TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
November 19, 2025
Chamaeleon Dark Nebulas
Sometimes the dark dust of interstellar space has an angular elegance. Such is the case toward the far-south constellation of Chamaeleon. Normally too faint to see, dark dust is best known for blocking visible light from stars and galaxies behind it. In this 11.4-hour exposure, however, the dust is seen mostly in light of its own, with its strong red and near-infrared colors creating a brown hue. Contrastingly blue, a bright star Beta Chamaeleontis is visible on the upper right of the V, with the dust that surrounds it preferentially reflecting blue light from its primarily blue-white color. All of the pictured stars and dust occur in our own Milky Way Galaxy with one notable exception: a white spot just below Beta Chamaeleontis is the galaxy IC 3104, which lies far in the distance. Interstellar dust is mostly created in the cool atmospheres of giant stars and dispersed into space by stellar light, stellar winds, and stellar explosions such as supernovas.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Airline Impact, Polar Vortex, Cyclone, Solar Storm GEC | S0 News and other stuff
Nov.19.2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcTV8sJ3reM
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/1990852868434280651
https://www.newsweek.com/passenger-captures-extraordinary-view-northern-lights-plane-11067625
https://www.SpaceWeatherNews.com
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
NASA Shares Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Images
Nov 19, 2025 #AskNASA
@ 12:00
Live in 4 hours
Tune in as NASA shares the latest images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, collected by several NASA missions.
First observed earlier this year, the 3I/ATLAS comet is only the third object ever identified as entering our solar system from elsewhere in the galaxy.
While it poses no threat to Earth and will get no closer than 170 million miles to Earth, the comet flew within 19 million miles of Mars in early October.
Participants in this live event will include:
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NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya
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Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate
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Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division
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Tom Statler, lead scientist for solar system small bodies
Spacecraft across the solar system, as well as ground-based observatories, have been able to observe 3I/ATLAS as it passes through our celestial neighborhood and study how the comet behaves.
Learn more about the 3I/ATLAS comet: https://go.nasa.gov/3I-ATLAS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A55SUq2eDXg
https://www.ufonews.co/post/nasa-will-finally-releases-3i-atlas-images-after-delay
Observations of the Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS with the PRL 1.2m telescope at Mount Abu
November 19, 2025
The scientists from Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) observed the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS currently on its way out of the inner Solar system after perihelion passage.
Observations were carried out in imaging and spectroscopic (analysis of the constituent wavelengths of the light emitted) modes with PRL’s 1.2m telescope.
The images (false colour representation in Fig. 1) show a near-circular coma. The coma of a comet is the large, glowing atmosphere of gas and dust that forms around its nucleus as it gets closer to the Sun.
It is created when the Sun's heat causes the frozen ices on the nucleus to vaporize, or "sublimate," releasing gas and dust that form a large, diffuse cloud.
In the present observing geometry, the dust tail, if present, would be pointing away from the Sun behind the comet as seen from the Earth, while deep wide field multiband images may show the ion tail.
Apart from imaging, scientists also acquired a spectrum of the light from the comet, before the start of morning twilight. The result shows prominent emission features commonly seen in Solar system comets - the CN, C2 and C3 bands in the shorter wavelength side of the spectrum (Fig. 2).
In the terminology of comet, the rate of release (or sublimation) of gas from the nucleus into the coma is referred to as the ‘production rate’, which is a measure of the comet's activity level.
The production rate varies significantly throughout the comet's orbit and is driven by factors like distance from the sun and the comet's internal composition.
In case of 3I/ATLAS, the production rates for the prominent bands (emissions pertaining to the constituent molecules) were computed with limiting values around 1025 molecules/sec.
The production rate ratios seem to place this comet in the class of ‘typical comets’ of the solar system. Further observations will be continued as the comet gradually comes into the darker part of the night.
The Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) 1.2 m telescope at Mount Abu, located at an altitude of 1680 m near Gurushikhar, is a ground-based observatory that is used for astronomical research, including exoplanet hunting, high-energy phenomena, and solar system studies.
These observations were made during November 12-15, 2025.
https://www.isro.gov.in/Observations_Interstellar_Comet.html
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/first-limit-on-technological-radio-transmission-from-3i-atlas-c23bc6c1fb31
https://medium.com/@davidsereda/3i-atlas-the-great-reveal-90b154c67188
https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2025/11/19/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-aka-c-2025-n1-atlas-and-its-ion-tail-19-nov-2025/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krU8gN-J9gY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FVYyFy94lE (Ray's Astrophotography: Comet 3i Atlas - What to Expect from NASAs Pictures)
First Limit on Technological Radio Transmission from 3I/ATLAS
November 19, 2025
The MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa conducted on November 5, 2025 a search for narrowband radio transmission from the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS using the commensal backend BLUSE suitable for a real-time search for radio technological signatures.
As reported here, a total of 23,689 signals were detected; however, all were determined to not be spatially consistent with the position of 3I/ATLAS and thus were likely caused by human-made radio frequency interference.
From these observations, the observers established a detection limit of 0.17 Watts over the frequency range of 900 to 1670 megahertz, approximately equivalent to the power output of a mobile phone handset at the distance to 3I/ATLAS, which was 334 million kilometers at the time.
Today at 3PM ET, NASA will broadcast a press conference here in which new data from ground-based and space-based observations will be publicly released for the first time after the government shutdown.
The data will include images of 3I/ATLAS when the object came within 29 million kilometers from Mars on October 3, 2025.
At that time, the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter could have imaged 3I/ATLAS with a pixel resolution of 30 kilometers.
The brightest pixel in the HiRISE image would constrain the nucleus size and reveal the geometry of the glow around it.
It is also interesting to check if there is any evidence for new objects that either accompanied 3I/ATLAS or left it towards Mars. They could imply fragments from an iceberg that broke up or mini-probes released by a technological mothership.
The fundamental question looming in the background remains: “Is 3I/ATLAS a rare comet of a type never seen before or a technological object?”
So far, 3I/ATLAS did not display any unambiguous technological signatures, such as a major maneuver, artificial light or transmission of a radio signal.
