TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
August 9, 2025
Interstellar Interloper 3I/ATLAS from Hubble
Discovered on July 1 with the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, 3I/ATLAS is so designated as the third known interstellar object to pass through our Solar System. It follows 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017 and the comet 2I/Borisov in 2019. Also known as C/2025 N1, 3I/ATLAS is a comet. A teardrop-shaped cloud of dust, ejected from its icy nucleus warmed by increasing sunlight, is seen in this sharp image from the Hubble Space Telescope captured on July 21. Background stars are streaked in the exposure as Hubble tracked the fastest comet ever recorded on its journey toward the inner solar system. An analysis of the Hubble image indicates the solid nucleus, hidden from direct view, is likely less that 5.6 kilometers in diameter. This comet's interstellar origin is clear from its orbit, determined to be an eccentric, highly hyperbolic orbit that does not loop back around the Sun and will return 3I/ATLAS to interstellar space. Not a threat to planet Earth, the inbound interstellar interloper is now within the Jupiter's orbital distance of the Sun, while its closest approach to the Sun will bring it just inside the orbital distance of Mars.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 Preparing for Splashdown
August 9, 2025
Live coverage is underway on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and more as NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, are about an hour away from splashing down aboard their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.
Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The deorbit burn is scheduled to begin at 10:39 a.m. EDT. Splashdown remains on schedule for approximately 11:33 a.m.
Weather conditions remain within the splashdown weather criteria and are “go” at the primary targeted site off the coast of San Diego, California.
The Crew-10 mission will be the first crewed flight to splashdown off the coast of California as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/commercialcrew/2025/08/09/nasas-spacex-crew-10-preparing-for-splashdown/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqT3nDbwETc
Falcon 9 rocket launching Amazon internet satellites on SpaceX's 100th mission of the year on Sunday
August 9, 2025
SpaceX will launch its 100th mission of the year on Sunday (Aug. 10), and you can watch the action live.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 of Amazon's Project Kuiper internet satellites is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, during a 27-minute window that opens at 8:57 a.m. ET (1257 GMT).
A first attempt at the launch on Saturday (Aug. 9) was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions.
Sunday's launch will be the 97th Falcon 9 liftoff of the year already and SpaceX's 100th mission of 2025 overall.
The other three were suborbital test flights of Starship, the huge, reusable vehicle that the company is developing to help humanity settle Mars.
SpaceX also operates a third rocket, the Falcon Heavy, which hasn't flown since October 2024, when it sent NASA's Europa Clipper probe toward the Jupiter system.
If SpaceX maintains its current pace, it will launch about 165 times this year. That would break the company's single-year record of 138, which it set in 2024. (Last year's breakdown: 132 Falcon 9 liftoffs, two Falcon Heavy launches and four Starship test flights.)
More than 70% of this year's Falcon 9 launches have been dedicated to building out Starlink, SpaceX's broadband megaconstellation in low Earth orbit (LEO). Starlink currently consists of more than 8,100 operational satellites, and it's growing all the time.
Project Kuiper, Amazon's version of Starlink, is still in the early buildout stage. Saturday's launch will be just the fourth Kuiper liftoff to date and will bring the number of satellites in the new constellation to 102.
Kuiper will eventually consist of over 3,200 spacecraft, which will be lofted on more than 80 launches over the next few years.
A variety of rockets will do this work; in addition to the Falcon 9, Amazon has enlisted Arianespace's Ariane 6, Blue Origin's New Glenn and United Launch Alliance's Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur.
If all goes to plan on Sunday, the Falcon 9's first stage will return to Earth about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, touching down in the Atlantic Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas."
It will be the debut flight for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. That's quite rare, as the company is known for its rocket reuse; its most-flown Falcon 9 has 29 flights under its belt.
The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, will continue carrying the 24 Project Kuiper satellites to LEO. They'll be deployed over a 7.5-minute span beginning about 56 minutes after liftoff, if all goes to plan.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/falcon-9-rocket-launches-amazon-project-kuiper-internet-satellites-spacex-100th-mission-2025
https://www.spacex.com/launches/kf-02
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1953455966386585815
NASA, Google team up to create AI doctor for Mars missions
09 August 2025 18:10
NASA and Google are collaborating to develop an AI medical assistant aimed at helping astronauts maintain their health during long-duration space missions, such as journeys to the Moon and Mars.
As missions extend farther from Earth, real-time communication with doctors and resupply of medicines become more difficult, pushing NASA to create more autonomous medical care solutions for space.
According to foreign media, the project, called Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant (CMO-DA), is designed to support astronauts in diagnosing and treating symptoms independently when no doctor is available or when communication with Earth is unavailable.
The AI tool operates within Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform and uses multimodal inputs including speech, text, and images.
Operating under a fixed-price Google Public Sector subscription, the partnership covers cloud services, app development, and model training.
NASA owns the app’s source code and has contributed to refining the AI models, which also integrate third-party resources available on Google’s platform.
CMO-DA has been tested in three clinical scenarios: ankle injury, flank pain, and ear pain. A panel of three physicians — including one astronaut — evaluated the assistant’s performance in history-taking, diagnosis, clinical reasoning, and treatment.
The AI’s diagnostic accuracy was rated at 88% for the ankle injury, 80% for ear pain, and 74% for flank pain.
NASA plans to develop CMO-DA further by incorporating additional data sources like medical devices and enhancing the AI to be “situationally aware” of space-specific conditions such as microgravity effects.
While it remains unclear if Google will seek regulatory approval for terrestrial medical use, such a step could follow if the AI performs well in space.
David Cruley, Google’s Public Sector customer engineer, noted that beyond space missions, the insights gained from this AI assistant could have broader applications in healthcare on Earth.
https://caliber.az/en/post/nasa-google-team-up-to-create-ai-doctor-for-mars-missions
https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/08/nasa-and-google-are-building-an-ai-medical-assistant-to-keep-mars-bound-astronauts-healthy/
Acting NASA Administrator Reflects on Legacy of Astronaut Jim Lovell
Aug 08, 2025
The following is a statement from acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy on the passing of famed Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. He passed away Aug. 7, in Lake Forest, Illinois. He was 97 years old.
“NASA sends its condolences to the family of Capt. Jim Lovell, whose life and work inspired millions of people across the decades.
Jim’s character and steadfast courage helped our nation reach the Moon and turned a potential tragedy into a success from which we learned an enormous amount. We mourn his passing even as we celebrate his achievements.
“From a pair of pioneering Gemini missions to the successes of Apollo, Jim helped our nation forge a historic path in space that carries us forward to upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.
“As the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 8, Jim and his crewmates became the first to lift off on a Saturn V rocket and orbit the Moon, proving that the lunar landing was within our reach.
As commander of the Apollo 13 mission, his calm strength under pressure helped return the crew safely to Earth and demonstrated the quick thinking and innovation that informed future NASA missions.
“Known for his wit, this unforgettable astronaut was nicknamed Smilin’ Jim by his fellow astronauts because he was quick with a grin when he had a particularly funny comeback.
“Jim also served our country in the military, and the Navy has lost a proud academy graduate and test pilot. Jim Lovell embodied the bold resolve and optimism of both past and future explorers, and we will remember him always.”
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/acting-nasa-administrator-reflects-on-legacy-of-astronaut-jim-lovell/
https://www.nasa.gov/former-astronaut-james-a-lovell/
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/lovell_james_0.pdf?emrc=99cdb4
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/apollo/jim-lovell-commander-of-nasas-apollo-13-moon-mission-dies-at-97
https://www.tmz.com/2025/08/08/tom-hanks-remembers-nasa-astronaut-jim-lovell/
I'd be scanning things all day just because
lotta penis references this week
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/experts-sound-off-trump-nasa-131201272.html
https://www.iflscience.com/half-a-billion-years-ago-the-grand-canyon-was-filled-with-penis-worms-80303
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2025/08/07/wnba-sex-toys-green-dildo-crypto-meme-coin/85551443007/
Experts sound off after Trump and NASA fast-track a nuclear reactor on the moon: ‘The whole proposal is cock-eyed’
Sat, August 9, 2025 at 6:12 a.m. PDT
Fast-tracking a NASA plan to build a nuclear reactor on the moon may sound dubious. Experts say that’s because it is.
“The whole proposal is cock-eyed and runs against the sound management of a space program that is now being starved of money,” national security analyst, nuclear expert and author Joseph Cirincione told The Independent.
Nuclear has been used in space since the 1960s. That’s nothing new. The U.S. launched its first test reactor into orbit in 1965, and the former Soviet Union has sent up dozens more.
NASA says that a new 100-kilowatt reactor could be used to power a future base at the lunar South Pole, and fuel prospective missions to Mars and beyond. Nuclear would help to fill gaps in solar energy that occur when that side of the moon is in darkness for two weeks.
The majority of space experts have said that placing a reactor on the moon is possible, so, why is NASA’s current plan “cock-eyed?” The problem is the proposed timeline.
Interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, who also serves as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Transportation, pushed to expedite the project, detailed in a memo this week.
Duffy said the administration wanted to have a nuclear reactor ready to launch by 2030. Earlier this year, China and Russia announced a plan to build a nuclear reactor for a lunar base by 2035.
“The first country to do so could potentially declare a ‘keep-out’ zone which would significantly inhibit the United States from establishing a planned Artemis presence if not there first,” Duffy said.
