TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
May 17, 2025
Ares 3 Landing Site: The Martian Revisited
This close-up from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera shows weathered craters and windblown deposits in southern Acidalia Planitia. A striking shade of blue in standard HiRISE image colors, to the human eye the area would probably look grey or a little reddish. But human eyes have not gazed across this terrain, unless you count the eyes of NASA astronauts in the sci-fi novel, "The Martian," by Andy Weir. The novel chronicles the adventures of Mark Watney, an astronaut stranded at the fictional Mars mission Ares 3 landing site, corresponding to the coordinates of this cropped HiRISE frame. For scale, Watney's 6-meter-diameter habitat at the site would be about 1/10th the diameter of the large crater. Of course, the Ares 3 landing coordinates are only about 800 kilometers north of the (real life) Carl Sagan Memorial Station, the 1997 Pathfinder landing site.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
NASA Satellite Detects Tree Leaf Changes as Early Volcano Eruption Warning Signal
Updated: 17 May 2025 19:00 IST
NASA scientists might soon be able to forecast volcanic eruptions by monitoring how trees respond from space.
Now, in a new collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution, they have discovered that tree leaves grow lusher and greener when previously dormant volcanic carbon dioxide seeps up from the ground — an early warning that a cone of magma is pushing upwards.
Now, using satellites such as Landsat 8 and data from the recent AVUELO mission, scientists think this biological response could be visible remotely, serving as an added layer of early warning for eruptions in high-risk areas that currently menace millions worldwide.
NASA Uses Tree Greening as Satellite Clue for Early Volcano Eruption Warnings in Remote Regions
As per the research by NASA's Earth Science Division at Ames Research Centre, greening occurs when trees absorb volcanic carbon dioxide released as magma rises. These emissions precede sulfur dioxide and are harder to detect directly from orbit.
While carbon dioxide does not always appear obvious in satellite images, its downstream effects — enhanced vegetation, for example — can help reinforce existing volcanic early warning systems, notes volcanologist Florian Schwandner.
It could be important because, as the U.S. Geological Survey says, the country is still one of the most volcanically active.
Globally, about 1,350 potentially active volcanoes exist, many in remote or hazardous locations. On-site gas measurement is costly and dangerous, prompting volcanologists like Robert Bogue and Nicole Guinn to explore tree-based proxies.
Guinn's study of tree leaves around Sicily's Mount Etna found a strong correlation between leaf colour and underground volcanic activity. Satellites such as Sentinel-2 and Terra have proven capable of capturing these subtle vegetative changes, particularly in forested volcanic areas.
To confirm this method, climate scientist Josh Fisher led NASA-Smithsonian teams in March 2025 to Panama and Costa Rica, collecting tree samples and measuring gas levels near active volcanoes.
Fisher sees this interdisciplinary research as key to both volcano forecasting and understanding long-term tree response to atmospheric carbon dioxide, which will reveal future climate conditions.
The benefits of early carbon dioxide detection have been demonstrated in the 2017 eruption of Mayon volcano in the Philippines, where it allowed mass evacuations and saved more than 56,000 lives.
It has its limitations, like bad terrain or too much environmental noise, but it could be a game-changer.
https://www.gadgets360.com/science/news/nasa-satellite-detects-tree-leaf-changes-as-early-volcano-eruption-warning-signal-8429410
https://phys.org/news/2025-05-nasa-satellite-images-early-volcano.html
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aam5782
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/science/space/ed-smylie-dead.html
Ed Smylie, Who Saved the Apollo 13 Crew With Duct Tape, Dies at 95
May 16, 2025
Robert “Ed” Smylie, the NASA official who led a team of engineers that cobbled together an apparatus made of cardboard, plastic bags and duct tape that saved the Apollo 13 crew in 1970 after an explosion crippled the spacecraft as it sped toward the moon, died on April 21 in Crossville, Tenn. He was 95.
His death, in a hospice facility, was confirmed by his son, Steven.
The day after the astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise returned to earth on April 17, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon awarded NASA’s mission operations team with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In his remarks, he singled out Mr. Smylie and his deputy, James V. Correale.
“They are men whose names simply represent the whole team,” President Nixon said at a ceremony at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston. “And they had a jerry-built operation which worked, and had that not occurred, these men would not have gotten back.”
Soft-spoken, with an accent that revealed his Mississippi upbringing, Mr. Smylie was relaxing at home in Houston on the evening of April 13 when Mr. Lovell radioed mission control with his famous (and frequently misquoted) line: “Uh, Houston, we’ve had a problem.”
An oxygen tank had exploded, crippling the spacecraft’s command module.
Mr. Smylie, who lived five houses down from Mr. Haise, saw the news on television and called the crew systems office, according to the 1994 book “Lost Moon” by Mr. Lovell and the journalist Jeffrey Kluger.
The desk operator said the astronauts were retreating to the lunar excursion module, which was supposed to shuttle two crew members to the moon. “I’m coming in,” Mr. Smylie said.
Mr. Smylie knew there was a problem with this plan: The lunar module was equipped to safely handle air flow for only two astronauts. Three humans would generate lethal levels of carbon dioxide.
To survive, the astronauts would need to somehow refresh the canisters of lithium hydroxide that would absorb the poisonous gases in the lunar excursion module.
