NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

January 10, 2026

Jupiter with the Great Red Spot

Jupiter reaches its 2026 opposition today, January 10. That puts our Solar System's most massive planet opposite the Sun and near its closest and brightest for viewing from planet Earth. In fact, captured only 3 days ago this sharp telescopic snapshot reveals excellent details of the ruling gas giant's swirling cloudtops, in light zones and dark belts girdling the rapidly rotating outer planet. Jupiter's famous, persistent anticyclonic vortex, known as the Great Red Spot, is south of the equator at the lower right. But two smaller red spots are also visible, one near the top in the northernmost zone, and one close to Jupiter's south pole. And while Jupiter's Great Red Spot is known to be shrinking, it's still about the size of the Earth itself.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Solar Impact Tonight, Electric Weather Forcing | S0 News and frens

Jan.10.2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VEwKyU4h7U

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/scientists-produce-the-longest-continuous-series-of-images-for-a-single-active-solar-region/

https://www.isro.gov.in/AdityaL1_decodes_Impact_Powerful_Solar_Storm.html

https://www.space.com/stargazing/auroras/northern-lights-may-be-visible-in-12-states-jan-8-9

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental

https://x.com/SpaceToday1/status/2009651190615912772

https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2009990707046690999

https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2009704815933456702

https://x.com/SchumannBotDE/status/2010004045637849368

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjpidDdJVvA (Stefan Burns: A Rare Planetary Alignment Just Triggered a Huge Solar Explosion 💥 Critical Space Weather Update)

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14949/

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/

https://spaceweather.com/

https://avi-loeb.medium.com/the-near-transits-of-the-inner-planets-across-the-face-of-the-sun-from-the-vantage-point-of-9f04280bd855

https://usaherald.com/the-image-nasa-released-and-the-questions-it-cannot-answer-away/

https://enewsroom.in/bengali-scientists-confirm-3i-atlas-natural-interstellar-comet/

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/baba-vangas-prediction-on-alien-spaceship-entering-earths-atmosphere-in-2026-linked-to-mysterious-interstellar-comet-3i/atlas-what-we-know/articleshow/126449259.cms

https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/2026/01/07/farewell-3i-atlas-online-observation-16-jan-2026/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgHyh2Eo2DU (Ray's Astrophotography: Comet 3I ATLAS — Could It Add a New Moon to Jupiter - I Took a PICTURE)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXIICHPyLbQ (Stefan Burns: Groundbreaking Discovery from the Asteroid Belt May Have SOLVED the 3I/ATLAS Mystery ☄️)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzbYEgtZcmk (Dobsonian Power: AVI LOEB SMASHED ELON MUSK ON 3I/ATLAS!)

https://x.com/tony873004/status/2009924922416742545

https://x.com/Ammar1176708/status/2009863543387238656

https://x.com/PPotorii/status/2009915368634990752

https://x.com/forallcurious/status/2009853823133913279

https://x.com/forallcurious/status/2009829755206668577

https://x.com/chimura_/status/2009797871378543063

https://x.com/TheSaturnAngels/status/2009855701510656089

https://x.com/masterSIGIL2/status/2009784148416753676

The Near Transits of the Inner Planets Across the Face of the Sun from the Vantage Point of 3I/ATLAS

January 9, 2026

When a planet transits in front of the disk of its host star, it blocks some of the starlight and reduces slightly the brightness of the star.

The tiny fraction of starlight passing through the atmosphere of the planet allows us to measure the atmospheric composition.

In particular, the transit of the Earth in front of the Sun produces a dimming of only 0.008 percent for a distant observer that is aligned with the Sun-Earth axis.

Nevertheless, a high-quality spectrograph on a purposely designed space telescope could identify during the Earth’s transit of the Sun the spectral fingerprints of oxygen and methane molecules as biological signatures of terrestrial life, as well as tetrafluoromethane (CF4) and trichlorofluoromethane (CCl3F) as technological-signatures of industrial pollution.

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>>24101953

In 2014, I tasked my undergraduate student then, Henry Lin — who currently serves as an assistant professor at the Princeton Physics department, to calculate the detectability of the spectral fingerprints of industrial pollution in exoplanet atmospheres.

