TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
July 19, 2025
Messier 6
The sixth object in Charles Messier's famous catalog of things which are not comets, Messier 6 is a galactic or open star cluster. A gathering of 100 stars or so, all around 100 million years young, M6 lies some 1,600 light-years away toward the central Milky Way in the constellation Scorpius. Also cataloged as NGC 6405, the pretty star cluster's outline suggests its popular moniker, the Butterfly Cluster. Surrounded by diffuse reddish emission from the region's hydrogen gas the cluster's mostly hot and therefore blue stars are near the center of this colorful cosmic snapshot. But the brightest cluster member is a cool K-type giant star. Designated BM Scorpii it shines with a yellow-orange hue, seen near the end of one of the butterfly's antennae. This telescopic field of view spans nearly 2 Full Moons on the sky. That's 25 light-years at the estimated distance of Messier 6.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Canada will feel the impact ‘severely’ if NASA cuts funding: "expert"
Updated: July 19, 2025 at 10:06AM EDT
As NASA faces the threat of US$6 billion in cuts under U.S. President Donald Trump’s budget request, one astronomy expert says Canada will certainly feel the impact if the drastic financial reductions go through.
Paul Delaney, former director of the Allan I. Carswell Astronomical Observatory, told CTV Your Morning on Thursday the budget cuts will severely impact every single program in NASA, making it the largest financial assault on the space agency in history.
In turn, it could position other countries, namely China, to take the lead in space exploration. China is swiftly pushing forward in space exploration, with plans to put humans on the moon by early 2030.
“There is little doubt that…(NASA) will take second place,” Delaney said. He also expects that the financial threat to the space agency will lead to more privatization in the sector.
Delaney said the cuts to NASA’s budget will directly impact not just the Canadian Space Agency, but all researchers that are involved in space science.
One item that Delaney says may be on the chopping block is the latest version of the Canada Arm, or Canadarm3, which is the country’s contribution to the U.S.-led Gateway project, a space station in lunar orbit.
“The impact on Canada, in terms of both hardware generation, as well as research, could be extremely significant, forcing us of course to go elsewhere to lend our expertise,” he said.
Delaney adds that the fall out from the budget cuts will run deeper than putting “boots on Mars”.
“Your cellphone technology has been powered in very large measure by the types of activities we’ve developed going into space,” he said. “The spin-offs are almost incalculable.”
CNN reported on Thursday that more than 2,000 agency employees are set to voluntarily leave NASA in the coming months under the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” program, introduced by former Trump ally Elon Musk, who is CEO of NASA’s largest contractor, SpaceX.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/article/canada-will-feel-the-impact-severely-if-nasa-cuts-funding-expert/
Secretary Administrator Duffy Beams Down To NASA
July 18, 2025
Nice of NASA HQ to post a picture in the background from Sean Duffy’s earlier career 😉 .
According to a tweet by @SecDuffyNASA “Wrapping up my day at @NASA – spoke with the smart leaders of our mission directorates.
We agree- America MUST dominate space and our critical moon mission, #ARTEMIS, must be as known & supported by America just as Apollo was!
It’s a race to the moon. Clock is ticking. I’m fired up and ready to launch!” 🚀📷🔥
https://nasawatch.com/ask-the-administrator/secretary-administrator-duffy-beams-down-to-nasa/
https://x.com/secduffynasa
https://nasawatch.com/congress/bipartisan-congressional-letter-alarm-over-nasa-science-cuts-threatening-u-s-leadership-in-space/
https://foushee.house.gov/imo/media/doc/foushee_letter_nasa_fy26_pbr_cuts.pdf
Bipartisan Congressional Letter: Alarm Over NASA Science Cuts Threatening U.S. Leadership in Space
July 18, 2025
According to a press release from Rep. Valerie Foushee: “Today, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08), and Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06) led a group of bipartisan lawmakers in urging National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Acting Administrator Sean Duffy to refrain from taking actions to implement a drastic 47% cut proposed in the President’s FY2026 budget request for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD), encourage or effectuate actions to meet proposed workforce reductions in the FY2026 budget request, or eliminate vital NASA programs until Congress enacts full-year appropriations for FY2026 through September 30th, 2026.” (More below)
“There is much at stake. NASA’s strength and its science mission have implications for America’s geopolitical, economic, and national security interests.
If ultimately enacted, the FY2026 proposal would represent an historic setback with far reaching consequences for U.S. research, industrial capabilities and educational opportunities all of which would cede our global leadership in space and Earth science to adversaries such as China and jeopardize America’s envied standing in the world for decades to come.” the Members wrote in the letter.
In the bipartisan letter, the Members assert the importance of NASA’s science missions in driving the development of new technologies and supporting a robust STEM workforce, including NASA’s role in helping to inspire and train the next generation of scientists and engineers, writing, “The proposed funding cuts to SMD (not to mention the FY2026 request’s proposal to zero-out NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, including the Space Grant College and Fellowship Program) would disrupt this STEM pipeline.
These reckless cuts would undermine opportunities to grow the pool of skilled talent needed to ensure America’s future competitiveness in critical sectors and emerging technologies, including quantum and artificial intelligence, and would risk eliminating pathways, especially for students and early-career researchers, that feed the STEM pipeline.”
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The Members also highlight that NASA’s leadership in space science has fostered valuable partnerships and cemented U.S. influence in global scientific collaboration, partnerships that have enabled NASA to carry out many ambitious missions that would not otherwise have been possible to conduct independently.
The Members noted, “Abandoning major missions in operation or under development—such as the Atmospheric Observing System, the VERITAS mission to Venus, and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory—as proposed in NASA’s FY2026 request, would not only waste billions already spent but also damage relationships with our international partners who could look elsewhere to replace once-critical U.S. commitment and expertise.”
The Members continued, “We are particularly concerned about alleged internal actions at NASA that could set in motion the proposed FY2026 cuts prior to Congress acting on an FY2026 appropriation for NASA.
