TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
June 21, 2025
Two Worlds, Two Analemmas
Sure, that figure-8 shaped curve you get when you mark the position of the Sun in Earth's sky at the same time each day over one year is called an analemma. On the left, Earth's figure-8 analemma was traced by combining wide-angle digital images recorded during the year from December 2011 through December 2012. But the shape of an analemma depends on the eccentricity of a planet's orbit and the tilt of its axis of rotation, so analemma curves can look different for different worlds. Take Mars for example. The Red Planet's axial tilt is similar to Earth's, but its orbit around the same sun is more eccentric (less circular) than Earth's orbit. As seen from the Martian surface, the analemma traced in the right hand panel is shaped more like a tear drop. The Mars rover Opportunity captured the images used over the Martian year corresponding to Earth dates July 2006 to June 2008. Of course, each world's solstice dates still lie at the top and bottom of their different analemma curves. The last Mars northern summer solstice was May 29, 2025. Our fair planet's 2025 northern summer solstice is at June 21, 2:42 UTC.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
New Shepard Mission NS-33 Updates (Launch Scrubbed)
Jun 21, 2025 8:16 AM CDT / 13:16 UTC
We’re scrubbing today’s NS-33 launch due to persistent high winds at Launch Site One. We’re egressing the astronauts and will assess our next launch opportunity.
https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-ns-33-mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cptQGqX0pC4
NASA CubeSat Focuses on Instrument Calibration Enhancement
June 21, 2025
NASA is preparing to launch a new lunar calibration technology demonstration called Arcstone to improve future space research.
Launching as part of the agency’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, Arcstone will use sunlight reflected off the Moon to fine-tune spacecraft instruments that study Earth and other celestial bodies.
Arstone will launch aboard the Transporter-14 rideshare mission with SpaceX via launch integrator Maverick Space Systems from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on June 22, 2025.
Measuring the reflected light from Earth is difficult because the atmosphere distorts the light, so Arcstone will be positioned in low Earth orbit where it can observe both the Moon and the Sun without interference.
This 6U CubeSat, about the size of a shoebox (roughly 10.5 inches cubed), will measure what’s known as “spectral reflectance,” or how much light the Moon reflects at different wavelengths.
The technology demonstration aims to overcome calibration challenges from space and increase the accuracy of Earth-monitoring and remote-sensing instruments for progressively complex missions that current methods cannot meet.
The information gained from Arcstone also will help establish an international standard for absolute lunar calibration, an important step in improving the accuracy of Earth viewing and monitoring sensors and constellation systems.
NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative provides a low-cost way for small satellite payloads built by NASA centers, U.S. universities, high schools, and non-profit organizations to conduct science and technology demonstrations in space.
Once the CubeSat selections are made, NASA’s Launch Services Program pairs them with launch opportunities that are best suited to carry them as auxiliary payloads.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/smallsatellites/2025/06/21/nasa-cubesat-focuses-on-instrument-calibration-enhancement/
https://www.nasa.gov/kennedy/launch-services-program/cubesat-launch-initiative/
NASA Mars Curiosity Rover
Sol 4573: Right Navigation Camera, Cylindrical Projection
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took 32 images in Gale Crater using its mast-mounted Right Navigation Camera (Navcam) to create this mosaic.
The seam-corrected mosaic provides a 360-degree cylindrical projection panorama of the Martian surface centered at 204 degrees azimuth (measured clockwise from north).
Curiosity took the images on June 18, 2025, Sol 4573 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission at drive 2562, site number 116.
The local mean solar time for the image exposures was 4 PM. Each Navcam image has a 45 degree field of view.
https://science.nasa.gov/resource/sol-4573-right-navigation-camera-cylindrical-projection/
Sol 4575: Right Navigation Camera, Cylindrical Projection
June 20, 2025
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity took 31 images in Gale Crater using its mast-mounted Right Navigation Camera (Navcam) to create this mosaic.
The seam-corrected mosaic provides a 360-degree cylindrical projection panorama of the Martian surface centered at 230 degrees azimuth (measured clockwise from north).
Curiosity took the images on June 20, 2025, Sol 4575 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission at drive 0, site number 117.
The local mean solar time for the image exposures was from 3 PM to 4 PM. Each Navcam image has a 45 degree field of view.
https://science.nasa.gov/resource/sol-4575-right-navigation-camera-cylindrical-projection/
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4575-4576: Perfect Parking Spot
Jun 20, 2025
Not only did our drive execute perfectly, Curiosity ended up in one of the safest, most stable parking spots of the whole mission.
We often come into the start of planning hoping that all the wheels are safely on the ground, but the terrain on Mars is not always very cooperative.
As the APXS strategic planner I was really hoping that the rover was stable enough to unstow the arm and place APXS on a rock — which it was!
We are acquiring APXS and ChemCam compositional analyses and accompanying Mastcam and MAHLI imaging of a brushed, flat, typical bedrock target, “Tarija.”
This allows us to track the chemistry of the bedrock that hosts the potential boxwork features that we are driving towards.
As well as composition, we continue to image the terrain around us to better understand the local and regional context.
Mastcam will acquire mosaics of some linear ridges off to the north of our current location, as well as of a potential fracture fill just out in front of our current parking spot, “Laguna del Bayo.”
ChemCam will image part of an interesting outcrop (“Mishe Mokwa”) that we have already observed (see the image associated with this blog).
Thanks to the relatively benign terrain, the engineers have planned a 54-meter drive (about 177 feet) to our next location. After that drive (hopefully) executes successfully, we have a series of untargeted science observations.
MARDI will image the terrain beneath the wheels and ChemCam will pick a rock target autonomously from our new workspace and analyze its chemistry.
To track atmospheric and environmental fluctuations, we are acquiring a Mastcam tau to measure dust in the sky as well as a Navcam large dust-devil survey and suprahorizon movie.
The plan is rounded, as always, with standard DAN, REMS, and RAD activities.
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4575-4576-perfect-parking-spot/
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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4577-4579: Watch the Skies
Jun 20, 2025
Earth planning date: Friday, June 20, 2025
During the plan covering Sols 4575-4576, Curiosity continued our investigation of mysterious boxwork structures on the shoulders of Mount Sharp.
After a successful 56-meter drive (about 184 feet), Curiosity is now parked in a trough cutting through a highly fractured region covered by linear features thought to be evidence of groundwater flow in the distant past of Mars.