There were extra canisters in the command module, but they were square; the lunar module ones were round. “You can’t put a square peg in a round hole, and that’s what we had,” Mr. Smylie said in the documentary “XIII” (2021).
He and about 60 other engineers had less than two days to invent a solution using materials already onboard the spacecraft.
The crisis is depicted in Ron Howard’s 1995 blockbuster film, “Apollo 13,” starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Lovell, Kevin Bacon as Mr. Swigert and Bill Paxton as Mr. Haise.
In reality, the engineers printed a supply list of the equipment that was onboard. Their ingenious solution: an adapter made of two lithium hydroxide canisters from the command module, plastic bags used for garments, cardboard from the cover of the flight plan, a spacesuit hose and a roll of gray duct tape.
“If you’re a Southern boy, if it moves and it’s not supposed to, you use duct tape,” Mr. Smylie said in the documentary.
“That’s where we were. We had duct tape, and we had to tape it in a way that we could hook the environmental control system hose to the command module canister.”
Mission control commanders provided step-by-step instructions to the astronauts for locating materials and building the adapter. In between steps, they joked about taxes. (It was, after all, April.)
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“OK, Jack,” one of the commanders radioed. “Did anybody ever tell you that you got a 60-day extension on your income tax? Over.”
“Yes,” Mr. Swigert replied. “I think somebody said that when you are out of your country, you get a 60-day extension.”
The adapter worked. The astronauts were able to breathe safely in the lunar module for two days as they awaited the appropriate trajectory to fly the hobbled command module home. T
hey landed in the Pacific Ocean with plenty of time to file their taxes (thanks to the extension). “We would have died had their solution not worked,” Mr. Haise said in an interview. “I don’t know what more you can say about that.”
Robert Edwin Smylie, known as Ed, was born on Dec. 25, 1929, in Lincoln County, Miss., on his grandfather’s farm. His father, Robert Torrey Smylie, delivered ice and later managed an ice-making facility. His mother, Leona (White) Smylie, oversaw the home.
After serving in the U.S. Navy, Mr. Smylie studied mechanical engineering at Mississippi State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1952 and a master’s in 1956. He pursued a doctorate at the University of California, Los Angeles, but didn’t finish.
In 1962, he was working at the Douglas Aircraft Company in California when President John F. Kennedy announced plans to send astronauts to the moon.
“I was a young engineer and just wanted to be there and help make it happen,” Mr. Smylie said in a NASA oral history.
He applied for a job at the space agency in Houston, initially working in the environmental control section. He eventually became chief of the crew systems division, which was responsible for the life-sustaining equipment used by Apollo astronauts in space.
Mr. Smylie always played down his ingenuity and his role in saving the Apollo 13 crew.
“It was pretty straightforward, even though we got a lot of publicity for it and Nixon even mentioned our names,” he said in the oral history. “I said a mechanical engineering sophomore in college could have come up with it.”
Mr. Smylie’s marriage to June Reeves in 1954 ended in divorce. He married Carolyn Hall in 1983; she died in 2024.
In addition to Steven, his son, he is survived by his daughters, Susan Smylie and Lisa Willis; his stepchildren, Natalie and Andrew Hall; 12 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.
Mr. Smylie’s lifesaving invention was a seminal moment in the storied history of duct tape, the jack-of-all trades tool kit item.
“Duct tape has come to enjoy a kind of heroic and ever more pervasive presence in American life,” Tisha Y. Hooks observed in “Duct Tape and the U.S. Social Imagination,” the dissertation she wrote at Yale University in 2015.
“From the Apollo 13 mission to the broken basement pipe,” she wrote, “duct tape is there.”
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NASA’s LRO Views Japan’s RESILENCE Lunar Lander Landing Area
May 16, 2025
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) imaged the landing area of the ispace SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon Mission 2 RESILIENCE lunar lander which is slated to land on the surface of the Moon no earlier than June 5, 2025 (UTC).
This view of the primary landing area is 3.13 miles (5,040 meters) wide and north is up. The site is in Mare Frigoris, a volcanic region interspersed with large-scale faults known as wrinkle ridges.
Mare Frigoris formed over 3.5 billion years ago as massive basalt eruptions flooded low-lying terrain.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-lro-views-japans-resilence-lunar-lander-landing-area/
Nancy Grace Roman’s 100th Birthday
May 16, 2025
Dr. Nancy Grace Roman, NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy and namesake of the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope, briefs astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin on celestial objects in 1965 in Washington, D.C. Nancy Grace Roman passed away on December 25, 2018, in Germantown, Maryland at the age of 93. May 16, 2025, would have been her 100th birthday.
Prior to joining NASA in 1959, Dr. Roman was a well-respected and influential astronomer, publishing some of the most cited papers in the mid-20th century, one included in a list of 100 most influential papers in 100 years.
At the agency, Roman worked to gain science support for space-based observatories. She established NASA’s scientific ballooning and airborne science, oversaw the start of the Great Observatory program with the first decade of Hubble Space Telescope development, and invested early in charge-coupled devices technology development used on Hubble – and now in digital cameras everywhere.
She was also key to the decision to link the development of the Large Space Telescope (that became Hubble) and the Space Transportation System – more commonly known as the Space Shuttle.