For example, NASA has reportedly asked leaders of some operating science missions to prepare close out plans and “should ‘assume closeout is complete within 3 months.’”
Administration actions to impede Congress’s constitutional authority cannot go unchecked.”
In closing the bipartisan letter, the Members wrote, “We expect you, in your role as Acting Administrator, to ensure that any effort to implement proposed FY2026 cuts to NASA Science or to align NASA Science programs and projects in the current fiscal year 2025 with the FY2026 proposal be stopped immediately.
The proposed cuts to NASA Science in the FY2026 budget request are cause enough for significant concern. However, the prospect of actions to implement these damaging cuts during the current 2025 fiscal year is even more alarming and would stand in direct violation of Congress’ role.
As a reminder, it is Congress who holds constitutional authority of power of the purse.”
The letter was signed by Reps. Adams, Amo, Bacon, Balint, Barragan, Beyer, Bishop, Bonamici, Boyle, Brownley, Brown, Carbajal, Carson, Carter, Case, Chu, Clarke, Cleaver, Cohen, Davis, Dingell, Evans, Figures, Foster, Foushee, Friedman, Gillen, Houlahan, Hoyer, Ivey, Jacobs, Jayapal, Kamlager-Dove, Kaptur, Robin Kelly, Liccardo, Lynch, McBride, McClain Delaney, McClellan, McGovern, McIver, Mfume, Moulton, Nadler, Norton, Pappas, Pettersen, Rivas, Ross, Salinas, Schakowsky, Simon, Smith, Sorensen, Soto, Stevens, Strickland, Subramanyam, Tokuda, Tonko, Tran, Whitesides.
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Heart Scans, Hearing Tests Wrap Week as Station Gears Up for Crew Swap
July 18, 2025
The week ended aboard the International Space Station with more biomedical checks to keep astronauts fit and healthy on long-term missions in microgravity.
The Expedition 73 residents are also preparing to split up in a couple of weeks while keeping up cargo and maintenance duties aboard the orbital outpost.
Heart scans and hearing tests were the main research tasks on Friday with doctors on the ground reviewing the downlinked health data to ensure the crew is safely adapting to living and working in weightlessness.
NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Anne McClain began their day with human research activities in the Columbus laboratory module.
The duo first set up and activated medical gear before Kim collected and recorded McClain’s blood pressure while researchers on the ground monitored in real time.
Next, Kim scanned McClain’s chest with the Ultrasound 2 device as ground personnel observed her blood flow to understand the cardiovascular risks of spaceflight.
Station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) joined NASA Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers and took turns participating in a computerized hearing test.
The astronauts often use the Quest airlock since it is a quiet module, wear headphones, and respond to tones emitted during the test.
The station’s multiple life support systems and science hardware operate continuously affecting the orbital outpost’s acoustic environment and audiologist’s are studying its impact on the crew’s hearing.
McClain, Ayers, and Onishi are now turning their attention to the end of their mission and return to Earth targeted for early August. The trio spent the second of half of Friday reviewing SpaceX Dragon departure procedures on computer tablets.
They arrived at the station with Roscosmos Flight Engineer Kirill Peskov as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 members docking to the Harmony module’s forward port aboard Dragon on March 15.
Before the Crew-10 quartet leaves, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission is targeted to launch no earlier than July 31 with Commander Zena Cardman of NASA leading Pilot Mike Fincke of NASA and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui of JAXA and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos.
Once aboard the space station, the Commercial Crew foursome will spend several months studying stem cell production methods to develop advanced cures, new ways to treat bacterial infections, space agriculture techniques, and more.
Peskov joined fellow cosmonaut Alexey Zubritskiy and continued unpacking some of the nearly three tons of food, fuel, and supplies delivered recently aboard the Progress 92 resupply ship after it docked to the Poisk module.
Veteran cosmonaut and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryzhikov, on his third spaceflight, ended his week servicing communications and life support gear throughout the space station’s Roscosmos segment.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/07/18/heart-scans-hearing-tests-wrap-week-as-station-gears-up-for-crew-swap/
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4602-4603: On Top of the Ridge
Jul 18, 2025
Earth planning date: Wednesday, July 16, 2025
As we hoped, we successfully climbed the 11-meter ramp (about 36 feet) and have arrived at the top of the ridge and the start of the main boxwork region.
This means we’re moving into the next phase of the boxwork campaign, which is all about assessing these features and how we can navigate our way through them, and learning everything we can about their composition.
In support of that, we’re taking a good look around at the boxwork ridges with both ChemCam and Mastcam. Both instruments are taking mosaics of the more distant ridges to get a broader view of their features.
A bit closer in, Mastcam has three more mosaics: two looking at different views of “El Corral” and “Chapare,” both of which we saw in Monday’s plan, and “Meson,” which is the ridge we’ll be heading for in today’s 15-meter drive (about 49 feet).
It's not all looking ahead, though. The workspace in front of us has a lot to offer as well. Mastcam will be turning its sights to some nearby linear features.
Our workspace is also full of nodular bedrock, which is getting lots of up-close attention. ChemCam will be turning its LIBS laser on a target called “Altamora,” and MAHLI and APXS will be examining another target called “Nocarane.”
With all the geological excitement, we can still manage to squeeze in some time to keep an eye on the environment.
Though we don’t always mention them, REMS, RAD, and DAN are always there working steadily away to build up our understanding of Mars’ environment.
We’ll also round out the plan with a suprahorizon cloud movie and a 360-degree dust-devil survey.
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4602-4603-on-top-of-the-ridge/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/msl-curiosity/science-updates/
https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2025/07/18/nasa-rocket-launch-today-new-mexico/85269315007/
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasa-to-launch-snifs-suns-next-trailblazing-spectator/
https://www.nasa.gov/soundingrockets/overview/
NASA is launching a rocket from New Mexico: Here’s the mission
July 18, 2025 9:38 a.m. MT
Space news coverage is often headlined by crewed missions to the International Space Station or SpaceX's latest test of its enormous Starship spacecraft.
