (PSP) to investigate regions near to the Sun for the first time. The featured time-lapse video shows the view looking sideways from behind PSP's Sun shield in December during the closest approach of any human-made spacecraft to the Sun, looping down to only about five solar diameters above the Sun's hot surface. The PSP's Wide Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) cameras took these images over seven hours, but they are digitally compressed here into about 5 seconds. The solar corona, including colliding coronal mass ejections (CMEs), is visible here in unprecedented detail, with stars passing far in the background. The Sun is not only Earth's dominant energy source, but its variable solar wind also compresses Earth's atmosphere, triggers auroras, affects power grids, and can even damage orbiting communication satellites.
                                                    svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14865
                                                    parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/
                                                    apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180815.ht
                                                    nature.com/articles/d41586-019
                                                    science.nasa.gov/science-resea
                                                    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_S
                                                    nasa.gov/image-article/what-co
                                                    apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap000318.ht
                                                    hesperia.gsfc.nasa.gov/rhessi3

                                                    apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250811.ht

                                                    Alt...2025 August 11 Closest Ever Images Near the Sun * Video Credit: NASA, JHUAPL, Naval Research Lab, Parker Solar Probe Explanation: Everybody sees the Sun. Nobody's been there. Starting in 2018, though, NASA launched the robotic Parker Solar Probe (PSP) to investigate regions near to the Sun for the first time. The featured time-lapse video shows the view looking sideways from behind PSP's Sun shield in December during the closest approach of any human-made spacecraft to the Sun, looping down to only about five solar diameters above the Sun's hot surface. The PSP's Wide Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) cameras took these images over seven hours, but they are digitally compressed here into about 5 seconds. The solar corona, including colliding coronal mass ejections (CMEs), is visible here in unprecedented detail, with stars passing far in the background. The Sun is not only Earth's dominant energy source, but its variable solar wind also compresses Earth's atmosphere, triggers auroras, affects power grids, and can even damage orbiting communication satellites. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                      [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                      @grobi@defcon.social

                                                      This animation shows all L3 WISPR full-field observations from the twenty-first PSP Mission Encounter (2024-09-25 - 2024-10-05). We have superimposed a grid showing helioprojective longitude and latitude, and a scale representation of the size and location of the Sun in the observations using the SDO/HMI Carrington map for this time period. The velocity and distance metrics displayed on the movies correspond respectively to the spacecraft's heliocentric velocity in kilometers per second, and its distance from the Sun's center in units of solar radii (where 1 solar radius = 695,700km). The "FOV Range" label provides the plane-of-sky distance limits of the inner and outermost edges of the fields of view, in units of solar radii. The horizontal blue line indicates the orbital plane of PSP. The timespan of this composite movie covers only the nominal science window when the spacecraft was within 0.25 au; a limited amount of data outside of this range may be available at the below links.
                                                      You can download this movie directly as an 101MB mp4 file. This sequence is also available as data processed via the LW Algorithm developed by Dr. Guillermo Stenborg (JHUAPL) and detailed in Appendix A of Howard et al. 2022 (ApJ, 936, id.43. DOI 10.3847/1538-4357/ac7ff5). Please contact the team for access to this data, which will be posted here one year after the acquisition of those observations. Team contact information can be found in Section 1.2 of the WISPR User's Guide
                                                      ** wispr.nrl.navy.mil/sites/wispr [PDF link].

                                                      Credit:
                                                      * NASA/NRL/JHUAPL.
                                                      * Movie processed/compiled by Guillermo Stenborg (JHUAPL) and Karl Battams (NRL).
                                                      * SDO inset courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.

                                                      /*grobi: this is a compressed and converted video-file for a better resolution go to:
                                                      ** wispr.nrl.navy.mil/encounter21 (but that's a huge file !:D )

                                                      ** the servers could be temporarily under maintenance

                                                      Alt...This animation shows all L3 WISPR full-field observations from the twenty-first PSP Mission Encounter (2024-09-25 - 2024-10-05). We have superimposed a grid showing helioprojective longitude and latitude, and a scale representation of the size and location of the Sun in the observations using the SDO/HMI Carrington map for this time period. Credit: * NASA/NRL/JHUAPL. * Movie processed/compiled by Guillermo Stenborg (JHUAPL) and Karl Battams (NRL). * SDO inset courtesy of NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams.

                                                        [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                        @grobi@defcon.social

                                                        2025 August 26

                                                        A Leaky Solar Prominence
                                                        Video Credit & Copyright: Andrea Girones
                                                        andreagirones.com/

                                                        Explanation:
                                                        What's hovering above the Sun? A solar prominence. A prominence is a crest of hot gas expelled from the Sun's surface that is held aloft by the Sun's magnetic field. Prominences can last for days, can suddenly explode into space, or just fall back to the Sun. What decides a prominence's fate is how the Sun's complex magnetic field changes -- the field's direction can act like an offramp for trapped solar particles. The 3-second (repeating) time-lapse featured video was captured earlier this month from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It shows the development of a larger-than-Earth prominence as it appears to leak solar plasma back to the Sun, over the course of an hour. What is unusual is that the prominence appears to hover -- more simple and typical prominences form magnetic loops that connect back to the surface. Many hours after this video ended, the hovering prominence disintegrated back into the Sun.
                                                        nasa.gov/image-article/what-so
                                                        solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/the

                                                        apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250826.ht

                                                        Alt...2025 August 26 A Leaky Solar Prominence Video Credit & Copyright: Andrea Girones Explanation: What's hovering above the Sun? A solar prominence. A prominence is a crest of hot gas expelled from the Sun's surface that is held aloft by the Sun's magnetic field. Prominences can last for days, can suddenly explode into space, or just fall back to the Sun. What decides a prominence's fate is how the Sun's complex magnetic field changes -- the field's direction can act like an offramp for trapped solar particles. The 3-second (repeating) time-lapse featured video was captured earlier this month from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It shows the development of a larger-than-Earth prominence as it appears to leak solar plasma back to the Sun, over the course of an hour. What is unusual is that the prominence appears to hover -- more simple and typical prominences form magnetic loops that connect back to the surface. Many hours after this video ended, the hovering prominence disintegrated back into the Sun. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                          [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                          @grobi@defcon.social

                                                          ..

                                                          some annotations for previous image and a nice infobanner by STARFRONT OBSERVATORIES

                                                          * Image Credit & Copyright: J. De Winter, C. Humbert, C. Robert & V. Sabet
                                                          instagram.com/dwj85
                                                          instagram.com/astro.berto54
                                                          instagram.com/charlesrbert
                                                          app.astrobin.com/u/victorf#gal
                                                          * Text: Ogetay Kayali (MTU)
                                                          https://wwhttps://www.mtu.edu/physics/w.ogetay.com/

                                                          Please read more on:
                                                          astrobin.com/jliezm/?force-cla

                                                          Some annotations for the previous post from their astrobin account.

                                                          Alt...Some annotations for the previous post from their astrobin account.

                                                          a nice infobanner by STARFRONT OBSERVATORIES The final result brings together three cosmic actors: the Lagoon and Trifid — stellar nurseries where countless new suns are born — and, right beside them, the delicate filaments left behind by a star at the very end of its life. This contrast between creation and destruction, between stellar birth and stellar death, is what inspired the title of this mosaic. Just a few weeks ago, Team FACT (@French Amateur Collaborative Telescope) released their own breathtaking take on this region. Not only was their processing exquisite, but their scientific analysis of the field was remarkable. We warmly encourage you to explore their description — without a doubt the finest explanation of this part of the sky that we know of

                                                          Alt...a nice infobanner by STARFRONT OBSERVATORIES The final result brings together three cosmic actors: the Lagoon and Trifid — stellar nurseries where countless new suns are born — and, right beside them, the delicate filaments left behind by a star at the very end of its life. This contrast between creation and destruction, between stellar birth and stellar death, is what inspired the title of this mosaic. Just a few weeks ago, Team FACT (@French Amateur Collaborative Telescope) released their own breathtaking take on this region. Not only was their processing exquisite, but their scientific analysis of the field was remarkable. We warmly encourage you to explore their description — without a doubt the finest explanation of this part of the sky that we know of

                                                            [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                            @grobi@defcon.social