Our paper, published here, identified detectable spectroscopic features of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in planetary atmospheres.

An interested observer passing through the ecliptic plane of the Solar system could employ the transit method to monitor the evolving biological and technological conditions on Earth in real time.

We must keep this possibility in mind while monitoring anomalous interstellar objects as candidates for technological probes which were sent into the solar system by extraterrestrial civilizations.

The ideal path for transit-focused probes are retrograde trajectories (opposite to the motion of the Earth) that are aligned with the ecliptic plane of the Earth around the Sun, where they will be able to monitor as many transits of Earth or other solar-system planets throughout their journeys.

As it turns out, we have right now a suspicious interstellar visitor which follows a retrograde orbit which is aligned to within 4.9 degrees with the ecliptic plane.

Even though this interstellar object 3I/ATLAS displays many anomalies (as listed here), the official view is that 3I/ATLAS is a comet of natural origin.

However, if it happened to be a technological probe equipped with a spectrograph — it could have used its journey to observe transits of the Sun by all the inner solar system planets: Mars + Mercury, Venus and Earth on October 2, 2025; November 4, 2025; and January 22, 2026, respectively. Unfortunately, the actual orbital inclinations by several degrees of 3I/ATLAS of the planets relative to the ecliptic plane, make all these transits a near miss from the precise vantage point of 3I/ATLAS as it crosses the inner solar system, except for Venus where an actual transit was actually observed by 3I/ATLAS on November 4, 2024.

If 3I/ATLAS had been perfectly aligned with the ecliptic plane, then it would have detected biological markers on Earth such as oxygen and methane, when it entered the outskirts of the Oort Cloud at 100,000 times the Earth-Sun separation (AU) some 8,000 years ago.

More recently, in 1950 — when Enrico Fermi had asked the question: “Where is everybody?”, 3I/ATLAS had been at a distance of about 1,000 AU where it could have detected industrial pollution in the Earth’s atmosphere — indicating that our planet went through an industrial revolution.

In 1977, when the “Wow! Signal” was detected, 3I/ATLAS was at a distance of about 600 AU from Earth. And on January 22, 2026 when the Earth will nearly aligned with the Sun from its vantage point, 3I/ATLAS will be at a small distance of only 2.35 AU from Earth.

The NSF-DOE Rubin Observatory in Chile is expected to harvest several dozens of interstellar objects over the next decade.

Given 3I/ATLAS, we should check if any of these interstellar objects align precisely with transits of planets as they approach the Sun.

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NASA, SpaceX Set Target Date for Crew-11’s Return to Earth

January 9, 2026

NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Jan. 14, for the undocking of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International Space Station, pending weather conditions.

On Jan. 8, NASA announced its decision to return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth from the space station earlier than originally planned as teams monitor a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory, who is stable.

Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov will splash down off the coast of California at approximately 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15.

Mission managers continue monitoring conditions in the recovery area, as undocking of the SpaceX Dragon depends on spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors.

NASA and SpaceX will select a specific splashdown time and location closer to the Crew-11 spacecraft undocking.

NASA’s coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to changed based on real-time operations):

Wednesday, Jan. 14

3 p.m. – Hatch closure coverage begins

3:30 p.m. – Hatch closing

4:45 p.m. – Undocking coverage begins

5 p.m. – Undocking

Thursday, Jan. 15

2:15 a.m. – Return coverage begins

2:50 a.m. – Deorbit burn

3:40 a.m. – Splashdown

5:45 a.m. – Return to Earth media news conference

NASA will set share more details about its coverage plans in the coming days.

https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/01/09/nasa-spacex-set-target-date-for-crew-11s-return-to-earth/

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/artemis-2/final-steps-underway-for-nasas-first-crewed-artemis-moon-mission/

Final Steps Underway for NASA’s First Crewed Artemis Moon Mission

Jan 09, 2026

As NASA moves closer to launch of the Artemis II test flight, the agency soon will roll its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft to the launch pad for the first time at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to begin final integration, testing, and launch rehearsals.