States like Florida, Texas and California are no strangers to routine rocket launches, but that doesn't mean those are the only places where vehicles get off the ground.
In fact, in the unlikely state of New Mexico, a small rocket is preparing to get off the ground from a NASA test site.
Ahead of the spacecraft, known as a sounding rocket, is a quick trip to space to study one of the most complex regions of the sun's atmosphere.
Here's everything to know about soundings rockets and the upcoming NASA mission from New Mexico near the Texas border.
NASA to launch sun-studying mission from New Mexico: Can you see it?
The upcoming launch of the sounding rocket is slated for Friday, July 18 at NASA's White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, located near the border of Texas about 60 miles north of El Paso.
Liftoff is being targeted for 1 p.m. local time, a NASA spokesperson confirmed to the USA TODAY Network.
Residents in the local area around White Sands may be able to see the sounding rocket and its contrail when it launches if the weather is clear, the spokesperson added.
The mission is expected to last no more than about 15 minutes, NASA said in a press release.
After launching, the sounding rocket will take about 90 seconds to reach space and point toward the sun, another eight minutes to conduct the experiment on the chromosphere, and no more than five minutes to return to Earth’s surface.
Upon landing, the rocket will drift between 70 to 80 miles from the launchpad so mission operators on the ground can ensure it will land safely in the large, empty desert, according to NASA.
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What are sounding rockets?
NASA's sounding rocket program has for more than 40 years carried out missions to launch scientific instruments into space.
Sounding rockets are much smaller than an average spacecraft that may launch on an orbital flight from major spaceports like the Kennedy Space Center in Florida or the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California.
NASA's fleet of sounding rockets range anywhere in height from about 16 feet tall to about 70 feet tall. The Black Brant IX, the sounding rocket selected for the upcoming launch from New Mexico, stands nearly 60 feet tall.
For comparison, SpaceX's famous two-stage Falcon 9 rocket – one of the world's most active for both human and cargo missions alike – stands at 230 feet tall when fully stacked.
And the commercial spaceflight company's Starship megarocket, which is still in development, stands at an imposing 400-feet tall when both the crew capsule and Super Heavy rocket booster are integrated.
Because of their diminutive stature, NASA says soundings rockets are ideal for quick trips at lower speeds to regions of space that are too low for satellites and other spacecraft to conduct observations.
And because sounding rockets don't require expensive boosters, missions costs also tend to be substantially less than other orbiter missions, according to NASA.
What does NASA launch from White Sands in New Mexico?
Of the approximately 20 sounding rocket missions scheduled in the U.S. in 2025, most get off the ground from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska.
Occasionally, though, a sounding rocket will launch from a missile range at the White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
The most recent mission at White Sands came Nov. 23, 2024 when NASA launched a Black Brant IX sounding rocket to test a spacecraft's performance in Earth's low-density magnetosphere.
Spacecraft to study solar chromosphere
For its next mission from White Sands, a Black Brant IX sounding rocket will carry new technology to study the sun's mysterious chromosphere, located between the sun's visible surface, known as the photosphere, and its outer layer, the corona.
The corona, which became widely visible from Earth in April 2024 during a total solar eclipse, is a region where powerful solar flares and coronal mass ejections can erupt to cause space weather that can disrupt Earthly technologies.
NASA's SNIFS mission aims to learn more about these events by observing how energy is converted and moves through the chromosphere to power such explosions.
The mission is the first to carry technology combining a standard imager to capture capture photos and videos with a spectrograph, which dissects light into its various wavelengths, according to NASA.
This reveals which elements are present in the imaged light source.
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NASA-Derived Textiles are Touring France by Bike
Jul 18, 2025
During the Tour de France, athletes have to maintain a constant speed while bike riding for dozens of miles through cold rains and summer heat.
These cyclists need gear that adapts to the different environments they encounter. One company is using a material with NASA origins to ensure these athletes stay comfortable while taking their grand tours.
Phase-change materials use basic properties of matter to maintain a steady temperature. When a substance melts from a solid to a liquid, the material absorbs heat, and when it becomes solid again, it releases that heat.
In the 1980s, Triangle Research Corporation received a NASA Small Business Innovation Research award to explore how phase-change materials could be incorporated into textiles to control temperatures in spacesuit gloves.
By placing phase-change materials in small capsules woven throughout a textile, these temperature-regulating properties can be tuned to the comfort of the human body.
While these textiles weren’t incorporated into any gloves flown on NASA missions, they formed the basis for a new product, sold under the name Outlast.
Outlast has since become one of the most widely distributed temperature-regulating fabrics, found in products such as bedding, loungewear, and office chairs.
It has seen especially extensive use in activewear, ranging from jogging clothes to professional sports gear.
Founded in 2001 and based in Fréjus, France, the company Ekoï makes clothing and accessories for cyclists, particularly those who bike competitively.
The company first encountered Outlast at the Performance Days fabric trade fair in Munich, Germany, and was impressed with its capabilities as well as its NASA heritage.
“When you say NASA, it’s always impressive.” said Celine Milan, director of textiles at Ekoï. “At the beginning we were even saying in here in our offices, ‘Wow, this technology was developed by NASA.’ It’s on another level.”
Ekoi’s Outlast line officially launched in July 2022, during that year’s Tour de France. Over the course of that race, the company found it improved cyclists’ performance in the event’s mountain stages, where elevation changes mean wide swings in temperature.
It also improved athletes’ aerodynamics, as their jerseys could stay closed in warmer environments, rather than opening them to let in wind.
Today, Ekoï sells several products that incorporate Outlast materials, including jerseys, gloves, and socks.
These products are internationally known for their NASA heritage. Whether engineering for astronaut’s comfort in space or competitive athletes, NASA aims for excellence.
https://www.nasa.gov/technology/tech-transfer-spinoffs/nasa-derived-textiles-are-touring-france-by-bike/
https://spinoff.nasa.gov/
What to know: ULA Vulcan rocket to launch national security mission from Cape Canaveral
July 18,, 2025
It's been awhile since Florida has seen a Vulcan rocket launch, but United Launch Alliance is pushing ahead to break that drought.
