Pentagon UFO files released: Views from the moon and more

View larger. | A UAP – Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon – from the 1969 Apollo 12 mission to the moon. The triangle of faint bluish “lights” is on the far right, highlighted in the larger square. It’s interesting. But other random colorful dots in images, even at the edges of the film, suggest it might just be an anomaly or blemish in the film used for the photos. This is just one of the 162 Pentagon UFO files released on May 8, 2026. Image via NASA/ US government.

• The U.S. Pentagon released its 1st batch of UAP files to the public. UAP stands for Unidentified Anomalous (formerly Aerial) Phenomena.
• There are 162 files in total, including 12 from NASA. The NASA ones are from Apollo 12, Apollo 17 and Gemini 7. They were already in the public domain.
• The file release is expected to be the first of several rollouts in the coming weeks.

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

1st batch of Pentagon UFO files released

For the past few months, there were rumors and hints on social media that the U.S. government was about to start releasing information on UAP (still known by many as UFOs). On May 8, 2026, the first public records were released. The Pentagon unveiled its new website called PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters). This batch of info is said to be the first batch of more to come in rolling releases over the next weeks. So what does it show?

In this first batch, there are 162 records in total. They consists of 120 PDF documents, 28 videos and 14 images. Eighty-two of the total came from the Pentagon, 56 from the FBI, 12 from NASA, eight from the State Department and four with the agency not identified.

You can find all the documents, videos and images at War.gov/UFO.

You can also keep track of these files and future ones, which are better organized, at UFO Release Tracker and Pentagon UAP Files.

New Pentagon UFO files include reports from moon landings trib.al/DJBprKC

— Task & Purpose (@taskandpurpose.com) 2026-05-08T18:45:07.649633Z

Details on Pentagon UFO files

This first batch of records contains a wide range of documents, videos and images. They are split between older historical records and modern-day reports. The historical files, largely from the 1940s to 1960s, are FBI files, NASA transcripts and photos, State Department cables and Cold War-era UFO reports. The modern reports come from AARO (military reports), still imagery from U.S. military systems, 302 FBI interviews and a 2023 Western U.S. event summary.

But much of the material has already been in the public realm for years, even decades. So those items are not actually newly declassified.

The documents include the famous “Twining Memo” from 1947, in which General Nathan Twining stated:

The phenomenon reported is something real and not visionary or fictitious. There are objects probably approximating the shape of a disc, of such appreciable size as to appear to be as large as man-made.

The full memo can also be seen here (three images).

And, as seems to be typical for the Trump administration, some of the documents are still largely redacted even though they are “released.” For example, one document contains the rather cryptic sentence “2X round white white hot UAPS dynamic south” after six pages that have been completely blacked out.

View larger. | Another image from Apollo 12, showing multiple bright and fainter spots in the black sky. Image via NASA/ US government.

Apollo 11, 12 and 17

The files contain some of the old NASA UAP reports. Apollo 11, 12 and 17, as well as Gemini 7, are in there. The public has known about these cases for decades. But it is interesting to see them included. And there are other NASA cases as well, but not included in this file dump. Perhaps in a subsequent one?

For example, from the included files, the Technical Crew Briefing for Apollo 11 records an object on the way out to the moon, flashes of light inside the astronauts’ cabin and a sighting on the return trip of a bright light tentatively assumed by the crew to be a laser.

And images taken from the lunar surface during Apollo 12 show several faint but colorful dots or lights in the black sky. These include a tight formation of three lights in a triangle (shown at top). It is still not known what the origin of these were, although most analysts think they were likely anomalies/blemishes in the film used at the time.

The Apollo 17 sighting took place out in space. All crew members, including Commander Eugene Cernan, saw a “flashing object” estimated to be several miles from their capsule, as well as closer “particles.” As Cernan told Mission Control at the time:

It’s way out in the distance, as I say, because there are particles that are close by and it’s obviously not one of those. It’s apparently rotating in a very rhythmic fashion because the flashes come round almost … almost on time.

Gemini 7

In addition, the original audio of the Gemini 7 sighting in in the files. too. That’s the one where astronaut Frank Borman said:

We have a bogey at 10 o’clock high … This is an actual sighting … very many A … it looks like hundreds of little particles.

Both Borman and astronaut Jim Lovell thought they were looking at debris from the mission itself, which is common. But whether that included the “bogey” is debated to this today. Sadly, both astronauts have now passed away.

Skylab

There is also the Technical Crew Debriefing from Skylab in 1973. It mentions crew observations of flashing lights outside of the Skylab space station.

Pentagon releases swath of UFO files

— Politico (@politico.com) 2026-05-08T14:06:11Z

COMETA

Also in the files is the French COMETA report “UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare For?” It was originally published in July 1999. It details a lengthy study of UAP by the French Institute of Higher Studies for National Defence.

COMETA consisted of former military and defense officials and experts in France. The report concluded that there was an “almost certain physical reality” of completely unknown flying objects displaying extraordinary capabilities that current science could not explain. And it even went as far to say that the extraterrestrial hypothesis for UAP was a “probable or credible explanation.” This was based on the roughly 5% of cases that were documented with radar data, etc., but still difficult to explain. In fact, that number is similar to other studies, including from AARO.

It was not widely circulated at the time due to copyright restrictions. But it was finally made public in 2007 by GEIPAN. GEIPAN is a unit of the National Space Centre (CNES) in France.

View larger. | Composite sketch from the FBI of a report from 2023. Image via US goverment.

Other videos in Pentagon UFO files

There are 28 videos together, mostly from various U.S. military stations or surveillance missions. One of the most interesting is this one from the Indo-Pacific Command in 2024. It shows a small, bright object quickly moving around numerous wind turbines, flying close to the water. The video was taken by an infrared sensor. Download the higher-resolution version here:

Video of a UAP from the Indo-Pacific Command

Bottom line: On May 8, 2026, the U.S. Pentagon released its first batch of Pentagon UFO files. They include some from Apollo moon missions 11, 12 and 17.

Via U.S. Pentagon

Via Task & Purpose

Read more: UAP and science: Testing new methods of scientific analysis

Read more: New UAP study: This one is from NASA

The post Pentagon UFO files released: Views from the moon and more first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/By3HPnM

View larger. | A UAP – Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon – from the 1969 Apollo 12 mission to the moon. The triangle of faint bluish “lights” is on the far right, highlighted in the larger square. It’s interesting. But other random colorful dots in images, even at the edges of the film, suggest it might just be an anomaly or blemish in the film used for the photos. This is just one of the 162 Pentagon UFO files released on May 8, 2026. Image via NASA/ US government.

• The U.S. Pentagon released its 1st batch of UAP files to the public. UAP stands for Unidentified Anomalous (formerly Aerial) Phenomena.
• There are 162 files in total, including 12 from NASA. The NASA ones are from Apollo 12, Apollo 17 and Gemini 7. They were already in the public domain.
• The file release is expected to be the first of several rollouts in the coming weeks.

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

1st batch of Pentagon UFO files released

For the past few months, there were rumors and hints on social media that the U.S. government was about to start releasing information on UAP (still known by many as UFOs). On May 8, 2026, the first public records were released. The Pentagon unveiled its new website called PURSUE (Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters). This batch of info is said to be the first batch of more to come in rolling releases over the next weeks. So what does it show?

In this first batch, there are 162 records in total. They consists of 120 PDF documents, 28 videos and 14 images. Eighty-two of the total came from the Pentagon, 56 from the FBI, 12 from NASA, eight from the State Department and four with the agency not identified.

You can find all the documents, videos and images at War.gov/UFO.

You can also keep track of these files and future ones, which are better organized, at UFO Release Tracker and Pentagon UAP Files.

New Pentagon UFO files include reports from moon landings trib.al/DJBprKC

— Task & Purpose (@taskandpurpose.com) 2026-05-08T18:45:07.649633Z

Details on Pentagon UFO files

This first batch of records contains a wide range of documents, videos and images. They are split between older historical records and modern-day reports. The historical files, largely from the 1940s to 1960s, are FBI files, NASA transcripts and photos, State Department cables and Cold War-era UFO reports. The modern reports come from AARO (military reports), still imagery from U.S. military systems, 302 FBI interviews and a 2023 Western U.S. event summary.

But much of the material has already been in the public realm for years, even decades. So those items are not actually newly declassified.

The documents include the famous “Twining Memo” from 1947, in which General Nathan Twining stated:

The phenomenon reported is something real and not visionary or fictitious. There are objects probably approximating the shape of a disc, of such appreciable size as to appear to be as large as man-made.

The full memo can also be seen here (three images).

And, as seems to be typical for the Trump administration, some of the documents are still largely redacted even though they are “released.” For example, one document contains the rather cryptic sentence “2X round white white hot UAPS dynamic south” after six pages that have been completely blacked out.

View larger. | Another image from Apollo 12, showing multiple bright and fainter spots in the black sky. Image via NASA/ US government.

Apollo 11, 12 and 17

The files contain some of the old NASA UAP reports. Apollo 11, 12 and 17, as well as Gemini 7, are in there. The public has known about these cases for decades. But it is interesting to see them included. And there are other NASA cases as well, but not included in this file dump. Perhaps in a subsequent one?

For example, from the included files, the Technical Crew Briefing for Apollo 11 records an object on the way out to the moon, flashes of light inside the astronauts’ cabin and a sighting on the return trip of a bright light tentatively assumed by the crew to be a laser.

And images taken from the lunar surface during Apollo 12 show several faint but colorful dots or lights in the black sky. These include a tight formation of three lights in a triangle (shown at top). It is still not known what the origin of these were, although most analysts think they were likely anomalies/blemishes in the film used at the time.

