TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
December 20, 2025
A Solstice Sun Tattoo
The word solstice is from the Latin for Sun and to pause or stand still. And in the days surrounding a solstice the Sun's annual north-south drift in planet Earth's sky does slow down, pause, and then reverse direction. So near the solstice the daily path of the Sun through the sky really doesn't change much. In fact, near the December solstice, the Sun's consistent, low arc through northern hemisphere skies, along with low surface temperatures, has left a noticeable imprint on this path to the mountain town of Peaio in northern Italy. The morning frost on the road has melted away only where the sunlight was able to reach the ground. But it remains in the areas persistently shadowed by the fence, tattooing in frost an image of the fence on the asphalt surface.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Double Nova, Solar Storm Collision Clock | S0 News and frens
Dec.20.2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HY-vViQbrE
https://112.ua/en/magnitna-bura-19-grudna-aka-bude-ii-aktivnist-123338
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2002263583846260871
https://x.com/StefanBurnsGeo/status/2002068019011633378
https://www.space.com/stargazing/2-of-earths-rarest-lightning-phenomena-captured-simultaneously-in-once-in-a-lifetime-photo
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/3i-atlas-ignores-earth-2e2c00682bf0
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videos/international/ill-wink-later-putin-quips-about-secret-weapons-after-viral-alien-question-watch-rare-moment/videoshow/126080593.cms
https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/putin-rejects-space-weapon-claims-downplays-concerns-over-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas/
https://usaherald.com/strange-energy-burst-coincides-with-3i-atlas-at-earths-closest-point/
https://www.britannica.com/science/Is-Comet-3I-ATLAS-an-Alien-Spacecraft
https://medium.com/@liena.dreams/3i-atlas-comet-that-breathes-nickel-0f3831d50ffb
https://www.geo.tv/latest/640504-interstellar-comet-3iatlas-safely-passes-earth-heads-toward-jupiter
https://x.com/SeVoSpace/status/2002214746699772314
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGRip6dBqfY (3I/Atlas makes its closest approach to Earth | Avi Loeb | FOX 10 Phoenix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIgoRah7Y9w (Stefan Burns: I've Never Made a Video Like This Before 🛜 Ultra-Rare 25 Hz Signal Received During 3I/ATLAS Perigee)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPDlQkOy2AE (Ray's Astrophotography: Comet 3I ATLAS – Near Earth's Closest Point , Jet ANGLES CHANGE BETWEEN IMAGES – I took a PICTURE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSfSRGix6bc (Chuck's Astrophotography: LIVE: Comet 3I ATLAS - December 19 Raw Data)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txY7XUMJ1js (Maussan: As expected, on December 19, 2025, the BEST IMAGES OF THE 3I/ATLAS were captured 🔭)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZtfcTRchbU (4biddenknowledge Podcast Network : A Sign in the Heavens: 3I/ATLAS and the Hopi Blue & Red Kachina Prophecy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLmWiyheKEE (Lily Nova: 3i/Atlas Arrives! 🛸 The Coming Changes & Cosmic Messages w/ Sarah Breskman Cosme)
https://x.com/ParanormalLink_/status/2002030247550857243
https://x.com/VRubinObs/status/2002154493614383377
https://x.com/forallcurious/status/2002138538620715199
3I/ATLAS Ignores Earth
December 20, 2025
Humans are interesting cosmic creatures. More than four centuries ago, we were convinced that the Universe centers on us.
Recently, we realized that there are about ten billion houses like ours on the cosmic street of the Milky-Way and most of them formed billions of years before the Earth-Sun system.
However, our popular view is that visitors from these houses might show up in our cosmic neighborhood because of their interest in our home.
Well, guess what: if you are late to a party and you are not at the center of the room, the party is not about you. Not only are we not at the center of the Universe, we are also not at the center of attention for interstellar visitors.
This blunt message-in-a-bottle was delivered to earthlings on December 19, 2025, by the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, as it reached its closest distance from Earth, 268.91 million kilometers.