NASA first announced in 2021 that it would put a reactor on the moon “within a decade.” In 2024, NASA then said that their target date for delivery a reactor to the Earth-based launchpad was the early 2030s.
But, Cirincione says essentially no progress has been made.
“It was in the last Trump administration that NASA had put out a press release, they had a YouTube video, they had these announcements about how they’re going to develop these small, modular nuclear reactors for use on the moon, and it was going to be ready by 2026,” said Cirincione, who is vice-chair of the Center for International Policy, a non-profit that advocates for a peaceful approach to foreign policy.
“Oh, really? So, where is it?”
Ultimately, the expert believes a nuclear reactor on the moon could take up to 20 years to become a reality. NASA would need a working launch vehicle, a small and adaptable reactor, and the ability to land on the moon.
Right now, the SpaceX Starship is the only vehicle option – but it has exploded during several of its test flights.
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NASA has been working with Boeing on a Space Launch System - the main competitor to Space X’s Starship - but that program would be canceled under the Trump administration’s proposed cuts which slash 24 percent from NASA’s overall budget.
Landing on the moon is no picnic, and attempts by Japanese space companies in 2023 and 2025 ended in crashes.
There are also the scientific and technological advances needed for the nuclear reactors. The reactors must be able to withstand harsh conditions on the moon, including temperatures swings from 250 degrees Fahrenheit during the day to minus 400 degrees at night.
“Small modular nuclear reactors, it turns out, are always just around the corner – a corner you never get to turn,” Cirincione said.
Many scientists and nuclear energy experts have shared in Cirincione’s skepticism.
Dr. Kathryn Huff, a former nuclear energy official at the U.S. Department of Energy, and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, wrote in a Bluesky social media post that she’s not “bullish” on “unrealistic timelines.”
“The 2030 target does not align well with recent budgetary trends…” she explained in a statement, shared by the university.
“Accelerating the FSP program could come at the expense of other critical priorities, including earth science, climate observation and space-based weather forecasting – all core elements of NASA’s public-serving mission.”
Dr. Alfredo Carpineti, an Italian astrophysicist, wrote in IFLScience this week that the proposal is “unfeasible.”
“Even if we allow landing the nuclear reactor on December 31, 2030, the timing is really too short for something that must not have any faults if you want to operate it safely,” Carpineti wrote.
Others were more optimistic about NASA’s accelerated timeline.
Sebastian Corbisiero, a senior program manager at Idaho National Laboratory who leads the Energy Department’s space reactor program, told The Independent that a nuclear reactor on the moon is “doable” by 2030.
“Nuclear reactor technology has been around for decades, so its well known,” he said. “Some key differences with a space reactor is that it needs to fit on a rocket, so there are mass and volume requirements; and that the system needs to operate in vacuum – so components will need to be built to survive that environment.”
Dr. Bhavya Lal, a former associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy at NASA, and former aerospace executive Roger Myers, recently argued that it would be possible to have nuclear reactor on the moon by 2030, and it would take $3 billion to do so.
“It’s possible, but it will require serious commitment,” Lal told The Independent. But even if plans are speeded up, Lal says there’s no need to worry about the prospect of the moon blowing up. It’s “simply not grounded in science,” she said.
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Curiosity's ChemCam Views a Rock Shaped Like Coral
Aug. 4, 2025
ASA's Curiosity Mars rover used its Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), a camera on the end of its robotic arm, to view this wind-eroded rock shaped like a piece of coral on July 24, 2025, the 4,608th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Nicknamed "Paposo" by the rover's science team, the rock was about 2 inches (5 centimeters) from the MAHLI camera when this was taken.
Figure A is another MAHLI image taken about 10 inches (25 centimeters) away from Paposo.
Curiosity has found many small features like this one, which formed billions of years ago when liquid water still existed on Mars.
Water carried dissolved minerals into rock cracks and later dried, leaving the hardened minerals behind. Eons of sandblasting by the wind wore away the surrounding rock, producing unique shapes.
This common process is seen extensively on Earth and has produced fantastic shapes on Mars, as well, including a flower-shaped rock.
Curiosity was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed by Caltech in Pasadena.
JPL leads the mission on behalf of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program portfolio.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia26634-curiositys-chemcam-views-a-rock-shaped-like-coral/
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia26633-curiosity-views-a-martian-rock-shaped-like-coral/
NASA Invites Media to View Heliophysics, NOAA Space Weather Missions
Aug 08, 2025
NASA invites media to view the agency’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) spacecraft and two other missions — the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On–Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) observatory, which will launch along with IMAP as rideshares.
Media will have the opportunity to photograph the three spacecraft and speak with subject matter experts representing all three missions.
The event will take place on Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Astrotech Space Operations payload processing facility in Titusville, Florida. Confirmed media will receive additional details after registering.
To participate in the event, media must RSVP by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19, by submitting their request online at: https://media.ksc.nasa.gov.
The IMAP mission will study the heliosphere, a vast magnetic bubble created by the Sun that protects our solar system from radiation incoming from interstellar space.
Carruthers will use its ultraviolet cameras to monitor how material from the Sun impacts the outermost part of Earth’s atmosphere.
The SWFO-L1 mission will observe solar eruptions, and monitor incoming space weather 24/7, providing early warnings and validating forecasts that protect vital communication and navigation infrastructure, economic interests, and national security, both on Earth and in space.
NASA is targeting no earlier than September for the launch of these three missions on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
Facility Access
Due to spacecraft cleanliness requirements, this invitation is open to a limited number of media with no more than two individuals per media organization.
This event is open to U.S. citizens who possess a valid government-issued photo identification and proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate.
Media attending this event must comply with cleanroom guidelines.
This includes wearing specific cleanroom garments; avoiding cologne, cosmetics, and high-heeled shoes; cleaning camera equipment under the supervision or assistance of contamination control specialists; and placing all electronics in airplane mode in the designated areas near the spacecraft.
NASA will provide detailed guidance to approved media.
Observatories Information
The three observatories are preparing to launch to Lagrange point 1, which lies about a million miles from Earth toward the Sun. There, they will orbit this gravitational balance point, holding a steady position between Earth and the Sun.
NASA’s IMAP will use its 10 instruments to map the heliosphere’s edge and reveal how the Sun accelerates charged particles, filling in essential puzzle pieces to understand the space weather environment across the solar system.
The mission’s varied instruments also will provide near real-time space weather data to scientists on Earth.
The Carruthers observatory will image the glow of ultraviolet light emitted by the uppermost parts of Earth’s atmosphere — called the geocorona — to help researchers understand how our planet’s atmosphere is shaped by conditions in space.
NOAA’s SWFO-L1 will use its suite of instruments to sample the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field, while its onboard coronagraph will detect coronal mass ejections and other solar events.
Together, these real-time observations of space weather enable precautionary actions to protect satellites, power grids, aviation, and communication and navigation technology.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-view-heliophysics-noaa-space-weather-missions/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/imap/
comin' in hot
Rare Type of Black Hole Snacks on Star
Aug 08, 2025
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory teamed up to identify a new possible example of a rare class of black holes, identified by X-ray emission (in purple) in this image released on July 24, 2025.
Called NGC 6099 HLX-1, this bright X-ray source seems to reside in a compact star cluster in a giant elliptical galaxy.
These rare black holes are called intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) and weigh between a few hundred to a few 100,000 times the mass of our Sun.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/rare-type-of-black-hole-snacks-on-star/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/chandra/
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-chandra-spot-rare-type-of-black-hole-eating-a-star/
Clear As Day
Aug. 6, 2025
‘Float rocks,’ sand ripples, and vast distances are among the sights to see in the latest high-resolution panorama by the six-wheeled scientist.
The imaging team of NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took advantage of clear skies on the Red Planet to capture one of the sharpest panoramas of its mission so far.
Visible in the mosaic, which was stitched together from 96 images taken at a location the science team calls “Falbreen,” are a rock that appears to lie on top of a sand ripple, a boundary line between two geologic units, and hills as distant as 40 miles (65 kilometers) away.
The enhanced-color version shows the Martian sky to be remarkably clear and deceptively blue, while in the natural-color version, it’s reddish.
“Our bold push for human space exploration will send astronauts back to the Moon,” said Sean Duffy, acting NASA administrator.
“Stunning vistas like that of Falbreen, captured by our Perseverance rover, are just a glimpse of what we’ll soon witness with our own eyes.
NASA’s groundbreaking missions, starting with Artemis, will propel our unstoppable journey to take human space exploration to the Martian surface.
NASA is continuing to get bolder and stronger.”
The rover’s Mastcam-Z instrument captured the images on May 26, 2025, the 1,516th Martian day, or sol, of Perseverance’s mission, which began in February 2021 on the floor of Jezero Crater.
Perseverance reached the top of the crater rim late last year.
“The relatively dust-free skies provide a clear view of the surrounding terrain,” said Jim Bell, Mastcam-Z’s principal investigator at Arizona State University in Tempe.
“And in this particular mosaic, we have enhanced the color contrast, which accentuates the differences in the terrain and sky.”
Buoyant Boulder
One detail that caught the science team’s attention is a large rock that appears to sit atop a dark, crescent-shaped sand ripple to the right of the mosaic’s center, about 14 feet (4.4 meters) from the rover.
Geologists call this type of rock a “float rock” because it was more than likely formed someplace else and transported to its current location.
