Good morning and TYB's
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
May 24, 2026
A Martian Eclipse: Phobos Crosses the Sun
What's that passing in front of the Sun? It looks like a moon, but it can't be Earth's Moon, because it isn't round. It's the Martian moon Phobos. The featured video was taken from the surface of Mars in 2022 by the Perseverance rover. Phobos, at 11.5 kilometers across, is 150 times smaller than Luna (our moon) in diameter, but also 50 times closer to its parent planet. In fact, Phobos is so close to Mars that it is expected to break up and crash into Mars within the next 50 million years. In the near term, the low orbit of Phobos results in more rapid solar eclipses than seen from Earth. The featured video is shown in real time the transit really took about 40 seconds, as shown. The videographer the robotic rover Perseverance (Percy) – continues to explore Jezero Crater on Mars, searching not only for clues to the watery history of the now dry world, but evidence of ancient microbial life.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76biwhDVKe0
Solar Watch, Earth Glitch, Impossible Mars Effect | S0 News and frens
May.24.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGh7N6VKdJ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9IyFz5VLRM (Gareth Samuel: The Star That Nearly Wiped-Out Humanity | Thunderbolts)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOhXaFNCwy4 (CNET: Visiting the World's Largest Artificial Sun Gave Me Hope)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjxpjwmz9kw (EarthMaster: World Earthquake Watch.. Daily updates on Global Eqs and Space Weather events.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkPM-Qn1DyU (Stefan Burns: The Sun is Controlling the Quakes!! Bigger Activity is Coming…)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OKHWocYNSE (On the Pulse with Silki: Hawaii Big Island is SHAKING ! Never felt before !)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1znpc7YEckE (Max Velocity: A Large Storm Is Forming For Memorial Day…)
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-solar-11year-eruptions-flares.html
https://rollingout.com/2026/05/24/magnitude-6-earthquake-rocks-hawaii/
https://www.bigislandvideonews.com/2026/05/23/earthquake-updates-morning-after-magnitude-6-0-quake-on-hawai%CA%BBi-island/
https://www.foxweather.com/weather-news/tropics-southeast-hurricane-season-thunderstorms-rain-drought
https://www.wjtv.com/weather/severe-weather/20000-outages-reported-after-severe-storms-in-mississippi/
https://www.firstpost.com/videos/general-news-videos/china-faces-double-disaster-as-floods-and-earthquake-kill-dozens–vd1929302/
https://meteoagent.com/schumann-resonance-forecast
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/
https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes-volcanoes/news/303276/Volcano-earthquake-report-for-Sunday-24-May-2026.html
https://www.tornadohq.com/
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/index.php/
https://spaceweather.com/
chekt
Scientists create miniature nuclear fireball to understand how radioactive dust is born
May 24, 2026 08:14 AM EST
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are attempting to understand what happens during nuclear fallouts.
Their findings could help improve safety models for nuclear reactors, but also help with emergency planning and cleanup operations.
From what we currently understand, during a nuclear detonation, temperatures become insanely high; typically hotter than the surface of the Sun.
This causes nearby materials like soil, concrete, bomb/reactor components, organic materials, etc, to vaporize instantly.
This turns them into a superheated cloud of gas and plasma known as a fireball. This fireball then expands, cools, and tiny particles begin to form. It is these particles that then rain back down to earth as nuclear fallout.
From a nuclear forensics point of view, these particles act like tiny chemical “fossils” that can be analyzed. They preserve clues about what materials were present, how hot things got, how long temperatures stayed high, and potentially what type of nuclear event occurred.
Better understanding nuclear fallout
All vital pieces of a puzzle that can then be used to help plan emergency responses, cleanup operations, and weapons monitoring.
To this end, the LLNL has built a special machine called a plasma flow reactor that acts like a kind of mini artificial nuclear fireball simulator.
Within it, the team can vaporize mixtures containing uranium, cerium, and cesium, and then control how the vapor is cooled. This allows them to observe when particles form, what chemicals bond together, and see how cooling speed changes the outcome.
