TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
December 16, 2025
Andromeda and Sprites over Australia
What’s happening over that tree? Two very different things. On the left is the Andromeda galaxy, an object that is older than humanity and will last billions of years into the future. Andromeda (M31) is similar in size and shape to our own Milky Way Galaxy. On the right is a red sprite, a type of lightning that lasts a fraction of a second and occurs above violent thunderstorms. Red sprites were verified as real atmospheric phenomena only about 35 years ago. The tree in the center is a boab, which may live for as long as a thousand years. Boab trees grow naturally in Australia and Africa and are known for being able to store large amounts of water: up to 100,000 liters. The featured image was captured last month near Derby in Western Australia.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Super Solar Forcing, Trappist 1e, Solar Watch | S0 News and frens
Dec.16.2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySPqO5Wl4_U
https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_weather/When_the_Sun_disrupts_aviation
https://www.space.com/live/aurora-forecast-will-the-northern-lights-be-visible-tonight
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/science/solar-storms-could-trigger-catastrophic-satellite-collisions-in-space/story
https://112.ua/en/najstrasnisij-prognoz-na-2026-rik-pro-so-poperediv-ludej-zivij-nostradamus-121906
https://x.com/volcaholic1/status/2000663159028228268
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2000596340846576002
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/
The Anti-Tail of 3I/ATLAS is Larger Than the Distance to the Moon
December 15, 2025
As of December 15, 2025, the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS arrived at a distance of about 270 million kilometers from Earth. By December 19, 2025, it will get to a perigee distance of 268.9 million kilometers, only 0.4% closer than it is today.
The data collected by numerous observatories on Earth and in space will inform us in the coming weeks on the nature of 3I/ATLAS.
The latest images from December 14 and 15, 2025 show a prominent anti-tail that extends out to half a million kilometers away from the nucleus of 3I/ATLAS towards the Sun.
This length is larger than the average distance to the Moon: 384,400 kilometers. An anti-tail of this size had never been observed before for a comet.
To reach a scale of 500,000 kilometers over the past 45 days after perihelion, the sunward speed of the material in the anti-tail must be at least 130 meters per second relative to the nucleus of 3I/ATLAS.
Whether this speed can be maintained by sublimated dust or gas from pockets of ice facing the solar wind and solar radiation pressure remains to be studied. The alternative is a jet from a technological thruster.
How unusual are the properties of the anti-tail displayed by 3I/ATLAS?
We do not have a good census of the population of interstellar objects, including any traffic of technological objects through the inner solar system.
Our state-of-the-art survey telescopes, such as PanSTARRS, ATLAS or Rubin, can only detect reflection of sunlight from objects that are larger than 100-meters in diameter, roughly the size of a football field, within a distance comparable to the Earth-Sun separation.
This diameter is an order of magnitude bigger than the largest spacecraft that humanity launched so far. In addition, existing astronomical surveys would miss near-Earth objects that travel much faster than tens of kilometers per second, the typical speed of asteroids or comets.
In order to assess whether an interstellar object is an outlier that deserves a high rank on the Loeb Classification Scale — discussed here, here and here, we need to know the probability distribution functions for its properties.
Our assessment will be more reliable as the sample of interstellar objects gets larger. The challenge is familiar for those who seek a partner from a small pool of dating candidates, as it is difficult to decide how exceptional any of the early dating candidates are until we sample a large number of them.
Our interstellar dating pool might go beyond what Science Fiction writers imagine. Enrico Fermi’s question: “Where is everybody?” is often asked by lonely people. Our best advice to them is to engage in the search.
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/the-anti-tail-of-3i-atlas-is-larger-than-the-distance-to-the-moon-0862b138bf62
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/the-anti-tail-of-3i-atlas-wobbled-before-perihelion-3a0d286a6ad3
https://futurism.com/space/3i-atlas-protrusion-earth
https://mycharisma.com/news/countdown-to-3i-atlas-when-will-this-cosmic-visitor-be-closest-to-earth/
https://usaherald.com/3i-atlas-is-pointing-the-wrong-way-and-no-one-can-explain-why/
https://usaherald.com/3i-atlas-still-displays-a-sunward-facing-structure-that-defies-comet-expectations-as-earths-december-19th-encounter-nears/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1wliMUS8NI (Dobsonian Power: NOW THEY'RE REALLY WORRIED WITH 3I/ATLAS!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uer_Pdev3go (Stefan Burns: 3I/ATLAS is now Glowing GOLD as Earth's Closest Approach Countdown Begins)
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2000749854021022087
https://x.com/Ammar1176708/status/2000245431939318027
https://x.com/TespenMartin/status/2000632333788152201
https://x.com/ajrobertsshow/status/2000716630339543209
https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/the-comet-of-bethlehem-why-we-may-need-to-rethink-a-popular-christmas-story
https://britastro.org/journal_contents_ite/the-star-that-stopped-the-star-of-bethlehem-the-comet-of-5-bce
Could the Star of Bethlehem have actually been a comet?
December 16, 2025
Could the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the 'three wise men' to the infant Jesus in the Christian Bible, have been a comet that came as close to the Earth as the moon?
That's the remarkable hypothesis from Mark Matney, a planetary scientist in NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office by day and a self-declared Christmas junkie.
"I love Christmas," Matney told Space.com. "I love Christmas music, I love Christmas decorations — I love the whole thing!"
It was this love of Christmas, expressed in a festive show at the planetarium that Matney worked at when he was in college, that inspired his interest in the Star of Bethlehem.
A passage in the Bible's Book of Matthew describes how the star went before the wise men — known as 'magi', who were probably astrologers looking for signs in the sky — and stood over Bethlehem.
The planetarium show suggested that no known astronomical event behaves in this bizarre way, but rather than accept that, Matney saw it as a challenge. "I remember sitting there and thinking, I can think of one thing that can behave that way," he recalled.
For Matney, there are three ways to look at the story of the Star of Bethlehem. One, which is how those of a religious leaning might see it, is as a miraculous, divine event, the archangel Gabriel shining the way towards the baby Jesus.
Another, more cynical, view is to believe the whole story to be a myth, at best perhaps a misrepresentation or embellishment. If the Star of Bethlehem was either of these two things, then there's no point in looking for a scientific explanation.
On the other hand, the third way of looking at it is as a real astronomical event. Over the years, astronomers have suggested everything from a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn to a supernova and, yes, a comet.
The problem with all previous astronomical explanations, says Matney, is that "objects in the sky, whether it be the sun, moon, planets, ordinary stars or normal comets, rise in the east and set in the west, they don't go before you and hover over a location."
However, Matney realized that if an object came close enough, at just the right time, moving in just the right direction at just the right speed through the sky, then it could appear to do these things.
"I came up with the idea of temporary geosynchronous motion," said Matney. "It has to be just right, but in principle it can happen."
The Chinese comet of 5 BCE
Matney filed his idea away in the back of his brain, until later when he learned that Chinese astrologers (astronomers and astrologers back then were synonymous) had seen a bright comet in 5 BCE, which is believed to be the year that Jesus was born.
The recorded observations of the comet are not sufficient to chart its exact orbit, but instead its measured positions in the sky could belong to a range of possible orbits.
By running numerical simulations describing all these possible orbits, Matney found a subset of orbits that would have brought the comet close to Earth, and one possible orbit where it would have been close as Earth's moon.
Matney isn't saying that the comet definitely came that close — it's just one of a number of possible orbits the comet could have had.
Had it done so, however, it could be a tantalizing explanation for the Star of Bethlehem, explaining a great many things.
The Christmas festivities tell us that Jesus was born on Dec. 25, but theologians and historians aren't actually sure of his birth date.
However, the Chinese comet was discovered in mid-March, 5 BCE and, in the possible orbit flagged as being of interest to the Star of Bethlehem story, it would have reached its closest point to Earth on June 8 that year.
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This doesn't necessarily mean that Jesus was born in June either; it's also not clear how long after Jesus' birth the magi were said to have visited him.
We do know that when Herod later learned of Jesus' birth, he ordered all infant boys under the age of two to be killed, adding more uncertainty to when Jesus was born.
Unusual behavior at the comet's closest approach
Regardless, the comet would have continued along its orbit unperturbed by what was happening on Earth. In the possible orbit of interest discovered by Matney, the comet's closest approach to Earth would have been at a distance of 241,685 miles (388,954 kilometers).
This would have been closer to Earth than any other comet in recorded history, so close that Earth itself would have been encased in the comet's coma, its expansive halo of dust around its icy nucleus.
As the comet neared its closest approach, its direction of origin would have meant that its motion in the sky began to accelerate eastwards, not westwards, fast enough to begin to counter Earth's rotation in the opposite direction.
Between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. on the morning of June 8, as seen from the Jerusalem/Bethlehem area, this motion would have given the comet the illusion of remaining still in the daytime sky, as bright as the full moon and appearing to be above Bethlehem from the point of view of the magi.
Afterwards, the comet would have resumed westward motion on an orbit that would have seen it skim the sun's corona.
We call such comets 'sungrazers' and the close encounter with the sun would have probably resulted in the comet breaking up and being destroyed.
That the comet would have been visible during the daytime, in its guise as the Star of Bethlehem, even solves a minor mystery of the Christmas story, according to Matney.
"All the Christmas cards have the magi on camels at night, but during those times people typically did not travel at night," he said, citing hazards such as unlit paths and the danger from robbers.
"So the fact that this comet would have been visible in broad daylight makes sense to me, as they were more likely to have travelled during the day."
Comets, omens and history
If Matney is right, why doesn't the Book of Matthew refer to a comet rather than a star? To the ancients, everything in the celestial sky barring the sun and the moon was a star.
lanets were 'wandering stars', while comets were 'hairy stars' or 'broom stars' to the Chinese. And while comets are often seen as portents of doom, Matney explains that it's not as simple as that.
"Comet omens of that period are nuanced, but they were often omens of great change," said Matney. Often, it really depended on your point of view.
Herod was very interested in the duration that the star was in the sky, and he would of course have seen the comet as a bad omen.
It seems that the Chinese were also influenced by the comet's presence in the sky.
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Although there's no record in their annals of the comet growing so bright as to rival the moon in the daytime sky, the comet seems to have affected the astrological reckoning surrounding the emperor of that time, Emperor Ai of the Han dynasty.
"The Chinese had periods in the Emperor's reign, and I'm not 100% sure of this, but according to my Chinese colleague, the Chinese temporarily changed the dating of these periods in part because of the comet," said Matney. "So it was enough that it got their attention."
Even so, it does seem like it would require a remarkable set of coincidences for the comet to have been the Star of Bethlehem, by being in the right direction, at the right time, moving at the right speed and at the right distance — a Goldilocks comet, if you will.
"It is a very unusual set of parameters," conceded Matney. "It had to come at the right time so that the right longitude could see it.
Twelve hours sooner and it would have been on the other side of the world. But even though it is a highly unlikely set of circumstances, it's not out of the question. After all, every comet's orbit is a unique set of parameters."
Despite how rare it is for comets to come as close to the Earth as our moon — if Matney is right, this is the only comet in the past 2030 years — we have seen in the past decade that it is possible for a comet to sail close to a planet.
In 2014, comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) passed within 140,000 kilometers (87,000 miles) of Mars.
Searching for more evidence
Such a close approach could have physically left its mark on Earth.
As the comet's dusty coma would have swept across our planet, there would have been one heck of a meteor shower with its radiant in the constellation of Capricornus, the Sea Goat, and some of that cometary dust would have drifted through the atmosphere and settled onto Earth, finding its way into sediment, just waiting to be found as a thin geological layer.
"There might be something in the ice cores, a sudden jump in cometary or meteoritic dust," said Matney. "I did look for something like that but didn't find anything obvious. Maybe someone who studies ice cores for a living can take a better look."
Another problem with Matney's hypothesis is that other than the short section in the Book of Matthew, which is believed to have been written after 70 AD, the only other source of information regarding the comet and its possible link with the Star of Bethlehem is the Chinese observations of the comet.
If anyone else did see the star, they didn't leave any records — or at least, no records that have survived across the millennia since. Still, Matney is hopeful that something else might yet turn up.
"The weakest link in my story is that we don't have other records, which is why I'm still on the lookout for some untapped historical or archaeological source that might provide more clues," he said.
Matney is not claiming his hypothesis to be the final solution to the mystery of the Star of Bethlehem.