While an official launch date is yet to come, ULA has announced the upcoming USSF-106 mission for the Space Force.
The company has also teased photos of the red and white Vulcan rocket in the process of being stacked for launch.
The long awaited liftoff will be from Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. As it is a national security mission, the payload remains undisclosed.
When did a Vulcan last launch?
How long has it been since we've seen this rocket? The last Vulcan launch was the Space Force certification flight in October 2024.
Now that the new rocket has been cleared to fly national security payloads, the Space Coast awaits a launch date for this rocket's third flight.
"From its inception, the Vulcan rocket was designed to deliver heavy payloads to any orbit.
The upcoming USSF-106 mission utilizes this capability with Centaur V launching a multi-manifest U.S. national security payload directly to geosynchronous orbit for the Space Force," United Launch Alliance posted to its website July 15.
The Centaur V is the Vulcan's upper stage, which is designed to reach unusual orbits for these national security missions.
"The basic architecture of the rocket is really focused on these unique orbits," ULA CEO Tory Bruno told reporters in March.
"An example would be directly injecting into geosynchronous orbit − a mission really the government does."
A geosynchronous orbit is one which orbits alongside Earth's 24-hour rotation, with the spacecraft staying above the same longitude.
The first time a Vulcan launched was in January 2024.
What is the Vulcan replacing?
While ULA still launches its Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, the Vulcan is designed to replace both Atlas V and the now retired Delta IV. It will become ULA's main workhorse rocket.
On top of missions for the Space Force, Vulcan will also fly payloads such as Amazon's Kuiper internet satellites. The long awaited Dream Chaser space plane is also on the manifest, but no launch day yet.
Vulcan is designed to fly with two, four, or six solid rocket boosters, or none at all. ULA says to look for four solid rocket boosters propelling this upcoming mission off the launch pad.
What happened during the ULA Vulcan rocket launch in Florida last fall?
During Vulcan's last launch in October 2024, sparks were seen by spectators approximately 38 seconds into the flight. It was later revealed that an issue within one of the solid rocket boosters caused the light show.
The issue did not impact the mission, with the payload reaching orbit. The incident was investigated by ULA to understand the root cause.
In March 2025, the Vulcan rocket received certification from the U.S. Space Force to fly national security missions.
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2025/07/18/what-to-know-ula-vulcan-rocket-to-launch-space-force-mission-from-florida-cape-canaveral/85239327007/
https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/1945482820346118496
https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch/vulcan-ussf-106
Friday night light: SpaceX launch from California sends two dozen new Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit
July 19, 2025
SpaceX added 24 new Starlink satellites to its orbital network on a Friday night (July 18) launch from California.
The company's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 8:52 p.m. local (11:52 p.m. EDT or 0352 GMT on July 19) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
At about nine minutes into the flight, the booster's upper stage delivered the two dozen satellites to space.
The flight deployed the Starlink spacecraft into low Earth orbit an hour later, according to a SpaceX update posted to the X social media network.
The Falcon 9 first stage successfully completed its 14th mission by landing on "Of Course I Still Love You," an autonomous droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
The launch was the was SpaceX's 88th Falcon 9 launch of 2025 and 516th completed mission.
With Friday's group (17-3), the Starlink network now includes over 7,965 active units out of the more than 9,200 satellites launched since 2019.
SpaceX's service provides broadband internet access to areas where other connectivity is not available, as well as direct-to-cell capabilities for select phones and providers.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-starlink-17-3-b1082-vsfb-ocisly
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1946433848725868817
https://www.spacex.com/ (Why no update on the site, only a tweet?)
They're always watching.
Regardless, I'd say hi, how are you? Thanks for kicking ass. Have a splendid day.
https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-felt-the-effects-of-weird-space-weather-41000-years-ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tc7XI0iUYU
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adq7275
Humans Felt The Effects of Weird Space Weather 41,000 Years Ago
19 July 2025
Our first meeting was a bit awkward. One of us is an archaeologist who studies how past peoples interacted with their environments. Two of us are geophysicists who investigate interactions between solar activity and Earth's magnetic field.
When we first got together, we wondered whether our unconventional project, linking space weather and human behavior, could actually bridge such a vast disciplinary divide.
Now, two years on, we believe the payoffs – personal, professional and scientific – were well worth the initial discomfort.
Our collaboration, which culminated in a recent paper in the journal Science Advances, began with a single question:
What happened to life on Earth when the planet's magnetic field nearly collapsed roughly 41,000 years ago?
Weirdness when Earth's magnetic shield falters
This near-collapse is known as the Laschamps Excursion, a brief but extreme geomagnetic event named for the volcanic fields in France where it was first identified.
At the time of the Laschamps Excursion, near the end of the Pleistocene epoch, Earth's magnetic poles didn't reverse as they do every few hundred thousand years.
Instead, they wandered, erratically and rapidly, over thousands of miles. At the same time, the strength of the magnetic field dropped to less than 10% of its modern day intensity.
So, instead of behaving like a stable bar magnet – a dipole – as it usually does, the Earth's magnetic field fractured into multiple weak poles across the planet.
As a result, the protective force field scientists call the magnetosphere became distorted and leaky.
The magnetosphere normally deflects much of the solar wind and harmful ultraviolet radiation that would otherwise reach Earth's surface.
So, during the Laschamps Excursion when the magnetosphere broke down, our models suggest a number of near-Earth effects.
While there is still work to be done to precisely characterize these effects, we do know they included auroras – normally seen only in skies near the poles as the Northern Lights or Southern Lights – wandering toward the equator, and significantly higher-than-present-day doses of harmful solar radiation.
The skies 41,000 years ago may have been both spectacular and threatening.
When we realized this, we two geophysicists wanted to know whether this could have affected people living at the time.The archaeologist's answer was absolutely.