3I/ATLAS did not maneuver or display any unusual activity on that occasion. Its trajectory is aligned to within 5 degrees with the ecliptic plane but it avoided Earth by passing on the other side of the Sun relative to us on October 29, 2025.
Some find this message insulting. But the truth of the matter is that with an interstellar speed of 60 kilometers per second, the journey of 3I/ATLAS through the Milky-Way disk of stars must have taken billions of years.
When 3I/ATLAS started its journey, there were no humans on Earth. And besides, among the solar system planets — Jupiter is the center of attention given that its mass is 318 times larger than Earth’s.
Humans arrived late to the local cosmic party, only to witness the last 0.0001 of the Milky-Way history. Given that, we should not be surprised that interstellar visitors — who attended the party for much longer, did not plan to dance with us.
So far, December 19 images of 3I/ATLAS were only released by amateur astronomers. They feature a prominent anti-tail jet pointed at the Sun, ten times longer than it is wide, with a length of a million kilometers.
We have never witnessed such a long, tightly collimated anti-tail. To fully understand the nature of 3I/ATLAS, we must explain this anomaly as well as the others listed here.
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In the coming months, imaging and spectroscopic data will help us figure out the mysterious properties of 3I/ATLAS by the time it gets closest to Jupiter on March 16, 2026.
The forecasted perijove distance of 53.6 million kilometers is close to Jupiter’s Hill radius, 53.5 million kilometers (as discussed here), where Jupiter’s gravity dominates over the Sun’s tide.
Given that Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, it would be interesting to monitor 3I/ATLAS with the Juno spacecraft for any unusual activity as it passes by Jupiter’s Lagrange points.
I delivered the above sentiments in seven television interviews during the perigee day of 3I/ATLAS.
After the last interview, I received the following email from the brilliant Gadi Schwartz at NBC News:
“Speaking to you is always the highlight of our day! And the amount of little future astronomers you have inspired is incalculable!!!
Here’s the latest AI imposter I spotted! (CHATgpt tells me deepfakes should be taken as are the highest form of flattery!)”
Indeed, fake content manufactured by artificial intelligence will be the biggest nemesis of science for years to come. My hope lies with natural intelligence.
To gain respect near the top of the food chain in the Milky Way galaxy, we must endeavor to interstellar space. During his first day in office, the new NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, commented here on the importance of extending our space exploration plans beyond the Moon and Mars.
Also, during his annual televised news conference on December 19, 2025, accessible here, Russian president Vladimir Putin was asked by a reporter about 3I/ATLAS. Here is the transcript of the exchange:
“Journalist: I have a question about the unusual object 3I Atlas which is currently approaching us. If the predictions are to be believed today, December 19th, either a spacecraft with an engine or just a comet will approach Earth.
My question is this, what do intelligence services report to you? Are there really signs of artificial origin? As funny as it may sound, there are indeed many theories and speculations.
We, at Tyumen — the oil capital of Russia, are ready to welcome any guests but if they are from space we would like to prepare. Secondly is the date of our meeting today related to this forecast since it’s the first time we are summing up the year on a Friday.
Putin: Is your name Christina? I’ll tell you, but it must remain exclusively between us.
This is classified information. It’s our secret weapon, but we will only use it in the most extreme case because we are against deploying weapons in space.
Seriously though, it’s a comet. Our scientists are aware of what is happening. Moreover, this is a comet from another star, so it behaves differently from comets of our galactic origin.
It has a different shell and as it approaches closer to the Sun, slightly different processes occur on its surface, including in the field tail of this rocket. Things look different there, but it’s quite large. I think somewhere between 2 to 6 kilometers.
Look, the moon is 400,000 kilometers away from us. And the object you are talking about is hundreds of millions of kilometers away. I don’t think it poses any threat to us.
We’ll let it go to Jupiter. And at the beginning of next year, the comet will leave the solar system.”
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NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Observes Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
December 19, 2025
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS from Oct. 18 to Nov. 5, 2025, with its WISPR (Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe) instrument.