With all six wheels firmly planted on solid ground, our rover is ready for contact science! Unfortunately, a repeat of the frost-detection experiment expected for the weekend plan is postponed for a few days due to a well-understood ChemCam issue.
In the meantime, our atmospheric investigations have a chance to shine, as they received additional time to observe the Martian sky.
In the early afternoon of Sol 4577, Curiosity’s navigation cameras will take a movie of the upper reaches of Aeolis Mons (Mount Sharp), hoping to see moving cloud shadows.
This observation enables the team to calculate the altitude of clouds drifting over the peak. Next, Navcam will point straight up, to image cloud motion at the zenith and determine wind direction at their altitude.
Mastcam will then do a series of small mosaics to study the rover workspace and features of the trough that Curiosity has entered. First is a 6x4 stereo mosaic of the workspace and the contact science targets “Copacabana” and “Copiapo.”
The first target is a representative sample of the trough bedrock, and its name celebrates a town in Bolivia located on the shores of Lake Titicaca.
The second target is a section of lighter-toned material, which may be associated with stripes or “veins” filling the many crosscutting fractures in the local stones.
These are the deposits potentially left by groundwater intrusion long ago. The name “Copiapo” honors a silver mining city in the extremely dry Atacama desert of northern Chile. A second 6x3 Mastcam stereo mosaic will look at active cracks in the trough.
Two additional 5x1 Mastcam stereo mosaics target “Ardamarca,” a ridge parallel to the trough walls, and a cliff exposing layers of rock at the base of “Mishe Mokwa” butte.
At our current location, all the Curiosity target names are taken from the Uyuni geologic quadrangle named after the otherworldly lake bed and ephemeral lake high on the Bolivian altiplano, but the Mishe Mokwa butte is back in the Altadena quad, named for a popular hiking trail in the Santa Monica Mountains.
After this lengthy science block, Curiosity will deploy its arm, brush the dust from Copacabana with the DRT, then image both it and Copiapo with the MAHLI microscopic imager.
Overnight, APXS will determine the composition of these two targets.
Early in the morning of Sol 4578, Mastcam will take large 27x5 and 18x3 stereo mosaics of different parts of the trough, using morning light to highlight the terrain shadows. Later in the day, Navcam will do a 360 sky survey, determining phase function across the entire sky.
A 25-meter drive (about 82 feet) will follow, and the post-drive imaging includes both a 360-degree Navcam panorama of our new location and an image of the ground under the rover with MARDI in the evening twilight.
The next sol is all atmospheric science, with an extensive set of afternoon suprahorizon movies and a dust-devil survey for Navcam, as well as a Mastcam dust opacity observation.
The final set of observations in this plan happens on the morning of Sol 4580 with more Navcam suprahorizon and zenith movies to observe clouds, a Navcam dust opacity measurement across Gale Crater, and a last Mastcam tau.
On Monday, we expect to plan another drive and hope to return to the frost-detection experiment soon as we explore the boxwork canyons of Mars.
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4577-4579-watch-the-skies/
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Over 25 Years of Global Infrared Data Now Available
June 20, 2025
The NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission and the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) announced a significant update to the CPC 4 km Infrared (IR) dataset archive.
The dataset now extends back to January 1998, offering over 25 years of high-resolution infrared observations and continuing into the present.
This key environmental dataset, produced operationally by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC), merges observations from geosynchronous satellites around the globe to generate uniformly processed thermal infrared maps.
Data are available every 30 minutes at 4 km spatial resolution, covering the region from 60°N to 60°S—the zone of effective geostationary satellite coverage.
Scientific and Societal Value
The CPC 4 km IR product’s unparalleled record length for such fine temporal and spatial resolution enables detailed studies of:
Tropical cyclones
Atmospheric rivers
Rainfall and snowfall patterns
Storm and cloud system dynamics
Surface temperatures in cloud-free regions
Researchers and decision-makers can use the dataset to investigate both current and historical atmospheric phenomena with precision.
Data Access and Tools
The CPC 4 km IR dataset is hosted in the netCDF-4 format by the GES DISC. Users can:
Download files directly
Access data remotely via OPeNDAP
Analyze the dataset within the NASA Earthdata Cloud
Each new day of data becomes available with a 1–2 day latency, in accordance with international data sharing agreements.
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/over-25-years-global-infrared-data-now-available
https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/datasets/GPM_MERGIR_1/summary
Expedition 73 Wraps Week with Relaxation, Light Science, and Emergency Drill
June 20, 2025
Friday was mostly a light-duty day for the seven-member Expedition 73 crew aboard the International Space Station.
However, the orbital residents did set aside some time at the end of the week for research, an emergency drill, and a conference with mission managers on the ground.
NASA flight engineers Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Jonny Kim joined station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and wrapped up their shift with a pair of space-to-ground conferences.
The quartet’s first conference was with the chief of NASA’s astronaut office followed by a second conference with their expedition’s flight director.
The short bi-weekly conferences are held so the astronauts and mission managers can discuss a range of topics including upcoming missions and crew activities.
Earlier in the day, Ayers spent a few moments swapping syringes containing protein samples and installing test cells inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox.
She was maintaining a fluid physics study exploring surface tension to contain liquids and observe proteins without contacting solid walls.
Results may benefit pharmaceutical manufacturing and 3D printing techniques on and off the Earth.
Kim completed a 48-hour session wearing the sensor-packed Bio-Monitor vest and headband that continuously measured his health data as he worked, exercised, and slept.
Doctors are testing the health-monitoring hardware for its comfort and reviewing the downlinked data that includes heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature.
He also joined cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky to practice an emergency drill on station.
Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov worked a half-shift on Friday, servicing Earth observation gear that captures imagery of landmarks on the ground in a variety of wavelengths.
Ryzhikov spent the second half of his day on electronics maintenance in the station’s Roscosmos segment.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/06/20/expedition-73-wraps-week-with-relaxation-light-science-and-emergency-drill/
NASA’s LRO Views ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 2 Moon Lander Impact Site
Jun 20, 2025
On June 11, NASA’s LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) captured photos of the site where the ispace Mission 2 SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon (RESILIENCE) lunar lander experienced a hard landing on June 5, 2025, UTC.
RESILIENCE was launched on Jan. 15 on a privately funded spacecraft.
LRO’s right Narrow Angle Camera (one in a suite of cameras known as LROC) captured the images featured here from about 50 miles above the surface of Mare Frigoris, a volcanic region interspersed with large-scale faults known as wrinkle ridges.