Finally, after retiring from NASA, Dr. Roman often worked with young students in underserved communities, hoping her story and mentoring could inspire them to join humanity’s quest for knowledge in a STEM field.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nancy-grace-romans-100th-birthday/
https://science.nasa.gov/people/nancy-roman/
New strain of bacteria found on China’s Tiangong space station
10:00pm, 17 May 2025
Chinese scientists have discovered a new microbe that developed on board the county’s Tiangong space station, according to a new study.
The strain, officially named niallia tiangongensis, is a new variant of a previously known terrestrial bacteria and was found on a cabin in the space station.
The discovery was announced by researchers from the Shenzhou Space Biotechnology Group and the Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.
paywall
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3310769/new-strain-bacteria-found-chinas-tiangong-space-station
China's commercial rocket launches six satellites into space
17 May 2025 16:42
A commercial rocket launched on Saturday in northwest China, successfully deploying six satellites into space.
The rocket, coded ZQ-2E Y2, blasted off at 12:12 (Beijing Time) from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone near the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
The satellites aboard the rocket, namely Tianyi-29, Tianyi-34, Tianyi-35, Tianyi-42, Tianyi-45, and Tianyi-46, have successfully entered their planned orbit.
The launch was the fifth mission of the ZQ-2 carrier rocket series.
https://news.az/news/china-s-commercial-rocket-launches-six-sat-ellites-into-space
Watch India launch its 2nd space mission of the year tonight
May 17, 2025
India will launch an Earth-observing radar satellite tonight (May 17) on the nation's second mission of 2025, and you can watch the action live.
The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) EOS-09 spacecraft is scheduled to lift off atop a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre tonight at 8:29 p.m. EDT (0029 GMT and 5:59 a.m. India Standard Time on Sunday, May 18).
You can watch the launch live here at Space.com courtesy of ISRO, or directly via the space agency. Coverage will start at 7:59 p.m. EDT (2329 GMT).
As its name suggests, EOS-09 is the ninth mission in India's Earth Observation Satellite series.
The spacecraft is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payload, which will allow it to observe our planet both day and night and through cloud cover.
If all goes according to plan tonight, the 3,735-pound (1,694 kilograms) EOS-09 will deploy from the PSLV's upper stage about 18 minutes after liftoff, at an altitude of 332 miles (535 kilometers).
After a checkout period, the satellite will begin an Earth-observing mission designed to last at least five years.
EOS-09 will "provide continuous and reliable remote-sensing data for operational applications across various sectors," ISRO wrote in a mission description.
"Its ability to provide round-the-clock, reliable intelligence is especially significant given ongoing security concerns along India’s borders with Pakistan and China," India Today wrote.
EOS-09 will be the second orbital liftoff of the year for India. The first occurred in January, when a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle launched the NVS-02 navigation spacecraft to the final frontier.
Tonight's launch will be the 101st to date for ISRO and the 63rd for the four-stage, 146-foot-tall (44.5 meters) PSLV. The workhorse rocket is flying in its "XL" configuration, which features six strap-on solid rocket boosters.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/watch-india-launch-its-2nd-space-mission-of-the-year-tonight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y63x4kjvAc0&feature=youtu.be
Rocket Lab launches radar imaging satellite for iQPS
May 17, 2025
Rocket Lab launched the latest in a series of radar imaging satellites for a Japanese company May 17.
An Electron rocket lifted off from Pad A at the company’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 4:17 a.m. Eastern.
About 50 minutes later it deployed its payload, the QPS-SAR-10 satellite, into a circular 575-kilometer orbit at an inclination of 42 degrees.
The satellite was built by Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, or iQPS, a Japanese company developing a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging satellites.
This was the third Electron launch for iQPS and the second in a multi-launch contract after a launch in mid-March.
The satellite is the tenth that iQPS has launched, although its first satellite malfunctioned shortly after launch and two others were lost in an Epsilon launch failure in 2022.
The company is planning to grow its constellation to 24 satellites by 2027 and ultimately to 36 spacecraft.
“With more Electron launches ahead, we’re more committed than ever to accelerating the buildout of our satellite constellation, and we look forward to continuing this powerful partnership,” Shunsuke Onishi, chief executive of iQPS, said in a statement after the launch.
The iQPS contract with Rocket Lab includes six more Electron launches, four in 2025 and two in 2026. The next launch is scheduled for June, Rocket Lab announced after this launch.
Rocket Lab touted the iQPS contract as evidence of its ability to support deployments of smallsat constellations where customers need access to specific orbits and control over their deployment schedules, which the company argues that rideshare launches, like SpaceX’s Transporter and Bandwagon missions, cannot provide.
“We have a lot of customers that will go and fly on a Transporter, and then they’ll come back and they’ll go book their whole constellation on us,” Peter Beck, chief executive of Rocket Lab, said in an interview in April.
In a May 8 earnings call, Rocket Lab reported a slight decrease in the average selling price (ASP) of Electron, which the company blamed on the mix of contracts for the vehicle’s launches in the quarter, including the multiple-launch contracts.
“We’ve got volume launch deals where we price relatively aggressively because people are making long-term volume commitments to the business,” said Adam Spice, Rocket Lab’s chief financial officer, on the call.
“However, our current backlog for Electron, and HASTE backlog, continues to support an increase in ASP with some variability quarterly,” he noted, citing customers with greater mission assurance or other requirements.
HASTE is a version of Electron for suborbital flight demonstrations. “We expect ASP for the calendar year 2025 to materially expand when compared to 2024.”
This launch was the sixth of the year for Electron, with the company previously committing to performing at least 20 Electron launches overall.
