TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
February 21, 2026
Twilight with Moon and Planets
Only two days after the February New Moon's annular eclipse of the Sun, a slender lunar crescent poses above the western horizon after sunset in this wintry twilight skyscape. Its nightside faintly illuminated by earthshine, the young Moon is joined by three bright planets in the mostly clear, early evening skies above the village of Kirazli, Turkiye. Inner planet Venus appears closest to the horizon. Near the beginning of its 2026 performance as planet Earth's evening star, brilliant Venus is seen through the warm sunset glare near picture center. Straight above Venus, innermost planet Mercury is easy to spot as it stands remarkably high above the horizon even as the twilight sky is growing dark. Outer planet Saturn, most distant of the naked-eye planets, is found just left of the Moon's sunlit crescent.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKOXxW-soSc
Deep Mystery Quakes, Solar Flare Effect, Farside Megaspot | S0 News and frens
Feb.21.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqrLODT0jnQ
https://www.el-balad.com/6857130
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/earths-electromagnetic-pulse-spike-fuels-chilling-claims-of-ringing-ears-and-scrambled-minds/articleshow/128647332.cms
https://nypost.com/2026/02/20/science/are-peoples-minds-being-scrambled-by-earths-heartbeat/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6jAhdxYEfU (Stefan Burns: IT HAS BEGUN)
)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_uyaOjLmtU (MrMBB333: Something REALLY weird happened in the sky TODAY! Multiple witnesses!)
https://x.com/NASASolarSystem/status/2024893643513823653
https://x.com/schumannbot/status/2025208926220722470
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-viewline-tonight-and-tomorrow-night-experimental
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/
Spike in Earth vibrations could be scrambling brains with bizarre ‘ringing’ noise
Feb. 20, 2026, 2:21 p.m. ET
Bad, bad, bad vibrations!
A weather watchdog has reported an uptick in Earth’s “hum-like” heartbeat, raising concerns that it could be affecting people’s brains.
Known as Schumann Resonance, this natural electromagnetic frequency creates waves in the gap between Earth’s surface and the ionosphere — the layer above Earth where sunlight charges particles, allowing radio signals to travel long distances, per NASA.
Created and maintained by lightning strikes around the world, this literal rock music generally reverberates at 7.83 cycles per second, measured in Herz.
However, online space weather tracking app MeteoAgent has recorded a spike in this pulse throughout February, which they say has the potential to cause problems.
The concern is that this Earthly rhythm is believed to affect brain wave patterns associated with everything from sleep to concentration, meaning that a sudden spike could theoretically throw our neural equilibrium off-kilter.
Indeed anecdotal reports have linked a disturbance in the forcefield to a variety of symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, brain fog, ringing in the ears and even mood swings and disrupted sleep.
During sleep or the preceding relaxation period, the brain creates “theta” waves, which clock in at between four and eight cycles per second, in sync with Schumann symphony, the Daily Mail reported.
As a result, any change in cadence can disrupt people’s Circadian rhythm, literally jolting them awake.
MeteoAgent experts blamed this terrestrial tempo slip on a moderate solar flare that disrupted Mother Earth’s metronome.
Scientists track these disturbances using a scale that runs from zero to 9 with zero signifying calmer conditions while 9 is synonymous with a geomagnetic maelstrom that can impact satellites, power grids and radio signals.
There were reportedly four days this past month were the scale surpassed 5.0, meaning that this space symphony could be felt by those sensitive to these wave frequencies.
However, as of yet, scientists haven’t established definitive proof that this phenomenon shocks the system in this way.
A study out of Japan examined whether Schumann Resonance affects blood pressure, suggesting a that it could possibly be affected by low-frequency electromagnetic variations.