"I have no proof that the comet came that close, I just show that it could have," he said. "Unless we can turn over more records from the first century AD that can help us pinpoint the comet's orbit, it will stay in the realm of speculation."
We might never know what the Star of Bethlehem was, or even if there was a star at all. Matney's motivation was just to show that no matter how rare it might be, there is an astronomical event that in principle could behave like the Star of Bethlehem is reported to have behaved.
It's ironic; were a comet to come that close today, there'd probably be panic about it possibly crashing into Earth, but a little over 2,000 years ago, it might have been seen as the rise of a new king, the birth of a savior and the dawn of a new religion.
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One of NASA’s Key Cameras Orbiting Mars Takes 100,000th Image
Dec 16, 2025
Mesas and dunes stand out in the view snapped by HiRISE, one of the imagers aboard the agency’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
After nearly 20 years at the Red Planet, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has snapped its 100,000th image of the surface with its HiRISE camera.
Short for High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, HiRISE is the instrument the mission relies on for high-resolution images of features ranging from impact craters, sand dunes, and ice deposits to potential landing sites.
Those images, in turn, help improve our understanding of Mars and prepare for NASA’s future human missions there.
Captured Oct. 7, this milestone image from the spacecraft shows mesas and dunes within Syrtis Major, a region about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Jezero Crater, which NASA’s Perseverance rover is exploring.
Scientists are analyzing the image to better understand the source of windblown sand that gets trapped in the region’s landscape, eventually forming dunes.
“HiRISE hasn’t just discovered how different the Martian surface is from Earth, it’s also shown us how that surface changes over time,” said MRO’s project scientist, Leslie Tamppari of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.
“We’ve seen dune fields marching along with the wind and avalanches careening down steep slopes.”
The subject of the 100,000th image was recommended by a high school student through the HiWish site, where anyone can suggest parts of the planet to study.
Team members at University of Arizona in Tucson, which operates the camera, also make 3D models of HiRISE imagery so that viewers can experience virtual flyover videos.
“Rapid data releases, as well as imaging targets suggested by the broader science community and public, have been a hallmark of HiRISE,” said the camera’s principal investigator, Shane Byrne of the University of Arizona in Tucson.
“One hundred thousand images just like this one have made Mars more familiar and accessible for everyone.”
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/one-of-nasas-key-cameras-orbiting-mars-takes-100000th-image/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter/
NASA and Partners Expand Crucial Water Tracking Program
December 16, 2025
All 48 contiguous United States will now benefit from timely, high-resolution water data.
The OpenET program, a public-private collaboration led by consortium partners NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, California State University Monterey Bay, Environmental Defense Fund, Desert Research Institute, Google Earth Engine, and HabitatSeven, provides information on evapotranspiration.
Evapotranspiration is the movement of water from the ground to the atmosphere through plants and by direct evaporation from the ground.
The OpenET program serves as an important tool for water resource management, irrigation planning, drought monitoring, and fire risk evaluation.
OpenET’s Data Explorer tool originally launched in 2021, with data available for 17 western states.
The Farm and Ranch Management Support (FARMS) tool, launched in early 2025, provides an easy-to-use interface designed for individual farmers and ranchers.
At the time of the FARMS release, data were available for 27 states. On Dec. 15, data became available for 48 states across all tools.
Applications of OpenET include:
Water use reporting: The California Central Delta Water Agency and South Delta Water Agencyuse OpenET to support water use reporting to the state, which has led to an increase in landowner reporting and significant cost savings for farmers.
Irrigation management: From individual landowners to large companies, including Gallo and Sun Pacific Farming, OpenET helps growers of all sizes track crop water consumption to optimize irrigation, maintain or improve yields, and reduce costs.
Groundwater accounting and management: Water agencies in California and Nebraska are using OpenET in an open-source groundwater accounting platform developed by the Environmental Defense Fund and its partners, to help farmers track and manage their water budgets.
Agencies in Oregon and Kansas are developing pilot projects with the accounting platform.
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/science-news/2025/12/16/expanding-crucial-water-tracking/
https://etdata.org/
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/landsat/maintaining-the-gold-standard-the-future-of-landsat-calibration-and-validation/
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/landsat/whats-next-for-hls/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/landsat/calibration-validation/
Maintaining the Gold Standard: The Future of Landsat Calibration and Validation
Dec 16, 2025
The Landsat Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) group helps uphold Landsat's reputation as the gold standard of satellite imagery.
They ensure that the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) aboard Landsats 8 and 9 provide high-quality scientific measurements to users around the world.
In 2025, the Cal/Val group contributed over 60 pages to the second edition of “Comprehensive Remote Sensing” (Kaita et. al, 2026), organizing content from NASA, USGS, academia, and industry scientists.
Cal/Val support staff authored multiple sections, including a summary of results from Landsat 9 and of the evolution of spectral, spatial, and radiometric characteristics throughout the Landsat missions.
The Cal/Val team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center works closely with the Landsat Flight Operations Team to plan weekly calibration activities to maintain the radiometric accuracy of Landsat products.
In October 2025, a Landsat 9 anomaly occurred related to its solar array drive assembly (SADA) potentiometer. The spacecraft and instruments were placed in a safehold, pausing data collections.
The Cal/Val team assessed the instruments after they recovered from this anomaly, including monitoring the instrument telemetry, detector gains, and noise performance.
The team identified a mis-loaded detector map and updated the calibration of both the reflective and thermal emissive bands to ensure consistent, accurate data. After six days in the safehold, the instrument resumed normal operations.
The NASA Cal/Val team supports their USGS counterparts with quarterly updates to the Calibration Parameter File (CPF) by providing inputs for relative and absolute gains as needed.
This work involves collaborating with USGS scientists to ensure the consistency of the Combined Radiometric Model (CRaM). The CRaM approach integrates radiometric responses from on-board calibrators to enhance long-term calibration stability throughout mission lifetimes.
The CRaM algorithm also provides an extensible framework for future satellite missions. A peer-reviewed publication detailing the CRaM’s approach and future applications was submitted to Science of Remote Sensing.
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On January 14-16, 2025, the Landsat Cal/Val team organized and hosted the first semiannual Technical Information Meeting (TIM) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
NASA and USGS scientists welcomed collaborating scientists from South Dakota State University (SDSU), the University of Arizona Tucson, and Rochester Institute of Technology for presentations and discussions on Landsat imaging performance, algorithms, and instrument health.
