lets rock n roll
Buffaloooooo chekt
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
March 19, 2026
Launch Plume: SpaceX Jellyfish
Even if you live with your head in the clouds, you won’t find a jellyfish like this one very often. The featured image shows a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida on March 4. The launch happened 52 minutes before sunrise, and the second stage rocket exhaust plume was high enough in the sky to catch the light of the rising sun, while the photographer was still in the dark. This combination of light and shadow, possible at dawn or dusk, makes the exhaust, mostly water vapor and carbon dioxide, appear as a glowing cloud. It only looks like it's going down, as the rocket follows the curvature of the Earth on its way to space. A related effect is the twilight phenomenon, which causes colorful contrails sometimes mistaken for UFOs. But, in case you are wondering: real jellyfish were sent to space by NASA in the 1990s as part of a science experiment.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjCcIqqk9_8
4-Way Solar Storm Begins Today (And other news) | S0 News and frens
Mar.19.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XJveZMGSDo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQiVXG6G1d4 (Stefan Burns: Earth is about to Spiral Out of Control…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97CWqQKTWuY (MrMBB333: What REALLY caused homes to SHAKE in Ohio?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YYrRgcbpTM (TheEarthMaster: Large cluster of Earthquakes around the Caribbean plate. Incoming G2 Solar Storm. WED Night.)
https://x.com/NOAASatellites/status/2034643499845313008
https://x.com/NWSSWPC/status/2034642270302130179
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2034357488288760272
https://x.com/StefanBurnsGeo/status/2034546666028580874
https://x.com/schumannbot/status/2034631009707126787
https://nation.cymru/news/new-model-to-forecast-space-weather-is-on-the-way-led-by-welsh-academics/
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes-volcanoes/news/297925/Volcano-earthquake-report-for-Thursday-19-Mar-2026.html
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-viewline-tonight-and-tomorrow-night-experimental
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g2-watch-19-21-march-due-cme-and-ch-hss-effects
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g2-moderate-geomagnetic-storm-watch-issued-1
https://spaceweather.com/
High Nitrogen And Carbon Isotopic Ratios In The Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
March 18, 2026
Co-added observed spectra of 3I with best-fit model Observed and modelled 13CN centred (left) and 15CN-centred (right) line profiles.
The shaded region represents the uncertainty of the profile resulting from the combination of the different lines, estimated from the MCMC fitting. — astro-ph.EP
Interstellar objects provide a unique opportunity to further our understanding of the planetary formation process by studying in detail material formed around another star.
Their ices contain precious clues about the environment and conditions prevailing in their home system.
As fractionation processes can be sensitive to the temperature and radiation environment, isotopic ratios are powerful tracers of the origin and evolution of different species.
While isotopic ratios have been measured in solar system comets, previously detected interstellar objects have been too faint to measure isotopic ratios.
Here we report the measurement of two ratios in 3I/ATLAS from observations of the CN molecule: 12C/13C and 14N/15N.
We report 12C/13C=147+87−40 and 14N/15N=343+454−124. The 14N/15N is higher than the value of ∼~150 usually measured for solar system comets, close to the values measured in the interstellar medium, pre-stellar phases or the outside of protoplanetary discs.
The 12C/13C is marginally higher than the values usually measured for solar system comets and in the interstellar medium. These measurements could indicate an origin of 3I in the outer disc around an older low-metallicity star.
https://astrobiology.com/2026/03/high-nitrogen-and-carbon-isotopic-ratios-in-the-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas.html
https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.07187
https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteor-showers/explosive-daytime-fireball-may-have-dropped-meteorites-on-ohio-heres-where-to-look-and-what-to-do-if-you-find-one
https://www.hindustantimes.com/videos/meteor-or-something-deadlier-rare-bright-fireball-spotted-in-us-skies-amid-iran-war-101773923678365.html
https://newspress.co.in/fireball-sightings-spark-panic-across-u-s-experts-rule-out-iranian-missile-threat/
https://www.sci.news/astronomy/hubble-breakup-comet-c-2025-k1-atlas-14632.html
https://x.com/JAtanackov/status/2034637634534797607
https://x.com/thesentinelnet/status/2034630975842308256
https://thesentinelnetwork.substack.com/p/the-weigh-in-we-published-the-verdict
https://thesentinelnetwork.substack.com/p/the-verdict-twenty-eight-briefings
>Interstellar gang sign?
kek, its representin'.
