NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

May 28, 2025

Herbig-Haro 24

This might look like a double-bladed lightsaber, but these two cosmic jets actually beam outward from a newborn star in a galaxy near you. Constructed from Hubble Space Telescope image data, the stunning scene spans about half a light-year across Herbig-Haro 24 (HH 24), some 1,300 light-years or 400 parsecs away in the stellar nurseries of the Orion B molecular cloud complex. Hidden from direct view, HH 24's central protostar is surrounded by cold dust and gas flattened into a rotating accretion disk. As material from the disk falls toward the young stellar object, it heats up. Opposing jets are blasted out along the system's rotation axis. Cutting through the region's interstellar matter, the narrow, energetic jets produce a series of glowing shock fronts along their path.

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

Sun Releases Strong Flare

May 27, 2025

The Sun emitted a strong flare, peaking at 9:52 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 24. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the Sun constantly, captured an image of the event.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

This flare is classified as an X1.1 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov/, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts.

NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort.

NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.

https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/solar-cycle-25/2025/05/27/sun-releases-strong-flare-7/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS9FXvTFpu4 (Suspicious Observers S0 News May.27.2025)

Sols 4549-4552: Keeping Busy Over the Long Weekend

May 27, 2025

Earth planning date: Friday, May 23, 2025

In Wednesday's mission update, Alex mentioned that this past Monday's plan included a “marathon” drive of 45 meters (148 feet).

Today, we found ourselves almost 70 meters (230 feet) from where we were on Wednesday. This was our longest drive since the truly enormous 97-meter (318-foot) drive back on sol 3744.

Today's plan looks a little different from our usual weekend plans. Because of the U.S. Memorial Day holiday on Monday, the team will next assemble on Tuesday, so an extra sol had to be appended to the weekend plan.

This extra sol is mostly being used for our next drive (about 42 meters or 138 feet), which means that all of the science that we have planned today can be done "targeted," i.e., we know exactly where the rover is.

As a result, we can use the instruments on our arm to poke at specific targets close to the rover, rather than filling our science time exclusively with remote sensing activities of farther-away features.

The rover's power needs are continuing to dominate planning. Although we passed aphelion (the farthest distance Mars is from the Sun) a bit over a month ago and so are now getting closer to the Sun, we're just about a week away from winter solstice in the southern hemisphere. This is the time of year when Gale Crater receives the least amount of light from the Sun, leading to particularly cold temperatures even during the day, and thus more power being needed to keep the rover and its instruments warm.

On the bright side, being at the coldest time of the year means that we have only warmer sols to look forward to!

Given the need to keep strictly to our allotted power budget, everyone did a phenomenal job finding optimizations to ensure that we could fit as much science into this plan as possible.

All together, we have over four hours of our usual targeted and remote sensing activities, as well as over 12 hours of overnight APXS integrations.

Mastcam is spending much of its time today looking off in the distance, particularly focusing on the potential boxwork structures that we're driving towards. These structures get two dedicated mosaics, totaling 42 images between the two of them.

Mastcam will also observe "Mishe Mokwa" (a small butte about 15 meters, or 49 feet, to our south) and some bedrock troughs in our workspace, and will take two tau observations to characterize the amount of dust in the atmosphere.

ChemCam has just one solo imaging-only observation in this plan: an RMI mosaic of Texoli butte off to our east. ChemCam will be collaborating with APXS to take some passive spectral observations (i.e., no LIBS) to measure the composition of the atmosphere.

Mastcam and ChemCam will also be working together on observations of LIBS activities. This plan includes an extravagant three LIBS, on “Orocopia Mountains,” “Dripping Springs,” and “Mountain Center.”

Both Mastcam and ChemCam also have a set of "dark" observations intended to characterize the performance of the instruments with no light on their sensors, something that's very important for properly calibrating their measurements.

Our single set of arm activities includes APXS, DRT, and MAHLI activities on “Camino Del Mar” and “Mount Baden-Powell,” both of which are bedrock targets in our workspace.

Of course, I can't forget to mention the collection of Navcam observations that we have in this plan to monitor the environment.