Human responses to ancient space weather
For people on the ground at that time, auroras may have been the most immediate and striking effect, perhaps inspiring awe, fear, ritual behavior or something else entirely.
But the archaeological record is notoriously limited in its ability to capture these kinds of cognitive or emotional responses.
Researchers are on firmer ground when it comes to the physiological impacts of increased UV radiation.
With the weakened magnetic field, more harmful radiation would have reached Earth's surface, elevating risk of sunburn, eye damage, birth defects, and other health issues.
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In response, people may have adopted practical measures: spending more time in caves, producing tailored clothing for better coverage, or applying mineral pigment "sunscreen" made of ochre to their skin.
As we describe in our recent paper, the frequency of these behaviors indeed appears to have increased across parts of Europe, where effects of the Laschamps Excursion were pronounced and prolonged.
At this time, both Neanderthals and members of our species, Homo sapiens, were living in Europe, though their geographic distributions likely overlapped only in certain regions.
The archaeological record suggests that different populations exhibited distinct approaches to environmental challenges, with some groups perhaps more reliant on shelter or material culture for protection.
Importantly, we're not suggesting that space weather alone caused an increase in these behaviors or, certainly, that the Laschamps caused Neanderthals to go extinct, which is one misinterpretation of our research.
But it could have been a contributing factor – an invisible but powerful force that influenced innovation and adaptability.
Cross-discipline collaboration
Collaborating across such a disciplinary gap was, at first, daunting. But it turned out to be deeply rewarding.
Archaeologists are used to reconstructing now-invisible phenomena like climate. We can't measure past temperatures or precipitation directly, but they've left traces for us to interpret if we know where and how to look.
But even archaeologists who've spent years studying the effects of climate on past behaviors and technologies may not have considered the effects of the geomagnetic field and space weather.
These effects, too, are invisible, powerful and best understood through indirect evidence and modeling. Archaeologists can treat space weather as a vital component of Earth's environmental history and future forecasting.
Likewise, geophysicists, who typically work with large datasets, models and simulations, may not always engage with some of the stakes of space weather.
Archaeology adds a human dimension to the science. It reminds us that the effects of space weather don't stop at the ionosphere.
They can ripple down into the lived experiences of people on the ground, influencing how they adapt, create and survive.
The Laschamps Excursion wasn't a fluke or a one-off. Similar disruptions of Earth's magnetic field have happened before and will happen again.
Understanding how ancient humans responded can provide insight into how future events might affect our world – and perhaps even help us prepare.
Our unconventional collaboration has shown us how much we can learn, how our perspective changes, when we cross disciplinary boundaries.
Space may be vast, but it connects us all. And sometimes, building a bridge between Earth and space starts with the smallest things, such as ochre, or a coat, or even sunscreen.The Conversation
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Today in History - July 19: US pilot flies to space in a plane
July 18, 2025 - 2:04PM
Joseph Walker became the first US civilian to go to space on July 19, 1963.
But Walker was not in a conventional spacecraft but piloting an experimental plane.
Walker took the X-15 to an altitude of 106km above the surface of the Earth, reaching a speed of 5971km/h.
https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-july-19-what-happened-on-this-day/ab6584da-fbc8-4641-8c10-8ec5b6591270
Astronomers discover strange solar system body dancing in sync with Neptune: 'Like finding a hidden rhythm in a song'
July 18, 2025
Astronomers have found that a weird space rock at the edge of the solar system is locked in a rhythmic dance with Neptune.
The object, designated 2020 VN40, is part of a family of distant solar system objects called trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).
2020 VN40 is the first object discovered that orbits the sun once for every ten orbits Neptune makes.
Considering that one Neptunian year lasts 164.8 Earth years, that means 2020 VN40 has one heck of a long year, lasting around 1,648 years or 19,776 months on Earth!
The team behind this research thinks that 2020 VN40's ponderous orbital dance with Neptune may have come about when it was temporarily snared by the gravity of the ice giant planet.
Thus, this discovery could help researchers better understand the dynamics of bodies at the edge of the solar system.
"This is a big step in understanding the outer solar system," team leader Rosemary Pike from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian said in a statement.
"It shows that even very distant regions influenced by Neptune can contain objects, and it gives us new clues about how the solar system evolved."
The orbital rhythm of 2020 VN40 was discovered in data from the Large inclination Distant Objects (LiDO) survey.
LiDO uses the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope with backup from the Gemini Observatory and the Walter Baade Telescope to search the outer solar system for weird objects.
In particular, LiDO specializes in hunting TNOs with orbits that take them far above and below the orbital plane of Earth around the sun. These are regions of the solar system that have thus far only been sparsely explored by astronomers.
"It has been fascinating to learn how many small bodies in the solar system exist on these very large, very tilted orbits," LiDO team member and University of Regina researcher Samantha Lawler said.
The highly tilted path of 2020 VN40 finds it at an average distance from the sun equivalent to 140 times the distance between Earth and our star.
However, the most interesting element of the orbit of 2020 VN40 is its resonance with the orbit of Neptune.
Other bodies rhythmically aligned with Neptune make their closest approaches to the sun, their perihelion, when Neptune is at its greatest distance from our star, or its aphelion.
Defying this trend, 2020 VN40 is at perihelion when Neptune is also close to the sun.
That's if one were looking at it from above the solar system, with the tilt of 2020 VN40 meaning that this TNO and Neptune are not actually close together; the TNO is actually far below the solar system.
This also separates 2020 VN40 from other resonant TNOs, which tend to stay within the plane of the solar system when they make close approaches to the sun.
"This new motion is like finding a hidden rhythm in a song we thought we knew," team member and University of California Santa Cruz scientist Ruth Murray-Clay said. "It could change how we think about the way distant objects move."
Revealing the orbital strangeness of 2020 VN40 suggests that solar system objects with highly tilted orbits can adopt novel and unexpected types of movement.
The hunt is now on for more bodies like 2020 VN40, with the newly operating Vera C. Rubin Observatory set to play a key role in this investigation.
