raise em high
LEGENDARYBIGFnSWORD.png
Mornin, yo
NASA Astronomy Picture(s) of the Day
A Cool GIF of a 2025 Perseid
August 16, 2025
The camera battery died about 2am local time on August 12, while shooting in the bright moonlit skies from a garden in Chastre, Brabant Wallon, Belgium, planet Earth. But not before it captured the frames used to compose this cool animated gif of a brilliant Perseid meteor and a lingering visible trail known as a persistent train. The Perseid meteor, a fast moving speck of dust from the tail of large periodic Comet Swift-Tuttle, was heated to incandescence by ram pressure and vaporized as it flashed through the upper atmosphere at 60 kilometers per second. Compared to the brief flash of the meteor, its wraith-like trail really is persistent. A characteristic of bright meteors, a smoke-like persistent train can often be followed for many minutes wafting in the winds at altitudes of 60 to 90 kilometers.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250816.html
Asperitas Clouds Over New Zealand
August 17, 2025
What kind of clouds are these? Although their cause is presently unknown, such unusual atmospheric structures, as menacing as they might seem, do not appear to be harbingers of meteorological doom. Formally recognized as a distinct cloud type only last year, asperitas clouds can be stunning in appearance, unusual in occurrence, and are relatively unstudied. Whereas most low cloud decks are flat bottomed, asperitas clouds appear to have significant vertical structure underneath. Speculation therefore holds that asperitas clouds might be related to lenticular clouds that form near mountains, or mammatus clouds associated with thunderstorms, or perhaps a foehn – a type of dry downward wind that flows off mountains. Clouds from such a wind called the Canterbury arch stream toward the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. The featured image, taken above Hanmer Springs in Canterbury, New Zealand in 2005, shows great detail partly because sunlight illuminates the undulating clouds from the side.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Countdown to Space Station’s Silver Jubilee with Silver Research
Aug 15, 2025
This November marks a quarter century of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station, which has served as a springboard for developing a low Earth economy and NASA’s next great leaps in exploration, including human missions to the Moon and Mars.
To kick off the orbiting laboratory’s silver 25th anniversary countdown, here are a few silver-themed science investigations that have advanced research and space exploration.
Antimicrobial properties
Silver has been used for centuries to fight infection, and researchers use its unique properties to mitigate microbial growth aboard the space station.
Over time, microbes form biofilms, sticky communities that can grow on surfaces and cause infection. In space, biofilms can become resistant to traditional cleaning products and could infect water treatment systems, damage equipment, and pose a health risk to astronauts.
The Bacterial Adhesion and Corrosion investigation studied the bacterial genes that contribute to the formation of biofilms and tested whether a silver-based disinfectant could limit their growth.
Another experiment focused on the production of silver nanoparticles aboard the space station.
Silver nanoparticles have a bigger surface-to-volume ratio, allowing silver ions to come in contact with more microbes, making it a more effective antimicrobial tool to help protect crew from potential infection on future space missions.
It also evaluated whether silver nanoparticles produced in space are more stable and uniform in size and shape, characteristics that could further enhance their effectiveness.
Wearable tech
Silver is a high-conductivity precious metal that is very malleable, making it a viable option for smart garments.
NASA astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory tested a wearable monitoring vest with silver-coated sensors to record heart rates, cardiac mechanics, and breathing patterns while they slept.
This smart garment is lightweight and more comfortable, so it does not disturb sleep quality. The data collected provided valuable insight into improving astronauts’ sleep in space.
Silver crystals
In microgravity, there is no up or down, and weightlessness does not allow particles to settle, which impacts physical and chemical processes.
Researchers use this unique microgravity environment to grow larger and more uniform crystals unaffected by the force of Earth’s gravity or the physical processes that would separate mixtures by density.
The NanoRacks-COSMOS investigation used the environment aboard the station to grow and assess the 3D structure of silver nitrate crystals.