A trail of wake or something from engines cutting through the cosmos, I'm not sure.
Where are all these free floating space rocks coming from anyways?
Ships make more sense to me than rocks but what do I know.
dubs
Astronauts Install Solar Array Mod Kit, Complete Spacewalk
March 18, 2026 4:14PM
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Chris Williams concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 3:54 p.m. EDT. It was Williams’ first spacewalk and Meir’s fourth.
During the approximately seven-hour and two-minute spacewalk, Meir and Williams completed their primary objectives, which included preparing the 2A power channel.
This work will enable the future installation of roll-out solar arrays to provide additional power for the orbiting laboratory, supporting critical systems and its safe, controlled deorbit.
The duo also completed additional tasks, including installing a 2A power system jumper cable.
The remaining tasks, including installing a lens cover on a camera attached to the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm and swabbing for microorganisms near the Quest airlock, will be moved to a future spacewalk.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/03/18/astronauts-install-solar-array-mod-kit-complete-spacewalk/
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-cover-progress-94-spacecraft-launch-space-station-docking/
https://www.sciencealert.com/hidden-ancient-river-system-found-deep-under-the-surface-of-mars
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieJKWW8sp2A
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adz6095
extra Mars
https://science.nasa.gov/blog/curiosity-blog-sols-4832-4837-driving-the-contact-line/
Hidden Ancient River System Found Deep Under The Surface of Mars
19 March 2026
Far away, alone in a crater on a planet inhabited only by robots, NASA's Perseverance rover explores a dry landscape that was once a river system billions of years ago.
According to a new discovery, however, the Jezero Delta on Mars is not the sole remnant of abundant water that once flowed across the surface.
Perseverance's RIMFAX instrument has now probed deeper than ever beneath the Jezero crater, revealing a vast delta system fed by flowing water that existed long before the one the rover now explores.
In turn, this indicates that water flowed across the surface of Mars for much longer than the surface alone implies – a finding with important implications for the planet's past habitability.
"Overall, RIMFAX elucidates a broader fluvial system than what was observed from orbit, and indicates an extended window of fluvial deposition, aqueous alteration, and habitable conditions than previously envisioned at Jezero crater," geomicrobiologist Emily Cardarelli of the University of California, Los Angeles told ScienceAlert.
"RIMFAX has revealed an earlier subsurface deltaic environment under the present-day delta, thereby extending the period of potential habitability for Jezero back further in time."
After many years of dedicated exploration, it has become clear that Mars wasn't always the arid, rusty dustball of a planet it is today.
Multiple lines of evidence show that water once flowed abundantly, from water-carved landscapes to minerals that could only have formed in the presence of liquid water.
This raises other questions. One of the most pressing for habitability is how long liquid water persisted on the surface of Mars. A longer timespan offers a larger window for the emergence of microbes that scientists think are the most likely form of life that could have existed on Mars.
In general, the landscape of Mars has been preserved very well for billions of years, since it's not subject to the same tectonic and weather conditions we have here on Earth.
The Jezero Delta that Perseverance is exploring is thought to be around 3.7 billion years old, dating back to the late Noachian to early Hesperian period.
However, that time is when Mars is known to have had surface water – and flowing surface water creates the conditions for stronger erosion and sediment deposition.
The formation and evolution of some of the mineral deposits in the Jezero crater have puzzled scientists, specifically a unit rich in carbonates and olivine known as the Margin.
To investigate how the Margin unit formed, researchers used Perseverance's RIMFAX to probe deep under the ground for clues.
Over the course of 78 traverses between September 2023 and February 2024, Perseverance repeatedly took measurements with its ground-penetrating radar, collecting data along a trail some 6.1 kilometers (3.8 miles) long. Those measurements penetrated to depths greater than 35 meters (115 feet).
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As the researchers began to piece together the data, a hidden deltaic landscape unfolded from the darkness.
