NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

January 15, 2026

Plato and the Lunar Alps

The dark-floored, 95 kilometer wide crater Plato and sunlit peaks of the lunar Alps (Montes Alpes) are highlighted in this this sharp telescopic snapshot of the Moon's surface. While the Alps of planet Earth were uplifted over millions of years as continental plates slowly collided, the lunar Alps were likely formed by a sudden collision that created the giant impact basin known as the Mare Imbrium or Sea of Rains. The mare's generally smooth, lava-flooded floor is seen below the bordering mountain range. The prominent straight feature cutting through the mountains is the lunar Alpine Valley (Vallis Alpes). Joining the Mare Imbrium and northern Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold) the valley extends toward the upper right, about 160 kilometers long and up to 10 kilometers wide. Of course, the large, bright lunar alpine mountain below and right of Plato crater is named Mont Blanc. Lacking an atmosphere, not to mention snow, the lunar Alps are probably not an ideal location for a winter vacation. Still, a 150 pound skier would weigh a mere 25 pounds on the Moon.

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

Solar Risk Rising, Solar Politics, Galactic Isotopes | S0 News and frens

Jan.15.2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpHdTusGClA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQjw_zVi1Ok (Astronauts were Mind-Blown Aboard the ISS a Few Days Ago! Next Week may be Even Crazier 💥)

https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2011464022726725661

https://x.com/StefanBurnsGeo/status/2011523790493327625

https://x.com/SolarHam/status/2011546072020369463

https://x.com/SchumannBotDE/status/2011815974844981498

https://www.offutt.af.mil/Units/557th-Weather-Wing/About-the-557th-Weather-Wing/

https://www.space.com/live/aurora-forecast-northern-lights-possible-tonight-jan-15

https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/who%E2%80%99s-photobombing-sun

https://spaceweather.com/

>>24125176

>>24125182

MrMBB333

If it goes its could be BIG!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjDNVnN9j3c

Sky starts pulsating an eerie red color for unknown reasons!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_sjHHTeyRA

https://avi-loeb.medium.com/3i-atlas-rotates-every-7-1-hours-after-perihelion-49b40d1460fc

https://avi-loeb.medium.com/spherex-images-and-a-new-anomaly-regarding-the-gas-plume-around-3i-atlas-after-perihelion-9a85d27c526d

https://usaherald.com/nasa-says-recovery-of-maven-is-very-unlikely-weeks-after-historic-observations-of-3i-atlas/

https://usaherald.com/new-image-of-3i-atlas-confirms-object-is-still-actively-shedding-material-far-from-earth/

https://www.viveusa.mx/destinos/no-es-el-3iatlas-astronomos-confirman-la-llegada-del-gran-cometa-que-tan-cerca-pasara-de-la-tierra/

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/alien-spaceship-3iatlas-make-rare-36554512

https://www.gizmodo.jp/2026/01/scientists-scanned-3i-atlas-for-alien-signals-heres-what-they-found.html

https://x.com/drew4worldruler/status/2011561558661611844

https://x.com/ancientseekers/status/2011723953488711708

https://x.com/ancientseekers/status/2011721162120700020

https://x.com/with74903364/status/2011662470793085196

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZRJdz02I1E (Ray's Astrophotography: Comet 3I/ATLAS - SHUMANN Resonance & a RARE Sunlit ALIGNMENT - I Took a PICTURE)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsbF61ftEi0 (Dobsonian Power: UNEXPLAINED SIGNALS FROM 3I/ATLAS DIRECTION!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIiFX1524mY (Dobsonian Power: LIVE 3I/ATLAS WITH A BIG TELESCOPE!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6zTW8L0-wE (On the Pulse with Silki: IT IS COMING ! Rare Alignment of 3I/ATLAS With the Sun-Earth Axis - THIS can solve the MYSTERY !)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXTpl4mc5LY ((Not 3i atlas) Chuck's Astrophotography: Live: Let's Capture the NGC 1097 Galaxy, Owl Nebula, and the Surfboard Galaxy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5Mo7JgGqq8 ((Also not 3i atlas) John Lenard Walson: #astrophotography #astronomy #moon #nasa #spacecraft #space)

3I/ATLAS Rotates Every 7.1 hours After Perihelion

January 15, 2026

How fast does the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS rotate now? Did its rotation period change during perihelion, when it came closest to the Sun on October 29, 2025?

There are two ways to measure the rotation period of 3I/ATLAS. One uses the periodic shift in the orientation of the jet structure launched by 3I/ATLAS as it rotates.

The second relies on the periodic modulation of the total brightness of 3I/ATLAS, including the glowing halo of coma and jets around it.

In a new paper that I co-authored with Toni Scarmato (accessible here), we measured the rotation period of 3I/ATLAS after perihelion in both ways.