Spice said the company expects an increase in launch cadence in the second half of the year.
https://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-launches-radar-imaging-satellite-for-iqps/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ikgtJOeDW4
https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-seafloor-holes-pockmarks-evenly-spaced-and-distributed-defy-explanation/
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2023JF007374
Thousands of enormous holes discovered on the seafloor, evenly-spaced with "eerie regularity"
05-14-2025
The central California coast hides a dimpled and pockmarked seafloor region that is roughly the size of Los Angeles – five hundred square miles of soft‑edged pits stretching from Big Sur to Morro Bay.
For decades ocean scientists assumed these round depressions – a whopping six‑football‑field stretch from rim to rim and about 16 feet deep – were scars left by bubbles of methane burping up through the mud.
That tidy explanation raised eyebrows once plans for an offshore wind farm landed on the same patch of continental slope between 1,600 and 5,200 feet below the waves. If methane were still leaking, could turbine anchors stay put?
Curiosity turned urgent when more than 5,200 of the formations, known as pockmarks, appeared to be distributed with “eerie regularity.”
The pattern suggested an active force was sculpting and preserving the craters even today.
To settle the debate, a research team rolled out a fleet of high‑tech robots and a mountain of sensors – and overturned a favorite myth about how the seafloor breathes.
Seafloor full of large pockmarks
Autonomous underwater vehicles zipped barely yards above the bottom, beaming back sonar so sharp it mapped individual ripples of sand.
The survey refined ship‑based maps and revealed that most pockmarks sit almost perfectly spaced apart, each nearly circular and averaging 656 feet across.
Back at mission control aboard the research vessel, experts from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Stanford University watched the topography scroll across their monitors at one‑foot resolution.
The robots also carried a CHIRP sub‑bottom profiler, a sound cannon that peeks some 25 feet beneath the mud.
Instead of pockets of gas, profiles showed neat layers: thin bands of fine silt interrupted by coarser sand sheets. Those buried sand sheets hinted at something far more dramatic than gentle gas seepage.
Sending in the robots
Guided by the maps, MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts descended for 30 dives, clocking 185 hours of video and punching 107 vibracores and 433 shallow pushcores into the pockmark floors.
An additional cruise brought up piston cores nearly 25 feet long for comparison outside the craters. Not a whiff – chemical or acoustic – of methane turned up in any sample.
“There are many unanswered questions about the seafloor and its processes,” said MBARI Senior Research Technician Eve Lundsten.
“This research provides important data about the seafloor for resource managers and others considering potential offshore sites for underwater infrastructure to guide their decision‑making.”
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Seafloor avalanches and pockmarks
Each core carried a timeline of turmoil. Fine mud settled quietly for millennia, then a blanket of gritty sand crashed in, marking a colossal underwater avalanche called a sediment gravity flow.
The team counted turbidite layers back at least 280,000 years, with the most recent flow sweeping through roughly 14,000 years ago.
When such a slurry roars downslope, it scours the center of every pockmark in its path and drops a fresh sand layer across the field in one go – resetting the craters like simultaneous footprints.
“We collected a massive amount of data, allowing us to make a surprising link between pockmarks and sediment gravity flows,” Lundsten explained.
“We were unable to determine exactly how these pockmarks were initially formed, but with MBARI’s advanced underwater technology, we’ve gained new insight into how and why these features have persisted on the seafloor for hundreds of thousands of years.”
Clean energy from seafloor pockmarks
Undersea avalanches strike tens of thousands of years apart, yet their legacy shapes today’s renewable energy blueprint.
Turbine foundations must grip rock‑steady ground for decades; a bubbling gas pocket could undermine that. The new findings relieve a major worry.
Instead of methane, the main architect here is long‑dormant sediment flow, meaning the crust has remained effectively quiet since well before humans started farming California’s Central Valley.
“Expanding renewable energy is critical to achieving the dramatic cuts in carbon dioxide emissions needed to prevent further irreversible climate change,” noted MBARI President and CEO Chris Scholin.
“However, there are still many unanswered questions about the possible environmental impacts of offshore wind energy development,”
Many questions still need answers
Although the study pinned down how the craters stay fresh, their birth story remains elusive.
Did an ancient mega‑flow carve the first depressions, or did subtle currents gradually nudge sediment aside until a small hollow invited bigger scours?
Computer models will test whether an unconfined flow racing over the dimpled plain can muster enough force to keep those bowls tidy without help from escaping gas.
Future research will also track how water and sediment swirl through the neighboring Lucia Chica and San Simeon Channels – twin conduits that may funnel slurries into the field.
For now, the Sur Pockmark Field stands as the best‑charted seafloor province on North America’s west coast, a natural laboratory where wind‑farm planners, geologists, and marine ecologists share common ground.
What they’ll find next is anyone’s guess.
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Satellite imagery shows large dust storm over Chicago area from space
Updated on May 16, 2025 at 7:39 pm
As a significant dust storm impacts the Chicago area and creates hazardous travel conditions on area expressways, satellite imagery shows just how strong the system is.
The footage shows a large swath of dust sweep across the region as gusty winds impact the area for a second straight day.
Officials warn of life threatening travel conditions on expressways across the area, with visibility reduced to near zero throughout much of the region.
Photos of the downtown Chicago skyline show a massive dust cloud leaving many buildings only barely visible.