"The moment we saw the Sol 909 radargram, we realized that this unit was more transparent to the radar than other units that we had seen before.
As we continued driving on the Margin unit, we saw deeper and deeper into the subsurface down to up to 35 meters," Cardarelli said.
"The Sol 1052 radargram was particularly exciting to see because we began to see complex features at depth that we hadn't seen before!"
The radar data revealed many layers of rock extending deep underground, arranged in sloping patterns that on Earth are typical of sediment settling out of water as it flows into a wide basin.
The researchers also identified lobe and channel structures consistent with formation by flowing water, along with scours, backseats, and buried boulders.
"These are common features for river systems to develop, though the preservation is not always guaranteed because river systems are dynamic," Cardarelli said.
Although the radar only probes tens of meters underground at any one location, combining those measurements across the entire length of Perseverance's traverse allows scientists to reconstruct a much thicker deposit.
This combined measurement suggests that the Margin could be up to 90 meters thick, the result of multiple episodes of deposition, with evidence of some erosion between them.
Based on the geological context of Jezero crater, the researchers estimated that the region hosted a functional delta system as early as the Noachian, some 4.2 to 3.7 billion years ago.
"We estimate that the Margin unit has a true thickness or actual vertical extent of at least 85 to 90 meters," Cardarelli said.
"The features we document range in size from submeter to hundreds of meters in length."
Taken together, the evidence suggests that Mars did not host water only during a brief period, but experienced multiple phases of water flowing over and shaping its surface. That extended water history opens the window of opportunity for life to have emerged.
"This work also may have implications for the preservation of potential biosignatures and habitability in the subsurface of Jezero crater," the researchers write.
"Fine-scale internal structures could preserve mineral compositions and geochemical conditions of past water-related events and may have once provided past habitable conditions."
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San Francisco is sinking at a rapid pace, NASA data shows
Thursday, March 19, 2026 8:43AM
NASA is out with a dire warning about San Francisco.
The city is sinking at a rate so fast, it could put human life at risk.
Scientists used satellite data to study vertical land motion from 2015 to 2023.
Findings revealed that regional studies substantially underestimate sea level rise.
NASA projects more than double the expected rise by 2050.
Experts say environmental changes and frequent extreme weather could increase that even more.
https://abc7news.com/post/san-francisco-is-sinking-rapid-pace-due-sea-level-rise-nasa-data-shows/18730957/
https://abc7news.com/feature/bay-area-2050-impacts-climate-change-local-environment/14828815/
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads8163
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAtRalzXK4Q
NASA Finalizes Artemis II Rollout, Crew Begins Quarantine
March 18, 2026 6:07PM
NASA’s Artemis II rocket and its four-person crew are all making progress toward a launch pad meet up in April.
Engineers are targeting 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 19, to start rolling the Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 will carry the 11-million-pound stack, including the mobile launcher, at about 1 mph along the four-mile route from Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad.
The journey, which can take up to 12 hours, will be streamed on NASA’s You Tube channel.
The time of rollout is subject to change if additional time is needed for technical preparations or weather accommodations.
Meanwhile, the Artemis II crew entered quarantine at 5 p.m. CDT Wednesday in Houston, to ensure they stay healthy leading up to 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 for the next week in Houston, before flying to Kennedy approximately five days before launch, to continue their quarantine from the astronaut crew quarters there.
Both activities are key milestones on the way to a launch as early as Wednesday, April 1. The early April launch window includes opportunities through Monday, April 6.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/03/18/nasa-finalizes-artemis-ii-rollout-crew-begins-quarantine/
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2034612501074071785
American Bald Eagle at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Mar 19, 2026
An American bald eagle flies away from its nest and tree at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, March 13, 2026.
Bald eagle nesting surveys across NASA Kennedy, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Canaveral National Seashore are conducted annually to document the number of bald eagle active and inactive nests in support of wildlife management and regulatory compliance.
Each year, eagles take up winter residence at the Florida spaceport, breeding and raising a new generation.
