Tootfinder

The Type II SN 2025pht in NGC 1637 - A Red Supergiant with Carbon-rich Circumstellar Dust as the First JWST Detection of a #Supernova Progenitor Star: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae04de -> Webb locates former star that exploded as supernova: https://esawebb.org/news/weic2604/ & https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-telescope-locates-former-star-that-exploded-as-supernova/ -
Webb shows star was surrounded by a vast shell of carbon-rich dust.

Comcast extends Mike Cavanagh's contract through January 1, 2029, and grants a ~$35M performance-based stock package; he's set to become co-CEO in January 2026 (Todd Spangler/Variety)
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/comcast-…

Comcast Extends Michael Cavanagh Contract Through 2029, Gets $35M Stock Award
Michael Cavanagh, as he's set to assume the role of Comcast's co-CEO on Jan. 2, extended his employment contract with the cable and media conglomerate that runs through Jan. 1, 2029.

Formation and Survival of Complex Organic Molecules in the Jovian Circumplanetary Disk: #Jupiter

Japanese chipmaker Rapidus plans to start building a second plant in Hokkaido in fiscal 2027, aiming to make advanced 1.4nm chips as early as 2029 (Nikkei Asia)
https://asia.nikkei.com/business/tech/semiconductors…

Japan's Rapidus to build cutting-edge 1.4-nm chip plant in race with TSMC
Construction to begin in fiscal 2027, production to start as early as 2029

MUSE Study of Two Giant Low-surface-brightness #Galaxies with Compact Satellites: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae3139 -> Rare Giant Galaxies: https://aasnova.org/2026/02/23/featured-image-rare-giant-galaxies/

Constraining properties of dust formed in #WolfRayet binary WR 112 using mid-infrared and millimeter observations: #dust grains emanating from a massive #BinaryStar system: https://public.nrao.edu/news/a-quintillion-to-one-giant-stars-tiny-dust/

Simultaneous Double Transits of #Phobos and #Deimos as Seen from the Martian Surface - A Millennium Catalogue: #Mars

dnc: DNC emails (2016)
A network representing the exchange of emails among members of the Democratic National Committee, in the email data leak released by WikiLeaks in 2016.
This network has 2029 nodes and 12085 edges.
Tags: Social, Communication, Unweighted, Multigraph
https://networks.skewed.de/net/dnc

San Francisco, Christmas Eve.

#CoronaDischarges Glow on Trees Under Thunderstorms: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL119591 -> Thunderstorms conjure ghostly coronae in treetops, observed outdoors for the first time: https://news.agu.org/press-release/thunderstorms-conjure-ghostly-coronae-in-treetops-observed-outdoors-for-the-first-time/ - the weak electric discharges may set off ultraviolet sparkles over large swaths of forest under storms, potentially impacting canopy health (this is fringe geophysics but some amateur astronomers are going after corona discharges - esp. in webcam images from mountain sites - with a vengeance, so here goes).

"Norway hits pause on deep-sea mining until 2029 amid growing environmental pressure"
#Norway #Oceans #Environment

Norway hits pause on deep-sea mining until 2029 amid growing environmental pressure | The Optimist Daily

Due to weather, NASA now is targeting early Wednesday, Feb. 25, to roll the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for #ArtemisII off the launch pad and back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/23/nasa-targets-artemis-ii-rollback-on-wednesday/ - cold temperatures and high winds are expected Tuesday, and rolling on Feb. 25, gives teams enough time to complete preparations at the launch pad that were limited today by high winds in the area.

Speicherkrise: Playstation 6 könnte bis 2028 oder 2029 verschoben werden
Die Speicherkrise setzt auch Konsolenhersteller unter Druck: Während die Playstation 6 vor einer Verschiebung stehen soll, könnte die Switch 2 teurer werden.

foggy sunrise #SanFrancisco

Worden alle pizza's nu de helft duurder nu ze werelderfgoed zijn?
Oeps ... Ook de pasta en de hele Italiaanse keuken. 🙂

The Academy signs a multi-year deal that will give YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars, beginning in 2029 and running through 2033 (Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gen…

Oscars Bolt from ABC to YouTube Starting in 2029
Breaking news, more soon

Academy Awards: YouTube überträgt die Oscar-Verleihung ab 2029 weltweit im Netz
Die Oscar-Verleihung gehört zu den wichtigsten kulturellen Institutionen der USA. Ab der 101. Ausgabe werden sie künftig auf YouTube übertragen – weltweit.

