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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
July 28, 2025
Collision at Asteroid Dimorphos
Why was this collision so strange? In 2022, to develop Earth-saving technology, NASA deliberately crashed the DART spacecraft into the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos. The hope was that this collision would alter the trajectory of Dimorphos around its parent asteroid Didymos and so demonstrate that similar collisions could, in theory, save the Earth from being hit by (other) hazardous asteroids. But analyses of new results show that the effects of the collision are different than expected – and we are trying to understand why. Featured here is the time lapse video taken by the ejected LICIACube camera LUKE showing about 250 seconds of the expanding debris field of Dimorphos after the collision, with un-impacted Didymos passing in the foreground. In 2026, Europe's Hera mission will reach the asteroids and release three spacecraft to better study the matter.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
and you as well
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Rocket Arrives at Launch Pad
July 27, 2025
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon crew spacecraft atop, for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission rolled out to the launch pad early Sunday, July 27, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The rocket was raised to vertical position at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, awaiting lift off no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 31.
The Crew-11 mission will carry NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov to the International Space Station for a long-duration mission.
Crew-11 will conduct new and exciting scientific research aboard the orbiting laboratory to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth.
This is first spaceflight for Cardman and Platonov, the second for Yui, and the fourth for Fincke.
The flight is the 11th crew rotation mission with SpaceX to station, and the 12th human spaceflight under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The Crew-11 cadre will fly aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft that previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Demo Mission-2, Crew-2, Crew-6, and Crew-8, in addition to Axiom Mission 1, the first private astronaut mission to the microgravity laboratory.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/commercialcrew/2025/07/27/nasas-spacex-crew-11-rocket-arrives-at-launch-pad/
Melissa John Champions Environmental Stewardship at White Sands
Jul 28, 2025
For Melissa John, protecting the environment is her way of contributing to space exploration while preserving the Earth we call home.
As the sustainability program lead at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, John manages efforts to reduce waste, prevent pollution, and promote eco-conscious practices.
Over the past 13 years, she has helped shape a workplace culture that values innovation and environmental responsibility.
Through awareness campaigns and outreach events, John empowers employees to be mindful of their environmental impact.
Whether she is fostering grassroots connections, leading hands-on events, or recognizing colleagues who prioritize climate-aware actions, John remains dedicated to making a lasting, positive impact on the planet.
John credits her Diné heritage and cultural values for fueling her passion to protect and preserve Earth for future generations.
John began her NASA career at White Sands as a document specialist, reviewing schedules and environmental reports.
She later transitioned into technical editing and gradually got involved in green initiatives, volunteering her time before eventually stepping into her current leadership role.
Now, she coordinates a sitewide working group dedicated to reducing the facility’s environmental impact and inspires others to think critically about everyday actions and their ripple effects.
John did not always know how she would make her mark.
“Growing up, I remember a teacher asking how we could make a difference in the world,” she said. “I never forgot that question.”
During the years she spent working in accounting and in the mining industry, she kept returning to that question. It was not until she joined NASA that she found her answer:
“This — this is how I make my difference in the world.”
The work also helped John grow in ways she did not expect.
“I was painfully shy as a kid and terrified of speaking in front of a crowd,” she said. “But when I took on this role, I knew I had to find my voice.
I still have timid moments, but the pride I feel in this work helps me push through. I’ve been through a lot, but I’m still here learning, growing, and showing up for the team I now call family.”
John credits her strong support system for that transformation. “I am in awe of the women I’ve worked with,” she said. “I hope I can inspire others as they have inspired me.”
Whether on Earth or beyond it, John believes that thoughtful action today leads to a brighter tomorrow.
She is committed to leaving the world a better place for the next generation. Her legacy is simple: “Clean air, clean water, and clean land — that’s what I want to pass on.”
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/white-sands/melissa-john-champions-environmental-stewardship-at-white-sands/
NASA Captures Haunting Photos of Lightning Illuminating a Tropical Storm
Jul 28, 2025
Floating 258 miles above, NASA astronauts on board the International Space Station have a view like no other and can therefore photograph Earth in unique ways.
Recently, the NASA Johnson Flickr page uploaded a dramatic set of photos showing the inside of a tropical cyclone. The picture was lit by thunder bolts.
Category 1 Hurricane Erick brought heavy rainfall to parts of southern and southwestern Mexico in June 2025.