The Apollo 17 sighting took place out in space. All crew members, including Commander Eugene Cernan, saw a “flashing object” estimated to be several miles from their capsule, as well as closer “particles.” As Cernan told Mission Control at the time:

It’s way out in the distance, as I say, because there are particles that are close by and it’s obviously not one of those. It’s apparently rotating in a very rhythmic fashion because the flashes come round almost … almost on time.

Gemini 7

In addition, the original audio of the Gemini 7 sighting in in the files. too. That’s the one where astronaut Frank Borman said:

We have a bogey at 10 o’clock high … This is an actual sighting … very many A … it looks like hundreds of little particles.

Both Borman and astronaut Jim Lovell thought they were looking at debris from the mission itself, which is common. But whether that included the “bogey” is debated to this today. Sadly, both astronauts have now passed away.

Skylab

There is also the Technical Crew Debriefing from Skylab in 1973. It mentions crew observations of flashing lights outside of the Skylab space station.

Pentagon releases swath of UFO files

— Politico (@politico.com) 2026-05-08T14:06:11Z

COMETA

Also in the files is the French COMETA report “UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare For?” It was originally published in July 1999. It details a lengthy study of UAP by the French Institute of Higher Studies for National Defence.

COMETA consisted of former military and defense officials and experts in France. The report concluded that there was an “almost certain physical reality” of completely unknown flying objects displaying extraordinary capabilities that current science could not explain. And it even went as far to say that the extraterrestrial hypothesis for UAP was a “probable or credible explanation.” This was based on the roughly 5% of cases that were documented with radar data, etc., but still difficult to explain. In fact, that number is similar to other studies, including from AARO.

It was not widely circulated at the time due to copyright restrictions. But it was finally made public in 2007 by GEIPAN. GEIPAN is a unit of the National Space Centre (CNES) in France.

View larger. | Composite sketch from the FBI of a report from 2023. Image via US goverment.

Other videos in Pentagon UFO files

There are 28 videos together, mostly from various U.S. military stations or surveillance missions. One of the most interesting is this one from the Indo-Pacific Command in 2024. It shows a small, bright object quickly moving around numerous wind turbines, flying close to the water. The video was taken by an infrared sensor. Download the higher-resolution version here:

Video of a UAP from the Indo-Pacific Command

Bottom line: On May 8, 2026, the U.S. Pentagon released its first batch of Pentagon UFO files. They include some from Apollo moon missions 11, 12 and 17.

Via U.S. Pentagon

Via Task & Purpose

Read more: UAP and science: Testing new methods of scientific analysis

Read more: New UAP study: This one is from NASA

The post Pentagon UFO files released: Views from the moon and more first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/By3HPnM

Will the Blaze Star explode in 2026? How to see it

Want to see the Blaze Star go nova in 2026? We do, too! And X marks the spot. Astronomers said an impending nova will give the constellation of the Northern Crown – Corona Borealis – a “new star” that rivals the constellation’s brightest star. But when? When?? Image via Chris Harvey/ Stellarium. Used with permission.

Don’t miss the next unmissable night sky event. Sign up for EarthSky’s free newsletter and get daily night sky updates!

Come on, Blaze Star! Go nova!

Have you ever heard of the Blaze Star? It’s a star in the constellation Corona Borealis the Northern Crown, called T Corona Borealis (T CrB) or “T Cor Bor.” It was supposed to go nova last year. And we’re still waiting. But when it finally does erupt, it’ll be a once-in-a-lifetime show in our night sky.

The eagerly awaited Blaze Star nova is a real opportunity for keen night sky observers to witness a “new star” in the sky … but only for a few days before it fades away again. The trick will be to locate the right place in the sky now. You’ll be looking for the distinctive, C-shaped constellation Corona Borealis. After you find it, go back outside and find that constellation every so often, so you don’t lose track of it. Then, when you hear the Blaze Star has erupted, you’ll be poised to see something fun!

So keep reading to learn why we’re still waiting on the Blaze Star, and about how you can see when the nova finally does erupt. Once its brightness peaks, the nova should be visible to the unaided eye for several days and just over a week with binoculars before it dims again, possibly for decades.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Paul Henkiel of Flagstaff, Arizona, captured this image on April 30, 2024. It’s the easy-to-spot C-shaped constellation Corona Borealis the Northern Crown. The brightest star here is Alphecca, sometimes called the Jewel of the Crown. When the Blaze Star erupts, it’ll be approximately as bright as Alphecca. The Northern Crown will have 2 jewels! Thank you, Paul!

Find Corona Borealis from the Northern Hemisphere

Corona Borealis is almost, but not quite, circumpolar from mid-northern latitudes. So it’s not visible all year round for most northern observers.

Instead, northern spring is the best time to start looking for this easy-to-find constellation. No matter where you are on the globe, the constellation looks like a letter C. It’s ascending in the east on May evenings. No matter where you are, you’ll find Corona Borealis approximately on a line between the bright stars Arcturus and Vega. And Corona Borealis is next to another famous star pattern for those with dark skies. It’s the squarish 4-star pattern of the Keystone in Hercules.

Did you hear those words dark sky? You can see the bright stars Arcturus and Vega from inside cities. But you need a dark sky to pick out the Keystone in Hercules and Corona Borealis. Visit EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze.

Ready? Now look east on a May evening to find Corona Borealis rising.

By Northern Hemisphere summer, all of these stars and constellations will be high in your sky. You’ll be looking up, not east, to see them.

Do you need binoculars? No. You don’t need them. But binoculars are always a good idea.

Want an exact view from an exact time or your exact location on the globe? Try Stellarium.

Late at night in the spring, and high overhead during summer months, find the bright stars Vega and Arcturus. The famous squarish pattern of the Keystone in the constellation Hercules is between them. And so is an easy-to-see semicircle of stars, the constellation Corona Borealis. The Blaze Star will erupt within Corona Borealis. It’ll be about as bright as Corona Borealis’ brightest star, Alphecca. Image via NASA.

Find Corona Borealis from the Southern Hemisphere

Via Daniel Gaussen, Founder & Guide – Stargaze Mackenzie – New Zealand

We all live under the same sky. But Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres see the sky from different perspectives.

And remember how we said that Corona Borealis was almost – but not quite – circumpolar? That means it’s far to the north on the sky’s dome. From deep in the Southern Hemisphere – for example, the latitude of New Zealand and southern Australia – Corona Borealis rises to only around 20 to 25 degrees above the northern horizon at its highest. So, in addition to a dark sky, you’ll also want a clear view to the north.

Look north to northeast for a delicate semicircle or backward C shape of stars between the bright orange star Arcturus and the bright blue-white star Vega. The famous Keystone pattern in Hercules is also between these two, right next to Corona Borealis.

Want an exact view from an exact time or your exact location on the globe? Try Stellarium.

Star chart of Corona Borealis with red circle indicating location of star T CrB. Image via IAU/ Wikipedia.

What is the Blaze Star?

T Coronae Borealis – called “T Cor Bor” by many – is located about 3,000 light-years from Earth. It’s a double star system, consisting of a large cool star and a smaller hot star, which orbit each other every 228 days.

This system is what’s called a recurring nova. It’s not a supernova or star that blows itself to bits. Novas operate differently from supernovas. They survive to brighten again. T Cor Bor has outbursts about every 80 years.

Its last outburst was in 1946. That’s why astronomers believe another outburst will occur soon. Will we see it in 2026?

What makes the nova erupt? The cool star in the T Corona Borealis system is a swollen red giant. It continually transfers material to its companion in the system, the hot star. The hot star is a white dwarf, surrounded by an accretion disk made of material transferred over from the other star.

All of this is hidden inside a dense cloud of material from the red giant. When the system is quiescent, the red giant dominates the visible light output of the entire system. So the system appears as an M3 giant.

But during outbursts, the transfer of material from the red giant to the hot white dwarf increases greatly. The hot star then expands. And the luminosity of the system increases. Voila. We have a nova.

The Blaze Star isn’t 1 star but 2. It’s a binary system with a white dwarf and a red giant. The Blaze Star’s white dwarf has built up material on its surface, siphoned off from the red giant star. Periodically, it “can’t take no more” and explodes, about every 80 years. Despite the powerful explosion, the dwarf itself remains intact. And once things settle down, the Blaze Star (T Corona Borealis) will begin the decades-long preparation for future cosmic fireworks. Image via NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio.

Why hasn’t the Blaze Star blazed?

Astronomers have been waiting several years for the Blaze Star to erupt. One recent prediction came from Jean Schneider of the Paris Observatory, publishing in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society in October 2024.

He pinpointed possible dates of March 27, 2025, and November 10, 2025. Those dates have come and gone with no big kablooey.

Schneider came to his possible dates using a combination of the previous eruption dates and the orbital ephemeris of the binary system. But Schneider admits in his paper that no one can exactly predict the eruption.

And, clearly, predicting eruptions of stars isn’t an exact science. The Blaze Star (T Coronae Borealis) underwent two known eruptions recorded by astronomers. Those events were on May 12, 1866, and on February 9, 1946. Those eruptions were 80 years apart. So scientists thought that, in another 80 years, the star would erupt again. Eighty years from 1946 would be 2026.

And so we wait …

Artist’s concept of a red giant star and white dwarf star. A stream of material flows from the red giant to the white dwarf, eventually causing a runaway thermonuclear reaction on the white dwarf that will appear as a new star, or nova, in earthly skies. The constellation Corona Borealis the Northern Crown should have a nova appear from the Blaze Star approximately every 80 years. Image via NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center.

How bright will the Blaze Star be?