NASA is targeting no earlier than Saturday, Jan. 17, to begin the multi-hour trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B. The four-mile journey on the crawler-transporter-2 will take up to 12 hours.

Teams are working around the clock to close out all tasks ahead of rollout. However, this target date is subject to change if additional time is needed for technical preparations or weather.

“We are moving closer to Artemis II, with rollout just around the corner,” said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

“We have important steps remaining on our path to launch and crew safety will remain our top priority at every turn, as we near humanity’s return to the Moon.”

As with all new developments of complex systems, engineers have been troubleshooting several items in recent days and weeks.

During final checkouts before rollout, technicians found a cable involved in the flight termination system was bent out of specifications. Teams are replacing it and will test the new cable over the weekend.

Additionally, a valve associated with Orion’s hatch pressurization exhibited issues leading up to a Dec. 20 countdown demonstration test.

On Jan. 5, the team successfully replaced and tested it. Engineers also worked to resolve leaky ground support hardware required to load gaseous oxygen into Orion for breathing air.

Rollout

Once the integrated rocket and spacecraft reach the launch pad, NASA will immediately begin a long checklist of launch pad preparations, including connecting ground support equipment such as electrical lines, fuel environmental control system ducts, and cryogenic propellant feeds. Teams will power up all integrated systems at the pad for the first time to ensure flight hardware components are functioning properly with each other, the mobile launcher, and ground infrastructure systems.

Once complete, the Artemis II astronauts, NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will conduct a final walkdown at the pad.

Wet dress rehearsal, tanking

At the end of January, NASA will conduct a wet dress rehearsal, which is a prelaunch test to fuel the rocket.

During wet dress, teams demonstrate the ability to load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants into the rocket, conduct a launch countdown, and practice safely removing propellant from the rocket without astronauts onsite.

During launch, a closeout crew will be responsible for securing astronauts in Orion and closing its hatches. The closeout crew also will use this rehearsal to practice their procedures safely without astronauts aboard the spacecraft.

The wet dress rehearsal will include several “runs” to demonstrate the launch team’s ability to hold, resume, and recycle to several different times in the final 10 minutes of the countdown, known as terminal count.

cont.

NASA’s Pandora Satellite to Explore Exoplanets and Stars

Friday, January 9, 2026

>Pandora

What's in the box?

The NASA Pandora spacecraft will observe planets as they pass in front of their stars as seen from our perspective, events called transits.

As starlight passes through a planet’s atmosphere, it interacts with substances like water and oxygen that absorb characteristic wavelengths, adding their chemical fingerprints to the signal.

But while only a small fraction of the star’s light grazes the planet, telescopes also collect the rest of the light emitted by the star’s facing side.

Stellar surfaces can sport brighter and darker regions that grow, shrink, and change position over time, suppressing or magnifying signals from planetary atmospheres.

Adding a further complication, some of these areas may contain the same chemicals that astronomers hope to find in the planet’s atmosphere, such as water vapor.

All these factors make it difficult to be certain that important detected molecules come from the planet alone.

Pandora will help address this problem by providing in-depth study of at least 20 exoplanets and their host stars during its initial year.

The satellite will look at each planet and its star 10 times, with each observation lasting a total of 24 hours. Many of these worlds are among the over 6,000 discovered by missions like NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite).

Pandora will collect visible and near-infrared light using a novel, all-aluminum 17-inch-wide (45-centimeter) telescope jointly developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and Corning Specialty Materials in Keene, New Hampshire.

Pandora’s near-infrared detector is a spare developed for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Each long observation period will capture a star’s light both before and during a transit and help determine how stellar surface features impact measurements.

Pandora is the first satellite to launch in the agency’s Astrophysics Pioneers program, which seeks to do compelling astrophysics at a lower cost while training the next generation of leaders in space science.

https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14945/

Expedition 74 Preps for Crew Departure, Keeps Up Advanced Research

January 9, 2026

Four Expedition 74 crew members are preparing for their return to Earth aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft.

Amid departure preparations, the International Space Station residents also conducted spacesuit maintenance, space biology research, and an artificial intelligence study.