The dark smudge visible above the arrow in the photo formed as the vehicle impacted the surface, kicking up regolith — the rock and dust that make up Moon “soil.”
The faint bright halo encircling the site resulted from low-angle regolith particles scouring the delicate surface.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/lro/nasas-lro-views-ispace-hakuto-r-mission-2-moon-lander-impact-site/
https://lroc.im-ldi.com/images/1456
Summer Begins in Northern Hemisphere
Jun 20, 2025
This full-disk image from NOAA’s GOES-13 satellite was captured at 7:45 a.m. EDT (11:45 UTC) and shows the Americas on June 21, 2012, the start of astronomical summer – in the Northern Hemisphere – that year.
The first day of summer in 2025 is June 20; it is also the longest day of the year. In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter.
Earth orbits at an angle, so the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun half of the year — this is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
The other half of the year, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, creating winter in the north and summer in the south.
Solstices happen twice per year, at the points in Earth’s orbit where this tilt is most pronounced.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/summer-begins-in-northern-hemisphere/
NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Resumes Full-Time Propulsion
June 20, 2025
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft resumed full thruster operations on June 16, and the propulsion system is performing as expected after mission engineers switched to a backup propellant line.
They will operate the thrusters for the equivalent of three months between now and November to keep the orbiter’s trajectory to the metal-rich asteroid Psyche on track.
Operation of all four electric thrusters had been paused since early April while the mission team investigated an unexpected drop in pressure in the primary xenon propellant line.
Through comprehensive testing and analysis, the team narrowed down the potential causes to a valve that may have malfunctioned in the primary line.
The switch to the identical backup propellant line in late May restored full functionality to the propulsion system.
“The mission team’s dedication and systematic approach to this investigation exemplifies the best of NASA engineering,” said Bob Mase, Psyche project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
“Their thorough diagnosis and recovery, using the backup system, demonstrates the value of robust spacecraft design and exceptional teamwork.”
Psyche is propelled by xenon gas, which is ionized by the thrusters to create a gentle push on the spacecraft that builds throughout its journey.
The three months’ worth of thrusting will keep the spacecraft on track for its long-planned flyby of Mars in May 2026. The spacecraft will use the planet’s gravity as a slingshot to help it on its way to the asteroid Psyche.
Psyche remains set for an on-time arrival in August 2029 at its target asteroid, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The spacecraft launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in October 2023.
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/psyche/2025/06/20/nasas-psyche-spacecraft-resumes-full-time-propulsion/
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/psyche/2025/05/28/nasas-psyche-spacecraft-using-backup-fuel-line/
NASA Aircraft to Make Low-Altitude Flights in Mid-Atlantic, California
Jun 20, 2025
From Sunday, June 22 to Wednesday, July 2, two research aircraft will make a series of low-altitude atmospheric research flights near Philadelphia, Baltimore, and some Virginia cities, including Richmond, as well as over the Los Angeles Basin, Salton Sea, and Central Valley in California.
Pilots will operate the aircraft at altitudes lower than typical commercial flights, executing specialized maneuvers such as vertical spirals between 1,000 and 10,000 feet, circling above power plants, landfills, and urban areas.
The flights will also include occasional missed approaches at local airports and low-altitude flybys along runways to collect air samples near the surface.
The East Coast flights will be conducted between June 22 and Thursday, June 26 over Baltimore and near Philadelphia, as well as near the Virginia cities of Hampton, Hopewell, and Richmond. The California flights will occur from Sunday, June 29 to July 2.
The flights, part of NASA’s Student Airborne Research Program (SARP), will involve the agency’s Airborne Science Program’s P-3 Orion aircraft (N426NA) and a King Air B200 aircraft (N46L) owned by Dynamic Aviation and contracted by NASA.
The program is an eight-week summer internship program that provides undergraduate students with hands-on experience in every aspect of a scientific campaign.
The P-3, operated out of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, is a four-engine turboprop aircraft outfitted with a six-instrument science payload to support a combined 40 hours of SARP science flights on each U.S. coast.
The King Air B200 will fly at the same time as the P-3 but in an independent flight profile. Students will assist in the operation of the science instruments on the aircraft to collect atmospheric data.
“The SARP flights have become mainstays of NASA’s Airborne Science Program, as they expose highly competitive STEM students to real-world data gathering within a dynamic flight environment,” said Brian Bernth, chief of flight operations at NASA Wallops.
“Despite SARP being a learning experience for both the students and mentors alike, our P-3 is being flown and performing maneuvers in some of most complex and restricted airspace in the country,” said Bernth.
“Tight coordination and crew resource management is needed to ensure that these flights are executed with precision but also safely.”
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/airborne-science/nasa-aircraft-to-make-low-altitude-flights-in-mid-atlantic-california/
https://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/early-career-opportunities/student-airborne-research-program/
Michael Altenhofen Is Leaving NASA HQ
June 20, 2025
This internal email was sent to NASA Employees by the new NASA Chief of staff Brian Hughes:
“Since just after President Trump’s inauguration, Michael Altenhofen has served as a White House appointee at NASA ensuring that the foundation of change for this agency is strong.
He worked with the Acting leadership team to evaluate how our agency can be reimagined for the President’s vision.
His experience in space policy inside and outside NASA is immense and with his transitional work here complete he returns to his family and new opportunities.
As a college student, Michael interned at NASA Goddard Spaceflight center and leaves having been an invaluable asset in the Administrators Suite.
He will continue to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the Administrator until June 27th.
On behalf of Acting Administrator Janet Petro, the agency leadership, and the entire workforce, I extend a heartfelt thank you to Michael and ask everyone to join me in wishing him great success in his future endeavors.”
https://nasawatch.com/trumpspace/michael-altenhofen-is-leaving-nasa-hq/
Something Big Is Twisting Mercury’s Crust
June 20, 2025
Mercury has it rough. Not only is it the smallest planet in the solar system, it’s also the closest to our Sun.
This unfortunate position has caused Mercury to develop cracks and fractures across its surface, and generate stresses to its crust, a new study has found.
Mercury is dry, rugged, and heavily cratered; the planet appears deformed with towering cliffs and ridges, as well as fracture lines that run along its surface.
The origin of Mercury’s scars has long been a mystery: How did the planet cool and contract in such an unusual way billions of years ago after it formed?
Turns out, the answer may be due to its uncomfortable proximity to the Sun.