How bright will it get in our sky? Astronomers expect it to reach an apparent magnitude of 2. That’s a respectable brightness for a star. It’s conveniently comparable to the brightest star in the Northern Crown, the Jewel of the Crown, Alphecca. So, for a few days, the Northern Crown will have two jewels!

T Corona Borealis – the Blaze Star – is also one of the most distant stars you’ll ever see. Alphecca is around 75 light-years away, while the Blaze Star is closer to 3,000 light-years away.

So that gives you some perspective on the absolute magnitude (brightness) of this enormous blast. The actual explosion of the Blaze Star nova will likely dwarf any explosion you’ll ever see. But the star is far away. This explosion has travelled 3,000 years to get here. So, in relative terms the nova will have happened during the Bronze Age.

Remember that, when viewing Alphecca and T Corona Borealis side-by-side with approximately the same brightness. The nova is 40 times farther away than Alphecca. Also, we are not seeing the two stars at the same moment in time. One we see as it was 75 years ago. And the other we see as it was 3,000 years ago. It can be hard to get your head around that!

The nova will brighten the star by thousands of times, typically over just a few hours, and then take some days to fade away again. When it’s done, it will go back to its normal appearance … which means we won’t be able to see it anymore, with the eye alone.

So erupt already!

Want more? Here’s a highly regarded lecture by one of the world’s experts on the Blaze Star, LSU astronomer Bradley Schaefer. He discusses T CrB’s history, research into its unusual behavior, and the expected details of its imminent eruption. He also detailed specific ways for amateur astronomers to contribute to the study of this historic event, before answering a wide assortment of audience questions. Watch in the player above or on YouTube.

Bottom line: We’re still waiting for the Blaze Star to go nova! Will it happen in 2026? Here’s how to find Corona Borealis so you’re ready when this star goes kablooey.

Source: When will the Next T CrB Eruption Occur?

Read more: Want more details on the Northern Crown? Click here

The post Will the Blaze Star explode in 2026? How to see it first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/gm2wAVf

Want to see the Blaze Star go nova in 2026? We do, too! And X marks the spot. Astronomers said an impending nova will give the constellation of the Northern Crown – Corona Borealis – a “new star” that rivals the constellation’s brightest star. But when? When?? Image via Chris Harvey/ Stellarium. Used with permission.

Don’t miss the next unmissable night sky event. Sign up for EarthSky’s free newsletter and get daily night sky updates!

Come on, Blaze Star! Go nova!

Have you ever heard of the Blaze Star? It’s a star in the constellation Corona Borealis the Northern Crown, called T Corona Borealis (T CrB) or “T Cor Bor.” It was supposed to go nova last year. And we’re still waiting. But when it finally does erupt, it’ll be a once-in-a-lifetime show in our night sky.

The eagerly awaited Blaze Star nova is a real opportunity for keen night sky observers to witness a “new star” in the sky … but only for a few days before it fades away again. The trick will be to locate the right place in the sky now. You’ll be looking for the distinctive, C-shaped constellation Corona Borealis. After you find it, go back outside and find that constellation every so often, so you don’t lose track of it. Then, when you hear the Blaze Star has erupted, you’ll be poised to see something fun!

So keep reading to learn why we’re still waiting on the Blaze Star, and about how you can see when the nova finally does erupt. Once its brightness peaks, the nova should be visible to the unaided eye for several days and just over a week with binoculars before it dims again, possibly for decades.

View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Paul Henkiel of Flagstaff, Arizona, captured this image on April 30, 2024. It’s the easy-to-spot C-shaped constellation Corona Borealis the Northern Crown. The brightest star here is Alphecca, sometimes called the Jewel of the Crown. When the Blaze Star erupts, it’ll be approximately as bright as Alphecca. The Northern Crown will have 2 jewels! Thank you, Paul!

Find Corona Borealis from the Northern Hemisphere

Corona Borealis is almost, but not quite, circumpolar from mid-northern latitudes. So it’s not visible all year round for most northern observers.

Instead, northern spring is the best time to start looking for this easy-to-find constellation. No matter where you are on the globe, the constellation looks like a letter C. It’s ascending in the east on May evenings. No matter where you are, you’ll find Corona Borealis approximately on a line between the bright stars Arcturus and Vega. And Corona Borealis is next to another famous star pattern for those with dark skies. It’s the squarish 4-star pattern of the Keystone in Hercules.

Did you hear those words dark sky? You can see the bright stars Arcturus and Vega from inside cities. But you need a dark sky to pick out the Keystone in Hercules and Corona Borealis. Visit EarthSky’s Best Places to Stargaze.

Ready? Now look east on a May evening to find Corona Borealis rising.

By Northern Hemisphere summer, all of these stars and constellations will be high in your sky. You’ll be looking up, not east, to see them.

Do you need binoculars? No. You don’t need them. But binoculars are always a good idea.

Want an exact view from an exact time or your exact location on the globe? Try Stellarium.

Late at night in the spring, and high overhead during summer months, find the bright stars Vega and Arcturus. The famous squarish pattern of the Keystone in the constellation Hercules is between them. And so is an easy-to-see semicircle of stars, the constellation Corona Borealis. The Blaze Star will erupt within Corona Borealis. It’ll be about as bright as Corona Borealis’ brightest star, Alphecca. Image via NASA.

Find Corona Borealis from the Southern Hemisphere

Via Daniel Gaussen, Founder & Guide – Stargaze Mackenzie – New Zealand

We all live under the same sky. But Earth’s Northern and Southern Hemispheres see the sky from different perspectives.

And remember how we said that Corona Borealis was almost – but not quite – circumpolar? That means it’s far to the north on the sky’s dome. From deep in the Southern Hemisphere – for example, the latitude of New Zealand and southern Australia – Corona Borealis rises to only around 20 to 25 degrees above the northern horizon at its highest. So, in addition to a dark sky, you’ll also want a clear view to the north.

Look north to northeast for a delicate semicircle or backward C shape of stars between the bright orange star Arcturus and the bright blue-white star Vega. The famous Keystone pattern in Hercules is also between these two, right next to Corona Borealis.

Want an exact view from an exact time or your exact location on the globe? Try Stellarium.

Star chart of Corona Borealis with red circle indicating location of star T CrB. Image via IAU/ Wikipedia.

What is the Blaze Star?

T Coronae Borealis – called “T Cor Bor” by many – is located about 3,000 light-years from Earth. It’s a double star system, consisting of a large cool star and a smaller hot star, which orbit each other every 228 days.

This system is what’s called a recurring nova. It’s not a supernova or star that blows itself to bits. Novas operate differently from supernovas. They survive to brighten again. T Cor Bor has outbursts about every 80 years.

Its last outburst was in 1946. That’s why astronomers believe another outburst will occur soon. Will we see it in 2026?

What makes the nova erupt? The cool star in the T Corona Borealis system is a swollen red giant. It continually transfers material to its companion in the system, the hot star. The hot star is a white dwarf, surrounded by an accretion disk made of material transferred over from the other star.

All of this is hidden inside a dense cloud of material from the red giant. When the system is quiescent, the red giant dominates the visible light output of the entire system. So the system appears as an M3 giant.

But during outbursts, the transfer of material from the red giant to the hot white dwarf increases greatly. The hot star then expands. And the luminosity of the system increases. Voila. We have a nova.

The Blaze Star isn’t 1 star but 2. It’s a binary system with a white dwarf and a red giant. The Blaze Star’s white dwarf has built up material on its surface, siphoned off from the red giant star. Periodically, it “can’t take no more” and explodes, about every 80 years. Despite the powerful explosion, the dwarf itself remains intact. And once things settle down, the Blaze Star (T Corona Borealis) will begin the decades-long preparation for future cosmic fireworks. Image via NASA Goddard Scientific Visualization Studio.

Why hasn’t the Blaze Star blazed?

Astronomers have been waiting several years for the Blaze Star to erupt. One recent prediction came from Jean Schneider of the Paris Observatory, publishing in the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society in October 2024.

He pinpointed possible dates of March 27, 2025, and November 10, 2025. Those dates have come and gone with no big kablooey.

Schneider came to his possible dates using a combination of the previous eruption dates and the orbital ephemeris of the binary system. But Schneider admits in his paper that no one can exactly predict the eruption.

And, clearly, predicting eruptions of stars isn’t an exact science. The Blaze Star (T Coronae Borealis) underwent two known eruptions recorded by astronomers. Those events were on May 12, 1866, and on February 9, 1946. Those eruptions were 80 years apart. So scientists thought that, in another 80 years, the star would erupt again. Eighty years from 1946 would be 2026.

And so we wait …

Artist’s concept of a red giant star and white dwarf star. A stream of material flows from the red giant to the white dwarf, eventually causing a runaway thermonuclear reaction on the white dwarf that will appear as a new star, or nova, in earthly skies. The constellation Corona Borealis the Northern Crown should have a nova appear from the Blaze Star approximately every 80 years. Image via NASA/ Goddard Space Flight Center.

How bright will the Blaze Star be?

How bright will it get in our sky? Astronomers expect it to reach an apparent magnitude of 2. That’s a respectable brightness for a star. It’s conveniently comparable to the brightest star in the Northern Crown, the Jewel of the Crown, Alphecca. So, for a few days, the Northern Crown will have two jewels!

T Corona Borealis – the Blaze Star – is also one of the most distant stars you’ll ever see. Alphecca is around 75 light-years away, while the Blaze Star is closer to 3,000 light-years away.

So that gives you some perspective on the absolute magnitude (brightness) of this enormous blast. The actual explosion of the Blaze Star nova will likely dwarf any explosion you’ll ever see. But the star is far away. This explosion has travelled 3,000 years to get here. So, in relative terms the nova will have happened during the Bronze Age.

