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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
June 12, 2025
Solar Eclipse
On April 20, 2023 the shadow of a New Moon raced across planet Earth's southern hemisphere. When viewed along a narrow path that mostly avoided landfall, the Moon in silhouette created a hybrid solar eclipse. Hybrid eclipses are rare and can be seen as a total eclipse or an annular "ring of fire" eclipse depending on the observer's position. Viewers of this much anticipated hybrid event were able to witness a total solar eclipse while anchored in the Indian Ocean near the centerline of the eclipse track off the coast of western Australia. This ship-borne image from renowned eclipse chaser Fred Espenak captured the active Sun's magnificent outer atmosphere, or solar corona, streaming into space. The composite of 11 exposures ranging from 1/2000 to 1/2 second, taken during the 62 seconds of totality, records an extended range of brightness to follow alluring details of the corona not quite visible to the eye.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Influencer Laysa Peixoto becomes laughing stock after claims of becoming an astronaut are shot down by Nasa
June 12, 2025
Laysa Peixoto, 22, took to Instagram on June 5 to announce that she had been chosen for missions to Mars and the moon after passing astronaut training with the space agency.
But now it has emerged that her claims were apparently a wild exaggeration after being brutally shot down by Nasa.
Laysa, from Contagem, in eastern Brazil, told her 156,000 Instagram followers how she had been selected for the 'Astronaut Class of 2025'.
Laysa, who posts as 'Astrolaysa', said she had been signed on by private space exploration organisation Titans Space for a 2029 mission led by veteran NASA astronaut Bill McArthur.
She gushed: "It hasn't fully sunk in yet, but I feel immense gratitude for the entire journey I've taken so far and for everyone who has been and is a part of it."
Laysa accompanied the post with a profile picture of herself in a NASA jacket and other snaps showing her in a blue astronaut jumpsuit.
To complete the picture, she posted a further snap, now believed to have been faked, showing her in a space suit helmet with a Nasa logo.
She added: "'It is a great joy to represent Brazil as an astronaut in such a decisive era of space exploration, which will change the history of humanity forever. It is an honour to carry the Brazilian flag with me as the first Brazilian woman to cross this frontier."
However, her mission quickly suffered a 'Houston, we have a problem' moment just days later when Nasa was asked to comment on its glamorous rising star.
The agency said in a statement: "While we generally do not comment on personnel, this individual is not a Nasa employee, principal investigator, or astronaut candidate."
They explained that Laysa had taken part in a students' L'SPACE educational programme, which "is not an internship or job at Nasa".
Titans Space also cast doubt on her 'selection', confirming only that she had been accepted for a 'candidate programme'. The organisation is planning to begin space tourism flights in 2029, but so far has no licence to plan or run manned missions.
It is believed that what Laysa signed up for is an 'Inaugural Astronauts' programme, which for $1m will offer clients a five-hour space trip with three hours in Zero-G.
But now even Laysa's education qualifications have burned up in re-entry amid the bizarre row. She claimed to be studying for a master’s degree in Quantum Physics and Computing at New York's prestigious Ivy League college, Columbia University.
It then emerged that she had begun studying Physics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil but was dismissed in 2023 after failing to re-enrol. Laysa later blamed the baffling mix-up on a social media "editing" snag.
A statement said: "In the announcement made on Instagram, the only statement given so far (11th June), having not checked any interview so far, Laysa explains that she was selected as an astronaut by the private company Titans Space.
"At no time is there a mention of Nasa, or that it would be an astronaut from the agency. The post was never edited.
"It's explicit and clear Laysa was selected to become a career astronaut by Titans Space, which will have as mission commander, Bill McArthur, a veteran NASA astronaut - the only mention made about Nasa in the post."
The bizarre row turned Laysa into a laughing stock on social media. One X user, going by '@atetose', said: "All I have to say is that anyone who saw a girl wearing a space camp jumpsuit claiming to be a lead astronaut researcher deserves to be fooled, when she’s clearly just an ambitious and wealthy person (to afford such expensive hobbies and courses)."
https://www.nationalworld.com/news/world/influencer-laysa-peixoto-astronaut-nasa-5174406
https://www.instagram.com/astrolaysa/
Johnny Kim playing lunar rooftop Korean?
Studying Storms from Space Station
Jun 12, 2025
Science in Space June 2025
Scientists use instruments on the International Space Station to study phenomena in Earth’s ionosphere or upper atmosphere including thunderstorms, lightning, and transient luminous events (TLEs).
TLEs take many forms, including blue jets, discharges that grow upward into the stratosphere from cloud tops, and colorful bursts of energy above storms called Stratospheric/Mesospheric Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification or SPRITES.
TLEs can disrupt communication systems on the ground and pose a threat to aircraft and spacecraft. Understanding these phenomena also could improve atmospheric models and weather predictions.
Because these events occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds, they are difficult to observe from the ground.
ASIM, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), uses a monitor on the exterior of the space station to collect data on TLEs.
These data are providing insights into how thunderstorms affect Earth’s atmosphere and helping to improve atmospheric models used for weather and climate predictions.
ELVES and coronas
A study based on ASIM data confirmed that lightning-like discharges at the tops of thunderstorms can create another type of TLE, massive glowing rings in the upper atmosphere known as Emissions of Light and VLF Perturbations from EMP events, or ELVES.
This experiment showed that these discharges influence the ionosphere and helped scientists learn more about Earth and space weather.
ASIM-based research also described the physical properties of different types of corona discharges in thunderstorm clouds. Corona discharges are linked to powerful but short-lived electrical bursts near the tops of clouds.
The data provide a reference to support further investigation into the mechanisms behind these discharges and their role in the initiation of lightning, an important problem in lightning physics.
Other researchers used ASIM measurements along with ground-based electric field measurements to determine the height of a blue discharge from a thundercloud.
Cloud close-ups
Another ESA investigation, Thor-Davis, evaluated use of a special camera to photograph high-altitude thunderstorms through the windows of the space station’s cupola.
The camera can observe thunderstorm electrical activity at up to 100,000 frames per second and could be a useful tool for space-based observation of severe electrical storms and other applications.
Seeing storms from satellites
The JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) investigation Light-1 CubeSat used detectors integrated into a compact satellite to observe terrestrial gamma-ray flashes in the upper atmosphere.
These high intensity, energetic events can expose aircraft, aircraft electronics, and passengers to excessive radiation.
Researchers are planning to compare data collected from the mission with ground-based observations to provide more comprehensive maps of lightning and thunderstorms in the atmosphere.
Small satellite detectors could cost less and be manufactured in less time than other approaches.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/studying-storms-from-space-station/
Cosmic Dawn - The Untold Story of the James Webb Space Telescope (full documentary)
June 11, 2025
Cosmic Dawn is the incredible true story of the James Webb Space Telescope – humanity’s largest and most powerful space telescope – on a mission to unveil the early universe, against all odds. Watch now on NASA+ and Youtube.
The documentary brings viewers on an unprecedented journey through Webb’s delicate assembly, rigorous testing, and triumphant launch, showcasing the sheer complexity and breathtaking risks involved in creating a telescope capable of peering billions of years into the past.
Follow the telescope from an idea developed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center all the way to the launchpad in French Guiana, with never-before-seen footage captured by the Webb film crew offering intimate access to the challenges and triumphs along the way.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/studying-storms-from-space-station/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSMGENDH_QI