On May 28-29, 2025, the Cal/Val team attended the second semiannual TIM at SDSU.
The Landsat Cal/Val Team is validating the accuracy of the Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 (HLS) v2.0 product, which combines data from multiple satellites to create a continuous record of Earth's surface reflectance measurements since 2013.
The team is testing the dataset using RadCalNet, a global network of automated ground stations that provide precise, standardized measurements.
The team compared measurements from four RadCalNet sites, including the well-established Railroad Valley Playa site in Nevada, against near-simultaneous HLS data.
Their analysis shows the satellite and ground measurements agree within expected uncertainty ranges—a strong validation of the HLS product's accuracy.
The team presented these findings at the CEOS IVOS calibration meeting in Tucson, Arizona (September 1-5, 2025) and is currently preparing a peer-reviewed article to share the complete results.
Path Forward
The Cal/Val team applies lessons learned from Landsat missions to better plan calibration efforts for the next generation of instruments.
Using instrument performance checklists from Landsat 8/9, the team is building a framework of in-house geometric and radiometric testing and extending algorithms for future Landsat instruments.
The Landsat Cal/Val Team is actively tackling a critical challenge in solar irradiance modeling.
While new hyperspectral sensor technologies have made it possible to create highly accurate solar models with much lower uncertainty, the remote sensing community still lacks agreed-upon methods for applying these advanced models.
A dedicated subgroup within the Landsat Cal/Val Team is now developing and testing standardized approaches to bridge this gap. Their goal is to create clear recommendations and best practices that the scientific community can refine together and implement consistently.
This work addresses a fundamental need—transforming promising hyperspectral solar modeling capabilities into practical, standardized tools that researchers can confidently use across different projects and applications.
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https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-observes-exoplanet-whose-composition-defies-explanation/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBf1GFkFjdc
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/
NASA’s Webb Observes Exoplanet Whose Composition Defies Explanation
Dec 16, 2025
Scientists using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have observed a rare type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, whose atmospheric composition challenges our understanding of how it formed.
Officially named PSR J2322-2650b, this Jupiter-mass object appears to have an exotic helium-and-carbon-dominated atmosphere unlike any ever seen before.
Soot clouds likely float through the air, and deep within the planet, these carbon clouds can condense and form diamonds. How the planet came to be is a mystery. The paper appears Tuesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
“This was an absolute surprise,” said study co-author Peter Gao of the Carnegie Earth and Planets Laboratory in Washington.
“I remember after we got the data down, our collective reaction was ‘What the heck is this?’ It's extremely different from what we expected.”
Image A: Exoplanet PSR J2322-2650b and Pulsar (Artist's Concept)
This planet-mass object was known to orbit a pulsar, a rapidly spinning neutron star. A pulsar emits beams of electromagnetic radiation at regular intervals typically ranging from milliseconds to seconds.
These pulsing beams can only be seen when they are pointing directly toward Earth, much like beams from a lighthouse.
This millisecond pulsar is expected to be emitting mostly gamma rays and other high energy particles, which are invisible to Webb’s infrared vision. Without a bright star in the way, scientists can study the planet in intricate detail across its whole orbit.
“This system is unique because we are able to view the planet illuminated by its host star, but not see the host star at all,” said Maya Beleznay, a third-year PhD candidate at Stanford University in California who worked on modeling the shape of the planet and the geometry of its orbit.
“So we get a really pristine spectrum. And we can study this system in more detail than normal exoplanets.”
“The planet orbits a star that's completely bizarre — the mass of the Sun, but the size of a city,” said the University of Chicago’s Michael Zhang, the principal investigator on this study.
“This is a new type of planet atmosphere that nobody has ever seen before. Instead of finding the normal molecules we expect to see on an exoplanet — like water, methane, and carbon dioxide — we saw molecular carbon, specifically C3 and C2.”
Molecular carbon is very unusual because at these temperatures, if there are any other types of atoms in the atmosphere, carbon will bind to them.
(Temperatures on the planet range from 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit at the coldest points of the night side to 3,700 degrees Fahrenheit at the hottest points of the day side.)
Molecular carbon is only dominant if there's almost no oxygen or nitrogen. Out of the approximately 150 planets that astronomers have studied inside and outside the solar system, no others have any detectable molecular carbon.
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PSR J2322-2650b is extraordinarily close to its star, just 1 million miles away. In contrast, Earth’s distance from the Sun is about 100 million miles.
Because of its extremely tight orbit, the exoplanet’s entire year — the time it takes to go around its star — is just 7.8 hours. Gravitational forces from the much heavier pulsar are pulling the Jupiter-mass planet into a bizarre lemon shape.
Image B: Exoplanet PSR J2322-2650b (Artist's Concept)
Together, the star and exoplanet may be considered a “black widow” system, though not a typical example. Black widow systems are a rare type of double system where a rapidly spinning pulsar is paired with a small, low-mass stellar companion.
In the past, material from the companion streamed onto the pulsar, causing the pulsar to spin faster over time, which powers a strong wind. That wind and radiation then bombard and evaporate the smaller and less massive companion.
Like the spider for which it is named, the pulsar slowly consumes its unfortunate partner.
But in this case, the companion is officially considered an exoplanet, not a star. The International Astronomical Union defines an exoplanet as a celestial body below 13 Jupiter masses that orbits a star, brown dwarf, or stellar remnant, such as a pulsar.
Of the 6,000 known exoplanets, this is the only one reminiscent of a gas giant (with mass, radius, and temperature similar to a hot Jupiter) orbiting a pulsar. Only a handful of pulsars are known to have planets.
“Did this thing form like a normal planet? No, because the composition is entirely different,” said Zhang. “Did it form by stripping the outside of a star, like ‘normal’ black widow systems are formed?
Probably not, because nuclear physics does not make pure carbon. It's very hard to imagine how you get this extremely carbon-enriched composition. It seems to rule out every known formation mechanism.”
Study co-author Roger Romani, of Stanford University and the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology Institute, proposes one evocative phenomenon that could occur in the unique atmosphere.
“As the companion cools down, the mixture of carbon and oxygen in the interior starts to crystallize,” said Romani. “Pure carbon crystals float to the top and get mixed into the helium, and that's what we see.
