TYB
Wishing an awesone turkey day to everyone.
>Qandahar Strike Force
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
November 27, 2025 (Happy Thanksgiving!)
Portrait of NGC 1055
Big, beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 1055 is a dominant member of a small galaxy group a mere 60 million light-years away toward the aquatically intimidating constellation Cetus. Seen edge-on, the island universe spans over 100,000 light-years, a little larger than our own Milky Way galaxy. The colorful, spiky stars decorating this cosmic portrait of NGC 1055 are in the foreground, well within the Milky Way. But telltale pinkish star forming regions and young blue star clusters are scattered through winding dust lanes along the distant galaxy's thin disk. With a smattering of even more distant background galaxies, the deep image also reveals a boxy halo that extends far above and below the central bulge and disk of NGC 1055. The halo itself is laced with faint, narrow structures, and could represent the mixed and spread out debris from a satellite galaxy disrupted by the larger spiral some 10 billion years ago.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Magnetic RNA Sense, Calm Before The Storm | S0 News and frens
Nov.27.2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_p3YkWJa4w
https://x.com/AstronomyVibes/status/1993133787522515170
https://x.com/StefanBurnsGeo/status/1993930618514927643
https://www.space.com/stargazing/auroras/northern-lights-may-be-visible-in-14-states-tonight
https://www.space.com/live/aurora-forecast-will-the-northern-lights-be-visible-tonight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eMErDbifeI (Sabine Hossenfelder: Huge Gravity Anomaly Near Africa)
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/volcanoes-quakes-solar-storms-earth-system-crisis-magma-movement-inner-core-2826971-2025-11-27
https://www.adsadvance.co.uk/uk-space-weather-probes-capture-solar-radiation-spike.html
https://www.SpaceWeatherNews.com
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
https://www.iflscience.com/esas-juice-spacecraft-imaged-comet-3iatlas-as-it-flew-towards-jupiter-well-have-to-wait-until-2026-to-see-the-photos-81707
moar ATLAS
https://x.com/Ammar1176708/status/1993917497259524195
https://x.com/Ammar1176708/status/1993909944433725903
https://spacetracker.space/timeline
https://x.com/forallcurious/status/1993874172469235977
https://x.com/SajiAstropark/status/1994064640897061116
https://medium.com/@davidsereda/video-presentations-in-depth-on-3i-atlas-153f21d8c9f3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3n0KDMJtoU (David Sereda: 3I/Atlas THE GREAT REVEAL Part 1 - DON'T MISS THIS part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4bfpSViSGE (Part 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4HEVcUmT6k (Ray's Astrophotography: Comet 3i Atlas - Is it REALLY a COMET - I took a PICTURE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xleyKNNFZJ0 (Chuck's Astrophotography: 3I/ATLAS - I Took a Picture and It's Getting BRIGHTER!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlPnRDWPoss (Dobsonian Power: THIS R2 SWAN IS LOOKING LIKE 3I/ATLAS!)
https://www.ufonews.co/post/united-nations-launches-planetary-defense-on-3i-atlas-new-images
ESA's JUICE Spacecraft Imaged Comet 3I/ATLAS As It Flew Towards Jupiter. We'll Have To Wait Until 2026 To See The Photos
November 27, 2025
If you have been paying attention to science news lately, you will no doubt be aware of the new photos emerging of comet 3I/ATLAS.
The interstellar visitor, which first made its presence known on July 1, being spotted by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), has been dazzling astronomers and the public alike in photos from NASA, ESA, and China's Tianwen-1 orbiter around Mars, as well as many other telescopes.
Just last week, NASA released images of the object, which were taken during the long government shutdown in the US.
These included ultraviolet images from MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN), NASA’s STEREO mission, and the joint ESA/NASA SOHO mission.
A particularly cool observation, though not the sharpest of images we have seen of our interstellar visitor, came from NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover.
The US space agency captured an image of an interstellar comet from the surface of another world.
"The closest imagery of the comet was taken by NASA’s spacecraft at Mars. Earlier this fall, 3I/ATLAS passed by Mars from a distance of 19 million miles, where it was observed by three NASA spacecraft.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured one of the closest images of the comet, while the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter obtained ultraviolet images that will help scientists understand the comet’s make-up," NASA explained.
"Meanwhile, the Perseverance rover grabbed a faint glimpse from the surface of Mars."
While the photos from Mars are cool, what a lot of people would like to see are the images taken of the object from around our Solar System's largest gas giant.
Between November 2 and November 25, the European Space Agency (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) observed the comet, as the spacecraft was en route to Jupiter.
