TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
October 20, 2024
Dark Matter in a Simulated Universe
Is our universe haunted? It might look that way on this dark matter map. The gravity of unseen dark matter is the leading explanation for why galaxies rotate so fast, why galaxies orbit clusters so fast, why gravitational lenses so strongly deflect light, and why visible matter is distributed as it is both in the local universe and on the cosmic microwave background. The featured image from the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium Space Show Dark Universe highlights one example of how pervasive dark matter might haunt our universe. In this frame from a detailed computer simulation, complex filaments of dark matter, shown in black, are strewn about the universe like spider webs, while the relatively rare clumps of familiar baryonic matter are colored orange. These simulations are good statistical matches to astronomical observations. In what is perhaps a scarier turn of events, dark matter although quite strange and in an unknown form is no longer thought to be the strangest source of gravity in the universe. That honor now falls to dark energy, a more uniform source of repulsive gravity that seems to now dominate the expansion of the entire universe.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Watch SpaceX's Starship come down for nighttime splashdown during epic test flight
October 19, 2024
SpaceX has given us another angle on the epic fifth test flight of its Starship megarocket.
The company made history on that Oct. 13 mission, catching Starship's Super Heavy first-stage booster with the "chopstick" arms of the launch tower about seven minutes after liftoff.
But Starship's 165-foot-tall (50 meters) upper stage ā known as Starship, or just Ship ā aced its return to Earth as well.
It came down for a pinpoint splashdown halfway around the world from its South Texas launch site, as a newly released video from SpaceX shows.
"Starship flip maneuver and landing burn on its fifth flight test.
Vehicle improvements ensured flaps were protected from high heating, resulting in a controlled entry and high-accuracy splashdown at the targeted area in the Indian Ocean," SpaceX wrote in a Friday (Oct. 18) post on X that shared the 21-second video.
That video was taken from the ocean's surface, from a buoy or other bobbing object, as SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk noted in a jokey reply to the company's post.
"Oh buoy, what a great video!" Musk wrote on X on Friday. There may not be many more ocean splashdowns in Ship's future.
SpaceX plans to bring the upper stage as well as Super Heavy back for launch-tower landings in the future ā something that seems quite achievable given the performance on Flight 5, according to Musk.
"Starship achieved a precise, soft landing in the ocean, paving the way for return to launch site and being caught by the tower arms, like the booster.
Full & rapid reusability improves the cost of access to orbit & beyond by >10,000%. It is the fundamental technology breakthrough needed to make life multiplanetary and for us to become a true spacefaring civilization," the billionaire entrepreneur wrote in another Friday X post.
As that post notes, SpaceX is developing Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, to help humanity settle the moon and Mars.
The company believes that its combination of brawn and full, rapid reusability can help make such long-held dreams come true.
https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-flight-five-splashdown-video
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1847368836947071496
Intelsat 33e loses power in geostationary orbit
October 19, 2024
Intelsat 33e has lost power in geostationary orbit and the satellite is no longer providing communications for customers across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia Pacific, its operator announced Oct. 19.
Intelsat said it is working with satellite maker Boeing to address the anomaly, but ābelieve it is unlikely that the satellite will be recoverable.ā
An Intelsat spokesperson said the satellite was not insured at the time of the issue.
The company said in a brief news release it is working to move customers to other satellites in Intelsatās fleet or spacecraft operated by third parties.
Intelsat 33e launched in August 2016 and entered service in January 2017 at 60 degrees East, about three months later than planned following an issue with its primary thruster.
A second propulsion issue that emerged during in-orbit tests helped knock off around 3.5 years from the satelliteās initially estimated 15-year lifespan.
Intelsat 33e is the second in Intelsatās EpicNG (next-generation) series of high-throughput satellites.
The first, Intelsat-29e, was declared a total loss in 2019 after just three years in orbit.
That failure was pinned on either a meteoroid impact or a wiring flaw that led to an electrostatic discharge following heightened solar weather activity.
https://spacenews.com/intelsat-33e-loses-power-in-geostationary-orbit/
Two EF-18 Hornets from the Spanish Air and Space Force responded to the presence of a Russian drone in Romania
20 October, 2024
Two EF-18 Hornet fighter-bombers from the Spanish Air and Space Force, operating in Romania as part of Detachment Paznic, were deployed to respond to the presence of a Russian drone detected by the Romanian and NATO surveillance systems.