It caused flash floods and mudslides that left at least 23 dead, 28 injured, and two missing. The total damage was estimated at $250 million, according to Wikipedia.
The awesome photos do not have an author ascribed to them, but we do know they were taken on June 20 at roughly 3.42 AM local time as Hurricane Erick stormed across the Pacific Ocean south of the Mexican state of Chiapas.
The photos were uploaded just a few days ago.
Astronauts onboard the ISS have become prolific photographers, and while the identity of the photograph’s author is unknown, we do know it was shot on a Nikon Z9 with a Nikon 200mm f/2 VR attached, set at 1/125 of a second, f/2.0, and 12,800 ISO.
The photos were likely taken by one of the Expedition 73 Crew, which includes NASA flight engineers Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Jonny Kim.
Out of the three, Nichole “Vapor” Ayers has proven to be the most accomplished photographer, having captured a spectacular image of a sprite — a rare form of lightning that shoots up from a thunderstorm — earlier this month.
Don Pettit, who is arguably the best photographer to ever visit space, mentioned last year that he was on a mission to capture a photo of a sprite directly from above.
Along with fellow talented photographer and astronaut Matthew Dominick, the pair were shooting thousands of photos while flying over lightning storms in the hope that a sprite would shoot up toward them.
Sadly, it hasn’t been accomplished yet.
https://petapixel.com/2025/07/28/nasa-captures-haunting-photos-of-lightning-illuminating-a-tropical-storm/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/
JPL Leads NASA’s Breakthrough in Autonomous Satellite Imaging
Monday, July 28, 2025 | 5:41 am
NASA has successfully tested an artificial intelligence system that allows satellites to autonomously decide when and where to capture images.
The technology, called Dynamic Targeting, was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena and deployed aboard CogniSAT-6, a CubeSat built by Open Cosmos.
The July flight demonstrated the system’s ability to complete a full scan-decide-capture loop in just 60 to 90 seconds, even while traveling nearly 1,300 kilometers down-track at orbital speeds.
It works by tilting the satellite forward 40 to 50 degrees to scan for cloud cover before pitching back to take images only of clear scenes.
CogniSAT-6 uses a single optical sensor for both targeting and imaging, powered by an Intel Myriad X processor executing cloud detection algorithms in under five seconds.
The AI software was developed at JPL over a decade of research, with funding from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office. NASA’s press release dated July 24 confirmed the successful test and outlined the system’s operational goals.
“The idea is to make the spacecraft act more like a human: Instead of just seeing data, it’s thinking about what the data shows and how to respond,” said Steve Chien, JPL technical fellow in AI, in the NASA announcement.
Open Cosmos provided spacecraft operations and mission services under a multi-year contract. Dublin-based Ubotica supplied the AI hardware, previously tested aboard the International Space Station in 2021.
“If you can be smart about what you’re taking pictures of, then you only image the ground and skip the clouds.
That way, you’re not storing, processing, and downloading all this imagery researchers really can’t use,” said Ben Smith, associate at the Earth Science Technology Office, during a media briefing.
NASA reports that up to 67 percent of Earth-observation scenes are obscured by cloud cover globally. The test demonstrated effective image filtering, with the system skipping clouded scenes entirely to conserve power and bandwidth.
Future upgrades will allow satellites to track wildfires, storms, and other transient phenomena, as well as coordinate across a fleet using inter-satellite communication under the Federated Autonomous MEasurement project.
JPL’s Pasadena-based team continues to advance autonomous space technologies, building on its prior work with missions like Earth-Observing-1 and Rosetta. Dynamic Targeting’s success marks a major step toward smarter, more agile scientific instruments.
https://pasadenanow.com/main/jpl-leads-nasas-breakthrough-in-autonomous-satellite-imaging
https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/07/mars-moons-europa-clipper-phobos-deimos/
A Rare Look at Mars’ Moons: NASA’s Europa Clipper Captures Phobos and Deimos Together
July 27, 2025
In a remarkable moment during its journey toward Jupiter, NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft managed to capture a stunning image of Mars and its two moons, Phobos and Deimos, in one frame.
This rare celestial alignment provides a striking view of these Martian bodies in infrared light, presenting new insights into our neighboring planet’s tiny moons.
The Europa Clipper, originally designed to explore Europa, one of Jupiter’s most intriguing moons, is using its thermal imaging equipment to test its capabilities while en route to its final destination.