These include a 360-degree survey looking for dust devils, two line-of-sight activities to measure the amount of dust in the air within Gale, and three cloud movies.

As always, we’ve also got a typical collection of REMS, RAD, and DAN activities throughout.

https://science.nasa.gov/blog/sols-4549-4552-keeping-busy-over-the-long-weekend/

NASA Interns Conduct Aerospace Research in Microgravity

May 27, 2025

The NASA Science Activation program's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Summer Intern Program, hosted by the University of Texas Center for Space Research, continues to expand opportunities for high school students to engage in authentic spaceflight research.

As part of the SEES Microgravity Research initiative, four interns were selected to fly with their experiments in microgravity aboard the ZERO-G parabolic aircraft.

The students had 11 minutes of weightlessness over 30 parabolas in which to conduct their experiments.

This immersive experience was made possible through a collaboration between SEES, Space for Teachers, the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, and the International Space Station National Laboratory (CASIS).

Together, these partners provide students with access to industry-aligned training and direct experience in aerospace experiment design, testing, and integration.

Congratulations to the 2025 SEES Microgravity Research Team:

Charlee Chandler, 11th grade, Rehobeth High School (Dothan, AL): Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS) and Vestibular-Ocular Reflex (VOR) in Microgravity

Aya Elamrani-Zerifi, 11th grade, Hereford High School (Parkton, MD): Thermocapillary-Induced Bubble Dynamics

Lily Myers, 12th grade, Eastlake High School (Sammamish, WA): Propellant Slosh Damping Using Polyurethane Foam

Nathan Scalf 11th grade, Lexington Christian Academy (Lexington, KY): Wound Irrigation System for Microgravity

Selected from nearly 100 proposals submitted by 2024 SEES interns, these four students spent months preparing for flight through weekly technical mentorship and structured milestones.

Their training included proposal development, design reviews, safety assessments, hardware testing, and a full payload integration process, working through engineering protocols aligned with industry and mission standards.

In addition to their individual experiments, the students also supported the flight of 12 team-designed experiments integrated into the ZQube platform, a compact research carrier co-developed by Twiggs Space Lab, Space for Teachers, and NASA SEES.

The ZQube enables over 150 SEES interns from across the country to contribute to microgravity investigations. Each autonomous experiment includes onboard sensors, cameras, and transparent test chambers, returning valuable video and sensor data for post-flight analysis.

This microgravity research opportunity supports the broader SEES mission to prepare students for careers in aerospace, spaceflight engineering, and scientific research.

Through direct engagement with NASA scientists, academic mentors, and commercial aerospace experts, students gain real-world insight into systems engineering and the technical disciplines needed in today’s space industry.

The SEES summer intern program is a nationally competitive STEM experience for 10th-11th grade high school students.

Interns learn how to interpret NASA satellite data while working with scientists and engineers in their chosen area of work, including astronomy, remote sensing, and space geodetic techniques to help understand Earth systems, natural hazards, and climate.

It is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNH15ZDA004C and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio.

https://science.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-colleges-universities/nasa-stem-projects/nasa-interns-conduct-aerospace-research-in-microgravity/

https://science.nasa.gov/learn/about-science-activation/

NASA’S EZIE Begins Study of Auroral Electrojets

May 27, 2025

NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission is cleared to begin its 16 -month-long science mission after team members collected “first light” measurements and completed initial checkouts to ensure the satellites are healthy and operating normally after deployment into space.

The mission lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on March 14, 2025.

The EZIE mission will be the first space mission dedicated to studying the magnetic fingerprint of the auroral electrojets.

These electrojets are produced when geomagnetic storms caused by solar activity release bursts of energetic particles into Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating colorful auroras but can also impact navigation and communications systems, as well as ground-based infrastructure such as power grids.

The mission will help solve decades-old questions about the structure and evolution of the electrojets and, by extension, much-debated mysteries about Earth’s space weather.

The mission’s three CubeSats — small satellites each roughly the size of a carry-on suitcase — fly in a pearls-on-a-string configuration, following each other over the same spot about 2 to 10 minutes apart.