A team of researchers from the University of Bern created physical models of Mercury to see how much of the Sun’s tidal forces affect the small planet, revealing that the star may have influenced the development and orientation of tectonic features on its surface over long periods of time.
The results are detailed in a study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
Planets form from the hot, molten material left over from the birth of a star. Over time, these objects cool and their internal materials shrink, causing them to contract as their crusts wrinkle and crack.
Evidence has shown that Mercury, on the other hand, not only shrank—its surface also shifted laterally. Cracks and fractures also formed in its rocky crust.
Scientists assumed that the process that shaped Mercury’s outer layer was a result of this cooling and contracting, but the study suggests it may be the planet’s cozy orbit around the Sun.
Mercury has one of the most unique orbits in the solar system. It takes about 88 Earth days to complete one orbit around the Sun, during which the planet rotates around its axis three times every two orbits.
Its orbit is also highly elliptical and is tilted by around 7 degrees compared to Earth’s orbital plane, its eccentricity means that the tidal forces Mercury experiences from the Sun vary a lot.
“These orbital characteristics create tidal stresses that may leave a mark on the planet’s surface,” Liliane Burkhard, a researcher at the Space Research and Planetary Sciences Division at the Institute of Physics at the University of Bern, and lead author of the study, said in a statement.
“We can see tectonic patterns on Mercury that suggest more is going on than just global cooling and contraction.”
The team behind the study sought to investigate how these tidal forces contribute to shaping Mercury’s crust.
They used physical models of Mercury over the past 4 billion years to calculate how the Sun’s tidal forces may have influenced its surface tensions.
The results showed that the the changing gravitational pull of the Sun has impacted Mercury’s tectonic features over time.
“Tidal stresses have been largely overlooked until now, as they were considered to be too small to play a significant role,” Burkhard said.
“Our results show that while the magnitude of these stresses is not sufficient to generate faulting alone, the direction of the tidally induced shear stresses are consistent with the observed orientations of fault-slip patterns on Mercury’s surface.”
The recent findings can also be applied to other planets, illustrating how subtle forces aside from tectonics can make a lasting impact on its surface.
“Understanding how a planet like Mercury deforms helps us understand how planetary bodies evolve over billions of years,” according to Burkhard.
The scientists behind the new study are hoping to gather more clues about Mercury’s deformed surface through the BepiColombo mission, which launched in October 2018 as a joint venture between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
BepiColombo is only the third spacecraft to visit Mercury; the elusive planet is hard to reach due to the Sun’s powerful gravitational pull that may have maimed the planet’s surface.
https://gizmodo.com/whats-twisting-mercurys-crust-scientists-have-a-new-suspect-2000618162
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024JE008736
The solar system's greatest mystery may finally be solved
June 20, 2025
For years, astronomers have been searching for a mysterious ninth planet lurking in the dark outer reaches of our solar system.
Now, a team of researchers have taken a completely different approach to this cosmic detective story—instead of looking for reflected sunlight, they're hunting for the planet's own heat signature.
The story begins with a puzzle in the outer solar system. Scientists noticed that small icy bodies called Kuiper Belt Objects, which orbit far beyond Neptune, seem to be clustered together in unusual ways.
Their orbits are aligned in patterns that shouldn't exist by chance alone. The leading and most tantalizing explanation…. a massive, undiscovered planet (dubbed "Planet Nine") is gravitationally shepherding these distant objects into their strange orbits.
If it exists, Planet Nine would be a true giant, roughly 5–10 times the mass of Earth, orbiting somewhere between 400–800 times farther from the sun than our planet does.
At such an enormous distance, it would be incredibly faint and nearly impossible to spot with traditional telescope searches that rely on detecting reflected sunlight.
This is where the new research gets ingenious. Led by Amos Chen from the National Tsing Hua University, the team realized that searching for Planet Nine's heat signature could be far more effective than looking for its reflected light.
Here's why: When you double the distance from the sun, reflected light becomes 16 times fainter (following what scientists call an inverse fourth-power relationship).
But thermal radiation, the heat that all objects naturally emit, only becomes four times fainter when you double the distance.
The researchers turned to data from AKARI, a Japanese space telescope that conducted the most sensitive all-sky survey in far infrared light, the perfect wavelength range to detect the heat signature of a cold, distant planet.
Unlike ground-based telescopes that are hampered by Earth's atmosphere, AKARI could detect the faint thermal glow that Planet Nine should emit.
The team focused their search on a specific region of sky where computer simulations suggested Planet Nine was most likely to be found, based upon the orbital patterns of the Kuiper Belt Objects.
They then faced the challenging task of distinguishing a slowly moving planet from the countless stars, galaxies, and cosmic debris that populate this region.
Planet Nine should appear stationary over the course of a single day but show detectable movement over months.
By comparing AKARI observations taken at different times, they could identify objects with this specific type of motion while filtering out cosmic rays, background galaxies, and other false signals.
After this meticulous analysis, the researchers identified two candidates. Both objects appear in the predicted location and emit the amount of infrared light that theory suggests Planet Nine should produce.
While this doesn't constitute definitive proof, it represents the most promising lead in the search for our solar system's hidden giant. Their work is published in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.
These discoveries mark an important milestone, but the journey isn't over.
The candidates require follow-up observations with more powerful telescopes to confirm whether they're truly moving in ways consistent with Planet Nine, or whether they're imposters, perhaps background galaxies or other astronomical objects.
If confirmed, the discovery of Planet Nine would revolutionize our understanding of how our solar system formed and evolved.
It would also demonstrate the power of thinking creatively about astronomical searches. Sometimes the best way to find something isn't to look directly at it, but to feel its warmth instead.
https://phys.org/news/2025-06-solar-greatest-mystery.html
https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1323358025100374/type/journal_article
President Marcos announces collaboration between PH, Japan national space agencies
June 21, 2025
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) will collaborate with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to use space technology for the benefit of Filipinos.
The President met with JAXA executives as he concluded his business meetings in Osaka, Japan on Friday, June 20.
“We’re working with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), together with our very own Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA), to use space technology that helps protect and improve the lives of Filipinos,” President Marcos said in a statement posted on social media.
“With better satellites, we can track typhoons and respond to disasters more quickly, help our farmers plan smarter, and keep our communities safer,” the President added.
President Marcos is on a four-day working visit to Japan from June 19 to 22.