Whether this one arrived by a landslide, water, or wind is unknown, but the science team suspects it got here before the sand ripple formed.
The bright white circle just left of center and near the bottom of the image is an abrasion patch. This is the 43rd rock Perseverance has abraded since it landed on Mars.
Two inches (5 centimeters) wide, the shallow patch is made with the rover’s drill and enables the science team to see what’s beneath the weathered, dusty surface of a rock before deciding to drill a core sample that would be stored in one of the mission’s titanium sample tubes.
The rover made this abrasion on May 22 and performed proximity science (a detailed analysis of Martian rocks and soil) with its arm-mounted instruments two days later.
The science team wanted to learn about Falbreen because it’s situated within what may be some of the oldest terrain Perseverance has ever explored — perhaps even older than Jezero Crater.
Tracks from the rover’s journey to the location can be seen toward the mosaic’s right edge. About 300 feet (90 meters) away, they veer to the left, disappearing from sight at a previous geologic stop the science team calls “Kenmore.”
A little more than halfway up the mosaic, sweeping from one edge to the other, is the transition from lighter-toned to darker-toned rocks. This is the boundary line, or contact, between two geologic units.
The flat, lighter-colored rocks nearer to the rover are rich in the mineral olivine, while the darker rocks farther away are believed to be much older clay-bearing rocks.
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-perseverance-rover-captures-mars-vista-as-clear-as-day/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance/
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/mars-rovers/what-would-mars-look-like-under-an-earth-like-blue-sky-nasa-perseverance-rover-just-showed-us
Scientists capture bridge of stray stars being sucked from one galaxy to another
August 8, 2025
Astronomers have spotted two massive galaxies locked in a cosmic tug-of-war 700 million light-years from Earth — and for the first time in such a nearby galaxy, watched as a faint stream of stars is being pulled from one into the other.
The observations, made in the galaxy cluster Abell 3667, revealed a faint, million light-year-long bridge of stars connecting its two brightest galaxies.
Astronomers say the cluster is actually the result of two smaller clusters that began merging about a billion years ago, each with its own dominant central galaxy.
As these giants — and their satellite galaxies — continue to merge, the bridge of stars between them offers rare insights into the clusters' history and the powerful gravitational forces at play.
"This is the first time a feature of this scale and size has been found in a local galaxy cluster," Anthony Englert, a Ph.D. candidate at Brown University in Rhode Island, who led a new paper describing the observations, said in a statement.
"It was a huge surprise that we were able to image such a faint feature."
The bridge is made of intracluster light, or ICL, a diffuse glow from stars that have been stripped from their home galaxies by intense gravitational forces.
Englert and his team were able to detect this dim bridge by stacking 28 hours of observations taken over several years using the Dark Energy Camera at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
"It was just a happy coincidence that so many people had imaged Abell 3667 over the years, and we were able to stack all of those observations together," Englert said in the statement.
At the top of the bridge lies the lenticular (disc-shaped) galaxy IC 4965, along with a small group of galaxies that are still falling into the cluster.
At the bottom of it is JO171, a striking "jellyfish galaxy" named for the long tendrils of gas trailing from one side.
As it merges into Abell 3667, JO171 is being stripped of gas, shutting down star formation in part of its ring-like structure, according to the statement.
Beyond its visual beauty, the light bridge also provides a valuable probe of dark matter, the invisible substance believed to make up roughly 80% of the universe's mass.
Because intracluster light tends to trace the same paths as dark matter, it offers an indirect way to map its distribution, astronomers say.
"The distribution of this light should mirror the distribution of dark matter, so it provides an indirect way to 'see' the dark matter," study co-author Ian Dell'Antonio of Brown University said in the statement.
The study also highlights the kind of discoveries that are expected to soon become routine with the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scheduled to begin full operations later this year or in early 2026.
Rubin's Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will map the southern sky in unprecedented detail over a 10-year period using the world's largest digital camera, bringing to light galaxy clusters like Abell 3667.
"What we did is just a small sliver of what Rubin is going to be able to do," Englert said in the statement. "It's really going to blow the study of the ICL wide open."
https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/scientists-capture-bridge-of-stray-stars-being-sucked-from-one-galaxy-to-another
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ade8f1
https://www.brown.edu/news/2025-08-05/galaxy-merger
Satellites watch France's largest wildfire in 75 years burn an area larger than Paris
August 8, 2025
Satellite images reveal the scope of destruction in the south of France caused by the worst wildfire to hit the country in over seven decades.
The fire was first detected on Tuesday (Aug. 5), near the town of Ribaute in the Aude region in the southeast of France.
Within less than four days, it turned some 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) of forests and agricultural land into ashes — an area larger than France's capital Paris.
The scope of the fire was captured in dramatic images taken by the high-resolution Pleiades Neo satellites operated by the European aerospace giant Airbus.
At its peak strength, the blaze was devouring about 2,470 acres (1,000 hectares) of land per hour, fanned by strong winds blowing from the Mediterranean Sea.
Within two days of its ignition, the fire devoured 40,000 acres (16,000 hectares). At least one person died, and 13 others were injured as the fire engulfed several villages in the wine-making region, according to the BBC.
The Pleiades Neo images, taken the day after the fire started, reveal swaths of scorched land as well as burning hotspots and thick plumes of smoke covering the land. In some images, firefighting planes flying over the affected region can be seen.
NASA's Terra and Landsat 9 satellites also spotted the fire, revealing its fast-paced progress. The Terra image, obtained with the Moderate Resolution Images Spectroradiometer (MODIS), shows the situation in natural colors at 11:20 a.m. local time on Aug. 6.
The false-color images from Landsat 9, obtained one hour later, are a combination of shortwave infrared, near infrared and optical wavelengths, which together allow it to reveal the freshly burned ground that would otherwise be obscured by a thick layer of smoke.
Firefighters mostly contained the wildfire by Thursday evening, Aug. 7, according to Al Jazeera, but local authorities said it would take days to completely extinguish the remaining burning spots.
France's officials attributed the fire, the worst to have hit the country since 1949, to worsening climate change.
France's popular Mediterranean coast has been hit particularly hard this year, registering over 9,000 wildfire breakouts since the beginning of the summer season, according to Al Jazeera.
The summer of 2025 is shaping up as one of the hottest on record in western Europe, with temperature records having been broken in the month of June, according to the E.U. environmental service Copernicus.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/satellites-watch-frances-largest-wildfire-in-75-years-burn-an-area-larger-than-paris
https://x.com/AirbusSpace/status/1953444134766752191
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154654/wildfire-sweeps-through-southern-france
Scientists find oldest-known black hole in the universe: 'This is about as far back as you can practically go'
August 8, 2025
A team of astronomers says it has identified the most distant black hole ever confirmed — a cosmic heavyweight that formed just 500 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only about 3% of its current age.
The discovery sets a new benchmark for how early supermassive black holes can form and raises questions about their origin and growth.
"When looking for black holes, this is about as far back as you can practically go," Anthony Taylor, a postdoctoral fellow at the Cosmic Frontier Center at the University of Texas at Austin, who led the discovery, said in a statement.
"We're really pushing the boundaries of what current technology can detect."
The black hole sits at the center of a galaxy named CAPERS-LRD-z9, which was first flagged by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as a promising candidate to follow up on during its survey of the universe's earliest galaxies.
That survey aimed to confirm or refute more than 100 candidate galaxies, creating a robust dataset for studying early galaxy formation and evolution.
CAPERS-LRD-z9 belongs to a mysterious class of compact, early galaxies dubbed "Little Red Dots" for their intensely bright red appearance in telescope images.
These galaxies have been found only within the first 1.5 billion years of cosmic history and have puzzled astronomers since the JWST's first observations of them.
Typically, a very high level of brightness would suggest a galaxy teeming with stars — but according to galaxy evolution models, galaxies this early in the universe's history shouldn't have had enough time to form the number of stars needed to account for the brightness observed in the Little Red Dots.
This contradiction led researchers to consider an alternative source of the brightness: black holes, which can shine intensely as they consume matter and release vast amounts of energy.
To confirm the presence of a black hole in CAPERS-LRD-z9, Taylor and his team used a technique called spectroscopy, which splits light into its component wavelengths.
Astronomers know that as gas spirals into a black hole, it accelerates to extreme speeds. Light from gas moving away is stretched into redder wavelengths, while gas moving toward us is compressed into bluer wavelengths — a telltale sign of matter orbiting a black hole.
"There aren't many other things that create this signature," Taylor said in the statement. "And this galaxy has it!"
The newly discovered black hole is estimated to weigh up to 300 million times the mass of our sun, equivalent to nearly half the mass of all the stars in the black hole's host galaxy.
Even by the standards of supermassive black holes, that's colossal, astronomers say.
"This adds to growing evidence that early black holes grew much faster than we thought possible," study co-author Steven Finkelstein of the University of Texas, said in the same statement.
"Or they started out far more massive than our models predict." "The discovery of Little Red Dots was a major surprise from early JWST data," he added.
"Now, we're in the process of figuring out what they're like and how they came to be."
https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/scientists-find-oldest-known-black-hole-in-the-universe-this-is-about-as-far-back-as-you-can-practically-go
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ade789
Trump reveals location for Putin summit
8 Aug, 2025 22:31
US President Donald Trump has said that he will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska next Friday.
Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov confirmed immediately afterward that Moscow and Washington will be working on making the Alaska summit happen.
“The highly anticipated meeting between myself, as President of the United States of America, and President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, will take place next Friday, August 15, 2025, in the Great State of Alaska,” Trump announced on Truth Social on Friday.
According to the Kremlin, the upcoming meeting will revolve around reaching a longstanding peace in the Ukraine conflict.
Moscow expects that the two leaders’ next meeting after this will take place in Russia, the presidential aide said. Trump has officially been sent an invitation, he added.
The US president’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow on Wednesday for a meeting with Putin that Trump later called “highly productive.”
The US leader has expressed his growing impatience with the pace of peace talks dedicated to resolving the Ukraine conflict, and has threatened to impose further secondary sanctions on Russian trade partners.
According to the Kremlin, Moscow had received an “acceptable” offer from the US during Witkoff’s visit.
Russia had long said that it was interested in a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict, but has insisted on one that brings about a permanent and stable peace.
Russia and Ukraine have held three rounds of direct talks in Istanbul: in May, June, and late July. While the sides have failed to reach a breakthrough, they agreed to exchange prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Russia insists that a sustainable peace deal must include Ukraine’s commitment to stay out of NATO, demilitarization, and the recognition of the new territorial reality on the ground. Kiev has rejected these terms.
https://www.rt.com/news/622684-trump-time-place-putin-summit/
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114995403653615328
US role in nuclear bombings omitted at commemoration events
9 Aug, 2025 09:02
The United States’ role in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki 80 years ago went unmentioned during the city’s commemoration events on Friday, continuing a long-standing practice at such memorials.
Speeches by Japanese and international officials focused on the destruction caused by the bomb and calls for nuclear disarmament, but avoided naming the US as the country that carried out the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final stage of World War Two.
“We must pass down as memories what unfolded here in Japan 80 years ago — the reality and the tragedy of war, and the brutal impact of the harm wrought by the atomic bombings,” Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in remarks delivered by his disarmament chief Izumi Nakamitsu, urged nations to “move from words to action by strengthening the global disarmament regime,” with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) at its core.
Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki called on world leaders to present a “specific course of action for achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons.”
The US remains the only nation to have used nuclear weapons in warfare – a fact that was also left unacknowledged during Wednesday’s commemoration of the Hiroshima bombing.
The attacks killed an estimated 200,000 civilians and have been defended by US officials as necessary to avoid a costly invasion of Japan.
However, a 1946 US Strategic Bombing Survey concluded that “Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped.”
Last month, the US carried out airstrikes on three Iranian sites tied to Tehran’s nuclear program. Washington said the attacks were aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, a goal Tehran denies pursuing.
Under the NPT, signatories, including the Islamic Republic, are entitled to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Several nations, including Russia and China, have accused the US of seriously undermining global non-proliferation efforts with its strikes on the Iranian facilities.
https://www.rt.com/news/622698-japan-atomic-bombings-us/
Trump considers territory swap between Russia and Ukraine
8 Aug, 2025 21:42
The peace deal to settle the Russia-Ukraine conflict would likely involve some exchange of territory between the two countries, US President Donald Trump said on Friday.
The US president made the remarks as he hosted the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia at the White House to ink a joint declaration on opening a major transport route between the two Caucasus nations, which had been locked in a conflict for over three decades.
“It’s very complicated. But we’re going to get some [territory] back, and we’re going to get some switched.
There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both, but we’ll be talking about that either later or tomorrow,” Trump stated without elaborating which territories exactly could be involved in the potential swap.
The Russian military is currently in control of patches of land along the border in the Ukrainian regions of Kharkov and Sumy.
The Russian military took the latter earlier this year following the defeat and the expulsion of the Ukrainian invasion force that attacked Russia’s Kursk Region last August.
The capture of the Russian land around the border town of Sudzha had been touted by the Ukrainian leadership as a bargaining chip and leverage for the potential peace talks.
Moscow’s territorial control over three of the four formerly Ukrainian territories it incorporated into Russia after a series of referendums in late 2022 remains incomplete.
The Russian military has recently liberated the entirety of the Lugansk People’s Republic, while active hostilities continue in the neighboring People’s Republic.
Zaporozhye and Kherson regions are both claimed by Russia and Ukraine in their entirety while both hold only part of them. Moscow does not control the namesake capital cities in either.
The Russian leadership has demanded a full withdrawal of Kiev’s troops from the aforementioned territories, reiterating its position in a draft memorandum outlining Moscow’s roadmap toward ending the conflict during recent direct talks hosted by Türkiye.
https://www.rt.com/russia/622683-trump-russia-ukraine-swap/
Ukraine conflict could have become ‘world war’ – Trump
9 Aug, 2025 02:46
The Ukraine conflict could have escalated into World War III under his predecessor Joe Biden, US President Donald Trump has claimed.
He has frequently argued that global tensions peaked when relations between Moscow and Washington hit their lowest point during the Biden administration.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has reestablished US diplomatic ties with Russia, which had been suspended since the conflict’s escalation in February 2022.
Speaking to journalists at the White House on Friday, Trump claimed that, if not for his administration’s actions, the Ukraine conflict “would have ended up being a world war."
“We’ve brought it down a long way, but when I first came in, I thought, ‘Wow, this thing is really bad,’” Trump added. “Now the only question is: when is it going to be settled? And it could be very soon,” he said.
The president again labeled the conflict “Biden’s war” and criticized what he described as the previous administration’s vast military support for Kiev. “Through Biden and his people, we’re probably in for $350 billion,” he said.
Trump has previously indicated that he intends to recoup those funds through a minerals deal with Kiev, signed earlier this year.
However, analysts note that much of Ukraine’s mineral wealth is concentrated in the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, territories that voted to join Russia in 2022.
Moscow has framed the Ukraine conflict as a NATO proxy war and has long denounced Western military aid to Kiev. The Kremlin maintains that the bloc’s eastward expansion and Ukraine’s ambitions to join are key drivers of the hostilities.
Since taking office, Trump has reduced American arms shipments to Ukraine, with his administration – including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio – openly characterizing the conflict as a proxy war against Russia.
Kremlin officials have stated that securing a peaceful resolution will be the central focus of the upcoming bilateral meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
https://www.rt.com/news/622686-ukraine-conflict-world-war-trump/
Zelensky trashes Trump’s peace terms
9 Aug, 2025 09:36
Vladimir Zelensky has rejected US President Donald Trump’s call for territorial concessions to Russia, claiming no such agreement would be accepted by the Ukrainian people.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow this week and reportedly made significant progress toward a compromise aimed at ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The US president said the proposal includes “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both” sides and that Zelensky would need to find a way to approve such a deal under Ukrainian law.
In his regular video address on Saturday, Zelensky stressed that Ukraine’s borders are defined by its constitution and that “nobody can or will” make concessions on the issue. “The Ukrainians will not give their land to the occupiers,” he proclaimed.
Zelensky added that Ukrainians will only respect a “real, living peace,” warning that “any decision taken against us and without us, without Ukraine, would be a decision against peace.”
Earlier this week, Zelensky acknowledged that Ukraine is not in a position to forcibly retake Russian territories claimed by Kiev.
The Ukrainian military relies heavily on Western weapons, funding and intelligence. The government is counting on sustained long-term support.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused Zelensky of denying reality and prolonging a conflict he cannot win. Moscow says it intends to achieve its core national security objectives, preferably through diplomacy.
The Ukrainian Constitution, which Zelensky cited, also requires a president to hand power to either a newly elected successor or the parliament speaker when their term ends.
Zelensky did neither when his term expired last year, retaining power under martial law.
Last month, Zelensky clashed with Ukraine’s foreign backers after his administration pushed through legislation eliminating the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, created in 2015 under Western pressure.
However, he quickly reversed the measure after aid donors threatened to suspend assistance.
https://www.rt.com/russia/622699-zelensky-trump-peace-deal/
Ukrainian drone smashes into Russian residential tower – governor
9 Aug, 2025 12:53
A Ukrainian kamikaze drone struck a residential high-rise in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don overnight, according to acting Rostov Region Governor Yury Slyusar.
Russia’s military said it intercepted more than 110 Ukrainian kamikaze drones overnight, most over the Kursk, Bryansk and Kaluga regions. Another 44 drones were shot down between 8am and noon Moscow time.
The drone impact in Rostov caused a fire on the 18th floor of a 20-story building, Slyusar said, adding that no casualties were reported because the damaged apartment was unoccupied.
In Kaluga Region, debris from a downed drone hit a private home, causing damage, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin reported that two drones were destroyed en route to the Russian capital.
Ukrainian forces have stepped up the use of long-range drones to strike deep inside Russia, as battlefield conditions worsen for Kiev’s troops.
Russian officials have accused Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in some cases, calling such tactics acts of terrorism.
Russia has conducted its own long-range strikes, but maintains that it targets only military-related sites such as troop concentrations, weapons depots and fuel storage facilities.
Kiev is currently facing mounting domestic and international pressure to seek a compromise peace with Moscow. On Friday, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky rejected a US call to consider territorial concessions in exchange for a truce.
This week also marked the anniversary of Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region – territory Kiev does not claim.
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Aleksandr Syrsky called the operation a “brilliant” morale boost despite losses on the battlefield, telling local media he was planning more offensives because “you can’t achieve victory by defending.”