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Below is a recap of the anomalies of 3I/ATLAS that could flag a technological signature:
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Its trajectory opposite to the direction of motion of the planets is aligned to within five degrees with the ecliptic plane of the planets around the Sun, with a likelihood of 0.2 per cent (see here). This suggests that the trajectory may have been designed for a reconnaissance purpose.
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During July and August as well as in early November of 2025, it displayed a sunward jet (anti-tail) that is not an optical illusion from geometric perspective, unlike familiar comets (see here). This might be a technological signature.
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Its nucleus is about a million times more massive than 1I/`Oumuamua, an interstellar object discovered in 2017, and a thousand times more massive than 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2019, while moving faster than both, altogether with a likelihood of less than 0.1 per cent (see here and here). This suggests that it may have targeted the inner solar system rather than being drawn from the reservoir of icy rocks.
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Its arrival time was fine-tuned to bring it within tens of millions of kilometers from Mars, Venus and Jupiter and be unobservable from Earth at perihelion, with a likelihood of 0.005 per cent (see here).
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Its gas plume contains much more nickel than iron (as found in industrially-produced nickel alloys) and a nickel to cyanide ratio that is orders of magnitude larger than that of all known comets, including 2I/Borisov, with a likelihood below 1 per cent (see here). This may be a signature of industrial production of its surface.
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Its gas plume contains only 4 per cent water by mass, a primary constituent of familiar comets (see here).
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It shows extreme negative polarization of light, unprecedented for all known comets, including 2I/Borisov, with a likelihood below 1 per cent (see here). This might be a technological signature.
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It arrived from a direction coincident with the radio ‘Wow! Signal’ to within 9 degrees, with a likelihood of 0.6 per cent (see here). This might imply that the `Wow! Signal’ may have originated from it or its senders.
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Near perihelion, it brightened faster than any known comet and was bluer than the Sun (see here). Perhaps this is a signature that its engine turned on.
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It exhibits jets in the direction of the Sun and opposite to it, which require an unreasonably large surface area in order to absorb enough sunlight needed to sublimate enough ice to feed the mass flux of these jets (as calculated here). Perhaps the jets originate from technological thrusters.
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Near perihelion it exhibits non-gravitational acceleration which requires massive evaporation, whereas preliminary images indicate that the object maintained its integrity and did not break up (as discussed here). Perhaps the acceleration was produced by an engine.
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Its tightly-collimated jets maintain orientation across a million kilometers in multiple directions relative to the Sun despite its measured rotation (as discussed here). This might imply that they are used for navigation or associated with the release of mini-probes from a mothership.
If an interstellar object happens to be technological, it could pose a threat to humanity.
A few months ago, I described the Loeb Scale’ (as quantified here and here) — where a rank of0' implies a natural comet and a rank of `10' corresponds to alien technology that threatens humanity.
We do not have a response protocol for alien technology, but after the first encounter — as long as we survive it — there will be political will to invest trillions of dollars in a warning system of interceptors that take close-up photos of anomalous interstellar objects.
3I/ATLAS is expected to arrive closest to Earth at a distance of 269 million kilometers on December 19, 2025. Let us hope that it will not deliver us any unwanted gifts for the holidays.
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Comet C/2025 K1 (the other ATLAS) breaks apart in incredible telescope photos
November 19, 2025
A comet discovered earlier this year continues to break apart after its close brush with the sun this month.
Astronomer Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project captured breathtaking imagery of solar system comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) as its central icy core, or nucleus, appears to have broken into multiple pieces after being warmed by the sun.
The comet made its closest approach to the sun on Oct. 8, and astronomers captured images following the solar flyby that appear to show it dramatically breaking apart.
These most recent images seem to confirm that, as multiple distinct fragments can be seen. The images appear to show "three fragments of the original nucleus and possibly a fourth one," Masi wrote in a statement accompanying the images.
Masi captured the images over the past week using a Celestron C14 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope on a Paramount ME robotic mount, with a SBIG ST-10XME CCD self-guiding camera.
The images consist of seven different 60-second exposures captured without any filters.
He made those exposures on five separate nights between Nov. 11 and 18 Nov. 18, and stacked them together to make an animation that depicts the motion of the fragments relative to one another:
Based on one of the images, Masi suspects the comet may have actually broken into a fourth fragment.
Astronomers at the Asiago Observatory in Italy captured the comet on Nov. 11 with the 1.82-meter Copernicus telescope, which appeared to reveal that, at that point, the comet had broken into two distinct fragments separated by about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers).
But even then, astronomers suspected "the presence of a third, smaller and fainter fragment to the left of the pair," Mazzotta Epifani wrote in a statement published to the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics website (translation by Google).
Like many comets, C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) is believed to have come from the Oort cloud, a distant spherical bubble of small icy bodies that surrounds our solar system at the farthest reaches of our sun's neighborhood.
Many long-period comets (those that only rarely pass through the inner solar system) originate from the Oort cloud, which is thought to contain billions of small icy objects like comets (though some Oort cloud bodies are so large they qualify as dwarf planets).
Want to see these visitors from the outer solar system for yourself?
Skywatchers hoping to capture their own views of distant solar system comets should check out our roundups of the best smart telescopes, cameras and lenses for astrophotography, along with our guide on how to view and photograph comets.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/comet-c-2025-k1-atlas-breaks-apart-in-incredible-telescope-photos
https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2025/11/19/comet-c-2025-k1-atlas-fragmentation-new-image-and-animation-19-nov-2025/
solar cloaking diffuser
Skywatch Signal
@UAPWatchers
weirdness on the NASA ISS livestream
🚨🚨Extended: NASA ISS FEED MUST SEE… 🚨🚨
I have no clue what I am looking at here, but NASA do they keep cutting the feed in and out.
Watch the full thing, its gets weird.
#ufotwitter #uapX
9:48 AM · Nov 18, 2025
https://x.com/UAPWatchers/status/1990839604660805860
https://x.com/DobsonianPower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miVj_aQHTmU
Chairman Cruz Announces Nominations Hearing for NASA and Commerce Nominees
November 19, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, will convene a hearing to consider the nominations for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Commerce at 10:00 AM EST on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.
