Scientific observation

[Simone411]

Interstellar Object 31/ATLAS May Have Been Caught in Perserverance Rover Photo

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/tech...1&cvid=68e421e4e83a4f6ababa58ce688ecae8&ei=74

An amateur astronomer looking through data from NASA's Perseverance rover may have spotted interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passed overhead.

3I/ATLAS was discovered on July 1, this year, moving through the Solar System at nearly twice the velocity of previous interstellar visitors ‘Oumuamua and Comet Borisov. The object was confirmed to be an interstellar comet and is suspected to be far larger than the previous two, with an estimated nucleus (the rocky part of the comet, excluding its coma) of around 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles), and a possible "anomalous" mass of over 33 billion tons.

The astronomical community continued to track the object, known to be a comet due to outgassing as it gets closer to the Sun on its way through the Solar System. Now, it has vanished from Earth's view and won't be back in it until later this year. But Earth is not the only place in the Solar System where humanity has cameras and scientific instruments.

On October 3, Comet 3I/ATLAS had its closest approach to Mars, passing by it at a distance of around 29 million kilometers (18 million miles). NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) both planned to observe the sky during this timeframe using space robots such as Mars Express and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, and we'll find out soon enough if they observed it from Mars' orbit. And possibly, as the case may be, by the Perseverance rover on the Red Planet's surface.

Here's where it gets a little murky. As the US space agency explains on its website, "NASA Operating Status: NASA is currently CLOSED due to a lapse in Government funding". While NASA is unable to post information on any data that may have been captured by its robots, Perseverance continues to send its raw images, which are available to the public to view. Looking through those images, some believe they have identified the interstellar object. While one has been picked up by the press and the Internet alike, this one is unlikely to be an image of 3I/ATLAS. However, another that has gone unnoticed by most media may be worthy of some further attention.

So IFLScience went through the raw Perseverance data following a Reddit post claiming to have the first images. While there is definitely something moving across the several minutes of this time-lapse, the object is too fast to be the comet. This might have been one of the orbiters that fly around Mars.

But there is a better candidate, which appears to have been first spotted by Simeon Schmauß.

"I think Perseverance may have spotted interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS last night from Mars!" Schmauß wrote on Bluesky. "After stacking 20 images from Mastcam-Z, I found a faint smudge of light in the constellation Corona Borealis close to the location where the comet was expected."

 

[Simone411]

The first supermoon of 2025 is rising. Here's when you should look up

MSN

Fall is here, and October is bringing us a supermoon in the first week of the month.

On Monday, Oct. 6, the supermoon will take over the sky, the same night that the Draconid meteor shower is set to begin, according to NASA.

While October's moon, also known as the Harvest Moon, may be too bright to allow people to enjoy the meteor shower fully, the supermoon is still an incredible sight to see, as the moon will look around 30% brighter and up to 14% larger.

"It's an annual, worldwide event when moon enthusiasts come together to enjoy our natural satellite," NASA stated in its video "What's Up: October 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA." "You can attend or host a moon-viewing party, or simply observe the Moon from wherever you are."

Here's what you should know about the full moon in October.

When will October's full moon reach its peak?

The full moon will be at its peak on Monday, Oct. 6, at 11:47 p.m. ET, according to Citizen Times, a part of the USA TODAY Network.

When will be the best time to see the October supermoon?

The best time to see the moon is when it is at its peak, but it will appear full for all night and even for a couple of days after.

What is a supermoon?

Supermoons happen when a new moon or a full moon is at its closest to Earth all month, according to NASA. The phenomenon is known as "perigee."

Because of that, the moon will look 30% brighter and up to 14% larger than it usually does.

3 supermoons to occur in 2025

October will not be the only month with a supermoon this year. Another will occur in November and December before the end of the year.

The supermoons will fall on the following dates, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac:

• Harvest Moon- Monday, Oct. 6 at 11:47 p.m. ET.
• Beaver Moon- Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 8:19 a.m. ET
• Cold Moon- Thursday, Dec. 4, at 6:14 a.m. ET

Of the three supermoons, November's full moon will be the closest to Earth at 221,817 miles away from Earth, with December's moon coming in second at 221,965 miles and October's moon in third at 224,600 miles, according to the Almanac.