                                                            2025 September 17

                                                            Nebulas and Clusters in Sagittarius
                                                            * Image Credit & Copyright: J. De Winter, C. Humbert, C. Robert & V. Sabet
                                                            instagram.com/dwj85
                                                            instagram.com/astro.berto54
                                                            instagram.com/charlesrbert
                                                            app.astrobin.com/u/victorf#gal
                                                            * Text: Ogetay Kayali (MTU)
                                                            ogetay.com/
                                                            mtu.edu/physics/

                                                            Explanation:
                                                            Can you spot famous celestial objects in this image? 18th-century astronomer Charles Messier cataloged only two of them: the bright Lagoon Nebula (M8) at the bottom, and the colorful Trifid Nebula (M20) at the upper right. The one on the left that resembles a cat's paw is NGC 6559, and it is much fainter than the other two. Even harder to spot are the thin blue filaments on the left, from supernova remnant (SNR G007.5-01.7). Their glow comes from small amounts of glowing oxygen atoms that are so faint that it took over 17 hours of exposure with just one blue color to bring up. Framing this scene of stellar birth and death are two star clusters: the open cluster M21 just above Trifid, and the globular cluster NGC 6544 at lower left.
                                                            app.astrobin.com/i/jliezm
                                                            science.nasa.gov/people/explor
                                                            science.gsfc.nasa.gov/662/rese
                                                            en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doubly_i
                                                            en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_clu
                                                            en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular
                                                            en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_

                                                            apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250917.ht

                                                            2025 September 17 A starfield surrounds a several large nebulas that appear mostly red but also white and blue. Dark dust and blue filaments also populate the frame. Nebulas and Clusters in Sagittarius * Image Credit & Copyright: J. De Winter, C. Humbert, C. Robert & V. Sabet * Text: Ogetay Kayali (MTU) Explanation: Can you spot famous celestial objects in this image? 18th-century astronomer Charles Messier cataloged only two of them: the bright Lagoon Nebula (M8) at the bottom, and the colorful Trifid Nebula (M20) at the upper right. The one on the left that resembles a cat's paw is NGC 6559, and it is much fainter than the other two. Even harder to spot are the thin blue filaments on the left, from supernova remnant (SNR G007.5-01.7). Their glow comes from small amounts of glowing oxygen atoms that are so faint that it took over 17 hours of exposure with just one blue color to bring up. Framing this scene of stellar birth and death are two star clusters: the open cluster M21 just above Trifid, and the globular cluster NGC 6544 at lower left. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                            Alt...2025 September 17 A starfield surrounds a several large nebulas that appear mostly red but also white and blue. Dark dust and blue filaments also populate the frame. Nebulas and Clusters in Sagittarius * Image Credit & Copyright: J. De Winter, C. Humbert, C. Robert & V. Sabet * Text: Ogetay Kayali (MTU) Explanation: Can you spot famous celestial objects in this image? 18th-century astronomer Charles Messier cataloged only two of them: the bright Lagoon Nebula (M8) at the bottom, and the colorful Trifid Nebula (M20) at the upper right. The one on the left that resembles a cat's paw is NGC 6559, and it is much fainter than the other two. Even harder to spot are the thin blue filaments on the left, from supernova remnant (SNR G007.5-01.7). Their glow comes from small amounts of glowing oxygen atoms that are so faint that it took over 17 hours of exposure with just one blue color to bring up. Framing this scene of stellar birth and death are two star clusters: the open cluster M21 just above Trifid, and the globular cluster NGC 6544 at lower left. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                              [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                              @grobi@defcon.social

                                                              TOPIC> Our Solar System

                                                              2025 September 14

                                                              Planets of the Solar System: Tilts and Spins
                                                              * Video Credit: NASA
                                                              nasa.gov/
                                                              * Animation: James O'Donoghue (U. Reading)
                                                              bsky.app/profile/interplanetar
                                                              reading.ac.uk/meteorology/

                                                              Explanation:
                                                              How does your favorite planet spin? Does it spin rapidly around a nearly vertical axis, or horizontally, or backwards? The featured video animates NASA images of all eight planets in our Solar System to show them spinning side-by-side for an easy comparison. In the time-lapse video, a day on Earth -- one Earth rotation -- takes just a few seconds. Jupiter rotates the fastest, while Venus spins not only the slowest (can you see it?), but backwards. The inner rocky planets across the top underwent dramatic spin-altering collisions during the early days of the Solar System. Why planets spin and tilt as they do remains a topic of research with much insight gained from modern computer modeling and the recent discovery and analysis of hundreds of exoplanets: planets orbiting other stars.

                                                              apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250914.ht

                                                              Alt...2025 September 14 Planets of the Solar System: Tilts and Spins * Video Credit: NASA, Animation: James O'Donoghue (U. Reading) Explanation: How does your favorite planet spin? Does it spin rapidly around a nearly vertical axis, or horizontally, or backwards? The featured video animates NASA images of all eight planets in our Solar System to show them spinning side-by-side for an easy comparison. In the time-lapse video, a day on Earth -- one Earth rotation -- takes just a few seconds. Jupiter rotates the fastest, while Venus spins not only the slowest (can you see it?), but backwards. The inner rocky planets across the top underwent dramatic spin-altering collisions during the early days of the Solar System. Why planets spin and tilt as they do remains a topic of research with much insight gained from modern computer modeling and the recent discovery and analysis of hundreds of exoplanets: planets orbiting other stars. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                                @grobi@defcon.social

                                                                TOPIC> Comets

                                                                2025 September 16

                                                                New Comet SWAN25B over Mexico
                                                                * Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Korona

                                                                Explanation:
                                                                A newly discovered comet is already visible with binoculars. The comet, C/2025 R2 (SWAN) and nicknamed SWAN25B, is brightening significantly as it emerges from the Sun's direction and might soon become visible on your smartphone -- if not your eyes. Although the brightnesses of comets are notoriously hard to predict, many comets appear brighter as they approach the Earth, with SWAN25B reaching only a quarter of the Earth-Sun distance near October 19. Nighttime skygazers will also be watching for a SWAN25B-spawned meteor shower around October 5 when our Earth passes through the plane of the comet's orbit. The unexpectedly bright comet was discovered by an amateur astronomer in images of the SWAN instrument on NASA's SOHO satellite. The comet is currently best observed in southern skies but is slowly moving north. The featured image was captured at sunset three days ago just above the western horizon in Zacatecas, Mexico.

                                                                earthsky.org/space/new-comet-s
                                                                earthsky.org/space/new-comet-s
                                                                soho.nascom.nasa.gov/data/summ
                                                                soho.nascom.nasa.gov/about/abo

                                                                apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250916.ht

                                                                2025 September 16 A starfield is seen above a horizon and an orange sunset. In the starfield, near the horizon, is a comet with a green head and long tail. New Comet SWAN25B over Mexico * Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Korona Explanation: A newly discovered comet is already visible with binoculars. The comet, C/2025 R2 (SWAN) and nicknamed SWAN25B, is brightening significantly as it emerges from the Sun's direction and might soon become visible on your smartphone -- if not your eyes. Although the brightnesses of comets are notoriously hard to predict, many comets appear brighter as they approach the Earth, with SWAN25B reaching only a quarter of the Earth-Sun distance near October 19. Nighttime skygazers will also be watching for a SWAN25B-spawned meteor shower around October 5 when our Earth passes through the plane of the comet's orbit. The unexpectedly bright comet was discovered by an amateur astronomer in images of the SWAN instrument on NASA's SOHO satellite. The comet is currently best observed in southern skies but is slowly moving north. The featured image was captured at sunset three days ago just above the western horizon in Zacatecas, Mexico. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                Alt...2025 September 16 A starfield is seen above a horizon and an orange sunset. In the starfield, near the horizon, is a comet with a green head and long tail. New Comet SWAN25B over Mexico * Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Korona Explanation: A newly discovered comet is already visible with binoculars. The comet, C/2025 R2 (SWAN) and nicknamed SWAN25B, is brightening significantly as it emerges from the Sun's direction and might soon become visible on your smartphone -- if not your eyes. Although the brightnesses of comets are notoriously hard to predict, many comets appear brighter as they approach the Earth, with SWAN25B reaching only a quarter of the Earth-Sun distance near October 19. Nighttime skygazers will also be watching for a SWAN25B-spawned meteor shower around October 5 when our Earth passes through the plane of the comet's orbit. The unexpectedly bright comet was discovered by an amateur astronomer in images of the SWAN instrument on NASA's SOHO satellite. The comet is currently best observed in southern skies but is slowly moving north. The featured image was captured at sunset three days ago just above the western horizon in Zacatecas, Mexico. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