The Academy signs a multi-year deal that will give YouTube the exclusive global rights to the Oscars, beginning in 2029 and running through 2033 (Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gen…

Oscars Bolt from ABC to YouTube Starting in 2029
Breaking news, more soon

NASA is taking steps to potentially roll back the #ArtemisII rocket and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after overnight Feb. 21 observing interrupted flow of helium to the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/21/nasa-troubleshooting-artemis-ii-rocket-upper-stage-issue-preparing-to-roll-back/ - the upper stage uses helium to maintain the proper environmental conditions for the stage’s engine and to pressurize liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant tanks; the systems worked during NASA’s Artemis II wet dress rehearsals, but teams were not able to properly flow helium during normal operations and reconfigurations following the wet dress rehearsal that concluded Feb. 19.

/2
Ahh ... Meer 'normale bedrijven' zeggen er mee te stoppen. (RTLnieuws)
Blijven die moeilijke gevallen over... Dat zal wel de vraag om een verbod wel versnellen.
En bedankt voor de moeite Delta! 😅

Bay Light are back!
#SanFrancisco

The only genuine image of the 2026 annular #SolarEclipse I've seen so far - and at an extremely short wavelength of only 17 nanometers, from the Proba 2 satellite: https://proba2.sidc.be/Eclipse17February2026 (which sees the solar corona in emission, so the Sun doesn't have a sharply defined edge).

A the press conference #ArtemisII launch after the WDR went so well - see also https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/19/nasa-begins-artemis-ii-launch-pad-ops-after-successful-fuel-test/ issued just after it had ended - but this will not be confirmed before the Flight Readiness Review late next week.

Linux Mint: Version 22.3 „Zena“ mit langem Supportzeitraum
Die Linux-Distribution Linux Mint ist in Version 22.3, Codename „Zena“, erschienen. Sie erhält bis 2029 Sicherheitsupdates.
https://www.

Im Lauf der Zeit (Kings of the Road) - Wim Wenders - Internet Archive
https://archive.org/details/im-lauf-der-zeit-kings-of-the-road-1976-wim-wenders (1976, 176min, zw-w)
'Rondreizend reparateur van bioscoopprojectoren Bruno (geweldige rol van Vogler) en de depressieve Robert treffen elkaar onder eigenaardige omstandigheden: laatstgenoemde probeert zichzelf in een rivier te verdrinken maar zijn auto zinkt niet, waarna Bruno hem een lift geeft. ...'
https://www.vprogids.nl/cinema/films/film~386547~im-lauf-der-zeit~.html
Aanrader!
Verder alleen bij Mubi te zien.

"The most recent orbital computations make it increasingly likely that the object [the new #Kreutz comet MAPS] is a fragment of one of the comets observed by Ammianus Marcellinus in AD 363, thereby strengthening evidence in support of the contact-binary hypothesis of the Kreutz system," writes Zdenek Sekanina in https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.17626: "In this context, the comet is the only second-generation fragment of Aristotle's comet that we are aware of to appear after the 12th century. It does not look like a major fragment, but rather like an outlying fragment of a much larger sungrazer."

In Eenvandaag over verkoop aan de deur. Leuk advies van Kassa om in dat gesprek je niets te laten verkopen.
Maar eenvoudiger is deze sticker.
1 - goedwillende verkopers komen niet
2 - iedereen met de meest fantastische smoesjes kun je afwijzen door daar op te wijzen, dus nee.
Daarnaast is het een geheugensteun: mocht je gaan twijfelen, dan kun bij de sticker steun vinden om toch nee te zeggen. 😉

"The #ArtemisII wet dress rehearsal ended today at 10:16 p.m., concluding as planned at T-29 seconds in the countdown."

JWST Discovers the Vertical Structure of #Uranus' Ionosphere: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL119304 -> Webb maps the mysterious upper atmosphere of Uranus: https://esawebb.org/news/weic2602/ - Webb provides the first vertical view of the planet’s ionosphere, revealing auroras shaped by its tilted magnetic field.