The dust storm warning for impacted expressways is valid through 8:30 p.m., with an area-wide wind advisory remaining in effect until 12 a.m.
The active weather comes ahead of an expected cooldown, with high temperatures dropping back into the 60s this weekend before falling into the 50s by early next week with a chance of more rainfall.
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/satellite-imagery-shows-large-dust-storm-over-chicago-area-from-space/3748009/
NASA spacecraft snaps eerie image of eclipsed sun with an extra moon overhead. What's going on?
May 16, 2025
The moon hovers over a shadowy void wreathed in sunlight in a stunning new photo taken by NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission on April 27.
PUNCH is a collection of four small satellites orbiting Earth with their instruments aimed at the sun. Launched on March 11, its goal is to study the solar wind — the stream of charged particles emanating from the sun and the cause of space weather.
It will do so by taking pictures of the sun and the space between it and Earth.
To prepare for its science operations phase, PUNCH must go through commissioning — a phase of instrument testing and alignment. The image above was taken as part of the commissioning process.
The dark, circular shadow is from the "occulter." The occulter is needed to prevent the sun's light from overwhelming the images, just like the moon blocks out the sun during a solar eclipse, revealing the delicate streamers and filaments that stretch from the sun's surface into the corona, the sun's outermost atmosphere.
The golden glow surrounding the sun is light reflecting off the occulter, and the dark areas at the top of the image are outside the instrument's field of view.
The moon is illuminated by light reflected off Earth. Images collected during the mission's science operations will undergo more processing to remove the stray light and some small distortions left by contamination to reveal detailed images of the sun's corona.
Photos of the sun's corona can help scientists study the solar wind — the more than 300,000 tons (272,000 metric tons) of material the sun blasts into space every second at a million mph (1.6 million km/h), bathing the entire solar system in a feisty stew of charged particles.
The solar wind is responsible for geomagnetic storms that, on Earth, can cause power grid failures and radio blackouts, and disrupt or damage satellites.
Understanding the solar wind helps us prepare for geomagnetic storms so life on Earth can continue without disruption.
The photos PUNCH will take won't directly show the sun's volatile magnetic field. Instead, they'll show massive, glowing plasma loops and outbursts that are shaped by it.
Patterns in the streamers and filaments emanating from the sun help researchers map out regions that are connected to the extreme space weather that causes geomagnetic storms on Earth.
When combined with data collected within the sun's corona by the Parker Solar Probe (PSP), PUNCH's science will enable a much deeper understanding of the processes that drive the solar wind.
This knowledge, in turn, can help protect the planet from geomagnetic storms.
"PSP and PUNCH are both working to unite two separate branches of heliophysics into a unified whole," PUNCH's principal investigator, Craig DeForest, told Live Science in an email.
"PSP is carrying the techniques of space physics (in-situ sampling) inward to touch and measure the solar corona.
PUNCH is extending the techniques of solar physics (scientific imaging) outward to measure how the solar corona touches us. The two missions complement each other beautifully."
PUNCH is scheduled to complete its commissioning phase June 9 and will start collecting new images of the sun and the area around it continuously.
The data collected will be available to anyone who wishes to access it as part of PUNCH's commitment to open, inclusive science.
https://www.livescience.com/space/the-sun/nasa-spacecraft-snaps-eerie-image-of-eclipsed-sun-with-an-extra-moon-overhead-whats-going-on
https://punch.space.swri.edu/punch_news.php?story=2025-05-05_punch_news_nfi-sees-new-moon
https://punch.space.swri.edu/punch_science_get-involved.php
2025 National Police Week
May 16, 2025
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. – Defenders from the 30th Security Forces Squadron participate in an assortment of events during National Police Week at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.
Held each May, Police Week brings together Airmen, families, and community members at installations around the world to honor fallen law enforcement officers and recognize the service of those who continue to protect and defend.
https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4189436/2025-national-police-week/
Vandenberg Innovation Day
May 16, 2025
VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. – The Vandenberg Crucible Innovation Lab held an innovation day and featured several base agencies to showcase their innovative technologies including the Supra Coder program, SAT-CHASERS, and the 30th SFS MAR+ program.
https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4189431/vandenberg-innovation-day/
Russian Drone Strike in Northeastern Ukraine Kills Nine People, Officials Say
17 May 2025
A Russian drone on Saturday hit a bus evacuating civilians from a front-line area in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, killing nine people and injuring seven, Ukrainian officials said, hours after Moscow and Kyiv had held their first direct peace talks in years that failed to yield a ceasefire.
Local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraine’s national police said the attack was in Bilopillia, a town around 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Russia.
The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the report and there was no immediate comment from Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “deliberate killing of civilians.” He said in a post on Telegram messaging app that the “Russians could scarcely not realize what kind of vehicle they were hitting.”
He lamented the missed opportunity from the talks on Friday, saying that “Ukraine has long proposed this – a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives.”
“Russia only retains the ability to continue killing,” Zelenskyy added.
In Bilopillia, a period of mourning was declared through Monday, with local community chief Yurii Zarko calling the day “Black Saturday.”
The local media outlet Suspilne said the passengers on the bus were being evacuated from the twon when the strike happened. Authorities are working to identify some of the victims, most of them elderly women.
The injured were taken to a hospital in Sumy, the regional capital, with three people reported to be in serious condition.