Will you be able to see October's supermoon?

As of Sunday, Oct. 5, the National Weather Service is predicting that most of the U.S. will have clear skies between 8 p.m. ET on Monday, Oct. 6, and 2 a.m. ET Tuesday, Oct. 7, but it will be cloudy in some areas.

 

[Simone411]

In 4 Years' Time, 2 Billion People Will Witness a Sky Event That Only Happens Once Every 7,500 Years

MSN

On 13 April 2029, something extraordinary will unfold in the skies above Earth. An asteroid named 99942 Apophis — roughly the size of the Eiffel Tower — will pass within 30,000 kilometres of our planet, closer than many satellites. For the first time in human history, a near-Earth object of this magnitude will be visible to the naked eye, captivating observers across Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia.

Originally flagged as a potential planetary threat in 2004, Apophis sparked a wave of international concern after early calculations revealed a 2.7% chance of impact in 2029. That figure placed it at Level 4 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, the highest rating ever assigned at the time. The object’s ominous name, borrowed from the Egyptian god of chaos and darkness, seemed fitting.

Fast forward nearly two decades, and astronomers have since ruled out any collision for at least the next 100 years. Yet, while the risk has subsided, the scientific intrigue around Apophis has only deepened.

According to a 2024 study published in The Planetary Science Journal, Apophis’s close Earth encounter will alter its orbital path significantly. Its current trajectory, classified as Aten-type—an orbit mostly contained within Earth’s—will shift into an Apollo-type orbit, which extends beyond our planet’s own track around the Sun. The change is due to Earth’s gravitational influence, which will also likely affect the asteroid’s spin rate and surface structure.

This rare opportunity to observe an asteroid being gravitationally perturbed in real time has drawn global attention. Speaking at the Europlanet Science Congress, Richard Binzel, a planetary scientist at MIT and creator of the Torino Scale, confirmed: “Apophis is no longer a threat. But it’s the closest look we’ll get at a substantial asteroid without sending a crewed mission.”

NASA has already reassigned its OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, which recently completed a landmark sample return mission from asteroid Bennu. Now renamed OSIRIS-APEX, the probe will rendezvous with Apophis shortly after its 2029 flyby. Its objectives include mapping the asteroid’s surface, tracking its rotation, and detecting potential seismic activity triggered by tidal forces.

In parallel, the European Space Agency (ESA) is reviewing a proposal for a complementary mission dubbed RAMSES. If approved, the spacecraft would observe Apophis before, during and after the encounter. One concept involves deploying a subsatellite to monitor internal vibrations, offering insights into the body’s geological structure. If successful, Apophis could become only the third celestial body—after the Moon and Mars—to yield data on extraterrestrial seismicity.

Beyond its scientific potential, Apophis promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime sky event. Under clear skies, viewers across Western Europe and Northern Africa may see it shining as brightly as the stars in Ursa Major. Unlike a typical meteor that burns up in the atmosphere, Apophis will appear as a fast-moving star on a visible arc lasting several minutes—a spectacle that astronomers say will not repeat for 7,500 years.

The asteroid’s proximity also brings it inside the orbit of many geostationary satellites, prompting space agencies to monitor its passage closely. While there is no risk of a crash, the flyby could influence satellite navigation systems or trigger false readings in tracking data—another reason agencies are preparing observation campaigns well in advance.

 

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Images of of the Wizard nebula

 

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Gravitational waves and Stephen Hawking’s theorem.

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[Simone411]

Gravitational waves and Stephen Hawking’s theorem.

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Thanks so much for sharing this info about Hawkin's theorem. I found some more information about it from Live Science.

Confirmed! Black hole merger finally shows Stephen Hawking was right after more than 50 years of debate

Black holes get bigger as they merge, the LIGO Collaboration confirmed with a new observation that could finally prove a decades-old Stephen Hawking theory.

www.livescience.com

Black holes get bigger as they merge, the LIGO Collaboration confirmed with a new observation that could finally prove a decades-old Stephen Hawking theory.