First, we measured the position angle of the anti-sunward jet on the sky at multiple times by applying the Larson-Sekanina Rotational Gradient filter to Hubble Space Telescope images between November 20, 2025 and December 27, 2025.

Second, we analyzed brightness evolution between December 9 and 22, 2025 using data from the 0.25-meter telescope MPC L92 in Calabria, Italy.

We have found that the periodic wobbles of the jet position-angle by +/-20 degrees occur over a period of 7.20 (+/- 0.05) hours. Independently, the periodic variations in brightness by +/-30 percent yield a period of 7.136 (+/- 0.001) hours.

The two periods differ slightly, but the small difference is plausibly attributable to systematics and aliasing. The combined data supports a post-perihelion rotation period of about 7.1 hours, triggering a periodic precession of the jet structure around the rotation axis of 3I/ATLAS.

Since the jet is precessing around the rotation axis, we associate its average position angle value of 270 (+/-3) degrees with the rotation axis.

Given that the Sun-3I/ATLAS axis is at 290 degrees, we infer that the rotation axis of 3I/ATLAS is aligned with the Sun-3I/ATLAS axis to within 20 degrees.

This surprising alignment needs to be explained, as the rotation axis was set in interstellar space, far from the Sun.

Based on the first image of 3I/ATLAS taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 21, 2025 (as reported here), less than a percent of the scattered sunlight originates from the surface of its nucleus.

The mass loss rate increased significantly near perihelion. This means that the modulation of the post-perihelion flux by tens of percent can only originate from the glow surrounding the nucleus.

As the nucleus rotates, the dominant outflow direction sweeps around the rotation axis as a result of the precession of the jet, which in turn modulates: (i) the column density of dust along the line-of-sight; (ii) the distribution of dust within the photometric aperture; and (iii) the effective scattering phase-function of the dust particles.

Changes in jet orientation therefore produce periodic variations in the observed flux of scattered sunlight. The resulting “heartbeat variability” — by which the jets pump dust and gas into the coma like a heart pumping blood through veins into a body — was suggested in an essay that I wrote on November 30, 2025 here.

1/2

>>24125265

Prior to that, it was argued incorrectly as mentioned here that the brightness variations stem from changes in the reflected sunlight from the surface of a rotating nucleus.

In reality, the underlying rotational state of the nucleus can manifest differently in brightness and in jet position angle.

If the jet direction is tied to a fixed active area on the rotating nucleus, then the jet orientation would exhibit periodic shifts, and the integrated brightness would vary periodically as the jet alternately points closer to, or farther from, the line-of-sight.

Thus, if the jet direction undergoes precession around the rotation axis (due to a high-latitude source region and changing illumination geometry), the brightness variability period would correspond to the jet-orientation cycle rather than to the nucleus shape as it reflects sunlight.

The observed periodicity should be regarded as a jet-driven modulation that traces the rotational state through the jet orientation, rather than a direct measurement of reflected light from the nucleus itself.

Our inferred value for the jet precession period after perihelion of 7.2 +/-0.05 hours is consistent with the value measured for the periodic jet precession before perihelion of 7.74 +/-0.35 hours as reported here.

However, it is shorter by a factor of about 2.3 than the rotation period of about 16–17 hours inferred from the brightness variability before perihelion as reported here and here.

The difference in brightness periodicity might have resulted from a change in the number of jets or active spots — likely induced by the perihelion passage of 3I/ATLAS.

For example, the perihelion passage could have doubled the frequency by which the coma flux is modulated by jets since the rotation axis is nearly aligned with the Sun-3I/ATLAS axis.

Whereas only one of the rotation poles was illuminated by the Sun before perihelion, the second rotation pole was illuminated by the Sun after perihelion, potentially triggering two active jets — which are also viewed from a different angle after perihelion.

Altogether, the new data indicates that the periodic wobble of the jet around the rotation axis did not change during perihelion.

The alignment of the rotation axis of 3I/ATLAS to within 10–20 degrees with the direction of the Sun at large distances is anomalous, as it has only a probability of 1.5–6% for occurring at random in interstellar space.

3I/ATLAS will be within 0.69 degrees from perfect opposition relative to the Sun with the Earth situated in the middle on January 22, 2026 as described in the other new paper that I co-authored here.

On that date, the anti-sunward jet will nearly disappear from view and the sunward anti-tail jet will be pointing at us.

2/3

>>24125275

Speaking about period keeping, let me close this essay with a general note about extraterrestrial time keeping, which recently appeared in the news also in the context of synchronizing clocks on the Moon relative to Earth.

According to Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, time progresses slower in the presence of stronger gravity — which manifests as curvature of spacetime.

The extreme manifestation of gravitational time-dilation can be found near the event horizon of a black hole, where time slows down to a halt from the vantage point of a distant observer.

