The separation is wild
Kablooey
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
Dec 29, 2023
Shakespeare in Space
In 1986, Voyager 2 became the only spacecraft to explore ice giant planet Uranus close up. Still, this newly released image from the NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) on the James Webb Space Telescope offers a detailed look at the distant world. The tilted outer planet rotates on its axis once in about 17 hours. Its north pole is presently pointed near our line of sight, offering direct views of its northern hemisphere and a faint but extensive system of rings. Of the giant planet's 27 known moons, 14 are annotated in the image. Mixed with fuzzy background galaxies, the brighter moons show hints of Webb's characteristic diffraction spikes. And though these worlds of the outer Solar System were unknown in Shakespearean times, all but two of the 27 Uranian moons are named for characters in the English bard's plays.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html?
NASA’s Juno to Get Close Look at Jupiter’s Volcanic Moon Io on Dec. 30
DEC 27, 2023
NASA’s Juno spacecraft will on Saturday, Dec. 30, make the closest flyby of Jupiter’s moon Io that any spacecraft has made in over 20 years. Coming within roughly 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) from the surface of the most volcanic world in our solar system, the pass is expected to allow Juno instruments to generate a firehose of data.
“By combining data from this flyby with our previous observations, the Juno science team is studying how Io’s volcanoes vary,” said Juno’s principal investigator, Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. “We are looking for how often they erupt, how bright and hot they are, how the shape of the lava flow changes, and how Io’s activity is connected to the flow of charged particles in Jupiter’s magnetosphere.”
A second ultra-close flyby of Io is scheduled for Feb. 3, 2024, in which Juno will again come within about 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of the surface.
The spacecraft has been monitoring Io’s volcanic activity from distances ranging from about 6,830 miles (11,000 kilometers) to over 62,100 miles (100,000 kilometers), and has provided the first views of the moon’s north and south poles. The spacecraft has also performed close flybys of Jupiter’s icy moons Ganymede and Europa.
“With our pair of close flybys in December and February, Juno will investigate the source of Io’s massive volcanic activity, whether a magma ocean exists underneath its crust, and the importance of tidal forces from Jupiter, which are relentlessly squeezing this tortured moon,” said Bolton.
Now in the third year of its extended mission to investigate the origin of Jupiter, the solar-powered spacecraft will also explore the ring system where some of the gas giant’s inner moons reside.
Picture This
All three cameras aboard Juno will be active during the Io flyby. The Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM), which takes images in infrared, will be collecting the heat signatures emitted by volcanoes and calderas covering the moon’s surface. The mission’s Stellar Reference Unit (a navigational star camera that has also provided valuable science) will obtain the highest-resolution image of the surface to date. And the JunoCam imager will take visible-light color images.
JunoCam was included on the spacecraft for the public’s engagement and was designed to operate for up to eight flybys of Jupiter. The upcoming flyby of Io will be Juno’s 57th orbit around Jupiter, where the spacecraft and cameras have endured one of the solar system’s most punishing radiation environments.
“The cumulative effects of all that radiation has begun to show on JunoCam over the last few orbits,” said Ed Hirst, project manager of Juno at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Pictures from the last flyby show a reduction in the imager’s dynamic range and the appearance of ‘striping’ noise. Our engineering team has been working on solutions to alleviate the radiation damage and to keep the imager going.”
More Io, Please
After several months of study and assessment, the Juno team adjusted the spacecraft’s planned future trajectory to add seven new distant Io flybys (for a total of 18) to the extended mission plan. After the close Io pass on Feb. 3, the spacecraft will fly by Io every other orbit, with each orbit growing progressively more distant: The first will be at an altitude of about 10,250 miles (16,500 kilometers) above Io, and the last will be at about 71,450 miles (115,000 kilometers).
The gravitational pull of Io on Juno during the Dec. 30 flyby will reduce the spacecraft’s orbit around Jupiter from 38 days to 35 days. Juno’s orbit will drop to 33 days after the Feb. 3 flyby.
After that, Juno’s new trajectory will result in Jupiter blocking the Sun from the spacecraft for about five minutes at the time when the orbiter is at its closest to the planet, a period called perijove. Although this will be the first time the solar-powered spacecraft has encountered darkness since its flyby of Earth in October 2013, the duration will be too short to affect its overall operation. With the exception of the Feb. 3 perijove, the spacecraft will encounter solar eclipses like this during every close flyby of Jupiter from now on through the remainder of its extended mission, which ends in late 2025.