But then something has to happen to keep the oxygen and nitrogen away. And that's where the mystery come in.
“But it's nice to not know everything,” said Romani. “I'm looking forward to learning more about the weirdness of this atmosphere. It's great to have a puzzle to go after.”
Video A: Exoplanet PSR J2322-2650b and Pulsar (Artist's Concept)
With its infrared vision and exquisite sensitivity, this is a discovery only the Webb telescope could make.
Its perch a million miles from Earth and its huge sunshield keep the instruments very cold, which is necessary for these observations. It is not possible to conduct this study from the ground.
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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NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory Reveals ‘First Light’ Images
Dec 16, 2025
NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory has captured its first images from space, revealing rare views of Earth and the Moon in ultraviolet light.
Taken on Nov. 17 — still months before the mission’s science phase begins — these “first light” images confirm the spacecraft is healthy while hinting at the incredible views to come.
The initial images consist of two from Carruthers’ Wide Field Imager and two from its Narrow Field Imager.
Each imager captured two different views: one showing a broad spectrum of far ultraviolet light, and one revealing light from Earth’s geocorona.
When Carruthers captured these images, the Moon was also in its field of view and slightly closer to the spacecraft than Earth was, making the Moon appear larger and closer to Earth than usual.
The specific wavelength Carruthers observed in two of the images, called Lyman-alpha, is light emitted by atomic hydrogen. The faint glow of Lyman-alpha from hydrogen in Earth’s outer atmosphere is called the “geocorona,” Latin for “Earth crown.”
In the broad-spectrum images, the Moon and Earth look similar: both are spheres with well-defined edges.
However, in the Lyman-alpha filter, the Moon still appears as a crisp, sharp sphere while Earth appears surrounded by a bright “fuzz” extending out to space.
This glow is the geocorona, the primary focus of the Carruthers mission. It is the only way to “see” Earth’s outermost atmospheric layer, although the light of the geocorona has only been photographed a handful of times in history.
Carruthers will be the first mission to image it repeatedly, and from far enough away to see its great extent and discover how it changes over time.
These first images also offer a rare treat: sunlight reflected off the far side of the Moon, a view impossible to capture from Earth.
These initial images were taken with short, five-minute exposures — just long enough to confirm that the instrument is performing well.
During the main science phase, Carruthers will take 30-minute exposures, allowing it to reveal even fainter details of the geocorona and trace how Earth’s outer atmosphere responds to the changing Sun.
Carruthers launched on Sept. 24 and is just a few weeks from completing its journey to the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1, a point of gravitational balance roughly 1 million miles closer to the Sun than Earth is.
Carruthers will begin its primary science phase in March 2026, when it will begin sending back a steady stream of ultraviolet portraits of our planet’s ever-shifting outer atmosphere.
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasas-carruthers-geocorona-observatory-reveals-first-light-images/
NASA’s IMAP Mission Captures ‘First Light,’ Looks Back at Earth
Dec 16, 2025
All 10 instruments aboard NASA’s newly launched IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) mission have successfully recorded their first measurements in space.
With these “first light” observations, the spacecraft is now collecting preliminary science data as it journeys to its observational post at Lagrange point 1 (L1), about 1 million miles from Earth toward the Sun.
“We are extremely pleased with the initial in-flight performance of the IMAP mission. All instruments have successfully powered on and our commissioning remains on track.
We have already collected useful data including exercising our near-real-time space weather data stream,” said Brad Williams, IMAP program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“This successful milestone is quickly setting the stage for the start of our primary science operations."
As a modern-day celestial cartographer, IMAP will chart the boundaries of the heliosphere — a huge bubble created by the Sun's wind that encapsulates our entire solar system — and study how the heliosphere interacts with the local galactic neighborhood beyond.
To map the heliosphere’s boundaries, IMAP is equipped with three instruments that measure energetic neutral atoms: IMAP-Lo, IMAP-Hi, and IMAP-Ultra.
These uncharged particles, called ENAs for short, are cosmic messengers formed at the heliosphere’s edge that allow scientists to study the boundary region and its variability from afar.
“It’s just astounding that within the first couple weeks of observations, we see such clear and consistent ENA data across the factor of 10,000 in energy covered collectively by the three imagers,” said David McComas, Princeton University professor and principal investigator for the IMAP mission.
“This, plus excellent first light data from all seven of the other instruments, makes for a 10 out of 10, A-plus start to the mission.”
As IMAP travelled away from Earth, the IMAP-Ultra instrument looked back at the planet and picked up ENAs created by Earth’s magnetic environment.
These terrestrially made ENAs, which overwhelm ENAs coming from the heliosphere in sheer numbers, is a reason why IMAP will be stationed at L1.
There the spacecraft will have an unobstructed view of ENAs coming from the heliosphere’s boundaries.
The mission will also study the solar wind, a continuous flow of charged particles coming from the Sun.
Solar wind observations from five of IMAP’s instruments will be used by the IMAP Active Link for Real-Time (I-ALiRT) system to provide roughly a half hour’s warning to voyaging astronauts and spacecraft near Earth about harmful space weather and radiation coming their way.
The IMAP instruments are already making near-real-time solar wind measurements that can be used to support space weather forecasts.
The I-ALiRT network is being exercised and will be ready for space weather forecasters when IMAP starts its regular science mission at L1.
With all of IMAP’s instruments up and running, the mission has nearly completed its commissioning stage and will arrive at L1 in early January.
The mission is now working to complete the final commissioning steps and instrument calibration with the goal of being ready to take operational science data starting Saturday, Feb. 1, 2026.
Here’s a look at IMAP’s instruments and what they’ve seen in their first-light observations.
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/nasas-imap-mission-captures-first-light-looks-back-at-earth/
A Subtle Return of La Niña
Dec 16, 2025
After a several-month hiatus, La Niña returned to the equatorial Pacific Ocean in September 2025 and has continued into December.
However, this occurrence of El Niño’s cooler counterpart is relatively weak, and its influence on weather and climate over the next several months remains to be seen.
Part of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, La Niña develops when strengthened easterly trade winds intensify the upwelling of cold, deep water in the eastern tropical Pacific.