Nominees:
Mr. Jared Isaacman, of Pennsylvania, to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mr. Steven Haines, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis
Hearing Details:
WHAT: Full Committee Nominations Hearing
DATE: Wednesday, December 3, 2025
TIME: 10:00 AM EST
LOCATION: Committee Hearing Room, Russell 253
LIVESTREAM: The hearing will stream live on the Committee web site and YouTube.
MEDIA INFO: Reporters wanting to attend the committee should contact their respective media gallery to RSVP.
https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2025/11/chairman-cruz-announces-nominations-hearing-for-nasa-and-commerce-nominees
https://x.com/rookisaacman
https://x.com/SecDuffyNASA
Celebrate GIS Day 2025
Nov. 19, 2025
In celebration of GIS Day, teams across NASA used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) resources to create the image collage below showcasing the diversity of Earth’s landscapes, human dimensions, and scientific phenomena.
These images were captured by instruments aboard NASA's fleet of Earth-observing satellites, each telling a story about our ever-changing planet.
Learn more about these dynamic images by reading our NASA Earth Science Celebrates GIS Day 2025 StoryMap, which provides details about each image and highlights how GIS technology enables scientists to monitor long-term weather trends, track environmental hazards, and catalog natural resources.
Learn more about how to use GIS by viewing our recently-added GIS learning resources, which cover basic tasks like adding downloaded data to commonly-used GIS programs as well as more advanced skills such as creating a time-enabled multidimensional mosaic dataset.
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/celebrate-gis-day-2025
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/learn/gis/storymaps/nasa-earth-science-celebrates-gis-day-2025
Experience the Launch of Artemis II
Nov 19, 2025
Digital creators and social media users are invited to register to attend the launch of the NASA’s Artemis II mission.
The agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Four astronauts aboard will fly around the Moon and return to Earth after about 10 days in space.
Are you passionate about social media and communications? Do you love to create content for an audience? Are you a fan of new, unique experiences?
If you said yes, this NASA Social event is for you! This is your opportunity to be on the front lines of this historic Artemis mission that will lay the groundwork for future Moon landings and crewed missions to Mars.
The NASA Social event will take place over two days, including the day of launch. Artemis II is targeted to launch no later than April 2026, with potential opportunities as soon as February.
A maximum of 50 digital creators will be selected to attend this two-day event and will be given access similar to news media.
NASA Social participants will have the opportunity to:
Tour NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Learn directly from subject matter experts
Meet fellow digital creators and social media users
Spend time with members of NASA’s social media team
View the launch of the Artemis II mission
NASA Social registration for the Artemis II launch opens on this page on Wednesday, Nov. 19 and the deadline to apply is 5 p.m. EST on Monday, Nov. 24. All applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
cont.
https://www.nasa.gov/general/experience-the-launch-of-artemis-ii/
Heart Health, Stem Cells, and Physics Keep Crew Busy on Tuesday
November 18, 2025
Life science and physics topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday as the Expedition 73 crew studied heart health, stem cells, fluid physics, and spacecraft fire safety.
The orbital residents also completed work on a spacesuit and inspected ventilation and electrical systems while continuing other scientific operations.
NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim kicked off his shift wearing a sensor-packed vest and headband that measured his cardiovascular data as he worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device then jogged on the COLBERT treadmill.
Doctors will use the medical data to track Kim’s health in space, assess the value of portable health monitoring devices, and treat space-caused health conditions.
Later, Kim processed stem cell samples for a study investigating how microgravity affects their conversion to cardiac or brain cells.
Results may lead to personalized treatments for astronauts on future missions and advanced therapies for Earth-based conditions such as heart and neurological diseases.
Physics is a critical research subject aboard the orbital outpost since materials behave differently in weightlessness.
Flight Engineers Mike Fincke of NASA and Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) split their shift working on a pair of different physics studies, one looking at particles attach themselves to fluids and another observing how flames spread in space.
Fincke set up research hardware inside a fluorescence microscope to observe particle-laden droplets potentially informing commercial in-space manufacturing techniques.
Yui swapped sample hardware inside the Solid Combustion Experiment Module that enables safe observations of materials burning in weightlessness to improve fire safety on spacecraft.
NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman completed several days of spacesuit work and verified the successful installation of ventilation and cooling gear, conducted leak checks, and inspected suit hardware.
Next, Cardman checked out the operations of the new Ultrasound 3 device, recently delivered aboard the Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft, used for crew heart and vein scans, as well as internal imaging of bones, organs, and issues.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, station Commander and Flight Engineer respectively, began their day with mental and physical assessments to understand how they are adjusting to the stresses of long-duration spaceflight.
Next, the duo took turns wearing virtual reality googles and sensors while responding to visual signals to observe how their vision and sense of balance adjusts to microgravity.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov wrapped up an overnight Earth photography session uninstalling and stowing hardware that photographed landmarks on the ground in a wide variety of wavelengths.
Platonov then spent the rest of his day servicing orbital plumbing and ventilation systems throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/11/18/heart-health-stem-cells-and-physics-keep-crew-busy-on-tuesday/
https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/11/nasa-swirl-poisonous-algae-nevada-lake/
https://www.mineralcountymuseum.com/cecil-the-sea-serpent
Why are there sea serpent legends surrounding most of the bodies of water in Nevada?
Is there a pyramid in Pyramid lake?
NASA Captures Alarming Swirl of Poisonous Algae in Nevada Desert Lake
November 19, 2025 at 09:45
An unusually intense toxic algae bloom was spotted from space in Nevada’s Pyramid Lake, swirling like paint in a satellite image captured in October 2024.
Each year, this remote desert lake experiences blooms, but the latest event raised alarm due to its severity and visibility.
Experts are still trying to understand what triggered the bloom’s unusual intensity this year.
The image, taken by NASA’s Landsat 9, reveals more than a beautiful pattern—it exposes an ancient and persistent ecological threat.
A Desert Lake With a Hidden Threat
Pyramid Lake, located in the high desert of northwestern Nevada, is no stranger to algae. This salt-rich, alkaline body of water has long been a breeding ground for cyanobacteria, especially the species Nodularia spumigena.
