Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not.
Both are equally terrifying.

— Arthur C. Clarke

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How Astronomers Compare Telescopes

Universe Today - Sun, 04/20/2025 - 3:12pm

How can you fairly compare one telescope to another? It’s all in the (angular) resolution.

Categories: Astronomy

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Sun, 04/20/2025 - 12:00pm

What's happening at the center of our galaxy?


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

SpaceX launches 10th batch of 'proliferated architecture' spy satellites for US government (video)

Space.com - Sun, 04/20/2025 - 10:08am
SpaceX launched the 10th batch of "proliferated architecture" spy satellites for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base today (April 20).
Categories: Astronomy

When is the best time to see the Lyrid meteor shower 2025?

Space.com - Sun, 04/20/2025 - 9:00am
Find out the best time to view the Lyrid meteor shower 2025 to make the most of the springtime shooting stars.
Categories: Astronomy

Gamma-ray bursts reveal largest structure in the universe is bigger and closer to Earth than we knew: 'The jury is still out on what it all means.'

Space.com - Sun, 04/20/2025 - 6:00am
New research suggests that the largest cosmic structure is even bigger and closer to Earth than we knew. It goes against scientists' models of cosmic evolution.
Categories: Astronomy

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, Crewmates Complete Space Station Expedition

NASA - Breaking News - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 10:57pm
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 72 NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner aboard, April 19, 2025 (April 20, 2025, Kazakhstan time). The trio are returning to Earth after logging 220 days in space as members of Expeditions 71 and 72 aboard the International Space Station.NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth Saturday, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station.

The trio departed the space station at 5:57 p.m. EDT aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft before making a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 9:20 p.m. (6:20 a.m. on Sunday, April 20, Kazakhstan time), southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Pettit also celebrates his 70th birthday on Sunday, April 20.

Spanning 220 days in space, Pettit and his crewmates orbited the Earth 3,520 times, completing a journey of 93.3 million miles. Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner launched and docked to the orbiting laboratory on Sept. 11, 2024.

During his time aboard the space station, Pettit conducted research to enhance in-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advance water sanitization technologies, explore plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigate fire behavior in microgravity, all contributing to future space missions. He also used his surroundings aboard station to conduct unique experiments in his spare time and captivate the public with his photography.

This was Pettit’s fourth spaceflight, where he served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 71 and 72. He has logged 590 days in orbit throughout his career. Ovchinin completed his fourth flight, totaling 595 days, and Vagner has earned an overall total of 416 days in space during two spaceflights.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is carried to a medical tent shortly after he and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner landed in their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on April 19, 2025 (April 20, 2025, Kazakhstan time). Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA is following its routine postlanding medical checks, the crew will return to the recovery staging area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Pettit will then board a NASA plane bound for the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. According to NASA officials at the landing site, Pettit is doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth.

For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a strong low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing more resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of Artemis in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars.

Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Apr 20, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Categories: NASA

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, Crewmates Complete Space Station Expedition

NASA News - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 10:57pm
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 72 NASA astronaut Don Pettit, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner aboard, April 19, 2025 (April 20, 2025, Kazakhstan time). The trio are returning to Earth after logging 220 days in space as members of Expeditions 71 and 72 aboard the International Space Station.NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth Saturday, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station.

The trio departed the space station at 5:57 p.m. EDT aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft before making a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 9:20 p.m. (6:20 a.m. on Sunday, April 20, Kazakhstan time), southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. Pettit also celebrates his 70th birthday on Sunday, April 20.

Spanning 220 days in space, Pettit and his crewmates orbited the Earth 3,520 times, completing a journey of 93.3 million miles. Pettit, Ovchinin, and Vagner launched and docked to the orbiting laboratory on Sept. 11, 2024.

During his time aboard the space station, Pettit conducted research to enhance in-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advance water sanitization technologies, explore plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigate fire behavior in microgravity, all contributing to future space missions. He also used his surroundings aboard station to conduct unique experiments in his spare time and captivate the public with his photography.

This was Pettit’s fourth spaceflight, where he served as a flight engineer for Expeditions 71 and 72. He has logged 590 days in orbit throughout his career. Ovchinin completed his fourth flight, totaling 595 days, and Vagner has earned an overall total of 416 days in space during two spaceflights.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is carried to a medical tent shortly after he and Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner landed in their Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on April 19, 2025 (April 20, 2025, Kazakhstan time). Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA is following its routine postlanding medical checks, the crew will return to the recovery staging area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Pettit will then board a NASA plane bound for the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. According to NASA officials at the landing site, Pettit is doing well and in the range of what is expected for him following return to Earth.