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“All this campaign was unexpected for everybody!" Olivier Witasse, ESA Project Scientist, told IFLScience ahead of the unexpected observations.
"For JUICE, indeed, we are in a cruise phase during which there are thermal constraints, being relatively close to the Sun (with respect to the science phase around Jupiter).
Therefore, no payload activities were expected to take place at this moment. However, given the uniqueness of these observations, it was decided to prepare this extra observation planning."
This is pretty awesome and fortuitous. The spacecraft, on a slow trajectory towards the gas giant, happened to be in an area where it was able to capture observations of the comet.
“JUICE will observe 3I/ATLAS between 2 and 25 November. We will be using five instruments: the camera, the near-infrared imaging instrument, the UV spectrometer, the sub-millimetre instrument, and a sensor to image neutral atoms.
We are far away (0.5 astronomical units), therefore, only remote sensing," Witasse added.
Unfortunately, we are going to have to have a little patience for the resulting images, which are expected to arrive next year. This isn't some conspiracy, but because of a combination of factors.
"As JUICE is currently close to the Sun, it is using its main high-gain antenna as a heat shield. It is using its smaller medium-gain antenna to send data back to Earth at a much lower rate," ESA explains.
"It is also far from Earth, on the other side of the Sun. Therefore, we don’t expect to receive data from JUICE’s observations of 3I/ATLAS until February 2026."
This isn't the first time that the spacecraft has used its main antenna as a heat shield, and this is the reason we did not get images of Venus as it used the planet for a gravity assist.
"Designed for the cold, dark environment of Jupiter, JUICE must adapt to the intense solar heat near Venus. To protect its sensitive components, the spacecraft is using its main, high-gain antenna as a thermal shield," ESA explained in a separate statement.
"Due to thermal constraints, its remote sensing instruments cannot be active during the flyby, and so no images of Venus will be captured."
In future, capturing images of comets as they make their way through the Solar System may become easier, with more missions designed specifically to intercept them.
"Following in the footsteps of ESA’s Rosetta mission, which landed on Comet 67P in 2014, ESA is currently developing the next-generation comet mission, Comet Interceptor.
Comet Interceptor will be the first mission to visit a comet coming directly from the outer reaches of the Sun's realm, carrying material untouched since the dawn of the Solar System," ESA writes.
"It is also possible – though very unlikely given their rarity – that Comet Interceptor could visit an interstellar comet."
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NASA Astronaut Chris Williams, Crewmates Arrive at Space Station
Nov 27, 2025
NASA astronaut Chris Williams, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, safely arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, expanding the orbiting laboratory’s crew to 10 for the next two weeks.
The trio launched aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft at 4:27 a.m. EST (2:27 p.m. Baikonur time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After a three-hour, two-orbit journey, the spacecraft docked at 7:34 a.m. to the space station’s Rassvet module.
Following hatch opening, expected about 10:10 a.m., the new arrivals will be welcomed by the Expedition 73 crew, including NASA astronauts Mike Fincke, Zena Cardman, and Jonny Kim; JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritsky, and Oleg Platonov.
NASA’s live coverage of hatch opening begins at 9:50 a.m. on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and YouTube. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
During his stay aboard the space station, Williams will conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations aimed at advancing human space exploration and benefiting life on Earth.
He will help install and test a new modular workout system for long-duration missions, support experiments to improve cryogenic fuel efficiency and grow semiconductor crystals in space, as well as assist NASA in designing new re-entry safety protocols to protect crews during future missions.
Expedition 74 is scheduled to begin on Monday, Dec. 8, following the departure of Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky, as they conclude an eight-month science mission aboard the orbital outpost.
Watch the change of command ceremony at 10:25 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, as station leadership transfers from Ryzhikov to Fincke, live on NASA+.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-astronaut-chris-williams-crewmates-arrive-at-space-station/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/11/27/hatches-open-station-crew-expands-to-10/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIAduLEqvTc (NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Soyuz MS-28 Docking)
NASA is Grateful for Citizen Scientists
Nov 27, 2025
Dear NASA Volunteers,
This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for you! In just the last few months, you’ve:
Discovered thousands of eclipsing binary stars,
Tracked naked dinoflagellates across the Antarctic,
Discovered fifty-one ultracool companions to nearby white dwarfs.
Mapped the height of forest canopies.
Found eleven high-proper-motion objects,
Sent us hundreds of observations of noctilucent clouds
Submitted hundreds of photos of sprites.
Spotted some near-earth asteroids, including one with cometary activity.
Analyzed Ham Radio data taken during a solar eclipse.
Helped manage bobcat, bear and deer populations.