While this organism is known for its resilience in harsh aquatic environments, its blooms have taken a toxic turn in recent years—2024 being the most dramatic yet.
The lake’s unique endorheic nature—meaning it has no outlet—contributes to an elevated salinity, allowing certain species like N. spumigena to thrive in the fall when temperatures rise and nutrient levels spike.
According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, the bloom captured on October 8, 2024, by the Landsat 9 satellite was among the most extreme ever seen in the lake.
The photo reveals swirling patterns of green, signaling dense populations of potentially toxin-producing algae. These organisms can release nodularin, a liver-damaging compound dangerous to both animals and humans.
In response, local officials advised residents to keep pets away from the lake during the bloom’s peak.
While blooms like these occur every fall, the intensity and timing of the 2024 event surprised researchers—raising questions about climate patterns, water chemistry shifts, and long-term changes in the lake’s delicate ecosystem.
The Ancient Origins of a Modern Menace
Long before it became a site of environmental concern, Pyramid Lake was part of a prehistoric inland sea known as Lake Lahontan.
This vast body of water, which once spanned nearly 8,000 square miles, began retreating around 9,000 years ago as the Earth emerged from the last Ice Age.
What remains today—Pyramid Lake—is a fraction of its original size, but it still carries biological signatures from its ancient past.
The algal species Nodularia spumigena may have persisted in this evolving ecosystem since Lahontan’s heyday, making the lake a living relic of environmental history.
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The lake is not only a natural archive but also a habitat of unique biodiversity. It supports the endangered cui-ui fish (Chasmistes cujus), which feeds on algae and is found nowhere else on Earth.
Geological formations such as tufas—mineral-rich pillars formed over thousands of years—dot the lake’s shore, including the pyramid-shaped structure that lends the lake its name.
This backdrop of geological and biological rarity sets the stage for a growing ecological crisis.
Toxic blooms, while ancient in origin, are now colliding with modern climate volatility, human impact, and water management challenges, transforming a picturesque landscape into a warning sign visible from space.
A Toxic Pattern With No Clear Cause
The 2024 bloom’s exceptional density raises concerns that go beyond seasonal shifts. Scientists monitoring Pyramid Lake have noted that bloom intensity can vary widely from year to year, but the exact drivers of these fluctuations remain poorly understood.
Previous research, including a 1990 study analyzing 15 years of algal activity, suggested that the blooms follow long-standing ecological rhythms tied to salinity, temperature, and nutrient availability.
Yet the sharp increase in toxicity and scale this year hints at possible new factors—potentially linked to climate change, reduced inflow from the Truckee River, or even altered land-use patterns in the surrounding watershed.
This uncertainty complicates both monitoring and mitigation efforts. Satellite imagery provides invaluable data, but on-the-ground sampling is needed to assess toxin levels, bloom duration, and the impacts on local fauna.
Meanwhile, Pyramid Lake’s role as a culturally and economically significant site for local communities—including the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe—adds urgency to the search for long-term solutions.
The lake’s health is closely tied to water rights, land stewardship, and ecological resilience in the broader Great Basin region.
More Than a Pretty Picture
What appears as a vibrant swirl of green from space is, in truth, a symptom of a stressed ecosystem.
As climate change pushes temperatures higher and alters water cycles across the western United States, inland saline lakes like Pyramid Lake may face a future of more frequent and toxic algal blooms.
These events can impact not only local wildlife but also tourism, fishing, and public health.
The satellite image released by NASA serves as a powerful reminder: Earth’s most persistent challenges are often hidden in plain sight.
From ancient blooms carried through millennia to emerging environmental threats, Pyramid Lake tells a story that’s both deeply historical and urgently modern.
What lies ahead will depend on continued research, satellite surveillance, and community-driven conservation strategies that respect both science and tradition.
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Curiosity Blog, Sols 4709-4715: Drilling High and Low in the Boxwork Unit
Nov 18, 2025
Earth planning date: Friday, Nov. 7, 2025
We are in the most intensive phase of the boxwork structures investigation — the drill campaign.
The boxwork campaign group requested a pair of drilled targets — one in a hollow (the topographic low) and one on an adjacent ridge, surrounding the hollow.
As we noted in a previous blog, finding a drill target in the hollows proved to be tricky, as the hollow floors are often covered by sand and pebbles, with minimal bedrock exposed.
But over the past two weeks, we successfully drilled the bedrock target “Valle de la Luna” in a large hollow called “Monte Grande.”
We finished up at Valle de la Luna on Monday and moved quickly up onto the ridge to get our second target, about 10 meters away (about 33 feet).
We wanted to name our targets to reflect the difference in location — from the topographic low to the (relatively speaking) high point on the nearby ridge.
Our hollow target, Valle de la Luna, was named after an area of valleys in the Atacama Desert, in Chile.
This area is one of the driest on Earth, with a unique environment and an incredible sculpted landscape with geological formations that would not look out of place in Gale crater.
Although there is a mere 2-meter difference in elevation (about 6½ feet) between the hollow floor and the ridge top, we decided to name our ridge target “Nevado Sajama,” which is an extinct volcano and the highest peak in Bolivia. Go big or go home!
Wednesday’s plan centered around our “Drill Sol Zero” activities.
We use this day to finesse our position for drilling with a small drive (we refer to this kind of positioning drive as a “bump” as it is usually less than a couple of meters, which is less than 6 feet) to the most suitable potential drill target.
On Wednesday, we bumped our way forward very slightly on the workspace, and this morning (Friday) the best potential target for drilling was in the perfect location.
Today we do our Drill Sol 1 activities, which focus on triaging the Nevado Sajama bedrock block for drilling (the center of this Mastcam image; the lower block in this Navcam image).
The Rover Planners (RPs) will test the coherency of the rock, to assess how it will hold up under the pressure of drilling. APXS and ChemCam will analyze the brushed bedrock in the intended drill area.
We can compare this to targets from the very nearby Wednesday workspace (“Volcan Isluga” for APXS and “Luna Muerte” for ChemCam), so we can determine how homogenous or heterogenous this area is.
