Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon: New View from Austria

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon: New View from Austria

Astrophotographer Michael Jaeger: "Comet Lemmon has appeared in the evening sky and continues to put on a show here, too. With tail lengths >10°, it will be very attractive to photograph. Its ion tail continues to develop, even though it is now traveling in a region where the solar wind causes little disturbance. It displays many tail rays that change rapidly. That's why it's important to keep an eye on it right now."

Image Credit: Michael Jaeger

Image Details: Image taken at 17.45 UT with 11" RASA and QHY 600 LRGB only 8/1/1/1 mi
Capture Location: Astronomical Centre Martinsberg (AZM), Austria

Image Date: Oct. 13, 2025 

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025A6Lemmon #Coma #CometaryTails #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #MichaelJaeger #Astrophotographers #Martinsberg #Austria #Europe #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starship Splashdown in Indian Ocean | 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship Splashdown in Indian Ocean | 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

Starship lifted off at 6:23 p.m. Central Time (CT) October 13, 2025, on its eleventh flight test. 

Watch the full flight here:

https://t.co/YmvmGZTV8o

"This was the final flight of the second-generation Starship and first generation Super Heavy booster, as well as the final launch from the current configuration of Pad 1. Every major objective of the flight test was achieved, providing valuable data as we prepare the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy."

"Starship re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and was able to gather extensive data on the performance of its heatshield as it was intentionally stressed to test the limits of the vehicle’s capabilities. In the final minutes of flight, Starship performed a dynamic banking maneuver to mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly. Starship then guided itself using its four flaps to the pre-planned splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean, successfully executing a landing flip, landing burn, and soft splashdown."

"Focus now turns to the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy with multiple vehicles currently in active build and preparing for tests. This next iteration will be used for the first Starship orbital flights, operational payload missions, propellant transfer, and more as we iterate to a fully and rapidly reusable vehicle with service to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond."

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is currently the "world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed", capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Duration: 1 minute, 4 seconds

Date: Oct. 13, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship11 #StarshipTestFlight11 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Liftoff: SpaceX Starship 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

Liftoff: SpaceX Starship 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

Starship lifted off at 6:23 p.m. Central Time (CT) October 13, 2025, on its eleventh flight test. 

Watch the full flight here:

https://t.co/YmvmGZTV8o

This was the final flight of the second-generation Starship and first generation Super Heavy booster, as well as the final launch from the current configuration of Pad 1. Every major objective of the flight test was achieved, providing valuable data as we prepare the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy.

The flight test began with Super Heavy igniting all 33 Raptor engines and ascending over the Gulf. The successful first-stage ascent was followed by a hot-staging maneuver, with Starship’s upper stage igniting its six Raptor engines to continue its flight to space.

Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster completed its boostback burn to put it on a course to a pre-planned splashdown zone off the coast of Texas using 12 of the 13 planned engines. Under the same angle of attack tested on the previous flight, the booster descended until successfully igniting all 13 planned engines (including one that did not relight during the boostback burn) for the high-thrust portion of the landing burn. The booster successfully executed a unique landing burn planned for use on the next generation booster. Super Heavy hovered above the water before shutting down its engines and splashing down.

After completing a full-duration ascent burn, Starship achieved its planned velocity and trajectory. During flight, Starship successfully deployed eight Starlink simulators and executed the third in-space relight of a Raptor engine, demonstrating a critical capability for future deorbit burns.

Starship re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and was able to gather extensive data on the performance of its heatshield as it was intentionally stressed to test the limits of the vehicle’s capabilities. In the final minutes of flight, Starship performed a dynamic banking maneuver to mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly. Starship then guided itself using its four flaps to the pre-planned splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean, successfully executing a landing flip, landing burn, and soft splashdown.

Focus now turns to the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy with multiple vehicles currently in active build and preparing for tests. This next iteration will be used for the first Starship orbital flights, operational payload missions, propellant transfer, and more as we iterate to a fully and rapidly reusable vehicle with service to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is currently the "world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed", capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Image Date: Oct. 13, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship11 #StarshipTestFlight11 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Liftoff: China Shiyan-31 Optical Imaging Test Satellite | Long March 2D Rocket

Liftoff: China Shiyan-31 Optical Imaging Test Satellite | Long March 2D Rocket

Shiyan-31 Mission Patch: A spherical framework of rings representing celestial longitude and latitude with markings resembling ancient Chinese astronomical or zodiac markers. It also features five stars (stars often used to represent satellites).