On Saturday morning, Russia’s defense ministry claimed its forces hit a military staging area in the Sumy region, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) southeast of Bilopillia, without mentioning any other attacks there.
According to a Washington-based think tank, Ukrainian forces have been inching forward into Russian territory in the Kursk region, just north of Bilopillia.
According to the report last week by the Institute for the Study of War, Kyiv’s troops had advanced south of the Russian border village of Tyotkino.
Russia said last month that its forces had fully reclaimed the Kursk region, nearly nine months after a lightning incursion by Kyiv captured more than 100 settlements there and promised to hand Ukraine a bargaining chip in possible negotiations with the Kremlin.
Ukrainian officials claimed fighting in Kursk is ongoing. It wasn’t immediately clear how Saturday’s strike would affect peace efforts.
Russian and Ukrainian officials met Friday in Turkey in an attempt to reach a temporary ceasefire, but the talks ended after less than two hours without a breakthrough.
It was the first face-to-face dialogue between the two sides since the early weeks of Moscow´s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
And while both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap, they remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting.
One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement. The Kremlin has pushed back against such a truce, which remains elusive.
Zelenskyy said he had discussed the talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland.
In a post on X from a European leadership meeting in Albania on Friday, he urged “tough sanctions” against Moscow if it rejects “a full and unconditional ceasefire and an end to killings.”
Kyiv and Moscow agreed in Istanbul to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, according to the heads of both delegations, in what would be their biggest such swap.
The sides also discussed a ceasefire and a meeting between their heads of state, according to the chief Ukrainian delegate, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
But Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, said both sides also agreed to provide each other with detailed ceasefire proposals, with Ukraine requesting the heads of state meeting, which Russia took under consideration.
In Tirana, Albania, Zelenskyy met with leaders of 47 European countries to discuss security, defense and democratic standards against the backdrop of the war.
They included French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
“Pressure on Russia must be maintained until Russia is ready to end the war,” Zelenskyy said on X, posting a photo of the leaders during the call, the second for the group since May 10.
https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/05/17/russian-drone-strike-in-northeastern-ukraine-kills-nine-people-officials-say/
RAF unleashes StormShroud, the radar-blinding combat drone
May 17, 2025
It looks like the age of the robotic warrior is here. The RAF has revealed that a radar-jamming combat drone called StormShroud will be deployed to support Britain's F-35B Lightning II and Typhoon fighters using lessons learned from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The idea of combat drones taking their place alongside conventional warplanes has been accepted for well over a quarter of a century, but the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed the trend into top gear as both sides have shown innovative new ways to use drones in the conflict.
While Loyal Wingman-type autonomous fighters are still in the works and two have officially joined the US Air Force, they're still in the prototype or pre-production phase.
The Royal Air Force has taken its Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACP) a step further with StormShroud, whose job is to use electronic countermeasures to punch a hole in hostile air defenses.
A StormShroud flying point ahead of a wing of fighters as they close in on the enemy would be a very romantic image.
However, that's far from what will happen when the drone becomes fully operational with 216 Squadron based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.
StormShroud is based on the Tekever AR3 tactical uncrewed aerial system (UAS). It's a small, catapult-launched fixed-wing drone with a wingspan of 11.5 ft (3.5 m) and a length of 6.2 ft (1.9 m).
It has a range of 54 nautical miles (62 miles, 100 km) while carrying a payload of 55 lb (25 kg), and it's equipped with Leonardo UK's BriteStorm stand-in jammer.
That's a 5.5-lb (2.5-kg) airborne counterjammer system consisting of a Miniature Techniques Generator (MTG) and bespoke Transmit Receive Modules (TRMs) that can be used for high-powered digital jamming and deception techniques.
In other words, the autonomous StormShroud can blind an adversary's radar or spoof it by creating squadrons of invisible fake warplanes to keep the defenders rather busy while the real planes slip by.
The drawback is that the drone is propelled by an electric pusher motor that gives it a cruising speed of just 49 knots (56 mph, 90 km/h) and an endurance of 16 hours.
The fly in the ointment is that the lower stall speed of an F-35 is 120 knots (138 mph, or 222 km/h). That's almost three times the cruise speed of StormShroud, so they're not exactly going to be flying in formation.
Instead, StormShroud will have to be launched independently long before any planned action to make sure it's on station on time.
Developed in just under a year by the RAF’s Rapid Capabilities Office, the Catalyst team in Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (DSTL), and British industry, StormShroud is the first of a new family of ACP drones for the RAF and will also work in conjunction with 216 Squadron's planned Loyal Wingman craft.
"This is a seminal moment for the RAF to maintain our advantage in Air Combat and national security," said Air Chief Marshal Sir Rich Knighton, Chief of the Air Staff.
"The RAF is committed to exploring cutting-edge technologies that can enhance its lethality and survivability in a more contested and dangerous world.
Autonomous collaborative platforms will revolutionize how we conduct a range of missions, from intelligence gathering to strike and logistical support.
We are excited to be at the forefront of this innovation and are working closely with industry partners to explore the possibilities."
https://newatlas.com/military/raf-stormshroud-radar-blinding-combat-drone/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xzHBXsaURE
IDF says it killed Hezbollah commander in drone strike in southern Lebanon
Today, 3:01 pm
The Israel Defense Force said Saturday that it killed a Hezbollah commander in a drone strike in Lebanon. Local authorities also confirmed one person had been killed.