Russian forces repelled the Kursk incursion in April, with Moscow estimating Ukrainian military losses at roughly 76,000.
https://www.rt.com/russia/622700-ukrainian-drones-rostov-moscow/
Drone hits furniture store in Kharkiv, six people injured
09.08.2025 17:53
In Kharkiv, an enemy drone hit a furniture store, and six people are currently known to have been injured.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported the news on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.
“We have information about an enemy UAV hitting a furniture store in the Kyivskyi district of Kharkiv. At this moment, six people are known to have been injured,” Terekhov wrote.
Emergency services are working at the scene.
Later, the Head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, clarified on Telegram that a 17-year-old girl was among the victims in the Kyivskyi district of Kharkiv. Four injured women were hospitalized.
According to Ukrinform, over the past day, Russian troops shelled 13 settlements in the Kharkiv region. Seven people were injured in the enemy attacks, including a minor girl.
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4023934-drone-hits-furniture-store-in-kharkiv-six-people-injured.html
Dozens of flights delayed at Russia's Sochi airport following reported drone attacks
August 9, 2025 5:40 pm
Flights were heavily delayed on Aug. 9 at Sochi Airport in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, amid reports of drone attacks in the region.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Aug. 9 that air defenses had shot down 10 drones over Krasnodar Krai.
Russia frequently shuts down airspace over its cities in response to Ukrainian drone attacks, though Kyiv typically refrains from commenting on such operations.
Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, also known as Rosaviatsiya, closed the airspace over Sochi twice on Aug. 8, with restrictions continuing the next day.
By the morning of Aug. 9, 57 flights had been delayed and another one had been canceled, according to independent outlet Meduza, citing data from a flight-tracking app.
Flight delays lasted for several hours, leading to large crowds forming at Sochi Airport.
The disruption also affected airports in Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Novokuznetsk, and Norilsk, according to the West Siberian Transport Prosecutor's Office, which reported that around 1,000 passengers were left waiting for their flights.
In July, nearly every day of the month, at least one operating Russian airport was temporarily shut down.
"This hits the morale of the Russian people," Ivan Stupak, a military commentator and former officer of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), told the Kyiv Independent.
"They're used to seeing the war only through YouTube — so they just turn off YouTube, and suddenly it feels like the war is not real.
But with what we're doing, we're sending a clear message — the war is very real, and your comfort lies in our hands."
According to Stupak, Ukraine designs drone flight paths to pass within 100–150 kilometers (62 to 93 miles) of major airports, forcing Russian air traffic controllers to activate emergency protocols.
https://kyivindependent.com/dozens-of-flights-delayed-at-russias-sochi-airport-following-reported-drone-attacks/
Yemen’s Houthis Claim Three Drone Strikes Inside Israel
2025-08-09 15:41:53
Sana'a – Yemen’s Houthi movement announced Friday that it had launched three drone strikes deep inside Israeli territory, targeting strategic sites in Lod, Beersheba, and Ashkelon.
The attacks mark a dramatic escalation in the group’s involvement in the broader Middle East conflict, as it positions itself as a military actor in solidarity with Gaza.
Brigadier General Yahya Saree, spokesperson for the Houthi-led Yemeni Armed Forces, said in a televised statement that the operations were “qualitative and successful,” claiming the drones struck Ben Gurion Airport in Lod and undisclosed “vital targets” in Beersheba and Ashkelon.
He warned international shipping companies operating in Israeli ports that their vessels “will be targeted regardless of destination” unless they cease cooperation.
Israeli military sources confirmed that two drones were intercepted without triggering air raid sirens, in line with current defense protocols.
However, footage and reports from regional media suggest that at least one drone may have reached its target, causing panic and temporary disruption.
The strikes come just days after the Houthis claimed responsibility for launching a hypersonic missile—dubbed “Palestine-2”—toward Ben Gurion Airport, in retaliation for what they described as Israeli provocations at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
https://www.yemenonline.info/politics/9914
Israel at War day 672: What is going on in Israel, Gaza?
August 9, 7:31 PM
August 9, 2:48 PM
Rocket sirens sounded in Sufa near the Gaza border
Rocket sirens sounded in Kibbutz Sufa near the Gaza Strip early Saturday morning.
The IDF determined that the sirens in the kibbutz were a false alarm.
This is a developing story.
August 9, 12:08 PM
US politicians from both major parties voice concern over Israel's Gaza City operation
The Israeli security cabinet approved that morning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to take over the Palestinian city.
US officials from both the Democratic and Republican parties have voiced either opposition or concern on Friday for Israel's planned operation to take over Gaza City.
The Israeli security cabinet approved that morning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to take over the Palestinian city, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed.
August 9, 9:21 AM
IDF soldier killed in car accident in southern Israel
The soldier's family has been notified of the death.
August 9, 8:36 AM
IDF strikes vehicle in southern Syria carrying large machine gun
The IDF struck an armed vehicle carrying a heavy machine gun in the area of southern Syria, the military said Friday night.
August 9, 8:02 AM
Hostage survivors, family members hold Kabbalat Shabbat outside Katz home
"I would give everything to see my Matan beside me tonight,” Zangauker said.
Hamas captivity survivors and families of hostages held a Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday evening outside the home of Defense Minister Israel Katz in protest of the Gaza City occupation plan.
August 9, 7:55 AM=
'Taking control of Gaza City endangers hostages': Nat'l Sc. Advisor Hanegbi slams war plans - N12
N12 noted that Hanegbi's opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is exceedingly rare.
National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi slammed Israel's incoming occupation of Gaza City in the cabinet on Friday.
"I’m not willing to give up on saving the hostages," said Hanegbi in the cabinet, as reported by N12 on Friday.
"I don’t understand how someone who has watched the videos of Evyatar and Rom, and all those released before them, can support the statement 'all or nothing.'
That means giving up the chance to rescue at least 10 hostages immediately, because Hamas won’t respond to that demand."
August 9, 6:22 AM
UN Security Council to meet in rare Saturday session over Israel's Gaza plan
The United Nations Security Council will meet on Saturday to discuss the situation in the Middle East, according to its schedule released on Friday after Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to take control of Gaza City.
Ambassador Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, earlier on Friday said a number of countries would be requesting a meeting of the UN Security Council on Israel's plans.
The meeting will take place at 3 p.m. local time on Saturday, the schedule says.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/2025-08-08/live-updates-863630
Greece and Italy join aid airdrops as 106 pallets land in Gaza today, IDF says
Today, 5:14 pm
Aircraft from the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Germany, the Netherlands, and — for the first time — Greece and Italy, airdropped 106 pallets of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip today, the IDF says.
Each pallet contains around one ton of food.
Since July 26, when Israel adopted a new policy to let more aid into the Strip, over 1,000 humanitarian aid packages have been airdropped in the Gaza Strip by 12 countries, including Israel, according to the military. The packages the IDF airdropped were supplied by international aid groups.
Israel re-adopted the policy amid mounting international criticism over the hunger crisis in Gaza. But airdrops are only able to deliver a small fraction of what can come into Gaza by land.
They also pose safety risks for the civilians who can be hit by the packages from above.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/germany-and-italy-join-gaza-aid-airdrops-as-106-pallets-land-in-gaza-today-idf-says/
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-lioness-of-judea-celebrating-women-in-the-idf/
The Lioness of Judea: Celebrating Women in the IDF
Aug 9, 2025, 3:32 PM
Resilience and Equality in the IDF Show How Israeli Servicewomen Are Shaping the Nation’s Future
Israel’s military is a symbol of strength, resilience, and unity. For decades, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has been a leader in gender equality within the armed forces, an inspiring example for the world.
The recent announcement of Lt.-Col. B becoming the first female commander of a UAV squadron in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) only adds to the growing legacy of Israeli servicewomen.
These women do not only fight for Israel’s security; they stand as powerful symbols of resilience, breaking barriers and redefining leadership.
For many, the name “Lioness of Judea” immediately conjures images of fierce, brave, and resilient warriors.
But it seems more fitting now than ever to apply it to the remarkable women in Israel’s military, who have proven that courage and strength have no gender.
The IDF’s commitment to gender equality is often overlooked in discussions about the military, yet the advancements are nothing short of extraordinary.
Take Operation Rising Lion, for instance, an operation that not only showcased the IDF’s military prowess but also marked a historic moment for women in combat aviation.
For the first time in history, two female officers – a pilot and a navigator – flew an IAF fighter jet as a team, setting a new precedent for what women in the IDF can achieve.
These groundbreaking moments are not just symbolic. They are a testament to the IDF’s dedication to ensuring that women serve on equal footing with men, excelling in every arena of Israel’s military.
This was not the first time the IDF has made history in this regard. Just last month, the IAF appointed its first-ever female UAV squadron commander, Lt.-Col. B.
Her appointment marks yet another milestone, but it is not surprising to those who have long admired Israel’s approach to integrating women into military leadership.
From fighter pilots to combat medics, women in the IDF continue to rise to the challenge, breaking glass ceilings with grace and resilience.
But this transformation is not confined to the skies. Women have played an essential role in every aspect of Israel’s military – from intelligence to ground forces, from cyber warfare to logistical support.
The stories of servicewomen like Sarah Weinstein, a Holocaust survivor who became an active member of the IDF, are a reminder of the deep history and commitment women have had in Israel’s defense.