JAXA has been a valuable partner of the Philippines in space science, technology and applications programs through the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
The DOST has collaborated with Japanese universities in the successful development and launch of the Philippines’ first microsatellites DIWATA-1 and DIWATA-2, nanosatellites MAYA-1 and MAYA-2, and the first Philippine university-built nanosatellites.
Founded in 2003, JAXA was formed through the merger of three institutions. It is Japan’s national space agency responsible for research, development, and the utilization of space and aeronautics.
In April 2015, JAXA became a national research and development (R&D) agency. It is engaged in various activities to promote R&D in the aerospace field, with emphasis on international cooperation, public relations, and collaboration with industries and educational institutions.
https://pia.gov.ph/president-marcos-announces-collaboration-between-ph-japan-national-space-agencies/
Satellite streaks block out the Arctic sky
June 21, 2025
From intelligence gathering to internet usage to navigation, satellites are used daily across the globe. However, their activity is causing serious issues.
What is it?
In February, a team of researchers from Western University in Canada, in collaboration with the organization Defense Research and Development Canada, trekked into the high Arctic to try to measure the activity of satellites orbiting across the pole.
Using 14 low-cost cameras, the researchers were able to track satellites passing overhead on the evening of Feb. 22, 2025, compiling them into a long-exposure image to show the total activity for the evening.
Each streak of white in the image shows the satellite's path in the sky. Their system was inspired by meteor tracking, with cameras pointed in various angles to catch the entire night sky.
Where is it?
This photo was taken in Eureka, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut.
Why is it amazing?
This novel satellite system has allowed the researchers to produce the first ever full year of satellite tracking data over Canada, according to Western University.
The system is currently deployed at four sites across Canada to monitor satellite activity including: Eureka, Osoyoos, British Columbia, and Lucky Lake, Saskatchewan.
With the 14-camera setup, the researchers could track objects in the sky over 11.8 inches (30 cm) in size.
To date, the system has found over 17,000 unique satellites and clocked nearly half a billion observations, according to the press release.
While the system gives a more detailed way to monitor satellite activity, it also reveals just how full our skies are with these devices.
Not only are satellites chemically polluting our atmosphere with heavy metals, but they are becoming a growing issue for astronomers trying to look deep into our universe.
With more launches planned to add new satellites, the question to be asked is: when will the sky be too full?
https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/satellite-streaks-block-out-canadian-skies-space-photo-of-the-day-for-june-20-2025
små grodorna
https://www.space.com/entertainment/worlds-1st-multimedia-performance-in-microgravity-will-bring-together-cirque-du-soleil-national-geographic-and-nasa
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/natashatsakos/paraboles-a-performance-for-the-space-age
World's 1st multimedia performance in microgravity will bring together Cirque du Soleil, National Geographic and NASA
June 21, 2025
Exotic entertainment will enter a whole new frontier of zero-gravity environment venues later this year when acclaimed multimedia artist and international showmaker Natasha Tsakos takes her acrobatic dance team into the wild blue yonder and beyond.
This thrilling Paraboles multimedia performance, produced in association with the MIT Space Exploration Initiative and Zero-G, will gather a brave group of professionals from Cirque du Soleil, National Geographic and NASA to stage the uplifting event.
As the space economy blossoms, Tsakos is aiming to deliver culturally relevant content into the expanding realm of aerospace innovation.
"I'm a producer, director, designer, and performer and I create live multimedia theatrical shows," Tsakos told Space.com.
"I integrated technology early on in the 2000s with projection mapping and leveraging CGI with the performers on stage before it was common.
From there I got to open the G-20 Summit and create shows for the Discovery Channel and Tribeca Film Festival and worked with Cirque du Soleil and opened the Super Bowl.
So I've been on this string of extraordinary experiences and throughout, my moonshot was always to create shows for space."
Set aboard Zero-G's specially modified Boeing 727-200 dubbed "G-Force One," Paraboles will be presented and filmed along 25 gravity-defying parabolic arcs, with each segment promising 22 seconds of free-floating microgravity conditions.
A trio of skilled performers and two cinematographers will work in multiple zero-G zones sometime this fall, recording the sublime poetry of motion in a transcendent environment unhindered by the earthly bounds of gravity.
Tsakos was unsure of what that notion might evolve into as a reality, as she was enticed by the pure poetry of space as most dreamers and artists have fallen prey to.
"So I enrolled in the New Space Economy course at MIT that allowed me to really create this bold, ambitious 100-year plan with no limits." she told Space.com.
"Where we're envisioning our own international performance space station and the evolution of performing arts on the moon and Mars. Then we reverse engineered, and asked where do we start?
We start aboard the Zero-G flights and we have to start training and developing new forms of theatrical art. I've always been interested in stretching the performing art form and going past the phase of experimentation."
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The result of this endeavor will be a cinematic art film, short documentary, and an immersive installation, which will premiere in 2026.
Tsakos has engaged global audiences in the millions, from Miami to Montreux, with the goal of redefining live performances from high above Earth to the limits of imagination and possibility.
Fortified with NASA funding, Tsakos has undergone astronautical training, including the Lunar-G Impedance Study at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Neutral Buoyancy training at NASA Ames, MIT's New Space Economy program, and NASA L'SPACE Academy in preparation for this spirited enterprise.
"All the pieces are in place, the team is ready. At Pixar I've storyboarded all of the experience because it doesn't have language.
I use movements, motion, music dynamics, and visuals to take you through this experience. Paraboles is a poetic, cinematic, dance theater, research-based experiment and it delves into the tension between holding on and letting go."
"It follows three characters holding onto their stories, beliefs, and memories. We're leveraging the force of the hypergravity and microgravity as parts of the dramaturgy and the narrative to create this experience to be filmed aboard the Zero-G plane.
Then all the beauty and the worldbuilding will happen in post-production."
Paraboles was born two years ago and the group is scheduled to fly this fall with MIT's Space Exploration Initiative with Zero-G as a sponsor, in conjunction with local Miami cultural partners including Live Arts Miami, Miami Nights Project, and O Cinema, which is where the piece will premiere. Creativity America is also onboard as a national creative partner.
On the educational and scientific fronts, they'll have the beginning of a training curriculum for artists who want to work in that environment.
"We're also pairing our performance with science. We have a bio-astronautic officer who oversees payloads for Virgin Galactic and SpaceX and even the ISS and she will be tracking our biometrics so we’ll have some actual published research."
Tsakos adds. "End of July or early August is when we'll start a 50-day intensive training regimen that I'm super excited about.