Scientists have used a gravitational wave detector to "hear" two black holes getting bigger as they merged into a single, gigantic entity.

The detection, made by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) on Jan. 14, provides the best evidence yet for a theory put forth by famed physicist Stephen Hawking more than half a century ago, but which was never proven in his lifetime.

A study based on the research was published Wednesday (Sept. 10) in the journal Physical Review Letters and was led by Adrian G. Abac, a doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics in Potsdam, Germany.

LIGO detects gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of space-time released during the most extreme events in the cosmos, such as collisions of black holes or neutron stars (the remnants of giant stars). Its first direct detection of gravitational waves, made almost exactly 10 years ago on Sept. 14, 2015, confirmed Albert Einstein's predictions of general relativity by observing two black holes merging.

Now with a decade of experience under their belts, LIGO collaborators have made many improvements to the detectors — such that black hole mergers are now spotted about once every three days instead of once a month, according to a statement from Caltech, which jointly operates LIGO along with MIT.

 

[Simone411]

Is 31/ATLAS a Mystery Object from Beyond Our Solar System? New SETI Paper Reveals Details

MSN

In early July 2025, a telescope system designed to spot potential threats to Earth made a surprising discovery. The Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, better known as ATLAS, detected a fast-moving object entering our solar system on an escape trajectory. Named 3I/ATLAS, it marks the third known interstellar visitor after the much-discussed ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.

While astronomers largely agree that it’s most likely a natural comet, one familiar voice is stirring debate again. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has proposed that the object may not be natural at all, and could, in fact, be an alien probe.

A Comet Or A Cosmic Trojan Horse?

According to Avi Loeb and his team, , 3I/ATLAS shows some unusual traits that are hard to ignore. In a paper he describes as “fun to explore, irrespective of its likely validity,” Loeb lays out a hypothetical scenario in which the object could be part of an extraterrestrial strategy based on the “Dark Forest” hypothesis. This idea, taken from Liu Cixin’s sci-fi novel, suggests that civilizations might choose to wipe out others before being discovered, simply out of fear that they’ll be destroyed first.

Loeb’s team highlights the retrograde orbital tilt of 3I/ATLAS, which lies unusually close to the solar system’s plane. They argue this alignment “offers various benefits to an Extra-terrestrial Intelligence (ETI)” trying to approach Earth. They also suggest the floating body could carry out a hidden maneuver using the Sun’s gravity to slow down, something they call a reverse Solar Oberth Manoeuvre, possibly setting it up to meet with Jupiter or even Earth later this year.

While the theory is speculative, Loeb believes it’s worth considering. As he puts it: “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” but extraordinary risks deserve attention too.

 

[Simone411]

NASA mysteriously goes silent before deep space flyby

MSN

This is a slideshow. I'm posting 4 of the captions. The rest can be viewed from the slideshow.

In an unexpected turn of events, NASA has gone silent just hours before the anticipated first look at the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. This object, previously identified as a mysterious comet speeding through the solar system, was officially confirmed by NASA as an interstellar visitor on July 3, 2025. As it moves closer to Earth, 3I/ATLAS marks humanity’s third confirmed interstellar visitor.

On July 3, 2025, astronomers made a significant discovery. They spotted an object speeding through the solar system, which was initially identified as a mysterious comet. This object, later named 3I/ATLAS, was moving at such a high speed that it caught the attention of astronomers worldwide, leading to further investigation and eventual confirmation of its interstellar origin (ABC News).

The detection of 3I/ATLAS was a significant event in the field of astronomy. The object was first noticed due to its unusually high speed, which was inconsistent with the typical velocities of objects within our solar system. This led to speculation about its possible interstellar origin. The object’s trajectory also suggested that it was not gravitationally bound to the Sun, another strong indicator of its interstellar nature. The initial detection of 3I/ATLAS sparked a flurry of activity among astronomers, who quickly mobilized to gather as much data as possible about this intriguing visitor from the depths of space (ABC News).