"After running through terminal count for the #ArtemisII wet dress rehearsal, the launch team paused the clock at T-33 seconds in the countdown," says https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/19/live-artemis-ii-wet-dress-rehearsal-coverage/: "Teams are now reconfiguring and replenishing the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems, in order to recycle back to the T-10 minute mark and perform another run of terminal count. [...] The entire recycle process lasts approximately 60 to 90 minutes."

Measurement of a lithium plume from the uncontrolled #reentry of a Falcon 9: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-03154-8 -> SpaceX rocket fireball linked to plume of polluting lithium: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd8z4eqlxno

RE: https://mastodon.social/@ErikJonker/115693178301989314
Sophia Cope, a senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation: “..
It has not proven effective at finding terrorists and other bad guys,” she added. “But it has chilled the free speech and invaded the privacy of innocent travelers, along with that of their American family, friends and colleagues.”
(From link ⬇️)

45 minutes til the simulated #ArtemisII launch, and according to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KYhqePsm38 and https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/19/live-artemis-ii-wet-dress-rehearsal-coverage/ the 2ns wet dress rehearsal is going to plan. How the outcome will be reported: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-to-provide-coverage-of-artemis-ii-wet-dress-rehearsal/

Juno's high-spatial-resolution ultraviolet observations of Ganymede's auroral patches - constraints on the magnetospheric source region: #Ganymede and Earth: https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/news/university-of-liege-scientists-reveal-similarities

#Starliner Propulsion System Anomalies during the Crewed Flight Test - Investigation Report: https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/nasa-report-with-redactions-021926.pdf -> Agency leaders are discussing the findings of investigations into the 2024 crewed test flight of Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geneWmI9ZMY -> NASA Releases Report on Starliner Crewed Flight Test Investigation: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-releases-report-on-starliner-crewed-flight-test-investigation/

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HOLISMOKES XIX - SN 2025wny at z=2, the first strongly lensed superluminous supernova / XX - Lens models of binary lens galaxies with five images of Supernova Winny: #supernova: https://www.tum.de/en/news-and-events/all-news/press-releases/details/measuring-the-expansion-of-the-universe-with-cosmic-fireworks - measuring the expansion of the universe with cosmic fireworks.

Tracking the Evolution of Plasma Instabilities from the Prominence–Corona Transition Region into Interplanetary Space with Total Solar Eclipse and PSP/WISPR White Light Images: #corona: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2026/02/17/eclipse-research-suns-corona/

Detection of a giant #flare displaying quasi-periodic pulsations from a pre-main-sequence M star by the Next Generation Transit Survey: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/482/4/5553/5224549?login=false -> Weathering a Stellar Temper Tantrum - How space weather complicates exoplanet habitability: https://astrobites.org/2026/02/16/stellar-temper-tantrum/

Om een kabinet met D66, CDA en VVD levensvatbaar te maken is ook steun van links nodig | Trouw
#NLpol #formatie

A Physics Informed Neural Network for Deriving MHD State Vectors from Global Active Regions Observations: #SpaceWeather: https://www.swri.org/newsroom/press-releases/new-research-takes-first-step-toward-advance-warnings-of-space-weather

Caltech astrophysicist fatally shot on porch of his rural SoCal home: #Grillmair was a specialist for #TidalStreams of #galaxies as his publications (as first author) listed in https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/search/q= first_author:"Grillmair"&sort=date desc, bibcode desc&p_=0 show.

Veel onbegrip over verkoopstop makreel - Visserijnieuws
#Makreel

Jammer dat Eenvandaag weer met t voorbeeld van het toiletbezoek van Orban kwam toen het over consensus in de EU ging.
Veel belangrijker is dat in diezelfde tijd meer zaken 'gedelegeerd' werden naar groepen landen met precies hetzelfde belang. Zo is toen een deel van de EU-defensie geregeld.
Per definitie zitten er ook grote verschillen tussen verschillende regio's. Zo'n oplossing is dan ook zo gek nog niet. (En zet een 'Hongarije' buiten spel)
#EU #Eenvandaag

Cenozoic evolution of earth’s strongest geoid low illuminates mantle dynamics beneath #Antarctica: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-28606-1 -> Beneath Antarctica - the deep-time story behind Earth’s largest “gravity low”: https://www.ipgp.fr/en/news-and-agenda/news/beneath-antarctica-the-deep-time-story-behind-earths-largest-gravity-low/ -> Antarctica’s ‘Gravity Hole’ Has Been Quietly Growing Stronger: https://gizmodo.com/antarcticas-gravity-hole-has-been-quietly-growing-stronger-2000722955 - scientists aren't fully sure what this means for Antarctica's future, however.