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                                                                  2025 September 12

                                                                  Lunar Eclipse in Two Hemispheres
                                                                  * Image Credit & Copyright: North - Zhouyue Zhu, South - Lucy Yunxi Hu
                                                                  fantasticjoe.com/#/
                                                                  astrolucyhu.com/about-lucy

                                                                  Explanation:
                                                                  September's total lunar eclipse is tracked across night skies from both the northern and southern hemispheres of planet Earth in these two dramatic timelapse series. In the northern hemisphere sequence (top panel) the Moon’s trail arcs from the upper left to the lower right. It passes below bright planet Saturn, seen under mostly clear skies from the international campus of Zhejiang University in China at about 30 degrees north latitude. In contrast, the southern hemisphere view from Lake Griffin, Canberra, Australia at 35 degrees south latitude, records the Moon’s trail from the upper right to the lower left. Multiple lightning flashes from thunderstorms near the horizon appear reflected in the lake. Both sequences were photographed with 16mm wide-angle lenses and both cover the entire eclipse, with the darkened red Moon totally immersed in Earth's umbral shadow near center. But the different orientations of the Moon’s path across the sky reveal the perspective shifts caused by the views from northern vs. southern latitudes.

                                                                  astrolucyhu.com/about-lucy

                                                                  2025 September 12 Lunar Eclipse in Two Hemispheres * Image Credit & Copyright: North - Zhouyue Zhu, South - Lucy Yunxi Hu Explanation: September's total lunar eclipse is tracked across night skies from both the northern and southern hemispheres of planet Earth in these two dramatic timelapse series. In the northern hemisphere sequence (top panel) the Moon’s trail arcs from the upper left to the lower right. It passes below bright planet Saturn, seen under mostly clear skies from the international campus of Zhejiang University in China at about 30 degrees north latitude. In contrast, the southern hemisphere view from Lake Griffin, Canberra, Australia at 35 degrees south latitude, records the Moon’s trail from the upper right to the lower left. Multiple lightning flashes from thunderstorms near the horizon appear reflected in the lake. Both sequences were photographed with 16mm wide-angle lenses and both cover the entire eclipse, with the darkened red Moon totally immersed in Earth's umbral shadow near center. But the different orientations of the Moon’s path across the sky reveal the perspective shifts caused by the views from northern vs. southern latitudes. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                  Alt...2025 September 12 Lunar Eclipse in Two Hemispheres * Image Credit & Copyright: North - Zhouyue Zhu, South - Lucy Yunxi Hu Explanation: September's total lunar eclipse is tracked across night skies from both the northern and southern hemispheres of planet Earth in these two dramatic timelapse series. In the northern hemisphere sequence (top panel) the Moon’s trail arcs from the upper left to the lower right. It passes below bright planet Saturn, seen under mostly clear skies from the international campus of Zhejiang University in China at about 30 degrees north latitude. In contrast, the southern hemisphere view from Lake Griffin, Canberra, Australia at 35 degrees south latitude, records the Moon’s trail from the upper right to the lower left. Multiple lightning flashes from thunderstorms near the horizon appear reflected in the lake. Both sequences were photographed with 16mm wide-angle lenses and both cover the entire eclipse, with the darkened red Moon totally immersed in Earth's umbral shadow near center. But the different orientations of the Moon’s path across the sky reveal the perspective shifts caused by the views from northern vs. southern latitudes. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

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                                                                    May 17, 2013

                                                                    Bright Explosion on the Moon - NASA Science
                                                                    by Alicia Cermak

                                                                    For the past 8 years, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the Moon for signs of explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. "Lunar meteor showers" have turned out to be more common than anyone expected, with hundreds of detectable impacts occurring every year.

                                                                    They've just seen the biggest explosion in the history of the program.

                                                                    "On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before."

                                                                    Anyone looking at the Moon at the moment of impact could have seen the explosion--no telescope required. For about one second, the impact site was glowing like a 4th magnitude star.

                                                                    Ron Suggs, an analyst at the Marshall Space Flight Center, was the first to notice the impact in a digital video recorded by one of the monitoring program's 14-inch telescopes. "It jumped right out at me, it was so bright," he recalls.

                                                                    The 40 kg meteoroid measuring 0.3 to 0.4 meters wide hit the Moon traveling 56,000 mph. The resulting explosion1 packed as much punch as 5 tons of TNT.

                                                                    These false-color frames extracted from the original black and white video show the explosion in progress. At its peak, the flash was as bright as a 4th magnitude star.

                                                                    Cooke believes the lunar impact might have been part of a much larger event.

                                                                    "On the night of March 17, NASA and University of Western Ontario all-sky cameras picked up an unusual number of deep-penetrating meteors right here on Earth," he says. "These fireballs were traveling along nearly identical orbits between Earth and the asteroid belt."
                                                                    [...]

                                                                    Read more: science.nasa.gov/science-resea

                                                                    Credits:

                                                                    Author: Dr. Tony Phillips | Production editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA

                                                                    Alt...A ScienceCast video describes the bright lunar explosion of March 17, 2013.

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                                                                      2019 January 25

                                                                      Moon Struck
                                                                      * Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek
                                                                      petrhoralek.com/?page_id=20

                                                                      Explanation:
                                                                      Craters produced by ancient impacts on the airless Moon have long been a familiar sight. But only since the 1990s have observers began to regularly record and study optical flashes on the lunar surface, likely explosions resulting from impacting meteoroids. Of course, the flashes are difficult to see against a bright, sunlit lunar surface. But during the January 21 total eclipse many imagers serendipitously captured a meteoroid impact flash against the dim red Moon. Found while examining images taken shortly before the total eclipse phase began, the flash is indicated in the inset above, near the Moon's darkened western limb. Estimates based on the flash duration recorded by the Moon Impact Detection and Analysis System (MIDAS) telescopes in southern Spain indicate the impactor's mass was about 10 kilograms and created a crater between seven and ten meters in diameter.
                                                                      petrhoralek.com/?p=4458
                                                                      scientificamerican.com/article
                                                                      spaceweathergallery.com/eclips
                                                                      apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap011208.ht

                                                                      apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190125.ht

                                                                      2019 January 25 Moon Struck * Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek Explanation: Craters produced by ancient impacts on the airless Moon have long been a familiar sight. But only since the 1990s have observers began to regularly record and study optical flashes on the lunar surface, likely explosions resulting from impacting meteoroids. Of course, the flashes are difficult to see against a bright, sunlit lunar surface. But during the January 21 total eclipse many imagers serendipitously captured a meteoroid impact flash against the dim red Moon. Found while examining images taken shortly before the total eclipse phase began, the flash is indicated in the inset above, near the Moon's darkened western limb. Estimates based on the flash duration recorded by the Moon Impact Detection and Analysis System (MIDAS) telescopes in southern Spain indicate the impactor's mass was about 10 kilograms and created a crater between seven and ten meters in diameter. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                      Alt...2019 January 25 Moon Struck * Image Credit & Copyright: Petr Horálek Explanation: Craters produced by ancient impacts on the airless Moon have long been a familiar sight. But only since the 1990s have observers began to regularly record and study optical flashes on the lunar surface, likely explosions resulting from impacting meteoroids. Of course, the flashes are difficult to see against a bright, sunlit lunar surface. But during the January 21 total eclipse many imagers serendipitously captured a meteoroid impact flash against the dim red Moon. Found while examining images taken shortly before the total eclipse phase began, the flash is indicated in the inset above, near the Moon's darkened western limb. Estimates based on the flash duration recorded by the Moon Impact Detection and Analysis System (MIDAS) telescopes in southern Spain indicate the impactor's mass was about 10 kilograms and created a crater between seven and ten meters in diameter. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

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                                                                        2007 September 1

                                                                        Kalamalka Lake Eclipse
                                                                        * Credit & Copyright: Yuichi Takasaka
                                                                        blue-moon.ca/

                                                                        Explanation:
                                                                        Recorded on August 28th, this serene total lunar eclipse sequence looks southwest down Kalamalka Lake toward the lights of Coldstream, British Columbia. An exposure every 4 minutes captured the Moon's position and eclipse phase, until the Moon set behind the town lights and a hill on the horizon. In fact, the sequence effectively measures the duration of the total phase of the eclipse. Around 270 BC, the Greek astronomer Aristarchus also measured the duration of lunar eclipses - though probably without the benefit of digital clocks and cameras. Still, using geometry, he devised a simple and impressively accurate way to calculate the Moon's distance, in terms of the radius of planet Earth, from the eclipse duration.