We’ll be training in wind tunnels at iFLY here in Miami and underwater at the MDC Aquatic Center, and then aerobatic aircraft at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences in Melbourne.”
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Nobel laureate concerned about AI-generated image of black hole at the center of our galaxy
June 21, 2025
The monster black hole at the center of our galaxy is spinning at ear "top speed," according to a new artificial intelligence (AI) model.
The model, trained partially on complex telescope data that was previously considered too noisy to be useful, aims to create the most detailed black hole images ever.
However, based on the questionable quality of the data, not all experts are convinced that the AI model is accurate.
"I'm very sympathetic and interested in what they're doing," Reinhard Genzel, an astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Germany and one of the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics, told Live Science.
"But artificial intelligence is not a miracle cure."
For decades, scientists have been trying to observe and characterize Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy.
In May 2022, they unveiled the first-ever image of this enormous object, but there were still a number of questions, such as how it behaves.
Now, an international team of scientists has attempted to harness the power of AI to glean more information about Sagittarius A* from data collected by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT).
Unlike some telescopes, the EHT doesn't reside in a single location. Rather, it is composed of several linked instruments scattered across the globe that work in tandem.
The EHT uses long electromagnetic waves — up to a millimeter in length — to measure the radius of the photons surrounding a black hole.
However, this technique, known as very long baseline interferometry, is very susceptible to interference from water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere.
This means it can be tough for researchers to make sense of the information the instruments collect.
"It is very difficult to deal with data from the Event Horizon Telescope," Michael Janssen, an astrophysicist at Radboud University in the Netherlands and co-author of the study, told Live Science. "A neural network is ideally suited to solve this problem."
Janssen and his team trained an AI model on EHT data that had been previously discarded for being too noisy. In other words, there was too much atmospheric static to decipher information using classical techniques.
Through this AI technique, they generated a new image of Sagittarius A*'s structure, and their picture revealed some new features.
For example, the black hole appears to be spinning at "almost top speed," the researchers said in a statement, and its rotational axis also seems to be pointing toward Earth.
Their results were published this month in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Pinpointing the rotational speed of Sagittarius A* would give scientists clues about how radiation behaves around supermassive black holes and offer insight into the stability of the disk of matter around it.
However, not everyone is convinced that the new AI is totally accurate. According to Genzel, the relatively low quality of the data going into the model could have biased it in unexpected ways.
As a result, the new image may be somewhat distorted, he said, and shouldn't be taken at face value.
In the future, Janssen and his team plan to apply their technique to the latest EHT data and measure it against real-world results.
They hope this analysis will help to refine the model and improve future simulations.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/nobel-laureate-concerned-about-ai-generated-image-of-black-hole-at-the-center-of-our-galaxy
Russia conducts heavy missile and drone strike on Ukrainian military airfield – MOD
21 Jun, 2025 14:24
The Russian military struck a military airfield and energy infrastructure in Ukraine in an overnight attack involving missiles and kamikaze drones, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has reported.
In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said that the attack, which was carried out with high-precision air-, land-, and sea-based weapons, as well as explosive-laden unmanned aerial vehicles, targeted the infrastructure of a military airfield and an energy facility that supplied Ukrainian forces in Donbass with fuel.
“The goal of the strike has been accomplished. All designated targets have been hit,” Russian military officials reported, without disclosing the location of the targets.
In a separate statement on Saturday, the ministry claimed that Russian warplanes, drones, missiles, and artillery had destroyed several UAV production workshops, as well as ammunition depots in Ukraine.
Ukraine, meanwhile, reported a massive Russian strike on energy infrastructure in the city of Kremenchuk in Poltava Region.
The Ukrainian military estimated that Russia deployed nearly 300 kamikaze drones, and eight missiles in its overnight attack.
In recent weeks, Russia has launched a series of strikes, targeting Ukrainian military-related facilities, after Kiev significantly ramped up its own cross-border drone strikes.
Moscow has described the escalation as Kiev’s attempt to derail the ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that a combined strike, similar in style to the one reported on Saturday, hit military-industrial facilities in Kiev Region, as well as in the Ukrainian-controlled part of Zaporozhye Region.
https://www.rt.com/russia/620121-russian-mod-drone-missile-strike-ukraine-airfield/
American B-2 Bombers, Capable of Destroying Iran's Underground Fordow Nuclear Facility, Take Off From U.S
Jun 21, 2025 Updated: 06:35 p.m. IST
American B-2 bombers, capable of destroying Iran's underground Fordow nuclear facility, take off from U.S.
Two to four B-2 bomber aircraft, which are capable of carrying bombs that Israel estimates could destroy Iran's fortified nuclear facility at Fordow, took off from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri Saturday morning, according to visible flight data and communication recordings from U.S. air traffic control.
It is unclear whether they are expected to continue to the naval support base in Diego Garcia, which is located roughly 2,300 miles from Iran.
In October of last year, a B-2 bomber traveled directly from the U.S. for an attack in Yemen.
A few months ago, the U.S. transferred about six B-2 bombers to the Diego Garcia base with the aim of threatening Iran and Yemen, however, the aircraft did not take part in the American attacks in Yemen.
https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-21/ty-article-live/five-iranian-missiles-trigger-sirens-across-central-israel/00000197-904d-db6f-a9ff-b37d7f320000
https://twitter.com/AircraftSpots/status/1936351184257953906
Houthis threaten to resume attacks on American ships if US joins Israeli strikes on Iran
June 21, 2025 3:30 am
Yemen’s Houthi rebels issue a statement threatening the United States if it joins the Israeli campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear and military assets.
“If the US is involved in an attack and aggression against Iran with the Israeli enemy, the armed forces will target its ships and warships in the Red Sea,” says the Iran-backed group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-21-2025/
Nasrallah’s security chief reportedly killed by Israel after entering Iran from Iraq
June 21, 2025
The head of security to the late Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike while in Iran, a Hezbollah official says.
Abu Ali Khalil, better known as Abu Ali Jawad, was killed after he went to Iran from neighboring Iraq, the official says.
For many years, Abu Ali was seen behind Nasrallah during most of his public appearances.
After Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a Beirut suburb in September, his bodyguard was put in charge of his tomb in Beirut.