 

A Long March-2D carrier rocket successfully launched the Shiyan-31 test satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. This satellite will be mainly used to verify new optical imaging technologies, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). This launch marked the 599th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series. 

The Shiyan-31 satellite was developed by CASC’s Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). The Long March 2D launch exceptionally used a wider 4.0-meter-diameter fairing. The rocket can deliver 1,300 kilograms of payload to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) was founded in 1958. It was the first of China's four spaceports. The launch center has been the focus of many of China's historic space ventures, including the country's first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970 and their first crewed space mission, Shenzhou V, on October 15, 2003.

Image Credit: CASC/Vony7

Text Credits: Xinhua/SpaceNews[dot]com
Release Date: Oct. 14, 2025

#NASA #CNSA #Space #Science #SpaceTechnologies #Planets #Earth #China #中国 #Satellites #Shiyan31 #OpticalTechnologies #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #LongMarchRockets #LongMarch2D #JSLC #CASC #SAST #STEM #Education

China Long March 2D Rocket Launches Shiyan-31 Optical Imaging Test Satellite

China Long March 2D Rocket Launches Shiyan-31 Optical Imaging Test Satellite

  

A Long March-2D carrier rocket successfully launched the Shiyan-31 test satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. This satellite will be mainly used to verify new optical imaging technologies, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). This launch marked the 599th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series. 

The Shiyan-31 satellite was developed by CASC’s Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). The Long March 2D launch exceptionally used a wider 4.0-meter-diameter fairing. The rocket can deliver 1,300 kilograms of payload to a 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.

The Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC) was founded in 1958. It was the first of China's four spaceports. The launch center has been the focus of many of China's historic space ventures, including the country's first satellite Dong Fang Hong I in 1970 and their first crewed space mission, Shenzhou V, on October 15, 2003.

Video Credit: CASC

Text Credit: Xinhua
Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 14, 2025

#NASA #CNSA #Space #Science #SpaceTechnologies #Planets #Earth #China #中国 #Satellites #Shiyan31 #OpticalTechnologies #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #LongMarchRockets #LongMarch2D #JSLC #CASC #SAST #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Hickson Compact Group 40: A Flight Through Interacting Galaxies

Hickson Compact Group 40: A Flight Through Interacting Galaxies | Hubble

This scientific visualization begins by illustrating the location of the galaxy grouping known as Hickson Compact Group 40 in the constellation Hydra. The camera zooms into a lonely patch of sky inhabited by the close-knit group’s five galaxies, including three spiral galaxies, an elliptical galaxy and a lenticular galaxy. Viewers are then treated to a 3D fly-through of this eclectic bunch and observe how they are situated in relation to each other.

 Caught in a leisurely gravitational dance, the whole group is so crowded that it could fit within a region of space that is less than twice the diameter of our Milky Way's stellar disk.

Alhough such cozy galaxy groupings can be found in the heart of huge galaxy clusters, these galaxies are notably isolated in their own small patch of the universe, in the direction of the constellation Hydra.

One possible explanation is that there is a lot of dark matter (an unknown and invisible form of matter) associated with these galaxies. If they come close together, then the dark matter can form a big cloud within which the galaxies are orbiting. As the galaxies plow through the dark matter they feel a resistive force due to its gravitational effects. This slows their motion and makes the galaxies lose energy, so they fall together. Therefore, this snapshot catches the galaxies at a very special moment in their lifetimes. In about 1 billion years they will eventually collide and merge to form a giant elliptical galaxy.

Astronomers have studied this compact galaxy group not only in visible light, but also in radio, infrared, and X-ray wavelengths. Almost all of them have a compact radio source in their cores, which could be evidence for the presence of supermassive black holes. X-ray observations show that the galaxies have been gravitationally interacting due to the presence of a lot of hot gas among the galaxies. Infrared observations reveal clues to the rate of new star formation.

Though over 100 such compact galaxy groups have been cataloged in sky surveys going back several decades, Hickson Compact Group 40 is one of the most densely packed. Observations suggest that such tight groups may have been more abundant in the early universe and provided fuel for powering black holes, known as quasars, whose light from superheated infalling material blazed across space. Studying the details of galaxies in nearby groups like this help astronomers sort out when and where galaxies assembled themselves, and what they are assembled from.

