Tootfinder

Last night, to make the most of the combination of the still almost New Moon (only 5% illuminated), clear sky/weather, Milky Way alignment/visibility and still near-peak Perseids meteor shower (with ~50 per hour), I spent three hours alone in one of the darkest places within easy reach and with absolutely great views across a lake to boot...
Here's a short time lapse animation of the Milky Way rotating over the Alps near Füssen from around 23:30 - midnight... 290 frames, each 15 second…

new plan for global warming: deploy a billion solar panels to capture the sun's energy and use that to power a giant laser that will send our excess heat to the moon. (the giant space laser attracts funding; the solar panels mysteriously disappear from the asset inventory when the project collapses)

NASA has announced that it will release a solicitation related to lunar surface power this month
and that it is considering sending a rover powered by a
"radioisotope thermoelectric generator" (RTG) to the moon.
In a press conference,
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and NASA Moon Base Program Manager Carlos García-Galšn discussed new award announcements
to Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive machines
to deliver NASA science payloads to…

NASA prepares to solicit moon surface power, teases RTG-powered moon rover

I want a solar (and lunar) eclipse emoji. The new moon sun emojis just don’t really cut it. 🌑☀️
#emoji #emojis #eclipses #Unicode

Renaming geography’s an odd hobby, granted, but fair enough—school shootings probably got so bad that he's run out of children to rape. https://mstdn.party/@mcspocky/117232700660225889

A protective vest tested on a manikin during NASA’s first Artemis moonshot could drastically cut the radiation exposure of lunar astronauts during severe solar storms.
Scientists reported Wednesday on the radiation-shielding vest worn around the moon by a female test dummy in 2022.
No one was aboard that Artemis I debut flight, which paved the way for humanity’s long-awaited return to the moon in April by a flyby crew of four.
Radiation remains one of the biggest threats to a…

Radiation vest tested during Artemis I can cut astronauts' exposure in solar storms, study suggests
A new study suggests a protective vest tested on a manikin during NASA's first Artemis moonshot could slash the radiation exposure of lunar astronauts during severe solar storms. Scientists reported Wednesday on the radiation-shielding vest worn around the moon by a female test dummy named Zohar in 2022. No one was aboard that Artemis I debut flight, which paved the way for actual astronauts to return to the moon in April. Radiation remains one of the biggest threats as NASA works toward a moon…

Alexander Simpson came in first at the Twilight 5K -- he comes in first quite often in road races! Between going to New England, prioritizing people I gave a token to, and not overloading my followers I am not so fast posting photos...
#photo #photography

First steps when we take our first steps on a new planet:
1) Take a step
2) Bring in cars
3) Build roads with lasers
Humanity really is a special breed. 🤦
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nEoLyTdgpV8

New Constraints on the Spatial and Temporal Evolution of the Lunar Surface Regolith: #lunar explorers, depending on the task at hand.

800 Million Years Ago, a Catastrophic Asteroid Breakup Rained Fire on the Inner Solar System - Universe Today https://www.universetoday.com/articles/800-million-years-ago-a-catastrophic-asteroid-breakup-rained-fire-…

It's actually crazier than that. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-rename-new-mexico-claims-moon-is-ours-12410814

And the state of the debate about (details of) the origin of the #Moon ... today - Collisional Capture of an Intact Moon Depends on Strength: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae91e9 -> SwRI-led modeling identifies new scenarios for Moon formation: https://www.swri.org/newsroom/press-releases/swri-led-modeling-identifies-new-scenarios-moon-formation

New NASA Images Reveal Crater Left Behind by SpaceX Rocket Impact on the Moon
https://gizmodo.com/new-nasa-images-reveal-crater-left-behind-by-spacex-rocket-impact-on-the-moon-2000800562

Astronomy from Corrulón (Spain) on the morning of 9 August 2/3: the Moon 3 1/2 days before being as new as it gets and totall eclipsing the Sun from here.

'I'm over the moon': New York's small business owners rejoice as Mamdani cuts red tape (Christopher Mathias/The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/25/zohran-mamdani-small-business-policies
http://www.memeorandum.com/260725/p63#a260725p63

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on BBCRadio3's #NightTracks
Sergey Prokofiev, New London Orchestra & Ronald Corp:
🎵 Summer day - children's suite Op.65a: The Moon sails o'er the meadows
#SergeyProkofiev #NewLondonOrchestra #RonaldCorp

The SiO2 abundance on the surfaces of the Moon and #Mercury: https://planetary-research.org/article/view/226 -> Mercury’s Crust Formed by Extreme Volcanism: https://www.mps.mpg.de/mercury-s-crust-formed-by-extreme-volcanism - a new study uses an indirect approach to determine the silicon dioxide content of Mercury’s surface.

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #GuyGarveysFinestHour
Nada Surf:
🎵 Moon Mirror
#NadaSurf
https://nadasurf.bandcamp.com/track/new-propeller

A new perspective on the 12 August Total #SolarEclipse, from a Russian weather satellite on a #Molniya orbit, showing Europe (with few clouds in Spain while Iceland is invisible) from above, in contrast to the slant view from a geostationary wx sat, with the Moon's #umbra proceeding south: two processed stills from the animation https://x.com/conspiracyslyr/status/2091012490360471586 - which lead yet another link-a-thon with more eclipse stuff at the bottom of https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2026/08/21/allgemeines-live-blog-ab-dem-21-august-2026/

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on #BBC6Music's #GuyGarveysFinestHour
Nada Surf:
🎵 Moon Mirror
#NadaSurf
https://nadasurf.bandcamp.com/track/new-propeller