According to the Spanish General Staff of Defense (EMAD), the Hornets, along with Romanian F-16 fighters, formed the quick reaction force deployed following the alert triggered by Romaniaās surveillance system.
A potential Russian unmanned aircraft had been detected flying over the Black Sea, heading toward Romanian territory, approximately 150 km east of Mihail KogÄlniceanu, in ConstanČa County.
In its statement, the EMAD also mentioned that āā¦Given the droneās trajectory towards NATO airspace, the Combined Air Operations Center in TorrejĆ³n (CAOC-TJ) ordered the Spanish EF-18 Hornets from Detachment āPaznicā to scramble and establish a patrol along the Black Sea coastā¦ā
As the Russian drone moved closer to the Romanian border, two F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter-bombers from the Romanian Air Forceās 86th Air Base in Borcea were also deployed to monitor the situation.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense reported that āā¦radar signals indicated the drone crossed into Romanian airspace around 7:00 PM, near the town of Eforie Nord, and then continued towards Topraisarā¦ā
āā¦The aerial surveillance radars continuously tracked the droneās path, which penetrated as far as 14 kilometers into Romanian territoryā¦ā
The fighter jets were unable to make visual contact with the target at any point along its route, and the surveillance system lost radar contact east of the city of Amzacea around 7:20 PM.
After completing their mission, the Spanish EF-18s landed at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, having been relieved by the Romanian Air Force F-16s.
In addition to the fighter-bombers, the French Armyās MAMBA anti-aircraft artillery battery, U.S. maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters based at Mihail Kogalniceanu participated in the search operation.
It is worth noting that in early October, Spanish and Romanian fighter-bombers were scrambled in response to the potential violation of Romanian airspace by Russian drones, following an attack on Ukrainian cities near the border.
https://www.zona-militar.com/en/2024/10/20/two-ef-18-hornets-from-the-spanish-air-and-space-force-responded-to-the-presence-of-a-russian-drone-in-romania/
https://emad.defensa.gob.es/operaciones/operaciones-en-el-exterior/36_Persistent_Effort/36.1_Enhanced_Air_Policing/noticias/listado/241018-ni-paznic-alfa-scramble.html
Global Disclosure Day
October 20, 2024
We are very excited to announce the first Global Disclosure Day on October 20 at 1:00 PM EST/7:00 PM CET (Central European Time).
On this day, our Citizens for Disclosure groups in 43 states and around the world will convene watch parties for a two-hour live stream event.
This first-of-its-kind event will feature notable speakers in the Disclosure movement, testimonials from local activist groups, and special videos about the latest information on UAP.
We are witnessing a major sea change in the history of the UFO/UAP campaign. Up until very recently, the onus was on the movement to prove UFOs were real.
Now, so much information has come out at such high levels of the US Government that the burden is now on those who tried to keep UFOs a secret to prove that they are NOT real.
We are in a new time.
Confirmed Speakers
Ross Coulthart
Lue Elizondo
Karl Nell
Birdie Jaworksi
Danny Sheehan
Dr. Beatriz Villarroel
Rich Hoffman
Julia Mossbridge
Chrissy Newton
Steve Bassett
Ron James
Lester Nare
Nick Gold
Kosta Makreas
Chris Sharp
Ryan Purkey
Giorgio Piacenza
Chris Gaffney
Mark Crewson
Sabir Hussain
Stan Ho
Thiago Luiz Ticchetti
Alexander Torell
Dr. Julio Cesar Acosta Navarro
Global Disclosure Day is being convened in the spirit of Earth Day, established in 1972 to celebrate the Earth and the importance of environmental sustainability.
Our Global Disclosure Day seeks to celebrate UAP Disclosure and the importance of global citizen action to ensure that humanity enters its Cosmic Moment with a positive spirit and open heart.
https://newparadigminstitute.org/take-action/global-disclosure-day/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOlylLyeWps