Tootfinder

RE: #SolarEclipse!

Also interesting: #Goddard and the Invention of the Liquid Fueled Rocket" from 10 days ago, stressing his (non-)interaction with the public and colleagues. Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnNIMT1RBGs = the "Robert Goddard First Launch Space Centennial Kick-Off Announcement" by the city of Worcester, Mass., from February and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJp6DHhfkKw = the video "Beyond Rockets" mostly on futuristic ideas.

During an event in Auburn, Mass., Saturday commemorating the 100th anniversary of Robert #Goddard launching the first liquid-fueled rocket, a speaker mentioned that in addition to the four people involved in the experiment it was also accidentally witnessed by several local children - including this father aged 10 at the time: in the recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxYYXWYLzHs#t=1h15m30s he recounts his vivid story from 1:15:30.

On Monday the discovery of four new #moons of #Jupiter was announced - #Saturn: https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K26/K26F14.html (this brings the known total to 101 and 285, respectively).

Also from the #LPSC #NASA HQ Briefing: the science riding along on #ArtemisII - I think "verbal descriptions" of the Moon haven't been defined science objectives since the Apollo days.

Sources: Sony is considering pushing back the debut of its next PlayStation console to 2028 or even 2029, as the AI boom fuels huge memory chip demand (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-15/rampant-ai-de…

One of the best/worst things I have done is by a portable handheld espresso maker. It's so great to travel with but also so easy to make an espresso at 11P because it is sitting on the table next to you.

In a few minutes on #NASA Headquarters Briefing at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference featuring Louise Prockter, Planetary Science Division Director and Brad Bailey, Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration.

heise | Digitaler Euro soll 2029 kommen: Das ist der aktuelle Stand
Die technische Vorbereitung läuft, politisch ist nichts entschieden. Kosten, Datenschutz und Wettbewerb sorgen weiter für Streit. Überblick zum aktuellen Stand.

Linux Mint kan ik iedereen aanbevelen, nu op een oude laptop draaien en eerlijk gezegd is het een verademing ivm Windows 11 (dat ik ook gebruik op een andere laptop).
https://tweakers.net/nieuws/243498/linux-mint-223-verbetert-fo…

Linux Mint 22.3 verbetert foutopsporing en krijgt ondersteuning tot 2029
De nieuwe versie 22.3 van Linux-distributie Mint brengt onder meer gebruiksvriendelijkere tools voor het oplossen van problemen. Deze langetermijnrelease van Linux Mint krijgt tot 2029 ondersteuning. De Consumentenbond adviseert Mint als optie voor Windows-overstappers.

Hints of Primordial Magnetic Fields at Recombination and Implications for the Hubble Tension: #HubbleTension and other cosmic mysteries: https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/news/2026-03-13-primordial-magnetic-fields-could-resolve-hubble-tension-and-other-cosmic-mysteries - an international team of researchers simulated magnetic forces in the early universe and found they could bridge the gap between the observed and calculated rates of the universe’s expansion.

Die #Autohersteller zocken für 10 Jahre verweigerte Transformation nun #Steuergelder ab:
Die #Bundesregierung stellt bis 2029 über 300 Millionen Euro für Transformationsnetzwer…

Weitere 300 Millionen für die Autoindustrie: Höhere Förderung für Transformation
Regionale Netzwerke sollen den Wandel der Branche vom Verbrenner zum E-Auto flankieren, neue Geschäftsmodelle identifizieren und Arbeitsplätze sichern.

A complete set of canonical nucleobases in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) #Ryugu: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02791-z -> "The detection of diverse nucleobases in asteroid and meteorite materials demonstrates their widespread presence throughout the Solar System and reinforces the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to the prebiotic chemical inventory of early Earth."

KHO:n tuomio rajoittaa Terrafamen jätevesien juoksuttamista #ympäristö

KHO:n tuomio rajoittaa Terrafamen jätevesien juoksuttamista
Terrafamen ympäristölupa kaivostoiminnan jatkamiseen ja laajentamiseen päättyy kesäkuussa 2029.