If we were to video-record astronauts falling into a black hole, we would find their final image to be frozen at the instant when they crossed the event horizon.

The reason is simple: no information can escape from inside the horizon, so their last image stays forever frozen for distant observers.

For the same reason, time is ticking slower on Earth than on the Moon as the lunar gravitational potential well is shallower than that of Earth.

The gravitational time dilation is larger than the net time dilation due to the second-order Doppler effect, which is of order the square of the velocity of the Moon around Earth normalized by the speed of light.

The slowing in the progression of time near Earth is a mild version of the black hole extreme.

Time on the Moon progresses faster than on Earth by approximately 56–59 microseconds (millionths of a second) per day. The fractional drift is about 0.66 parts per billion faster than Earth time.

Over 46.5 years, the drift amounts to one second. Precise timekeeping is important for maintaining synchronous operation of electronic equipment on the Moon.

If synchronicity slips out of control, we would not be able to keep a proper record of events or communication protocols among computers and other electronic equipment on the Moon and on Earth.

Time is ticking even faster on spacecraft than on the surface of the Moon. But irrespective of where they are in the Solar system, all astronauts and earthlings are embedded inside the gravitational potential well of the Milky-Way galaxy.

This adds a Galactic fractional slowdown of about a part in a million, much larger than that induced by gravity on Earth. Over a lifespan of 100 years, we along with all our Milky-Way neighbors age slower by 53 minutes ! than average cosmic residents in intergalactic space.

Thanks to that, we can observe the Universe during each century for nearly an hour longer than our intergalactic counterparts.

3/3

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Mission Returns, Splashes Down off California

January 15, 2026

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission safely splashed down early Thursday morning in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, concluding a more than five-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov returned to Earth at 12:41 a.m. PST.

Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew shortly after landing.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our astronauts and the teams on the ground at NASA, SpaceX, and across our international partnerships,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

“Their professionalism and focus kept the mission on track, even with an adjusted timeline. Crew-11 completed more than 140 science experiments that advance human exploration.

Missions like Crew-11 demonstrate the capability inherent in America’s space program—our ability to bring astronauts home as needed, launch new crews quickly, and continue pushing forward on human spaceflight as we prepare for our historic Artemis II mission, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and ultimately Mars.”

Crew-11 returned home about a month earlier than planned because of a medical concern teams are monitoring with one of the crew members, who remains stable.

Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member. Prior to return, NASA previously coordinated for all four crew members to be transported to a local hospital for additional evaluation, taking advantage of medical resources on Earth to provide the best care possible.

Following the planned overnight hospital stay, the crew members will return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and undergo standard postflight reconditioning and evaluations.

The Crew-11 mission lifted off at 11:43 a.m. EDT on Aug.1, 2025, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. About 15 hours later, the crew’s SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the orbital outpost at 1:27 a.m. CDT on Aug. 2.

During their 167-day mission, the four crew members traveled nearly 71 million miles and completed more than 2,670 orbits around Earth. The Crew-11 mission was Fincke’s fourth spaceflight, Yui’s second, and the first for Cardman and Platonov.

Fincke has logged 549 days in space, ranking him fourth among all NASA astronauts for cumulative days in space.

Along the way, Crew-11 logged hundreds of hours of research, maintenance, and technology demonstrations. The crew members also celebrated the 25th anniversary of continuous human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory on Nov. 2, 2025.

Research conducted aboard the space station advances scientific knowledge and demonstrates new technologies that enable us to prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program provides reliable access to space, maximizing the use of the International Space Station for research and development by partnering with private U.S. companies, including SpaceX, to transport astronauts to and from the space station.

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-spacex-crew-11-mission-returns-splashes-down-off-california/

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/spacex-crew-11-astronauts-return-to-earth-after-1st-ever-medical-evacuation-of-iss

https://www.space.com/space-exploration/human-spaceflight/this-is-nasa-at-its-finest-crew-11-astronauts-in-good-shape-after-smooth-medical-evacuation-and-splashdown-agency-says

https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/nasa-astronauts-back-on-earth-after-unprecedented-medical-emergency-on-iss

https://nasawatch.com/astronauts/theyre-back-2/

https://x.com/NASA/status/2011723553658585476

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2011750951737331958

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRVoblm2Nxw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFOVIAxEFng (NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 Post-Splashdown News Conference (Jan. 15, 2026))

Matthew Anderson V 2.0

January 15, 2026

According to this White House release a bunch of renominations of people who did not get their confirmation process completed before the end of 2025 have been re-nominated – including “Matthew Anderson, of Colorado, to be Deputy Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration”. So – welcome back Matt.

https://nasawatch.com/ask-the-administrator/matthew-anderson-v-2-0/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/01/nominations-sent-to-the-senate-078c/