The molecular structure of these superior silver nitrate crystals has applications in nanotechnology, such as creating silver nanowires for nanoscale electronics.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/countdown-to-space-stations-silver-jubilee-with-silver-research/
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-081525a-artemis-II-zero-gravity-indicator-moon-mascot-design-contest-finalists.html
NASA contest picks 25 plush finalists for Artemis II zero-g indicator
August 15, 2025
The first NASA crew to launch to the moon in more than 50 years will be joined by a polar bear or maybe a zebra, an octopus or perhaps even a "lunar crust-acean," as they are among the finalists in a global contest to design the astronauts' zero-gravity indicator.
One of the small dolls — which also includes a tribute to "Earthrise" and a plush representation of the Greek goddess Artemis, the namesake for NASA's new lunar program — will fulfill the purpose and tradition of flying a tethered toy as a visual signal that the crew are in the weightless environment of outer space.
The zero-g indicator (ZGI) will begin floating aboard the mission's Orion spacecraft before the astronauts can unbuckle from their seats and do the same.
The Artemis II crew includes commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialist Christina Koch, all with NASA, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, also a mission specialist.
The 11-day flight will loop far beyond the moon and return to Earth, testing critical systems for later lunar orbit and landing missions.
"These finalists have proven they indeed have 'the right stuff,'" said Matt Barrie, the chief executive of Freelancer, NASA's partner in the "Moon Mascot: NASA Artemis II ZGI Design Challenge," in a statement released on Friday (Aug. 15).
The crowdsourcing company organized the judging panel that chose the 25 finalists from the 2,605 entries that were submitted between March and June.
The selected dolls include 12 designed by individual students and classroom teams and 13 by adults. The finalists hailed from nine U.S. states and nine foreign countries, including Canada, Japan, Peru, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
"The creativity they've shown is incredible — they should be proud to have their efforts recognized on such a stage and be part of humanity's ongoing quest to understand the cosmos," said Barrie. NASA is expected to name the winning ZGI later this year.
That one submission will be made into a doll and flown on the Artemis II mission, currently on track to launch as early as February, but no later than April 2026.
Entrants created designs that represented "humanity, exploration and the spirit of the Artemis campaign" that could be made from a list of materials from NASA's Thermal Blanket Lab, which will assemble the ZGI from the winner's instructions and renderings.
The 25 finalists won $1,225 or an Artemis prize pack, depending on their age. In total, $23,275 in prizes were awarded.
The tradition of flying zero-g indicators began in the former Soviet Union with the world's first human spaceflight in 1961. Since then, many of Yuri Gagarin's fellow cosmonauts have flown toys and stuffed dolls as talisman and ZGI, often at the suggestion of their children.
The ZGI custom migrated to the U.S. with the first flights of NASA's Commercial Crew program. NASA's uncrewed Artemis I mission, which flew around the moon in 2022, carried a custom-made Snoopy doll, complete with a miniature version of the same pressure suit that the Artemis II astronauts will wear on Orion.