Volatile-rich evolution of molten super-Earth L 98-59 d: #planet: https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-03-16-researchers-reveal-new-class-molten-planet

Searching for Life-As-We-Don't-Know-It - Mission-relevant Application of Assembly Theory for Exoplanet Life Detection: #Life, But Not As We Know It: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/life-but-not-as-we-know-it

Assimilation of Ground and Satellite Magnetic Observations Unravels the Ionospheric, Magnetospheric, and Induced Fields During the May and October 2024 #GeomagneticStorms: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL116964 -> How does an ice satellite detect a geomagnetic storm? https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/CryoSat/How_does_an_ice_satellite_detect_a_geomagnetic_storm

hours of explosions despite the rain, this will go on for weeks in my neighborhood

RE: https://mastodon.social/@esoastronomy/116239348555593632
The related RAS statement: https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/spacex-and-reflect-orbital-plans-would-permanently-scar-night-sky. And what the Astronomers for Planet Earth say: https://a4e.org/protecting-planet-earths-skies-a4es-statement-on-proposed-large-satellite-constellations/

Before and after pictures of the rocket test 100 years ago today, from the fantastic #Goddard collection at https://commons.clarku.edu/goddardlaunch/ - articles about the historical event and its context also at https://www.collectspace.com/news/news-031626a-robert-goddard-liquid-fuel-rocket-centennial-where-nell.html (small parts of the hardware may have survived after all), https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/goddardcentennial-origins/ -> https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/goddardcentennial-space-craze/ -> https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/goddardcentennial-legacy/ and https://www.space.com/space-exploration/2-seconds-that-changed-the-world-the-1st-liquid-fueled-rocket-launched-100-years-ago-today

A folk song written earlier this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the #Goddard launch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCEN_JjU02c - it captures the event and its legacy well (and makes reference to Goddard's famous cherry tree and the fact that the farm where it happened is now a golf course). Artist's home page: https://roncarlsonmusic.com

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

40 years ago tonight the #Giotto spacecraft passed the nucleus of #comet #Halley at great speed: the documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI-W8ss4x5I from back then - also at https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/Undated/Giotto_-_English with bonus material - tells the story well. A big special issue of the ESA Bulletin about the mission is at https://esamultimedia.esa.int/multimedia/publications/ESA-Bulletin-046/offline/download.pdf and other historical material like some photos is linked from https://historicalarchives.esa.int/giotto-cometary-encounters-and-archival-sources while a recording of the BBC's live coverage is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxDMdH4uzxI

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.

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/

Orbital Eccentricity in a Neutron Star–Black Hole Merger: #mergers: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/oval-orbit-casts-new-light-on-black-hole-neutron-star-mergers - breakthrough discovery provides new clues about how these celestial bodies that push the known laws of physics to their limits find each other.

Solar twins in Gaia DR3 GSP-Spec - building a large catalog of #SolarTwins with ages: https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/03/aa58913-26/aa58913-26.html -> Our Sun escaped together with stellar “twins” from galaxy center: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1119007

Universal energy limits of #RadiationBelts in planetary and brown dwarf magnetospheric systems: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aea4945 -> A new model defines an upper limit to planetary radiation belt intensity: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/mathematics-and-science/new-model-defines-upper-limit-planetary-radiation-belt-intensity

TOI-4616 b: a benchmark Earth-sized #planet transiting a nearby M4 dwarf: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.10905 -> This Isn't Just Another Rocky World Orbiting a Red Dwarf. This One's Special: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/this-isnt-just-another-rocky-world-orbiting-a-red-dwarf-this-ones-special

Origin of #Hyperion and Saturn's Rings in A Two-Stage Saturnian System Instability: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.09281 -> chat with the first author ("The Titan Impact: Saturn’s Moon System May Have Had a Catastrophic Past"): https://www.youtube.com/live/MVyn_bfZsaI

So the #ArtemisII FRR went "go" on all counts, they hope to roll out the stack to the pad again on 19 March and be ready to launch on 1 April at 22:24 UTC - the table of possible launch dates in April https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/artemis-ii-mission-availability.pdf just had another one added for 2 April.