The Hezbollah official, who speaks on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, says the airstrike that killed Abu Ali occurred earlier today.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-21-2025/
https://twitter.com/qudsn/status/1936433979550302624
IDF says missile launcher storage facility among targets hit in latest Iran strikes
7:16 pm
The Israeli Air Force completed a new wave of strikes in southwest Iran a short while ago, targeting Iranian ballistic missile launchers used in attacks on Israel, the military says.
The IDF says some 30 IAF fighter jets were involved in the strikes, dropping 50 munitions on dozens of Iranian military targets in the Ahvaz area.
As part of the strikes, the military says fighter jets hit a facility where ballistic missile launchers were stored, some of which were previously used in attacks on Israel.
The strikes also hit a radar site and other Iranian military infrastructure, the IDF says.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-missile-launcher-storage-facility-among-targets-hit-in-latest-iran-strikes/
Netanyahu to meet tonight with ministers and top security officials amid Iran war
June 21, 2025 6:49 pm
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet later tonight with ministers and senior security officials, according to Hebrew media reports, amid the ongoing aerial campaign against Iran.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/netanyahu-to-meet-tonight-with-ministers-and-top-security-officials-amid-iran-war/
IDF says Iranian drone struck open area in Negev, two others downed over Arava
Today, 12:11 pm
An Iranian drone struck an open area in the Negev Desert, near the Route 90 highway, a short while ago, the military says, after attempts to intercept it.
Two more drones were shot down over the Arava area and near Eilat, the IDF adds.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-iranian-drone-struck-open-area-in-negev-two-others-downed-over-arava/
https://twitter.com/kann_news/status/1936346323915084036
Iran’s Internet Partially Restored After 62-Hour Blackout
June 21, 2025
Iran’s internet connectivity has been partially restored after a widespread 62-hour blackout that began early Wednesday, though access remains “below ordinary levels” in most areas, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks.
The outage, which occurred amid the escalating war between Iran and Israel, was described by NetBlocks as the most severe and extensive internet shutdown in Iran since the November 2019 protests.
“Metrics show a partial restoration in internet connectivity in #Iran after a ~62-hour government-imposed shutdown; however, service remains diminished in some areas and overall connectivity remains below ordinary levels,” the group said.
In the initial hours of the blackout, only 3 per cent of Iranian users had access to the global internet, NetBlocks reported.
The communications ministry under President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration said it had provided alternative communication channels for Iranians inside and outside the country through domestic messaging apps.
The outage caused widespread disruptions to banking services, gas stations, emergency services, and the daily lives of millions of citizens, beyond its political and media impacts.
https://iranwire.com/en/news/142446-irans-internet-partially-restored-after-62-hour-blackout/
A military drone stumbles upon massive underwater wreck and finds something that shouldn’t be there
Update: Jun 21st, 2025 05:35 EDT
What began as a routine military scan of the seafloor turned into one of the most “remarkable” archaeological finds in recent French history.
While surveying the Mediterranean seabed in March, a French Navy drone unexpectedly located a centuries-old shipwreck resting more than 8,200 feet below the surface—making it the deepest discovery of its kind in French territorial waters.
The discovery beneath the waves
The wreck was found near Ramatuelle, a small coastal town on France’s southern edge, during a military operation aimed at monitoring underwater activity.
According to France’s Department of Underwater Archaeological Research—a division of the French Ministry of Culture—the drone stumbled upon a 16th-century merchant ship measuring around 98 feet long and 23 feet wide.
What made this discovery even more striking was the cargo still resting inside: roughly 200 hand-painted ceramic jars, ornate dinnerware, bronze cooking cauldrons, anchors, and several old naval cannons.
Why experts are calling it “notable”
Archaeologists are calling the find “remarkable” not just because of the depth—over 2,500 meters (or 8,200 feet)—but because of the remarkable preservation and the glimpse it offers into maritime trade during the Renaissance era.
Officials emphasized that such a discovery marks a milestone in the exploration of France’s seafloor, which remains largely uncharted, even in the modern era.
Public reaction: awe and intrigue
After French authorities made the discovery public, online users were quick to express their amazement.
“Such beautiful pottery! What an incredible find!” one person commented on social media.Another simply called it, “Extraordinary.”
https://en.as.com/latest_news/a-military-drone-stumbles-upon-massive-underwater-wreck-and-finds-something-that-shouldnt-be-there-n/
https://www.facebook.com/drassmculture/posts/1228683759052696
IDF confirms Iranian drone hit northern city, other one downed over Golan Heights
June 21, 2025 11:31 am
The IDF confirms a drone launched from Iran struck a home in the northern city of Beit She’an, in the first such case since the conflict began.
Attempts were made to shoot down the drone, apparently a Shahed-136 model, but they were unsuccessful.
Additionally, the IDF says it shot down one drone over the Golan Heights a short while ago and attempted to intercept another. The results of the second interception are still under review.
A drone infiltration siren in the Upper Galilee was a false alarm, and sirens in Eilat and the southern Negev area are still being looked into, the IDF adds.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-confirms-iranian-drone-hit-northern-city-other-one-downed-over-golan-heights/
Odesa Hit by Another Drone Attack Overnight
21.06.2025 10:36
Odesa was struck by another large-scale drone attack shortly after midnight, with a series of powerful explosions echoing across the city, Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov announced via Telegram on Saturday.
According to local Telegram channels, twenty drones targeted the Ukrainian Black Sea port city from the direction of the Black Sea.
Regional authorities urged residents to remain in bomb shelters until the all-clear was given.
The Bulgarian community in the Odesa region numbers over 150,000 people, making it the third-largest ethnic group in the area, according to Ukraine’s 2001 census.
Within the city of Odessa itself, an estimated 50,000 to 60,000 ethnic Bulgarians reside. The largest concentrations of Bulgarians are found in the Bolhrad, Izmail, and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi districts.
https://www.bta.bg/en/news/world/915441-odesa-hit-by-another-drone-attack-overnight
This Chinese drone is as small as a mosquito
Jun 21, 2025
A team of researchers at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in Hunan province, China, has developed a new type of drone.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is as small as a mosquito, could be used for covert military operations.
The team's work was highlighted in a recent report on CCTV 7, the military channel of China Central Television.
Suited for 'information reconnaissance' on battlefield
Liang Hexiang, a student at NUDT, presented the drone in the CCTV report.
He said, "Here in my hand is a mosquito-like type of robot. Miniature bionic robots like this one are especially suited to information reconnaissance and special missions on the battlefield."
The UAV has two leaf-like wings on either side of its stick-shaped body and three hair-thin legs.