Taken hundreds of photos of ice in Alaska.
Operated ozone sensors on airplanes and at home.
Classified thousands of images of galaxies from NASA’s Webb Telescope.
Written scientific papers—sometimes as the lead author!
And right now you’re out there searching for new comets ,
mapping molten flows on the Moon, analyzing new data from the International Space Station, and much, much more!
Thank you for your time, your energy, your passion, your curiosity, your ideas, your friendship! It’s great collaborating with you!
Love,
NASA
https://science.nasa.gov/get-involved/citizen-science/nasa-is-grateful-for-citizen-scientists/
NASA astronauts celebrate Thanksgiving with Russian cranberry sauce
November 27, 2025 7:00 AM ET
About 250 miles above the Earth, NASA astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) will enjoy an off-duty day for Thanksgiving, along with a group meal that features some celebratory foods.
"This is my second Thanksgiving in space, so I highly recommend it," said Mike Fincke, in a video message beamed down from the outpost.
This fall, NASA included a "Holiday Bulk Overwrapped Bag," or BOB, on a resupply mission that went up to the station.
The bag contained festive items like clams, oysters, crab meat, quail, and smoked salmon.
"Our ground teams and the food lab at NASA have taken such great care of us," said Zena Cardman, who noted that they'll also have traditional fare like turkey and mashed potatoes, all packaged up in ways that won't cause a mess in microgravity.
"We've even got some lobster, which is amazing. So I think it's going to be a really, really delicious meal."
Fincke displayed a can of cranberry sauce, which happened to come from the Russian space agency.
"It's kind of neat to have that up here because that's one of my favorite parts," he said. "I'm going to miss my family, of course.
But I'm up here with my space family and it's really awesome."
Cardman and Fincke, along with fellow NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, will share their holiday meal with three Russian cosmonauts and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui.
"We don't have Thanksgiving in Japan, but here, on ISS, everybody respects each other's culture," said Yui, who added that he was looking forward to the dinner.
And if all goes as planned, more guests will arrive in time for the meal, because a Soyuz rocket with three new crew members for the station, including NASA astronaut Chris Williams, is scheduled to blast off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:27 am Eastern time on Thursday.
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/27/nx-s1-5620998/nasa-astronauts-thanksgiving-cranberry-sauce
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/weve-even-got-some-lobster-thanksgiving-dinner-on-the-international-space-station-will-be-out-of-this-world-for-astronauts-video
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/iss-astronaut-jonny-kim-floats-with-his-lunch-space-photo-of-the-day-for-nov-27-2025
Mars discovery: Sound of lightning picked up by rover microphone
November 26, 2025 4:00 PM
Mini-lightning strikes created by whirling dust devils on Mars have been detected accidentally by the microphone on board the Perseverance rover.
The chance discovery is direct evidence of a form of lightning on Mars, researchers say in a report published in Nature.
They describe how the rover's microphone picked up signs of electrical arcs just a few centimeters long, which were accompanied by audible shockwaves.
"There's been a very big mystery about lightning on Mars for a long time.
It's probably one of the biggest mysteries about Mars," says Daniel Mitchard, a lightning researcher at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, who wasn't part of the research team but wrote an accompanying commentary for the journal.
"The key thing here," he explains, "is that we actually have a rover on the surface of Mars that appears to have detected something that fits our idea of what we think lightning on Mars would look like."
Besides Earth, flashes of lightning have been seen in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, and lightning has also been detected on Neptune and Uranus.
But finding lightning has proven more elusive on our closest planetary neighbors — even though experimenters in the 1970s did lab work that suggested lightning should exist on Mars.
For example, when researchers put volcanic sand into a flask and pumped it down to Martian atmospheric pressures, swirling the sand in the flask created a glow that could be seen in the dark, says Ralph Lorenz, a planetary scientist with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
The glow came from electrical charges caused by the friction between the bits of sand.
If you had a bigger buildup of electric charge, he says, that could produce a more sudden discharge, like what happens with spark plugs in a car, or on a larger scale, lightning.
After all, even on Earth, lightning can occur in turbulent clouds of volcanic ash. "So there's no reason that blowing dust or sand on Mars shouldn't become electrically charged," says Lorenz.
Recently, he and some colleagues were reviewing audio picked up by the Perseverance rover, a car-size robot that's been trundling around the Red Planet since 2021.
It's got a microphone, and a few years ago scientists reported hearing the sounds of a whirling dust devil passing over the rover.
Besides the wind and the hiss of the dust, Lorenz says, there was a brief sound of a snap or crack in the middle of the encounter.
"We just assumed it was a big sand grain or a small gravel grain just, you know, hitting the structure," he says.