The image was captured from over 560,000 miles away, marking a significant achievement for the spacecraft and offering new perspectives on Mars and its moons.
As NASA continues to explore the mysteries of the outer solar system, this captivating photo serves as a testament to the intricate planning and advanced technology that powers such missions.
Capturing the Trio: A Glimpse into the Far Reaches of Our Solar System
While the spacecraft’s primary mission is to investigate Europa and its potential to harbor life beneath its icy surface, the Europa Clipper made a strategic detour to observe Mars.
On February 28, the spacecraft’s infrared camera, the Europa Thermal Emission Imaging System (E-Themis), snapped 200 individual frames over a 20-minute period.
The images were then pieced together to form a unified picture of the Red Planet and its moons in a vivid and surreal infrared display.
The striking infrared image shows Mars as the focal point, surrounded by its two moons—Phobos, the larger, innermost moon, and Deimos, the smaller and more distant of the pair.
The image beautifully illustrates the heat signatures of the three celestial bodies, with Mars being significantly brighter than its moons.
The moons’ dimmer signatures are indicative of their faint glow, with Deimos appearing as a small dot in the upper left, while Phobos is closer to Mars and more distinct.
This moment not only offers a rare celestial snapshot but also provides critical data for testing the spacecraft’s thermal imaging capabilities, which will be essential for studying Europa.
As the Europa Clipper continues on its journey, the spacecraft’s advanced instruments will help NASA probe the icy moon’s subsurface, searching for potential signs of life.
Infrared Imaging: Revealing the Hidden Heat of Space
One of the most significant aspects of the Europa Clipper’s image is the use of infrared technology. The spacecraft’s thermal sensors are designed to detect heat rather than visible light, a key distinction in the way space bodies are observed.
In this particular case, the spacecraft used the E-Themis camera to capture heat emissions from Mars, Phobos, and Deimos.
By capturing these infrared signatures, scientists were able to examine the bodies of Mars and its moons from a completely new angle, revealing characteristics that would be invisible in standard optical imagery.
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The process behind capturing this image was not simple. Given the extreme distance between the spacecraft and Mars—over 560,000 miles—scientists had to overcome significant challenges to gather data on these distant bodies.
To ensure the moons’ faint signatures were visible, engineers enhanced the brightness of the image during post-processing. This resulted in a clear view of the moons, which are around 250 times dimmer than Mars.
The image gives viewers a unique opportunity to observe Mars and its moons in a way not typically available through traditional telescopic observation.
Beyond just a pretty picture, this infrared snapshot provides valuable information about the thermal properties of these objects, contributing to ongoing studies on their composition and potential for future exploration.
Phobos and Deimos: Mars’ Mysterious Moons
The two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, are some of the least understood objects in the solar system. Despite being relatively close to Mars, they remain shrouded in mystery.
Phobos, the larger of the two, measures about 14 miles across and orbits Mars three times a day. Deimos, the smaller moon, is about 7 to 8 miles in diameter and takes 30 hours to complete one orbit around Mars.
Their small size and irregular shape have led many scientists to speculate about their origins.
One of the biggest mysteries surrounding these moons is their formation. There are two leading theories. One suggests that Phobos and Deimos were once asteroids that were captured by Mars’ gravity.
The other theory posits that they may have originated from Mars itself, possibly as debris created by a massive impact on the planet billions of years ago. Despite numerous missions and observations, the exact origin of these moons remains uncertain.
The Europa Clipper’s image offers a rare chance to observe these two enigmatic moons alongside their host planet, a sight that is rarely seen together.
The first time both moons were captured in a single image was in 2009 by the Mars Express orbiter, but this latest image offers a fresh perspective, showcasing the moons from a new vantage point.
The Role of Gravity Assists in Space Exploration
One of the interesting aspects of the Europa Clipper’s mission is its use of gravity assists to alter its trajectory. In March, the spacecraft used Mars’ gravity to adjust its path on its journey to the outer solar system.
A gravity assist is a technique used by spacecraft to gain speed and change their course by passing close to a planet, using the planet’s gravitational pull.
This technique not only helps the spacecraft save fuel but also provides an excellent opportunity for collecting data about the planet being flown by.
This encounter with Mars also allowed the spacecraft to test its instruments before heading deeper into the solar system.
By capturing the Mars-Phobos-Deimos trio, the spacecraft successfully verified the capabilities of its thermal imaging tools, which will be used in the future to study Europa in greater detail.
