Can We Bottle a Star? Breakthrough Fusion Device Could Hold the Key

scitechdaily.com/can-we-bottle…

#science #space #energy #renewableenergy #fusion

Can We Bottle a Star? Breakthrough Fusion Device Could Hold the Key

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory are harnessing the power of computers to enhance the performance of fusion devices known as stellarators.

^{Colin Collins (SciTechDaily)}

I look at a lot of space images, but this one made my eyes bug out like a cartoon character.

What you see here isn't a spiral galaxy, exactly. It's a spiral galaxy whose image was bent into a circle by the gravity of an elliptical galaxy visible at the center.

Warped space, right before your eyes!

esawebb.org/images/potm2503a/ #space #science #art #nasa #esa

1/3 An epic moonrise for an epic telescope! Kick off the week with this breathtaking video of the full #Moon rising behind our Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction in the Atacama Desert in #Chile.

youtube.com/watch?v=9pSxH0EkRN…

And check the thread below for some spectacular images!

📹 J. Beltrán/ESO

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophotography #space #science

NASA documentary where a NASA engineer and NASA photographer comment on a very high quality slow motion film of a space shuttle launch, taken in close-up from many different angles. They provide technical insights on each aspect of the launch, including how the shuttle itself works and how it was filmed.

The cameras were run at high speed in order to have slow motion detailed views of everything happening in the launch. This was mainly for engineering purposes to check whether the shuttle was working correctly, but as a side-effect it produced spectacular high quality imagery that forms the basis of this documentary.

The specific shuttle is Discovery, the mission is STS-124 (more info at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-124).

There are subtitles in English for this video, click CC to activate them.

This video is in the public domain, originally downloaded from:
images.nasa.gov/details/GRC-2023-CM-0248

Whoa: The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft got a spectacular view of Comet ATLAS (C/2024 G3) as it passed close to the Sun. Look at that enormous, splintered tail!

This comet won't be seen again for another 600,000 years.

esa.int/Science_Exploration/Sp… #space #science #art

#PPOD: As NASA's Juno spacecraft flew low over Jupiter’s cloud tops in March 2023, its JunoCam instrument captured this view of bands of high-altitude haze forming above cyclones in an area known as Jet N7. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Image processing by Björn Jónsson

#planetaryscience #science #space #scicomm

🚨 ESO analysis confirms that the INNA industrial megaproject would have a devastating and irreversible impact on the facilities at Paranal Observatory in #Chile.

➡️ Light #pollution would increase by at least 35% above ESO's Very Large Telescope, by a minimum of 5% above ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope and by at least 55% above the south site of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory

➡️ Air turbulence would also increase, degrading seeing conditions by up to 40%

➡️ Vibrations from the project could seriously impair the functioning of the ELT and the VLT Interferometer, which are both extremely sensitive to micro-seismic noise.

➡️ Dust during construction is also problematic as it settles on the telescope mirrors and obstructs their view.

Full story here: eso.org/public/news/eso2506/

More in the message below. 1/

#environment #astrodon #astronomy #space #science

New ESO analysis confirms severe damage from industrial complex planned near Paranal

An in-depth technical analysis by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) has evaluated the impact of the INNA megaproject on the facilities at the Paranal Observatory, Chile — and the results are alarming.

^www.eso.org

The lasers our Very Large Telescope (VLT) pierce the Milky Way… but what is that vertical glow just below? 🤔

That’s the zodiacal light: caused by dust grains in the Solar System, it's so faint that it’s only visible in the darkest skies, such as those of Chile’s Atacama Desert.

And the pristine night sky 🌌 in this region has always been intertwined with the culture and traditions of its indigenous people, discover how: eso.org/public/images/potw2511…

📷 F. Millour/ESO

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

Flying over the line between day and night in the International Space Station.

#space #science #nasa

Here it is: The first clear image of an eclipse of the Sun by the Earth, taken from the surface of the Moon.