An animation of the antumbra from space during yesterday's #SolarEclipse: https://scicomm.xyz/@AstroDave/116087138815117726 - see also https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=881466661392738 and https://bsky.app/profile/youstorm.bsky.social/post/3mf4vgedthc2p for animations from another position.

Ach ... BBB maakt een punt van orde dat dit kabinet extreem rechts genoemd is. Vervolgens legt ze zelf de verbinding met Nazis.
Waarvan acte mevr vdPlas
#debat

JWST Reveals a Candidate #JellyfishGalaxy at z = 1.156: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae3824 -> Scientists observe distant jellyfish galaxy for first time: https://uwaterloo.ca/news/media/scientists-observe-distant-jellyfish-galaxy-first-time - new astronomical find is 8.5 billion years old and reshapes our understanding of early cosmic evolution.

ALMA and JWST Identification of Faint Dusty Star-forming Galaxies up to z ∼ 8 and Their Connection with Other Galaxy Populations: #galaxies almost 13 billion years old, helping to revise the history of the universe: https://www.umass.edu/news/article/international-team-astronomers-led-umass-amherst-may-have-just-found-one-missing-links

The #LOFAR Two-metre Sky Survey - VII. Third Data Release: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15949 -> Largest Ever Radio Sky Survey Maps the Universe in Unprecedented Detail: https://www.ru.nl/en/research/research-news/largest-ever-radio-sky-survey-maps-the-universe-in-unprecedented-detail (see the ALT text for what the three sample images show).

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#Nieuwsuur over klinieken vs ziekenhuis
Daar hen ik het dus ontzettend mis zien gaan bij een 'eenvoudige kunstenkel' waar bij de kliniek eigenlijk vergeten werd dat de conditie van de patiënt voor een geheel herstel eerst aangepakt en begeleid moest worden.
Later zag ik dat dat 'standaard aandacht' had boj ziekenhuis.
Operatie geslaagd, maar patiënt uiteindelijk slechter af.

The #SolarEclipse today from space: https://mastodon.social/@PlanetariumBochum/116087072853257668 - images of the ring from the ground aren't in yet; I've heard that Mirny was clouded out but that they wanted to get someting at Concordia.

@… wat maakt dat threads.net met een vertraging van zo'n 15 min binnenkomt?
Zelfde oorzaak als eerder?

Candidate Dark Galaxy-2 - Validation and Analysis of an Almost Dark #Galaxy in the Perseus Cluster: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adddab/meta -> NASA’s Hubble Identifies One of Darkest Known Galaxies: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-identifies-one-of-darkest-known-galaxies/

The #SolsrEclipse live from South Africa: https://www.youtube.com/live/DfwhUn3OKIs

RE: #SolarEclipse!

Now live on #Crew12 Arrival & Welcome Remarks.

Gas-depleted #planet formation occurred in the four-planet system around the red dwarf LHS 1903: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11271 -> Astronomers discover unique ‘inside out’ planetary system / CHEOPS detects a new planetary "disorder": https://warwick.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/astronomers-discover-inside-out-planetary-system/ / https://mediarelations.unibe.ch/media_releases/2026/media_releases_2026/cheops_detects_a_new_planetary_disorder/index_eng.html

It seems likely that a bright #fireball on the morning of the 12th dropped #meteorites in #Bavaria, says the Czech analysis https://meteor.asu.cas.cz/cz/post/bolid_2026_02_12/ based on data from special cameras: the body came in slowly and at a very shallow angle, so the potential strewnfield is huge and thus a systematic search not viable, and one can only hope for discoveries by chance.