The 25 finalists in the "Moon Mascot: NASA Artemis II ZGI Design Challenge" are:
K-5 Individuals
"Rise" by Changhui Zhao of Mountain View, California
"Zappy Zebra" by Cynthia Caramana of Canyon, Texas
K-5 Classroom
"Luna, the Space Polar Bear" by Sara Gerullis of Winnipeg, Canada
"Team GarCo" by Emily Russell of Oshkosh, Nebraska
6-8 Individuals
"Parsec — The Bird That Flew to the Moon" by Amanda Wijaya of Singapore
"Big Steps of Little Octopus" by Natalia Udakova of Finland
6-8 Classroom
"Astra-Jelly" by Mariana Pavon of Falls Church, Virginia
"Harper, Chloe, and Mateo's ZGI" by Mariana Pavon of Falls Church, Virginia
9-12 Individuals
"Artemis" by Katherine Pacholyk of Madison, Conneticut
"Beeatrice" by Teague Fleury of Rancho Palos Verdes, California
9-12 Classroom
"Lepus the Moon Rabbit" by Xiaomei Xia of Oakville, Ontario, Canada
"Sal the Salmon" by Roy Luo of Avon, Conneticut
Adults
"Corey the Explorer" by Daniela Colina of Lima, Peru
"Flying squirrel ready for its take off to space!" by Caroline Goyer-Desrosiers of St. Eustache, Quebec, Canada
"Art & the Giant" by Giulia Bona of Berlin, Germany
"Lunar Crust-acean" by Tabitha Ramsey of Frederick, Maryland
"Celestial Griffin" by Gabriela Hadas of Plano, Texas
"Soluna Flier" by Savon Blanchard of Pearland, Texas
"MORU: A Cloud Aglow with Moonlight and Hope" by Ayako Moriyama of Kyoto, Japan
"Creation Mythos" by Johanna Beck of McPherson, Kansas
"Space Mola-mola (a.k.a. Moon Fish) plushie" by Guillaume Truong of Toulouse, France
"Lottie: For One Earth and All Humanity" by Rebekah Black of Colorado Springs, Colorado
"MISI: Guardian of the Journey" by Sandy Moya of Madrid, Colombia
"Mona the Moon Moth" by Rebekah Crowmer of Mooresville, Indiana
"Past, Present, Future" by Courtney John of Llanelli, Wales, United Kingdom
2/2
NASA’s PREFIRE CubeSat Mission Extended
August 15, 2025
NASA’s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) mission has been extended through September 2026 and is broadening its focus from Earth’s poles to the entire globe.
The mission’s two shoebox-size CubeSats gauge the capacity of water vapor, clouds, and other elements of Earth’s system to trap heat and keep it from radiating into space.
This information can help improve forecasts, including weather severity and storm frequency.
Launched in spring 2024, PREFIRE has been measuring how much heat the planet emits into space from the Arctic and Antarctic. Earth absorbs a significant amount of the Sun’s energy in the tropics.
Winds, weather, and ocean currents transport that heat toward the poles, which receive much less sunlight. Ice, snow, and clouds, among other parts of the polar environment, emit some of that heat into space, much of it as far-infrared radiation.
The difference between the amount of heat Earth absorbs at the tropics and radiates out from the Arctic and Antarctic is a key influence on the planet’s temperature, helping to drive dynamic systems of climate and weather.
At the core of the mission is a pair of advanced spectrometers designed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
They measure wavelengths of light in the far-infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum and are sensitive to 10 times more far-infrared wavelengths than any similar instrument.
This information gives researchers insight into processes associated with surface ice melt and formation, snowmelt and accumulation, and changes in cloud cover.
“The PREFIRE satellites show that at these longer wavelengths, the amount of radiation going into space can differ from one type of ice to another by as much as 5%,” said Brian Drouin, PREFIRE’s project scientist at JPL.
“Measurements that look at the same areas but with shorter wavelengths do not show this difference.”
Although the PREFIRE CubeSats have been gathering data on the entire globe, the science team has concentrated their analysis on Earth’s polar regions for its prime mission.
Going forward, they will expand their work to include data from the rest of the world.
“We have the capacity to collect data for the whole world, not just the poles. What we’ll be able to do is look at the size of ice particles in clouds that affect energy exchange between Earth and space,” said PREFIRE’s principal investigator, Tristan L’Ecuyer of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
“We’ll be able to incorporate the data into weather prediction models to improve forecasts and improve our understanding of how moisture circulates, which affects where storms form and how precipitation moves around the world.”
The satellites are in what’s called an asynchronous near-polar orbit, traveling near the poles with each pass but hours apart from one another.
This provides two snapshots of the same area over time, enabling the mission to capture phenomena that occur on short timescales, such as cloud cover’s temporary effects on the temperature of the area beneath it.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/smallsatellites/2025/08/15/nasas-prefire-cubesat-mission-extended/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/prefire/
https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-probe-could-intercept-interstellar-comet-scientists-say
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/dark-comets-or-alien-tech-7e8a8d45e956
NASA Probe Could Intercept Interstellar Comet, Scientists Say
Aug 16 2025
Astronomers at the Pan-STARRS Observatory in Hawaii made history in 2017 when they detected 'Oumuamua, the first interstellar object (ISO) ever observed.
