Tootfinder

The 247th meeting of the American Astronomical Society #AAS247 is underway, coming with 8 press conferences - https://aas.org/meetings/aas247/press-kit#briefings - streaming on https://www.youtube.com/@AASPressOffice. There were already two yesterday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gAjRP1xLtQ about Galaxies Big and Small, covering e.g. https://public.nrao.edu/news/hidden-giants-of-the-early-universe/ / https://news.ucmerced.edu/news/2026/astronomers-reveal-hidden-activity-early-universe’s-most-massive-galaxies / https://keckobservatory.org/aas247-magaz3ne/ and https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae1584 (The First RELHIC? Cloud-9 is a Starless Gas Cloud) -> https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-examines-cloud-9-first-of-new-type-of-object/ / https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Cloud-9_a_new_celestial_object_found_by_Hubble / https://public.nrao.edu/news/starless-dark-matter-failed-galaxy-near-m94/.
And https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvpDVq-7h6E about Stars and Their Behavior, covering e.g. https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.00470 (Betelgeuse: Detection of the Expanding Wake of the Companion Star) -> https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/cfa-scientists-detect-wake-betelgeuses-elusive-companion-star / https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasa-hubble-helps-detect-wake-of-betelgeuses-elusive-companion-star/ and https://aas.org/sites/default/files/2026-01/Steven and Tyler AAS Press Release.pdf and https://public.nrao.edu/news/alma-devours-cosmic-hamburger-reveals-potential-for-giant-planet-formation/

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.

A second #planetesimal collision in the #Fomalhaut system: #Hubble Sees Asteroids Colliding at Nearby Star for First Time / Zerstörerische Kollisionen in einem jungen Planetensystem: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Hubble_sees_asteroids_colliding_around_nearby_star / https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-sees-asteroids-colliding-at-nearby-star-for-first-time/ / https://www.mpg.de/24356362/fomalhaut-staubwolken-durch-kollisionen

Blast heavily damages Pennsylvania nursing home, prompting search-and-rescue efforts (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/explosion-rips-through-pennsylvania-nursing-home-2025-12-23/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251223/p101#a251223p101

wild improv benefit for roulette feat. 5 minute miniatures by combos of john zorn, laurie anderson, marc ribot, ikue mori, kenny wolleson, john medeski, brian chase, jim staley, simon hanes, & jorge roeder, any of which i'd happily watch for a full night. tactile sound explosions. #nyc #jazz

The final (8th) #AAS247 presser #Lazuli, described in detail the paper #ArgusArray to the astronomical community: https://carolinastories.unc.edu/developing-the-worlds-largest-sky-survey-telescope/ and https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/01/eric-schmidt-will-massively-invest-in-private-telescopes-including-hubble-replacement/ and https://www.astronomy.com/science/eric-and-wendy-schmidt-to-fund-space-telescope-three-ground-based-observatories/ and https://www.space.com/space-exploration/former-ceo-of-google-spearheads-4-next-gen-telescopes-3-on-earth-and-1-in-space and https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/schmidt-sciences-announces-plan-for-lazuli-a-private-space-telescope/

Finally an RGB image of comet #3IATLAS from images taken by #GeminiNorth during the 26 November #shadowTheScientists session: https://noirlab.edu/public/news/noirlab2532/ - the coma has become bluer due to more gas emission. Also published today: an X-ray image by XMM-Newton at https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/12/XMM-Newton_sees_comet_3I_ATLAS_in_X-ray_light with explanations in http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iau/cbet/005600/CBET005646.txt which also contains more 3I news.
Meanwhile the paper https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ae2915 claims an upper limit for 3I's nucleus diameter of only some 750 meters from the measured non-gravitational acceleration (NGA) parameters: that would be waaay more stringent than the 5.6 km upper limit from early Hubble observations reported in https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf8d8 (where also a lower limit of 440 meters is stated).

@… I see that a painting of Dr John Rae, owned by the Hudson Bay Co is up for sale - relatively reasonable price...crowdfund?
https://www.

A binary-related origin mediated by environmental conditions for #BlueStraggler stars: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-68159-5 -> Hubble uncovers the secret of stars that defy ageing: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Hubble_uncovers_the_secret_of_stars_that_defy_ageing