While preparing #ArtemisII for flight, NASA engineers are reviewing data after a confidence test Feb. 12, in which operators partially filled the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage liquid hydrogen tank to assess newly replaced seals in an area used to fill the rocket with propellant: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/13/following-confidence-test-nasa-continues-artemis-ii-data-review/ - during the test, "teams encountered an issue with ground support equipment that reduced the flow of liquid hydrogen into the rocket. [...] Engineers will examine findings before setting a timeline for the next test, a second wet dress rehearsal this month. March remains the earliest potential launch window for Artemis II."

An optical transient candidate of ≲ 2-second duration captured by wide-field video observations: #transient candidate (TMG20200322) with a duration of ≲ 2 s by wide-field video observations in the direction of the Earth's shadow. TMG20200322 was detected in just two consecutive images of 1-second exposure time, with its shape becoming elongated in the second frame.

When your CV includes "sucked into a black hole, fused with crystalline extraterrestrial organisms, and emerged mutated" you're good enough for the big screen, again ... #SpaceGodzilla returns in 2027: https://sffgazette.com/sci_fi/movies/godzilla-x-kong-supernova-test-screening-leak-reveals-movies-main-villain-cameos-and-more-a9685

Disappearance of a massive star in the Andromeda Galaxy due to formation of a black hole: #BlackHole in Andromeda galaxy: https://www.space.com/astronomy/black-holes/astronomers-witness-vanishing-star-collapse-into-a-black-hole-in-andromeda-galaxy

Spectral evidence for magmatic differentiation within a martian plumbing system: #Mars’ “Young” Volcanoes Were More Complex Than Scientists Once Thought: https://www.geosociety.org/GSA/News/pr/2026/GSA News Release 26-08.aspx

The risk of a hothouse Earth trajectory: #Climate May Go from Greenhouse to Hothouse: https://eos.org/articles/earths-climate-may-go-from-greenhouse-to-hothouse - uncertainty in climate models could mean Earth systems are perilously close to their tipping points, scientists warn.

And all 32 #AmazonLeo satellites have been deployed by the first #Ariane 64: good news for Arianespace and Amazon but probably bad news for astronomy as the previous satellites of this #megaconstellation have proven to be brighter than they should be. As this diagram from the recent paper "Brightness Characterization and Modeling for Amazon Leo Satellites" - https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.07708 - shows they are almost always brighter than the informally established 7 mag. limit. And there are no indications that the design of the 32 added to the constellation today had been modified to make them dimmer ... while the next Ariane launch will carry more of them.

PSR J0952-0607 - Tightening a Record-high #NeutronStar Mass: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae28c5 -> interview with the first author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFNqf19QewY

The first #Ariane 64 flight is well underway (and has just reached the target orbit)- here is the booster separation from an onboard cam, see https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2026/02/04/allgemeines-live-blog-ab-dem-4-februar-2026/#Feb12 (scroll down ... a lot) for more timesteps from the webcast.

Black Holes as Telescopes - Discovering Supermassive Binaries through Quasiperiodic Lensed Starlight: #BlackHole binaries: https://www.aei.mpg.de/1407139/new-method-could-reveal-hidden-supermassive-black-hole-binaries - bright flashes of lensed starlight guide the way.

The launch of #Crew12 is planned for 10:15 UTC today: webcasts from NASA and ESA at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCM-Kwq91cc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_5RWX-GsQo from 8:15 UTC plus the ESA Launch Kit at https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/HRE/EPSILON_LaunchKit_EN.pdf and updates on https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/commercialcrew/ and the latest timelines at https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Watch_live_Crew-12_launch_and_docking_updated and https://www.spacex.com/launches/crew12 and https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-agencys-spacex-crew-12-launch-docking/

On Feb. 11, NASA’s Neil Gehrels #Swift Observatory temporarily suspended most science operations in an effort to reduce atmospheric drag and slow the spacecraft’s orbital decay: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift/2026/02/11/nasas-swift-mission-transitions-ops-to-prep-for-orbit-boost/ - halting these activities will enable controllers to keep the spacecraft in an orientation that minimizes drag effects, extending its time in orbit in anticipation of a reboost mission.