However, this impact was more correlational with researchers concluding that other environmental and physiological factors likely played a part and that we’re not necessarily facing the geomagnetic music.
https://nypost.com/2026/02/20/science/are-peoples-minds-being-scrambled-by-earths-heartbeat/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2656447/
https://www.livescience.com/space/comets/scientists-propose-new-plan-to-catch-comet-3i-atlas-but-we-have-to-act-fast
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2601.02533
https://www.iflscience.com/we-could-send-a-mission-that-could-intercept-comet-3iatlas-by-2085-heres-how-82612
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vdCFYvxGZw
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/avi-loeb-on-trumps-release-of-secret-uap-files-a316182f1e15
https://twistedsifter.com/2026/02/data-continues-to-come-in-from-various-space-missions-that-were-hijacked-to-track-3iatlass-as-it-traveled-through-our-inner-solar-system/
https://weather.com/science/space/video/sungrazer-comet-could-shine-in-daylight-in-april
https://starwalk.space/en/news/upcoming-comets
https://x.com/JinxedHorizon/status/2025216439863423100
https://x.com/thesentinelnet/status/2025208891785838789
https://thesentinelnetwork.substack.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@ChucksAstrophotography/posts
Scientists propose new plan to 'catch' comet 3I/ATLAS — but we have to act fast
February 21, 2026
The arrival of 3I/ATLAS in our solar system spawned multiple proposals for a rendezvous mission to study it up close.
As the third interstellar object (ISO) ever detected, the wealth of information direct studies could provide would be groundbreaking in many respects.
However, the mission architecture for intercepting an interstellar comet poses numerous significant challenges for mission designers and planners.
Chief among them is the technological readiness level (TRL) of the proposed propulsion systems, ranging from conventional rockets to directed-energy propulsion (DEP).
So far, mission proposals have focused on chemical rockets launched from Earth, like NASA's Janus mission and the ESA's Comet Interceptor, or on existing missions like the Juno probe adjusting their trajectories to rendezvous with it.
In a recent paper, researchers from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies (i4is) propose foregoing a direct transfer mission that would launch from Earth today.
Instead, they demonstrate how a mission launching in 2035 could intercept 3I/ATLAS using an indirect Solar Oberth maneuver.
Adam Hibberd, a software and research engineer in Astronautics with the i4is and the owner/director of Hibberd Astronautics Ltd., led the study.
He was joined by T. Marshall Eubanks, the Chief Scientist at Space Initiatives Inc. and the CEO of Asteroid Initiatives LLC., and Andreas Hein, an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Luxembourg and the Chief Scientist at the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust.
Their paper has accepted for publication in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society (JBIS).
The main challenges for a direct mission to rendezvous with 3I/ATLAS stem from the target object's celestial mechanics, its high heliocentric speed, and the late initial detection.
The first issue effectively rules out a rendezvous mission that relies on an onboard propulsion system to match the comet's velocity, thereby enabling a prolonged close-up study of the body.
As a result, a flyby mission is the preferred option. However, the second and third considerations rule out a direct mission because the optimal launch date had already passed before it was detected. As Hibberd summarized these for Universe Today via email:
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"For the direct mission, the object 3I/ATLAS was detected too late, when it had already travelled inside the orbit of Jupiter, and with a velocity in excess of 60 km/s.
It turns out, this was after the optimal launch date for a direct mission to intercept it. One paper found that there would even have been difficulties for a ‘Comet Interceptor’ spacecraft had it been already loitering at the sun/Earth L2 point when 3I/ATLAS was discovered."
This is where Hibberd employed the Optimum Interplanetary Trajectory Software (OITS), which he designed, to assess the feasibility of direct and indirect missions to intercept ISOs.
This software has a proven track record for solving missions with Solar Oberths, which includes a previous i4is study for a mission (Project Lyra) that would intercept the first ISO ever detected, 'Oumuamua.
Integral to Project Lyra and other missions utilizes OITS is the use of gravitational assists (GAs) and/or Oberth Maneuvers.
The former involves a slingshot maneuver that leverages a planet's (or moon's) gravity to increase speed.
The latter consists of a spacecraft under the gravitational influence of a massive body (the sun), waiting to reach its closest pass (perihelion), then applying thrust to achieve a high heliocentric speed.
The spacecraft can either achieve escape velocity from the solar system this way, or pick up enough speed to rendezvous with an ISO that has already traveled a huge distance by this time. Said Hibberd:
"For the direct mission, the object 3I/ATLAS was detected too late, when it had already travelled inside the orbit of Jupiter, and with a velocity in excess of 60 km/s.
