Med beds, probably
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
March 23, 2025
Ancient Ogunquit Beach on Mars
This was once a beach – on ancient Mars. The featured 360-degree panorama, horizontally compressed, was taken in 2017 by the robotic Curiosity rover that explored the red planet. Named Ogunquit Beach after its terrestrial counterpart, evidence shows that at times long ago the area was underwater, while at other times it was at the edge of an ancient lake. The light peak in the central background is the top of Mount Sharp, the central feature in Gale Crater where Curiosity explored. Portions of the dark sands in the foreground were scooped up for analysis. The light colored bedrock is composed of sediment that likely settled at the bottom of the now-dried lakebed. The featured panorama (interactive version here) was created from over 100 images and seemingly signed by the rover on the lower left.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Scientists Stunned By Alien-like Ecosystem Under Antarctic Iceberg
March 22, 2025
When a massive iceberg calved off the Antarctic coast earlier this year, it did more than just reshape the ice sheet—it uncovered an ancient, untouched marine world.
What scientists found beneath the ice has left them both amazed and full of questions.
A Rare Opening In The Ice
The event happened on January 13, when a 19-mile-long iceberg broke off from the George VI Ice Shelf, exposing a patch of ocean that hadn’t seen sunlight in decades.
The crew aboard the research vessel Falkor (too), already operating in the area, rerouted their mission immediately.
“It’s the kind of event that when it happens, you leave whatever you’re doing,” said Patricia Esquete, chief scientist on the expedition.
Life Found Where None Was Expected
According to The Washington Post, the team expected little—maybe sediment, maybe a few microbes. Instead, they found a vibrant world thriving in darkness.
Giant sea spiders, octopuses, icefish, corals, and sponges, including a vase-shaped sponge that could be hundreds of years old, populated the seafloor.
“We were really surprised and amazed by the diverse ecosystems and the rich ecosystems we found down there,” explained Esquete, a researcher at the University of Aveiro in Portugal.
Dozens Of Possible New Species
Over the month-long expedition, scientists deployed a remotely operated vehicle to record footage and gather specimens. The team also explored deeper parts of the Bellingshausen Sea.
Among their finds: strange worms, sea snails, fish, and crustaceans—many of which may be entirely new to science. Full identification will take months of lab analysis. “Most of the work starts now,” Esquete explained.
A Deeper Mystery Beneath The Ice
Despite the diversity, one question dominated the expedition: how is so much life surviving in a place completely cut off from sunlight?
Elsewhere in the ocean, organisms at the surface photosynthesize and send nutrients down to the deep sea.
But under Antarctic ice, no such rain of nutrients exists. Instead, scientists suspect the ecosystem may be fed by ocean currents, glacial meltwater, or another yet-unknown source.
“This is all very much an area of active scientific research now because of this discovery,” said Jyotika Virmani, head of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which funded the mission.
A Frozen Frontier Now Exposed
“They were really serendipitously in the right place at the right time to be right there and to see an ecosystem,” Virmani said of the expedition.
This isn’t the first time researchers have been surprised by Earth’s deep-sea biodiversity.
Just last year, a Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition off Chile revealed over 70 new species, including squat lobsters and marine snails.
But the Antarctic finding is different. It offers scientists a natural “before” snapshot—a baseline ecosystem untouched by light, human activity, or climate disturbance.
https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/03/alien-like-ecosystem-antarctic-iceberg/
https://watchers.news/2025/03/23/six-new-species-discovered-beneath-antarctic-seafloor-after-iceberg-a-84-break-off/
1.2 million-year-old Antarctic ice cores to be analyzed in Europe
Mar 23, 2025 10:01 AM
In a move supported by the European Commission, 1.2 million-year-old ice cores extracted from Antarctica are being transported to Europe for detailed scientific analysis.
These ice cores, believed to hold crucial information about Earth’s climate history, will be examined as part of the “Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice” project.
Unlocking earth’s climate history
According to a statement on the project’s official website, scientists aim to unravel the Earth’s climate history, spanning over 1.2 million years, by studying the atmospheric gases, dust, and isotopic compositions preserved in the ice cores.
These core samples are vital for understanding past climate conditions and predicting future environmental changes.
Challenging conditions for transport
The ice cores, retrieved from a depth of nearly 2,800 meters during fieldwork in Antarctica, were carefully transported to Europe in specialized containers, maintained at temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit).
They will arrive in Italy around April 22, before being sent to Germany for distribution to various research institutions involved in the project.
There, the cores will be divided into smaller samples for further analysis in laboratory settings.
Carlo Barbante, the coordinator of the Beyond EPICA project, shared his excitement: “The recent drilling season yielded remarkable results.