Once the spacecraft arrives at Jupiter in 2030, it will conduct a series of flybys over Europa, taking measurements of its surface and interior to learn more about its potential to support life.
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AnnounceMints: Texas Innovation Dollar Honors Space Exploration
Jul 28, 2025 5:43 AM PDT
The United States Mint releases the latest coin in its American Innovation $1 Coin Program, honoring the state of Texas and the Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center.
The reverse design features an astronaut conducting a spacewalk outside the International Space Station, representing the culmination of the Mission Control Center’s economic, logistical, and intellectual support for NASA’s human space program and the support of astronauts from the many countries that participate in the program.
The obverse shares the same dramatic representation of the Statue of Liberty as the rest of the series. This latest edition to the series will be available in rolls and bags from the United States Mint starting on July 29, 2025.
https://www.numismaticnews.net/announcemints-texas-innovation-dollar-honors-space-exploration
https://www.usmint.gov/
These Are the First FireSat Images for Finding Wildfires From Space
July 28, 2025 3:51 a.m. PT
At Google I/O in May, Google revealed that it's working with the Earth Fire Alliance on FireSat, a program that combines new high-resolution satellites with AI analysis to pinpoint wildfires in their earliest stages and help responders knock them down before they grow.
This week the alliance released the first images captured by the initial satellite, showing how fires as small as 5-by-5 meters about the size of a classroom can be detected from space.
Existing satellite systems scan for fires, but at a coarser resolution. In one image from Oregon, using MWIR (Mid-Wave Infrared) heat-sensing imaging, a small roadside fire showed up as a bright speck.
According to the alliance, it wasn't detected by other space-based systems.
This example from Ontario, Canada, on June 15, 2025, shows the Nipigon 6 fire, a new blaze detected using the MWIR spectrum, but it also shows how LWIR (Long-Wave Infrared) was used to identify areas left over from a previous burn in 2020, which are heated due to a lack of vegetation.
At the bottom, a false-color composite of SWIR (Short-Wave Infrared), NIR (Near-Infrared) and visible Red channels helps track the life cycle of the fire.
Currently, the Earth Fire Alliance has one protoflight satellite, built by Muon Space, aloft for testing. With three satellites in orbit, FireSat will be able to scan locations globally twice a day.
And when the program is fully operational, in 2030, a network of more than 50 satellites is expected to cut that time down to 20 minutes; for areas that are more prone to fires, that interval will be every 9 to 12 minutes.
One key reason for Google's involvement in the alliance is to sort through the massive amount of data that will be generated.
Muon Space estimates that each satellite will cover 190 million square kilometers per day, and the multispectral instrument on each satellite records across six channels.
With AI and software assistance from Google, the program should filter out false positives. AI is playing a larger role in fighting wildfires around the world – NASA is using its vast trove of Landsat satellite data to build predictive models of where fires are likely to erupt next.
"There are millions of things that can be mistaken for a fire," said Chris Van Arsdale, Google Research climate and energy lead and chair of the Earth Fire Alliance board of directors. "Looking for fires becomes a game of looking for needles in a world of haystacks."
It will also be important to prioritize fires that crews can respond to. A June 21, 2025, image of a remote area of Alaska shows a fire that wasn't observable by ground-based sources.
In this image from Borroloola, Northern Territory, Australia from July 11, 2025, the FireSat satellite identified multiple wildfires spread over a large distance, which would help fire responders coordinate efforts.
The Earth Fire Alliance is currently working with some fire departments and other early adopters to help determine how best to parse the data and communicate with responders.
"What you're looking at now is raw imagery that is helpful for the technologists, the scientists [and] the remote sensors," said Kate Dargan Marquis, former California state fire marshall and senior wildfire advisor to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a main underwriter of the Earth Fire Alliance.
"But for firefighters, we'll build fire data products on this data." That would include map-based tools with AI underpinnings to help them understand where and how they can make fire response decisions, she noted.
The data will eventually be made available for public resources, such as those used by the consumer app Watch Duty.
Brian Collins, executive director of Earth Fire Alliance, explained that the current early adopter program includes pathways to determine how to disseminate the information being collected, be that through local dispatchers or other sources.
"A very informed public can make decisions [such as when to prepare to evacuate] in advance of being told," he said, adding that a public that understands fire is no longer scared of fire.