It turns out, this was after the optimal launch date for a direct mission to intercept it. One paper found that there would even have been difficulties for a 'Comet Interceptor' spacecraft had it been already loitering at the Sun/Earth L2 point when 3I/ATLAS was discovered."
The Solar Oberth option is designed for when an interstellar object has passed through its perihelion (closest approach to the sun) and is receding rapidly away from the sun.
It recognizes the fact that a humongous speed needs to be generated by a spacecraft to catch such an object and exploits the so-called ‘Oberth Effect’ in order to generate this speed.
When a spacecraft approaches the sun, the sun’s gravitational attraction increases its velocity until the perihelion is reached, then the spacecraft burns its solid-propellant engines at this optimal point, to maximize the ‘slingshot effect’, and to accelerate the probe expeditiously to the target object, in this case 3I/ATLAS.
Based on their OITS simulations, the team found that an intercept could be achieved via a Solar Oberth maneuver, but the launch would have to occur in 2035 to achieve optimal alignment between Earth, Jupiter and 3I/ATLAS.
The flight duration would be 50 years (though Hibberd notes that this could be reduced marginally). "2035 is optimal because the alignments of the celestial bodies involved (i.e. the Earth, Jupiter, sun, and 3I/ATLAS) are the most propitious to reach 3I/ATLAS with a minimum Solar Oberth propulsion requirement from the probe, a minimum performance requirement for the launch vehicle, and a minimum flight time to the target," he said.
While such a mission would take a long time to intercept an ISO, the scientific returns would be nothing short of revolutionary. Asteroids and comets are essentially material leftover from the formation of planetary systems.
As such, the study of ISOs would reveal things about other star systems without having to send missions to them, which could take centuries or longer.
While DEP is being investigated as a possible solution, a la Swarming Proxima Centauri (another i4is project), the TRL of this concept is likely many decades away.
In the meantime, a spacecraft developed with current technology that relies on a Solar Oberth maneuver could reach an ISO and provide a detailed analysis in the same time frame.
Even if we never send missions to nearby stars to observe what is there, an ISO interceptor could tell us all we need to know about systems beyond ours.
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video from article
Conspiracy Of Silence: "The Franklin Scandal" 1993 (FULL DOCUMENTARY)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZwxHlWfIxM
Artemis II Crew Enters Quarantine Ahead of March Launch Opportunity
February 20, 2026 6:04PM
NASA is targeting no earlier than Friday, March 6, for the launch of Artemis II, pending completion of required work at the launch pad, analysis of test data, and the outcome of a Flight Readiness Review in the coming days.
The four astronauts set to fly around the Moon during the test flight entered quarantine at approximately 5 p.m. CST Friday in Houston.
During quarantine, typically about 14 days before launch, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will limit their exposure to others to remain in good health before the mission.
The crew will fly to Kennedy approximately five days before launch.
NASA successfully completed a second wet dress rehearsal Feb. 19. With propellant draining operations for the test complete, technicians have begun final preparations at the launch pad.
Managers shared details about the test and the path forward during a news conference earlier Friday.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/20/artemis-ii-crew-enters-quarantine-ahead-of-march-launch-opportunity/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/19/nasa-begins-artemis-ii-launch-pad-ops-after-successful-fuel-test/
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/nasa/2026/02/20/543981/space-moon-nasa-artemis-launch-dress-rehearsal/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rayK1pwhzEs
Cardiac, Respiratory, and Exercise Research Wrap Week Aboard Station
February 20, 2026 3:03 PM
The Expedition 74 crew wrapped up the week with cardiac and respiratory studies and conducting space exercise research to keep astronauts healthy off the Earth.
The International Space Station residents also packed a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft before its return to Earth and maintained science and life support hardware.
NASA Flight Engineers Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway partnered together in the Columbus laboratory module at the beginning of their shift on Friday and processed their blood samples for analysis.
Afterward, Meir operated the Ultrasound 3 device and scanned the neck, shoulder, and leg veins of Hathaway. Doctors are monitoring the astronaut’s blood markers to protect blood flow and prevent space-caused blood clots to promote healthy crews and ensure mission success.
ESA (European Space Agency) Flight Engineer Sophie Adenot worked out on the advanced resistive exercise device, that mimics free weights on Earth, while four specialized cameras installed in the Tranquility module observed her musculoskeletal system in motion.