The spacecraft snapped around 10 images of the comet per day. During this period, Parker Solar Probe was speeding away from the Sun following its 25th solar flyby on Sept. 15.
In these initial images — which still need to go through final calibration and processing — the comet can be seen heading behind the Sun from Parker’s point of view.
At the time, the comet was near its closest point to the Sun, at a distance of about 130 million miles, placing it just outside the orbit of Mars.
The images offer a valuable look at the comet over a period when it couldn’t be seen from Earth because it appeared too close to the Sun from Earth’s perspective.
The WISPR team is continuing to process the data to remove stray sunlight and compensate for exposure times, which differed between the images, causing the comet to appear as if it changed brightness.
The final images will ultimately help scientists better study this interstellar visitor.
Comet 3I/ATLAS was discovered by the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, in July.
It is the third known object originating from outside our solar system discovered passing through our solar neighborhood. Comet 3I/ATLAS was also seen by other NASA heliophysics missions including PUNCH, STEREO, and SOHO.
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/parker-solar-probe/2025/12/19/nasas-parker-solar-probe-observes-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas/
Bethany Stevens
@NASASpox
@NASAAdmin Jared Isaacman is having his first town hall internally with NASA employees to foster a culture of open discussion and mission-first collaboration with his team.
We understand there is a great deal of interest in what will be said in today’s town hall. As such, we will be releasing it in its entirety following the event.
NASA is committed to open communication, but agency wide workforce meetings serve an important purpose of allowing employees a direct line of communication and candid conversation with the Administrator without outside influence.
10:53 AM · Dec 19, 2025
https://x.com/NASASpox/status/2002090040864948250
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdQiPJ6KmRc
Second Scientific Balloon for NASA Launches from Antarctica
Dec 19, 2025
The second scientific balloon flight for NASA’s Antarctic scientific balloon campaign has reached its float altitude of 120,000 feet after lifting off from the agency’s facility located near the U.S. National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station on the Ross Ice Shelf at 5:56 a.m. NZST, Saturday, Dec. 20 (11:56 a.m., Friday, Dec. 19 in U.S. Eastern Time).
The balloon is carrying NASA’s Payload for Ultrahigh Energy Observations (PUEO) mission, designed to detect radio signals created when neutrinos from space hit ice.
Neutrinos are highly energetic particles. The PUEO payload will collect data that give us insight into events like the creation of black holes and neutron star mergers.
This is NASA’s first balloon mission to launch through the agency’s Astrophysics Pioneers program, which supports compelling astrophysics science at a lower cost.
Track the balloon in realtime: https://www.csbf.nasa.gov/map/balloon8/flight737N.htm
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/wallops/2025/12/19/second-scientific-balloon-for-nasa-launches-from-antarctica/
NASA and Johns Hopkins APL Demonstrate First-of-Its-Kind Space Communications
Dec 19, 2025
NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, have successfully tested wideband technology that allows spacecraft to communicate with both government and commercial networks for the first time.
Launched July 23 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission, the Polylingual Experimental Terminal (PExT) is demonstrating multilingual wideband terminal technology.
Hosted on a satellite from York Space Systems, PExT enhances a spacecraft’s communications subsystem, enabling mission controllers to track and exchange data more efficiently across a broad range of networks and frequencies.
“This demonstration marks a historic step forward in modernizing space communications,” said Bobby Braun, head of APL’s Space Exploration Sector.
“PExT serves as another example of how APL’s pedigree in space technology can significantly benefit NASA and our nation.”
Blending Pop Culture, Science, and Technology
PExT works similarly to cellular network technology, where a phone has a primary wireless network but can roam to networks managed by other companies without interruption.
NASA and APL aim to provide a comparable framework, allowing spacecraft equipped with the terminal flying in low Earth orbit to connect seamlessly to relay satellites running on commercial and government networks.
During the demonstration, the terminal established connections with NASA’s TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellite) fleet and multiple commercial networks to showcase its capabilities.