Remember that, when viewing Alphecca and T Corona Borealis side-by-side with approximately the same brightness. The nova is 40 times farther away than Alphecca. Also, we are not seeing the two stars at the same moment in time. One we see as it was 75 years ago. And the other we see as it was 3,000 years ago. It can be hard to get your head around that!

The nova will brighten the star by thousands of times, typically over just a few hours, and then take some days to fade away again. When it’s done, it will go back to its normal appearance … which means we won’t be able to see it anymore, with the eye alone.

So erupt already!

Want more? Here’s a highly regarded lecture by one of the world’s experts on the Blaze Star, LSU astronomer Bradley Schaefer. He discusses T CrB’s history, research into its unusual behavior, and the expected details of its imminent eruption. He also detailed specific ways for amateur astronomers to contribute to the study of this historic event, before answering a wide assortment of audience questions. Watch in the player above or on YouTube.

Bottom line: We’re still waiting for the Blaze Star to go nova! Will it happen in 2026? Here’s how to find Corona Borealis so you’re ready when this star goes kablooey.

Source: When will the Next T CrB Eruption Occur?

Read more: Want more details on the Northern Crown? Click here

The post Will the Blaze Star explode in 2026? How to see it first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/gm2wAVf

Von Kármán vortices are mesmerizing, swirling clouds

The Landsat 8 satellite captured these mesmerizing, swirling clouds with their hurricane-like eyes. Meteorologists call these clouds von Kármán vortices. On February 11, 2026, von Kármán vortices appeared on the downwind side of Peter I Island in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. Image via NASA Earth Observatory/ Michala Garrison.

What are von Kármán vortices?

The cloudy chain of spiraling eddies – like you see above – are known as von Kármán vortices. They’re named for Theodore von Kármán (1881-1963), a Hungarian-American physicist. He was the first to describe the physical processes that create them. The patterns can form nearly anywhere an object disturbs the flow of a fluid. That means oceans … or air.

In the case of the von Kármán vortices above, they formed in Earth’s atmosphere, downwind from Peter I Island. This ice-covered volcanic island sits in the Southern Ocean between Antarctica and South America. Winds were blowing between 11 to 34 miles per hour (18 to 54 kph) on February 11, 2026, when they encountered the volcanic barrier. The wind parted on either side of the island and spun into the shapes you see here. Note that this doesn’t always happen. Stronger winds wouldn’t have allowed the eddies to retain their shape.

More on how von Kármán vortices form

Our atmosphere is composed of gases, but it flows like a fluid. And tall peaks on islands can disrupt the flow of wind, to create the swirling clouds we know as von Kármán vortices. As the winds divert around these high areas, the disturbance in the flow propagates downstream in the form of vortices that alternate their direction of rotation.

Satellites have spotted von Kármán vortices around the globe. We’ve seen these vortices off of Guadalupe Island near the coast of Chile, in the Greenland Sea, in the Arctic and even next to a tropical storm. In the satellite image below, the vortices formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean on April 30, 2024.

These are von Karman vortices, swirling clouds that appeared over the eastern Pacific Ocean on April 30, 2024. Image via CIRA.

Animation of von Kármán vortices

Von Kármán vortices can form nearly anywhere that fluid flow is disturbed by an object. In the images below, that “object” is an island or group of islands. Watch the animation below courtesy of Cesareo de la Rosa Siqueira at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. You’ll see how a von Kármán vortex “street” develops behind a cylinder moving through a fluid.

More images of the cloudy, swirling eddies

These cloud vortices swirled off the Canary Islands on March 19, 2023. Image via NASA Earth Observatory.

These von Kármán vortices formed downwind from the volcanic island Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic on June 25, 2017. Image via NASA Earth Observatory.

Swirling clouds over Norwegian island

In the image below, an isolated Norwegian territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, called Jan Mayen Island, is responsible for the spiraling cloud pattern. The unique flow occurs when winds rushing from the north encounter Beerenberg Volcano. This snow-covered peak on the eastern end of the island rises 1.4 miles (2.2 km) above the sea surface. As winds pass around the volcano, the disturbance in the flow propagates downstream in the form of a double row of vortices that alternate their direction of rotation.

Von Kármán vortices in the Greenland Sea around Jan Mayen Island on April 5, 2012. Image via NASA.

Bottom line: See von Kármán vortices – mesmerizing, swirling pattern of clouds – in these satellite images. These clouds form when the wind hits a barrier like a mountain.

Read more from NASA’s Earth Obervatory

Read more: Cloud streets: What are they? How do they form?

The post Von Kármán vortices are mesmerizing, swirling clouds first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/usHB20f

The Landsat 8 satellite captured these mesmerizing, swirling clouds with their hurricane-like eyes. Meteorologists call these clouds von Kármán vortices. On February 11, 2026, von Kármán vortices appeared on the downwind side of Peter I Island in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. Image via NASA Earth Observatory/ Michala Garrison.

What are von Kármán vortices?

The cloudy chain of spiraling eddies – like you see above – are known as von Kármán vortices. They’re named for Theodore von Kármán (1881-1963), a Hungarian-American physicist. He was the first to describe the physical processes that create them. The patterns can form nearly anywhere an object disturbs the flow of a fluid. That means oceans … or air.

In the case of the von Kármán vortices above, they formed in Earth’s atmosphere, downwind from Peter I Island. This ice-covered volcanic island sits in the Southern Ocean between Antarctica and South America. Winds were blowing between 11 to 34 miles per hour (18 to 54 kph) on February 11, 2026, when they encountered the volcanic barrier. The wind parted on either side of the island and spun into the shapes you see here. Note that this doesn’t always happen. Stronger winds wouldn’t have allowed the eddies to retain their shape.

More on how von Kármán vortices form

Our atmosphere is composed of gases, but it flows like a fluid. And tall peaks on islands can disrupt the flow of wind, to create the swirling clouds we know as von Kármán vortices. As the winds divert around these high areas, the disturbance in the flow propagates downstream in the form of vortices that alternate their direction of rotation.

Satellites have spotted von Kármán vortices around the globe. We’ve seen these vortices off of Guadalupe Island near the coast of Chile, in the Greenland Sea, in the Arctic and even next to a tropical storm. In the satellite image below, the vortices formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean on April 30, 2024.

These are von Karman vortices, swirling clouds that appeared over the eastern Pacific Ocean on April 30, 2024. Image via CIRA.

Animation of von Kármán vortices

Von Kármán vortices can form nearly anywhere that fluid flow is disturbed by an object. In the images below, that “object” is an island or group of islands. Watch the animation below courtesy of Cesareo de la Rosa Siqueira at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. You’ll see how a von Kármán vortex “street” develops behind a cylinder moving through a fluid.

More images of the cloudy, swirling eddies

These cloud vortices swirled off the Canary Islands on March 19, 2023. Image via NASA Earth Observatory.

These von Kármán vortices formed downwind from the volcanic island Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic on June 25, 2017. Image via NASA Earth Observatory.

Swirling clouds over Norwegian island

In the image below, an isolated Norwegian territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, called Jan Mayen Island, is responsible for the spiraling cloud pattern. The unique flow occurs when winds rushing from the north encounter Beerenberg Volcano. This snow-covered peak on the eastern end of the island rises 1.4 miles (2.2 km) above the sea surface. As winds pass around the volcano, the disturbance in the flow propagates downstream in the form of a double row of vortices that alternate their direction of rotation.

Von Kármán vortices in the Greenland Sea around Jan Mayen Island on April 5, 2012. Image via NASA.

Bottom line: See von Kármán vortices – mesmerizing, swirling pattern of clouds – in these satellite images. These clouds form when the wind hits a barrier like a mountain.

Read more from NASA’s Earth Obervatory

Read more: Cloud streets: What are they? How do they form?

The post Von Kármán vortices are mesmerizing, swirling clouds first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/usHB20f

2025 Alaska megatsunami shows need for warning system

An animation showing the Alaska megatsunami – a large wave of about 100 meters (328 ft) or more – as it reached up the fjord walls after the landslide, as well as the large cresting wave as it heads down Tracy Arm. Credit: Shugar et al., 2026.

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter.

• A megatsunami is an incredibly large wave of about 100 meters (328 ft) or more. These huge waves are often triggered by events such as landslides.
• In August 2025, a megatsunami in Alaska happened when a landslide entered a fjord next to South Sawyer Glacier. The event generated a wave 1,580 feet (481 meters) high.
• Scientists believe a warning system could help alert any people in the area. It would be based on seismic activity in the area.

By Michael E. West, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ezgi Karasözen, University of Alaska Fairbanks

2025 Alaska megatsunami shows need for warning system

On the evening of August 9, 2025, passengers on the Hanse Explorer yacht finished taking selfies and videos of Alaska’s South Sawyer Glacier, and the ship headed back down the fjord. Twelve hours later, a landslide from the adjacent mountain unexpectedly collapsed into the fjord, initiating the second-highest tsunami in recorded history.

We conduct research on earthquakes and tsunamis at the Alaska Earthquake Center. And one of us serves as Alaska state seismologist. In a new study with colleagues, we detail how that landslide sent water and debris 1,580 feet (481 meters) up the other side of the fjord. That’s higher than the top floor of the Taipei 101 skyscraper. And then the tsunami continued down Tracy Arm. The force of the water stripped the fjord’s walls down to bare rock.

The Tracy Arm landslide generated a tsunami that sent a wave so high up the opposite fjord wall that it would have overtopped some of the world’s tallest buildings. Here’s how it compares to other large tsunamis around the world. Image via Steve Hicks/ University College London/ The Conversation.