"I remember seeing this on a sky survey and saying, 'wow look at that!'" said Paul Hickson of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. "All that I was using at the time was a big plastic ruler and a magnifying glass while looking over sky survey prints." He re-discovered the group by browsing through a collection of peculiar galaxies first published by Halton Arp in 1966.

Hubble was deployed into orbit around Earth by NASA astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery, on April 25, 1990. The telescope has taken 1.5 million observations of approximately 50,000 celestial targets to date. This treasure trove of knowledge about the universe is stored for public access in the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes, at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

Hubble's unique capabilities in observing visible and ultraviolet light are a critical scientific complement to the infrared-light observations of the recently launched Webb Space Telescope, which will begin science observations this summer.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.

Video Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Visualization: NASA, ESA, STScI, Joseph DePasquale, Alyssa Pagan
Acknowledgement: Akira Fujii, DSS, David Malin
Duration: 1 minute, 28 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Hubble #Galaxies #HicksonCompactGroup40 #EllipticalGalaxies #SpiralGalaxies #LenticularGalaxies #InteractingGalaxies #Hydra #Constellations #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #ESA #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Visualization #HD #Video

DG Tau: Stellar Genesis | NASA Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert]

DG Tau: Stellar Genesis | NASA Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert]

DG Tauri B, near the T Tauri star DG Tauri, is a young stellar object located 450 light-years (140 parsecs) from Earth, within the Taurus constellation. Its most notable characteristics are its bipolar jets of molecular gas and dust emanating from either side of the object. Red-shifted carbon monoxide (CO) emissions extend out 6,000 astronomical units (AU) to the northwest of the object from the undetermined source, and are symmetrically distributed about the jet, while blue-shifted CO emissions are confined to a region with a roughly 500 AU radius.

Image Processor Judy Schmidt: "Star formation is very interesting to me because I think they are incredibly beautiful. Something about witnessing a moment of stellar genesis . . . it makes me feel calm. Sometimes I sit around and try to imagine the dust coalescing from all angles to form a hot disk that eventually ignites the stellar crucible while these fantastic jets blow off the poles . . . it's all said and done in a cosmic instant."

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%. NASA's total budget will become the lowest since 1961, after accounting for inflation.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe budget cuts at NASA:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (PDF): https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, MSFC, CXC
Image Processing: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: Jan. 5, 2018

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #DGTau #DGTauriB #TTauriStars #Taurus #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #CXC #XrayAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #MSFC #JudySchmidt #CitizenScience #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Booster Close-up | 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship Super Heavy Booster Close-up | 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

Starship lifted off at 6:23 p.m. Central Time (CT) October 13, 2025, on its eleventh flight test. 

Watch the full flight here:

https://t.co/YmvmGZTV8o

This was the final flight of the second-generation Starship and first generation Super Heavy booster, as well as the final launch from the current configuration of Pad 1. Every major objective of the flight test was achieved, providing valuable data as we prepare the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy.

The flight test began with Super Heavy igniting all 33 Raptor engines and ascending over the Gulf. The successful first-stage ascent was followed by a hot-staging maneuver, with Starship’s upper stage igniting its six Raptor engines to continue its flight to space.

Following stage separation, the Super Heavy booster completed its boostback burn to put it on a course to a pre-planned splashdown zone off the coast of Texas using 12 of the 13 planned engines. Under the same angle of attack tested on the previous flight, the booster descended until successfully igniting all 13 planned engines (including one that did not relight during the boostback burn) for the high-thrust portion of the landing burn. The booster successfully executed a unique landing burn planned for use on the next generation booster. Super Heavy hovered above the water before shutting down its engines and splashing down.

After completing a full-duration ascent burn, Starship achieved its planned velocity and trajectory. During flight, Starship successfully deployed eight Starlink simulators and executed the third in-space relight of a Raptor engine, demonstrating a critical capability for future deorbit burns.

Starship re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere and was able to gather extensive data on the performance of its heatshield as it was intentionally stressed to test the limits of the vehicle’s capabilities. In the final minutes of flight, Starship performed a dynamic banking maneuver to mimic the trajectory that future missions returning to Starbase will fly. Starship then guided itself using its four flaps to the pre-planned splashdown zone in the Indian Ocean, successfully executing a landing flip, landing burn, and soft splashdown.