Mission managers have decided to move up the return date for the four SpaceX Crew-11 members living and working aboard the orbital outpost.

No departure date has been announced, though the crew has begun checking the fit and operability of their Dragon pressure suits.

Fit verification is necessary because the spine lengthens and body fluids shift toward the head in microgravity, affecting torso and limb dimensions. The quartet also tested the suits’ audio and video communication systems.

Dragon Commander Zena Cardman will lead Pilot Mike Fincke, both NASA astronauts, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos back to Earth inside Dragon.

The foursome began collecting their personal items and packing them for stowage aboard the spacecraft.

Cardman also worked on a pair of spacesuits inside the Quest airlock on Friday. She cleaned and flushed the suits’ internal water-cooling loops that regulate a spacewalker’s body temperature.

Afterward, she powered down and inspected the suits, then uninstalled suit hardware, components, and batteries.

Yui wrapped up his shift by swapping sample cassettes holding protein crystal samples inside the Advanced Sample Experiment Processor-4 in support of the Pharmaceutical In-Space Laboratory experiments.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams photographed Yui during the scientific operations. This research promotes the development and manufacturing of medicines in space, as the lack of gravity enables more pristine results.

Platonov explored vascular health while wearing chest electrodes and blood pressure cuffs on his arms, wrists, and fingers for the Endothelium human research experiment.

He studied 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 spaceflight.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev continued testing artificial intelligence as a way to transcribe audio files, document daily crew activities, and improve operations aboard spacecraft.

Earlier, the duo videotaped Platonov’s blood study activities, inventoried hardware in the Rassvet and Nauka modules, and packed trash and obsolete gear inside the Progress 93 cargo craft.

https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/01/09/expedition-74-preps-for-crew-departure-keeps-up-advanced-research/

>>24101955

Shaken, Not Stirred: NASA’s StarBurst Aces Extreme Temperature Tests

Jan 09, 2026

Heated, cooled, shaken, and settled – NASA’s StarBurst instrument is several steps closer to being ready for launch.

The small satellite is now awaiting instrument calibration following a successful integration in Canada and rigorous testing by engineers at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

StarBurst is designed to detect the initial emission of short gamma-ray bursts, some of the most powerful explosions in the universe and a key indicator of neutron star mergers.

This would provide valuable insight into such events, which are also detected through gravitational waves by observatories on Earth. These events are where most of the heavy metals in the universe, such as gold and platinum, are formed.

To date, only one such event has been observed simultaneously in gravitational waves and gamma-rays; StarBurst is expected to find up to 10 per year.

StarBurst arrived at NASA Marshall in March 2025. During its time at the center, the instrument underwent thermal testing in a vacuum chamber and flight vibration testing.

The team held StarBurst’s nonstop thermal testing in a vacuum chamber, 24 hours a day for 18 days. Technicians placed radioactive material into the vacuum chamber, giving StarBurst the ability to detect gamma-ray signals during the tests.

Test teams conducted thermal balance testing to simulate the hottest and coldest situations the instrument will operate under in space.

Data from these tests improves thermal models used by NASA engineers, while also ensuring the satellite can handle these temperatures in orbit.

NASA engineers also completed a 24-hour “bake-out,” a process that removes unwanted gas or vapor from the instrument using extreme heat in a vacuum.

“NASA’s StarBurst mission is ready for its next stage of assembly and is one step closer to flight,” said Daniel Kocevski, principal investigator at NASA Marshall.

“Testing at NASA Marshall has verified engineering models, adding our understanding of how StarBurst will operate in space as it observes gamma ray emission from merging neutron stars to help us better understand the building blocks of Earth—and the universe.”

Outside of the vacuum chamber, a “vibe test” bolted the instrument to a special “shaker table” to simulate the vibrations and turbulence StarBurst will experience during launch.

The Marshall team shipped the StarBurst instrument to Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Toronto, which manufactured the spacecraft bus, in August.

Prior to shipment, teams at Marshall’s Stray Light Facility fit-tested the multi-layer insulation blanket needed to insulate the crystal detector units from the harsh space environment.