MAHLI will image the bedrock here too, and again compare to targets from the Wednesday workspace (Volcan Isluga and the MAHLI-only target “Sipe Sipe,” which was an area of freshly broken rock, broken as we drove over it).
The drill campaign for the boxwork area has been two years in the planning. Over those years, the boxwork campaign focus group (including me) have had regular meetings and presentations and brainstorming sessions.
It is so rewarding to finally be here, in the middle of this active drill campaign.
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4709-4715-drilling-high-and-low-in-the-boxwork-unit/
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4716-4722: Drilling Success at Nevado Sajama
Nov 18, 2025
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4716-4722-drilling-success-at-nevado-sajama/
We’re Going to the Moon in April
November 18, 2025
In about five months, four astronauts will lift off from Kennedy Space Center and travel farther from Earth than any crewed mission in half a century.
Artemis II will send NASA’s Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back on a roughly 10-day journey. The mission is designed to run every critical system under the stress of deep space rather than a ground simulation.
And if you haven’t heard much about this whole thing, it’s probably because the agency is still treating it as a pivotal technical verification flight, not a ceremonial return to Moonwalking.
The astronauts are Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Jeremy Hansen
They’ll launch from Florida aboard the Space Launch System, NASA’s current heavy rocket.
After liftoff, the boosters and tower separate, the main engines shut down, and Orion continues into space with its interim propulsion stage.
Orion first orbits Earth twice
The initial loop is relatively short. The second lasts almost a full day and stretches high above the planet to build enough momentum for the next move.
During this time, NASA says engineers will monitor every major system so nothing gets missed before committing to the journey toward the Moon.
One key test happens early
The crew will manually guide Orion around the used upper stage to practice precision movements.
NASA said this matters because it prepares astronauts for the kind of slow, close-in flying needed later around the Moon.
They’ll also check how well Orion keeps them alive
That includes basic breathing air, removing moisture and carbon dioxide, and maintaining the right atmosphere whether they’re in their suits or working in plain clothes.
They’ll exercise and sleep so NASA can gather data across real physical conditions, not simulations.
Another early challenge comes when Orion briefly travels beyond the reach of everyday satellites
That allows NASA to confirm long-distance communication links can hold, which is essential once they move into deep space.
When everything checks out, Orion’s service module performs the push toward the Moon
The spacecraft will swing around the far side of the Moon, traveling about 4,700 miles beyond it before heading back.
The total distance from Earth stretches past 230,000 miles. The return relies heavily on natural gravitational pull, which reduces the need for extra fuel.
Throughout the trip, the crew will run through procedures, emergency drills, and system monitoring.
Artemis II won’t include a Moon landing
That comes on the next mission, Artemis III. This one has a focused purpose: prove Orion can safely carry people into deep space and back.
Rumors around objects like 3I/ATLAS may stir curiosity, but these Moon missions are actually happening. If you’d like to follow along, NASA keeps a blog on Artemis progress.
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/we-are-going-to-the-moon-in-april/
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/webb-first-to-show-4-dust-shells-spiraling-apep-limits-long-orbit/
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/adfbe1
Webb First to Show 4 Dust Shells ‘Spiraling’ Apep, Limits Long Orbit
Nov 19, 2025
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has delivered a first of its kind: a crisp mid-infrared image of a system of four serpentine spirals of dust, one expanding beyond the next in precisely the same pattern.
(The fourth is almost transparent, at the edges of Webb’s image.) Observations taken prior to Webb only detected one shell, and while the existence of outer shells was hypothesized, searches using ground-based telescopes were unable to uncover any.
These shells were emitted over the last 700 years by two aging Wolf-Rayet stars in a system known as Apep, a nod to the Egyptian god of chaos.
Webb’s image combined with several years of data from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile narrowed down how often the pair swing by one another: once every 190 years.
Over each incredibly long orbit, they pass closely for 25 years and form dust.
Webb also confirmed that there are three stars gravitationally bound to one another in this system.
The dust ejected by the two Wolf-Rayet stars is “slashed” by a third star, a massive supergiant, which carves holes into each expanding cloud of dust from its wider orbit. (All three stars are shown as a single bright point of light in Webb’s image.)
“Looking at Webb’s new observations was like walking into a dark room and switching on the light — everything came into view,” said Yinuo Han, the lead author of a new paper in The Astrophysical Journal and postdoctoral researcher at Caltech in Pasadena, California.
“There is dust everywhere in Webb’s image, and the telescope shows that most of it was cast off in repetitive, predictable structures.”
Han’s paper coincides with the publication of Ryan White’s paper in The Astrophysical Journal, a PhD student at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.
Han, White, and their co-authors refined the Wolf-Rayet stars’ orbit by combining precise measurements of the ring location from Webb’s image with the speed of the shells’ expansion from observations taken by the VLT over eight years.
“This is a one-of-a-kind system with an incredibly rare orbital period,” White said. “The next longest orbit for a dusty Wolf-Rayet binary is about 30 years. Most have orbits between two and 10 years.”
When the two Wolf-Rayet stars approach and pass one another, their strong stellar winds collide and mix, forming and casting out heaps of carbon-rich dust for a quarter century at a time.
In similar systems, dust is shot out over mere months, like the shells in Wolf-Rayet 140.
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High-speed ‘skirmish’
The dust-producing Wolf-Rayet stars in Apep aren’t exactly on a tranquil cruise. They are whipping through space and sending out dust at 1,200 to 2,000 miles per second (2,000 to 3,000 kilometers per second).
That dust is also very dense. The specific makeup of the dust is another reason why Webb was able to observe so much more: It largely consists of amorphous carbon.
“Carbon dust grains retain a higher temperature even as they coast far away from the star,” Han said.
While the exceptionally tiny dust grains are considered warm in space, the light they emit is also extremely faint, which is why it can only be detected from space by Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument).
Slicing dust
To find the holes the third star has cut like a knife through the dust, look for the central point of light and trace a V shape from about 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock. “The cavity is more or less in the same place in each shell and looks like a funnel,” White said.
“I was shocked when I saw the updated calculations play out in our simulations,” he said. “Webb gave us the ‘smoking gun’ to prove the third star is gravitationally bound to this system.”