Focus now turns to the next generation of Starship and Super Heavy with multiple vehicles currently in active build and preparing for tests. This next iteration will be used for the first Starship orbital flights, operational payload missions, propellant transfer, and more as we iterate to a fully and rapidly reusable vehicle with service to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is currently the "world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed", capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 15 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship11 #StarshipTestFlight11 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship Splashdown Confirmed! | 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship Splashdown Confirmed! | 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

Starship lifted off at 6:23 p.m. Central Time (CT) on October 13, 2025. Watch the full flight here:

https://t.co/YmvmGZTV8o

This flight is building on the successful demonstrations from Starship’s tenth flight test with flight experiments gathering data for the next generation Super Heavy booster, stress-testing Starship’s heatshield, and demonstrating maneuvers that will mimic the upper stage’s final approach for a future return to launch site.

The booster on this flight test previously flew on Flight 8 and launched with 24 flight-proven Raptor engines. 

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is currently the "world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed", capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 1 minute, 12 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship11 #StarshipTestFlight11 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship Liftoff: 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship Liftoff: 11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

Starship lifted off at 6:15 p.m. Central Time (CT) as scheduled. Watch the full flight here: 

https://t.co/YmvmGZTV8o

This flight is building on the successful demonstrations from Starship’s tenth flight test with flight experiments gathering data for the next generation Super Heavy booster, stress-testing Starship’s heatshield, and demonstrating maneuvers that will mimic the upper stage’s final approach for a future return to launch site.

The booster on this flight test previously flew on Flight 8 and launched with 24 flight-proven Raptor engines. 

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is currently the "world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed", capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 43 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship11 #StarshipTestFlight11 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship & Super Heavy on Launchpad: Pre-11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship & Super Heavy on Launchpad: Pre-11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

Starship and Super Heavy on the pad for the eleventh flight test. The launch window for today’s Starship flight test is between 6:15 p.m. CT - 7:30 p.m. CT. Live coverage starts ~30 minutes before launch. Watch here: https://t.co/YmvmGZTV8o

The upcoming flight will build on the successful demonstrations from Starship’s tenth flight test with flight experiments gathering data for the next generation Super Heavy booster, stress-testing Starship’s heatshield, and demonstrating maneuvers that will mimic the upper stage’s final approach for a future return to launch site.

The booster on this flight test previously flew on Flight 8 and will launch with 24 flight-proven Raptor engines. Its primary test objective will be demonstrating a unique landing burn engine configuration planned to be used on the next generation Super Heavy. It will attempt this while on a trajectory to an offshore landing point in the Gulf of America and will not return to the launch site for catch.

Super Heavy will ignite 13 engines at the start of the landing burn and then transition to a new configuration with five engines running for the divert phase. Previously done with three engines, the planned baseline for V3 Super Heavy will use five engines during the section of the burn responsible for fine-tuning the booster’s path, adding additional redundancy for spontaneous engine shutdowns. The booster will then transition to its three center engines for the end of the landing burn, entering a full hover while still above the ocean surface, followed by shutdown and dropping into the Gulf of America. The primary goal on the flight test is to measure the real-world vehicle dynamics as engines shut down while transitioning between the different phases.

The Starship upper stage will target multiple in-space objectives, including the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, similar in size to next-generation Starlink satellites. The Starlink simulators will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship and are expected to demise upon entry. A relight of a single Raptor engine while in space is also planned.

The flight test includes several experiments and operational changes focused on enabling Starship’s upper stage to return to the launch site on future flights. For reentry, tiles have been removed from Starship to intentionally stress-test vulnerable areas across the vehicle. Several of the missing tiles are in areas where tiles are bonded to the vehicle and do not have a backup ablative layer. To mimic the path a ship will take on future flights returning to Starbase, the final phase of Starship’s trajectory on Flight 11 includes a dynamic banking maneuver and will test subsonic guidance algorithms prior to a landing burn and splashdown in the Indian Ocean."