For more than two decades, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies focus on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a strong low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing more resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of Artemis in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars.

Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Apr 20, 2025 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Categories: NASA

Mars Has the Remnants of a Lopsided Magnetic Field

Universe Today - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 10:46pm

Scientists have known for a while that Mars currently lacks a magnetic field, and many blame that for its paltry atmosphere - with no protective shield around the planet, the solar wind was able to strip away much of the gaseous atmosphere over the course of billions of years. But, evidence has been mounting that Mars once had a magnetic field. Results from Insight, one of the Red Planet's landers, lend credence to that idea, but they also point to a strange feature - the magnetic field seemed to cover only the southern hemisphere, but not the north. A team from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics thinks they might know why - in a recent paper, they described how a fully liquid core in Mars could create a lopsided magnetic field like the one seen in Insight’s data.

Categories: Astronomy

NASA's oldest active astronaut lands with space station crewmates on his 70th birthday

Space.com - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 10:35pm
NASA's oldest active astronaut has redefined traveling "home" for your birthday, landing from the International Space Station on the same day that he turned 70.
Categories: Astronomy

Astronomers Watch a Black Hole Wake Up in Real Time

Universe Today - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 10:32pm

You never know when a central supermassive black hole is going to power up and start gobbling matter. Contrary to the popular view that these monsters are constantly devouring nearby stars and gas clouds, it turns out they spend part of their existence dormant and inactive. New observations from the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton spacecraft opened a window on the "turn on event" for one of these monsters in a distant galaxy.

Categories: Astronomy

Searching for Life on Mars in the Snow and Ice

Universe Today - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 4:42pm

In a recent paper, a team of researchers indicated that photosynthetic bacteria could exist just beneath the snow and ice around Mars' mid-latitudes. If true, this could be the most easily accessible place to look for present-day life on Mars.

Categories: Astronomy

The Evidence for Ancient Supernovae Is Buried Underground

Universe Today - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 2:37pm

The solar system is currently embedded deep within the Local Bubble, a region of relatively low density stretching for a thousand light-years across. It was carved millions of years ago by a chain of supernova explosions. And the evidence for it is right under our feet.

Categories: Astronomy

Lunt SunOculars 8x32 solar binoculars review

Space.com - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 2:00pm
The best possible balance between magnification, size and build quality. The Lunt SunOculars 8x32 are the go-to solar binoculars for eclipses and sunspot viewing.
Categories: Astronomy

NASA's Lucy probe flies by the asteroid Donaldjohanson on Easter Sunday

Space.com - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 10:00am
On Easter Sunday (April 20), NASA's Lucy probe should have zipped past the asteroid Donaldjohanson, testing science instruments on the space rock.
Categories: Astronomy

'Star Wars: Zero Company' is a new X-COM-style strategy video game set during the Clone Wars, and it's coming in 2026 (video)

Space.com - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 9:09am
If you're a fan of XCOM and the Star Wars' Clone Wars era, you're in luck. Zero Company is coming in 2026.
Categories: Astronomy

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 157 — Space Force!

Space.com - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 8:33am
On Episode 157 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik invite Chief Master Sergeant John Bentivegna to the podcast to discuss the Space Force.
Categories: Astronomy

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 8:00am

What created this unusual hole in Mars?


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

What's with all the fourth wall breaking in 'Lux', the latest episode of 'Doctor Who'?

Space.com - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 8:00am
New episode "Lux" reveals that characters talking directly to the audience was just the start.
Categories: Astronomy

Watch NASA astronaut Don Pettit and 2 cosmonauts return to Earth today

Space.com - Sat, 04/19/2025 - 5:00am
NASA astronaut Don Pettit and two cosmonaut colleagues will return to Earth from the International Space Station this evening (April 19), and you can watch it live.
Categories: Astronomy

Could Mars volcanoes have supported ancient life on the Red Planet? Well, maybe

Space.com - Fri, 04/18/2025 - 6:00pm
Using NASA's Perseverance rover to analyze Martian rocks, researchers suggest that Mars' complex volcanism might hold clues about the planet's ancient habitability.
Categories: Astronomy