StarBurst is equipped with 12 of these detectors, which serve as the main gamma-ray detection system on the spacecraft.

cont.

https://www.nasa.gov/general/shaken-not-stirred-nasas-starburst-aces-extreme-temperature-tests/

Flight Engineers Give NASA’s Dragonfly Lift

Jan 09, 2026

Set for launch in in 2028, the Dragonfly rotorcraft is being designed and built at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, with contributions from organizations around the world.

On arrival in 2034, Dragonfly will exploit Titan’s dense atmosphere and low gravity to fly to dozens of locations, exploring varied environments from organic equatorial dunes to an impact crater where liquid water and complex organic materials essential to life (at least as we know it) may have existed together.

Aerodynamic testing

When full rotorcraft integration and testing begins in February, the team will tap into a trove of data gathered through critical technical trials conducted over the past three years, including, most recently, two campaigns at the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT) facility at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

The TDT is a versatile 16-foot-high, 16-foot-wide, 20-foot-long testing hub that has hosted studies for NASA, the Department of War, the aircraft industry and an array of universities.

Over five weeks, from August into September, the team evaluated the performance of Dragonfly’s rotor system – which provides the lift for the lander to fly and enables it to maneuver – in Titan-like conditions, looking at aeromechanical performance factors such as stress on the rotor arms, and effects of vibration on the rotor blades and lander body.

In late December, the team also wrapped up a set of aerodynamics tests on smaller-scale Dragonfly rotor models in the TDT.

“When Dragonfly enters the atmosphere at Titan and parachutes deploy after the heat shield does its job, the rotors are going to have to work perfectly the first time,” said Dave Piatak, branch chief for aeroelasticity at NASA Langley.

“There’s no room for error, so any concerns with vehicle structural dynamics or aerodynamics need to be known now and tested on the ground.

With the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel here at Langley, NASA offers just the right capability for the Dragonfly team to gather this critical data.”

Critical parts

In his three years as an experimental machinist at APL, Cory Pennington has crafted parts for projects dispatched around the globe. But fashioning rotors for a drone to explore another world in our solar system?

That was new – and a little daunting. “The rotors are some of the most important parts on Dragonfly,” Pennington said. “Without the rotors, it doesn’t fly – and it doesn’t meet its mission objectives at Titan.”

cont.

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/dragonfly/flight-engineers-give-nasas-dragonfly-lift/

Hegseth Visits Space Company During 'Arsenal of Freedom' Tour

Jan. 9, 2026

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth visited a Los Angeles County-based company today that has a space-based mission and a history of supporting the U.S. military.

The visit to Southern California was the second in Hegseth's recently launched, monthlong "Arsenal of Freedom" campaign, which aims to promote one of the War Department's top priorities: rebuilding the military by engaging with the defense industrial base at various stops throughout the country.

"You are the foundation of our defense industrial base — the foundation of great American manufacturers — who we trust to usher in that new golden age of peace through strength under President Trump," Hegseth told the crowd.

"The United States is deadly serious about commanding the ultimate high ground of space, a larger, more modern and more capable constellation of American satellites launched by American rockets from American soil, built by American engineers."

He also spoke in strong terms about the speed — or lack thereof — with which he and President Donald J. Trump view the DIB has been operating during recent years, especially as it relates to space capabilities.

"More than 60 years ago, President [John F.] Kennedy declared our nation's intent to go to the moon," Hegseth said, before quoting Kennedy's famous 1962 speech at Rice University.

"He famously said, 'We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things; not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills,'" Hegseth said.

"This is the spirit that you are in the process of reviving," he added, before reminding the crowd that the War Department is "flipping the script" and no longer resting on the familiar, easy process, which he said has been the norm in recent years.

"Our job is to disrupt the 'status quo,' which is insufficient. [We need to ensure] we have the American manufacturing base that is required to be the world's superpower," the secretary told the crowd.

"We have your back, and we know that you have ours as well. And, together, we will restore our nation's strength and guarantee peace for generations to come."

https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4375169/hegseth-visits-space-company-during-arsenal-of-freedom-tour/

https://www.war.gov/Multimedia/Videos/videoid/992590/

FAA formally warns operators of safety risks associated with faulty space launches

January 9, 2026

The Federal Aviation Administration today formally warned aircraft operators and owners of the risks of falling space debris that result from “catastrophic failures” of space launches.