                                                                        phy6.org/stargaze/Shipprc2.htm
                                                                        mreclipse.com/Special/LEprimer

                                                                        apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070901.ht

                                                                        2007 September 1 Kalamalka Lake Eclipse * Credit & Copyright: Yuichi Takasaka Explanation: Recorded on August 28th, this serene total lunar eclipse sequence looks southwest down Kalamalka Lake toward the lights of Coldstream, British Columbia. An exposure every 4 minutes captured the Moon's position and eclipse phase, until the Moon set behind the town lights and a hill on the horizon. In fact, the sequence effectively measures the duration of the total phase of the eclipse. Around 270 BC, the Greek astronomer Aristarchus also measured the duration of lunar eclipses - though probably without the benefit of digital clocks and cameras. Still, using geometry, he devised a simple and impressively accurate way to calculate the Moon's distance, in terms of the radius of planet Earth, from the eclipse duration. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                        Alt...2007 September 1 Kalamalka Lake Eclipse * Credit & Copyright: Yuichi Takasaka Explanation: Recorded on August 28th, this serene total lunar eclipse sequence looks southwest down Kalamalka Lake toward the lights of Coldstream, British Columbia. An exposure every 4 minutes captured the Moon's position and eclipse phase, until the Moon set behind the town lights and a hill on the horizon. In fact, the sequence effectively measures the duration of the total phase of the eclipse. Around 270 BC, the Greek astronomer Aristarchus also measured the duration of lunar eclipses - though probably without the benefit of digital clocks and cameras. Still, using geometry, he devised a simple and impressively accurate way to calculate the Moon's distance, in terms of the radius of planet Earth, from the eclipse duration. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC & Michigan Tech. U.

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                                                                          2025 September 11

                                                                          The Umbra of Earth
                                                                          * Image Credit & Copyright: Wang Letian (Eyes at Night)
                                                                          luckwlt.com/About%20Me.html
                                                                          luckwlt.com/

                                                                          Explanation:
                                                                          The dark, inner shadow of planet Earth is called the umbra. Shaped like a cone extending into space, it has a circular cross section most easily seen during a lunar eclipse. And on the night of September 7/8 the Full Moon passed near the center of Earth's umbral cone, entertaining eclipse watchers around much of our fair planet, including parts of Antarctica, Australia, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Recorded from Zhangjiakou City, China, this timelapse composite image uses successive pictures from the total lunar eclipse, progressing left to right, to reveal the curved cross-section of the umbral shadow sliding across the Moon. Sunlight scattered by the atmosphere into Earth's umbra causes the lunar surface to appear reddened during totality. But close to the umbra's edge, the limb of the eclipsed Moon shows a distinct blue hue. The blue eclipsed moonlight originates as rays of sunlight pass through layers high in the upper stratosphere, colored by ozone that scatters red light and transmits blue. In the total phase of this leisurely lunar eclipse, the Moon was completely within the Earth's umbra for about 83 minutes.
                                                                          science.nasa.gov/moon/eclipses/
                                                                          en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_ec
                                                                          earthsky.org/astronomy-essenti
                                                                          earthsky.org/astronomy-essenti

                                                                          apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250911.ht

                                                                          2025 September 11 The Umbra of Earth * Image Credit & Copyright: Wang Letian (Eyes at Night) Explanation: The dark, inner shadow of planet Earth is called the umbra. Shaped like a cone extending into space, it has a circular cross section most easily seen during a lunar eclipse. And on the night of September 7/8 the Full Moon passed near the center of Earth's umbral cone, entertaining eclipse watchers around much of our fair planet, including parts of Antarctica, Australia, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Recorded from Zhangjiakou City, China, this timelapse composite image uses successive pictures from the total lunar eclipse, progressing left to right, to reveal the curved cross-section of the umbral shadow sliding across the Moon. Sunlight scattered by the atmosphere into Earth's umbra causes the lunar surface to appear reddened during totality. But close to the umbra's edge, the limb of the eclipsed Moon shows a distinct blue hue. The blue eclipsed moonlight originates as rays of sunlight pass through layers high in the upper stratosphere, colored by ozone that scatters red light and transmits blue. In the total phase of this leisurely lunar eclipse, the Moon was completely within the Earth's umbra for about 83 minutes. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                          Alt...2025 September 11 The Umbra of Earth * Image Credit & Copyright: Wang Letian (Eyes at Night) Explanation: The dark, inner shadow of planet Earth is called the umbra. Shaped like a cone extending into space, it has a circular cross section most easily seen during a lunar eclipse. And on the night of September 7/8 the Full Moon passed near the center of Earth's umbral cone, entertaining eclipse watchers around much of our fair planet, including parts of Antarctica, Australia, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Recorded from Zhangjiakou City, China, this timelapse composite image uses successive pictures from the total lunar eclipse, progressing left to right, to reveal the curved cross-section of the umbral shadow sliding across the Moon. Sunlight scattered by the atmosphere into Earth's umbra causes the lunar surface to appear reddened during totality. But close to the umbra's edge, the limb of the eclipsed Moon shows a distinct blue hue. The blue eclipsed moonlight originates as rays of sunlight pass through layers high in the upper stratosphere, colored by ozone that scatters red light and transmits blue. In the total phase of this leisurely lunar eclipse, the Moon was completely within the Earth's umbra for about 83 minutes. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

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                                                                            TOPIC> The Moon

                                                                            2025 July 20

                                                                            Lunar Nearside
                                                                            * Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
                                                                            nasa.gov/
                                                                            gsfc.nasa.gov/
                                                                            lroc.sese.asu.edu/index.html

                                                                            Explanation:
                                                                            About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft's wide angle camera were used to compose this spectacular view of a familiar face - the lunar nearside. But why is there a lunar nearside? The Moon rotates on its axis and orbits the Earth at the same rate, about once every 28 days. Tidally locked in this configuration, the synchronous rotation always keeps one side, the nearside, facing Earth. As a result, featured in remarkable detail in the full resolution mosaic, the smooth, dark, lunar maria (actually lava-flooded impact basins), and rugged highlands, are well-known to earthbound skygazers. To find your favorite mare or large crater, just follow this link or slide your cursor over the picture. The LRO images used to construct the mosaic were recorded over a two week period in December 2010.
                                                                            lroc.im-ldi.com/visit/exhibits

                                                                            apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250720.ht

                                                                            Moon Nearside mosaic The Moon's diameter is 3474 km (2159 miles) CREDIT NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University 2025 July 20 Lunar Nearside * Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Explanation: About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft's wide angle camera were used to compose this spectacular view of a familiar face - the lunar nearside. But why is there a lunar nearside? The Moon rotates on its axis and orbits the Earth at the same rate, about once every 28 days. Tidally locked in this configuration, the synchronous rotation always keeps one side, the nearside, facing Earth. As a result, featured in remarkable detail in the full resolution mosaic, the smooth, dark, lunar maria (actually lava-flooded impact basins), and rugged highlands, are well-known to earthbound skygazers. To find your favorite mare or large crater, just follow this link or slide your cursor over the picture. The LRO images used to construct the mosaic were recorded over a two week period in December 2010. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                            Alt...Moon Nearside mosaic The Moon's diameter is 3474 km (2159 miles) CREDIT NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University 2025 July 20 Lunar Nearside * Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Explanation: About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft's wide angle camera were used to compose this spectacular view of a familiar face - the lunar nearside. But why is there a lunar nearside? The Moon rotates on its axis and orbits the Earth at the same rate, about once every 28 days. Tidally locked in this configuration, the synchronous rotation always keeps one side, the nearside, facing Earth. As a result, featured in remarkable detail in the full resolution mosaic, the smooth, dark, lunar maria (actually lava-flooded impact basins), and rugged highlands, are well-known to earthbound skygazers. To find your favorite mare or large crater, just follow this link or slide your cursor over the picture. The LRO images used to construct the mosaic were recorded over a two week period in December 2010. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                            Annotations Moon Nearside Same WAC mosaic with major mare and craters labeled. The Moon's diameter is 3474 km (2159 miles) CREDIT NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

                                                                            Alt...Annotations Moon Nearside Same WAC mosaic with major mare and craters labeled. The Moon's diameter is 3474 km (2159 miles) CREDIT NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

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                                                                              2025 June 28

                                                                              Lunar Farside
                                                                              * Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
                                                                              nasa.gov/
                                                                              gsfc.nasa.gov/
                                                                              lroc.sese.asu.edu/index.html

                                                                              Explanation:
                                                                              Tidally locked in synchronous rotation, the Moon always presents its familiar nearside to denizens of planet Earth. From lunar orbit, the Moon's farside can become familiar, though. In fact this sharp picture, a mosaic from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's wide angle camera, is centered on the lunar farside. Part of a global mosaic of over 15,000 images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011, the highest resolution version shows features at a scale of 100 meters per pixel. Surprisingly, the rough and battered surface of the farside looks very different from the nearside covered with smooth dark lunar maria. A likely explanation is that the farside crust is thicker, making it harder for molten material from the interior to flow to the surface and form dark, smooth maria.