Researchers have known about the third star since the VLT observed the brightest innermost shell and the stars in 2018, but Webb’s observations led to an updated geometric model, clinching the connection.
(See the system in 3D by watching the visualization below.)
“We solved several mysteries with Webb,” Han said. “The remaining mystery is the precise distance to the stars from Earth, which will require future observations.”
Future of Apep
The two Wolf-Rayet stars were initially more massive than their supergiant companion, but have shed most of their mass.
It’s likely that both Wolf-Rayet stars are between 10 and 20 times the mass of the Sun, and that the supergiant is 40 or 50 times as massive compared to the Sun.
Eventually, the Wolf-Rayet stars will explode as supernovae, quickly sending their contents into space. Either may also emit a gamma-ray burst, one of the most powerful events in the universe, before possibly becoming a black hole.
Wolf-Rayet stars are incredibly rare in the universe. Only a thousand are estimated to exist in our Milky Way galaxy, which contains hundreds of billions of stars overall.
Of the few hundred Wolf-Rayet binaries that have been observed to date, Apep is the only example that contains two Wolf-Rayet stars of these types in our galaxy — most only have one.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory.
Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
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Webb spots greedy supermassive black hole in early Universe
19/11/2025
Over its first three years, Webb's surveys of the early Universe have turned up an increasing number of small, extremely distant, and strikingly red objects.
These so-called Little Red Dots (LRDs) remain a tantalising mystery to astronomers, despite their unexpected abundance.
The discovery in CANUCS-LRD-z8.6, made possible by Webb’s exceptional capabilities, has assisted in this hunt for answers.
Webb’s Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) enabled researchers to observe the faint light from this distant galaxy and detect key spectral features that point to the presence of an accreting black hole.
Roberta Tripodi, lead author of the study and a researcher of the University of Ljubljana FMF, in Slovenia and INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, in Italy, explained: "This discovery is truly remarkable.
We’ve observed a galaxy from less than 600 million years after the Big Bang, and not only is it hosting a supermassive black hole, but the black hole is growing rapidly – far faster than we would expect in such a galaxy at this early time.
This challenges our understanding of black hole and galaxy formation in the early Universe and opens up new avenues of research into how these objects came to be."
The team analysed the galaxy's spectrum, which showed gas which had been highly ionised by energetic radiation, and suggested it was rotating quickly around a central source.
These features are key characteristics of an accreting supermassive black hole. The precise spectral data yielded an estimate of the black hole’s mass, revealing it to be unusually large for such an early stage in the Universe, and showed that CANUCS-LRD-z8.6 is compact and has not yet produced many heavy elements – a galaxy at an early stage of its evolution.
This combination makes it an intriguing subject for study.
Additionally, the Webb spectroscopy allowed the team to measure how much energy is emitted at different wavelengths, from which they were able to characterise the galaxy’s physical properties.
This allowed them to determine the mass of the galaxy’s stars and compare it with the black hole’s mass.
"The data we received from Webb was absolutely crucial,” added Dr. Nicholas Martis, a collaborator from the University of Ljubljana, FMF, who helped analyse the spectrum of the source.
“The spectral features revealed by Webb provided clear signs of an accreting black hole at the centre of the galaxy, something that could not have been observed with previous technology.
What makes this even more compelling is that the galaxy’s black hole is overmassive compared to its stellar mass. This suggests that black holes in the early Universe may have grown much faster than the galaxies that host them."
Astronomers have previously observed that the mass of a supermassive black hole and its host galaxy are linked: the larger a galaxy grows, the larger its central black hole also becomes.
CANUCS-LRD-z8.6 is the most massive host galaxy known at such an early time, yet its central black hole is even more massive than we would expect, defying the usual relation.
The result suggests that black holes may have formed and started growing at an accelerated pace in the early Universe, even in relatively small galaxies.
"This discovery is an exciting step in understanding the formation of the first supermassive black holes in the Universe,” explained Prof. Maruša Bradač, leader of the group at the University of Ljubljana.
“The unexpected rapid growth of the black hole in this galaxy raises questions about the processes that allowed such massive objects to emerge so early.
As we continue to analyse the data, we hope to find more galaxies like CANUCS-LRD-z8.6, which could provide us with even greater insights into the origins of black holes and galaxies."
The team is already planning additional observations with the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) and Webb to further study the cold gas and dust in the galaxy and to refine their understanding of the black hole’s properties.
The ongoing research into this LRD is poised to answer crucial questions about the early Universe, including how black holes and galaxies co-evolved in the first billion years of cosmic history.
As astronomers continue to explore the early Universe with JWST, further surprises are expected to emerge, offering an increasingly detailed picture of how the first supermassive black holes grew and evolved, setting the stage for the formation of the luminous quasars that light up the Universe today.
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_spots_greedy_supermassive_black_hole_in_early_Universe
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-65070-x
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/go/quantum/news/jpl-launches-quantum-space-innovation-center/
https://jpl.nasa.gov/go/quantum
JPL Launches Quantum Space Innovation Center
Nove,ber 19, 2025
The new center aims to coordinate groundbreaking research, foster industry and academic partnerships, and enable a new generation of quantum engineers and scientists to explore space-based applications of quantum sensing technology.
JPL is establishing a Quantum Space Innovation Center to meet ever-increasing demand for data processing, autonomous function, sensor precision and other capabilities that depend on the science of the very small for their next big leap.
The main goals of the Quantum Space Innovation Center are to leverage breakthrough quantum technologies, enhance scientific discovery, and create a pipeline of talent by collaborating with industry and universities.
The center will focus on areas of quantum detectors, quantum communication, and advanced sensors, building on JPL's legacy of innovations such as the terrestrial quantum gravity gradiometer, the Cold Atom Lab, and the Deep Space Atomic Clock.
To date, JPL is the only NASA center to have successfully operated quantum sensors in space.
“JPL has a proven track record in space-based quantum advancements that unlock new capabilities and discoveries.
Establishing this center will not only build on our history of pioneering work, but will elevate quantum technology research; foster collaboration with valued partners in industry, academia, and across NASA; and attract a new generation of quantum innovators,” said Director Laurie Leshin.