See more bald eagle photos and video.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/american-bald-eagle-at-nasas-kennedy-space-center/
https://images.nasa.gov/search?q=ksc-20260313&page=1&media=image,video,audio&yearStart=1920&yearEnd=2026
Trump's NASA chief Jared Isaacman answers the Apollo 'hoax' question… as he unveils plan to send Americans back to the moon
Updated: 11:28 EDT, 19 March 2026
President Donald Trump’s NASA chief cannot wait to return to the moon, partially to reemphasize that the United States can do it.
‘We owe it to every one of the pioneers during the 1960s every one of the astronauts that what they did was just the start and not the end of a great journey,’ NASA administrator Jared Isaacman told the Daily Mail in an exclusive interview at NASA’s JFK center in Florida.
Isaacman has a personal passion for space exploration and aviation as an entrepreneur and pilot. He has been to space on two separate SpaceX missions, including the first all-civilian mission in 2021.
He acknowledged that a growing number of Americans believed that the Apollo moon landing was actually an elaborate hoax, but emphasized that he had access to the truth, as the administrator of NASA.
‘I like, literally, have access to all the materials and the boots that were worn on the moon, and seen, you know, the Apollo 11 command module, and spoken to the astronauts, the heroes that actually did it. There's no question,’ he said.
The conspiracy theories surrounding the moon landing have long-angered people involved with the Apollo space missions.
In 2002, astronaut Buzz Aldrin personally punched conspiracy theorist Bart Sibrel in the jaw outside a Beverly Hills hotel, after the filmmaker heckled him for not landing on the moon.
Isaacman pointed to America’s reluctance to build upon the moon missions as probably to blame for more people questioning the authenticity of the mission.
‘I don’t blame people. Hey, it's been a long time, more than a half century, like, why is it so hard to get back?’ he asked. ‘Well, we owe them that outcome.’
What NASA accomplished in the 1960s with the moon landing, he said, was ‘near impossible’ but recalled that it rallied the entire nation in the space race with Russia.
‘This is what America does, and it's and we do it at our best when we're up against a great competitor,’ he said.
Isaacman said that Trump was emphatic about pushing past the Apollo missions with the launch of the Artemis program that is scheduled to return humans to the moon by 2028.
‘Don't just go back to the moon to plant the flag and bring back rocks,’ he said, detailing the mission to build a moon base and pursue ‘big, bold endeavors’ in space.
NASA’s Artemis II mission, scheduled to launch in April, will take four astronauts further into space than any other mission on a ten-day voyage around the moon and back to Earth.
‘It's going to be the most demanding, most important human space flight mission in a half century,’ he said.
Isaacman said there was ‘no question’ that the United States was in a new space race with China.
China, he said, had a ‘very robust’ space program that should not be underestimated.
‘They don't have what I would describe even, you know, a lot of the baggage right now,’ he said. ‘They are starting their program from scratch, and they're resourcing it. They have the expertise and the will, and they are pursuing those goals.’
He acknowledged there had been setbacks with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket powering the Artemis program as it was using a lot of heritage equipment that was ‘really old.’
The Artemis II mission has already been delayed for problems with the helium flow issues and hydrogen leaks, but Isaacman said it was no surprise that the equipment would need upgrading since it hadn’t been launched since 2022.
In February, Isaacman announced a major overhaul of the Artemis program, including an increase of launch cadence of the SLS. The result, he promised, would be two manned missions to the moon in 2028.
‘The challenges we've had up to now should absolutely have been expected. When you consider the history of the program, what matters most is that we're going to do things differently,’ he said. ‘The status quo is unacceptable.’
NASA’s mission to return to the moon, he said, was the goal of the space program for over 30 years and the cost of the program had surpassed $100 billion.
‘You come up short. That sends a message to the world,’ he said.
Isaacman credited President Trump for lighting a fire under NASA’s mission, by passing significant funding for the program and getting everyone in Congress focused on the task at hand.
‘This is a president who appreciates space very much. He's given us the mandate. He's given us the funding … you combine that with the appropriations from Congress, we got all the ingredients to go out and change the world in air and space,’ he said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15650805/Trumps-NASA-chief-Jared-Isaacman-answers-Apollo-hoax-question-unveils-plan-send-Americans-moon.html