Mantle heterogeneity influenced Earth’s ancient magnetic field: #MagneticField for hundreds of millions of years: https://www.earth.com/news/deep-heat-has-guided-earths-magnetic-field-for-hundreds-of-millions-of-years/

And now on #Ariane flight VA267 - of the first Ariane 6 with 4 boosters.

Prospects for #Comet C/2026 A1 MAPS - a comet with a narrow tail in the evening twilight, with uncertain but potentially high brightness? https://hdr-astrophotography.com -> Tail simulations for comet MAPS: https://groups.io/g/comets-ml/message/34888 - in order not to depend on a single prediction, i have simulated different scenarii.

The nature of ASASSN-24fw’s #occultation - modelling the event as dimming by optically thick rings around a substellar companion: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/546/3/staf2251/8471205?login=false -> Unseen planet or brown dwarf may have hidden 'rare' fading star: https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/unseen-planet-or-brown-dwarf-may-have-hidden-rare-fading-star

ReveaLLAGN 1 - JWST Emission-Line Spectra Reveal Low-Luminosity #AGN with UV-Deficient SEDs and Warm Molecular Gas: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.16977 -> James Webb Space Telescope uncovers secret supermassive black holes that escape traditional detection: https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/james-webb-space-telescope-uncovers-secret-supermassive-black-holes-that-escape-traditional-detection

A fast powerful X-ray transient from possible tidal disruption of a white dwarf: #WhiteDdwarf: https://english.news.cn/20260212/bb2ae2bbd6944d1dbc8164a22ae38cfd/c.html

A surprisingly large asymmetric ejection from #Mira A: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.03159 -> Well-known star has become a heart-shaped cosmic lighthouse: https://www.chalmers.se/en/current/news/see-heart-shaped-cosmic-lighthouse/

The recording of the independent webcast #Vulcan launch - in which they are discussing the SRB nozzle malfunction from t 2:25 onwards (i.e. starting at 1:13:30), eventually showing lots of different angles on the debris falling from the rocket. ULA hasn't said yet whether the payload has reached the proper orbit, by the way.

RE: #Mengzhou abort test - see also https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2026/02/04/allgemeines-live-blog-ab-dem-4-februar-2026/#Feb12 for more visuals, links zu video clips and articles.

Booster separation during the #Vulcan launch ... but as ULA is just confirming in https://x.com/ulalaunch/status/2021893224907083949 and e.g. https://bsky.app/profile/derek.space/post/3menpvsm7wk2u and https://bsky.app/profile/gewoonlukas.bsky.social/post/3menp65czzc2c had already noted one of the boosters had suffered some anomaly - which however didn't affect the mission.

As a pre-show you can also watch the #Proton-M launch of an Electron weather satellite at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwiBFPB0Vgs - lift-off planned for 8:52 UTC i.e. in a few minutes.

The should be a #Vulcan launch at 9:22 UTC today, with the webcast at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFw6xy2zGCo beginning in 1/2 hour - see https://www.ulalaunch.com/missions/next-launch/vulcan-ussf-87 for what it's about as well es updates.

#Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) and #Galaxy NGC 55
Date: 11 02 2026 UT 18:39
Location: Farm Tivoli, #Namibia
Telescope: ASA Astrograph 12" f3.6
Camera: ZWO ASI 6200 MM Pro
Mount: ASA DDM 85
Exp.Time: LRGB 10/2/2/2 min.
Gerald Rhemann and Michael Jäger

Jupiter-like uniform metal enrichment in a system of multiple giant #exoplanets: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08227 -> How big can a planet be? With very large gas giants, it can be hard to tell: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1115679

JWST’s PEARLS - a Candidate Massive Binary Star System in a #Lensed Galaxy at Redshift 0.94: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae2003 -> JWST Spies a Potential Microlensed Massive Binary Star System: https://aasnova.org/2026/02/11/jwst-spies-a-potential-microlensed-massive-binary-star-system/

Bright [C II]158 μm Streamers as a Beacon for Giant Galaxy Formation in SPT2349-56 at z = 4.3: #GiantGalaxies could form just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang: https://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/pressreleases/2026/forming-massive-galaxies-in-the-early-universe - new radio observations of molecular gas reveal how dozens of galaxies rapidly merge together in the early Universe.