As they orbit from pole to pole approximately 370 miles (590 kilometers) above Earth’s surface , the trio of satellites map the electrojets, detailing their structure and how they change.

Studying the auroral electrojets will help researchers answer critical questions about how and where energy from geomagnetic activity is deposited in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

This knowledge is essential to understanding how space weather can impact humans and our technology, from creating vivid auroras to triggering power outages or endangering astronauts.

Data from EZIE also sheds light on other magnetized planets — such as Saturn and Jupiter — and bolsters our understanding of planets in the solar system and beyond.

The EZIE mission is funded by the Heliophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington and is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, leads the mission for NASA. Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram for each of the three satellites.

https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/ezie/2025/05/27/nasas-ezie-begins-study-of-auroral-electrojets/

https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/ezie/

Crew Works Space Health and Robotics for Station Upkeep

May 27, 2025

Biomedical research topped the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday helping doctors understand how weightlessness affects the cardiovascular and immune systems.

The Expedition 73 crew members also continued their Earth observation studies, robotic inspection duties, and advanced life support maintenance.

Humans continue to learn how to survive in space after a millennia evolving in Earth’s gravity. Doctors are studying every aspect of an astronaut’s physiology before, during, and after a spaceflight. Data is constantly collected from the numerous human research studies aboard the orbiting lab and added to the ever-growing knowledge base of space biology insights.

This gives doctors a clearer picture into how the human body adapts to microgravity helping them design exercise programs, nutritious diets, advanced therapies, and more to keep astronauts healthy on long term space missions.

Astronauts Jonny Kim of NASA and Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), station flight engineer and commander respectively, contributed to the ongoing space biology studies looking at cardiac function and cellular immunity.

Kim worked in the Columbus laboratory module as ground surgeons remotely scanned his chest using the ECHO tele-operated ultrasound system.

The medical operators were looking for potential space-caused changes in Kim’s heart and artery function for the CIPHER suite of 14 human research investigations.

Onishi collected and processed his blood and saliva samples in the Harmony module for the Immunity Assay study.

Afterward, he stowed his saliva samples in a science freezer then installed his blood specimens in the Kubik incubator for later analysis.

The experiment is observing how spaceflight factors such as weightlessness and radiation affect cellular immune function.

Kim and Onishi later teamed up with NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers and assisted her as she replaced components on an experimental carbon dioxide removal device.

Also called the Thermal Amine Scrubber, the advanced life support mechanism is testing a new method that removes carbon dioxide from the station’s atmosphere and recovers water for oxygen generation.

NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain’s first half of her shift was packed with science supporting physics and robotics research.

She first swapped sample cartridges inside the Materials Science Laboratory, a furnace used for discovering new applications for existing materials and new or improved materials.

Next, she installed imaging hardware on an Astrobee robotic free-flyer so ground controllers could monitor its autonomous docking maneuvers inside the Kibo laboratory module.

McClain then spent the rest of her day on maintenance setting up a wearable radiation monitor, filling water tanks, and finally swapping out a computer hard drive.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Ryzhikov, a veteran of two previous space station missions, installed photographic hardware for a pair of Earth observations studies, one looking at the effects of natural and man-made disasters and the other imaging Earth’s nighttime atmosphere in ultraviolet wavelengths. Ryzhikov also joined Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritskiy searching for extra stowage space in the Zvezda and Rassvet modules.

Zubritsky later transferred water from the Progress 90 cargo craft docked to the Poisk module into station orbital tanks.

Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov activated the European robotic arm (ERA) and monitored its operations using a computer interface and visually inspected the Rassvet module’s docking port.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft completed its mission on May 25 after splashing down off the coast of California completing a month-long stay docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port.

Dragon parachuted to Earth returning several tons of completed science experiments, time-critical research samples, and lab hardware for analysis back on Earth.

https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/05/27/crew-works-space-health-and-robotics-for-station-upkeep/

Brian Hughes to become NASA Chief of Staff

May 27, 2025

He isn't the only new NASA leader with strong ties to Florida.

Brian Hughes, a longtime Florida-based consultant, was just named as Chief of Staff for NASA.