In a nod to pop culture, engineers also demonstrated low-latency and high-data-rate communications by playing the video game DOOM and the Rick Astley music video that spawned the popular “rickroll” meme in real time on the terminal.
“This demonstration brings unprecedented capability to new space missions by enabling communications that are untethered from the constraints of individual service providers and enabled by multilingual access to hybrid networks,” said Chris Haskins, principal investigator for PExT at APL.
“It also shows how government, academia, and industry can partner effectively to develop and demonstrate groundbreaking and critical space capabilities.”
PExT advances NASA’s goals for how spacecraft will communicate while in low Earth orbit. In the future, this technology could expand to cislunar space, the region between Earth’s geosynchronous orbit and the Moon, as well as the Earth-Moon Lagrange points.
Because of the flexible capabilities of wideband technology and the innovative nature of the mission, NASA has extended the PExT demonstration for an additional 12 months.
Extended mission operations will include new direct-to-Earth tests with the Swedish Space Corporation, scheduled to begin in early 2026.
The PExT team is working with commercial industry to transition wideband technology and the PExT terminal to the broader space community, similar to APL’s transfer of the Frontier Radio, a software-defined radio used on multiple space missions before being licensed to Rocket Lab USA in 2021 for commercial use.
For decades, NASA’s TDRS constellation has ensured reliable communications between spacecraft in orbit and scientists and engineers on the ground.
By 2031, NASA will transition near-Earth communications services for robotic science missions from government-owned to commercially sourced infrastructure.
https://www.jhuapl.edu/news/news-releases/251219-pext-successful-test-demonstration
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/commercial-space/nasas-wideband-technology-demo-proves-space-missions-are-free-to-roam/
NASA’s PUNCH Spies Comet Lemmon
In late 2025, as comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) swept past the Sun and brightened in Earth’s night skies, NASA’s Earth-orbiting PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission was watching the comet blaze through its field of view, providing a natural tracer of the Sun’s effects across the inner solar system.
Discovered in January 2025 using a NASA-funded survey telescope on Mount Lemmon in Arizona, comet Lemmon first appeared in PUNCH’s view in October.
This movie, made from PUNCH images taken from Oct. 22 to Nov. 12, shows the comet’s movement against background stars and shows changes in the comet’s tail.
Variations in the solar wind — a stream of particles that flows out from the Sun — affects the comet’s tail, with occasional solar outbursts causing more dramatic fluctuations in the tail.
Twice, on Nov. 1 and Nov. 4, the comet’s tail appears to waver and break in response to solar activity.
The tail shortens briefly but then regrows over the following days.
Comet Lemmon continues to be visible in PUNCH images, though it is now getting fainter with each passing day.
Mission scientists expect it to leave PUNCH’s view by mid-January 2026 as it moves farther away from both the Sun and Earth.
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/punch/2025/12/19/nasas-punch-spies-comet-lemmon/
Brain Research, Heart Health Wrap Up Work Week Aboard Station
December 19, 2025
The Expedition 74 crew explored how living in space affects the brain and blood circulation on Friday to ensure crews stay healthy and ensure long-term mission success.
The International Space Station residents also focused on spacewalking tools and science hardware maintenance wrapping up the week.
NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams began his shift on Friday collecting his blood and urine samples for analysis then stowing them in a science freezer.
Afterward, Williams participated in a pair of tests to document potential space-caused changes to brain structure and performance for the long-running CIPHER investigation.
The first test measured his spatial cognition, or ability to orient himself in weightlessness, while the second test recorded his reactions as he practiced Canadarm2 robotic arm maneuvers during a computer simulation to capture a cargo spacecraft.
Doctors will use the results to evaluate cognitive performance and develop tools to monitor and protect the brain in microgravity.
Station Commander Mike Fincke of NASA and Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) took turns studying how blood flows from the brain to the heart to understand cerebral and cardiac efficiency in space.
