NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

Aug 19, 2023

Ringed Ice Giant Neptune

Ringed ice giant Neptune lies near the center of this sharp near-infrared image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The dim and distant world is the farthest planet from the Sun, about 30 times farther away than planet Earth. But in the stunning Webb view, the planet's dark and ghostly appearance is due to atmospheric methane that absorbs infrared light. High altitude clouds that reach above most of Neptune's absorbing methane easily stand out in the image though. Coated with frozen nitrogen, Neptune's largest moon Triton is brighter than Neptune in reflected sunlight, seen at the upper left sporting the Webb telescope's characteristic diffraction spikes. Including Triton, seven of Neptune's 14 known moons can be identified in the field of view. Neptune's faint rings are striking in this space-based planetary portrait. Details of the complex ring system are seen here for the first time since Neptune was visited by the Voyager 2 spacecraft in August 1989.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?

Foreign countries targeting tech from US space companies, intel agencies warn

08/18/23 6:45 PM ET

U.S. intelligence agencies warned private American space companies on Friday that foreign intelligence agencies are targeting the industry in efforts to steal or undermine critical technologies.

The National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the FBI and the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations, urged the industry to beware of various efforts by foreign entities to gain access to information, including through joint ventures, acquisitions, facility visits and employee recruitment.

“Foreign intelligence entities (FIEs) recognize the importance of the commercial space industry to the US economy and national security, including the growing dependence of critical infrastructure on space-based assets,” the agencies said in Friday’s bulletin.

“They see US space-related innovation and assets as potential threats as well as valuable opportunities to acquire vital technologies and expertise,” they added.

While the bulletin did not specify any particular countries, an American counterintelligence official told Reuters that China and Russia are “among the leading foreign intelligence threats” to the industry.

The trio of agencies encouraged U.S. space companies on Friday to track peculiar incidents, establish insider threat programs, conduct due diligence on suppliers and investors, and incorporate security requirements into contracts with third parties, among other mitigation efforts.

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4159457-foreign-countries-targeting-tech-from-us-space-companies-intel-agencies-warn/

https://www.dni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/SafeguardingOurFuture/FINAL%20FINAL%20Safeguarding%20the%20US%20Space%20Industry%20-%20Digital.pdf

NASA scientist and astronaut 'saw five orange UFOs hovering over Texas'

10:11, 18 AUG 2023

Many, if not most, UFO reports can be put down to members of the public making honest mistakes about perfectly ordinary aircraft or natural phenomena.

But when a spacecraft designer and an astronaut happen to see five unexplained lights in the sky it’s something worth investigating.

Dr Michael F Lembeck, who was on the team that designed NASA’s Galileo probe, is now Co-chair of the AIAA Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Integration and Outreach Committee.

He told former US Navy pilot Ryan Graves that “we don't really know what we're dealing with,” when it comes to UAPs, and there “may be something ominous on the other side that we really should be addressing”.

Describing his own UFO experience, he explained: “About five or six years ago, I was outdoors in Houston on a rooftop patio looking north into downtown with a friend of mine from Boeing and an astronaut.

“And we were just having some conversations when four lights appeared over North Houston.

“They were sort of orangish like a sodium vapour colour. They flickered into existence …and then a fifth one appeared.

“And right after the fifth one appeared, the four that were there previously flickered back out…"

He says he suspected one of the most common causes of mistaken UFO sightings before ruling it out.

“Initially, I thought they were flares, but they weren't dropping at all," he said. "They maintained their altitude. But then that fifth one put the icing on the cake.

“It just went, whoosh, at a high rate of speed across the horizon, like nothing we had seen.

“The astronaut turned to me and said ‘well, that's interesting,’ in a very low-key manner. So I have no idea what that was. I don't think any of us did, but that certainly was intriguing.

Dr Lembeck also shared another sighting by a credible witness, dating right back to the mid-1950s.

He had lunch with Deke Slayton, one of the original “Mercury Seven” astronauts who had been selected from the best and brightest applicants across the US.

“He told us about a metallic object that he was chasing in an F-86,” Dr Lembeck said, “This is probably circa 1956 or so…

“Came up behind it and it matched pace and then just took off at a blinding speed. He said he had no idea what it was, but he knows it wasn't ours”.

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/nasa-scientistand-astronaut-saw-five-30731853

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https://youtu.be/KFSWeJe_7-4