The operative, who was targeted on a road near Mazraat Jemjim — some 30 kilometers from the Israeli border — in the Tyre District, was the commander of Hezbollah’s forces in the Beaufort Castle area, the military said.
According to the IDF, the commander was involved in restoring Hezbollah’s capabilities in the area.
Earlier this month, the IDF struck a major Hezbollah facility near Beaufort Castle.
“Restoring terror infrastructure and the activity there constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military added.
An AFP correspondent saw the charred wreckage of a vehicle in the Abu al-Aswad area.
Israel has continued to launch strikes on Hezbollah targets, seen as violating the November 27 truce, which sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of full-blown war.
The fighting started when Hezbollah began launching rockets into Israel the day after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre and only agreed to halt after Israel decimated the group and killed much of its top leadership.
Under the ceasefire, the Iran-backed Hezbollah was to pull back its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure to its south.
Israel was to withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, but it has kept troops in five areas that it deems “strategic.”
Earlier this week, the Israeli military said three separate strikes in south Lebanon targeted Hezbollah operatives.
Lebanon says it has respected its ceasefire commitments and has urged the international community to pressure Israel to end its attacks and withdraw all its troops.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-it-killed-hezbollah-commander-in-drone-strike-in-southern-lebanon/
https://twitter.com/idfonline/status/1923665897228533798
Massive US spy drone returns to Black Sea patrols
May 17, 2025
After a long pause, the U.S. Air Force has resumed high-altitude drone reconnaissance flights over the Black Sea.
On May 17, a massive Northrop Grumman RQ-4B Global Hawk, operating under the callsign FORTE 10, was spotted conducting surveillance operations along the Romanian coastline.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) departed from NATO’s Sigonella Air Base in Sicily, a key launch point for aerial intelligence missions across the region.
The RQ-4B Global Hawk is a strategic intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform capable of monitoring vast swaths of territory.
It can remain airborne for over 30 hours and is equipped with advanced sensors capable of identifying ground targets with precision.
This latest sortie follows a hiatus in U.S. ISR drone activity over the Black Sea that began after President Donald Trump returned to office.
Between 2022 and 2024, such flights were routine, but recent activity had largely been carried out by British and French assets.
In a related development earlier this month, a U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft was reported operating near Novorossiysk in the eastern Black Sea.
The Poseidon, equipped with the AN/APS-137D(V)5 radar system, can detect large naval vessels such as aircraft carriers at distances of up to 450 kilometers.
While Western aircraft operate exclusively in international airspace, Russian forces have repeatedly attempted to intimidate reconnaissance flights, prompting prior incidents and diplomatic tensions.
The renewed U.S. activity signals a possible shift in Washington’s approach to Black Sea surveillance.
https://defence-blog.com/massive-us-spy-drone-returns-to-black-sea-patrols/
Portal in Sky – Psychic Healing and Angelic Contact
May 17, 2025
Exopolitics Week in Review
Topics
US Border Patrol agents are coming forward with reports of UFO sightings involving orbs and triangles, and of portals opening up in the sky. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1921525129885962614
Decades of rumors involving Reptilian entities feeding on humans are true. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1921527623575887927
Psychic Healing, Angelic Contact and Reverse Aging: An Interview with Jerry Wills https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1921891062462722558
Col Karl Nell begins his SOL paper with the repeated official lie about UFOs/UAPs that “their origins [are] still unknown.” https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1922272278408032728
On May 10, there was a sky watching event at Eastbourne, England, where up to 2000 people saw multiple UFOs. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1922275578075611194
Exposing The Gray Alien Hybrid Agenda – Article & Video versions Now Available: https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1922977007144407540
Two classified hearings held on May 15 where Congressman Eric Burlison and others learned more about classified UFO files. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1923339901719704009
https://exopolitics.org/portal-in-sky-psychic-healing-and-angelic-contact/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_PfuUhX7_8
https://truthsocial.com/@exopolitics
extra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-CvR1_Vxxw (Exposing The Gray Alien Hybrid Agenda - May 15, 2025)
Strange But True! Arizona’s Only UFO Docking and Teleportation Center
Published: May 16, 2025
Arizona has many beautiful, awe-inspiring landmarks. Our state also has its fair share of strange curiosities, like Bedrock City, Arizona, for example. A curious little town dedicated to Hannah-Barbera's Flintstones cartoon.
Arizona's dark skies have created the perfect bedrock, if you will, for stories and tales of UFOs - unidentified flying objects seen in the skies over the Grand Canyon State.
Here's one more storied town with an interesting history.
Where is the Apple Dumpling UFO Docking and Teleportation Center?
Way up north in Arizona, there's a tiny town that's almost touching the Utah border. If you blink as you drive through, you'll probably miss it.
Nestled along Highway 389 in Cane Beds, Arizona, the Apple Dumpling UFO Docking and Teleportation Center is one of those curious roadside oddities that you just have to investigate, if you have the time.
Is it an actual alien docking station, you might ask? A quirky art installation? A cosmic joke? Well, yeah, the answer is a little bit of all of this. Maybe.
What is the Apple Dumpling UFO Docking and Teleportation Center? This strange and unusual desert landmark has an actual flying saucer. Sort of. It's really an old satellite dish, and it's been grounded for a long time.
Added in is a port-a-potty that serves as the teleportation hub. A sign proudly declares its name, adding to the mystery and charm.