In its first official warning on the topic, the agency issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) recommending that operators train flight crews “on the impact of space launch and reentry operations” which it said “could significantly reduce safety.”

The SAFO said “pilots should exercise extreme caution” around debris response areas (DRAs) designated in the aftermath of a space launch incident.

The SAFO reminded operators to take several “precautionary” measures, including ensuring that proper fuel reserves are carried in the event of incident-related holding as well as reviewing plans for diversions, cancellations or rerouting.

It added that crews should recognize falling debris could “extend beyond” the DRA, something which would require “additional situational awareness.”

DRAs are not currently issued for oceanic or non-radar airspace, despite those areas potentially being affected by falling debris.

The SAFO comes amid a rise in rocket launches that have increased scrutiny on the FAA for its oversight of commercial space operators.

The Wall Street Journal reported in December that a 2025 explosion of a SpaceX Starship test flight over the Caribbean created what internal FAA documents called a “potential extreme safety risk” to aircraft passing underneath the launch trajectory, concerns which were echoed by a ProPublica investigation published this week.

The Air Current has reached out to the FAA and SpaceX for comment.

https://theaircurrent.com/feed/dispatches/faa-warns-operators-safety-risks-space-launch-debris/

https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/USAFAA/2026/01/09/file_attachments/3516308/SAFO26001.pdf

Kenya Space Agency urges stargazers to watch Jupiter shine brightest tonight

Saturday, January 10, 2026

The Kenya Space Agency (KSA) is reminding sky watchers to observe tonight’s celestial phenomenon, when Jupiter will appear larger and brighter than usual as Earth aligns directly between the Sun and the planet, a cosmic positioning known as opposition.

As a result, Jupiter will appear luminous and visible all night long, marking its most spectacular appearance this year.

“To catch the view, look toward the eastern sky after sunset. Jupiter will rise early and stay on display until dawn, glowing steadily in the constellation Gemini, its celestial home during this period,” the Agency says.

Viewers will be able to witness the phenomenon with the naked eye, but those using binoculars will get to see its four largest moons, as those using a telescope enjoy a greatly enhanced viewing experience.

“For amateur stargazers, the Stellarium app is a helpful tool for locating the constellation Gemini and, consequently, Jupiter,” the agency added.

According to Space.com, the visibility of planets in the sky varies dramatically based on their orbital positions relative to the sun and the Earth.

“The best time to view superior planets, worlds that orbit the sun at a greater distance than our Blue Marble, is at their points of opposition, when they line up in our night sky directly opposite the sun, with Earth in the middle,” the platform says.

The moment of opposition coincides with when a planet draws near to its closest point to Earth in its orbit.

“As a result, tonight, Jupiter will appear brighter and subtly larger in the eyepiece of a telescope boasting an angular size of 45.6 arcseconds at opposition, as opposed to the 31.3 arcseconds it would occupy when furthest from Earth (when it would be hidden behind the sun).

For context, the full moon takes up between 29.4 and 33.5 arcminutes, with each arcminute being the equivalent of 60 arcseconds,” it adds.

Jupiter, also referred to as a gas giant, lacks a solid surface and is composed of light elements like hydrogen and helium. It features deep, dense layers of gas and liquid hydrogen under immense pressure, formed from the gas-rich outer solar system

It makes for a dazzling astronomical target when viewed with the naked eye, which only gets more impressive when viewed through a telescope, which helps reveal its colourful atmospheric cloud bands.

https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/news/268881/kenya-space-agency-urges-stargazers-to-watch-jupiter-shine-brightest-tonight

Astronaut on ISS captures spectacular orbital video of zodiacal light, auroras and the Pleiades

January 10, 2026

Astronaut Kimiya Yui captured a jaw-dropping timelapse video showcasing the beauty of low-Earth orbit as seen from the International Space Station.