It is said that resilience is part of the Jewish identity, but what we often forget is how this resilience is cultivated through figures like Weinstein, who not only survived the horrors of the Holocaust but later served in the IDF, building the foundation for Israel’s strength.
Women like Lt.-Col. B and Sarah Weinstein epitomize the courage of those who never back down from a challenge. Their stories are a beacon of hope, showing that no barrier is insurmountable when determination fuels your drive.
One of the most inspiring aspects of women in the IDF is the leadership they bring. In the past, female soldiers served in combat positions, but the leadership roles they occupy today go far beyond that.
Women like Lt.-Col. B are not simply members of the IDF, they are trailblazers. They are rewriting the rules, proving that leadership in military operations, in intelligence, and in high-pressure situations is not a function of gender but of grit, talent, and commitment.
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Perhaps even more impactful than the appointments themselves is the effect these role models have on the future. Female leadership in the IDF does not just serve the nation; it sets an example for young Israeli women.
When young girls look up to leaders like Lt.-Col. B, they see not only a woman in uniform but a woman in power, someone who has earned her place through hard work, intellect, and integrity.
This representation is pivotal to Israel’s future, as it nurtures a generation that values equality, leadership, and the potential of every citizen, regardless of gender.
But the success of servicewomen is not merely an issue of individual achievement. It is a reflection of Israel’s broader commitment to fostering collaboration and unity.
By ensuring that every soldier, regardless of gender, has access to the same opportunities, the IDF embodies the spirit of renewal that defines Israel’s ongoing evolution.
The recent surge of Israeli women joining elite combat and leadership roles in the military speaks to a future where people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and genders can come together for a common cause.
Whether it is women flying fighter jets, commanding UAV squadrons, or leading ground forces, these milestones are vital to Israel’s defense and symbolize the renewal of a nation built on shared values of strength, resilience, and innovation.
The stories of Israel’s servicewomen are not just about breaking barriers, they are about building a future where the security of Israel is shared by all, regardless of gender.
This is the future of Israel: one of resilience in the face of adversity, of renewal through unity, and of innovation driven by diversity.
The journey of Israeli servicewomen is far from over, and the world is watching.
From the women piloting fighter jets to those commanding UAVs and serving in elite military intelligence units, these women are not just defending Israel, they are innovating the future of the country.
The lessons of gender equality in the military are making their way into all sectors of Israeli society.
They are changing what it means to be a leader and showing the world that true strength comes not from division, but from unity, collaboration, and the determination to succeed, no matter what.
As Israel continues to lead on the global stage, the stories of women like Lt.-Col. B and Sarah Weinstein will continue to inspire future generations.
Their contributions extend beyond military victories; they are shaping Israel’s future, a future defined by resilience, strength, and shared purpose.
In a world often divided by barriers, Israel’s servicewomen stand as a testament to the idea that together, as equals, we can overcome any challenge.
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Microsoft investigates ties with IDF after investigation reveals mass surveillance program
August 09, 2025 13:42
LONDON: Tech giant Microsoft is investigating how an elite Israeli military intelligence unit is using its Azure cloud service after an investigation revealed extensive ties between the two entities.
There are mounting concerns that Israeli staffers working at Microsoft’s facility in the country may have concealed major details from upper management about the nature of the sensitive military collaboration, The Guardian reported on Saturday.
Unit 8200, Israel’s military surveillance agency, is broadly comparable to the National Security Agency in the US.
Through its former head, who resigned in the wake of the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, the unit carried out extensive efforts to migrate data to Microsoft’s Azure cloud storage service.
It was part of a broader plan to execute mass surveillance of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, as revealed by a joint investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Hebrew-language outlet Local Call.
Unit 8200 chiefs aimed to intercept and record a million phone calls per hour from across the Occupied Territories, using the information to develop an extensive archive and history of Palestinian day-to-day life.
Sources from the unit who spoke to the investigation said some of the data gathered from the intercepted calls was used to identify targets for strikes in Gaza.
Now, senior executives from Microsoft are reportedly assessing the nature of information held by Unit 8200 on their servers.
Sources familiar with the situation told The Guardian that Microsoft’s leadership is deeply concerned that Israel-based staff may have hidden key details about their relationship with Unit 8200, and how the surveillance operation uses data stored on Azure.
In May, Microsoft claimed in a review of its relationship with the Israel Defense Forces that there was “no evidence to date” that Azure had been “used to target or harm people” in Gaza.
That claim, however, is understood to have been based on assurances from Microsoft’s Israel-based staff.
But senior executives at its US headquarters are beginning to doubt the accuracy of the information provided to them by Israeli staff, The Guardian reported.
They are also questioning whether Israeli employees may have felt more bound by their national loyalties than to Microsoft, causing them to conceal key information on behalf of the military.
The Guardian, using leaked documents from Microsoft, identified several of the tech firm’s Israel-based employees who were involved in managing projects with Unit 8200. All had previously posted online that they had served in, or were reservists for, the elite unit.
Microsoft has yet to launch another formal review into its ties to the Israeli military. A spokesperson said the company “takes these allegations seriously, as shown by our previous independent investigation.
“As we receive new information, we’re committed to making sure we have a chance to validate any new data and take any needed action.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611229/middle-east
IDF kills intelligence chief of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force
Aug. 9, 2025
The Israeli Air Force on Friday killed Muhammad Hamza Shahada, intelligence chief of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, in a strike near Aadloun in southwestern Lebanon’s Sidon District.
Shahada played a key role during the current war in strengthening the Radwan Force’s capabilities and operational readiness, the IDF said.
The elite terrorist force for years trained to invade northern Israel and seize communities under a plan known as “Conquer the Galilee,” on which Hamas modeled its Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre in the northwestern Negev.
“[Shahada’s] actions constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military said in a statement. “The IDF will continue to operate to remove threats posed to the citizens of Israel.”
The Israeli military on Thursday targeted and killed Muhammad Wishah, aka “Abu Khali,” a senior Syrian terrorist in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley.
He was appointed head of the PFLP’s Military-Security Department in Syria, after his predecessor, Shantal Al Aal, was killed in a hideout in Beirut in September 2024.
“The PLFP is a long-standing terrorist organization with a history of carrying out various terrorist attacks against Israelis in Israel and around the world,” the IDF said.
On Wednesday night, the army attacked Hezbollah targets in Southern Lebanon, hitting weapons storage facilities, a missile launcher and engineering equipment used to rebuild terrorist infrastructure.
A day earlier, Israel killed senior Hezbollah commander Hassam Qassem Ghrab in an airstrike in the Beqaa Valley. Ghrab was responsible for directing terrorist cells in Syria that were planning rocket attacks on the Golan Heights.
The counter-terror operations come as Beirut continues efforts to remove weapons from non-state actors, primarily Hezbollah. The process was prompted by U.S. demands for the Lebanese government to disarm the Iranian terrorist proxy.
Hezbollah began launching missiles and drones into northern Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, the day after the Hamas-led massacre.
Last fall, Hezbollah’s leadership suffered significant losses from a series of Israeli operations targeting its communications equipment, followed by intense airstrikes on its rocket arsenal.
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect on Nov. 27.
https://www.jns.org/idf-kills-intelligence-chief-of-hezbollahs-radwan-force/
Netanyahu: ‘We are not going to occupy Gaza’
Aug. 9, 2025
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday reiterated that Israel has no intention of occupying the Gaza Strip, saying the expansion of the war is aimed at destroying Hamas and freeing the local population from its regime of terror.
“We are not going to occupy Gaza—we are going to free Gaza from Hamas,” said Netanyahu.
“Gaza will be demilitarized, and a peaceful civilian administration will be established, one that is not the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, and not any other terrorist organization,” he continued.
“This will help free our hostages and ensure Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.”
The Israeli Security Cabinet overnight Thursday decided by a “decisive majority” to approve Netanyahu’s plan to defeat Hamas, including controlling Gaza City.
The Israel Defense Forces will prepare for “taking control of Gaza City, while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside the combat zones,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Friday.
The statement noted that the forum voted on five principles: disarming Hamas, returning all 50 hostages, demilitarizing Gaza, Israeli security control of the Strip and creating an alternative civil administration.
“Ultimately, what Israel needs to do for Israel’s security will be determined by Israel,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday, adding that as long as Hamas remains armed, there will never be peace in Gaza.
“Hamas is not going to suddenly change and go into another line of work,” said Rubio. “Their reason for existing is they want to destroy Israel.
They want to drive every Jew out of the Middle East. That’s their goal. And as long as a group like that has weapons and the ability to fight, they’re a threat to peace.”
Earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu confirmed that Israel intends to take control of the entire enclave to eliminate Hamas and transfer authority to non-hostile “civilian governance.”
“We want to liberate ourselves and liberate the people of Gaza from the awful terror of Hamas,” the prime minister told Fox News.
He stressed that the Israeli government does not “want to keep it” after taking control of the 26-mile-long coastal enclave.
“We want to have a security perimeter,” Netanyahu said. “We don’t want to be there as a governing body. We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly, without threatening us, and giving Gazans a good life.”
The U.S. military is not a part of the newly announced plan, including taking Gaza City, Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon press secretary, told an Associated Press reporter during a Defense Department briefing on Thursday.
“I’ll just echo what the president has said. He wants to alleviate the suffering for the people of Gaza. He wants to see peace in the Middle East and in that region in particular,” Wilson said.