"This is just the beginning," team member and Planetary Science Institute researcher Kathryn Volk said. "We're opening a new window into the solar system's past."
https://www.space.com/astronomy/solar-system/astronomers-discover-strange-solar-system-body-dancing-in-sync-with-neptune-like-finding-a-hidden-rhythm-in-a-song
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/astronomers-discover-rare-distant-object-sync-neptune
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/addd22
https://www.space.com/stargazing/see-the-moon-cross-the-pleiades-for-the-last-time-this-year-on-july-20
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota/iotandx.htm
See the moon cross the Pleiades for the last time this year on July 20
July 19, 2025
If you live anywhere in the contiguous U.S. or Canada, and clear skies are forecast for early Sunday morning, July 20, then be sure to step outside after midnight and before the first light of dawn.
Look low in the east-northeast sky for a slender crescent moon just four days before new phase and 23% illuminated, gracefully approaching the Pleiades star cluster.
This will mark the third and final lunar occultation of the Pleiades in 2025, promising a very beautiful scene in steadily held binoculars or a small telescope.
Earlier this year, there were two other moon-Pleiades encounters.
On the evening of January 9th, an 82%waxing gibbous moon temporarily hid the Pleiades for parts of the U.S., Canada and Central America and then during the overnight hours of February 5-6, a 61% waxing gibbous moon passed in front of the cluster.
If you caught one, or both of the first two events (or if you didn't), make a note on your calendar to watch this final moon-Pleiades rendezvous of the year.
In this upcoming case, you will either have to stay up through the night (to await moonrise, which will occur around 1:00 a.m. local daylight time) or set your alarm for the predawn morning hours.
In addition, since the moon will be a lovely waning crescent, as opposed to a waxing gibbous in January and February, stars will disappear first along the bright lunar crescent.
You'll need at least a small telescope, for binoculars probably won't be enough for following stars in the final minutes or seconds as the moon's glare, sunlit edge creeps up to them.
But practically any telescope will magnify enough to do the trick. Use 50x magnification, perhaps more if your scope has a solid mount that allows easy tracking.
Stars will reappear about an hour later from behind the moon's dark limb in dramatic fashion: appearing to suddenly "pop-on" as if someone threw a switch.
Here, binoculars should do fine, especially if you mount them on a tripod, provided you're watching at exactly the right moment.
In Canada's Maritime Provinces and the northeastern U.S., advancing morning twilight will be an issue, since the eastern sky will be brightening as the moon approaches the Pleiades.
As a result, the disappearance of some stars will not be visible because the sky will be too bright.
Nonetheless, the view in binoculars of the crescent moon sitting to the upper right of the star cluster will still make for a very pretty sight. Farther west, the sky will be darker, but the moon and the Pleiades will be lower.
This will be especially true for the far-western states and the Canadian province of British Columbia; therefore, a clear and unobstructed view toward the east-northeast is recommended.
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Below are two timetables giving local circumstances for the disappearance and reappearance of the four brightest members of the Pleiades that will be occulted.
The information is based in part on data generated by the International Occultation Timers Association (IOTA) and is valid for fourteen U.S., two Canadian and one Mexican city.
Keep in mind, however, that many other stars not listed here will also be occulted.
If the disappearance or reappearance of a star takes place during dawn twilight, the time is provided in italic font.
Also, take note that if the disappearance or reappearance of a star occurs near or soon after the start of civil twilight (roughly 40 minutes before sunrise), it is assumed that the sky would probably be too bright to easily see it.
In addition, the moon might miss the star entirely. In both such cases, the time is omitted. All times are in local civil time.
Specific times and zones of visibility
Courtesy of IOTA, detailed prediction pages are available for each of the four brightest stars — Alcyone, Atlas, Electra, and Maia.
These include Universal Time (UT) disappearance and reappearance data, as well as Mercator maps showing where each occultation will be visible.
For example, from St. Louis, Missouri (in Central Daylight Time, UTC–5), Maia will disappear at 4:06 a.m. CDT and reappear at 4:51 a.m. CDT.
At the moment of reappearance, the sun will be about 11 degrees below the horizon, meaning Maia should reappear in a twilight sky.
In addition to the timetable, a world map (Mercator projection) is provided, showing the region where the occultation will be visible. The boundaries are in different colors.
The Cyan boundaries show the curves of the occultation disappearance or reappearance at moonrise or moonset. A continuous white line marks the nighttime northern and southern limits of the occultation.
A continuous blue line denotes the occultation limits occurring during twilight, while a dotted red line depicts the occultation limits occurring in daylight.
For Alcyone, the occultation takes place over much of the western U.S. For Atlas, visibility occurs over the northwest U.S., western Canada and Alaska.
For Electra, visibility will be over much of the U.S. and Canada, while the occultation of Maia will be visible primarily over the central and southern U.S. and Mexico.
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https://www.space.com/astronomy/newly-discovered-cosmic-unicorn-is-a-spinning-dead-star-that-defies-physics-we-have-a-real-mystery-on-our-hands
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/07/aa55131-25/aa55131-25.html
Newly discovered 'cosmic unicorn' is a spinning dead star that defies physics: 'We have a real mystery on our hands'
July 19, 2025
Using the world's most advanced radio telescopes, astronomers have discovered a spinning dead star so rare, strange and unique that they have dubbed it a "cosmic unicorn."
The unique properties of this object, CHIME J1634+44, challenge our current understanding of spinning dead stars and their environments.
CHIME J1634+44, also known as ILT J163430+445010 (J1634+44), is part of a class of objects called Long Period Radio Transients (LPTs).
LPTs are a newly found and mysterious type of celestial body that emits bursts of radio waves that repeat on timescales of minutes to hours.
That's significantly longer than the emission of standard pulsars, or rapidly spinning neutron star stellar remains that sweep beams of radiation across the cosmos as they spin.