                                                                              apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250628.ht

                                                                              The lunar farside as never seen before! LROC WAC orthographic projection centered at 180° longitude, 0° latitude CREDIT NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University 2025 June 28 Lunar Farside * Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Explanation: Tidally locked in synchronous rotation, the Moon always presents its familiar nearside to denizens of planet Earth. From lunar orbit, the Moon's farside can become familiar, though. In fact this sharp picture, a mosaic from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's wide angle camera, is centered on the lunar farside. Part of a global mosaic of over 15,000 images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011, the highest resolution version shows features at a scale of 100 meters per pixel. Surprisingly, the rough and battered surface of the farside looks very different from the nearside covered with smooth dark lunar maria. A likely explanation is that the farside crust is thicker, making it harder for molten material from the interior to flow to the surface and form dark, smooth maria. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                              Alt...The lunar farside as never seen before! LROC WAC orthographic projection centered at 180° longitude, 0° latitude CREDIT NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University 2025 June 28 Lunar Farside * Image Credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State Univ. / Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Explanation: Tidally locked in synchronous rotation, the Moon always presents its familiar nearside to denizens of planet Earth. From lunar orbit, the Moon's farside can become familiar, though. In fact this sharp picture, a mosaic from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's wide angle camera, is centered on the lunar farside. Part of a global mosaic of over 15,000 images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011, the highest resolution version shows features at a scale of 100 meters per pixel. Surprisingly, the rough and battered surface of the farside looks very different from the nearside covered with smooth dark lunar maria. A likely explanation is that the farside crust is thicker, making it harder for molten material from the interior to flow to the surface and form dark, smooth maria. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                              Annotations for the lunar farside. LROC WAC orthographic projection centered at 180° longitude, 0° latitude CREDIT NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University * The annotations are still unofficial

                                                                              Alt...Annotations for the lunar farside. LROC WAC orthographic projection centered at 180° longitude, 0° latitude CREDIT NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University * The annotations are still unofficial

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                                                                                Tidal locking

                                                                                results in the Moon rotating about its axis in about the same time it takes to orbit the Earth. Except for libration effects, this results in it keeping the same face turned towards the Earth, as seen in the figure on the upper left. (The Moon is shown in polar view, and is not drawn to scale.)

                                                                                + Upper left:
                                                                                > If the Moon didn't spin at all, then it would alternately show its near and far sides to the Earth while moving around our planet in orbit.

                                                                                + Upper right:
                                                                                > If rotational frequency is larger than orbital frequency, a small torque counteracting the rotation arises, eventually locking the frequencies (situation depicted in green)

                                                                                + Down left:
                                                                                > A simulation shows the variability in the portion of the Moon visible from Earth due to libration over the course of an orbit. Lighting phases from the Sun are not included.

                                                                                + Down right:
                                                                                > Animation of the Moon as it cycles through its phases. The apparent wobbling of the Moon is known as libration

                                                                                From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                                                                                CREDITS
                                                                                Contributors to Wikimedia projects
                                                                                * Stigmatella aurantiaca
                                                                                * Jim McKeeth
                                                                                * Tom Ruen
                                                                                * Poopooman-ger

                                                                                Alt...At left, the Moon rotates at the same rate it orbits the Earth, keeping the same face toward the planet. At right, if the Moon did not rotate then the face would change over the course of an orbit. Viewed from above; not to scale. CREDIT Stigmatella aurantiaca

                                                                                If rotational frequency is larger than orbital frequency, a small torque counteracting the rotation arises, eventually locking the frequencies (situation depicted in green) CREDIT Jim McKeeth

                                                                                Alt...If rotational frequency is larger than orbital frequency, a small torque counteracting the rotation arises, eventually locking the frequencies (situation depicted in green) CREDIT Jim McKeeth

                                                                                Alt...This simulation shows the variability in the portion of the Moon visible from Earth due to libration over the course of an orbit. Lighting phases from the Sun are not included. One anomalistic lunar cycle (Apogee to Apogee) for April 2007. No phase shown. CREDIT Tom Ruen - Own work, created with "Full Sky Observatory" Source bitmap for projection from Nasa's Clementine Spacecraft: USGS: Global simple cylindrical projection at 10 km/pixel. Software: "Full Sky Observatory", by Tom Ruen, described at File:FullSkyAstronomySoftwareLogo.png Source book: "Astronomical Formulae for Calculators, 4th edition", Jean Meeus, 1988, published by "Willmann-Bell, Inc" Chapter 30 "Position of the Moon"

                                                                                Alt...Animation of the Moon as it cycles through its phases. The apparent wobbling of the Moon is known as libration. CREDIT Poopooman-ger

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                                                                                  @grobi@defcon.social

                                                                                  Orbit the Moon! - LROC WAC Global Mosaic and DTM

                                                                                  The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) WAC is a push-frame camera that captures seven color bands (321, 360, 415, 566, 604, 643, and 689 nm) with a 57-km swath (105-km swath in monochrome mode) from a 50 km orbit. One of the primary objectives of LROC is to provide a global 100 m/pixel monochrome (643 nm) base map with incidence angles between 55°-70° at the equator, lighting that is favorable for morphological interpretations. Each month, the WAC provides nearly complete coverage of the Moon under unique lighting. As an added bonus, the orbit-to-orbit image overlap provides stereo coverage. Reducing all these stereo images into a global topographic map is a big job, and is being led by LROC Team Members from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR). Several preliminary WAC topographic products have appeared in LROC featured images (Orientale basin, Sinus Iridum). For a sneak preview of the WAC global DEM with the WAC global mosaic, view a rotating composite Moon (Full Res).

                                                                                  The global mosaic comprised of over 15,000 WAC images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011. The non-polar images were map projected onto the GLD100 shape model (WAC derived 100 m/pixel DTM), while polar images were map projected on the LOLA shape model. In addition, the LOLA derived crossover corrected ephemeris, and improved camera pointing, provide accurate positioning (100 m) of each WAC image.

                                                                                  CREDIT
                                                                                  LROC
                                                                                  WAC
                                                                                  DLR

                                                                                  lroc.im-ldi.com/images/298

                                                                                  Alt...LROC WAC Global Mosaic and DTM The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) WAC is a push-frame camera that captures seven color bands (321, 360, 415, 566, 604, 643, and 689 nm) with a 57-km swath (105-km swath in monochrome mode) from a 50 km orbit. One of the primary objectives of LROC is to provide a global 100 m/pixel monochrome (643 nm) base map with incidence angles between 55°-70° at the equator, lighting that is favorable for morphological interpretations. Each month, the WAC provides nearly complete coverage of the Moon under unique lighting. As an added bonus, the orbit-to-orbit image overlap provides stereo coverage. Reducing all these stereo images into a global topographic map is a big job, and is being led by LROC Team Members from the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR). Several preliminary WAC topographic products have appeared in LROC featured images (Orientale basin, Sinus Iridum). For a sneak preview of the WAC global DEM with the WAC global mosaic, view a rotating composite Moon (Full Res). The global mosaic comprised of over 15,000 WAC images acquired between November 2009 and February 2011. The non-polar images were map projected onto the GLD100 shape model (WAC derived 100 m/pixel DTM), while polar images were map projected on the LOLA shape model. In addition, the LOLA derived crossover corrected ephemeris, and improved camera pointing, provide accurate positioning (100 m) of each WAC image. CREDIT LROC WAC DLR

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                                                                                    @staff

                                                                                    "I'm sorry for you Mastodon users due to insufficiently configured software on your server side you unfortunately only see a third of the displayed images. I can expressly recommend the platform defcon.social to scientifically and creatively interested and committed users of the Fediverse."