The landslide at Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska in August last year sent a tsunami wave far up the opposite side of the fjord near South Sawyer Glacier. This 2025 Alaska megatsunami could have led to tragedy. The event shows the need for a warning system to alert cruise ships and others who might be in the area. Image via John Lyons/ U.S. Geological Survey/ The Conversation.

The 2025 Alaska megatsunami

It was just after 5 o’clock in the morning on a dreary day. And fortunately, no ships were nearby. In the months after, some cruise lines started avoiding Tracy Arm. However, the conditions that led to this event are not at all unique to this fjord.

Landslides are common in the coastal mountains of Alaska. In these areas, rapid uplift – caused by tectonic forces and long-term ice loss – converges with the erosive forces of precipitation and moving glaciers. But a curious pattern has emerged in recent years: Multiple major landslides have occurred precisely at the terminus (end point) of a retreating glacier.

Though the mechanics are still poorly understood, these mountains appear to become unstable when the ice disappears. When the landslide hits the water, the momentum of millions of tons of rock is transferred into tsunami waves.

Maps show how the glacier has retreated over the years, moving past the section of mountain that collapsed (outlined in white on the right) in the days prior to the slide. The map on the right shows the height the tsunami reached on the fjord walls. Image via Planet Labs/ The Conversation.

This same phenomenon is playing out from Alaska to Greenland and Norway, sometimes with deadly consequences. Across the Arctic, countries are trying to come to terms with this growing hazard. The options are not attractive: avoid vast swaths of coastline, or live with a poorly understood risk. We believe there is an obvious role for alert systems. But only if scientists have a better understanding of where and when landslides are likely to occur.

Signs that a landslide might be coming

The Tracy Arm landslide is a powerful example.

The landslide occurred in August, when warm ocean waters and heavier precipitation favor both glacier retreat and slope failure. The glacier below the landslide area had experienced rapid calving: large chunks of ice breaking off and falling into the water. And it had retreated more than a third of a mile in the two months prior. Heavy rain had been falling. Rain enters fractures in the mountain and pushes them closer to failure by increasing the water pressure in cracks.

Most provocative are the thousands of small seismic tremors that emanated from the area of the slide in the days prior to the mountainside collapsing.

We believe that this combination of signs would have been sufficient to issue progressive alerts to any ships in the vicinity and homes and businesses that could have been harmed by a tsunami at least a day prior to the failure … had a monitoring program existed.

Escalating alerts are used for everything from terrorism and nuclear plant safety to avalanches and volcanic unrest. They don’t remove the risk. But they do make it easier for people to safely coexist with hazards.

For example, though people are still killed in avalanches, alert systems have played an essential role in making winter backcountry travel safer for more people. The collapse at Tracy Arm demonstrates what could be possible for landslides.

What an alert system could look like

We believe that the combination of weather and rapid glacier retreat in early August 2025 was likely sufficient to issue an alert notifying people that the hazard may be temporarily elevated in a general area. On a yellow-orange-red scale, this would be a yellow alert.

In the hours prior to the landslide, the exponential increase in seismic events and telltale transition to what is known as seismic tremor – a continuous “hum” of seismic energy – were sufficient to communicate a time-sensitive warning for a specific region.

Seismic data from the closest monitoring station to the landslide, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) away, shows the “hum” of seismic energy increasing just ahead of the landslide, indicated by the tall yellow spike shortly after 5 a.m. Source: Alaska Earthquake Center.

These observations, recorded as a byproduct of regional earthquake monitoring, warranted an “orange” alert noting immediate concern. The signs were arguably sufficient to recommend keeping boats and ships out of the fjord.

Alerts are possible

Our research over the past few years has demonstrated that once a large landslide has started, it is possible to detect and measure the event within a couple of minutes. In this amount of time, seismic waves in the surrounding area can indicate the rough size of the landslide and whether it occurred near open water.

A monitoring program that could quickly communicate this would be able to issue a red alert, signaling an event in progress.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s tsunami warning program has spent decades fine-tuning rapid message dissemination. A warning system would have offered little help for ships in the immediate vicinity, but it could have provided perhaps 10 minutes of warning for those who rode out the harrowing tsunami farther away.

There is no landslide monitoring system operating yet at this scale in the U.S. Building one will require cooperation across state and federal agencies, and strengthened monitoring and communication networks. Even then, it will not be fail-proof.

Understanding risk, not removing it

Alert systems do not remove the risk entirely, but they are a better option than no warning at all. Over time, they also build awareness as communities and visitors get used to thinking about these hazards.

Many of the most alluring places on Earth come with significant hazards. Arctic fjords are among them. The same processes that create this hazard – glacier retreat, steep terrain, dynamic geology – are also what make these landscapes so compelling. The mix of glaciers, ice-choked waters and steep mountains is exactly what draws people to these places. People will continue to visit and experience them.

The last view of Tracy Arm, taken from the Hanse Explorer motoring away from the South Sawyer glacier, before a landslide from a mountain just out of view on the left crashed into the fjord. The landslide generated a tsunami that sent a wave nearly 1,600 feet (about 490 meters) up the mountain on the right.

The question is not whether these places should be avoided altogether, but how to help people make more informed decisions. We believe that stronger geophysical and meteorological monitoring, coupled with new research and communication channels, is the first step.

On August 9, visitors unknowingly passed through a landscape on the cusp of failure. An alert system might have given tour companies and people in the area the information they needed to make more informed choices and avoid being caught by surprise.

Michael E. West, Director of the Alaska Earthquake Center and State Seismologist, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ezgi Karasözen, Research Seismologist, Alaska Earthquake Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Bottom line: A 2025 Alaska megatsunami sent a 1,580-foot wave of water up the Tracy Arm fjord. It revealed the need for a landslide-triggered tsunami warning system.

Read more: Landslide-triggered tsunamis becoming more common

The post 2025 Alaska megatsunami shows need for warning system first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/YmjdFvp

An animation showing the Alaska megatsunami – a large wave of about 100 meters (328 ft) or more – as it reached up the fjord walls after the landslide, as well as the large cresting wave as it heads down Tracy Arm. Credit: Shugar et al., 2026.

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to EarthSky’s free daily newsletter.

• A megatsunami is an incredibly large wave of about 100 meters (328 ft) or more. These huge waves are often triggered by events such as landslides.
• In August 2025, a megatsunami in Alaska happened when a landslide entered a fjord next to South Sawyer Glacier. The event generated a wave 1,580 feet (481 meters) high.
• Scientists believe a warning system could help alert any people in the area. It would be based on seismic activity in the area.

By Michael E. West, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ezgi Karasözen, University of Alaska Fairbanks

2025 Alaska megatsunami shows need for warning system

On the evening of August 9, 2025, passengers on the Hanse Explorer yacht finished taking selfies and videos of Alaska’s South Sawyer Glacier, and the ship headed back down the fjord. Twelve hours later, a landslide from the adjacent mountain unexpectedly collapsed into the fjord, initiating the second-highest tsunami in recorded history.

We conduct research on earthquakes and tsunamis at the Alaska Earthquake Center. And one of us serves as Alaska state seismologist. In a new study with colleagues, we detail how that landslide sent water and debris 1,580 feet (481 meters) up the other side of the fjord. That’s higher than the top floor of the Taipei 101 skyscraper. And then the tsunami continued down Tracy Arm. The force of the water stripped the fjord’s walls down to bare rock.

The Tracy Arm landslide generated a tsunami that sent a wave so high up the opposite fjord wall that it would have overtopped some of the world’s tallest buildings. Here’s how it compares to other large tsunamis around the world. Image via Steve Hicks/ University College London/ The Conversation.

The landslide at Tracy Arm Fjord, Alaska in August last year sent a tsunami wave far up the opposite side of the fjord near South Sawyer Glacier. This 2025 Alaska megatsunami could have led to tragedy. The event shows the need for a warning system to alert cruise ships and others who might be in the area. Image via John Lyons/ U.S. Geological Survey/ The Conversation.

The 2025 Alaska megatsunami

It was just after 5 o’clock in the morning on a dreary day. And fortunately, no ships were nearby. In the months after, some cruise lines started avoiding Tracy Arm. However, the conditions that led to this event are not at all unique to this fjord.

Landslides are common in the coastal mountains of Alaska. In these areas, rapid uplift – caused by tectonic forces and long-term ice loss – converges with the erosive forces of precipitation and moving glaciers. But a curious pattern has emerged in recent years: Multiple major landslides have occurred precisely at the terminus (end point) of a retreating glacier.

Though the mechanics are still poorly understood, these mountains appear to become unstable when the ice disappears. When the landslide hits the water, the momentum of millions of tons of rock is transferred into tsunami waves.

Maps show how the glacier has retreated over the years, moving past the section of mountain that collapsed (outlined in white on the right) in the days prior to the slide. The map on the right shows the height the tsunami reached on the fjord walls. Image via Planet Labs/ The Conversation.

This same phenomenon is playing out from Alaska to Greenland and Norway, sometimes with deadly consequences. Across the Arctic, countries are trying to come to terms with this growing hazard. The options are not attractive: avoid vast swaths of coastline, or live with a poorly understood risk. We believe there is an obvious role for alert systems. But only if scientists have a better understanding of where and when landslides are likely to occur.

Signs that a landslide might be coming

The Tracy Arm landslide is a powerful example.

The landslide occurred in August, when warm ocean waters and heavier precipitation favor both glacier retreat and slope failure. The glacier below the landslide area had experienced rapid calving: large chunks of ice breaking off and falling into the water. And it had retreated more than a third of a mile in the two months prior. Heavy rain had been falling. Rain enters fractures in the mountain and pushes them closer to failure by increasing the water pressure in cracks.