This flies in the face of older models that tended to treat elements somewhat independently and in a predictable sequence. Typically, they would assume uranium, cesium, and plutonium would condense of their own accord at set “freezing points.”
However, LLNL’s work shows that the elements appear to chemically influence each other during cooling. This means that nuclear fallout production is far more chaotic and “soup-like” than previously believed.
Cesium, in particular, is more of a wild card than once thought, often staying gaseous for much longer. If cooling is slower, cesium tends to mix more thoroughly with other elements, complicating fallout chemistry over time.
“Changing how long materials remain at high temperature can alter chemical reactions and how volatile elements like cesium are incorporated into particles,” LLNL scientist and author Rakia Dhaoui explained.
More complicated than once thought
“These particles preserve a record of how they formed.
By studying these processes in a controlled system, we can replace assumptions with measurements, improve the models used to interpret nuclear debris, and support decision-making when it matters most,” he added.
“Historical fallout studies indicate that the path materials take as they cool is important,” said Dhaoui. “Cooling rate and time at elevated temperature can alter chemical speciation and particle formation.”
By better understanding the cooling in the aftermath of nuclear explosions, scientists will be able to determine what type of device exploded, how it was built, and what materials were used.
This, in turn, can then be used to better plan and respond to events like the Chornobyl disaster and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in the future.
https://interestingengineering.com/military/scientists-build-miniature-radioactive-dust-nuclear-fireballs
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.analchem.5c07929
They can't afford anymore of the UFO files to make it to the public's eye.
Hail Mary imminent.
Ukraine receives invitation to join NASA's Artemis moon program
Sun, May 24, 2026 - 14:04
Ukraine became the ninth country to sign agreements under the program, but it's not that simple. Ukraine is facing a systemic crisis — it has had no space program for seven years.
But recently, a letter arrived regarding participation in the Artemis program, says chief researcher and former director of the Space Research Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Oleh Fedorov, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Does Ukraine have a formal agreement with NASA?
The scientist said he previously worked at the State Space Agency, where he was responsible for cooperation with NASA.
"Back then, we had joint programs and even funding," Fedorov recalled.
He said that "after the flight of our first cosmonaut, Leonid Kadenyuk (which was already more than 20 years ago), we launched joint projects for orbital research."
"America even financed our small research programs for two years. But then everything stopped," the expert shared.
He added that today "we do not even have a formal agreement."
Will Ukraine join the Artemis program?
"Recently, a letter arrived regarding Ukraine's participation in the Artemis moon program," Fedorov said.
He explained that earlier, "many countries signed up for it, including us."
"The specificity is that each participant does something of its own, but coordinates it with the others. So there is no duplication," the scientist explained.
Therefore, according to him, Ukraine could "help the United States explore the Moon, but at its own expense."
"The State Space Agency of Ukraine is collecting proposals from possible participants, including from the Pivdenne Design Bureau," the expert noted.
But for now, according to him, there is no talk of Ukraine's participation in this program as a state.
On November 13, 2020, it became known that Ukraine had taken a step toward NASA's Artemis program.
At that time, the State Space Agency signed agreements within the framework of the program on the principles of cooperation in the peaceful exploration and use of the Moon, Mars, comets, and asteroids, and joined the space agencies of other countries participating in the program.
Ukraine thus became the ninth signatory country to the Artemis agreements. Later, it was reported that Ukraine planned to participate in programs to explore Mars.
Meanwhile, NASA named specific timelines for when humanity will colonize the Moon. Read also how the astronauts of the Artemis II mission returned to Earth after a long journey to the Moon and back, and why the astronauts' Moon landing was postponed.
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-receives-invitation-to-join-nasa-1779620698.html
extra NASA lite
https://nasawatch.com/trumpspace/new-app-coming-soon-to-nasa-phones/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/app/
https://nasawatch.com/china/nasa-clamp-down-on-china-co-authorship/
https://www.science.org/content/article/u-s-researchers-face-new-restrictions-publishing-foreign-collaborators?utm_source=sfmc
special delivery
Send-off ceremony held for astronauts of Shenzhou-23 mission
May 24, 2026
A send-off ceremony for the three Chinese astronauts of the Shenzhou-23 crewed space mission was held Sunday in northwest China.
Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan, as well as Lai Ka-ying from Hong Kong meet the press at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Lai is now poised to make history as the first astronaut from Hong Kong to travel to space, and the country's fourth female space traveler, as a payload specialist for the Shenzhou-23 spaceflight mission.
When a notice appeared in 2022 announcing that China was recruiting its fourth batch of reserve astronauts, and for the first time, opening selection to Hong Kong and Macau, Lai decided to give it a try.
After three rounds of selection, Lai stood out from some 120 candidates from Hong Kong and joined the astronaut team in 2024.
Lai understands the weight she carries. "Because I come from Hong Kong, I have one more task to serve as a bridge for the space endeavors of Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland," she said. This November, Lai will celebrate her birthday in space.
As for Zhang, he will remain in orbit for one year, the longest continuous stay aboard the Tiangong space station. The return is expected to take place in 2027 through the Shenzhou-24 spaceship.
The year-long mission is aimed at exploring the adaptability and performance limits of humans. Zhang says the mission puts greater demands on his physical and mental conditions.
https://www.thestandard.com.hk/news/article/332834/
https://www.bastillepost.com/global/article/5879915-send-off-ceremony-held-for-shenzhou-23-astronauts-before-launch
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-05-24/Global-media-praise-Shenzhou-23-space-mission-1Npzu0Z2Xyo/p.html
https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/china-launches-human-artificial-embryos-to-space-in-bid-to-see-whether-reproduction-is-possible-off-world
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-05-24/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDkwNzg5/index.html
https://www.bastillepost.com/global/article/5879847-hong-kong-excited-about-its-first-astronaut-going-to-space
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/human-spaceflight/china-reveals-3-person-shenzhou-23-crew-including-hong-kongs-1st-astronaut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raPWsy3W874 (Watch live! China's Shenzhou 23 crew launches to Tiangong space station)
Oreshnik strike reported near Kiev
23 May, 2026 22:50 | Updated 24 May, 2026 07:13
Ukrainian media and Telegram channels have circulated videos showing clusters of bright objects rapidly descending from the sky.
They claimed the footage captured the use of Russia’s intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik missile against an unspecified target in the town of Belaya Tserkov near Ukraine’s capital, Kiev. Moscow has not officially confirmed the launch of its state-of-the-art system.
The latest footage resembles videos that circulated in January, when Russia used the Oreshnik system in a strike on a Ukrainian aviation plant in Lviv that was repairing and servicing warplanes and producing long-range drones.
Russia used an Oreshnik missile in a strike on the city of Belaya Tserkov, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yury Ignat said on Sunday, according to local media reports. It was launched from the Kapustin Yar test range in southern Russia, he added.
The reported strike came after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to “submit proposals” for a response to a Ukrainian drone attack on a teacher training college dormitory in the Lugansk People’s Republic, which left 21 people, mostly teenage girls, dead and 42 injured.
The US Embassy in Kiev had earlier warned American citizens of a “potentially significant air attack” that could occur within 24 hours, advising them to be prepared to take shelter immediately in the event of an air alert.
The dormitory, part of Starobelsk college at Lugansk Pedagogical University, was hit by several waves of Ukrainian drones while students were sleeping inside on Friday, in what Moscow called a deliberate “terrorist act.”
Governor Leonid Pasechnik declared May 24 and 25 days of mourning, calling the attack “pure evil” and saying those responsible must face “deserved and inevitable punishment.”
Ukrainian authorities have also reported dozens of missile and drone impacts in Kiev and elsewhere across Ukraine, but the Russian Defense Ministry has yet to confirm the scale or targets of the reported combined strike.
Russia first publicly confirmed the use of Oreshnik in November 2024, when Putin said the missile had been used in a strike on the Yuzhmash military-industrial facility in Dnepropetrovsk.