“We look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of quantum science and engineering alongside other technologies essential to NASA’s future.”
Small Science, Big Future
While quantum technology remains in its infancy, Earth Science and Technology Directorate Chief Technologist Jason Hyon sees the existing landscape as somewhere between the room-sized computers of the 1950s and the smartphone in your pocket today.
And the first point of order for the Lab is to get things in order.
“We have a lot going on in different groups, projects and teams discussing and working on quantum technology topics, and we’re getting a lot of interest and inquiries from different agencies and outside partners,” Hyon said.
“By creating the Quantum Center, we can ensure we’re communicating across directorates within JPL, coordinating our responses to outside inquiries, and presenting a unified message.”
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As a center for coordinating quantum technologies, the QSIC will oversee several developing technologies including quantum sensors, communication, and fundamental physics, working in partnership with NASA to advance the agency’s quantum capabilities and leadership.
To date, JPL has already brought in over $100 million in new business in these quantum-centric areas, and the center is coordinating with the program formulation offices in JPL Directorates of 4x, 7x, 8x, and 9x to capture the work being done, and explore potential opportunities for mission integration.
“We see the center as working together with the formulation office specifically related to quantum technologies, capturing all of the opportunities in one place, overseeing the maturity of the technology, and working to infuse quantum capabilities into future missions,” said Edward Chow, manager of JPL’s Civil Program Office.
Quantum Hub
The center also aims to form a Quantum Hub, which will function in partnership with several universities to share facilities, lab space, and resources to enable more quantum research and technological development.
So far, the universities involved include Caltech, UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, USC, ASU, and the University of Arizona.
The hub would also look to create collaborations, internship opportunities for students, offer quantum-based curriculum, and organize seminar series to attract the next generation of quantum physicists and engineers to the Lab.
“Right now, a majority of early career quantum physicists are going into the quantum computing market, and we want to attract those highly talented students and postdocs to work on space-based applications,” said John Callas, program manager in JPL’s Fundamental Physics Office.
Get Involved
Now, it’s time to get the word out to JPLers that the QSIC is open, and the Lab’s quantum-based technology activities have a home.
Looking for more info on of the Lab’s numerous existing quantum-capable testbeds? Want to learn how quantum gravity gradiometer (QGG) technology under development at JPL could allow for a GRACE-like gravity mission to be flown on one SmallSat with better results?
Looking for the next opportunity to propose your quantum-based mission concept? Check out the QSIC website, join the interest group mailing list, and stay informed.
“This is the time to really ramp up involvement because we see the promise of this disruptive technology,” said Earth Science and Technology Director James Graf.
“And we think JPL is the place to do it because we have already shown we can be successful in our previous missions.”
Jason Hyon will serve as the center’s first director, and John Callas and Edward Chow will be deputy directors.
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OQ Technology Sends Europe’s First D2D Message
November 19, 2025
Luxembourg-based satcom startup OQ Technology sent a test emergency broadcast message from its satellites in LEO to mobile phones on Earth, marking the first time a European satellite operator has connected directly with cellular devices on the ground.
It’s not an industry first—satcom firms including Viasat, SpaceX’s Starlink, AST SpaceMobile and others have achieved direct-to-device (D2D) connections before. But OQ’s milestone opens the door for Europe to build its own sovereign D2D capabilities.
Emerging market: OQ, which operates 10 satellites in LEO, plans to offer emergency-messaging capabilities to governments and private enterprises in the short term, before rolling out a more capable network to consumers, governments, and industrial organizations in the years to come.
“D2D is very important. It’s a very big market with a lot of opportunities,” OQ CEO Omar Qaise told Payload.
“We can offer this [emergency] service to any mobile operator that has a roaming agreement with us…followed then by the capability to send text messages between phones through OQ satellites, and then eventually also voice.”
OQ’s achievement comes at a time when Europe is boosting investment more broadly in sovereign communications capabilities. In August, OQ secured a €2.5M ($2.9M) grant from the European Innovation Council to test secure D2D messaging.
And it’s not the only company benefiting. Across Europe, governments have funded projects to make D2D a reality—including CNES’ U DESERVE 5G, ESA and the UK Space Agency’s SkyPhi mission, and, of course, IRIS2, which has a D2D component.
License to grow: For its part, OQ has spent years positioning itself as a viable partner to drive the commercial adoption of the new innovation.
OQ owns a license to 60 MHz of MSS S-band spectrum, which is the same band that’s become the standard in 5G non-terrestrial networks.
OQ has used this license to form partnerships with Dutch telco KPN, Germany’s O2 Telefónica,and others to expand access to satellite based IoT networks across the continent.
OQ also partnered with Aramco to strengthen the oil giant’s IoT connectivity in remote areas.
What’s next: OQ expects to grow its satellite constellation by an order of magnitude in the coming years.
Qaise told Payload the company aims to launch 30 more satellites in the next two years, and field a 100-sat strong constellation further down the line.
https://payloadspace.com/oq-technology-sends-europes-first-d2d-message/
European Space Agency signs Letter of Intent with Indian Space Association
19/11/2025
Following this year's announcement of enhanced cooperation with the Indian Space Research Organisation, the potential for future collaboration with ISpA demonstrates the deepening of Europe's relationship with India's space ecosystem.
ISpA's members include large Indian companies, multinational space companies, and dozens of startups.
The letter of intent was announced during the India International Space Conclave 2025, held on 18 and 19 November in New Delhi, an annual gathering of international space stakeholders from the public and private sectors in India.
ESA’s Director for Strategy, Legal and External Matters, Eric Morel de Westgaver, said: "This is an opportunity for us to examine areas of shared interest between ESA and ISpA, and for everyone to benefit from expertise and knowledge-sharing.
The breadth and depth of the Indian space industry is expanding every year, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds."
ISpA Director General Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt said: "Since its foundation four years ago, ISpA has become India's apex space industry body.
We believe by investigating our shared areas of interest with Europe through the European Space Agency, that the whole space industry will benefit, and that we can raise our ambitions and achievements together."