Doctors are exploring the forces an astronaut’s muscles and bones experience when exercising in weightlessness to maintain fitness and health during a long-term spaceflight.
NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams spent the first half of his shift continuing to load science experiments and station hardware inside a SpaceX Dragon docked to the Harmony module’s forward port and scheduled to soon depart the station and return to Earth.
Meir helped out with the Dragon cargo packing after her biomedical duties. Williams also joined Hathaway for an afternoon vein scan session once again using the new Ultrasound 3 device delivered on September aboard the Cygnus XL spacecraft.
Roscosmos Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev worked on a pair of human research experiments, the first one exploring how microgravity affects the respiratory system.
He wore an acoustic sensor around his neck that recorded his rapid exhalation for the long-running Forced Expiration breathing study.
Next, he wore electrodes on his chest and measured his blood pressure using arm, wrist, and thumb cuffs. Doctors will use the cardiac data to assess microgravity’s effect on blood flow regulation, clot prevention, and inflammation responses.
Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev kicked off his shift inspecting modules throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment to determine areas that need rearranging for more efficient cargo stowage.
Afterward, he assisted Fedyaev with his station familiarization activities then helped Meir stow food packs at the end of their shift.
Station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos started his shift updating data files on tablet computers inside the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft docked to the Rassvet module.
The two-time station resident finished his shift photographing external station hardware then searching for hardware to update the orbital outpost’s inventory system.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/02/20/cardiac-respiratory-and-exercise-research-wrap-week-aboard-station/
https://scitechdaily.com/three-nasa-rockets-dive-into-the-electric-heart-of-the-northern-lights/
Three NASA Rockets Dive Into the Electric Heart of the Northern Lights
February 20, 2026
NASA just launched rockets into the northern lights and captured the hidden electricity that powers them.
NASA has successfully carried out two sounding rocket missions from Alaska to investigate the powerful electrical forces behind the northern lights.
The Black and Diffuse Auroral Science Surveyor and the Geophysical Non-Equilibrium Ionospheric System Science mission, known as GNEISS (pronounced “nice”), both lifted off from the Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks.
The Black and Diffuse Auroral Science Surveyor launched February 9 at 3:29 a.m. AKST (7:29 a.m. EST) and climbed to about 224 miles (360 kilometers).
Principal investigator Marilia Samara said every instrument, including technology demonstrations, operated as planned and that the team received high-quality data.
The two-rocket GNEISS mission followed with back-to-back launches on February 10 at 1:19:00 a.m. and 1:19:30 a.m. AKST (5:19:00 a.m. and 5:19:30 a.m. EST).
The rockets reached peak altitudes of approximately 198.3 miles (319.06 kilometers) and 198.8 miles (319.94 kilometers), respectively.
Principal investigator Kristina Lynch reported that all ground stations, subpayloads, and instrument booms performed as expected, and that researchers are pleased with both the launch operations and the data gathered so far.
The Hidden Electrical Circuit Behind the Northern Lights
Auroras appear when streams of electrons travel from space into Earth’s upper atmosphere.
As these charged particles collide with atmospheric gases, they trigger the familiar glowing ribbons of light. It is similar to electricity flowing through a wire to power a lightbulb.
But the glow is only part of a much larger electrical loop. In any circuit, current must return to its source. When electrons pour into the atmosphere to create an aurora, others must eventually flow back out to space to complete that circuit.
The incoming particle beams are relatively focused, like current moving through a cable. The return flow, however, is far more chaotic. After producing the light display, electrons scatter in many directions.
Their motion is influenced by collisions, shifting winds, pressure differences, and changing electric and magnetic fields. Over time, they find pathways back to space, closing the auroral circuit through a complex and constantly changing environment.
GNEISS Creates a 3D CT Style Scan of Auroral Currents
To truly understand how the aurora functions, scientists must map how this returning current spreads through the atmosphere. That requires tracing many possible pathways at once, which is a major technical challenge.
“We’re not just interested in where the rocket flies,” said Kristina Lynch, principal investigator for GNEISS and a professor at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. “We want to know how the current spreads downward through the atmosphere.”