Although FireSat is still in its first stages and won't be considered operational until three satellites are in orbit, in 2026, the initial data and imagery looks to be a promising tool for fighting wildfires around the globe.
https://www.cnet.com/science/these-are-the-first-firesat-images-for-finding-wildfires-from-space/
https://www.earthfirealliance.org/
Japan Unveils Space Domain Defense Guidelines
Jul 28, 2025 19:25 (JST)
Sanyoonoda, Yamaguchi Pref., July 28 (Jiji Press)–Japan's Defense Ministry on Monday unveiled guidelines aimed at enhancing the country's defense capabilities in the space domain through cooperation between the public and private sectors.
"It's an urgent task to utilize outer space using rapidly developing private technology," Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters after a visit to the Air Self-Defense Force's space situation awareness radar in Sanyoonoda, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan.
The guidelines outline the need to build capabilities for the real-time detection and tracking of adversarial ships and troops from space to quickly assess war situations.
They also highlight the necessity of protecting SDF satellites from Chinese and Russian killer satellites.
In 2022, the government announced plans to rename the ASDF as the Aerospace SDF to bolster its space operations capabilities.
https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2025072800822/
Rapidly spinning dead star's strange 'glitches' are oddly regular
July 28, 2025
What do you get when you stare at the same dead star for more than 20 years? Insight into the weirdest physics in the universe.
The star PSR J0922+0638 is a pulsar. Pulsars are neutron stars — the ultradense leftover cores of long-dead stars — that spin rapidly and emit radiation at regular intervals.
Pulsars have some of the wildest physics in the cosmos, with matter compressed right to the brink of ultimate collapse into a black hole.
The only thing preventing that catastrophe is exotic quantum pressures.
A typical pulsar is only a few miles wide but contains the mass of several suns. This makes pulsars some of the densest objects in the universe — second only to black hole singularities.
At these extreme densities, neutrons and protons smash together to form what amounts to a single gigantic atomic nucleus.
While physicists have a somewhat decent understanding of what nuclear material does at the densities found in the outermost layers, the cores of neutron stars remain complete mysteries.
Because of their extremely high density, pulsars rotate with exceptional regularity.
In this case, PSR J0922+0638 has a rotation period of 0.43063 second, and it has largely maintained that rotation rate for hundreds of thousands of years.
But it's not perfect, and astronomers can use detailed observations of changes in that rotation rate to guess what's going on inside the pulsar.
Recently, astronomers combined 22 years of data from the Nanshan Radio Telescope in China and the MeerKAT array in South Africa to see how precise this pulsar's timing was.
It turns out that, in the past two decades, PSR J0922+0638 wasn't nearly perfect.
In their paper, published to the preprint database arXiv, the astronomers noted over a dozen "glitches," or abrupt changes in the rotation rate.
Some of these had been observed before, but many were brand-new. A typical glitch changes the rotation rate by less than a factor of a billionth.
But for the forces involved with a pulsar, that represents a massive change in energy. Strangely, these glitches occurred somewhat regularly, repeating roughly every 550 days.
On top of the sudden glitches, the astronomers discovered that the rotation rate of PSR J0922+0638 slowly sped up and slowed down, on a cycle spanning roughly 500 to 600 days.
Perhaps it's not a coincidence that the glitches experienced by PSR J0922+0638 corresponded to the same cycle as its slow changes in its rotation rate.
The astronomers aren't exactly sure what's causing the changes, but they pointed to several possible explanations. Pulsars have tremendously strong magnetic fields, which can store and release energy.
So perhaps PSR J0922+0638 is experiencing something akin to the magnetic cycle on the sun in which it goes through alternating periods of strong and weak sunspot activity, the authors proposed.
Another explanation might be that there's an exotic superfluid of fundamental particles deep in the pulsar's core. Sloshing within that superfluid could change the entire star's rotation rate, and when the fluid switched directions, it could lead to a glitch.
Ultimately, we do not understand where glitches come from or exactly what's going on inside pulsars. But the two must be linked somehow, and it's only through careful, dedicated observations that we'll figure it out.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/rapidly-spinning-dead-stars-strange-glitches-are-oddly-regular
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.22765
On this day in space! July 28, 1851: First photo of a total solar eclipse
July 28, 2025
On July 28, 1851, the first-ever photo of a total solar eclipse was recorded by a Prussian daguerreotypist named Johann Julius Friedrich Berkowski.
Daguerreotypy is an old photographic process that uses silver-plated copper treated with chemical fumes that make it light-sensitive.