But as strange as all LPTs are, CHIME J1634+44 still stands out. Not only is it the brightest LPT ever seen, but it is also the most polarized.
Additionally, its pulses of radiation seem highly choreographed. And what really stands out about CHIME J1634+44 is the fact that it is the only LPT astronomers have ever seen whose spin is speeding up.
"You could call CHIME J1634+44 a 'unicorn' even among other LPTs.
The bursts seem to repeat either every 14 minutes or 841 seconds — but there is a distinct secondary period of 4206 seconds, or 70 minutes, which is exactly five times longer," team leader Fengqiu Adam Dong, a Jansky Fellow at the Green Bank Observatory (GBO), said in a statement.
"We think both are real, and this is likely a system with something orbiting a neutron star."
The team discovered the unusual traits of CHIME J1634+44 using ground-based instruments including the Green Bank Telescope, the Very Large Array (VLA), the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) Fast Radio Burst and Pulsar Project, the NASA-operated space-based observatory, and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (Swift).
The object was, in fact, simultaneously discovered by a separate team of astronomers at ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, using the LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) radio telescope.
While the team led by Dong believes a stellar remnant at the heart of CHIME J1634+44 is a neutron star, the ASTRON team, captained by astronomer Sanne Bloot, refers to it as J1634+44 and think it is a white dwarf.
What both teams agree on, though, is just how strange this LPT is.
This unicorn is speeding up by feeding on a star
Both white dwarfs and neutron stars are dead stars created when stars of differing masses run out of the fuel supplies they need for nuclear fusion at their cores. Once that fuel is over, the stars can no longer support themselves against their own immense gravities.
Neutron stars are stellar remnants that form when massive stars, with masses at least eight times that of the sun, reach the end of their lives and collapse. Smaller stars closer in mass to the sun leave behind a slightly less extreme stellar remnant called a "white dwarf."
Though most of the mass of these dying massive stars is shed in supernova explosions, the cores of the stars maintain a mass between one and two times that of the sun.
This is crushed down to a width of around 12 miles (20 kilometers), creating matter so dense that if a teaspoon of neutron star "stuff" were scooped out and brought to Earth, it would weigh 10 million tons (equal to stacking 85,000 blue whales on a teaspoon).
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This collapse has another extreme consequence. The dying star maintains its angular momentum, meaning that when its radius is rapidly reduced during collapse, it speeds up greatly.
Though the collapse of white dwarfs is less extreme, it also causes an increase in spin speed due to the conservation of angular momentum.
An Earth-based example of this is an ice skater pulling in their arms to increase the speed of their spin.
What this means is some young neutron stars can spin as fast as 700 times every second. However, as neutron stars and white dwarfs age, they should slow down as they lose energy.
That's why no matter what CHIME J1634+44 is, the fact that it is speeding up its spin is very strange.
There is a way neutron stars or white dwarfs can increase their spin speed, or "spin up" after their birth. It depends on whether they have a close companion star.
As such, the new study's team suspects CHIME J1634+44 may actually be composed of two stellar objects orbiting each other in a tight binary format.
The ASTRON team proposes that this companion is either another stellar remnant (like a white dwarf or neutron star) or is a "failed star" brown dwarf — a body that forms like a star but fails to gather enough mass to trigger the nuclear fusion that defines what a star is.
As these bodies swirl around each other, they would emit ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves. This carries away angular momentum and causes the two stellar bodies to move closer together.
This would cause the period of the binary to appear as if it is shortening. This type of orbital tightening has been witnessed before by astronomers in white dwarf binaries.
CHIME J1634+44 gets stranger, however.
Its radio bursts are 100% circularly polarized. This means the electromagnetic waves escaping J1634+44 rotate in a circle (like a corkscrew) as they propagate.
Thus, the electromagnetic radiation escaping CHIME J1634+44 twists around in a perfect spiral as it moves away from its source.
Not only is that extremely rare, but it is something that has never been seen in bursts of radiation from either neutron stars or white dwarfs.
That implies the radio wave blasts of CHIME J1634+44 are being generated in a way that is unique for this dead star.
Astronomers have a mystery on their hands with this dead star
What is also weird about these pulses is the fact that they arrive in pairs, but only when the dead star in the CHIME J1634+44 binary has spun several times without emitting a burst.
"The time between pulse pairs seems to follow a choreographed pattern," team member and ASTRON astronomer Harish Vedantham said in a statement.
"We think the pattern holds crucial information about how the companion triggers the white dwarf to emit radio waves.
"Continued monitoring should help us decode this behavior, but for now, we have a real mystery on our hands."
The research conducted by these astronomers not only reveals more about neutron stars, the universe's most extreme stellar objects, but also hints at an exciting new phase for radio astronomy.
"The discovery of CHIME J1634+44 expands the known population of LPTs and challenges existing models of neutron stars and white dwarfs, suggesting there may be many more such objects awaiting discovery," Dong concluded.
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The 2025 Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower is upon us! Here's what you need to know
July 19, 2025
peak on July 29.
The Southern Delta Aquariid shower is active from July 18 to Aug. 12, as Earth passes through a trail of ancient debris that is suspected to have been shed by the 4-mile-wide (6.4 km) comet 96P Machholz.
When this debris hits Earth's atmosphere, the friction created by air molecules causes the particles to ignite, creating the visible streaks we see in the sky.
The shower is at its strongest in the week surrounding its peak on July 29, at which time viewers could spot up to eight faint meteors per hour, according to NASA.
Shooting stars associated with the shower will appear to emanate from a patch of sky — known as a radiant — in the constellation Aquarius, close to the bright star Delta Aquarii, from which the annual event gets its name.
When is the best time to see the Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower?
Stargazers will have their best chance of spotting a Southern Delta Aquariid in the early morning hours in the week surrounding July 29, according to the American Meteor Association.
Around that time, the radiant is at its highest in the southern sky and the waxing crescent moon will be hidden well below the horizon, providing a dark sky in which to hunt for the elusive shooting stars.