Estimating Electron Densities in the Middle Solar Corona using White-light and Radio Observations: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.09819 -> "Traditionally, routine estimates of coronal density have relied exclusively on white-light observations. However, these density estimates, obtained by inverting the white-light data, require simplifying assumptions, which may affect the robustness of the measurements. [...] In this study, we estimate the coronal electron densities in the middle corona [...] using low-frequency radio observations from the recently commissioned Long Wavelength Array at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory (OVRO-LWA)."

Origin of Hyperion and Saturn's Rings in A Two-Stage Saturnian System Instability: #Saturn

And so the humongous flat antenna of the direct-to-cell comsat #BlueBird 6 has unfolded, "the Largest Commercial Communications Array Antenna Ever" as the AST press release https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260210108166/en/AST-SpaceMobile-Successfully-Completes-Unfolding-of-BlueBird-6-the-Largest-Commercial-Communications-Array-Antenna-Ever-Deployed-in-Low-Earth-Orbit crows: now it's now up to the astronomical community to observe it and determine its magnitude. Are the Block 2 BlueBirds worse than the already outrageously bright Block 1 satellites - or did the promised (!) countermeasures reduce their impact? In any case dozens more of these satellites are to be launched this year, followed by hundreds more ...

Possible identification of the Luna 9 Moon landing site using a novel machine learning algorithm: #Luna9 Spacecraft, 60 Years After It Vanished: https://www.iflscience.com/nasas-lunar-orbiter-may-have-spotted-long-lost-luna-9-spacecraft-60-years-after-it-vanished-82507

On 10 February 2026, the European Space Agency (ESA) signed a contract with OHB Italia for the development of the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses): #Ramses will rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis before its rare close encounter with Earth. RPS and MARIE to investigate asteroid Apophis' passage through Earth's magnetosphere: https://www.dlr.de/en/blog/archive/ramses-mission-rps-and-marie-to-investigate-asteroid-apophis-passage-through-earth-s-magnetosphere

Evidence of an Extended Alfvén Wing System at #Enceladus: Cassini's Multi-Instrument Observations: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025JA034657 -> Tiny Enceladus Exercises Giant Electromagnetic Influence at Saturn: https://www.europlanet.org/tiny-enceladus-exercises-giant-electromagnetic-influence-at-saturn/

In Antarctica, balloon lands after 23-day search for particles from outer space: #PUEO caught a ride aboard a NASA #balloon in search of high-energy #neutrinos.

The chemical #habitability of Earth and rocky planets prescribed by core formation: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02775-z -> Researchers from ETH Zurich have demonstrated why only a small number of planets have the chemical requirements for life – and why the Earth is so fortunate: https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2026/02/why-only-a-small-number-of-planets-are-suitable-for-life.html

This newly processed image from the NASA/ESA #Hubble Space Telescope is the clearest view yet of the #EggNebula: #PreplanetaryNebula, a structure of gas and dust created as a Sun-like star approaches the end of its life. The Egg that we see now will eventually hatch, revealing a white dwarf at its centre and leaving its shell to become a spectacular planetary nebula.

Radar-based observation of a lava tube on Venus: #Venus may have an underground tunnel carved by volcano eruptions: https://www.space.com/astronomy/venus/venus-may-have-an-underground-tunnel-carved-by-volcano-eruptions

Just that you know ... "Greater consumption of caffeinated #coffee and tea was associated with lower risk of dementia and modestly better cognitive function, with the most pronounced association at moderate intake levels" - so says the new study https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2844764?guestAccessKey=b5f53c96-c7a8-47fa-b807-8b464361c4d8 -> Daily cups of caffeinated coffee or mugs of tea may lower dementia risk: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/daily-coffee-tea-lower-dementia-risk -
a long-term observational study tracked self-reported coffee and tea consumption.

On the Deepest Search for #GalacticCenter Pulsars and an Examination of an Intriguing #MillisecondPulsar Candidate: #Pulsar in the Milky Way’s Center: https://news.columbia.edu/news/researchers-announce-discovery-possible-pulsar-milky-ways-center - confirming a pulsar star would enable unprecedented tests of General Relativity. Such a discovery would revolutionize physics.