Areas of mutual interest to be explored pursuant to the letter include space research, information exchange on space research and commerce, and a dialogue for capability building.
https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_news/European_Space_Agency_signs_Letter_of_Intent_with_Indian_Space_Association
Scientists just discovered a new crater on the moon — they call it a 'freckle'
November 19, 2025
The headline says it all: The list of our moon's craters just got a little longer.
On Nov. 13, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) team — which operates visual equipment on NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) — announced the discovery of a never-before-seen dent in Earth's natural satellite.
It appears to be about 72 feet (22 meters) in diameter, probably formed between December 2009 and December 2012 and comes from a collision scientists say happened just north of another lunar cavity, Römer crater.
What's important to keep in mind, though, is that finding new craters on our moon isn't really a new thing for LROC.
One of its capabilities is to perform temporal analyses, which essentially means comparing before-and-after pictures of the same section of the lunar surface as seen from orbit.
Indeed, this strategy has led to LROC discovering quite a few new impact craters on our planet's companion. This has, in fact, been a big deal, because it proved to us that the moon's surface is dynamic even on a human timescale.
For instance, as of a 2016 statement from the LROC team, scientists had found over 200 impact craters that formed during the LRO mission (which began in 2009).
In 2023, the moon-orbiting probe even found a possible human-made crater — the consequence of Russia's Luna 25 lunar lander crashing into the world's surface.
The scoop on a new crater
As for this latest crater discovery, the team says what we know so far about the subject is that it ejected bright material tens of yards from the crater rim upon impact, and that this ejection yielded "sunburst-shaped" rays.
Similar sorts of rays have been seen near fresh lunar craters before, such as with this impact from March 17, 2013.
"Over time, the rays will darken to the shade of the surrounding regolith as the material is exposed to space weathering," the LROC statement reads. It's also notably small, as the team refers to it as a "freckle" on the moon.
Finding new craters on the moon is "essential for understanding impact rates and crater degradation rates over time, as well as for planning safe, successful missions to the moon," the statement adds.
The latter point is particularly important, as several nations are racing to get boots back on the moon, including NASA.
NASA's Artemis moon program, presently slated to roll out over the next decade, intends to land humans on the moon for the first time since 1972.
As a result, scientists have been meticulously trying to learn about the safety of the selected landing zone, a large region near the moon's south pole.
For instance, you have to take into consideration how good communication with Earth will be from a certain location, what the general terrain is like and what lighting conditions might be, as shadows on the moon can be tricky.
Some experts are even taking into consideration seismic conditions (moonquakes, basically).
So, presumably, a landing zone with an unexpected crater could spell disaster for such a mission. The more we know about our moon's dented body, the better.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/scientists-just-discovered-a-new-crater-on-the-moon-they-call-it-a-freckle
The Euclid space telescope observed 1.2 million galaxies in just 1 year. Here's what we've learned
November 18, 2025
After only one year of operations, the European Space Agency's Euclid mission has begun to unravel the mystery of why galaxies take on different shapes and how these different shapes relate to each other.
Answering this question involves tracking how galaxies and their central supermassive black holes grow together over time.
Having only launched in July of 2023, the Euclid space telescope has used its extraordinary field of view to observe a staggering 1.2 million galaxies.
These galactic subjects are cataloged in the spacecraft's first data release, which dropped in March of 2025. It is estimated that, by the end of its 6-year primary mission, Euclid will have studied tens of millions of galaxies.
It is therefore little wonder that astronomers are expecting it to make major waves in our understanding of how galaxies evolve.
"Euclid offers an unprecedented combination of sharpness and sky coverage — it will map the entire extragalactic sky," Maximilian Fabricius, scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), said in a statement.
"For the first time, we can systematically study how the shapes and central structures of galaxies relate to their formation history on truly cosmic scales."
Scientists are aware that the distinct morphology of galaxies, ranging from vast spirals like the Milky Way to featureless ellipticals like Messier 87, results from the course of their evolution.
Euclid data has been used to create a "galactic tuning fork" diagram that shows blue star-forming galaxies on the right, moving to the left as they grow and exhaust their star-birthing gas and dust, merge with other galaxies, and eventually form vast elliptical galaxies.
Galaxies grow with their black holes
Fabricius and colleagues began their research by diving into Euclid data and identified galaxies that show potential "secondary nuclei."
These have the potential to join with the existing nuclei to create a supermassive black hole binary. This is a vital stage in the merging of galaxies and helps dictate how the central regions of these galaxies are reshaped during these events.
The identified nuclei both host a supermassive black hole with a mass millions or even billions of times the mass of the sun, which are brought together via the merger between their host galaxies.
These black holes initially form a binary system, swirling around each other. But as they orbit each other, this system emits ripples in spacetime called "gravitational waves," which carry angular momentum away from the system.
This causes the black holes to spiral together until they collide and merge, creating an even more massive supermassive black hole.
That means black hole growth via merger is an inevitable outcome of the merger of galaxies that gives rise to huge elliptical galaxies. But before that comes a relatively short "double nuclei" period.
"The most massive black holes lie at the centres of giant elliptical galaxies and are thought to grow primarily through mergers with other supermassive black holes," Fabricius said.
"By detecting and analysing secondary nuclei, Euclid enables us to explore how these enormous black holes continue to grow — and how their growth influences the galaxies that host them."
The first data release from Euclid only covers around 0.5% of the dataset that the mission will ultimately deliver — but the space telescope has already enabled other forms of research.
The sensitivity of Euclid has already revealed that the most common galaxies in the cosmos are not spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, but rather small and faint dwarf galaxies, which have been too dim to observe in detail previously.
Thus far, Euclid has identified 2,674 dwarf galaxies, some of which contain compact blue cores or globular clusters.
This is significant to the evolution of galaxies because it is these dwarf galaxies that are thought to be the building blocks of larger galaxies like the Milky Way.
Thanks to Euclid, our view of the galactic tuning fork is changing and becoming far more detailed, leading to a better understanding of galactic structure and evolution.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/the-euclid-space-telescope-observed-1-2-million-galaxies-in-just-1-year-heres-what-weve-learned