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Lynch designed GNEISS specifically to answer that question. Using two rockets and a coordinated network of ground receivers, the mission builds a three-dimensional picture of the aurora’s electrical structure.
“It’s essentially like doing a CT scan of the plasma beneath the aurora,” Lynch said.
The two rockets were launched nearly simultaneously, flying side by side through the same auroral display along slightly different paths. Each rocket released four subpayloads to gather measurements at multiple points within the glowing region.
As the rockets passed overhead, they transmitted radio signals through the surrounding plasma to receivers on the ground. The plasma modified those signals during their journey, similar to how body tissues alter X-rays in a medical CT scan.
By analyzing these changes, scientists can determine plasma density and identify where electrical currents are able to flow. The result is a large-scale three-dimensional scan of the auroral environment.
Why Auroral Currents Matter for Space Weather
Understanding auroral currents is not just about filling in a missing piece of physics. These electrical flows control how energy from space is distributed through Earth’s upper atmosphere.
When currents spread out, they heat the surrounding air, generate winds, and create turbulence that can affect satellites traveling through that region.
For years, researchers have studied auroras from the ground. NASA’s EZIE satellite mission, launched in March 2025, measures auroral electrical currents from orbit.
By combining satellite observations, ground imagery, and direct rocket measurements, scientists gain a more complete picture of the system.
“If we can put the in situ measurements together with the ground-based imagery, then we can learn to read the aurora,” Lynch said.
Investigating Black Auroras and Current Reversals
During the same launch window, NASA also flew the Black and Diffuse Auroral Science Surveyor mission.
This sounding rocket focused on unusual dark patches within auroras known as black auroras. Scientists believe these regions may mark locations where electrical currents abruptly reverse direction.
The recent launch marked the mission’s second attempt, following a 2025 effort that was postponed due to unfavorable weather and scientific conditions.
With the successful flight now complete, researchers are analyzing fresh data to better understand how these dark regions fit into the broader auroral circuit.
Auroras form where space interacts with Earth’s atmosphere. Electric currents, charged particles, and countless collisions combine to create these vivid displays.
Sounding rockets provide a rare opportunity to fly directly through them, placing instruments exactly where the processes unfold.
Through short, precisely timed missions, NASA is turning fleeting flashes of light into deeper insight about how space weather shapes our planet.
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https://science.nasa.gov/earth/nasa-is-helping-bring-giant-tortoises-back-to-the-galapagos/
NASA Is Helping Bring Giant Tortoises Back to the Galápagos
Feb 20, 2026
For the first time in more than 150 years, giant tortoises are returning to the wild on Floreana Island in the Galápagos — guided by NASA satellite data that helps scientists discover where the animals can find food, water, and nesting habitat.
The effort, a collaboration between the Galápagos National Park Directorate and Galápagos Conservancy, marks a key milestone in restoring tortoise populations to one of the most ecologically distinctive archipelagos on Earth.
On Floreana Island, tortoises disappeared in the mid-1800s after heavy hunting by whalers and the introduction of new predators like pigs and rats, which consumed tortoise eggs and hatchlings.
Without the tortoises, the island began to change. Across the Galápagos, giant tortoises historically helped shape the landscape by grazing vegetation, opening pathways through dense plant growth, and carrying seeds across islands.
“This is exactly the kind of project where NASA Earth observations make a difference,” said Keith Gaddis, the manager for NASA Earth Action’s Biological Diversity and Ecological Forecasting program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“We’re helping partners answer a practical question: Where will these animals have the best chance to survive — not just today, but decades from now?”
Matching Tortoises to Landscape
On Feb. 20, the Galápagos National Park Directorate and conservation partners released 158 giant tortoises at two sites on Floreana.
“It's a huge deal to have these tortoises back on this island. Charles Darwin was one of the last people to see them there,” said James Gibbs, the Galápagos Conservancy’s Vice President of Science and Conservation and a co-principal investigator of the project.
In 2000, scientists made an unexpected discovery. Gibbs and other researchers found unusual tortoises on northern Isabela Island’s Wolf Volcano, the tallest peak in the Galápagos, that did not look like any other known living tortoises.