The duo wore electrodes and sensors on their neck, collarbone, and ribs measuring blood flow and volume changes that may lead to space-related cardiac issues such as blood clots or arterial stiffness.
Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev also explored vascular health wearing chest electrodes and blood pressure cuffs on the arms, wrists, and fingers for their space agency’s Endothelium human research experiment.
They were studying how the inner lining of blood vessels works to keep blood flowing smoothly, regulate pressure, and prevent clots in crew members.
Doctors are monitoring how weightlessness and space radiation affect a cosmonaut’s arteries, blood pressure, and heart during a spaceflight.
NASA Flight Engineer Zena Cardman was back inside the Quest airlock on Friday organizing spacewalking tools and wearing virtual reality goggles training how to operate a spacesuit emergency jetpack.
The jet pack, officially called Simplified Aid For EVA Rescue, or SAFER, enables a spacewalker to maneuver safely back to the orbital outpost in the unlikely event they become untethered.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov finalized an overnight photography session that automatically photographed Earth landmarks in near-ultraviolet wavelengths during the crew’s sleep shift.
Next, Platonov replaced a vacuum pump and transferred liquids during standard orbital plumbing maintenance. Finally, the first-time space flyer checked video recording gear and formatted video memory cards wrapping up his work week aboard the orbiting lab.
The Expedition 74 crew members will call down to family members, share gifts and meals, and celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve in orbit.
Pending further mission updates in December this will be the last International Space Station blog post of 2025. The next regular blog update is planned for Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.
You can also visit nasa.gov/station on the web or @space_station on X, ISS Facebook, and ISS Instagram on social media for the latest mission information.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/12/19/brain-research-heart-health-wrap-up-work-week-aboard-station/
New Shepard Completes 37th Mission
Dec 20, 2025
Today, Blue Origin successfully launched the 37th flight of the New Shepard program. The crew included: Michaela (Michi) Benthaus, Joey Hyde, Hans Koenigsmann, Neal Milch, Adonis Pouroulis, and Jason Stansell.
This mission marked the first time a wheelchair user has flown above the Kármán Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. Including today’s crew, New Shepard has now flown 92 people (86 individuals) into space.
“NS-37 marks our ninth flight of the year and sets the stage for an increase in New Shepard flight rate in 2026 and beyond,” said Phil Joyce, Senior Vice President of New Shepard.
“This crew exemplifies the breadth and diversity of people who can now experience spaceflight, from engineers and scientists to entrepreneurs, teachers, and investors from all over the world.
Each brings their unique perspective and passion for exploration. Michi's flight is particularly meaningful, demonstrating that space is for everyone, and we are proud to help her achieve this dream.”
New Shepard was designed with accessibility in mind. The vehicle is autonomous and features elevator access on the launch tower, making spaceflight accessible to a wider range of people.
Including today’s flight, New Shepard has flown astronauts who are wheelchair users, hard of hearing, have limited mobility or limb differences, have low vision, or are legally blind.
https://www.blueorigin.com/news/new-shepard-ns-37-mission
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66VP21OjegA
https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/astronomers-may-have-spotted-the-1st-known-superkilonova-double-star-explosion
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae2000
https://interestingengineering.com/space/giant-space-objects-collide-star-system
https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/possible-superkilonova-exploded-not-once-but-twice
Astronomers may have spotted the 1st known 'superkilonova' double star explosion
December 19, 2025
Astronomers may have discovered the first example of an explosive cosmic event called a "superkilonova," in the form of a gravitational wave signal detected on Aug. 18, 2025.
A kilonova describes the explosion generated when two neutron stars — stellar remnants left behind when massive stars die — slam together, creating the only environment in the known universe violent enough to forge elements heavier than iron, such as the gold and silver in your jewelry box.
Superkilonovas differ because they begin with the supernova explosion that marks the death of a star and the birth of two neutron stars, not one.
These extreme dead stars then spiral together and merge, creating a scream of gravitational waves and a blast of electromagnetic radiation.