The system is designed to deliver multiple warheads at hypersonic speed and has been described by Moscow as practically impossible for current air defenses to intercept.
https://www.rt.com/news/640501-ukraine-kiev-oreshnik-videos/
extra RT
https://www.rt.com/russia/640362-school-dorm-drone-strike/
https://www.rt.com/news/640467-hungary-reinstates-ukraine-food-ban/
SBU Drones Strike Critical Russian Fuel Hub in Vladimir Region
May 24, 2026, 1:36 pm
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) executed a precise long-range drone operation against the Vtorovo linear production and dispatch station in Russia’s Vladimir region overnight into Sunday, May 24.
Conducted by special operations units from the Center for Special Operations “Alpha,” the precision strike ignited a massive 800-square-meter fire at the facility.
Special operations forces from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducted a successful long-range drone assault deep inside Russian territory overnight into Sunday, May 24, striking a vital energy transit hub that directly feeds the aviation and military logistics networks of the Moscow capital region.
The deep-penetration operation was executed by specialized drone teams from the SBU’s Center for Special Operations “Alpha”. The tactical target was the “Vtorovo” linear production and dispatch station, located in the Vladimir region, roughly 200 kilometers east of Moscow.
According to verified security reports, a swarm of Ukrainian loitering munitions cleanly bypassed regional electronic warfare umbrellas to record multiple direct hits on the facility’s distribution infrastructure, igniting a large-scale fire that rapidly spread across an estimated 800 square meters.
Crippling Russia’s capital logistics and air transport lines
The Vtorovo terminal serves as one of the most critical structural chokepoints in the Russian Federation’s domestic trunk pipeline network.
Operated by Transneft subsidiary Verkhnevolzhsknefteprodukt, the station functions as a primary collector and distribution gateway for refined petroleum products – principally high-grade diesel fuel – originating from major refineries across central Russia.
The facility is a primary source of fuel for the expansive network of strategic storage depots encircling the capital limits.
Crucially for Russian infrastructure, the Vtorovo hub directly feeds the specialized pipeline rings that fulfill the daily fuel requirements for Moscow’s three primary international airports: Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo.
Ukrainian intelligence assessments indicate that disrupting this transit loop significantly complicates immediate fuel distribution networks for both commercial aviation and the military transport fleets assisting the Kremlin’s cross-border campaigns.
Surgical scope versus blind terror
SBU Head Yevhenii Khmara issued an official statement following the operation, emphasizing that Ukraine’s long-range campaigns maintain a strict focus on degrading the industrial foundations of the Russian war machine.
Khmara contrasted Ukraine’s precise methodology with Russia’s concurrent overnight barrage, which saw a massive attack of 690 missiles and drones intentionally directed into civilian sectors, collapsing high-rise apartment blocks in Kyiv and Cherkasy and targeting a historic museum.
“Unlike the enemy, who deliberately attacks civilian infrastructure and peaceful people, Ukraine delivers precise strikes exclusively against military and strategic targets related to ensuring Russian aggression,” Khmara stated.
The SBU leadership confirmed that the operation is part of an ongoing, systematic directive from the p of Ukraine to steadily degrade the economic and military-industrial potential of the Russian Federation.
The successful strike on the Vtorovo facility expands upon an intense month of deep-penetration operations.
Just days prior, the SBU partnered with the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) under Commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi to execute the “Snow of Akhmat” operation, deploying low-altitude strike munitions to destroy a major Russian UAV pilot academy and warhead assembly plant in occupied Snizhne, killing an estimated 65 military personnel.
Khmara concluded by warning that Ukrainian long-range capabilities have entered a phase of heightened production, signaling a permanent increase in operations against the Russian interior.
“The SBU is already preparing new special operations,” he noted. “The intensity of Ukraine’s strikes on Russian territory will only grow. Our long-range sanctions will continue to work.”
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/76761
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/russian-oil-pumping-station-hit-in-ukrainan-1779623083.html
other Russia and Ukraine
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4126666-enemy-drone-strikes-in-chernihiv-region-injure-six-people-over-past-24-hours.html
https://voennoedelo.com/en/posts/id16202-moscow-drone-attack-linked-to-western-intel-analyst-says