Following the initial detection, NASA confirmed that the mysterious object shooting through the solar system was indeed an ‘interstellar visitor’. This confirmation, made on July 3, 2025, marked a significant milestone in our understanding of the universe (Live Science). As part of the confirmation process, the interstellar visitor was given a new name, 3I/ATLAS, further solidifying its place in the annals of astronomical discoveries.

The confirmation of 3I/ATLAS as an interstellar object was a significant event in the field of astronomy. The process involved rigorous data analysis and peer review to ensure the accuracy of the findings. The object’s high speed and hyperbolic trajectory were key factors in this determination. The naming of the object as 3I/ATLAS was also significant. The ‘3I’ in the name stands for ‘third interstellar’, reflecting its status as the third confirmed interstellar object to pass through our solar system. The ‘ATLAS’ part of the name is an acronym for ‘Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System’, the system that first detected the object (Live Science).

3I/ATLAS is not just another celestial body. It is described as humanity’s third interstellar object, following ‘Oumuamua and Borisov, which were detected in 2017 and 2019 respectively (Big Think). The arrival of 3I/ATLAS marks a key milestone in interstellar observations, providing scientists with another opportunity to study objects that originate outside our solar system.

The detection of 3I/ATLAS as the third confirmed interstellar object holds immense significance for the scientific community. Each interstellar object provides a unique opportunity to study the composition and behavior of matter from outside our solar system. These objects can potentially carry information about the conditions and processes in their home systems, offering valuable insights into the formation and evolution of solar systems other than our own. The detection of 3I/ATLAS, following ‘Oumuamua and Borisov, indicates that such interstellar visitors may be more common than previously thought, opening up exciting new possibilities for future discoveries and studies (Big Think).

 

[Simone411]

My apologies for overlooking this article. It's dated October3rd.

NASA Selects All-American 2025 Class of Astronaut Candidates - NASA

Editor’s Note: This release was updated on Sept. 26, 2025, to reflect a change to NASA astronaut candidates’ next media availability. That opportunity now

www.nasa.gov

NASA’s 10 new astronaut candidates were introduced Monday following a competitive selection process of more than 8,000 applicants from across the United States. The class now will complete nearly two years of training before becoming eligible for flight assignments supporting future science and exploration missions to low Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars.

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy welcomed the all-American 2025 astronaut candidate class during a ceremony at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“I’m honored to welcome the next generation of American explorers to our agency! More than 8,000 people applied – scientists, pilots, engineers, dreamers from every corner of this nation. The 10 men and women sitting here today embody the truth that in America, regardless of where you start, there is no limit to what a determined dreamer can achieve – even going to space,” said Duffy. “Together, we’ll unlock the Golden Age of exploration.”

The agency’s 24th astronaut class reported for duty at NASA Johnson in mid-September and immediately began their training. Their curriculum includes instruction and skills development for complex operations aboard the International Space Station, Artemis missions to the Moon, and beyond. Specifically, training includes robotics, land and water survival, geology, foreign language, space medicine and physiology, and more, while also conducting simulated spacewalks and flying high-performance jets.

After graduation, the 2025 class will join the agency’s active astronaut corps. Active astronauts are conducting science research aboard the space station while preparing for the transition to commercial space stations and the next great leaps in human exploration at the Moon and Mars. The candidates’ operational expertise, scientific knowledge, and technical backgrounds are essential to advancing NASA’s deep space exploration goals and sustaining a long-term human presence beyond low Earth orbit.

After graduation, the 2025 class will join the agency’s active astronaut corps. Active astronauts are conducting science research aboard the space station while preparing for the transition to commercial space stations and the next great leaps in human exploration at the Moon and Mars. The candidates’ operational expertise, scientific knowledge, and technical backgrounds are essential to advancing NASA’s deep space exploration goals and sustaining a long-term human presence beyond low Earth orbit.

The 2025 candidates are listed in the article.


Edited

 

[Simone411]

Professor Brian Cox Explains What He Finds "Remarkable" About Interstellar Object 31/ATLAS

MSN

English physicist and science communicator Brian Cox has given some of his thoughts on comet 3I/ATLAS, the interstellar visitor currently hurtling its way through the Solar System.