A recently recovered 48 seconds (!) long SF feature film by Georges Méliès from 1897 some think has essentially the plot of "2001" or "The Terminator" - an #AI growing and then fighting its creator, but losing in the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojqcjzzjN2Q

The NASA's #ArtemisII Flight Readiness News Conference should commence in 1/2 hour on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpMMAdqMGWA

#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

Gaia-GIC-1 - An Evolving Catastrophic #Planetesimal Collision Candidate: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae3ddc -> UW astronomers collect rare evidence of two planets colliding: https://www.washington.edu/news/2026/03/11/uw-astronomers-spot-planet-collision-evidence/

Witnessing Magnetic Reconnection in Tangled Superpenumbral Fibrils around a Sunspot: #Sunspot: https://aasnova.org/2026/03/11/astronomers-see-braided-magnetic-fields-above-a-sunspot/

Habitability of Tidally Heated H2-Dominated Exomoons around Free-Floating Planets: #exomoons habitable for billions of years: https://idw-online.de/de/news867330

Spitzer HST parallaxes of 13 late T and Y dwarfs: #BrownDwarfs in the solar neighborhood (d < 20pc). By combining archival Spitzer data with our own Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations, we achieve parallax uncertainties typically around 10%. Using Spitzer and HST photometry we compare our targets with other known late T and Y dwarfs in the Solar neighborhood, confirming that there is large intrinsic scatter in the near- and mid-infrared absolute magnitudes and colors of this population, further highlighting the diversity observed spectroscopically by several James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) programs."

Lense-Thirring precessing magnetar engine drives a superluminous supernova: #magnetar, confirming link to some of universe’s brightest exploding stars: https://news.berkeley.edu/2026/03/11/astronomers-capture-birth-of-a-magnetar-confirming-link-to-some-of-universes-brightest-exploding-stars/

Hidden Vela #Supercluster Revealed by First Hybrid Redshift & Peculiar Velocity Reconstruction: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.09339 -> Vela - the True Scale of a Hidden Giant Structure Revealed: https://www.sarao.ac.za/news/vela-the-true-scale-of-a-hidden-giant-structure-revealed/

Integration and testing of the #Dragonfly Titan helicopter, the activities involved in assembling the mission’s rotorcraft lander and testing it for the rigors of launch and extreme conditions of space, is officially underway in clean rooms and control rooms at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/dragonfly/2026/03/10/nasas-dragonfly-mission-begins-rotorcraft-integration-testing-stage/

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.

A Merger within a Merger - Chandra Pinpoints the Short #GRB230906A in a Peculiar Environment: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae2a2f -> NASA Discovers Crash of Extreme Stars in Unexpected Site: https://chandra.si.edu/press/26_releases/press_031026.html / https://chandra.cfa.harvard.edu/photo/2026/nsmerger/ -> How the Most Energetic Explosions in the Universe Are Formed: https://chandra.cfa.harvard.edu/blog/node/951

The aftermath of the first successful flight - 2.5 seconds, 12.5 meters high - of a liquid-fueled #rocket 100 years ago #OTD as photographed by Robert H. #Goddard himself in Auburn, Mass. The flight itself was neither filmed nor photographed but there is plentiful other material about the history-making experiments available, linked from https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2026/03/12/allgemeines-live-blog-ab-dem-12-marz-2026/#Mar16 (much of it just gone up).

From the #LPSC #NASA HQ Briefing: the four American robotic #Moon landings planned for this year - the Blue Origin HLS demonstrator for #Artemis should go first, as early as next month. (There is a little #VIPER looking at the latter because this homeless rover might fly on a second demonstrator - if they can figure out how to get it from the 8 meters high lander to the surface.)

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.

The #Kreutz #comet #MAPS "has become more than 1 mag brighter between March 6 and 9" and stands at 10.5 mag. right now: https://groups.io/g/comets-ml/message/35019 and https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2374472359736249 with the latest picture by Jäger & Rhemann here - less than 4 weeks til perihelion, and the brightness continues to rise with a strong n~8 ...

The privately funded large space telescope #Lazuli now has a company (SSTL) that will build the spacecraft bus and a university (UofA) building two of its three instruments: https://www.sstl.co.uk/media-hub/latest-news/2026/sstl-joins-the-eric-and-wendy-schmidt-observatory-system’s-lazuli and https://news.arizona.edu/news/u-build-instruments-new-space-telescope

The Constraint of Crewed Mars Missions Based on Current Radiation Dose Measurements: #Mars: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/The_radiation_paradox_why_solar_maximum_is_the_safest_time_to_travel_to_Mars

Finally an #ArtemisII update on https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/08/nasa-conducts-repairs-analysis-ahead-of-next-artemis-ii-fueling-test/ - "technicians have replaced two seals in an area where operators saw higher than allowable hydrogen gas concentrations during the test. Engineers are analyzing the removed seals and developing plans to address all issues ahead of the next rehearsal." No date for that new wet dress rehearsal has been set, and a launch date will be determined only after it is over.