Starting in April 2024, the spacecraft will carry out a series of occultation experiments that use Juno’s Gravity Science experiment to probe Jupiter’s upper atmospheric makeup, which provides key information on the planet’s shape and interior structure.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/juno/nasas-juno-to-get-close-look-at-jupiters-volcanic-moon-io-on-dec-30/
Curiosity Rover
@MarsCuriosity
Hey look – I’m a sundial!
Ok, not exactly, but I did get a sol to enjoy my surroundings. During solar conjunction, I used my hazard cameras to study the Martian weather and dust.
As this Earth year comes to an end, I hope you’ll take the time to soak in what’s around you.
9:06 AM · Dec 28, 2023
https://twitter.com/MarsCuriosity/status/1740418956010406302
Joe Burrow Calls For Alien Reveal
12/27/23
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow posted on his X account for the first time in over a year on Wednesday with a clear message: "Show me the aliens!!"
Burrow has a diverse interest palette outside of football and is clearly curious about life beyond our world.
He did rock an alien mask for the Bengals' Halloween road trip this season against San Francisco.
https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/joe_burrow_calls_for_alien_reveal/s1_16652_39729497
NATO nation Poland puts air defences on high alert following UFO sighting from Ukraine
UPDATED: 14:18, Fri, Dec 29, 2023
Poland has put its air defence forces on high alert following the identification of an unidentified flying object and Russia’s devastating attack on Ukraine this morning.
Spokesperson for the Operational Command of Poland’s Armed Forces, Jacek Górszewski told the press that Poland had put both its air defence systems and its pilots on high alert.
He said: “In order to ensure the security of our airspace, we have increased the combat readiness of our air defence systems, as well as the readiness of our fighter aircraft.”
Poland’s decision comes just hours after Russia launched its largest aerial assault against Ukraine which saw hundreds of missiles target major cities such as Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Odesa.
What’s more, Poland also identified an unidentified flying object leaving Ukraine which contributed to their decision to raise the alert level.
Polsatnews reported that the unidentified object entered Polish airspace at the country’s border with Ukraine. Soon after the object entered the country its signal disappeared.
A spokesperson told the publication that the object was detected in the morning as Vladimir Putin’s Russia rained down missiles on Ukrainian cities. Residents in the town of Sosnowa-Dębowa say they saw the object at around 7am.
A military officer added that a ground search was currently taking place to find the missing object with over 20 officers involved in the search around Zamość.
The officer explained that what has proved strange about the incident is that no one reported an explosion and, so far, no debris has been found.
Poland’s decision put its air defence on high alert after Russia launched a massive aerial assault against Ukrainian cities causing severe damage to buildings and resulting in civilian casualties.
In a statement following the attack, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “A maternity ward, educational facilities, a shopping mall, multi-story residential buildings and private homes, commercial storage, and a parking lot. Kyiv, Lyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and other cities.
"Today, Russia used nearly every type of weapon in its arsenal: "Kindzhals", S-300s, cruise missiles, and drones. Strategy bombers launched X-101/X-505 missiles. A total of around 110 missiles were fired against Ukraine, with the majority of them being shot down.
"Unfortunately there have been fatalities and injuries as a result of the strikes. All services are working around the clock and providing the necessary aid. My condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I wish a speedy recovery to those injured."
“We will surely respond to terrorist strikes. And we will continue to fight for the security of our entire country, every city, and every citizen. Russian terror must and will lose."
Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba added: "Around 110 Russian missiles and numerous drones were used to target civilians in Ukraine. A maternity ward, schools, hospitals, residential buildings, and commercial facilities were all targeted
“Today, millions of Ukrainians awoke to the loud sound of explosions. I wish those sounds of explosions in Ukraine could be heard all around the world.
“In all major capitals, headquarters, and parliaments, which are currently debating further support for Ukraine. In all newsrooms, which are writing about “fatigue” or Russia purportedly being ready for "negotiations."
“These sounds are what Russia really has to say. Our only collective response can and must be continued, robust, and long-term military and financial assistance to Ukraine. Only greater firepower can silence Russian terror.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1850097/poland-ukraine-war-ufo-sighting