This process cools large swaths of the eastern and central equatorial Pacific while simultaneously pushing warm surface waters westward toward Asia and Australia.
In a report published on December 11, the NOAA Climate Prediction Center confirmed that below-average sea surface temperatures associated with La Niña conditions were present and likely to continue for another month or two.
The shifting wind patterns and the movement of heat within the ocean have a direct impact on sea level.
Because cooler water is denser and occupies less volume than warm water, sea levels in the central and eastern Pacific drop during La Niña events.
The map above shows sea surface height observed on December 1, 2025. Shades of blue indicate below-normal sea levels, shades of red show above-normal levels, and white represents near-normal conditions.
Data for the map were acquired by the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite and processed by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Signals related to seasonal cycles and long-term trends have been removed to highlight sea level changes associated with ENSO and other short-term natural phenomena.
The satellite’s twin successor, Sentinel-6B, launched in November 2025 and is expected to begin contributing to ENSO research and forecasts sometime in 2026.
This equatorial surface-water cooling alters the exchange of heat and moisture between the ocean and atmosphere, reshaping global atmospheric circulation patterns.
La Niña’s coupling with the ocean and atmosphere can shift mid-latitude jet streams, intensifying rainfall in some regions while bringing drought to others.
Typically, La Niña years bring below-average rainfall to the American Southwest and above-average rainfall to the Northwest.
But when the event is weak—whether El Niño or La Niña—the associated weather patterns can be “notoriously difficult to predict,” said Josh Willis, an oceanographer and Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich project scientist at JPL in Southern California.
“It still has the potential to tilt our winter toward the dry side in the American Southwest,” Willis said. “But it's never a guarantee, especially with a mild event like this one.”
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/a-subtle-return-of-la-nina/
Advanced Tech and Heart Health Top Monday’s Research Schedule
December 15, 2025
Expedition 74 kicked off the week exploring robotics, physics, and heart health aboard the International Space Station.
The orbital residents also continued packing a Japanese cargo craft while servicing and inspecting lab hardware.
NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman swapped a memory card and verified the functionality of the docking interface that supports the Astrobee free-flying robotic helpers.
The cube-shaped, toaster-sized Astrobees—being tested for their ability to assist astronauts with routine tasks—are attached to the docking station for recharging, data transfers, and systems monitoring.
The maintenance work sets up the Astrobees for a test run of an educational robotic challenge that allows students to create programs that control the robotic devices on the station.
Cardman also set up hardware for an experiment that will demonstrate how Indium, a liquid metal, flows in space.
The investigation takes place in an EXPRESS rack located inside the Destiny laboratory module, heats the Indium samples to between 200 and 400 degrees Celsius, and observes the metal’s behavior.
Results may lead to advanced space repair techniques such as soldering metal parts and improved satellite thrusters for longer service life.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov began his shift exploring how microgravity and space radiation affect the thin layer of cells lining a crew member’s blood vessels, also called the endothelium.
He wore electrodes on his chest and finger cuffs that measured his blood flow and blood pressure to help doctors protect crew health and advance cardiac research on Earth.
At the end of his shift, Platonov installed a camera and programmed it to automatically photograph Earth landmarks from Asia to South America in a variety of wavelengths during the crew’s sleep shift.
Station Commander Mike Fincke spent his shift moving decommissioned life support station hardware from the Tranquility module and into the HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft from JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency).
Cardman, NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams, and JAXA Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui assisted Fincke with the hardware transfers that will see the obsolete gear disposed of when HTV-X1 departs the orbital outpost in late January.
Afterward, Williams peered at stem cell samples using the KERMIT fluorescence microscope for a study that may enable superior stem cell manufacturing in space and advance regenerative medicine for patients on Earth.
When the stem cell observations were complete, Yui turned off the microscope and temporarily stowed the research components for a later experiment run.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov spent the first half of his shift inside the Zvezda service module replacing orbital plumbing gear.
He spent the last half of his shift inspecting module hatches, cleaning smoke detectors, and inventorying personal hygiene items.
Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev also started his shift in Zvezda but worked on ventilation system maintenance, then wrapped up his day photographing flow converters—instrumentation that manages water, air, coolant, and experimental fluids—for inspection and analysis.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/12/15/advanced-tech-and-heart-health-top-mondays-research-schedule/
Something in space is sending us bright blue flashes – and now scientists might know what they are
Tuesday 16 December 2025 14:13 GMT
Something in space is sending us brief, very bright blasts of blue light – and scientists might finally have a clue to what they are.
The phenomenon, known as luminous fast blue optical transients or LFBOTs, comes in the form of short, bright flashes of light that fade away and leave behind other X-ray and radio emissions.
They have perplexed scientists for a decade, despite scientists having spotted more than a dozen of them.
Possible explanations have included everything from strange supernovae to interstellar gas being eaten by a black hole. But now scientists believe they have another explanation.
That came after researchers looked at a new example, found last year and the brightest of its kind.
That new example suggests that the LFBOTs are caused by “extreme tidal disruption”. That happens when vast black holes eats its companion star, tearing it to shreds.
As well as helping explain the mysterious phenomenon, the research could help us better understand how black holes work and the ways that stars evolve, according to the researchers behind it.
For instance, huge black holes have been seen in experiments, but scientists still don’t know how they actually come to form.
“Theorists have come up with many ways to explain how we get these large black holes, to explain what LIGO sees,” said Raffaella Margutti, UC Berkeley associate professor of astronomy and physics, in a statement.
“LFBOTs allow you to get at this question from a completely different angle.
“They also allow us to characterize the precise location where these things are inside their host galaxy, which adds more context in trying to understand how we end up with this setup — a very large black hole and a companion.”
The new work is described in two new papers – ‘The Most Luminous Known Fast Blue Optical Transient AT 2024wpp: Unprecedented Evolution and Properties in the X-rays and Radio’ and ‘The Most Luminous Known Fast Blue Optical Transient AT 2024wpp: Unprecedented Evolution and Properties in the Ultraviolet to the Near-Infrared’ – that are available online and have been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
https://www.independent.co.uk/space/flashes-universe-fast-blue-b2885520.html
https://www.aol.com/articles/mysterious-bright-flashes-night-sky-110000813.html
Watch Japanese H3 rocket launch Michibiki 5 navigation satellite tonight
December 16, 2025
Japan will launch a new navigation satellite to orbit tonight (Dec. 16), and you can watch the action live.