Two years later, the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov became the second ISO ever observed. And on July 1st, 2025, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Rio Hurtado detected a third interstellar object in our Solar System, the comet now known as 3I/ATLAS
Like its predecessors, the arrival of this object has fueled immense scientific interest and led to proposals for missions that could rendezvous with future ISOs. Examples include Project Lyra, the Interstellar Object Explorer, and the ESA's Comet Interceptor.
However, a recent paper led by Prof. Abraham Loeb of Harvard University explores the possibility of rendezvousing with 3I/ATLAS using a mission that has been in space for years.
According to their analysis, NASA's Juno probe could intercept this latest interstellar object once it approaches Jupiter on March 16th, 2026, providing humanity with a close look at one of the most enigmatic classes of objects in the Universe today.
Abraham Loeb is the Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science at Harvard University and the Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation and the Galileo Project at the Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
He was joined by Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, both of whom are distinguished scientists with the UK-based non-profit Initiative for Interstellar Studies.
Loeb, Hibberd, and Crowl are no strangers to ISOs and the possibility of sending spacecraft to rendezvous with them and study them up close.
In 2018, Prof. Loeb became something of a household name with the publication of his paper, "Could Solar Radiation Pressure Explain 'Oumuamua's Peculiar Acceleration?"
In this paper, and his subsequent book titled Extraterrestrial, he argued that 'Oumuamua may have been an extraterrestrial spacecraft, thus explaining its strange behavior and the way it defied attempts to classify it.
Similarly, Hibberd has earned acclaim for his work alongside Marshall Eubanks on Project Lyra. This proposed mission would "catch up" to 'Oumuamua or future ISOs using lightsail technology and Directed-Energy Propulsion.
He and Eubanks are also responsible for the Swarming Proxima Centauri proposal, a similar concept that would rely on DEP to send a spacecraft swarm to study the closest rocky planet beyond our Solar System (Proxima b).
Crowl is an independent researcher and propulsion engineer who was previously a member of Project Icarus, a design study for an interstellar probe that built on the legacy of Project Daedalus.
Since 'Oumuamua made its close pass to Earth, scientists have dreamed of the day when a dedicated mission could intercept and study an interstellar visitor.
Several missions have conducted sample-return missions to Near-Earth Asteroids in the past decade, including JAXA's Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 probes and NASA's OSIRIS-REx probe.
Since asteroids and comets are essentially material left over from the formation of the Solar System, the study of these samples provides clues about what conditions were present ca. 4.5 billion years ago.
By studying ISOs as they pass through our System, scientists will be able to learn what conditions were present in other star systems without waiting for an interstellar spacecraft to reach them.
But as Prof. Loeb explored in his 2018 paper, the possibility that an ISO could be an artificial object increases the opportunities for scientific research exponentially.
Hibberd, Crowl, and Loeb explored similar possibilities regarding 3I/ATLAS in a recent paper, "Is the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Alien Technology?."
As Prof. Loeb told Universe Today via email, this makes a rendezvous mission especially appealing:
We show that applying a thrust of 2.675 kilometers per second on September 14th, 2025, can bring the Juno spacecraft from its orbit around Jupiter to intercept the path of 3I/ATLAS.
The close encounter of 3I/ATLAS with Jupiter provides a rare opportunity to shift Juno from its current orbit around Jupiter to intercept the path of 3I/ATLAS at its closest approach to Jupiter.
The brightness of 3I/ATLAS implies a diameter of 20 kilometers for an asteroid with a typical reflectance (albedo) of 5%.
As I showed in a published paper shortly after 3I/ATLAS was discovered, the detection of this object over 5 years of the ATLAS telescope's survey of the sky requires an untenable mass supply of rocky material from the Milky Way galaxy.
If 3I/ATLAS is 20 kilometers in diameter, it might have targeted the inner Solar System as expected from alien technology.
1/2
As they indicate in their study, 3I/ATLAS will reach a distance of about 53.6 million km (33.25 million mi) or 0.358 AU from Jupiter on March 16th, 2026.