Most provocative are the thousands of small seismic tremors that emanated from the area of the slide in the days prior to the mountainside collapsing.

We believe that this combination of signs would have been sufficient to issue progressive alerts to any ships in the vicinity and homes and businesses that could have been harmed by a tsunami at least a day prior to the failure … had a monitoring program existed.

Escalating alerts are used for everything from terrorism and nuclear plant safety to avalanches and volcanic unrest. They don’t remove the risk. But they do make it easier for people to safely coexist with hazards.

For example, though people are still killed in avalanches, alert systems have played an essential role in making winter backcountry travel safer for more people. The collapse at Tracy Arm demonstrates what could be possible for landslides.

What an alert system could look like

We believe that the combination of weather and rapid glacier retreat in early August 2025 was likely sufficient to issue an alert notifying people that the hazard may be temporarily elevated in a general area. On a yellow-orange-red scale, this would be a yellow alert.

In the hours prior to the landslide, the exponential increase in seismic events and telltale transition to what is known as seismic tremor – a continuous “hum” of seismic energy – were sufficient to communicate a time-sensitive warning for a specific region.

Seismic data from the closest monitoring station to the landslide, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) away, shows the “hum” of seismic energy increasing just ahead of the landslide, indicated by the tall yellow spike shortly after 5 a.m. Source: Alaska Earthquake Center.

These observations, recorded as a byproduct of regional earthquake monitoring, warranted an “orange” alert noting immediate concern. The signs were arguably sufficient to recommend keeping boats and ships out of the fjord.

Alerts are possible

Our research over the past few years has demonstrated that once a large landslide has started, it is possible to detect and measure the event within a couple of minutes. In this amount of time, seismic waves in the surrounding area can indicate the rough size of the landslide and whether it occurred near open water.

A monitoring program that could quickly communicate this would be able to issue a red alert, signaling an event in progress.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s tsunami warning program has spent decades fine-tuning rapid message dissemination. A warning system would have offered little help for ships in the immediate vicinity, but it could have provided perhaps 10 minutes of warning for those who rode out the harrowing tsunami farther away.

There is no landslide monitoring system operating yet at this scale in the U.S. Building one will require cooperation across state and federal agencies, and strengthened monitoring and communication networks. Even then, it will not be fail-proof.

Understanding risk, not removing it

Alert systems do not remove the risk entirely, but they are a better option than no warning at all. Over time, they also build awareness as communities and visitors get used to thinking about these hazards.

Many of the most alluring places on Earth come with significant hazards. Arctic fjords are among them. The same processes that create this hazard – glacier retreat, steep terrain, dynamic geology – are also what make these landscapes so compelling. The mix of glaciers, ice-choked waters and steep mountains is exactly what draws people to these places. People will continue to visit and experience them.

The last view of Tracy Arm, taken from the Hanse Explorer motoring away from the South Sawyer glacier, before a landslide from a mountain just out of view on the left crashed into the fjord. The landslide generated a tsunami that sent a wave nearly 1,600 feet (about 490 meters) up the mountain on the right.

The question is not whether these places should be avoided altogether, but how to help people make more informed decisions. We believe that stronger geophysical and meteorological monitoring, coupled with new research and communication channels, is the first step.

On August 9, visitors unknowingly passed through a landscape on the cusp of failure. An alert system might have given tour companies and people in the area the information they needed to make more informed choices and avoid being caught by surprise.

Michael E. West, Director of the Alaska Earthquake Center and State Seismologist, University of Alaska Fairbanks and Ezgi Karasözen, Research Seismologist, Alaska Earthquake Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Bottom line: A 2025 Alaska megatsunami sent a 1,580-foot wave of water up the Tracy Arm fjord. It revealed the need for a landslide-triggered tsunami warning system.

Read more: Landslide-triggered tsunamis becoming more common

The post 2025 Alaska megatsunami shows need for warning system first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/YmjdFvp

Why are scorpion stings so painful? Metal stingers!

This is a granulated thick-tailed scorpion (Parabuthus granulatus), photographed in Debeden, South Africa. So why are scorpion stings so painful? A new study explored how metal makes scorpion stingers and pincers more formidable. Image via Ryan van Huyssteen/ iNaturalist (CC BY 4.0).

• Scorpion stings and pinches are particularly painful because the stingers and pincers are reinforced with metal.
• Now, a new study of 18 scorpion species has revealed in new detail how these metals are distributed.
• The results reveal how natural selection favors certain types of metals for different purposes in scorpions.

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

Scorpion stingers and pincers contain metal!

Scorpions are infamous for their imposing pincers and venomous stingers. They use these formidable appendages to defend themselves and attack prey. But why are scorpion stings and pinches so powerful? Metal.

Scientists have long known that scorpion stingers and pincers are often fortified with metals. But is this the case with all scorpions? And with different predation and defense techniques across different scorpion species, do their metal deposits vary too?

In April 2026, researchers published a study that explored these questions.

In it, they analyzed 18 species from a wide range of scorpion families (a term for a group of related animals). They uncovered interesting new details as to how these metals were distributed in pincers and stingers. And their findings offered fresh insight into how natural selection favors certain types of metal deposits for different purposes.

Sam Campbell of the University of Queensland led this research. He said, in a statement:

Scorpions are incredible hunters, and while we knew that metals strengthen the weapons in some species’ arsenals, we don’t know if all scorpions’ weapons contain metal, and if so, whether this metal enrichment relates to how they hunt.

We decided to use microanalytical techniques to unravel where and how these metals are distributed in the scorpions’ weapons to offer a clue as to how and why metal enrichment has been carried through the scorpion family tree.

The research team published their study in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Royal Society Interface on April 29, 2026.

Scorpion stings and pinches vary

Overall, there are about 3,000 species of scorpion, found in all continents except Antarctica. And with such a wide diversity of species comes a wide range of predatory and defense behaviors.

Some scorpions routinely subdue their prey using their stingers to inject venom. But others rarely use them except to quell difficult prey. Scorpions with large powerful pincers use them to crush prey, but have small stingers. Conversely, others have large stingers and small pincers.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a collection of preserved scorpions from around the world. In addition to x-ray analysis, the research team performed high-resolution electron microscopy on 18 of these specimens. They specifically examined the pincers and stingers.

The common emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) was one of the species in this study. It had zinc and manganese in its stinger, with zinc and a little iron in its pincers. Image via Jan Ebr and Ivana Ebrová/ iNaturalist (CC BY 4.0).

Scorpion stings and pinches are zinc-powered

In the scorpion stingers, the researchers found zinc at the tip of the needle-like structure. But many of the scorpions had a sharp transition to manganese below this point.

Meanwhile, in the outer part of the pincers, called the tarsus, the researchers found zinc. In addition, some scorpion pincers also contained iron. Interestingly, the metal only reinforced the cutting edge of the pincer. That’s the side of the tarsus that endures the most stress from struggling prey.

Edward Vicenzi, at the National Museum of Natural History, commented:

The National Museum of Natural History’s large scorpion collection allowed us to analyze metal enrichment in a wide range of scorpion species, more than have ever been studied before using these techniques. The microscopic-scale methods we used allowed us to identify individual transition metals in extremely high detail, showing us how nature skillfully engineered these metals in the scorpion’s weapons.

Micro X-ray fluorescence microscopy is a high resolution X-ray imaging system that can identify elements. In this stinger from an emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator), the imaging detected zinc (in red) at the tip, with manganese (in green) below it. Image via E. P. Vicenzi/ Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute/ NIST/ Eurekalert!.

Unexpected findings

The scientists thought they’d find higher levels of zinc in chunky, powerful pincers, to be used for crushing prey. But instead, they discovered that scorpions with long, slender pincers had higher levels of zinc.

Campbell said:

This points to a role for zinc beyond hardness, perhaps playing a bigger role in durability. After all, long claws need to grasp prey and prevent it from escaping before being injected by venom. This is an interesting finding because it suggests an evolutionary relationship between how a weapon is used and the specific properties of the metal that reinforces it.

Bottom line: Scientists found that the stingers and pincers in 18 scorpion species contain deposits of zinc, manganese and iron, varying depending on how each species uses its appendages.

Source: Heavy metal predators: diverse elemental enrichment across the weapons of scorpions

Via Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Read more about scorpions and watch a video

Read more: Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth

The post Why are scorpion stings so painful? Metal stingers! first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/t5dD6eK

This is a granulated thick-tailed scorpion (Parabuthus granulatus), photographed in Debeden, South Africa. So why are scorpion stings so painful? A new study explored how metal makes scorpion stingers and pincers more formidable. Image via Ryan van Huyssteen/ iNaturalist (CC BY 4.0).

• Scorpion stings and pinches are particularly painful because the stingers and pincers are reinforced with metal.
• Now, a new study of 18 scorpion species has revealed in new detail how these metals are distributed.
• The results reveal how natural selection favors certain types of metals for different purposes in scorpions.

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

Scorpion stingers and pincers contain metal!

Scorpions are infamous for their imposing pincers and venomous stingers. They use these formidable appendages to defend themselves and attack prey. But why are scorpion stings and pinches so powerful? Metal.

Scientists have long known that scorpion stingers and pincers are often fortified with metals. But is this the case with all scorpions? And with different predation and defense techniques across different scorpion species, do their metal deposits vary too?

In April 2026, researchers published a study that explored these questions.

In it, they analyzed 18 species from a wide range of scorpion families (a term for a group of related animals). They uncovered interesting new details as to how these metals were distributed in pincers and stingers. And their findings offered fresh insight into how natural selection favors certain types of metal deposits for different purposes.