About a decade later, DNA extracted from bones of the extinct Floreana tortoises — found in caves on the island and in museum collections — confirmed the tortoises carried Floreana ancestry, launching a breeding program that has since produced hundreds of offspring expected to return to the island.
Researchers believe that whalers likely moved tortoises between the islands more than a century earlier.
The Galápagos National Park Directorate has raised and released across the Galápagos more than 10,000 tortoises over the last 60 years, one of the largest rewilding efforts ever attempted. But each island presents a different puzzle.
Some hills and small mountains in the Galápagos intercept clouds and stay cool and damp with evergreen vegetation. Others are dry enough that green vegetation appears only briefly after rain.
Where these zones occur on the same island, tortoises move between them, with some animals traveling miles each year between seasonal feeding and nesting areas.
“It's difficult for the tortoises because they get introduced from captivity into this environment,” Gibbs said. “They don’t know where food is.
They don’t know where water is. They don’t know where to nest. If you can place them where conditions are already right, you give them a much better chance.”
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That’s where NASA satellite data comes in.
NASA Earth observations allow scientists to map environmental conditions across the islands and track how vegetation, moisture, and temperature shift over time — clues to where tortoises can find food and water.
Using those records, Gibbs and Giorgos Mountrakis, the project’s principal investigator, and their team built a decision tool that combines satellite measurements of habitat and climate conditions with millions of field observations of tortoise locations across the archipelago to guide where, and when, to release the animals.
“Habitat suitability models and environmental mapping are essential tools,” said Christian Sevilla, the Director of Ecosystems at the Galápagos National Park Directorate.
“They allow us to integrate climate, topography, and vegetation data to make evidence-based decisions. We move from intuition to precision.”
The decision tool draws on multiple NASA and partner satellite missions. Landsat and European Sentinel satellites track vegetation conditions.
The Global Precipitation Measurement mission provides rainfall data. The Terra satellite helps estimate land-surface temperature, and terrain data adds elevation and landscape features.
In some cases, high-resolution commercial satellite images, acquired through NASA’s Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program, help teams evaluate potential release sites before field surveys begin.
With tortoise-environment relationships in hand, the team can map habitat suitability today and forecast how it may shift decades into the future as environmental conditions change.
“The forecasting part is critical,” said Mountrakis, of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. “This isn’t a one-year project. We’re looking at where tortoises will succeed 20, 40 years from now.”
Because the tortoises can live more than a century, habitat conditions decades from now matter as much as conditions today.
More Than Conservation
The tortoise release is part of the larger Floreana Ecological Restoration Project, which aims to remove invasive species like rats and feral cats and eventually return 12 native animal species to the island, with tortoises serving as the keystone for rebuilding the ecosystem.
The Galápagos Conservancy is also using NASA satellite data and the decision tool developed to help guide tortoise releases on other Galápagos islands and to plan future reintroductions across the archipelago.
If successful, Floreana Island could once again support a large tortoise population, helping restore relationships between animals, plants, and the landscape that shaped the island for thousands of years.
“For those of us who live and work in Galápagos, this [release] is deeply meaningful,” Sevilla said. “It demonstrates that large-scale ecological restoration is possible and that, with science and long-term commitment, we can recover an essential part of the archipelago’s natural heritage.”
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NASA Reacts To Donald Trump’s UFO Announcement
updated Feb 21, 2026 at 07:03 AM EST
A spokesperson for NASA has issued a public statement following President Donald Trump’s announcement that he will direct his administration to release government files related to aliens and associated phenomena.
On Truth Social, Trump said he would instruct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to start locating and making public government files pertaining to unidentified flying objects and potential extraterrestrial life.
"Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters," Trump wrote on Thursday.
Why It Matters
A 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 65 percent of Americans believed intelligent life may exist on other planets.
What To Know
“We continue to embrace President Trump’s open science commitment as an agency,” NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens posted on social media platform X on Friday in response to Trump’s announcement.
“We have fostered open science since our inception so that the public can build upon our innovations. We continue to make all NASA data publicly available, and welcome public participation using our data.”
Stevens added: “As [NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman] has said, there are certainly things he’s come across in the job that he can’t explain… but they relate more to unnecessarily costly programs than they do to extraterrestrial life!”