This proposal circumvents the challenge of building and deploying a spacecraft to intercept 3I/ATLAS before it makes its closest approach to the Sun (October 29th, 2025) and departs our Solar System. As Hibberd explained:
It is quite clear that a mission launched from Earth to 3I is completely infeasible, given how little warning we had of its arrival in the Solar System.
Furthermore, it would not be within the performance envelope of the proposed ESA Comet Interceptor mission, so in other words, even if a spacecraft had been waiting at the Sun/Earth L2 point.
Now, 3I coincidently comes quite close to Mars, Jupiter, and Venus, which is in itself a strange happenstance and will be unlikely to recur with any future ISO.
It seems reasonable, therefore, given the above serendipities and the impossibility of a dedicated probe being launched to encounter it in time, to enquire whether any existing spacecraft orbiting around Mars or Jupiter could be exploited for an intercept or a close approach.
It is thus in this context that the work is worthwhile, and such analysis will only apply to ISOs that happen to have close encounters with the planets, which, as I have articulated, will be very rare indeed.
To determine the optimal flight path that would lead to a rendezvous, the team relied on Optimum Interplanetary Trajectory Software (OITS), a package originally developed by Hibberd in 2017 for the sake of Project Lyra.
As Hibberd explained, this allowed them to solve the problem of determining the orbits and velocities of Juno and 3I/ATLAS (aka. the Lambert Problem), but only for one orbital cycle.
To measure how close the Juno probe could get to the interstellar comet using minimal propellant, Hibberd employed other tailor-made software.
This consisted of C software he developed using three libraries—including NASA JPL, Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF), and Spacecraft, Planet, Instrument, C-matrix, Events software—which allowed the team to produce an accurate prediction of Jupiter and Juno's orbits.
NOMAD software was also used to integrate the motion of all three bodies and determine the minimum velocity Juno needed to generate to intercept 3I/ATLAS.
As Loeb indicated, the results indicated that an intercept would be possible using a Jupiter Oberth Maneuver:
If doable, this exciting new goal will rejuvenate Juno's mission and extend its scientific lifespan beyond March 14th, 2026. So far, we have examined a zero-distance intercept of Juno with 3I/ATLAS.
The optimal option involves a Jupiter Oberth Maneuver, which requires an application of ∆V on September 9th, 2025, only 8 days prior to the originally intended termination date for Juno's plunge into the atmosphere of Jupiter.
Having delivered this thrust to diminish Juno's altitude, a further ∆V is subsequently delivered, constituting a Jupiter Oberth Maneuver and resulting in an eventual intercept of the target 3I/ATLAS on March 14th, 2026.
They also highlight how Juno's suite of instruments could all be used to probe the nature of 3I/ATLAS from a close distance.
This includes its near-infrared spectrometer, magnetometer, microwave radiometer, gravity science instrument, energetic particle detector, radio and plasma wave sensor, UV spectrograph, and visible light camera.
The data these instruments provide, ranging from spectra and images to energetic emissions, will address questions regarding the object's composition, telling us volumes about its home system and the conditions present when it formed.
"Our paper is contingent on a remarkable but testable hypothesis that 3I/ATLAS is a functioning technological artifact, to which I and my two co-authors do not necessarily ascribe," Loeb adds.
Yet, this hypothesis is worthy of a scientific analysis for two reasons: The consequences, should the hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity, and would possibly require defensive measures to be undertaken (though these might prove futile).
[Second,] the hypothesis is an interesting exercise in its own right and is fun to explore, irrespective of its likely validity."
However, recent images acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope suggest this possibility could already be off the table.
Based on the brightness distribution of the surrounding coma, researchers have estimated that the nucleus has an effective radius of less than 2.8 kilometers.
However, all questions regarding its true nature will be resolved once a) 3I/ATLAS gets closer to the Sun and begins releasing gases through sublimation, or b) the Juno probe has a chance to examine it up close.
Regardless of the outcome, the results will certainly be fascinating and will tell us a great deal about what lies beyond the Solar System.
2/2