Previous attempts to take photos of solar eclipses failed to show the contrast between the sun's corona and the dark disk of the moon.
Using a small, six-centimeter telescope, Berkowski captured an 84-second exposure starting right after the moon moved completely in front of the sun.
https://www.space.com/39251-on-this-day-in-space.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAYxDGt2PLM&list=PLCE-SVF9BSTdloyi4P9TmQVTp9Q2zTb27
Time to break out the real life Gundams.
‘Tombs of the giants’: 5,500-year-old 'pyramids of Poland' predate Egyptian pyramids
JULY 28, 2025 09:10
Archaeologists in Poland discovered two megalithic burial monuments dating back over 5,500 years, referred to as the "Pyramids of Poland."
Unearthed in the General Dezydery Chłapowski Landscape Park in the village of Wyskoc, Wielkopolska region, these structures are among the largest prehistoric constructions in the country and offer insights into Neolithic societies in Europe.
During a routine survey, researchers from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań detected mysterious mounds of earth. Upon further investigation, they confirmed these were ancient long earth tombs, marking findings at two sites.
"By conducting more excavations, we hope to gather more information about the Funnelbeaker cultures in this area," said Artur Golis, chief specialist for nature and landscape protection from the Wielkopolska Region's Landscape Parks Complex, according to Enikos.
The tombs date back to the 4th millennium BCE and are attributed to the Funnelbeaker culture, known for its burial architecture and characteristic funnel-shaped pottery.
These communities constructed monumental trapezoidal structures stretching up to 200 meters in length and four meters in height, forming an imposing pyramidal silhouette.
Though the structures are not as intact as they once were due to erosion and repurposing of stones by locals over centuries, they remain archaeological sites.
"Each generation built its own megalithic monument, honoring the deceased who played a vital role in their community," Golis added.
The Funnelbeaker society, while relatively egalitarian, sometimes used these tombs to house important figures such as tribal chiefs, priests, or shamans, providing insights into their social structures and spiritual beliefs.
Remote sensing technology played a role in the discovery. The research team utilized aerial laser scanning, which revealed the distinctive trapezoidal shape of the mounds.
Excavations are still ongoing, and researchers are optimistic about uncovering artifacts such as stone axes, ceramics, and other grave goods that may still be buried nearby.
"Potentially, these may include stone axes, adzes, ceramics, or characteristic clay vessels," Golis noted.
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The tombs were carefully aligned with the cardinal points of the horizon, indicating knowledge of astronomy by their builders.
This alignment suggests that the location of these monuments may have had symbolic significance related to the belief systems of the Neolithic peoples.
The construction of these massive structures, using stones weighing up to 10 tons, would have required collective labor and engineering techniques, demonstrating the intelligence and capabilities of early agricultural societies in Europe.
Despite their moniker, the findings are more accurately described as megalithic tombs, also known as giants' graves, due to their monumental triangular shape. They offer a rare glimpse into the social, religious, and architectural evolution of Neolithic Europe.
The Funnelbeaker culture, which flourished approximately between 4000 and 2800 BCE, occupied extensive regions of Northern and Central Europe, including present-day Denmark, northern Germany, Poland, and parts of Scandinavia.
Previous discoveries of similar structures have been rare in this region.
This latest pair of megalithic tombs is particularly significant because they are only the third and fourth discoveries of their kind in Poland since the first such structures were identified in Wielkopolska in 2019.
The majority of similar constructions had previously been located in northwestern Poland.
While human remains have not yet been found at the recently discovered sites, archaeologists are hopeful. "In the case of this megalith, the skeleton probably did not survive, but the grave goods may have survived," Golis said.
The body was usually placed in a supine position with the feet pointing east, towards the rising sun, and was surrounded by funeral offerings. These may have included items such as pottery, stone axes, and other artifacts reflecting the material culture of the Funnelbeaker society.
The discovery of these structures sheds light on the religious, social, and architectural sophistication of Neolithic societies in Europe and challenges existing narratives about early European civilizations.
The findings provide evidence about one of the oldest agricultural civilizations in Europe, revealing the cultural development of early farming communities that flourished in the forested areas of Central Europe.
Excavations are still ongoing, and the site is currently closed to the public. Researchers are optimistic that further exploration will enrich the understanding of these rare constructions and illuminate new aspects of human prehistory.