Sam Campbell of the University of Queensland led this research. He said, in a statement:

Scorpions are incredible hunters, and while we knew that metals strengthen the weapons in some species’ arsenals, we don’t know if all scorpions’ weapons contain metal, and if so, whether this metal enrichment relates to how they hunt.

We decided to use microanalytical techniques to unravel where and how these metals are distributed in the scorpions’ weapons to offer a clue as to how and why metal enrichment has been carried through the scorpion family tree.

The research team published their study in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Royal Society Interface on April 29, 2026.

Scorpion stings and pinches vary

Overall, there are about 3,000 species of scorpion, found in all continents except Antarctica. And with such a wide diversity of species comes a wide range of predatory and defense behaviors.

Some scorpions routinely subdue their prey using their stingers to inject venom. But others rarely use them except to quell difficult prey. Scorpions with large powerful pincers use them to crush prey, but have small stingers. Conversely, others have large stingers and small pincers.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has a collection of preserved scorpions from around the world. In addition to x-ray analysis, the research team performed high-resolution electron microscopy on 18 of these specimens. They specifically examined the pincers and stingers.

The common emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator) was one of the species in this study. It had zinc and manganese in its stinger, with zinc and a little iron in its pincers. Image via Jan Ebr and Ivana Ebrová/ iNaturalist (CC BY 4.0).

Scorpion stings and pinches are zinc-powered

In the scorpion stingers, the researchers found zinc at the tip of the needle-like structure. But many of the scorpions had a sharp transition to manganese below this point.

Meanwhile, in the outer part of the pincers, called the tarsus, the researchers found zinc. In addition, some scorpion pincers also contained iron. Interestingly, the metal only reinforced the cutting edge of the pincer. That’s the side of the tarsus that endures the most stress from struggling prey.

Edward Vicenzi, at the National Museum of Natural History, commented:

The National Museum of Natural History’s large scorpion collection allowed us to analyze metal enrichment in a wide range of scorpion species, more than have ever been studied before using these techniques. The microscopic-scale methods we used allowed us to identify individual transition metals in extremely high detail, showing us how nature skillfully engineered these metals in the scorpion’s weapons.

Micro X-ray fluorescence microscopy is a high resolution X-ray imaging system that can identify elements. In this stinger from an emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator), the imaging detected zinc (in red) at the tip, with manganese (in green) below it. Image via E. P. Vicenzi/ Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute/ NIST/ Eurekalert!.

Unexpected findings

The scientists thought they’d find higher levels of zinc in chunky, powerful pincers, to be used for crushing prey. But instead, they discovered that scorpions with long, slender pincers had higher levels of zinc.

Campbell said:

This points to a role for zinc beyond hardness, perhaps playing a bigger role in durability. After all, long claws need to grasp prey and prevent it from escaping before being injected by venom. This is an interesting finding because it suggests an evolutionary relationship between how a weapon is used and the specific properties of the metal that reinforces it.

Bottom line: Scientists found that the stingers and pincers in 18 scorpion species contain deposits of zinc, manganese and iron, varying depending on how each species uses its appendages.

Source: Heavy metal predators: diverse elemental enrichment across the weapons of scorpions

Via Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Read more about scorpions and watch a video

Read more: Komodo dragons have iron-coated teeth

The post Why are scorpion stings so painful? Metal stingers! first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/t5dD6eK

What is a derecho? And when is derecho season?

This composite radar image shows the progression of a derecho on August 10, 2020. This derecho caused 3 deaths and an estimated $11 billion in storm damage. It knocked out power for millions of people. Image via NOAA/ National Weather Service/ Wikipedia.

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

What is a derecho?

Derecho is a term weather-watchers like to throw around a lot in the summer. But what is it? It’s a take on the Spanish word derecho which can mean straight ahead. A derecho in meteorology is a widespread, long-lived windstorm. It’s associated with a line of fast-moving thunderstorms that causes damage for more than 240 miles (385 km). And it contains winds of 58 mph (93 kph) or greater along most the length of the storm’s path.

Derechos are the result of downburst clusters, or groups of downbursts. These downbursts are strong damaging wind gusts in a thunderstorm moving downward. An individual downburst can be up to 6 miles (10 km) in size. On the other hand, a downburst cluster can be up to 60 miles (100 km) long. The damage that derechos produce is due to straight-line winds, as opposed to the swirling winds of a tornado.

Sometimes people mistakenly call derechos “inland hurricanes” or even large tornadoes. But neither of these are true. Hurricanes form over warm ocean water. Meanwhile, derechos can produce hurricane-force winds and form over land, usually as a complex of thunderstorms, before strengthening further. And the widest tornado on record in the United States was 2.6 miles wide. That’s far smaller than the hundreds of miles wide some derechos can be. We’ve talked a bit of what they are, as well as what they aren’t … so how does a complex of thunderstorms become a derecho?

Damage caused by a 2022 derecho in Barga, Italy. Image via Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How do derechos form?

A thunderstorm has a series of updrafts and downdrafts. As the downdraft, which is rain-cooled, reaches the ground, it spreads out. This burst of cooler air is the gust front, sometimes called an outflow boundary. While it can signify a storm is starting to collapse, it can also help fuel more storm development.

The gust front can act as a mini-cold front, forcing warm, humid air up into the sky. And this creates rising motion and prompts the development of another thunderstorm. As that storm gets stronger, it also produces rain-cooled air, strengthening the gust front. This creates an inflow that tilts the updraft of the thunderstorms. Then, the storms expand, producing more rain, which cools more air, which makes the gust front stronger, which causes the thunderstorms to bow out. When thunderstorms bow out, they are called bow echoes, because as those strong winds reach the ground they spread out.

We explain how bow echoes are formed because derechos typically start out as bow echoes. This process can continue across hundreds of miles for hours at a time, impacting thousands – and sometimes even millions – of people.

The dashed orange arrow is an inflow into the storm. The inflow tilts the thunderstorm’s updraft (the red arrow) allowing the storm to expand and produce more rain. It also strengthens the gust front (arc-shaped blue line with blue triangles) and bowing out the storm. Image via NOAA.

When is derecho season?

Like most thunderstorm-related severe weather, derechos are most common in the warmer months, typically May through August. In fact, nearly 70% of all derechos in the United States occur during this period. To break it down further, 22% happen in May, 20% in June and 21% in July. Like any severe weather, though, derechos can happen at any time, even during the cooler months.

Serial derechos are more likely to occur in the cooler months. A serial derecho comes from multiple bow echoes in a large line that can be hundreds of miles long. It often covers a very wide and long area. In the cooler months, these serial derechos will most likely develop from eastern Texas toward the southeast.

Progressive derechos are most common in the warm season. While they can travel hundreds of miles, a progressive derecho is usually narrower, as small as 40 miles (65 km) wide. They can also start narrow and grow to be hundreds of miles wide. Most progressive derechos will occur in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest of the United States.

The most common locations for derechos in the United States. Image via NOAA.

How to prepare for derechos

According to NOAA, derechos kill more people than EF0 and EF1 tornadoes combined, and EF0 and EF1 tornadoes make up 80% of all recorded tornadoes! While tornadoes can cause significant destruction, derechos can cause a wide path of destruction and move into communities at 60 to 70 miles per hour (about 96 to 112 kph).

Roughly half of all recorded derecho deaths were people in vehicles or boats. The boat deaths were typically because the boat overturned due to high winds, causing drowning. The vehicle deaths are due to higher profile vehicles blowing over and smaller cars driven into trees, or, often, trees falling on vehicles.

This is why you need to be prepared. If a derecho is occurring, it will fall under a “Severe Thunderstorm Warning” issued by your local National Weather Service office. Derechos can catch people off guard because they move fast. So no matter what your plans are, but especially if you plan to be outside: Always check the weather!

Get weather alerts

If you plan to be outside, have emergency alerts on your mobile device turned on, or bring a mobile weather radio with you. If you plan on being inside: also have emergency alerts turned on your mobile device, and have a weather radio turned on. While derechos and tornadoes are not the same, if a severe thunderstorm warning is issued for a derecho, take cover inside a sturdy shelter, in a lower floor like you would during a tornado, away from all windows and outside walls. This will best protect you should strong winds blow out windows or a tree falls on your property.

Bottom line: Derechos are fast-moving, widespread wind storms that can produce wind gusts of hurricane-force. They are more common during the warm months of the year in the United States.

Read more: Be a storm spotter and help during severe weather

Read more: Notable derechos in recent history

The post What is a derecho? And when is derecho season? first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/4M5dock

This composite radar image shows the progression of a derecho on August 10, 2020. This derecho caused 3 deaths and an estimated $11 billion in storm damage. It knocked out power for millions of people. Image via NOAA/ National Weather Service/ Wikipedia.

Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place. Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

What is a derecho?

Derecho is a term weather-watchers like to throw around a lot in the summer. But what is it? It’s a take on the Spanish word derecho which can mean straight ahead. A derecho in meteorology is a widespread, long-lived windstorm. It’s associated with a line of fast-moving thunderstorms that causes damage for more than 240 miles (385 km). And it contains winds of 58 mph (93 kph) or greater along most the length of the storm’s path.

Derechos are the result of downburst clusters, or groups of downbursts. These downbursts are strong damaging wind gusts in a thunderstorm moving downward. An individual downburst can be up to 6 miles (10 km) in size. On the other hand, a downburst cluster can be up to 60 miles (100 km) long. The damage that derechos produce is due to straight-line winds, as opposed to the swirling winds of a tornado.