But not too long later, one of their team members attended a science conference and heard a talk about atmospheric electricity.
"I thought that if there were discharges, we could hear them. And then, I remembered this recording," says Baptiste Chide, who is with the Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie in Toulouse, France.
So he did some experiments here on Earth, using an electrostatic generator, to see how electric discharges would affect the microphone.
What he saw was the same signals that had been captured on Mars; there was a distinctive pattern of a brief electrical interference followed by the acoustic signal of a shockwave.
Fifty-five such events were picked up by the microphone over two Martian years, the researchers say, and the sparks were usually associated with dust devils and the fronts of dust storms.
The electrical arcs would feel and sound like strong static electricity sparks, says Chide.
If an astronaut was on Mars, it might be possible to see them, although "small discharges are hard to see in strong sunshine, and it's the sunniest times of day that have most dust devils and maybe most of the strong discharge events.
That said, some events were at night," he says. The researchers think it's important to study this atmospheric electrical activity to understand the hazards it could pose to future robotic or human missions.
While most space hardware is designed to be robust, they note that the Soviet Mars 3 mission landed during a dust storm and only operated for about 20 seconds on the surface before suddenly and mysteriously ending its transmission.
"Something changed in 20 seconds," says Lorenz. "Could it have been an electrical discharge event? I don't think we can rule that out."
https://laist.com/brief/news/mystery-of-lightning-on-mars-is-solved
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09736-y
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03896-7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq4bVWxlmwk (Lightning on Mars — this is what it sounds like)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnu0NRsiP8I (NASA records Mars lightning sounds | 7NEWS)
ESA and Norway explore possibility of Arctic Space Centre
27/11/2025
The European Space Agency has signed a letter of intent with Norway to advance the prospect of a new ESA Arctic Space Centre to be hosted in Tromsø.
The Arctic is an important scientific ecosystem as well as being significant economically and geopolitically.
It is also a region where climate change is particularly pronounced, with rates of warming up to four times greater than the rest of the planet.
Space-based technologies and services can help monitor and mitigate climate change, while also supporting sustainable development, civil safety and security and energy management in the region.
"It is inevitable that the Arctic region faces change – as the whole planet does – but I believe that space can be a positive influence for the environment and the people of the Arctic region.
There is huge potential for an ESA Arctic Space Centre to bring benefits to Norway, the wider Arctic region, and to the rest of Europe," said Simonetta Cheli, ESA Director of Earth Observation.
Tromsø is already home to mission control for the Arctic Weather Satellite (AWS). Launched in August 2024, AWS demonstrates how a polar-orbiting constellation can improve short-term Arctic and global weather forecasts.
A range of other scientific and technological organisations operate in Tromsø including the Arctic Council Secretariat, Norwegian Polar Institute, a campus of the Arctic University of Norway, the ESA Arctic PhiLab and one of four ESA Business Incubation Centres in Norway as well as several R&D institutes working in marine biotechnology, medicine, space weather and sustainability.
ESA and Norway, through the Norwegian Space Agency (NOSA), will now form a joint working group for experts to examine the possibilities for the ESA Arctic Space Centre.
The Working Group will report back on a proposed scope for the centre along with the thematic priorities, governance model, and implementation timeline before the end of 2026.
Subject to the development of its operational scope, the ESA Arctic Space Centre may be expected to work particularly in the areas of Earth observation, navigation and telecommunications, and to work closely with stakeholders across the Arctic region.
Norway has been a Member State of ESA since 1987 participating in a wide range of ESA programmes, and although not a member state of the European Union, takes part in Copernicus and Galileo through an addition to the Agreement on the European Economic Area.
https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_news/ESA_and_Norway_explore_possibility_of_Arctic_Space_Centre
Michael Fincke From The International Space Station Talks Love For Buffalo, Steelers Game & More!
November 26, 2025
Watch as Buffalo Bills team reporter Maddy Glab and Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins interview NASA astronaut COL. Michael Fincke live from the International Space Station in this week's episode of You Herd!
COL. Fincke talks about his journey to becoming an astronaut, his love for the city of Buffalo, life on the International Space Station, his early Pittsburgh Steelers fandom, and much more!
https://www.buffalobills.com/video/michael-fincke-from-the-international-space-station-talks-love-for-buffalo-steelers-game-more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zJ4qISjCjw
she's right ya know
United States Space Force
@USSpaceForce
We wish our #Guardians and their families around the globe a safe and #HappyThanksgiving. We are thankful for your service.
5:00 AM · Nov 27, 2025
https://x.com/USSpaceForce/status/1994028446721429587