Yui's 300th cumulative day in space came during his second tour of duty aboard the orbital station for the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) n, which is set to end prematurely as a result of an undisclosed medical issue affecting an unnamed astronaut who launched alongside Yui as part of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission.

"As a token of gratitude for allowing me to have such a precious experience over 300 days, I'd like to introduce a slightly unusual timelapse from the window," wrote Yui in a post on the social media site X accompanying the video.

Yui's video kicked off with a dramatic display of zodiacal light, which formed as sunlight reflected off a cloud of interplanetary dust particles to form a column of light above the colorful arc of our Blue Marble.

Green aurora can be seen dancing in Earth's upper atmosphere as the zodiacal light fades, shimmering between the profiles of the space station's solar panels as they rotate to track the sun.

The bright stars of the constellations Pegasus, Andromeda and Ares also rotate into view as the station continues its lap of Earth.

Finally, eagle-eyed observers may also notice the seven most prominent white-blue stars of the Pleiades open star cluster appear to the upper left of the screen towards the end of the footage to descend toward the modular form of the ISS.

Curious about the long-running orbital laboratory?

Be sure to check out our article detailing everything you need to know about the International Space Station and don't forget that you can always tune in to live orbital views of Earth streamed from SEN cameras mounted to the outside or the orbital station right here on Space.com.

Why not also check out our review of the official LEGO kit for the ISS, that'll let you bring the venerable space station into your own front room!

https://www.space.com/stargazing/astronaut-on-iss-captures-spectacular-orbital-video-of-zodiacal-light-auroras-and-the-pleiades

https://x.com/Astro_Kimiya/status/2008670091987365913

Space Systems Command Awards Task Orders to Launch Missile Warning and Missile Tracking Space

Jan. 9, 2026

Summary: Space Systems Command looks to enhance missile warning and missile tracking capability through award of latest National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 task orders.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) looks to enhance missile warning and missile tracking capability with nine National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 launches awarded recently.

These recent task order awards provide launches for the Space Development Agency (SDA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

The SDA-2 task order will provide two launches for a total of eighteen Tranche 2 Tracking Layer Space Vehicles built by L3Harris, and one launch for eight Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter (F2) Space Vehicles built by Millennium Space Systems.

F2 is an 8-vehicle low earth orbit (LEO) demonstration satellite constellation to provide advanced missile defense capabilities against challenging targets.

The SDA-3 task order will provide two launches for a total of eighteen Tranche 2 Tracking Layer SVs by Lockheed Martin. The NTO-5 task order supports an NRO mission set.

SSC awarded the SDA-2 missions to SpaceX for launches projected to begin in 4QFY26, and awarded the SDA-3 missions to SpaceX for launches to begin in 3QFY27.

SSC also awarded the NTO-5 launches to SpaceX projected to occur in 1QFY27 and 2QFY28. The total value of these awards is $739M.

“Our mission to deliver national defense capabilities to the joint force is achieved with each task order we award,” explained USSF Col. Matt Flahive, system program director for Launch Acquisition.

“The task orders awarded in support of our mission partners, SDA and NRO, demonstrate the importance we have placed on being time efficient and cost conscious in our Phase 3 Lane 1 approach to reliably deliver space capability to the warfighter quicker and at the best value to the American taxpayer.”

https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/Article/4374896/space-systems-command-awards-task-orders-to-launch-missile-warning-and-missile

Trump comments on readiness of Putin and Zelensky to sign peace deal

9 Jan, 2026 14:53

Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to make a [peace] deal” to resolve the Ukraine conflict, US President Donald Trump has stated.

In an interview with the New York Times published on Thursday, Trump recounted how he “had cases where I had Putin all done and Zelensky wouldn’t make the deal, which shocked me.”

“Then I’ve had cases where it was the reverse,” the US president added.

He concluded that “now they both want to make a deal,” while refusing to provide any specific timeline as to how long it might take Washington to settle the Ukraine conflict.

In late December 2025, Trump met with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky in Miami for discussions on a possible peace roadmap.

During a press conference, the US president said that “we’re doing very well” and that “we could be very close,” with 95% of all the topics agreed upon.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later concurred with Trump’s assessment of the Ukraine peace process.