“We are in full support of that. The department does not at this time have a direct role, but if we are asked to support, we of course stand ready at the president’s direction.”
U.S. Ambassador to Jerusalem Mike Huckabee said on Friday that Hamas needs to listen to exactly what President Donald Trump says, “they need to disarm, leave and never think they have a future in Gaza again.”
Describing Hamas’s position as “absurd,” the envoy noted that “these are the people that raped women in front of their families, that beheaded babies and put them in ovens, that mutilated the bodies of their victims” during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
“They have the audacity to think that anyone is to blame but them,” Huckabee continued. “It’s why, frankly, Israel has made the decision they’ve made.
They cannot let this continue to go on. We saw the videos last weekend of hostages—you want to talk about starvation and hunger, the hostages are starving.
“It’s a tough situation and Israel did not start it, but it looks like they’re the only ones who are going to be able to finish it,” he said.
Israeli incursions in Syria's Quneitra following drone strike
Last Update 09 August, 2025 17:17 PM
Israeli forces infiltrated several towns and villages in southwest Syria’s Quneitra governorate on Saturday and carried out searches, a day after two airstrikes in the region.
Syria’s official news agency SANA said the Israeli soldiers set up checkpoints to search passersby in some areas.
The villages of Tal Ahmar, Ruwaihinah, and Rasm al-Halabi saw incursions by the Israeli army, which used vehicles and tanks.
SANA said the Israeli forces withdrew hours later.
It comes after two Israeli strikes on Friday targeted a security building and a vehicle in southern Syria.
Local sources told Anadolu Agency that an Israeli drone targeted the interior ministry’s headquarters in the town of Al-Salam in the Quneitra governorate just after 8 pm (5 pm GMT).
The sources added that the attack caused only material damage and no casualties.
It was unclear why that building was struck.
Separately, the Israeli military said that it struck a vehicle containing a machine gun in southern Syria, without providing further information.
Since the December overthrow of former president Bashar al-Assad's regime, Israel has expanded its military presence in war torn Syria's south and carried out hundreds of airstrikes, primarily targeting military and government sites.
Israeli troops have been deployed across the demilitarised zone on the Syrian side of the armistice line near the occupied Golan Heights, a boundary that once separated opposing forces.
The Israeli forces have since captured dozens of villages in the Quneitra governorate as well as the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, alleging security purposes after an Islamist government rose to power in Damascus in December.
A number of people have also been killed or detained, some of them accused by Israel of having ties to Iran or Iran-backed groups.
Israel has called for southern Syria to be demilitarised, warning the government in Damascus about deploying heavy arms there.
Amid these attacks, Israel and Syria have engaged in direct talks to reportedly reach a security deal and de-escalate tensions, with growing speculation that the two sides could also ink a peace agreement.
Some reports have suggested that Syria could even join the controversial US-brokered Abraham Accords and normalise ties with Israel.
https://www.newarab.com/news/israeli-incursions-syrias-quneitra-following-drone-strike
Punjab introduces modern drone rescue service for emergencies
August 09, 2025
The Punjab government has taken a major step forward in rescue operations as the Punjab Home Department has acquired modern drones capable of carrying out rescues in high-rise buildings, fire incidents, and hard-to-reach locations.
According to the Home Department on Friday, the drones will be able to safely airlift people trapped in dangerous or inaccessible places. During a test flight, the drone successfully rescued a 60-kg dummy.
Chairman Cabinet Committee on Law and Order and Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique, along with Punjab Home Secretary, witnessed the live rescue demonstration. IG Prisons and other senior officers were also present.
Khawaja Salman Rafique hailed the initiative as a significant milestone for Civil Defense, noting that its personnel serve as frontline responders during floods and emergency situations.
Punjab Home Secretary said that Civil Defense is being upgraded to meet global standards by equipping it with state-of-the-art technology.
He also announced the launch of a special mobile app for registering citizens as Civil Defense volunteers.
https://www.nation.com.pk/09-Aug-2025/punjab-introduces-modern-drone-rescue-service-for-emergencies
GOP Oversight Member Suggests Smithsonian Hiding Bones of Giants
August 8, 2025
In June, Rep. Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican serving on the House Oversight Committee, appeared on BlazeTV’s Prime Time with Alex Stein, where he discussed his belief that giants once existed.
Burlison told Stein he was scheduled to be at “NephCon 2025,” a conference focused on fringe topics including the biblical Nephilim —figures in Genesis that some interpret as the giant offspring of angels and human women.
He credited Timothy Alberino’s podcast with sending him “far down the rabbit hole,” eventually reaching claims that the Smithsonian Institution is hiding evidence, the bones of past giants that lived on the Earth.
Burlison suggested that, as a member of the Oversight Committee, he could investigate the Smithsonian, and suggested first developing a strategy with Stein.
The conversation followed their exchange on angels as “interdenominational beings.”
Burlison did speak at NephCon 2025 alongside Alberino, according to the event’s own promotion.
The Smithsonian has been the subject of Oversight hearings in the past, but there is no official record of a congressional investigation into their alleged hidden collection of giant bones.
https://meidasnews.com/news/gop-oversight-member-suggests-smithsonian-hiding-bones-of-giants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-2zy3gO48I
Who is Hiding the Bones of Giants and Why? | The Common Sense Show
May 9, 2025
Timothy Alberino joins Dave Hodges from the Common Sense Show to discuss recently discovered megaliths in the Amazon jungle of Peru, a potential lost city of giants, and the worldwide cover-up of giants.
They ask the questions; who is behind the cover-up of giants and for what purpose?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox3p3uwjBNg
https://www.youtube.com/@TimothyAlberino
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmBUFzlctC8 (L.A. Marzulli Giant Bones and Ancient Sites! Aug 8, 2023)
China Teaching AI to Kill Humans, Good Idea?
August 9, 2025
Exopolitics Week In Review
Congressman Eric Burlinson says the US Congress is ready to force disclosure of UFO-related special access programs if the Trump admin doesn’t. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1951951070520918128
Tucker Carlson says the government is under supernatural control and wants you not to believe in the supernatural https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1951953722537316773
Alex Collier recommends that Enki and the Nibiru beings should step aside from humanity’s current development. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1951982565344072026
Vice President JD Vance is “obsessed with the whole UFO thing”. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1952166345967329579
Why aren’t military witnesses with firsthand experiences with non-human intelligence not coming forward to testify before the US Congress? https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1952174980168384927
Some Star Trek humor. https://t.co/XEnxvq3BtD
Galactic Federation Envoy on a Mission to warn humanity of the AI Threat https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1952340933867147346
Telepathic communication between Valiant Thor and Dr. Andrea Martin where they discuss a variety of topics such as starseeds/galactic envoys being taken up on ET ships at night and choosing not to remember. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1952374775185109000
How would the US transport a 100kW Nuclear Reactor to the Moon: Boeing Starliner, SpaceX Starship, or secretly via a reverse engineered ARV/Solar Warden? https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1952758472308588972
Some say 3I/Atlas may be an ET craft (Avi Loeb) others that it is the returning Anunnaki (Kerry Cassidy), others that it is going to be used in a false flag alien event (e.g., Jeremy Corbell?).https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1953039424041652296
Tulsi Gabbard believes in extraterrestrial life but is very coy about what she is allowed to reveal in her official capacity as Director of National Intelligence. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1953041779986436286
Eric Davis says that NHI exist and are off-world (ET) beings yet insists that alien spacecraft have not been successfully reverse-engineered. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1953276992519897295
Portals, Space Arks, Galactic Federation Infiltration & AI Threat: Interview with Erica Amoreena: https://t.co/W8lXa0g0u1
Dave Akira’s channeled messages are very uplifting. I like a good dose of hopium sprinkled with realism. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1953594577224675783
The weaponization of robots and AI proceeds doggedly in the case of China. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1953775300254609685
President Trump’s summit where Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a historic peace agreement has profound exopolitical significance. https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1953815148377886993
3I/Atlas is a stealth space craft belonging to Jedi Navy Admirals in charge of the disclosure process: George Kavassilas Interview https://t.co/aiwgauf20o
Live Monthly Exopolitics Briefing – 3I/Atlas Alien Invasion Scare https://t.co/CBJLaEzoXD
https://exopolitics.org/3i-atlas-is-an-incoming-spacecraft-more-officials-believe-et-life-is-real/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3oyH-S_vho
https://www.youtube.com/@AlexCollierOfficial
Dr. Gregory Rogers: NASA Chief Flight Surgeon and Air Force Major
August 6, 2025
Witnessed a tictac shaped craft with an Air Force logo on it on close circuit tv in 1992.
Evdience of a reverse engineered UFO/UAP at Cape Canaveral.
https://projectcamelotportal.com/
https://projectcamelotportal.com/2025/08/06/dr-gregory-rogers-nasa-chief-flight-surgeon-and-air-force-major/
https://rumble.com/v6x84lo-dr.-gregory-rogers-nasa-chief-flight-surgeon-and-air-force-major.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14608915/nasa-official-breaks-silence-ufo-footage.html
https://www.ufonews.co/post/david-grusch-loses-2-5m-lawsuit
https://docs.uaprw.com/share/C24ZWtOT5sEb8zXx0h7ZeTxFW5sPYpLvGAxWrNO41EHjxLb5YQ
https://docs.uaprw.com/share/pqnubQnXdyjgfhxLFFOshAxC76qwyGylzFVmOl9HN37LVH8Sdv
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YmhsFKrLao
Whistleblower Loses $2.5M Lawsuit After Intelligence Community Destroys Him in 96 Hours - David Grusch
August 8, 2025
The legal battle between UFO whistleblower David Grusch and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office concluded on August 7, 2025, with a dismissal of the lawsuit that has significant implications for future whistleblower protections.