                                                                                    Moon Phases

                                                                                    In our entire solar system, the only object that shines with its own light is the Sun. That light always beams onto Earth and Moon from the direction of the Sun, illuminating half of our planet in its orbit and reflecting off the surface of the Moon to create moonlight. Sometimes the entire face of the Moon glows brightly. Other times we see only a thin crescent of light. Sometimes the Moon seems to disappear. These shifts are called moon phases.

                                                                                    The eight lunar phases are, in order: new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter, and waning crescent. The cycle repeats about once a month (every 29.5 days).

                                                                                    Like Earth, the Moon has a day side and a night side, which change as the Moon rotates. The Sun always illuminates half of the Moon while the other half remains dark, but how much we are able to see of that illuminated half changes as the Moon travels through its orbit.

                                                                                    Images:
                                                                                    1.
                                                                                    Position of the Moon and the Sun during each of the Moon’s phases

                                                                                    2. - 9.
                                                                                    All Moon Phases
                                                                                    Let’s take a look at the individual phases, and how the movements of the Moon and Sun appear to us as we watch from the Northern Hemisphere on Earth.

                                                                                    10.
                                                                                    Overview From Space
                                                                                    The Moon orbits Earth from a viewpoint above the North Pole in this animation. The blue gridlines show how the same side of the Moon always faces Earth. The size of the Earth and Moon are enlarged 20 times.

                                                                                    CREDITS:
                                                                                    * NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
                                                                                    * NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    @support

                                                                                    science.nasa.gov/moon/moon-pha

                                                                                    This graphic shows the position of the Moon and the Sun during each of the Moon’s phases and the Moon as it appears from Earth during each phase. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...This graphic shows the position of the Moon and the Sun during each of the Moon’s phases and the Moon as it appears from Earth during each phase. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    New Moon This is the invisible phase of the Moon, with the illuminated side of the Moon facing the Sun and the night side facing Earth. In this phase, the Moon is in the same part of the sky as the Sun and rises and sets with the Sun. Not only is the illuminated side facing away from the Earth, it’s also up during the day! Remember, in this phase, the Moon doesn’t usually pass directly between Earth and the Sun, due to the inclination of the Moon’s orbit. It only passes near the Sun from our perspective on Earth. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...New Moon This is the invisible phase of the Moon, with the illuminated side of the Moon facing the Sun and the night side facing Earth. In this phase, the Moon is in the same part of the sky as the Sun and rises and sets with the Sun. Not only is the illuminated side facing away from the Earth, it’s also up during the day! Remember, in this phase, the Moon doesn’t usually pass directly between Earth and the Sun, due to the inclination of the Moon’s orbit. It only passes near the Sun from our perspective on Earth. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Waxing Crescent This silver sliver of a Moon occurs when the illuminated half of the Moon faces mostly away from Earth, with only a tiny portion visible to us from our planet. It grows daily as the Moon’s orbit carries the Moon’s dayside farther into view. Every day, the Moon rises a little bit later. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...Waxing Crescent This silver sliver of a Moon occurs when the illuminated half of the Moon faces mostly away from Earth, with only a tiny portion visible to us from our planet. It grows daily as the Moon’s orbit carries the Moon’s dayside farther into view. Every day, the Moon rises a little bit later. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    First Quarter The Moon is now a quarter of the way through its monthly journey and you see half of its illuminated side. People may casually call this a half moon, but remember, that’s not really what you’re witnessing in the sky. You’re seeing just a slice of the entire Moon ― half of the illuminated half. A first quarter moon rises around noon and sets around midnight. It’s high in the sky in the evening and makes for excellent viewing. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...First Quarter The Moon is now a quarter of the way through its monthly journey and you see half of its illuminated side. People may casually call this a half moon, but remember, that’s not really what you’re witnessing in the sky. You’re seeing just a slice of the entire Moon ― half of the illuminated half. A first quarter moon rises around noon and sets around midnight. It’s high in the sky in the evening and makes for excellent viewing. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Waxing Gibbous Now most of the Moon’s dayside has come into view, and the Moon appears brighter in the sky. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...Waxing Gibbous Now most of the Moon’s dayside has come into view, and the Moon appears brighter in the sky. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Full Moon This is as close as we come to seeing the Sun’s illumination of the entire day side of the Moon (so, technically, this would be the real half moon). The Moon is opposite the Sun, as viewed from Earth, revealing the Moon’s dayside. A full moon rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. The Moon will appear full for a couple of days before it moves into… CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...Full Moon This is as close as we come to seeing the Sun’s illumination of the entire day side of the Moon (so, technically, this would be the real half moon). The Moon is opposite the Sun, as viewed from Earth, revealing the Moon’s dayside. A full moon rises around sunset and sets around sunrise. The Moon will appear full for a couple of days before it moves into… CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Waning Gibbous As the Moon begins its journey back toward the Sun, the opposite side of the Moon now reflects the Moon’s light. The lighted side appears to shrink, but the Moon’s orbit is simply carrying it out of view from our perspective. The Moon rises later and later each night. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...Waning Gibbous As the Moon begins its journey back toward the Sun, the opposite side of the Moon now reflects the Moon’s light. The lighted side appears to shrink, but the Moon’s orbit is simply carrying it out of view from our perspective. The Moon rises later and later each night. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Last Quarter The Moon looks like it’s half illuminated from the perspective of Earth, but really you’re seeing half of the half of the Moon that’s illuminated by the Sun ― or a quarter. A last quarter moon, also known as a third quarter moon, rises around midnight and sets around noon. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...Last Quarter The Moon looks like it’s half illuminated from the perspective of Earth, but really you’re seeing half of the half of the Moon that’s illuminated by the Sun ― or a quarter. A last quarter moon, also known as a third quarter moon, rises around midnight and sets around noon. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Waning Crescent The Moon is nearly back to the point in its orbit where its dayside directly faces the Sun, and all that we see from our perspective is a thin curve. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...Waning Crescent The Moon is nearly back to the point in its orbit where its dayside directly faces the Sun, and all that we see from our perspective is a thin curve. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

                                                                                    Alt...The Moon orbits Earth from a viewpoint above the North Pole in this animation. The blue gridlines show how the same side of the Moon always faces Earth. The size of the Earth and Moon are enlarged 20 times. Overview From Space Imagine you’re in a spaceship, traveling away from Earth. As you sail onward, you see our planet and its Moon locked together in their endless, circling, gravitational embrace. Your distant view gives you a unique perspective on the Moon that can be hard to visualize from the ground, where the Moon appears to sweep through the sky as an ever-changing globe of light. From your astronaut’s viewpoint, you can see that the Moon is an average of 238,855 miles (384,399 km) from Earth, or about the space that could be occupied by 30 Earths. It travels around our planet once every 27.322 days in an elliptical orbit, an elongated circle. (It takes about 27.3 days to complete a revolution, but 29.5 days to change from new moon to new moon.) The Moon is tidally locked with Earth, which means that it spins on its axis exactly once each time it orbits our planet. Because of this, people on Earth only ever see one side of the Moon. We call this motion synchronous rotation. CREDIT: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

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                                                                                      "Hello my dear moon addicts, I hope you enjoy this year's moon phases as much as I do. The best thing to do is to put on headphones, adopt a comfortable posture and a chilled drink would also be the order of the day, enjoy!"

                                                                                      This wonderful visualization shows the Moon's phase and libration at hourly intervals throughout 2025, as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. Each frame represents one hour. In addition, this visualization shows the Moon's orbit position, sub-Earth and subsolar points, and distance from the Earth at true scale. Craters near the terminator are labeled, as are Apollo landing sites, maria, and other albedo features in sunlight.
                                                                                      svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5415
                                                                                      svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5415


                                                                                      * Video credit:
                                                                                      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
                                                                                      * Data visualization by: Ernie Wright (USRA)
                                                                                      * Producer & Editor: James Tralie
                                                                                      * Music Provided by Universal Production Music: "Shine a Light," "Space and Time," and "Spiralling Stars" by Timothy James Cornick

                                                                                      Alt...This wonderful visualization shows the Moon's phase and libration at hourly intervals throughout 2025, as viewed from the Northern Hemisphere. Each frame represents one hour. In addition, this visualization shows the Moon's orbit position, sub-Earth and subsolar points, and distance from the Earth at true scale. Craters near the terminator are labeled, as are Apollo landing sites, maria, and other albedo features in sunlight.