An H3 rocket is scheduled to launch the Michibiki 5 spacecraft from Tanegashima Space Center today at 9:10 p.m. EST (0210 GMT and 11:10 a.m. local Japan time on Dec. 17).
You can watch it here at Space.com, courtesy of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), or directly via the agency. Coverage will begin at 8:15 p.m. EST (0115 GMT).
The 10,580-pound (4,800-kilogram) Michibiki 5 will be part of the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), Japan's homegrown navigation network in geosynchronous orbit.
"This system is compatible with GPS satellites and can be utilized with them in an integrated fashion," Japanese officials wrote in a description of the QZSS project.
"QZSW can be used even in the Asia-Oceania regions with longitudes close to Japan, so its usage will be expanded to other countries in these regions as well," they added.
Five QZSS satellites have reached orbit to date, starting with a pathfinder that launched in September 2010. That spacecraft, called Michibiki 1, was replaced by Michibiki 1R, which flew in October 2021.
Michibiki 5 will make QZSS a five-satellite system. But the launches won't end there: The constellation will eventually consist of 11 spacecraft, if all goes to plan.
Tonight's launch will be the seventh to date for the two-stage H3, the successor to Japan's workhorse H-2A, which retired this past June after 24 years of service.
The H3 failed during its debut launch in March 2023, resulting in the loss of the ALOS-3 Earth-observing satellite.
But the medium-lift rocket bounced back strong, acing its next five missions, including a February 2025 launch that sent another Michibiki satellite to orbit.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/japan-h3-rocket-launch-michibiki-5-navigation-satellite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-MFZgHWWSo
China launches new satellite into space
Update : 16.12.2025
China on Tuesday launched a new satellite into space, according to state-run media.
The Ziyuan III 04 satellite was sent into orbit from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in the northern province of Shanxi on Tuesday morning, Xinhua News reported.
The launch marked the 617th flight mission of China’s Long March rocket series.
The mission follows a series of recent space launches by China. On Wednesday, the country launched nine satellites aboard a Lijian-1 carrier rocket, also known as Kinetica-1 Y11.
A day earlier, Beijing successfully sent the 15th group of low-orbit internet satellites into space, further advancing the expansion of its space-based communications network.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/science-technology/china-launches-new-satellite-into-space/3772246
Solar storm could cripple Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites, causing orbital chaos
Dec 16, 2025 09:08 AM EST
A team of scientists has warned that the space congestion problem is in danger of spiralling out of control, describing our current situation as a “House of Cards”.
Individual satellites within mega-constellations, such as SpaceX’s Starlink, must perform an increasing number of collision-avoidance maneuvers each year.
According to scientists, solar storms could trigger Kessler Syndrome—a scenario in which satellites collide, leading to a cascading, destructive event in Earth’s orbit.
On the edge of Kessler Syndrome
A Federal Communications Commission (FCC) filing in 2023 showed that SpaceX’s Starlink satellites had to make 50,000 collision avoidance maneuvers over the previous four years.
That same year, Hugh Lewis, a professor of astronautics at the University of Southampton in the UK, calculated that, if trends continued, Starlink satellites would have to perform roughly a million maneuvers every six months by 2028.
This leaves little margin for error. Ultimately, space is becoming increasingly congested, and we are edging closer to the cascading destructive scenario known as Kessler Syndrome.
This could ultimately prevent spacecraft from reaching orbit, as there would be too great a risk of collision with small space debris.
Now, a team at Princeton University has warned that solar storms could be the tipping point that leads to a Kessler Syndrome scenario.
In a pre-print, they explain that solar storms heat the atmosphere, increasing atmospheric drag. This means that more fuel is required to maintain orbits and perform evasive maneuvers.
According to the researchers, the May 2024 “Gannon Storm” led to more than half of all satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) using up some of their fuel to reposition themselves.
In addition to increasing atmospheric drag, solar storms can also damage the navigational and communication systems of satellites.
Ultimately, this could prevent them from performing evasive maneuvers, leading to a catastrophic Kessler Syndrome scenario.
The CRASH Clock
In order to highlight the problem of space congestion, the researchers behind the new paper came up with a new metric—the Collision Realization and Significant Harm (CRASH) Clock.
This essentially describes how long it would take for a catastrophic collision to occur if satellite operators suddenly lost communication and their capacity to perform evasive maneuvers.
According to the team’s calculations, as of June 2025, the CRASH Clock is currently sitting at 2.8 days. This has risen significantly in recent years, the scientists warn.
In 2018, for example, the CRASH Clock would have sat at 121. This is because SpaceX began lifting its Starlink mega-constellation into orbit in 2019.
Effectively, the 2.8-day CRASH Clock indicates that a powerful solar storm could easily trigger Kessler Syndrome.
It would take a matter of days for the house of cards to come crashing down.
https://interestingengineering.com/space/solar-storm-could-cripple-satellites
https://www.wionews.com/trending/catastrophe-in-2-8-days-scientists-say-earth-at-risk-of-disastrous-chain-reaction-in-space-1765868167625
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.09643
Ghosts, sharks and Norse mythology: US Space Force unveils new names for satellites and space weapons
December 16, 2025
The U.S. Space Force is turning to some unlikely sources of inspiration for naming its spacecraft and space weaponry.
At the 3rd Annual Spacepower Conference, held in Orlando, Florida from Dec. 10 to Dec. 12, Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman told attendees that Space Force is adopting new naming schemes for each of its different mission areas that will "cement the identities of space weapon systems" much like the names of iconic aircraft, such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II or F-22 Raptor, have done for the U.S. Air Force.
But while symbols for some of Space Force's mission areas will be similarly borrowed from real-life animals, others are more mythological in nature, Saltzman said.
"These include Norse Pantheon, representing the power and dominance of orbital warfare; mythological creatures, conjuring the cunning and adaptability of cyber warfare systems; constellations, reflecting the reach and enduring connection of satellite communications; and ghosts, evoking the silent presence of space domain awareness, just to name a few," Saltzman said at the conference.