Russian officials, including Putin, have repeatedly stated that Moscow would prefer to resolve the Ukraine conflict through diplomatic means but will have to continue using force if its key objectives cannot be achieved through diplomacy alone.

US-mediated negotiations involving Russian and Ukrainian representatives have intensified in recent months, after Trump’s initial 28-point peace plan was leaked to the media in November 2025.

The roadmap reportedly envisaged Kiev ceding the remainder of Donbass to Moscow as well as renouncing its NATO membership aspirations and capping the size of its military, among other points.

Since then, the US plan has undergone several changes, with input from both Russia and Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters earlier in mid-December, Trump claimed that “other than President Zelensky, his people loved the concept of the deal… that would have stopped the killing of thousands of people every month.”

Several days earlier, the US president urged the Ukrainian leader to “get on the ball and start accepting things,” noting that Russia had the “upper hand” in the conflict.

He made the remarks after Zelensky ruled out territorial concessions to Russia.

https://www.rt.com/news/630760-trump-putin-wants-peace-deal-ukraine/

Trump comments on whether he would attempt to kidnap Putin

10 Jan, 2026 01:47

US President Donald Trump has said he would not issue an order to abduct Russian President Vladimir Putin, dismissing the notion as unnecessary when asked by reporters.

His remarks came a week after American commandos captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a raid on his compound in Caracas.

Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky reacted to the operation by saying, “If you can do that with dictators, then the United States knows what to do next.”

When Trump was fielding questions from reporters at his meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday, Fox News’ Peter Doocy referenced Zelensky’s comments.

“Sounds like he wants you to go and capture Vladimir Putin,” Doocy said, asking Trump: “Would you ever order a mission to go and capture Vladimir Putin?”

Trump replied, “Well, I don’t think it’s going to be necessary. I’ve always had a great relationship with him.” He added that he was “very disappointed” that his efforts to mediate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine over the past year have been unsuccessful.

Moscow has denounced the abduction of Maduro as a gross violation of Venezuelan sovereignty. The Russian envoy to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, described the US raid as “banditry” pushing the world toward “chaos and lawlessness.”

Last month, Russia accused Ukraine of sending nearly 100 drones to strike one of Putin’s official residences in Novgorod Region. According to Moscow, all of the UAVs were shot down before reaching the target.

Although Kiev denied plans to attack Putin’s vacation home, Russian military officials later handed over to the US what they said was navigation equipment from a downed Ukrainian drone containing its flight path.

https://www.rt.com/news/630773-trump-on-kidnapping-putin/

Elite Russian drone unit takes out Ukrainian armor

9 Jan, 2026 20:55

The Russian Defense Ministry has published a video compilation of successful FPV drone strikes on Ukrainian armored vehicles and military personnel in Donbass.

According to the ministry, the attacks were carried out by operators from the elite Rubicon unit, which specializes in testing and deploying unmanned aerial vehicles.

In a description accompanying the footage, the Defense Ministry said on Friday that the strikes depicted in it had taken place in the vicinity of Krasny Lyman in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

The town itself is situated approximately 30km northeast of the city of Slavyansk, which is an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian military in Donbass.

Among the targets hit by Russian FPV drones and featured in the video are a US-made HMMWV armored vehicle, a tank, a Ukrainian dugout, and military robotic systems.

The Rubicon center was established on the order of Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov in August 2024, with the first public mention of it coming several months later. The center is understood to employ artificial intelligence in some of their explosive-laden strike drones.

In an article last September, Forbes magazine described Rubicon as “one of the most effective forces on the front” and which has expanded the kill zone, targeting Ukrainian logistics in particular.

According to the publication, citing Ukrainian service members, Kiev’s forces are facing a shortage of trucks, pickups, and armored transport vehicles as a result.

First-person-view strike drones have gradually emerged as a key inexpensive short-range tool for both sides in the Ukraine conflict.

In recent months, fiber optics-guided FPV drones have increasingly replaced conventional radio-controlled UAVs, which are susceptible to interference and jamming.

https://www.rt.com/russia/630769-russian-mod-rubicon-fpv-drone-strikes-clip/