“I am excited to continue my service to the Trump Administration and the nation,” Hughes said in a statement to Florida Politics. “The mission of NASA is so vital to our future, so I’m proud to accept this new opportunity.”

Previously the White House Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications, Hughes will become the top staffer for the nation’s leading space agency, as first reported by NASA Watch.

Hughes also worked on President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, heading the Florida arm of the campaign, and has long worked closely with consultant Susie Wiles, now Trump’s White House Chief of Staff.

The founding president of political firm Zulu Foxtrot Group, he has also served in government in Florida as Jacksonville’s Chief Administrative Officer and as CEO of Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority. He was also former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry’s Chief of Staff.

Notably, Hughes isn’t the only high-profile hire at NASA to claim strong ties to Florida. The administration just tapped University of Central Florida space czar Greg Autry to serve as NASA’s Chief Financial Officer.

That comes as Florida officials including Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sens. Ashley Moody and Rick Scott all lobby for NASA to relocate its national headquarters from Washington to Florida.

Hughes is expected to work for Jared Isaacman, the SpaceX astronaut nominated by Trump to be NASA Administrator. Isaacman worked for years for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a close adviser to Trump and someone who DeSantis believes is secretly pulling for a Florida relocation of NASA as well.

As it happens, the administration takes over a Florida heavy leadership team for NASA under former President Joe Biden.

Isaacman will succeed former NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, a former U.S. Senator for Florida. After Nelson stepped down following Trump’s election, Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro took over as Acting NASA Administrator.

Hughes will succeed Suzie Perez Quinn as NASA Chief of Staff. Quinn, a University of South Florida alumnus, previously served as Nelson’s Chief of Staff in the Senate.

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/740154-brian-hughes-to-become-nasa-chief-of-staff/

https://x.com/brianhughes

https://x.com/BrianHughes47

Storm lashes NASA's building at Marshall Space Flight Center with severe damage

Updated: 9:16 AM CDT May 28, 2025

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A building at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center sustained significant damage Tuesday night as severe storms swept through North Alabama.

The storm, which hit Redstone Arsenal around 7:30 p.m. on May 27, caused extensive damage to NASA’s Building 4604.

According to Redstone Arsenal, no one was in the building at the time of the storm.

Redstone Arsenal’s Directorate of Public Works is leading efforts to assess the full extent of the damage and is working closely with NASA officials on a recovery plan.

“We are grateful that no one was injured during this severe weather event,” said Garrison Commander Colonel Erin Eike.

“Our team is working diligently to assess the damage and ensure the safety of all personnel on Redstone Arsenal. We are coordinating closely with our NASA partners to address this situation.”

At this time, the damage to Building 4604, a storage building with equipment, is the only known impact on NASA’s operations.

Redstone Arsenal officials are urging personnel to stay alert for potential hazards and report any damage or safety concerns to their supervisors or the Directorate of Emergency Services at 256-876-2222.

Crews are continuing to assess the situation, and further details will be provided as they become available.

https://www.rocketcitynow.com/article/news/local/storm-damages-nasa-building-marshall-space-flight-center/525-a6662ae9-f985-4f5f-b192-8f0855044400

NASA Tracks Five Asteroids Racing Toward Earth This Week—One Is Bigger Than a Football Field (That's a lot of giraffes!)

May 27, 2025

NASA’s Asteroid Watch Dashboard has issued a new list of five asteroids on approach, with close passes to Earth expected between May 27 and May 28, 2025.

These near-Earth objects (NEOs) vary in size from a small bus to a large building, with the closest skimming just 211,000 miles from our planet—closer than the Moon.

The dashboard, available at jpl.nasa.gov, provides up-to-date data on size, distance, and approach speed. None of the objects pose a collision risk, but their proximity and speed make them significant to ongoing planetary defense efforts.

Let’s break down what each of these flybys means.

2025 JP – May 27, 2025

Asteroid 2025 JP is expected to fly by on May 27, 2025, at a distance of 3.19 million miles from Earth.

This airplane-sized rock is about 79 feet wide, moving at high velocity as it brushes past our planet. While that distance might sound safe, in space terms it’s considered relatively close.