Interest in extraterrestrials grew sharply after former President Barack Obama addressed the topic during an interview with political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen.
In a rapid-fire segment of an interview with podcast host Cohen, Obama had answered "They’re real" to a question about aliens, then immediately added that he had not seen them and rejected the idea they were stored at Area 51.
After his comments quickly went viral, Obama sought to clarify his remarks, writing on social media: “I was trying to stick with the spirit of the speed round, but since it’s gotten attention let me clarify.
“Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good there’s life out there. But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances we’ve been visited by aliens is low, and I saw no evidence during my presidency that extraterrestrials have made contact with us. Really!”
What People Are Saying
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also reposted Trump’s announcement, adding an alien emoji followed by a saluting emoji.
Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican wrote on X, Thursday: “Tonight, President Trump is directing full disclosure of UAP and UFO files.
In October, I wrote to DoD, CIA, NSA, and DNI demanding exactly that. The truth belongs to the American people.”
Trump's announcement also spawned a wave of jokes and memes on social media.
What Happens Next
As Newsweek noted previously, the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office maintains it has uncovered no verifiable evidence of extraterrestrial activity.
https://www.newsweek.com/nasa-donald-trump-ufo-alien-announcement-11560059
https://nasawatch.com/astrobiology/talking-about-alien-life-to-a-global-audience/
https://science.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/uap-independent-study-team-final-report.pdf
https://x.com/NASASpox/status/2024952268425232460
https://x.com/PeteHegseth/status/2024661395640394005
David Adair on NASA: Why the Moon Program Stopped
February 21, 2026
Coast to Coast AM - Did NASA’s fall from glory accidental — or engineered?
Discover the hidden history of space secrecy, lost propulsion breakthroughs, and the covert rise of secret space programs in this Cosmic Disclosure episode with David Adair
0:11 – Why We Stopped Going to the Moon
0:59 – NASA’s Failure: No Transparency, No Public Buy-In
1:40 – Tech Transfer: What NASA Didn’t Tell the Public
1:58 – Space Manufacturing: Metal in Zero-Gravity
2:40 – Skylab “Aha”: Sound Waves Move Molten Metal
3:00 – Shaping Matter with Sound: Geometry = Frequency
4:05 – Barcode Scanner Insight: Lasers → Math → Sound
5:10 – Shuttle Program: “Gas Can” Payload Rentals
5:42 – Extreme Precision: 1/10,000th of an Inch
6:01 – Proprietary Alloys & Molecular Control in Space
6:46 – No Proof of “Secret Space Programs” (His View)
7:29 – NASA/Government Decisions: “We Went Backwards”
8:12 – “We Can’t Even Get to Low Earth Orbit”
8:48 – Pads 39A/39B Scrapped: “You Ain’t Going Nowhere”
9:16 – Where NASA Is Now: JPL + Robots
9:38 – Public Gets “Spoon-Fed” Information
10:08 – Crashing a NASA Policy Meeting (Story)
10:49 – “Stop Romancing the Moon” — Budget/PR Argument
11:30 – “The Public Is an Intrusion” — His Critique
12:18 – NASA Doesn’t Share + Leadership Comment
12:53 – No “Party” in Space: Manned Program Ended
13:14 – AI Future: Self-Aware Leap + “George Jetson”
14:27 – “We Cheated”: Tech Leap From Seeing Others’ Devices
15:01 – Why He Won’t Publish Papers: AI Will Exploit Them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ_6zcLZFVs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm8PPE9MGkk (David Adair Claims He Saw Technology at Area 51 That Bent Time)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVy1cX1mHqI (David Adair Explains Time Loop & Time Travel Theories)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HO9KpsLWd0M (Breaking Down Why Aliens Are Here | David Adair)
https://davidtysonadair.blogspot.com/p/official-site-for-david-adair.html
https://x.com/davidTadair
Chinese scientists develop AI model to push deep-space exploration
Feb 21, 2026 11:57 AM
Chinese researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model for astronomical imaging that significantly enhances scientists' ability to peer into the deepest reaches of the cosmos.
A cross-disciplinary research team from Tsinghua University developed the model, named ASTERIS (Astronomical Spatiotemporal Enhancement and Reconstruction for Image Synthesis), using computational optics and AI algorithms.