Sometimes people mistakenly call derechos “inland hurricanes” or even large tornadoes. But neither of these are true. Hurricanes form over warm ocean water. Meanwhile, derechos can produce hurricane-force winds and form over land, usually as a complex of thunderstorms, before strengthening further. And the widest tornado on record in the United States was 2.6 miles wide. That’s far smaller than the hundreds of miles wide some derechos can be. We’ve talked a bit of what they are, as well as what they aren’t … so how does a complex of thunderstorms become a derecho?

Damage caused by a 2022 derecho in Barga, Italy. Image via Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How do derechos form?

A thunderstorm has a series of updrafts and downdrafts. As the downdraft, which is rain-cooled, reaches the ground, it spreads out. This burst of cooler air is the gust front, sometimes called an outflow boundary. While it can signify a storm is starting to collapse, it can also help fuel more storm development.

The gust front can act as a mini-cold front, forcing warm, humid air up into the sky. And this creates rising motion and prompts the development of another thunderstorm. As that storm gets stronger, it also produces rain-cooled air, strengthening the gust front. This creates an inflow that tilts the updraft of the thunderstorms. Then, the storms expand, producing more rain, which cools more air, which makes the gust front stronger, which causes the thunderstorms to bow out. When thunderstorms bow out, they are called bow echoes, because as those strong winds reach the ground they spread out.

We explain how bow echoes are formed because derechos typically start out as bow echoes. This process can continue across hundreds of miles for hours at a time, impacting thousands – and sometimes even millions – of people.

The dashed orange arrow is an inflow into the storm. The inflow tilts the thunderstorm’s updraft (the red arrow) allowing the storm to expand and produce more rain. It also strengthens the gust front (arc-shaped blue line with blue triangles) and bowing out the storm. Image via NOAA.

When is derecho season?

Like most thunderstorm-related severe weather, derechos are most common in the warmer months, typically May through August. In fact, nearly 70% of all derechos in the United States occur during this period. To break it down further, 22% happen in May, 20% in June and 21% in July. Like any severe weather, though, derechos can happen at any time, even during the cooler months.

Serial derechos are more likely to occur in the cooler months. A serial derecho comes from multiple bow echoes in a large line that can be hundreds of miles long. It often covers a very wide and long area. In the cooler months, these serial derechos will most likely develop from eastern Texas toward the southeast.

Progressive derechos are most common in the warm season. While they can travel hundreds of miles, a progressive derecho is usually narrower, as small as 40 miles (65 km) wide. They can also start narrow and grow to be hundreds of miles wide. Most progressive derechos will occur in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest of the United States.

The most common locations for derechos in the United States. Image via NOAA.

How to prepare for derechos

According to NOAA, derechos kill more people than EF0 and EF1 tornadoes combined, and EF0 and EF1 tornadoes make up 80% of all recorded tornadoes! While tornadoes can cause significant destruction, derechos can cause a wide path of destruction and move into communities at 60 to 70 miles per hour (about 96 to 112 kph).

Roughly half of all recorded derecho deaths were people in vehicles or boats. The boat deaths were typically because the boat overturned due to high winds, causing drowning. The vehicle deaths are due to higher profile vehicles blowing over and smaller cars driven into trees, or, often, trees falling on vehicles.

This is why you need to be prepared. If a derecho is occurring, it will fall under a “Severe Thunderstorm Warning” issued by your local National Weather Service office. Derechos can catch people off guard because they move fast. So no matter what your plans are, but especially if you plan to be outside: Always check the weather!

Get weather alerts

If you plan to be outside, have emergency alerts on your mobile device turned on, or bring a mobile weather radio with you. If you plan on being inside: also have emergency alerts turned on your mobile device, and have a weather radio turned on. While derechos and tornadoes are not the same, if a severe thunderstorm warning is issued for a derecho, take cover inside a sturdy shelter, in a lower floor like you would during a tornado, away from all windows and outside walls. This will best protect you should strong winds blow out windows or a tree falls on your property.

Bottom line: Derechos are fast-moving, widespread wind storms that can produce wind gusts of hurricane-force. They are more common during the warm months of the year in the United States.

Read more: Be a storm spotter and help during severe weather

Read more: Notable derechos in recent history

The post What is a derecho? And when is derecho season? first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/4M5dock

NASA releases 12,000 Artemis pics! See our faves here

This is one of the thousands of images from the Artemis 2 mission that NASA recently released. In this image, you can see the moon, with some craters visible at top left, and the glow of the eclipsed sun shining behind. Over the weekend, NASA released 12,000 Artemis pics to the public. See our favorites below. Image via NASA.

NASA releases 12,000 Artemis pics!

NASA has released more than 12,000 images from the Artemis 2 mission on its website. They are a collection of views of Earth and the moon that the astronauts captured while aboard their spacecraft, Integrity. The website is here. Note that a high interest in the images has caused the website to go offline numerous times since NASA released the pictures.

To find images from the Artemis 2 mission, you’ll want to click on Search Photos. Then scroll down to the box that says “Search using NASA Photo IDs” and enter ART002-E (for the Artemis 2 mission). Then hit Run Query. Voilà!

At this point, the image data is mostly blank. A few of the downloads shared information on which astronaut – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen – took the image. But most did not. Eventually, the details on who took each photo with what equipment and what you’re seeing in the photo will come.

It’s not the smoothest process! But thankfully, beloved science communicator Hank Green has built a solution. He’s created a website that allows you to view the best Artemis 2 mission photos in chronological order. Take a look. And he’s currently running a public vote to find the best of the new 12,000 photos so he can add them to the site. You can take part here.

And now, relive the thrill of the mission with some of EarthSky’s favorite images below.

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

Some of our faves

Reid Wiseman took this image showing sunlight peeking out from behind the moon. You can even see some unevenness in the moon’s terrain on the limb (edge). Image via NASA.

Here’s a shot of the moon that Reid Wiseman took during their lunar flyby. Instead of a man in the moon, can you see craters that almost create an image of a bear’s face near the center of the image? Image via NASA.

This closeup of the moon’s cratered limb is from Victor Glover. Image via NASA.

Christina Koch captured this image of the moon (left) and distant Earth (right). Image via NASA.

Looking toward home

Here’s a view of the crescent Earth from the window of the Integrity spacecraft. Image via NASA.

This is the “dark side” of Earth, with the sun lighting up the limb (edge) on the right. Image via NASA.

Victor Glover took this image of Earth’s thin atmosphere lit from behind. Image via NASA.

Victor Glover captured this image of home. Image via NASA.

Seeing stars

The Artemis 2 astronauts also had a good view of the Milky Way galaxy. Image via NASA.

Here’s a view of the Milky Way with a time lapse that reveals star trails. Image via NASA.

Bottom line: NASA has released more than 12,000 Artemis pics to the public. See some of our favorites here and find out how to access them yourself!

Read more: Artemis 2 splashdown! Astronauts return safely from historic mission

The post NASA releases 12,000 Artemis pics! See our faves here first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/BVwKQTc

This is one of the thousands of images from the Artemis 2 mission that NASA recently released. In this image, you can see the moon, with some craters visible at top left, and the glow of the eclipsed sun shining behind. Over the weekend, NASA released 12,000 Artemis pics to the public. See our favorites below. Image via NASA.

NASA releases 12,000 Artemis pics!

NASA has released more than 12,000 images from the Artemis 2 mission on its website. They are a collection of views of Earth and the moon that the astronauts captured while aboard their spacecraft, Integrity. The website is here. Note that a high interest in the images has caused the website to go offline numerous times since NASA released the pictures.

To find images from the Artemis 2 mission, you’ll want to click on Search Photos. Then scroll down to the box that says “Search using NASA Photo IDs” and enter ART002-E (for the Artemis 2 mission). Then hit Run Query. Voilà!

At this point, the image data is mostly blank. A few of the downloads shared information on which astronaut – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen – took the image. But most did not. Eventually, the details on who took each photo with what equipment and what you’re seeing in the photo will come.

It’s not the smoothest process! But thankfully, beloved science communicator Hank Green has built a solution. He’s created a website that allows you to view the best Artemis 2 mission photos in chronological order. Take a look. And he’s currently running a public vote to find the best of the new 12,000 photos so he can add them to the site. You can take part here.

And now, relive the thrill of the mission with some of EarthSky’s favorite images below.

You deserve a daily dose of good news. For the latest in science and the night sky, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.

Some of our faves

Reid Wiseman took this image showing sunlight peeking out from behind the moon. You can even see some unevenness in the moon’s terrain on the limb (edge). Image via NASA.

Here’s a shot of the moon that Reid Wiseman took during their lunar flyby. Instead of a man in the moon, can you see craters that almost create an image of a bear’s face near the center of the image? Image via NASA.

This closeup of the moon’s cratered limb is from Victor Glover. Image via NASA.

Christina Koch captured this image of the moon (left) and distant Earth (right). Image via NASA.

Looking toward home

Here’s a view of the crescent Earth from the window of the Integrity spacecraft. Image via NASA.

This is the “dark side” of Earth, with the sun lighting up the limb (edge) on the right. Image via NASA.

Victor Glover took this image of Earth’s thin atmosphere lit from behind. Image via NASA.

Victor Glover captured this image of home. Image via NASA.

Seeing stars

The Artemis 2 astronauts also had a good view of the Milky Way galaxy. Image via NASA.

Here’s a view of the Milky Way with a time lapse that reveals star trails. Image via NASA.

Bottom line: NASA has released more than 12,000 Artemis pics to the public. See some of our favorites here and find out how to access them yourself!

Read more: Artemis 2 splashdown! Astronauts return safely from historic mission

The post NASA releases 12,000 Artemis pics! See our faves here first appeared on EarthSky.

from EarthSky https://ift.tt/BVwKQTc