#LittleRedDot variability over a century reveals black hole envelope via a giant Einstein cross: https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.05180 -> One image tracks the same cosmic object across space and time. It's all down to a strange quirk of physics: https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/rxc-j2211-0350-little-red-dots

The #Crew12 NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev will hold a live interview at the top of the hour from Astronaut Crew Quarters inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of their mission to the International Space Station: stream at https://www.youtube.com/live/3CuHCROAwRI

Significant #fireball over Germany this evening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQFVOHSBGDw. Many visual reports, too: https://fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_view/event/2026/1467

The planets #Venus and #Saturn in #conjunction 1/2 hour ago over Bochum, Germany - easily caught with a hand-held bridge camera at 1/4 and 1/3.2 second, f/2.8 and ISO 800 but marginal even in 11x70 binoculars: bad sky transparency, caused mostly by Sahara dust AFAIK took its toll. At these images with the best *photographic* contrast the Sun was 8 1/2° below the horizon while Saturn and Venus were 3 1/4° and 3 3/4° high, with the latter 83 times brighter.

Still Accelerating - Type Ia supernova #cosmology is robust to host galaxy age evolution: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.13785 -> Standardizing Standard Candles - Exploring the (lack of a) Bias in Cosmological Distance Measurements: https://astrobites.org/2026/03/07/supernovaagebias_rebuttal/

Abundant hydrocarbons in a buried #GalacticNucleus with signs of carbonaceous grain and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon processing: https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04967 -> JWST reveals exceptional richness of organic molecules: https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/news/jwst-reveals-exceptional-richness-organic-molecules

Does the Measured Abundance Suggest a Biological Origin for the Ancient Alkanes Preserved in a Martian Mudstone? #Mars Organics: https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/science-news/2026/02/06/nasa-study-non-biologic-processes-dont-fully-explain-mars-organics/

So here is the context of the crazy 1985 magazine illustrration: you find the complete article at https://archive.org/details/Unix_World_Vol02_02.pdf/page/n29/mode/2up h/t Ralf Bülow on X

CH3OH and HCN in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Mapped with the ALMA Atacama Compact Array - Distinct Outgassing Behaviors and a Remarkably High CH3OH/HCN Production Rate Ratio: #3IATLAS: https://public.nrao.edu/news/alma-detects-extremely-abundant-alcohol-in-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas/ - astronomers capture a chemical snapshot of planet formation beyond our solar system.

So there is an upcoming novel about #asteroid #2024YR4 which has just sold its movie rights: #TheLastOrbit eventually figure out that it's not only no risk for Earth anymore (as has been known for a year now, of course) but also not for the Moon. Talk about bad timing ... ;-)

Direct detection of an asteroid’s heliocentric deflection - the Didymos system after DART: #DART Mission Changed Orbit of #Asteroid #Didymos Around Sun: https://www.nasa.gov/missions/dart/nasas-dart-mission-changed-orbit-of-asteroid-didymos-around-sun/

The oldest Milky Way stars - new constraints on the age of the #Universe and the Hubble constant: https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/03/aa57038-25/aa57038-25.html -> How old is the Universe? The oldest stars give us a clue: https://www.aip.de/en/news/how-old-is-the-universe/

GWTC-4.0 - an Introduction to Version 4.0 of the #GravitationalWave Transient Catalog: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae0c06 -> The latest crop of space-time wobbles includes a variety of heavy, fast-spinning, and lopsided colliding black holes: https://physics.mit.edu/news/new-catalog-more-than-doubles-the-number-of-gravitational-wave-detections-made-by-ligo-virgo-and-kagra-observatories/ / New catalog of LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA observations published: https://www.aei.mpg.de/1415736/new-catalog-of-ligo-virgo-kagra-observations-published - the latest catalog, GWTC-4, includes 128 new candidates from the fourth observing run, more than doubling the previous total.