According to the court ruling, Grusch’s $2.5 million lawsuit failed to establish that the sheriff’s office violated Virginia privacy laws when they released his mental health records through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The controversy began within weeks of Grusch’s explosive July 26, 2023 congressional testimony, where he claimed under oath that the U.S. government has been secretly recovering and reverse-engineering alien spacecraft for decades.
According to investigative journalist Ross Coulthart, who originally interviewed Grusch for NewsNation, the whistleblower had voluntarily disclosed his mental health struggles during their interview, acknowledging that he suffered from PTSD after returning from Afghanistan and had experienced suicidal thoughts following a friend’s suicide.
The timeline of events raises serious questions about coordinated retaliation. According to Coulthart’s account, within 96 hours of Grusch’s congressional testimony embarrassing the Pentagon, journalist Ken Klippenstein from The Intercept filed Virginia FOIA requests targeting Grusch’s background.
In a subsequent Breaking Points interview, Klippenstein admitted he received “vague tips” from multiple intelligence community sources, describing them as “intel people” and “rank and file” sources who suggested he “look into Grusch’s background” and specifically directed him toward police records.
Klippenstein’s FOIA requests uncovered detailed records from two incidents in 2014 and 2018, with the latter involving what he described as “an angry, drunken rage where he was suicidal, asked his wife to kill him.”
According to the records obtained, Grusch’s wife called police, reported that guns were locked up, and he was subsequently placed in a mental facility for assessment before being released approximately one day later.
The legal foundation of Grusch’s case centered on Virginia Code Section 37.2–818, which explicitly requires involuntary detention records to remain confidential and specifically exempts them from FOIA disclosure.
According to the legal analysis presented, the statute contains “crystal clear language protecting records, relevant medical records, reports, and court documents pertaining to hearings related to temporary detention.”
Grusch’s legal team, led by a former intelligence community inspector general, built their case on both state privacy tort law and constitutional privacy rights, referencing precedents like Fairfax Hospital versus Curtis and the Parker versus Carilion Clinic decision that established Virginia’s robust medical privacy protections.
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However, the sheriff’s office mounted a strong procedural defense, filing what’s known as a plea in bar to dismiss the case before examining the underlying facts.
According to the court proceedings, they likely argued that these were simply police records rather than protected medical information, claimed legal immunity, or invoked statute of limitations defenses.
After postponing decisions following a June 2nd hearing, the court ultimately ruled that Virginia’s mental health confidentiality statute applies only to court files, not police records, and determined that the redacted release complied with FOIA requirements.
The case draws striking parallels to historical whistleblower persecution.
According to Coulthart’s analysis, the situation mirrors the treatment of Daniel Ellsberg 52 years ago, when “his psychiatrist’s office was burgled” in 1971 by the Nixon administration in an effort to discredit the Pentagon Papers whistleblower.
Reference to this historical precedent underscores how medical records have long been weaponized against those who challenge government secrecy.
The implications extend far beyond Grusch’s individual case.
The sophisticated coordination between intelligence community sources directing media attention to a whistleblower’s most vulnerable personal information while maintaining plausible deniability through legitimate FOIA processes reveals how modern character assassination campaigns operate in the digital age.
According to the timeline presented, this represents a new playbook for silencing whistleblowers — surgical strikes using legal systems and cooperative journalists to destroy credibility while keeping government hands technically clean.
Grusch retains the right to appeal the ruling within 30 days, though no appeal has been announced as of the dismissal date.
The case ultimately raises fundamental questions about the balance between government transparency and individual privacy rights, and whether current whistleblower protections are adequate to shield those who expose sensitive national security information from having their most private struggles used against them in the court of public opinion.
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https://avi-loeb.medium.com/on-the-uncertain-nature-of-3i-atlas-476865b5c96b
On the Uncertain Nature of 3I/ATLAS
August 9, 2025
At a relative speed exceeding 60 kilometers per second, any impact on the surface of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS would release an amount of energy that is tens of times larger than a TNT explosive with the impactor’s mass.
In particular, a collision of 3I/ATLAS with a 20-meter asteroid would release an energy equivalent of 20 megaton of TNT, of order a thousand Hiroshima atomic bombs.
The resulting explosion would cause tremendous damage to an interstellar object, even if its diameter is a thousand times larger than that of this impactor, namely as large as 20 kilometers — the estimated diameter of 3I/ATLAS based on its brightness.
If 3I/ATLAS is a rock, then it will shatter to pieces as a result of such a powerful collision in the Solar system. Nature does not mourn devastated rocks, as rock collisions are a common natural occurrence.
For example, the Moon is believed to have been created by a collision of a Mars-sized object, Theia, with Earth, about 4.5 billion years ago.
This was followed by a Large Heavy Bombardment of asteroids that were demolished on the surface of Earth about 3.8–4.1 billion years ago.
But if 3I/ATLAS is a spacecraft, then its makers might have been concerned about its long-term survival as it passes through asteroid belts of planetary systems like the Solar system.
3I/ATLAS is currently passing through the main asteroid belt of the Solar System, a torus-shaped region at a distance of a few times the Earth-Sun separation. There are about a trillion rocks bigger than 20 meters inside this region, posing a potential threat to the integrity of 3I/ATLAS.
To protect an interstellar spacecraft of that scale, its creators might have designed it to spray a stream of particles ahead of it, as precursors that would flag any dangerous rock along the path, allowing the craft to navigate away from obstacles.
The use of a radar system might have been avoided to eliminate an obvious electromagnetic signature of artificial origin.
Large enough particles (well above a micron, a millionth of a meter) would not be pushed back by Solar radiation pressure or the Solar wind, as is the case for smaller particles in common cometary tails.
This is because the repulsive forces scale as surface area or size squared, whereas the particle mass scales as size cubed. Hence, large particles move ahead of the front of 3I/ATLAS and create a buffer zone leading it.
If this zone measures roughly the diameter of Earth (12,756 kilometers), it would amount to a few arcseconds on the sky — which happens to be the characteristic angular scale of the glow in front of 3I/ATLAS at its current distance.
The interaction of the sprayed particles with potential obstacles would give an advance warning of a few minutes to 3I/ATLAS at its measured hyperbolic speed.
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A buffer zone of large particles would show up in images of 3I/ATLAS as a glow of reflected sunlight ahead of the interstellar object.
The glow will not be accompanied by any gas particles, as they would be pushed back by the Solar wind and hence be useless for the purpose of flagging dangerous rocks ahead of 3I/ATLAS.
This scenario is consistent with the current data on 3I/ATLAS.
The Hubble Space Telescope image shows a glow that extends out to a few arcseconds ahead of the object (see related paper here), and spectroscopic measurements shows no evidence for molecular or atomic gas accompanying this glow (see related papers here, here and here as well as the discussion about water ice here).
On the other hand, what would be the most plausible natural-origin explanation of the current data? The observed forward glow could be produced by a dust-rich interstellar asteroid which releases mostly large dust grains on its Sun-warmed dayside.
In this scenario, the observed reddening in the spectrum of 3I/ATLAS (see related papers here, here and here) also implies the existence of small dust grains.
But these smaller dust particles should have been pushed back by Solar radiation pressure to trail 3I/ATLAS, yet there is no evidence for a cometary tail of dust and gas behind 3I/ATLAS.
Without small dust particles, the reddening must be explained by the red surface of a 20-kilometer object, in analogy with 1I/`Oumuamua.
The challenge with this interpretation of the reddening of 3I/ATLAS is that the reservoir of rocky materials in interstellar space can only deliver a 20-kilometer dust-rich rock once per 10,000 years and we discovered 3I/ATLAS within the ATLAS survey in less than a decade.
This challenge was discussed in my first published paper on 3I/ATLAS (accessible here).
For now, we cannot assess with any confidence whether 3I/ATLAS is a natural dust-rich comet with no gaseous tail on an extremely rare trajectory, or perhaps a technological object on a path that was designed to align with the ecliptic plane of the planets around the Sun.
Irrespective, the observed fact is that 3I/ATLAS is passing through the asteroid belt right now as a result of the rare (0.2% probability) alignment of its retrograde path with the ecliptic plane to within 5 degrees.
On top of that, the arrival time of 3I/ATLAS along this path is perfectly timed for a close encounter with Mars, Venus and Jupiter (with a 0.0005% probability, as discussed here).
This coincidence would allow a mothership to release mini-probes that will reach planets as they move into the mini-probes, taking advantage of the mothership’s retrograde motion.
Unfortunately, 3I/ATLAS will hide behind the Sun at its perihelion on October 29, 2025, and so we will not be able to observe whether it releases any mini-probes into Earth’s orbit.
On the “Loeb scale”, where 0’ refers to a definitely natural comet and10’ implies a definitely artificial object, I currently rank 3I/ATLAS as a `4’.
As we gather more data on 3I/ATLAS in the coming months, my rank might sink to 0’ or rise to10’. Science is fun because attending to facts allows us to discover the unexpected.
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