On July 1, 2025, astronomers at the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) spotted an object moving through the Solar System. That's no surprise, given the name. What was unusual, and highly interesting, was that the object appeared to be the fastest object of this type ever observed, and had an eccentricity of between 6.1 and 6.2.

This means that it is an interstellar object, the third we have found so far. It was named 3I/ATLAS to reflect it is the third interstellar object discovered, and the team that found it in our skies.

Astronomers have since been tracking the object, which was confirmed to be a comet due to its outgassing. The object has been subject to (dubious) speculation that it is not a natural object, earning responses from SETI and NASA. Though there is little reason to suspect 3I/ATLAS is anything other than a natural object, it is of high interest to scientists and the public alike, having traveled alone through interstellar space for possibly 10 billion years, a time capsule from an earlier age of the universe.

Irritatingly (do better, interstellar chunks of ice, cyanide, and rock) 3I/ATLAS's path took it behind the Sun from our perspective. But in an impressive display of getting our astronomical shit together, the European Space Agency (ESA) was able to capture images of it as it passed by Mars using the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, while the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) spacecraft will image it as it heads near Jupiter.

"Now we've sent spacecraft to the planets that Kepler and others were seeing move in the sky, and we're taking photographs of interstellar comets from the surface of other planets in about 400 years. So that, to me, is a remarkable story."

Which puts the achievement in perspective nicely. While we agree with the sentiment, we should point out that though NASA was attempting to capture images of 3I/ATLAS using the Perseverance rover on Mars' surface, and though the object may have been caught, this has not yet been confirmed by NASA.

Nonetheless, capturing an interstellar object from the orbits of two other planets is an impressive achievement for a species who were injecting frogs with pee to find out if we were pregnant less than a hundred years ago.

 

[Simone411]

Look Up for a Rare Comet and Meteor Show

A comet visible to the naked eye will make its closest approach to Earth on October 21

www.scientificamerican.com

A comet visible to the naked eye will make its closest approach to Earth on October 21

A comet discovered earlier this year, now just bright enough to be visible to the naked eye, is poised to be among the top celestial events of 2025. Known as C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), this celestial wanderer is currently in the western sky after sunset, not far from the Big Dipper, and is well placed for viewing as the sky gets dark.

Astronomers discovered the comet in January as part of the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona and calculated that it’s on a 1,350-year orbit around the sun—so if you miss it this time around, you’re out of luck.

Comet Lemmon will be closest to Earth on October 21, when it passes within 55 million miles (89 million kilometers) of our planet. Conveniently, this is also the date of the new moon, meaning the sky will lack moonlight, making it easier to spy fainter objects. By coincidence, the Orionid meteor shower also peaks on the night of October 21, so lucky skywatchers may glimpse a few shooting stars as they gaze at the comet.

The comet is expected to be at its brightest from around that date through early November. It will be closest to the sun (a point known as perihelion) on November 8.

“From the city, you probably won’t see it with the naked eye, but with binoculars you should be able to pick it up,” says Bob King, a contributing editor at Sky & Telescope. “From the country, when the moon’s not in the sky, you’ll be able to see it [with the] naked eye. “It’s going to be a little fuzzy spot, and the binocular view should be really lovely.”

Although observing from a rural spot is ideal, people who can’t escape the city shouldn’t be put off, says Debra Ceravolo, an astrophotographer who images the sky from southern British Columbia. “At least find a dark corner of the backyard, someplace shielded from the streetlights,” she says. “Binoculars will definitely help.”

Skywatchers should also be aware that what they see with their eyes will never quite measure up to the stunning photographs captured by seasoned astrophotographers, who typically use a mechanism called a clock drive to compensate for Earth’s rotation and processing techniques such as image stacking to make celestial objects appear brighter. Even so, people shooting with nothing more than their smartphone may still get good results, especially if they’re able to mount their phone on a tripod, King says. “Today’s smartphone cameras can do long exposures, say, from three to 10 seconds. That should be enough to pick it up.”