According to the findings published on Friday in the journal Science, the model can help extract extremely faint astronomical signals, identify galaxies more than 13 billion light years away and generate the deepest deep-space images ever produced.
Exploring distant, faint celestial objects is crucial to understanding the origin and evolution of the universe. Yet astronomers face a major challenge. Weak signals from remote celestial objects are often obscured by background sky noise and thermal radiation from telescopes.
The study shows that applying the model's "self-supervised spatiotemporal denoising" technique to data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) extends observational coverage from visible light at around 500 nanometers to the mid-infrared at 5 micrometers.
It also increases the detection depth by 1.0 magnitude, effectively enabling the telescope to detect objects 2.5 times fainter than previously possible.
Using the model, the team identified more than 160 candidate high-redshift galaxies from the "Cosmic Dawn" period, roughly 200 million to 500 million years after the Big Bang, tripling the number of discoveries using previous methods, according to Cai Zheng, associate professor at Tsinghua's Department of Astronomy and a member of the research team.
Researchers said the AI model can decode massive volumes of space telescope data and is compatible with multiple observational platforms, giving it the potential to become a universal deep-space data enhancement platform.
Traditional noise-reduction techniques rely on stacking multiple exposures and assume noise is uniform or correlated.
In reality, deep-space noise varies across both time and space. ASTERIS addresses this by reconstructing deep-space images as a 3D spatiotemporal volume.
Through "photometric adaptive screening mechanism," the model identifies subtle noise fluctuations and distinguishes them from the ultra-faint signals of distant stars and galaxies.
"Overall, I think this is a very relevant piece of work that can have an important impact across astronomy," one reviewer of the research said.
Faint celestial objects obscured by light noise in astronomical observations can be reconstructed with high fidelity, said Dai Qionghai, professor at Tsinghua's Department of Automation.
Looking ahead, researchers expect the technology to be deployed on next-generation telescopes to help address major scientific questions concerning decoding dark energy, dark matter, cosmic origins and exoplanets.
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202602/1355548.shtml
U.S. Space Forces Southern collaborates with space industry in radar site visit
02.19.2026
U.S. Space Forces Southern (SPACEFOR-SOUTH) Guardians met with commercial space industry representatives during a radar facility visit Feb. 17.
The engagement focused on potential integration opportunities for increased space domain awareness through advancing radar technology and global expansion into the Western Hemisphere.
The visit marked the first time SPACEFOR–SOUTH conducted an official engagement at the commercial radar site in Pearce.
Guardians received demonstrations of the radar’s capabilities and discussed how private-sector technologies could support Space Force missions to enhance space superiority.
“Radar data provided by commercial companies adds significant value to the U.S. Space Force,” said U.S. Space Force Capt. Justin Lee, Space Systems Command liaison to Space Forces Southern and U.S. Southern Command.
“Private industry can provide access to data from strategically valuable locations around the world.”
Lee noted that SPACEFOR–SOUTH continues to assess how commercial space capabilities may complement military systems.
A better understanding of the commercial market allows the component command to advocate for expanding access to space-related capabilities and information sharing among partner nations in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility.
Commercial partnerships contribute to space operations and command and control efforts.
This includes, tracking satellite positions, identifying systems, understanding their functions, and assessing potential risks to U.S. assets in orbit.
It also supports critical systems such as GPS and navigation services used by consumers worldwide.
Lee emphasized the importance of sustained dialogue with partner nations on space-related matters.
Recent efforts include SPACEFOR–SOUTH’s work towards delivering optical telescopes to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru.
The systems are intended to support partner-nation capacity and improve regional awareness for a secure Western Hemisphere.
“Expanding space-related capacity through engagement with the commercial sector is mutually beneficial,” Lee said.
“Partner nations gain access to data they may not otherwise have, while the United States benefits from information collected from locations not currently accessible.”
As the first Space Force Component to visit the commercial radar site, the engagement provided Guardians an opportunity to exchange perspectives with industry representatives and gain a deeper understanding of how commercial technologies may inform future operations.
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/558474/us-space-forces-southern-collaborates-with-space-industry-radar-site-visit