Before you rush in, it's important to know that this "UFO landing site" is on private property, tucked behind a fence. However, curious travelers can still get a glimpse and snap a few photos from the roadside.
Why Was the Apple Dumpling UFO Docking and Teleportation Center Built?
You've probably figured out the obvious: this isn't a real UFO Docking and Teleportation Center. (I know, I'm sad about it, too.)
So, why was it built? According to a 2012 video, the creators, known only as the Assa 9 team, wanted to grab the attention of local town officials. They were frustrated because they were being ignored at town meetings.
So, they decided that an alien docking station might be just the ticket to lend some credibility to their cause and get their voices heard. It's hard to tell if the Assa 9 team won the respect they were seeking, but it sure is an entertaining story.
https://allhitskzmk.com/arizona-ufo-cane-beds/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fu-cHzKd_o
'Alien abductions' may be explained by this one terrifying health ordeal
07:28 ET, 16 May 2025
Being abducted by little green men might seem like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. But specialists have said people with one little-discussed issue may experience something strikingly close to this scenario.
In a social media post, sleep scientist Dr Matt Walker, from the University of California, Berkeley, delved into the terrifying phenomenon of sleep paralysis, which affects only a small number of people. "Experiencing paralysis upon waking is known as REM sleep paralysis," he explained.
"Normally, during REM sleep, the brain induces muscle atonia (temporary paralysis) to prevent dream enactment. Occasionally, consciousness can return slightly before muscle control, affecting roughly 25 per cent of people.
"Fascinatingly, REM sleep paralysis experiences often parallel narratives of alleged alien abductions. Dr Eti Simon theorises that muscle atonia's primary evolutionary function might be restorative, with dreaming subsequently co-opting this physiologic state."
Sleep paralysis is characterized by the terrifying inability to move or speak during the process of waking up or falling asleep. This bewildering condition typically occurs during deep REM sleep, which is commonly associated with dreaming phases.
People who have encountered sleep paralysis often report feeling a force pressing down on them or even sensing the presence of someone - or something - in the room with them.
This puzzling phenomenon is not only tied to explanations for supposed alien abductions, but could also be a plausible explanation for ghost encounters and other supernatural experiences.
Psychologist Dr Louise Goddard-Crawley previously told MailOnline: "From a scientific perspective, these hallucinations in sleep paralysis are manifestations of our internal mental processes rather than meaningful messages from an external source.
Some people may perceive threatening figures or monsters, while others may experience more neutral or even positive hallucinations.
The specific form that these hallucinations take can be influenced by cultural depictions, personal beliefs, and individual psychological factors."
Although it's unclear how sleep paralysis happens, the UK's NHS states that it may be linked to conditions like insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalised anxiety disorder, and panic disorder. It tends to occur more frequently in people with a family history of the condition.
Fortunately, you can do a few things to minimise its effects. One of the most effective is to make sure you go to bed at roughly the same time each day, and regularly get seven to nine hours of sleep.
On the flipside, patients are also encouraged to avoid smoking, eating a big meal, or drinking alcohol or caffeine shortly before bed. Sleeping on your back is discouraged, too.
It's essential to seek medical advice if you feel scared to go to sleep or feel continually exhausted due to sleep paralysis.
https://www.themirror.com/news/health/alien-abduction-explained-sleep-paralysis-1154390
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sleep-paralysis/
The NEPHILIM Looked Like CLOWNS - 6 - Hat Man & Morris Dancers
Feb 23, 2017
In this part we go deeper into the elusive hat man figure, witnessed by thousands of people with personal testimonies strewn all over the internet and in books.
And it references to the nephilim and other ancient rituals which venerate the same dark figure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uumjiCBlwus
https://www.youtube.com/live/262aytPrrFw?si=OMVsRmafUp1LNu-X (Hat Man Deep Dive)
Growing up With UFOs” Reminiscences from Paul and Joel Hynek
May 16, 2025
Sedona, Arizona—Join us for a captivating afternoon as Paul and Joel Hynek, sons of the renowned astronomer J. Allen Hynek, warmly share their personal experiences growing up in the fascinating world of UFOs.
Their presentation, “Growing Up With UFOs,” offers a unique and intimate glimpse into a family life interwoven with groundbreaking research.
Paul and Joel will share cherished anecdotes and insights from their upbringing, illuminating how their father’s significant work shaped their lives and perspectives.
Attendees can expect a blend of personal stories, reflections, and engaging discussions on the enduring mystery of unidentified flying objects.
This special presentation provides a wonderful opportunity to connect with the legacy of J. Allen Hynek and gain fresh insights into the UFO phenomenon.
We invite you to spend time with them exploring the world of UFOs.
It promises to be an engaging and memorable experience, filled with warmth, fascinating stories, and a unique perspective on a topic that continues to capture our imaginations.
Event Details:
Date: Sunday, June 8
Time: Doors open at 2:30 PM; Program begins at 3:00 PM
Location: The Global Center for Christ Consciousness, 100 Northview Road, Sedona, AZ, 86336
Admission: $15.00 at the door, cash preferred
Contact: Office phone: 1-928-282-7181
For more information, visit SedonaMUFON.org. For media inquiries: Jennifer W. Stein (Anthem, AZ) 610-613-0088
https://sedona.biz/123728-2/
https://sedonamufon.org/events/