Thus far, astronomers have made the unambiguous detection of just one kilonova when, in 2017, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and its European partner, Virgo, detected the gravitational wave signal known as GW170817.
This event was then seen in electromagnetic radiation by a host of space and ground-based telescopes, instruments of "traditional astronomy."
Thus, scientists were already excited when LIGO and Virgo "heard" a signal designated AT2025ulz, which seemed to be the second detection of a neutron star merger.
However, the situation soon seemed to take on added complexity. After the detection, an alert was sent out to astronomers across the globe, with the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a survey camera at Palomar Observatory in California, the first to spot a rapidly fading red object 1.3 billion light-years away. That's around the same location as the source of the gravitational waves.
"At first, for about three days, the eruption looked just like the first kilonova in 2017," study lead author Mansi Kasliwal, an astronomy professor at the California Institute of Technology, said in a statement.
"Everybody was intensely trying to observe and analyze it, but then it started to look more like a supernova, and some astronomers lost interest. Not us."
Kasliwal and colleagues began to realize that what this event seemed to be was a kilonova stemming from a supernova explosion that's obscuring the view of astronomers.
That would make AT2025ulz the result of a superkilonova, a type of powerful cosmic event long hypothesized but never before detected.
A very strange signal
Following the detection of gravitational waves from this event, further investigation by several other telescopes, including the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawai'i and the Fraunhofer telescope in Germany, revealed that the burst of light associated with AT2025ulz faded rapidly, leaving a glow in red wavelengths of light.
That was exactly the same pattern the electromagnetic signal associated with GW170817 had followed in 2017.
This red glow is the result of heavy elements like gold around the kilonova blocking short-wavelength blue light but allowing longer-wavelength red light through. So far, so kilonova.
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However, days after the explosion, AT2025ulz began to brighten and turn blue with evidence of hydrogen emissions appearing. These are characteristics of supernovas, not kilonovas.
The problem is, while supernovas do generate gravitational waves, unlike a kilonova, a supernova 1.3 billion light-years away shouldn't be able to generate gravitational waves strong enough to be detected by LIGO.
While several astronomers were ready to conclude that AT2025ulz was just a run-of-the-mill supernova (if there is such a thing as a run-of-the-mill exploding star!), Kasliwal and team had noticed clues that indicated this was a very special event indeed.
Specifically, the gravitational wave signal indicated that one of the neutron stars involved in the merger was less massive than the sun. Neutron stars are generally between 1.2 and two times the mass of the sun.
This implied to the team that one or two small neutron stars might have merged to produce a kilonova.
Not all neutron stars are created equal
When stars with around 10 times the mass of the sun exhaust their fuel for nuclear fusion, their cores collapse under their own gravity, sending shockwaves rippling out that trigger a supernova explosion and blow away the outer layers of that star.
The result is a stellar core with a mass between 1.2 and 2 times the mass of the sun crammed into a diameter of around 12 miles (20 kilometers), packed with the densest matter in the known universe.
However, scientists have theorized two ways in which some neutron stars could be created that are smaller than 1.2 solar masses.
The first scenario of undermassive neutron star creation suggests that, if a star that is spinning rapidly undergoes a supernova explosion, it could split into two sub-solar-mass neutron stars, a process called fission.
In the second scenario, a rapidly spinning star undergoes a supernova explosion, but the resulting neutron star is surrounded by a disk of material that then gathers to form another neutron star, in a way similar to how planets form around infant stars.
In both cases, these neutron stars emit gravitational waves as they swirl around each other, carrying angular momentum away from the system. This causes the neutron stars to spiral together, collide and merge, churning out heavy elements.
This would result in the red glow seen by the telescopes chasing AT2025ulz.However, the view of the kilonova was eventually obscured by the expanding shell of debris ejected by the supernova as it created the twin neutron stars.
"The only way theorists have come up with to birth sub-solar neutron stars is during the collapse of a very rapidly spinning star," team member Brian Metzger of Columbia University said in the same statement.