NASA’s telescopes and radar systems are locked on its trajectory to confirm long-term orbital stability.

This asteroid highlights the range of sizes being tracked—even mid-sized objects could cause widespread damage if they ever intersect Earth’s atmosphere. J

P’s detection reinforces the critical value of constant surveillance and rapid-response analysis.

2025 KX3 – May 28, 2025

Coming within just 211,000 miles—closer than the Moon—asteroid 2025 KX3 is the most tightly orbiting of this group, arriving on May 28, 2025.

Despite its small size at 34 feet, roughly bus-sized, its extreme proximity has captured astronomers’ attention. If an object like this were on a collision course, even its relatively modest mass could trigger a significant atmospheric explosion.

This makes KX3 one of the most studied objects in the group, with observatories preparing to collect as much visual and radar data as possible. Events like this demonstrate that even small asteroids can present surprises, especially at close range.

2025 JR – May 28, 2025

Asteroid 2025 JR is by far the largest object on the current watchlist, measuring an estimated 250 feet in diameter—building-sized. It is scheduled to pass Earth on May 28, 2025, at a range of 2.87 million miles.

Due to its size, JR would have regional to continental-level impact potential if ever diverted from its path.

Fortunately, NASA confirms no threat from this pass. Its substantial dimensions allow for more detailed observation, offering insights into asteroid composition, rotation, and surface structure.

It is also a perfect candidate for radar imaging, potentially revealing internal structure that would inform future asteroid deflection planning.

2025 KW – May 28, 2025

At 91 feet wide and classified as airplane-sized, asteroid 2025 KW will zip past Earth at a distance of 3.07 million miles on May 28, 2025.

Though not as large as 2025 JR, its rapid approach and moderate size make it an object of scientific interest. Data collected from this flyby will contribute to ongoing orbital refinement, helping researchers update future trajectory models.

KW’s detection fits squarely into NASA’s goal of cataloging 90% of near-Earth objects larger than 140 meters, while also keeping close tabs on smaller but potentially dangerous rocks.

Its movement is being closely watched across multiple observatories worldwide.

2025 KU1 – May 28, 2025

The final flyby in this series belongs to asteroid 2025 KU1, which will pass at 4.6 million miles from Earth on May 28, 2025.

Though the most distant of the five, its 63-foot width—house-sized—still makes it worthy of attention.

Asteroids of this scale are typically too faint for amateur observation but are well within the detection capabilities of NASA’s network.

KU1’s orbit does not intersect Earth’s path, but events like this help scientists track smaller NEOs for long-term monitoring.

Every flyby improves our understanding of orbital behavior, especially when these bodies are influenced by solar radiation and gravitational nudges from planetary encounters.

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/other/nasa-tracks-five-asteroids-racing-toward-earth-this-week-one-is-bigger-than-a-football-field/ar-AA1FA0xb

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroid-watch/next-five-approaches/

How to watch the 2025 Humans to the Moon & Mars Summit May 28 and 29

May 27, 2025

Space leaders from around the world will touch down in the nation's capital this week to explore the technologies, partnerships and policies needed for humanity's return to the moon and the first crewed missions to Mars.

The 2025 Humans to the Moon & Mars Summit (H2M2), hosted by Explore Mars, Inc., will be held May 28 and 29 at George Washington University's Jack Morton Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

The two-day event brings together government, industry and academic leaders to discuss the future of human space exploration.

As humanity pushes closer to a permanent return to the moon and sets its sights on Mars, this year's H2M2 promises an insider look into cutting-edge human spaceflight strategy, with panels featuring leading experts from NASA, Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance (ULA) and international space agencies. The summit runs daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET, with virtual participation available via live webcast.

"We live in consequential times," Chris Carberry, Explore Mars CEO, said in a statement on the H2M2 registration page.

"By the end of this decade, humanity will return to the surface of the moon. We need to work together to ensure that we follow up this achievement by landing humans on the surface of Mars in the 2030s."

This year's summit lands at a pivotal moment as NASA's Artemis program aims to return humans to the moon by 2027 and establish a sustainable presence as a stepping stone to Mars.