"These findings could provide further information about the spiritual and daily life of the people of the Funnelbeaker culture," Golis stated.
https://www.jpost.com/archaeology/article-862372
US Space Force scheduled to launch eighth X-37B mission
July 28, 2025
The U.S. Space Force, in partnership with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, is scheduled to launch the eighth mission of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-8) on Aug. 21, 2025, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
X-37B Mission 8 will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, designated USSF-36, with a wide range of test and experimentation objectives.
These operational demonstrations and experiments comprise of next-generation technologies including laser communications and the highest performing strategic grade quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space.
Mission partners include the Air Force Research Lab and the Defense Innovation Unit, respectively.
Mission 8 will contribute to improving the resilience, efficiency and security of U.S. space based communications architectures by conducting laser communications demonstrations involving proliferated commercial satellite networks in Low Earth Orbit.
Laser communications are integral to the future of space communications as the shorter wavelength of infrared light increases the amount of data that can be sent with each transmission.
Additionally, they are more secure than traditional radio frequency transmissions owing to the more targeted nature of laser beams.
The use of proliferated relay networks enhances the resilience of U.S. space architectures by ensuring that they contain no single point of failure.
These experiments come as part of a broader push across the U.S. Space Force to uphold the safety and security of the space domain by enhancing the resilience and flexibility of U.S. orbital systems.
Commenting on the significance of this demonstration, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman stated, "OTV-8's laser communications demonstration will mark an important step in the U.S. Space Force's ability to leverage proliferated space networks as part of a diversified and redundant space architectures.
In so doing, it will strengthen the resilience, reliability, adaptability and data transport speeds of our satellite communications architecture."
Additionally, Mission 8 will demonstrate the world's highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space.
This demonstration will inform accurate unaided navigation in space by detecting rotation and acceleration of atoms without reliance on satellite networks like traditional GPS.
This technology is useful for navigation in GPS-denied environments and consequently will enhance the navigational resilience of U.S. spacecraft in the face of current and emerging threats.
As quantum inertial sensors would be useful for navigation in cislunar space, they additionally promise to push the technological frontiers of long-distance space travel and exploration.
Speaking on the quantum inertial sensor demonstration, Col. Ramsey Horn, Space Delta 9 commander, asserted, "OTV 8's quantum inertial sensor demonstration is a welcome step forward for operational resilience in space.
Whether navigating beyond Earth based orbits in cislunar space or operating in GPS-denied environments, quantum inertial sensing allows for robust navigation capabilities when GPS navigation is not possible.
Ultimately, this technology contributes significantly to our thrust within the Fifth Space Operations Squadron and across the Space Force guaranteeing movement and maneuverability even in GPS-denied environments."
The Fifth Space Operations Squadron, within USSF Delta 9 conducts day-to-day on-orbit operations of the X-37B in partnership with the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.
The X-37B is a dynamic and responsive spacecraft responsible for conducting a range of tests and experiments that expedite the development of critical next-generation technologies and operational concepts for reusable space capabilities.
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4256759/us-space-force-scheduled-to-launch-eighth-x-37b-mission/
What, no Arabic poetry?
Man yells ‘bomb’ and ‘death to Trump’ aboard UK flight
28 Jul, 2025 11:20
A man sparked panic aboard an EasyJet flight from London to Glasgow on Sunday after yelling he had a bomb and shouting “death to America” and “death to Trump.”
The incident occurred as US President Donald Trump was visiting Scotland and preparing to golf at his Turnberry resort.
Footage published by the Daily Mail, BBC, and Scottish Sun shows the man screaming and being restrained by travelers who told him, “Families are on this plane.”
The 41-year-old suspect began shouting “Allahu Akbar” and claiming that he had a bomb after emerging from the restroom, according to witnesses.
The man, described as a “big guy, about six foot,” started acting aggressively towards the airline staff, all of whom were “petite women.”
“When he pushed them, that’s when things changed,” a witness said.
“At that point, one guy managed to grab him from behind and pull him down, then everyone jumped on top of him.
He was fighting a bit on the floor, but at this point he knew he’d f**ked up.”
The flight was met by armed officers upon landing at Glasgow Airport, where the man was arrested.
Police Scotland have confirmed that he remains in custody. A witness told The Sun that the suspect carried refugee identification papers.
Official sources have not disclosed the suspect’s identity, nationality, or refugee status, but have reported that no explosives were found on board.