As its name suggests, the Southern Delta Aquariids will be most visible to stargazers situated in the Southern Hemisphere, where the radiant is higher in the post-sunset sky.
However, the shower will still be visible to those north of the equator, albeit at a lower hourly rate.
To maximize your chances of catching a Southern Delta Aquariid, first locate the bright star Delta Aquarii in the constellation Aquarius above the southern horizon (or use a stargazing app to help you find it).
Then, find a patch of sky 40 degrees away from the radiant in the direction of the local zenith, which is the point directly above your head.
Remember: the width of your outstretched fist from your thumb to the outside of your little finger accounts for around 10 degrees in the night sky.
The shooting stars seen here will have longer trails compared to those spotted closer to the radiant!
You'll have a much better chance of spotting one of the faint shooting stars if you head away from city lights and allow your eyes 30 minutes to adapt to the darkness.
After that, it's a case of lying back — ideally on a deckchair, and losing yourself in the night sky.
If you see a bright meteor streak across the sky from the north, you may well have spotted a member of the Perseid meteor shower, which has been active since mid-July.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/the-2025-southern-delta-aquariid-meteor-shower-is-upon-us-heres-what-you-need-to-know
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/delta-aquariids/
See Venus, the moon and fiery star Aldebaran form a dawn triangle this weekend
July 18, 2025
One of the brightest and most colorful stars in the sky and the most brilliant planet are on stage in the early morning dawn sky this weekend and will be joined by the moon on Monday morning.
The star in question is Aldebaran, a first-magnitude star that shines with a distinct orange hue and marks the right eye of Taurus, the Bull.
The brilliant planet is, of course, Venus, which outshines Aldebaran by almost five magnitudes or a light ratio difference of almost 100-fold.
At this particular moment in time, both star and planet can be seen roughly one-quarter of the way up from the eastern horizon, roughly 45 minutes before sunrise.
Venus, a dazzling morning "star," rises about an hour prior to the first light of dawn and shines low in the east-northeast as dawn brightens.
On Monday morning, you'll also see a delicately thin (14 percent illuminated) crescent moon hovering approximately 8 degrees above Venus.
Your clenched fist held at arm's length measures roughly 10 degrees in width, so on Monday morning, the slender lunar sliver will appear almost "one fist" above Venus.
In a telescope, Venus is a disappointment: just a tiny, gibbous blob, 72 percent illuminated by the sun.
It has shrunk and become more nearly round in recent months as it has swung far around to the back side of the sun as seen from Earth.
And situated well to the right of both Venus and the moon will be Aldebaran.
The trio will appear to form a broad isosceles triangle with Venus marking the vertex angle, while Aldebaran and the moon form the base of the triangle.
It will not be a particularly "tight" array, but still should be attractive enough to catch the attention of early risers.
With the reappearance of Aldebaran, it is also a gentle reminder that while we are not yet at the midpoint of summer, the colder nights of fall and winter will be looming in the months to come.
Aldebaran is crossing the meridian at midnight around Thanksgiving … and at around 9 p.m. in mid-January.
Who knows? By then, some of you might be shoveling snow.
So take advantage of this week's opportunity to see not only an out-of-season winter star, but Venus as well, while they both "flirt" with a waning crescent moon.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/see-venus-the-moon-and-fiery-star-aldebaran-form-a-dawn-triangle-this-weekend
STARCOM welcomes new commander in milestone moment for Florida, Patrick SFB
July 18, 2025
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) marked a historic milestone July 18 as Maj. Gen. James E. Smith assumed command during a change of command ceremony at Patrick Space Force Base.
“We must continue displaying the character to act decisively,” Smith said. “The courage to think boldly, and the commitment to push combat-credibility to every corner of our force, anchored by a connection to our mission and to each other.”
Smith, originally from Boise, Idaho, now takes the helm of STARCOM as its first commander to both reside at and lead the unit from Patrick SFB.
He brings a deep background in space operations and joint service, including prior assignments at NATO and the Pentagon. Most recently, he served as Vice Director for Joint Force Development, Joint Staff.
“I’m absolutely energized to begin this command and to help accelerate our course—grounded in excellence, innovation, and combat credibility,” Smith said following the ceremony.
“Let’s move forward together—always ready, always combat-credible, always above.”
The ceremony comes as a significant waypoint in the Space Force’s presence at Patrick.
Space Force Guardians assigned to STARCOM have steadily arrived at Patrick in the past months, rapidly establishing an initial capability for the command.
Full Operational Capability is targeted for 2026, with the goal of the transition being completed by the end of 2027.
“STARCOM builds and amplifies the Guardian Spirit on which our warfighting service is constructed,” said Gen. Chance Saltzman, Space Force Chief of Space Operations, who presided over the change of command ceremony.
“It’s your job to give them the building blocks of Space Force culture and infuse them with the Guardian DNA that makes them uniquely space warfighting professionals.”
As commander of STARCOM, one of three Space Force field commands, Smith leads more than 8,600 personnel charged with building the intellectual and operational foundation of the Space Force.
Its five Deltas are geographically dispersed across the U.S. and deliver doctrine development, training, testing, and education that shape Guardian readiness at every stage of their careers.
Maj. Gen. Timothy A. Sejba relinquished command to Smith after leading STARCOM since July 2023. He is slated to serve as Special Assistant to the Vice Chief of Space Operations at the Pentagon.
Smith takes the reins of STARCOM’s growth across all mission areas—from space doctrine development and Guardian training programs to major wargames, exercises and test events that advance space readiness across the joint force.
“STARCOM was created to secure our nation’s interests in, from and to space. But building a new service isn’t enough. We must also ensure that service is combat credible and fully integrated into the joint fight,” Smith said.
“That’s the heartbeat of STARCOM’s mission. We exist to forge combat-credible space forces—ready to fight and win. The joint fight hinges on our success. We cannot and will not fail.”
https://www.starcom.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4249960/starcom-welcomes-new-commander-in-milestone-moment-for-florida-patrick-sfb/