With 55 nations signed onto the Artemis Accords — a set of international agreements established by NASA to promote peaceful, transparent and cooperative exploration of the moon, Mars and beyond — the summit will spotlight global partnerships and the shared vision of deep space exploration.

H2M2 speakers will tackle critical questions surrounding crew safety, the challenges of long-duration spaceflight, sustainable lunar and Martian habitats, in-space manufacturing, and the political and commercial cooperation needed to go the distance. The summit will also address the growing role of commercial spaceflight companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin in advancing lunar and Martian missions.

Space.com's editor-in-chief Tariq Malik will also lead a panel discussing compelling new evidence supporting the possibility of humans living on Mars alongside NASA and Explore Mars, Inc. representatives.

For more information, including registration details, pricing and a full list of speakers and scheduled panels, visit the event page online.

Notable speakers include:

Vanessa Wyche, Acting Associate NASA Administrator

Wyche leads NASA's Johnson Space Center, overseeing human spaceflight operations and development.

At the summit, she will participate in a fireside chat hosted by J.R. Edwards, president of Explore Mars, Inc.

David Limp, Blue Origin CEO

Limp will share the company's vision for space exploration, including advancements in lunar missions and future plans for Mars.

Dr. Shawna Pandya, Physician-Scientist and Spaceflight Researcher

Pandya is a physician, aquanaut and scientist-astronaut candidate with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences.

She will speak on the physiological and psychological demands of long-duration spaceflight and how training on Earth prepares astronauts for life off-world.

Dr. Bhavya Lal, Associate Administrator, NASA Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy

As a leader of NASA's technology and policy initiatives, Lal will provide insight into how NASA plans to integrate emerging technologies and international collaboration to enable sustainable lunar and Martian exploration during two panels.

Mike Gold, Chief Growth Officer for Redwire Space

As a key architect of the Artemis Accords, Gold brings extensive experience in space law, commercial partnerships and international cooperation.

At H2M2, he will speak on the legal and policy frameworks essential for peaceful and sustainable exploration beyond Earth.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/mars/how-to-watch-the-2025-humans-to-the-moon-and-mars-summit-may-28-and-29

https://www.exploremars.org/summit/

https://vimeo.com/showcase/h2m2-2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS6Oi11wvYU

A 'smiley face' will appear in the night sky on May 29: Here's how to see it

May 28, 2025

A crescent moon will appear alongside the bright stars Castor and Pollox to form a lopsided grin in the night sky on May 29.

Skywatchers in the U.S. will find the cosmic smile hanging above the western horizon about 45 minutes after the sun has set — around this time, the brightest stars will become visible in the darkening sky.

The moon's slender crescent will be located a little over 20 degrees above the horizon, taking the appearance of a lopsided grin.

Castor (right) and Pollux (left) will be visible roughly 5 degrees above the shadowed lunar disk, forming the "eyes" of the celestial emoji.

Remember, an easy way to measure distances between celestial objects is to hold your upturned fist at arms length against the night sky.

The space between your thumb and the other side of your hand will cover roughly 10 degrees.

Those in the U.S. will have a little over three hours to watch the universe smile back at us before the whimsical alignment slips beneath the horizon at around midnight local time.

The times during which celestial bodies are visible varies based on location, so be sure to check out a reliable stargazing app to discover when they will be visible from your locale.

Regardless of where you're watching from in the northern hemisphere, the sparkling "eyes" of this cosmic visage will be the last part to set below the horizon. C

astor and Pollux were named for twin deities in Greek mythology, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, and represent the two brightest stars in the zodiacal constellation Gemini.

Pollux, named for the son of Zeus, is a red giant star with a brightness similar to Mars. It can be found shining to the upper left of Gemini's twin stars after sunset on May 29.

Castor, meanwhile, isn't a single star at all — or even a double for that matter.

No, this "star," named for Pollux's twin, represents a chaotic six-star system that shines less brilliantly compared to its sibling, keeping with its mythological counterpart's mortal heritage.