Police said the event appeared isolated and involved no other suspects. Counter-terrorism officers are reviewing videos shared on social media.
The incident comes amid mounting concern over security threats linked to migration in the UK.
According to government data, 50,500 knife-related offenses were recorded in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024.
Protests have called for stricter controls at asylum centers and more transparency regarding migrant offenders.
Earlier this month, dozens marched in Dover during the ‘Great British National Protest’, demanding tighter border enforcement.
Over the past six years, migrants from Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Albania, Syria, and Eritrea have accounted for 70% of those crossing the Channel in small boats.
https://www.rt.com/news/622087-uk-flight-bomb-threat/
https://twitter.com/BGatesIsaPyscho/status/1949470412590768194
Kiev-recruited saboteurs targeted railway in Russia – FSB
28 Jul, 2025 09:30
Three individuals allegedly recruited by Ukrainian intelligence to conduct sabotage operations in Southern Russia have been arrested, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced Monday.
Russian officials previously accused Ukraine of orchestrating numerous attacks on civilian infrastructure, some of which resulted in multiple deaths.
The new arrests were made in Krasnodar Region and involved two Russian citizens and one national of a Central Asian country, according to the FSB.
During interviews with investigators, one suspect admitted to contacting Ukrainian security operatives through a messaging app and enlisting two acquaintances to assist him.
In one attempted attack, the suspected ringleader and an accomplice allegedly tried to use a Molotov cocktail to set fire to a railway relay box, a critical component for ensuring the safe operation of passenger trains.
The attack failed but drew the attention of law enforcement, which eventually identified and apprehended the suspects.
A second alleged plot targeting a mobile telecommunications tower was also uncovered and foiled as a result, the FSB said.
Officials did not disclose the names of the suspects, who are believed to be in their late 20s and early 30s. Each individual was reportedly promised between $200 and $250 for participating in each act of sabotage.
The group is said to have operated in the village of Varenikovskaya, roughly 100km west of the regional capital, Krasnodar. If convicted, the suspects face prison sentences of up to 20 years.
Earlier this month, the FSB reported the arrest of two individuals in the Bryansk Region who were allegedly tasked with retrieving drone-delivered packages and preparing weapons for future terrorist attacks.
In May, a string of suspected Ukrainian sabotage operations on Russian railroads caused the derailment of a passenger train in Bryansk Region, in which seven civilians were killed and dozens of others injured.
https://www.rt.com/russia/622080-fsb-ukrainian-sabotage-krasnodar/
Trump reduces Russia-Ukraine ‘deadline’ to 10-12 days
28 Jul, 2025 12:38
US President Donald Trump has sharply reduced the time frame he set for Russia and Ukraine to agree on a ceasefire, warning that Moscow now has just 10 to 12 days to reach a deal or face sweeping new sanctions.
“I’m going to set a new deadline… about 10 or 12 days from today. There’s no reason to wait. I wanted to be generous, but we’re just not seeing any progress,” Trump told reporters on Monday in Scotland.
He was sitting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The US president had originally given the two sides 50 days to negotiate an end to the conflict, threatening to impose 100% tariffs on Russian imports and secondary sanctions on countries and companies that continue to trade with Russia.
That initial deadline was due to expire in early September.
Trump said he was “very disappointed” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and claimed he had come close to brokering a ceasefire on five separate occasions.
“I’ve spoken to President Putin a lot – I’ve gotten along with him very well,” he added.
The ultimatum, first issued on July 14, also included a warning that the US would resume arms deliveries to Ukraine, funded in part by NATO members, if no truce was achieved within the time frame.
Moscow has responded by reaffirming its willingness to negotiate but said any talks must take into account the realities on the ground and the root causes of the conflict. Russian officials have dismissed Trump’s sanctions threats as counterproductive.
“These signals serve only to prolong the war,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier this month, urging Washington to pressure Kiev instead.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has stated that even new sanctions would not alter Russia’s course, insisting the country will “continue to move along our independent, sovereign, and sustained path.”
Meanwhile, direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev resumed in Istanbul in May, following a nearly three-year freeze.
The latest round of talks took place last week, with modest progress on humanitarian issues, including agreements on the exchange of prisoners of war and civilians. However, no breakthrough on a ceasefire was achieved.
Trump had previously not ruled out imposing sanctions before his deadline, saying last week that action could come “at any time.”
https://www.rt.com/news/622093-trump-shorten-ukraine-peace-deadline/