                                                                                        [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                                                        @grobi@defcon.social

                                                                                        The main Moon phases

                                                                                        Diagram of the main lunar phases. With the Sun assumed to be far off to the right, the inner circle shows the positions of the Moon as seen from above Earth’s North Pole that correspond to the phases of the Moon that we see from Earth as shown on the outer circle.

                                                                                        When the Moon is in other different positions in its orbit around Earth, it will appear as a crescent and other partial shapes. As the Moon shifts from new Moon to full Moon — as it moves to where we can see more of the part brightened by the Sun — we say the Moon is waxing. During the other half of the time, when the Moon is passing from full Moon to new Moon, we say the Moon is waning.

                                                                                        There can also be “supermoons”. Because the Moon’s orbit is slightly oblong instead of a perfect circle, there are times when the Moon is closer to Earth than usual and appears larger in the sky. When that also coincides with full Moon or new Moon, it’s called a supermoon. A supermoon will look slightly larger than normal, but the change is not big enough to be obvious to the naked eye.

                                                                                        CREDIT
                                                                                        NASA

                                                                                        planetary.org/space-images/the

                                                                                        The main Moon phases Diagram of the main lunar phases, not to scale. With the Sun assumed to be far off to the right, the inner circle shows the positions of the Moon as seen from above Earth’s North Pole that correspond to the phases of the Moon that we see from Earth as shown on the outer circle. CREDIT NASA

                                                                                        Alt...The main Moon phases Diagram of the main lunar phases, not to scale. With the Sun assumed to be far off to the right, the inner circle shows the positions of the Moon as seen from above Earth’s North Pole that correspond to the phases of the Moon that we see from Earth as shown on the outer circle. CREDIT NASA

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                                                                                          @grobi@defcon.social

                                                                                          Lunar eclipse
                                                                                          A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, when the Moon's orbital plane is closest to the plane of the Earth's orbit.

                                                                                          This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned (in syzygy) with Earth between the other two, which can happen only on the night of a full moon when the Moon is near either lunar node. The type and length of a lunar eclipse depend on the Moon's proximity to the lunar node.

                                                                                          When the Moon is totally eclipsed by the Earth (a "deep eclipse"), it takes on a reddish color that is caused by the planet when it completely blocks direct sunlight from reaching the Moon's surface, as the only light that is reflected from the lunar surface is what has been refracted by the Earth's atmosphere. This light appears reddish due to the Rayleigh scattering of blue light, the same reason sunrises and sunsets are more orange than during the day.

                                                                                          Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of Earth. A total lunar eclipse can last up to nearly two hours (while a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes at any given place) because the Moon's shadow is smaller. Also unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or special precautions.

                                                                                          TEXT
                                                                                          From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                                                                                          VIDEO
                                                                                          Lunar Eclipse Essentials

                                                                                          Explainer Video about Lunar Eclipses
                                                                                          Updated April 22, 2022
                                                                                          Credit
                                                                                          * Scientific Visualization Studio/NASA
                                                                                          * Goddard Space Flight Center.
                                                                                          * Lead Producer: Chris Smith.
                                                                                          * Lead Visualizer: Ernie Wright.
                                                                                          * Producer: David Ladd.
                                                                                          * Technical Support: Aaron Lepsch.

                                                                                          Alt...Lunar Eclipse Essentials Explainer Video about Lunar Eclipses April 22, 2022 Credit * Scientific Visualization Studio/NASA * Goddard Space Flight Center. * Lead Producer: Chris Smith. * Lead Visualizer: Ernie Wright. * Producer: David Ladd. * Technical Support: Aaron Lepsch.

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                                                                                            @grobi@defcon.social

                                                                                            2025 August 30

                                                                                            A Two Percent Moon
                                                                                            * Image Credit & Copyright: Marina Prol
                                                                                            marinaprol.com/

                                                                                            Explanation:
                                                                                            A young crescent moon can be hard to see. That's because when the Moon shows it's crescent phase (young or old) it can never be far from the Sun in planet Earth's sky. And even though the sky is still bright, a slender sunlit lunar crescent is cleary visible in this early evening skyscape. The telephoto snapshot was captured on August 24, with the Moon very near the western horizon at sunset. Seen in a narrow crescent phase about 1.5 days old, the visible sunlit portion is a mere two percent of the surface of the Moon's familiar nearside. At the Canary Islands Space Centre, a steerable radio dish for communication with spacecraft is titled in the direction of the two percent Moon. The sunset sky's pastel pinkish coloring is partly due to fine sand and dust from the Sahara Desert blown by the prevailing winds.
                                                                                            svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5415/
                                                                                            science.nasa.gov/skywatching/
                                                                                            apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080411.ht

                                                                                            apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250830.ht

                                                                                            2025 August 30 A Two Percent Moon * Image Credit & Copyright: Marina Prol Explanation: A young crescent moon can be hard to see. That's because when the Moon shows it's crescent phase (young or old) it can never be far from the Sun in planet Earth's sky. And even though the sky is still bright, a slender sunlit lunar crescent is cleary visible in this early evening skyscape. The telephoto snapshot was captured on August 24, with the Moon very near the western horizon at sunset. Seen in a narrow crescent phase about 1.5 days old, the visible sunlit portion is a mere two percent of the surface of the Moon's familiar nearside. At the Canary Islands Space Centre, a steerable radio dish for communication with spacecraft is titled in the direction of the two percent Moon. The sunset sky's pastel pinkish coloring is partly due to fine sand and dust from the Sahara Desert blown by the prevailing winds. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                                            Alt...2025 August 30 A Two Percent Moon * Image Credit & Copyright: Marina Prol Explanation: A young crescent moon can be hard to see. That's because when the Moon shows it's crescent phase (young or old) it can never be far from the Sun in planet Earth's sky. And even though the sky is still bright, a slender sunlit lunar crescent is cleary visible in this early evening skyscape. The telephoto snapshot was captured on August 24, with the Moon very near the western horizon at sunset. Seen in a narrow crescent phase about 1.5 days old, the visible sunlit portion is a mere two percent of the surface of the Moon's familiar nearside. At the Canary Islands Space Centre, a steerable radio dish for communication with spacecraft is titled in the direction of the two percent Moon. The sunset sky's pastel pinkish coloring is partly due to fine sand and dust from the Sahara Desert blown by the prevailing winds. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

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                                                                                              @grobi@defcon.social

                                                                                              2025 September 10

                                                                                              The Great Lacerta Nebula
                                                                                              * Image Credit & Copyright: Ian Moehring & Kevin Roylance
                                                                                              instagram.com/ianmoe66/

                                                                                              Explanation:
                                                                                              It is one of the largest nebulas on the sky -- why isn't it better known? Roughly the same angular size as the Andromeda Galaxy, the Great Lacerta Nebula can be found toward the constellation of the Lizard (Lacerta). The emission nebula is difficult to see with wide-field binoculars because it is so faint, but also usually difficult to see with a large telescope because it is so great in angle -- spanning about three degrees. The depth, breadth, waves, and beauty of the nebula -- cataloged as Sharpless 126 (Sh2-126) -- can best be seen and appreciated with a long duration camera exposure. The featured image is one such combined exposure -- in this case taken over three nights in August through dark skies in Moses Lake, Washington, USA. The hydrogen gas in the Great Lacerta Nebula glows red because it is excited by light from the bright star 10 Lacertae, one of the bright blue stars just to the left of the red-glowing nebula's center. Most of the stars and nebula are about 1,200 light years distant.
                                                                                              app.astrobin.com/i/6egtl5
                                                                                              astro4edu.org/resources/diagra

                                                                                              science.nasa.gov/mission/hubbl
                                                                                              en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_

                                                                                              science.nasa.gov/ems/03_behavi
                                                                                              geogebra.org/m/atq6mr3a