The moon's crescent will grow steadily larger in the runup to its first quarter phase on June 2, at which point half of its disk will be lit by direct sunlight from the perspective of Earth.

https://www.space.com/stargazing/a-smiley-face-will-appear-in-the-night-sky-on-may-29-heres-how-to-see-it

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Dioscuri

Watch Rocket Lab launch private Earth-observing satellite to orbit tonight

May 28, 2025

Rocket Lab plans to launch an Earth-observing satellite for the company BlackSky tonight (May 28), and you can watch the action live.

An Electron rocket is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 9:15 p.m. EDT (0115 GMT and 1:15 p.m. New Zealand time on May 29), carrying a "Gen-3" satellite for Virginia-based BlackSky toward low Earth orbit (LEO).

Rocket Lab will stream the launch live, beginning 30 minutes before liftoff. You can watch live via the company and here at Space.com if, as expected, Rocket Lab makes the webcast available.

The mission, which Rocket Lab calls "Full Stream Ahead," will send the Gen-3 satellite to a circular orbit 292 miles (470 kilometers) above Earth.

Once there, the spacecraft "will join the remainder of the company's constellation delivering very high-resolution imagery and AI-enabled analytics for daily intelligence operations," Rocket Lab wrote in a mission description.

"'Full Stream Ahead' is the second in a series of four Electron launches booked by BlackSky to deploy its Gen-3 satellites to orbit this year, and the 10th overall [Electron] launch for the company — making Electron the most prolific launcher for their constellation to date," Rocket Lab added.

Tonight's launch will be the seventh of 2025 and the 65th overall flight for the 59-foot-tall (18 meters) Electron, which gives small satellites dedicated rides to orbit.

Rocket Lab also flies a suborbital variant of Electron known as HASTE, which serves as a testbed for hypersonic technologies.

The company is also developing a larger, more powerful orbital rocket called Neutron, which is designed to be partially reusable. Neutron is expected to debut later this year.

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/watch-rocket-lab-launch-private-earth-observing-satellite-to-orbit-tonight

https://rocketlabcorp.com/live-stream/

Photographer captures ghostly ripples over Colorado night sky. 'It is rare to see it directly overhead and moving like that'

May 28, 2025

Beneath the star-drenched skies of Colorado on May 26, as the Milky Way arched into view, photographer Aaron Watson pointed his lens upward — and captured something extraordinary unfolding in the night.

"I have seen airglow a lot, but it is rare to see it directly overhead and moving like that," Watson told Space.com in an email.

Watson's timelapse, captured around 3:30 a.m. local time and spanning about 30 minutes, reveals watery green ripples of airglow sweeping across the sky. "It was, for the most part, invisible to the naked eye," Watson said.

Airglow is a natural light emission created when sunlight interacts with molecules in Earth's upper atmosphere, causing them to release energy as a faint glow.

There are three types of airglow: dayglow, twilightglow and nightglow, according to Lancaster University's Aurora Watch UK.

Dayglow and twilightglow are driven by the same process — sunlight charging atmospheric molecules — but twilight glow becomes briefly visible to the naked eye as daylight fades.

These glowing emissions are about a billion times fainter than sunlight, which is why they're washed out during the day.

Watson captured nightglow, the most visible type of airglow, created by a process called chemiluminescence.

During the day, sunlight deposits energy into our atmosphere, charging up oxygen molecules (O₂) high above Earth. Around 62 miles (100 kilometers) up, some of the energy splits these molecules into individual oxygen atoms.

These atoms hang onto that sun-deposited energy for hours because they can't easily release it. Eventually, the oxygen atoms find partners and recombine to form O₂ again.

When they do, they release the stored energy as light, including that striking green glow captured in Watson's timelapse.

The mesmerizing wave-like patterns seen in Watson's timelapse are the result of nearby thunderstorms producing gravity waves in the upper atmosphere.

These waves ripple through the airglow, creating visible, wavelike patterns across the night sky.

https://www.space.com/stargazing/photographer-captures-ghostly-ripples-over-colorado-night-sky-it-is-rare-to-see-it-directly-overhead-and-moving-like-that-photo

https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/aurorawatchuk/2016/11/04/what-is-airglow/