This is what last night's lunar eclipse looked like from the Blue Ghost lander's perspective on the Moon. Amazing!

flickr.com/photos/fireflyspace… #space #science #art #tech

I loved working on this article:

The technology in your cell phone has a hidden connection to the stars. Modern computer chips are made using ultraviolet light from vaporized balls of tin--and those balls closely mirror the physics of supernova explosions!

spectrum.ieee.org/euv-light-so… #science #tech #space

Fascinating visualization of a black hole surrounded by an accretion disk, illustrating how light is warped by its intense gravitational fields.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

#space #science #nasa #alt4me

#Greenhouse gases reduce the #satellite carrying #capacity of low #Earth #orbit

Source: nature.com/articles/s41893-025…

#climate #space #technology #news #problem

Greenhouse gases reduce the satellite carrying capacity of low Earth orbit - Nature Sustainability

Satellites have become integral to our everyday life, but space debris threatens the sustainability of low Earth orbital space.

^Nature

Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson looking at Earth from the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA Johnson

#space #nasa #tech #science

You don't know Jennifer Herman's name, but you should. She became the lead power subsystem engineer for the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. Her tireless work for months on end is, more than anything else, the reason why our twin girls survived the deadly 2007 Martian dust storms.

And now she's the lead power subsystem engineer for Voyager. In the same quiet, dedicated way, she's the one making the tough calls that'll help keep *them* alive for years to come.

gizmodo.com/nasa-shuts-off-voy… #space

NASA Shuts Off Voyager Science Instrument, More Power Cuts Ahead to Keep Both Probes Going

The twin probes should operate for about a year before the team is forced to shut off yet more instruments.

^{Passant Rabie (Gizmodo)}

"These two #Starship explosions were a step backward in SpaceX’s development process, as the flights could not even repeat the successes of earlier test flights, and they perhaps show that the company’s engineers are not as infallible as fans of the company sometimes like to think."

nytimes.com/2025/03/08/science…

#Space #SpaceX #SpaceEnvironment

Starship Explosions Show SpaceX No Longer Defying Gravity

Consecutive losses of the Starship rocket suggest that the company’s engineers are not as infallible as its fans may think.

^{Kenneth Chang (The New York Times)}

"A private lunar lander is no longer working after landing sideways in a crater near the moon’s south pole and its mission is over, officials said Friday. The news came less than 24 hours after the botched landing attempt by Texas-based Intuitive Machines. ... 'The mission has concluded and teams are continuing to assess the data collected throughout the mission,' the company said in a statement."

apnews.com/article/moon-landin…

#Space #Moon #SpaceEnvironment #IntuitiveMachines #Athena

Private lunar lander is declared dead after landing sideways in a crater near the moon's south pole

A private lunar lander is no longer working after landing sideways in a crater near the moon's south pole. Intuitive Machines announced the news Friday, less than 24 hours after the botched landing attempt.

^{Marcia Dunn (AP News)}

⭐ Did you know we're essentially all #STARS? That is to say, we’re actually the children of stars!

How does it feel to have stars for parents? 😋

bigthink.com/the-past/how-we-d…
(You can skip to the last paragraph :)

#StarStuff #CarlSagan #CosmicConnection #History #Universe #Humanity #People #Parents #Children #Space #atoms #particles #science #cosmic #stardust #Galaxy #Star

How humanity discovered we’re all made of “star stuff”

Carl Sagan was far from the first to declare we are the children of ancient stars.

^{Thomas Moynihan (Big Think)}

The same side of the Moon always faces Earth, but not in exactly the same way. Due to its tilted axis and elliptical orbit, we see about 59% of its surface over time. This simulation compresses a year into 60 seconds, making the Moon's apparent wobble, called libration, clearly visible.

Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

#space #science #astronomy

Where did the moon come from? Did it fly by the earth and get captured by its gravity? Did it form at the same time as the earth from the same stuff? Or did something else happen?

The best theory right now is that the creation of the moon looked like this...

For optimistic science and tech stories, follow for more of our show Huge If True…

#animation #NASA #space #moon #physics