                                                                                              apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250910.ht

                                                                                              2025 September 10 A starfield surrounds a large red nebula. The nebula has many flowing waves and folds. The Great Lacerta Nebula * Image Credit & Copyright: Ian Moehring & Kevin Roylance Explanation: It is one of the largest nebulas on the sky -- why isn't it better known? Roughly the same angular size as the Andromeda Galaxy, the Great Lacerta Nebula can be found toward the constellation of the Lizard (Lacerta). The emission nebula is difficult to see with wide-field binoculars because it is so faint, but also usually difficult to see with a large telescope because it is so great in angle -- spanning about three degrees. The depth, breadth, waves, and beauty of the nebula -- cataloged as Sharpless 126 (Sh2-126) -- can best be seen and appreciated with a long duration camera exposure. The featured image is one such combined exposure -- in this case taken over three nights in August through dark skies in Moses Lake, Washington, USA. The hydrogen gas in the Great Lacerta Nebula glows red because it is excited by light from the bright star 10 Lacertae, one of the bright blue stars just to the left of the red-glowing nebula's center. Most of the stars and nebula are about 1,200 light years distant. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                                              Alt...2025 September 10 A starfield surrounds a large red nebula. The nebula has many flowing waves and folds. The Great Lacerta Nebula * Image Credit & Copyright: Ian Moehring & Kevin Roylance Explanation: It is one of the largest nebulas on the sky -- why isn't it better known? Roughly the same angular size as the Andromeda Galaxy, the Great Lacerta Nebula can be found toward the constellation of the Lizard (Lacerta). The emission nebula is difficult to see with wide-field binoculars because it is so faint, but also usually difficult to see with a large telescope because it is so great in angle -- spanning about three degrees. The depth, breadth, waves, and beauty of the nebula -- cataloged as Sharpless 126 (Sh2-126) -- can best be seen and appreciated with a long duration camera exposure. The featured image is one such combined exposure -- in this case taken over three nights in August through dark skies in Moses Lake, Washington, USA. The hydrogen gas in the Great Lacerta Nebula glows red because it is excited by light from the bright star 10 Lacertae, one of the bright blue stars just to the left of the red-glowing nebula's center. Most of the stars and nebula are about 1,200 light years distant. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply. NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices; A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

                                                                                                [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                                                                @grobi@defcon.social

                                                                                                <<_>>
                                                                                                [...]
                                                                                                The Helix remains recognizable at any of these wavelengths, but the combination shown here highlights some subtle differences.
                                                                                                The intense ultraviolet radiation from the white dwarf heats up the expelled layers of gas, which shine brightly in the infrared. GALEX has picked out the ultraviolet light pouring out of this system, shown throughout the nebula in blue, while Spitzer has snagged the detailed infrared signature of the dust and gas in yellow A portion of the extended field beyond the nebula, which was not observed by Spitzer, is from NASA’s all-sky Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The white dwarf star itself is a tiny white pinprick right at the center of the nebula.
                                                                                                The brighter purple circle in the very center is the combined ultraviolet and infrared glow of a dusty disk circling the white dwarf (the disk itself is too small to be resolved). This dust was most likely kicked up by comets that survived the death of their star.
                                                                                                Before the star died, its comets, and possibly planets, would have orbited the star in an orderly fashion. When the star ran out of hydrogen to burn, and blew off its outer layers, the icy bodies and outer planets would have been tossed about and into each other, kicking up an ongoing cosmic dust storm. Any inner planets in the system would have burned up or been swallowed as their dying star expanded.
                                                                                                nasa.gov/image-article/helix-n

                                                                                                Helix Nebula 3D model credit: INAF/Sal Orlando

                                                                                                [...] This 3D model is an impression derived from data obtained with several optical filters by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
                                                                                                chandra.harvard.edu/deadstar/h

                                                                                                Alt...Helix Nebula 3D model credit: INAF/Sal Orlando As the planetary nebula is formed, the leftover stellar core eventually becomes a white dwarf star (see bright white spot at center). The Helix nebula, also known as NGC 7293, is located in the constellation Aquarius. It is one of the closest planetary nebulas to Earth, being less than 700 light-years away from us. This 3D model is an impression derived from data obtained with several optical filters by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

                                                                                                  [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                                                                  @grobi@defcon.social

                                                                                                  April 16, 1996

                                                                                                  Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula
                                                                                                  * Credit: R. O'Dell and K. Handron (Rice University), NASA
                                                                                                  rice.edu/
                                                                                                  nasa.gov/

                                                                                                  Explanation:
                                                                                                  Four hundred fifty light-years from Earth, the wind from a dying, sun-like star produced a planetary nebula popularly known as the Helix. While exploring the Helix's gaseous envelope with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), astronomers discovered indications of 1,000s of striking "cometary knots" like those shown above. So called because of their resemblence to comets, they are actually much larger - their heads are several billion miles across (roughly twice the size of the our solar system itself) while their tails, pointing radially away from the central star, stretch over 100 billion miles. Previously known from ground based observations, the sheer number of cometary knots found in this single nebula is astonishing. What caused them to form? Hot, fast moving shells of nebular gas overrunning cooler, denser, slower shells ejected by the star during an earlier expansion may produce these droplet-like condensations as the two shells intermix and fragment. An intriguing possibility is that instead of dissipating over time, these objects, could collapse and form pluto-like bodies. If so, these icy worlds created near the end of a star's life, would be numerous in our galaxy.

                                                                                                  apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960416.ht

                                                                                                  April 16, 1996 Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula * Credit: R. O'Dell and K. Handron (Rice University), NASA Explanation: Four hundred fifty light-years from Earth, the wind from a dying, sun-like star produced a planetary nebula popularly known as the Helix. While exploring the Helix's gaseous envelope with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), astronomers discovered indications of 1,000s of striking "cometary knots" like those shown above. So called because of their resemblence to comets, they are actually much larger - their heads are several billion miles across (roughly twice the size of the our solar system itself) while their tails, pointing radially away from the central star, stretch over 100 billion miles. Previously known from ground based observations, the sheer number of cometary knots found in this single nebula is astonishing. What caused them to form? Hot, fast moving shells of nebular gas overrunning cooler, denser, slower shells ejected by the star during an earlier expansion may produce these droplet-like condensations as the two shells intermix and fragment. An intriguing possibility is that instead of dissipating over time, these objects, could collapse and form pluto-like bodies. If so, these icy worlds created near the end of a star's life, would be numerous in our galaxy. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (GMU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA). NASA Technical Rep.: Sherri Calvo. Specific rights apply. A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC

                                                                                                  Alt...April 16, 1996 Cometary Knots in the Helix Nebula * Credit: R. O'Dell and K. Handron (Rice University), NASA Explanation: Four hundred fifty light-years from Earth, the wind from a dying, sun-like star produced a planetary nebula popularly known as the Helix. While exploring the Helix's gaseous envelope with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), astronomers discovered indications of 1,000s of striking "cometary knots" like those shown above. So called because of their resemblence to comets, they are actually much larger - their heads are several billion miles across (roughly twice the size of the our solar system itself) while their tails, pointing radially away from the central star, stretch over 100 billion miles. Previously known from ground based observations, the sheer number of cometary knots found in this single nebula is astonishing. What caused them to form? Hot, fast moving shells of nebular gas overrunning cooler, denser, slower shells ejected by the star during an earlier expansion may produce these droplet-like condensations as the two shells intermix and fragment. An intriguing possibility is that instead of dissipating over time, these objects, could collapse and form pluto-like bodies. If so, these icy worlds created near the end of a star's life, would be numerous in our galaxy. Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (GMU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA). NASA Technical Rep.: Sherri Calvo. Specific rights apply. A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC

                                                                                                    [?]grobi » 🌐
                                                                                                    @grobi@defcon.social

                                                                                                    This sonification (a translation of data from image into sound) depicts the optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope of the Helix Nebula. The sonification scans from left to right, where red light is assigned lower pitches and blue light is assigned higher pitches. Just as the frequencies of light increase from red to blue, frequencies of sound increase from low to high pitches.

                                                                                                    Credit:
                                                                                                    NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), & T.A. Rector (NRAO); Sonification: SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

                                                                                                    Alt...This sonification (a translation of data from image into sound) depicts the optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope of the Helix Nebula. The sonification scans from left to right, where red light is assigned lower pitches and blue light is assigned higher pitches. Just as the frequencies of light increase from red to blue, frequencies of sound increase from low to high pitches. Credit: NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), & T.A. Rector (NRAO); Sonification: SYSTEM Sounds (M. Russo, A. Santaguida)

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