Seven different naming categories were chosen, one for each of Space Force's mission areas:
Orbital warfare: Norse pantheon
Electromagnetic warfare: Snakes
Cyber warfare: Mythological creatures
Navigation warfare: Sharks
Satellite communications: Constellations
Missile warning: Sentinels
Space domain awareness: Ghosts
After announcing the new naming scheme, Saltzman explained two specific names that had been chosen for specific spacecraft.
The first, a communications satellite in geostationary orbit previously known as the Ultra-High Frequency Follow-On system, will now be known as as Ursa Major.
"The Big Dipper — as you all know, part of the Ursa Major constellation — famously points to Polaris, our north star, always linking us to our most important missions," Saltzman said.
Another spacecraft operated by Space Force's 1st Space Operations Squadron (1 SOPS) used to track satellites in high orbits will now be taking a name from Norse mythology: Bifrost.
"Bifrost is a bridge between Earth and the realm of the gods," Saltzman explained, "just as the Bifrost system in low Earth orbit bridges the divide between the Earth and the higher geostationary orbit of the other 1 SOPS systems."
Saltzman stressed that the new naming scheme will help the newest branch of the U.S. military establish its own identity.
"These symbols conjure the character of the systems, the importance of their mission, and the identity of the Guardians who employ them," Saltzman said.
The new names will serve as "a way to own the identity of our space systems as they enter the joint fight," he added.
Unlike the U.S. Air Force's iconic aircraft or the U.S. Army's ground vehicles such as tanks, the public rarely gets a glimpse at Space Force's assets in orbit.
This is partly by design; many of Space Force's spacecraft are highly classified, which can make it difficult for the service to communicate its missions and capabilities both to the public and throughout the U.S. armed services.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/ghosts-sharks-and-norse-mythology-us-space-force-unveils-new-names-for-satellites-and-space-weapons
Orbital Warfare: The perseverance standard
Dec. 15, 2025
In stoicism, a philosophy centered on self-control and resilience, it is often taught that whatever stands in your way becomes the way, and that challenge can stimulate both individual and collective growth.
According to the U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command’s Year of the CGO campaign, perseverance is defined by giving the team 100 percent each and every day, having faith in yourself and your team to persevere through any obstacle, and to reinforce that “leading to excellence is supposed to be tough… if it wasn’t anyone could do it.”
U.S. Space Force 1st Lt. Nickolas Violissi, 3d Space Operations Squadron engagement team commander, responsible for planning, executing, and debriefing on-orbit sorties — start to finish, has seen his fair share of challenges and takes pride in leading his team through the various obstacles they face in achieving their respective objectives.
“For 3 SOPS, our ops and test tempo is fast paced, and thus we must persevere through failure, through limited time and through limited knowledge,” Violissi said.
“As we push the limits of space and ourselves, quitting is not an option. Be it missed exercise objectives or test setbacks, we learn and adapt from these experiences rather than folding from them.”
One of four active-duty squadrons, 3 SOPS falls under the command of Mission Delta 9 - Orbital Warfare — whose purpose is to generate combat-ready orbital warfare forces and to provide combatant commanders with the combat power to defeat space and counterspace threats.
In 3 SOPS, sortie taskings are given through the mission planning cell to an engagement team. The engagement team commander then leads a team of five enlisted members who conduct rendezvous and proximity operations.
RPO is the ability or operation of two, or more, independent space objects that purposefully maneuver within close proximity of each other. Through this process, the team oversees various critical tasks, including planning, analysis, maintenance, and scheduling.
After receiving a MD 9 mission brief, 3 SOPS’ marching orders are clear… conduct full-spectrum orbital warfare to guarantee military freedom of action.
“Leading teams at the cutting edge of orbital warfare means owning the mission, grinding through complexity and staying in the fight when answers aren’t obvious,” Violissi said.
“With my NCOIC and four other enlisted Guardians, we operate every sortie as a unified team. This structure deliberately pushes junior officers to lead to the point of friction, making real decisions that shape real effects in the space domain.
“We become prepared by doing hard things… like lifting weights or running distances, we must exercise our resiliency muscles by doing that which is outside of our comfort zone.
Having a growth mindset — looking at everything as an opportunity to learn and grow — is what has helped me appreciate the long game rather than the ups and downs in the short term. I am grateful to be a part of this mission and enjoy the challenge.
In 3 SOPS, Guardians don’t wait for perfect conditions. We persevere, adapt and get the mission done.”
https://www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/News/Display/Article/4360680/orbital-warfare-the-perseverance-standard/
https://www.ussf-cfc.spaceforce.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/3878188/mission-delta-9-orbital-warfare
‘New and exciting opportunities for North Alabama’: Dale Strong meets with President Trump to discuss U.S. Space Command, Golden Dome
December 15, 2025
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) visited the White House Monday to discuss how the Rocket City is helping lead the effort in innovation and technology for America’s national security.
“Spent some time with [President Trump] today at the White House discussing Space Command and Golden Dome,” Strong posted on X.
Strong’s team shared more about the meeting Monday with Yellowhammer News.
“Huntsville has long served as a center of America’s defense and aerospace innovation.
As the President casts a bold vision for our national defense systems, new and exciting opportunities arise for North Alabama to play a pivotal role in the development, testing, and integration of our defensive capabilities,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“Congressman Strong has been at the forefront of advocating for North Alabama’s contributions and takes every opportunity to champion the critical work being done at Redstone Arsenal.
The Congressman also expressed his gratitude to the President while sharing a firsthand look at the Space Command sign unveiling, reflecting the excitement and pride felt across North Alabama for the region’s growing role in our nation’s defense mission.”
Strong fought hard against the former Biden administration for reversing a decision during Trump’s first term that moved Space Command HQ is Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump reaffirmed his initial decision and announced from the Oval Office that U.S. Space Command’s permanent headquarters will be located in Huntsville.
Huntsville is also expected to a vital area when it comes to work for Trump Golden Dome missile defense project.
“Countries like Iran are openly chanting ‘Death to America,’ and we have to be able to protect ourselves,” U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville said earlier this year.
“You know, there’s no better place to help design this and build and operate than in my home state — Redstone Arsenal [in] Huntsville, Alabama."
https://yellowhammernews.com/new-and-exciting-opportunities-for-north-alabama-dale-strong-meets-with-president-trump-to-discuss-u-s-space-command-golden-dome/
https://x.com/RepDaleStrong/status/2000655114596700275