In the coming days, we will begin analyzing the cores, which will shed light on the climate history of the past 1.2 million years, and perhaps even further back. We are eager to begin this critical phase of the project.”
https://www.turkiyetoday.com/lifestyle/1-2-million-year-old-antarctic-ice-cores-to-be-analyzed-in-europe-135055/
Aurora alert: Giant 'hole' in sun and strong geomagnetic storm converge to supercharge northern lights this weekend
March 22, 2025
A massive eruption on the sun that flung solar plasma toward Earth on Friday may trigger a strong geomagnetic storm this weekend that could supercharge auroras across the northern United States.
The solar eruption, called a coronal mass ejection (or CME), exploded on Friday (March 21) even as a so-called "coronal hole" opened on the sun to unleash a separate high-speed stream of solar particles toward Earth.
The result: A tag-team of solar material that should reach Earth this weekend to amplify northern lights displays late Saturday and early Sunday (March 22-23).
"A coronal hole high speed stream and coronal mass ejection arrival are likely to combine this coming night (Sat 22 Mar), bringing Enhanced to Strong solar wind speeds for a time," the Meteorological Office of the United Kingdom wrote in an update today.
In the U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an alert for a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm watch for Sunday, which could make auroras visible as far south as Oregon and U.S. states across the lower Midwest.
"Watches at this level are infrequent, but not uncommon," NOAA officials wrote in the alert.
Auroras occur when charged particles from the sun's solar wind reach Earth, where they are funneled over our planet's polar regions to Earth's magnetic field.
When those particles interact with the upper atmosphere, they cause a glow (usually in green) visibel to skywatchers.
Spikes in those interactions can reach geomagnetic storm levels like the G3 storm watch issued by NOAA.
When the sun unleashes major solar flares, erutions or particle streams, that baseline aurora activity amps up, with the northern lights visible farther south than its typical polar regions.
Increased solar activity can also lead to different colors of auroras, such as stunning reds and purples, in addition to green.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/aurora-borealis/aurora-alert-giant-hole-in-sun-and-strong-geomagnetic-storm-converge-to-supercharge-northern-lights-this-weekend
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g3-strong-geomagnetic-storm-watch-23-mar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dvkUOVP9TE
1st-ever orbital rocket launch from European soil targeted for March 24
March 23, 2025
The first orbital rocket to launch from continental Europe is nearing its debut.
Germany-based Isar Aerospace is targeting no earlier than Monday, March 24, for the maiden voyage of its brand new Spectrum rocket.
The Spectrum will liftoff from the Andøya Spaceport, in Norway, during a three-hour launch window Monday, between 7:30 a.m. EST (1130 GMT) and 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT).
As Spectrum's first test flight, Isar has opted not to fly any customer payloads onboard the rocket, and instead is focusing on collecting as much data from the flight as possible, according to the company's website.
This will also be the first launch from Europe's Andøya Spaceport, which opened in 2023, and whose initial ground infrastructure and facilities were built to specifically accommodate Isar and the Spectrum rocket.
Spectrum stands 95 feet (28 meters) tall, a modest middle-ground between Rocket Lab's Electron rocket and SpaceX's Falcon 9, which measure 56 feet (17 meters) and 230 feet (70 meters), respectively.
Once in operation, Isar is billing Spectrum as a small to medium-lift launch vehicle, capable of delivering up to 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) to low-Earth orbit.
Over the course of the past seven years, two-stage Spectrum has been designed and developed by Isar completely in-house.
The launch vehicle includes 9 turbopump liquid oxygen/propane-fueled engines powering its main booster, and a singular Aquila multi-ignition engine for orbital insertions and maneuvers once in space.
Even before Spectrum's first test launch, Isar has already secured a launch contract to fly the new rocket's first commercial missions.
The company announced a deal with the Norwegian Space Agency on March 12 for Isar to launch the Arctic Ocean Surveillance (AOS) program satellites by 2028.
"The launch of the AOS satellites from Andøya Spaceport will be a true milestone for Norwegian space activities.
We look forward to a robust partnership with Isar Aerospace and seeing 'Spectrum' in action," said Norwegian Space Agency Director General Christian Hauglie-Hanssen in an Isar press release.
"Subject to weather, safety and range infrastructure, the first launch window for Spectrum's first test flight opens NET 24 Mar," Isar posted on social media Friday, March 21.
Few rockets have reached orbit on their first flights, and Isar appears to be approaching Spectrum's first test flight with realistic expectations.
The company outlines a list of six mission milestones from liftoff to orbit, but has stated its only goal for the launch is to collect as much as possible.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/1st-ever-orbital-rocket-launch-from-european-soil-targeted-for-march-24
https://www.isaraerospace.com/press/norwegian-space-agency-and-isar-aerospace-sign-contract-for-satellite-launch-from-and%C3%B8ya-spaceport
https://twitter.com/isaraerospace/status/1902977867849277609
Get a gonzo camera crew in there pronto