"If these 'forbidden' stars pair up and merge by emitting gravitational waves, it is possible that such an event would be accompanied by a supernova rather than be seen as a bare kilonova."
Unfortunately, there currently isn't enough data to confirm that this is a superkilonova. The only way to do this is to gather more information.
"Future kilonovae events may not look like GW170817 and may be mistaken for supernovae," Kasliwal said.
"We can look for new possibilities in data like this from ZTF as well as the Vera Rubin Observatory, and upcoming projects such as NASA's Nancy Roman Space Telescope, NASA's UVEX, Caltech's Deep Synoptic Array-2000, and Caltech's Cryoscope in the Antarctic.
We do not know with certainty that we found a superkilonova, but the event is nevertheless eye-opening."
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From 100th Eastern Range space launch to Operation Midnight Hammer, Space Force celebrates its 6th birthday
December 20, 2025
The U.S. Space Force on Saturday will not have a big birthday celebration like the Army or Navy had this year, but the service keeps moving forward.
“Over the last six years we’ve been in a sprint to build a world-class, modern, and combat-ready force. This was only possible because of you, our Guardians,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said in his birthday message.
“Each of you has had a pivotal role in forging a stronger, more resilient and more capable Space Force for the nation.” Space Force was established on Dec. 20, 2019, by President Donald Trump as the sixth branch of the U.S. military.
It became the first new branch of the armed services in more than seven decades. Saltzman added “this has been a year of tremendous growth.”
The service saw the 100th space launch this year from the Eastern Range, the first time crossing the triple-digit threshold at Cape Canaveral in a single year. In July, more than 700 Guardians across 55 locations exercised with the Joint Force and U.S. allies during Resolute Space 25.
The Space Force provided precision navigation, critical intelligence and life-saving missile warning as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, the U.S. military’s strikes conducted on Iranian nuclear sites in June.
“I’m incredibly proud of our achievements, and I’m honored to celebrate this birthday with you as one team,” Saltzman said. Trump in September reversed a Biden administration decision and announced that Space Command headquarters would move to Alabama.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville this month for the relocation of U.S. Space Command Headquarters and a designation ceremony.
Trump announced the establishment of Space Command toward the end of his first term, in 2019, but it actually was a reestablishment of the combatant command created in 1985.
It was shuttered by the Pentagon in 2002 as part of the post-9/11 government restructuring.
Redstone, an Army installation, was named one of six finalists for the headquarters in November 2020 after the Air Force conducted two searches for a permanent home for the Pentagon’s newest combatant command, which is charged with overseeing and controlling the U.S. military’s myriad space-based infrastructure and operations.
The command was housed temporarily at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., since it was reestablished in August 2019.
Then-President Joe Biden in 2023 decided to keep Space Command in Colorado.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday announced that the U.S. Space Force flag will be flown at all Alabama rest areas and welcome centers through Dec. 23, honoring the Space Force’s birthday with a weeklong, statewide show of support.
“The U.S. Space Force is a critical branch of our military with a serious mission, and it deserves to be recognized as such.
Alabama understands the importance of defending our nation in every domain, leading in space development and setting the pace for innovation,” Ivey said in a statement.
“We are honoring the men and women carrying out this great mission and marking the Space Force’s birthday with the respect it has earned by displaying the Space Force flag statewide. Alabama is proud to fly it.”
While the Space Force does not have a main celebration, local celebrations have begun. Cake-cutting ceremonies were held at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and the U.S. Air Force Academy.
The Army and Air Force Exchange Service is celebrating the Space Force’s birthday with a sweepstakes offering more than $15,000 in prizes, available to authorized military shoppers who enter at ShopMyExchange.com/sweepstakes from Dec. 19, 2025, through Jan. 19, 2026.
“The Exchange is honored to commemorate this occasion with a sweepstakes that recognizes the Guardians who serve with excellence,” Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Rich Martinez, the Exchange’s senior enlisted adviser, said in a statement.