Tiny size makes manufacturing difficult
The tiny size of this new type of drone makes its manufacturing difficult. Sensors, control circuits, power devices, and other components have to be packed into a very small space.
This requires the integration of different fields such as micro-device engineering, material science and bionics.
The work is a major step forward in military technology and could revolutionize future warfare strategies.
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/chinese-researchers-develop-mosquito-sized-drone-for-military-reconnaissance-missions/story
They teleported it there like MH370
UAP EP 140 UFO Gridlock in DC – Where Do We Stand?
June 20, 2025
The folks in Washington DC have a handle on the UFO issue, right? Well. maybe not as much as you thought.
DC insider Matt Laslo, joins Stephen Diener to give all the latest details on what he has found out from those in Congress. Here’s a hint, it’s not great…
https://www.850wftl.com/episode/uap-ep-140-ufo-gridlock-in-dc-where-do-we-stand/
TOTAL media blackout on yesterday's conference. Not a single article.
Buga Sphere: Report on the International Press Conference
Jun 20, 2025
In this episode of Interstellar, journalist and researcher Jaime Maussan discusses the incredible events surrounding the enigmatic Buga Sphere, Colombia, presenting evidence and testimonies of the presence of these objects on Earth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_D5OX0ZVTU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glu2mjX0cnI (BUGA'S SPHERE: A TRUE MYSTERY (INTERNATIONAL PRESS CONFERENCE June 20, 2025)
https://www.facebook.com/MaussanOficial/
Sen. Gillibrand unaware of new AARO director — even after he testified before her subcommittee
Jun 21, 2025
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) — Chair, Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats & Capabilities / Chair, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC)
Ask a Pol asks:
Have you had a chance to look at that Wall Street Journal article on the Air Force?
Key Gillibrand:
“No,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand exclusively tells Ask a Pol. “I read the first quarter of it, but I didn’t finish it so I’ll read the rest and give you a comment.”
Caught our ear:
Have you had any meetings with AARO — the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office — this year?
“Not yet. We were waiting for a new head,” Gillibrand tells us.
They’ve got him now.
“Oh, I’ll meet with him right away,” Gillibrand says of AARO Director Jon Kosloski, who testified before her Armed Services subcommittee in November.
https://www.askapoluaps.com/p/has-gillibrand-checked-out-of-uap-investigation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oqc7enhcIU
Galactic Federation Mirrors humanity & False Flag ET Salvation
June 21, 2025
Exopolitics Today – Week in Review
Topics
I have spoken via Zoom with David Nicholas, the creator of the GLF station that is mentioned in two stories covered in today’s Week in Review episode. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1933866580594594193
Humanity’s understanding of the universe has expanded tremendously since 1922. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1934219553518584232
A prominent antigravity researcher, Dr. Amy Eskridge, died in mysterious circumstances after showing interest in UFOs and disclosure. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1934223527290245285
Amazing footage of Iran’s missile retaliation against Israel. What would galactic civilizations think? https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1934547106343084496
Ross Coulthart is correct that officials coming forward to claim UFOs were used as a cover to “hide a lot of things” is only delaying the inevitable. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1934553131037176016
Out of Body Encounters with Non-Human Intelligence in Multiple Dimensions: Interview with Darius J. Wright https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1934571124244779327
Update by JP where he discusses his experiences in Japan and the upcoming update on him being taken to the Pacific Space Ark.https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1934988524744560722
Brad Johnson gives a masterful overview of what’s coming from 2025 to 2029 in this free presentation: “Ancient Metaphysical Systems Predict 2025 to 2029 | ANOINT System” https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1935010010766913637
Andrea Martin discusses how a contrived alien salvation event may occur in the Middle East and how the Galactic Federation of Worlds has cleansed itself of compromised operatives.https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1935157115414351884
A former Russian Navy admiral reveals that he has seen USOs flying into & out of the North Atlantic. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1935256377716289815
Deep State Abducts JP in Space Ark Takeover Plot – JP Update #47 https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1935659209091063986
Another Starship Upper Stage has been destroyed, this time before a routine static fire test. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1935663010137170125
Galactic Envoys are Waking Up & Arrests of Compromised GFW Operatives – Get Early Access on Patreon! https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1936033509790896174
Excellent intro to the distinct galactic organizations called the Galactic Federation of Worlds and the Confederation of Planets: https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1936046067239592388
Agree that “there is no bearded loving male God who came to Earth to bless us with his favor.” Disagree with the idea that the Galactic Federation (of Worlds) is the only ET group to have stuck around. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1936047492895739976
John Ramiez, a veteran CIA officer attended a meeting of govt officials/experts at a SCIF in 2022, deferred to channeling when it comes to understanding UFOs/ETs and what’s coming in 2027.https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1936067142115332284
One Week to Dilemma of a Star Trek Future webinar https://www.crowdcast.io/c/dilemmastartrekfuture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_q5FI8HAfM
https://exopolitics.org/galactic-federation-mirrors-humanity-false-flag-et-salvation/
>Andrea Martin discusses how a contrived alien salvation event may occur in the Middle East and how the Galactic Federation of Worlds has cleansed itself of compromised operatives
Delineation of the Galactic "Rogue" Faction and Eeka's Update on Israel/Iran
Jun 17, 2025
I suspect that many of the rogue GFW officials/military were telepathing with humans and feeding them the narrative that "humanity is broken and not ready to join interstellar" groups.
This is the psyop. And it DEEPLY permeated the New Age and ET communities.
Those folks channeling/telepathing/meeting with ETs WERE in contact with GFW officials….BUT they were the traitor factions from so-called "benevolent" ET groups - the ones that were the traitors controlled the narrative.
How? By threatening and arresting/silencing REAL benevolent military/civilian individuals. This was a dark and twisted coup.
AND it is OVER.
Now the guys and ladies just have to deliver the goods and help us Envoys kick ass.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AtnWmMC7E4
Hopefully anons have gone through the handbook by now
Ex-CIA Officer Confirms Alien Hybrids Exist - John Ramirez - DEBRIEFED ep. 42
Jun 20, 2025
Former CIA analyst John Ramirez joins me for one of the most revealing conversations yet.
We get into alleged human-alien hybrid programs, alien bloodlines, and classified UFO reverse engineering efforts.
John opens up about his own encounters, what he was “read into” during his time at the Agency, and why he believes disclosure is already happening..
https://youtu.be/nS_Insp7i_Y?si=RQXUW2bV5UB8l-yJ