Winners will be selected and notified no later than Jan. 30.
https://www.stripes.com/branches/space_force/2025-12-20/space-force-celebrates-6th-birthday-20147101.html
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4365558/hegseth-senior-leaders-honor-militarys-top-recruiters/
Hegseth, senior leaders honor military's top recruiters
Dec. 19, 2025
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and other senior War Department officials honored the military's top recruiters Dec. 18, during the inaugural Recruitment Excellence Forum at the Pentagon.
A byproduct of Hegseth's recently established Recruitment Task Force, the event aimed to recognize the hard work put in by 26 of the most successful recruiters from the departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force during fiscal year 2025.
"This is to say thank you — first and foremost — and to recognize excellence, which is what we want to do here, in every service: [recognize] the best of the best, incentivize everybody [to] work hard and [then] reward that," Hegseth told the recruiters while gathered in the Pentagon's press briefing room.
The secretary praised the recruiters for achieving the highest number of enlisted accessions in the past 15 years, with all branches averaging a roughly 104% mission completion rate.
"There's a lot of things contributing to [why] someone may or may not qualify to get into the military [and] you guys cut through all of that. You find great Americans who want to serve, and you've signed them up in record numbers," Hegseth said.
He noted that recruiting is closely monitored at the highest levels — including as high up as the White House — because it serves as a "feedback loop" from the American people.
"You can talk about polls, [and] you can talk about money, but men and women willing to serve and put on the uniform is a reflection of the belief they have in civilian leadership and military leadership," Hegseth said.
Along with recognizing the recruiters, Hegseth said the forum was an opportunity for the department to get feedback from the recruiters on how their jobs could be made easier — a sentiment echoed by other senior War Department leaders who attended the event.
"What we want to hear is how [we] can help you. You're the best of the best; you're the most successful [recruiters] out there.
How can we help you be more successful, and how can we help those that come behind you be more successful?" Undersecretary of War for Personnel and Readiness Anthony J. Tata said at the start of a roundtable discussion.
"[Recruiting is] tough work. … You're convincing and talking to people about making a life-changing decision about service, and that is really difficult work," Chief Pentagon Spokesman and Senior Advisor Sean Parnell told the recruiters during the roundtable.
"And we just want to let you know from the top of this building that you're appreciated … [and] we're going to do everything that we can to empower you, to cut red tape and to help you accomplish your mission," he added.
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Many of the recruiters in attendance explained what motivates them to do such a demanding and often taxing job.
"It's 100% because of the impact that we make on young lives, on the individuals that I recruit that [might be] homeless, that don't have anything going for themselves … and they want to do something bigger with their lives and just serve their country," said Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Abel Layton Jr., a recruiter assigned to El Paso, Texas.
"Watching them come back as Marines — that's 100% the main reason why I enjoy doing this job," he added.
"[Recruiting is] important to me, and I think it's important to everyone I know who's in recruiting, because we are dedicated to the organization — and the goals and values of the organization — and [to] aligning those goals and values with the American public," explained Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Dupuis, a National Guard recruiter assigned to Denver.
"We don't take people and give them a job; we take civilians, and we make them members of the military," he added.
Some of the recruiters also expressed their appreciation for being invited to Washington and for being recognized by the Recruiting Excellence Forum.
"It's an absolute honor to be here, first of all. It's really awesome to be recognized for the work that we're doing day in and day out, because it's not easy to be on recruiting duty, and I don't think a lot of people really understand it until they've been in it," said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Ashley Lynch, a classifier assigned to Nashville, Tennessee.
"For them to put on something like this and to recognize the work that we're doing, I think it speaks volumes," she added.
Hegseth closed out his remarks by once again underscoring the War Department's commitment to equipping the recruiting community with the tools it needs for success.
"Our job is to create an environment to make you more successful as sailors, as warfighters … [and], if we're making your job easier and making you more effective, then we're doing our job correctly," he said.
"Please give us all the information that you have … [and] feed it to our folks while you're here today so that we can improve even more," Hegseth told the recruiters, adding, "And just keep being the best of the best."
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