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is currently the "world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed", capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:

Height: 123m/403ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship11 #StarshipTestFlight11 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

C/2025 A6 (Lemmon): View from Spain

C/2025 A6 (Lemmon): View from Spain

Astrophotographer Ignacio Fernández: "C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) captured with my usual and modest astromodified a7III at 600mm. By pure chance, I was able to try the Sony 200-600mm a couple of nights ago. My intention was to make a few tests, to shoot Andromeda, Orion, and the Pleiades just to see how they look at 600mm, and I thought of giving the comet a try. I was shocked when I saw it on the camera, and after a while of trial and error, I was able to stack 23 shots—not much more than one hour of integration. For me, it’s the first time I’ve shot and finished a photo at this focal length, and this comet was a great experience to start with."

Comet Lemmon is brightening and moving into morning northern skies. Besides Comet SWAN25B and Comet ATLAS, Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is now the third comet currently visible with binoculars and on long camera exposures. Comet Lemmon was discovered early this year and is still headed into the inner Solar System. The comet will round the Sun on November 8, but first it will pass its nearest to the Earth—at about half the Earth-Sun distance—on October 21. 

Although the brightnesses of comets are notoriously hard to predict, optimistic estimates have Comet Lemmon then becoming visible to the unaided eye. The comet should be best seen in predawn skies until mid-October, when it also becomes visible in evening skies.

Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Spanning the majority of the Iberian Peninsula, its territory also includes the Canary Islands, in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands, in the Western Mediterranean Sea, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, in mainland Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean.

Image Credit: Ignacio Fernández

Image Details: EXIF Sony a7 III Astro mod Sony 200-600mm f5.6/6.3 G ZWO AM5N 23 shots, 220s, ISO 1.600, f/6.3
Capture Location: Granada, Spain
Ignacio's website: https://www.instagram.com/igneis.nightscapes/
Image Date: Oct. 3, 2025

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3D Model of Star Distribution in Elliptical Galaxy Messier 87 | Hubble

3D Model of Star Distribution in Elliptical Galaxy Messier 87 | Hubble

This sequence begins with a Hubble Space Telescope photo of the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87). A grid is overlayed to trace out its three-dimensional shape. This information was gleaned from meticulous observations made with the Hubble and Keck telescopes. Astronomers traced motion of stars around the center of M87, like bees around a hive, in order to create a three-dimensional view of how stars are distributed within the galaxy.

Messier 87 (also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, generally abbreviated to M87) is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo that contains several trillion stars. One of the largest and most massive galaxies in the local universe, it also has a large population of globular star clusters—about 15,000 compared with the 150–200 orbiting the Milky Way—and a jet of energetic plasma that originates at the core and extends at least 1,500 parsecs (4,900 light-years), traveling at a relativistic speed. Moreover, it is one of the brightest radio sources in the sky and a popular target for amateur and professional astronomers.

The French astronomer Charles Messier discovered M87 in 1781.

Video Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Visualization: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted, Frank Summers (STScI)
Science: Chung-Pei Ma (UC Berkeley)

Text Credit: STScI/Wikipedia
Duration: 36 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 12, 2025

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Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud: Closest Star-forming Region to Earth | Hubble

Chamaeleon I Dark Cloud: Closest Star-forming Region to Earth | Hubble

The ominous Chamaeleon I dark cloud, the nearest star-forming region to Earth, is captured in this Hubble Space Telescope image. Chamaeleon I is one portion of the larger Chamaeleon Complex and is home to three reflection nebulae that are brightly illuminated by nearby newly formed stars. The stellar population is between 200–300 and the average star age is around 2 million years.

Chamaeleon I is located about 520 light years from Earth.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Image Processing: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: Jan. 20, 2017

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A Well-studied Spiral Galaxy: NGC 7496 in Grus | Hubble Space Telescope

A Well-studied Spiral Galaxy: NGC 7496 in Grus | Hubble Space Telescope

The celestial object that is displayed in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture is NGC 7496, a galaxy located over 24 million light-years away in the constellation Grus (The Crane). NGC 7496 is a dusty spiral galaxy with a bar of stars stretching across its center. Adding to its intrigue is an active galactic nucleus: a supermassive black hole that feasts on gas at the very heart of the galaxy.

Astronomers have observed NGC 7496 at wavelengths from radio to ultraviolet in order to study the galaxy’s active galactic nucleus, dust clouds, and star formation. Hubble first observed this galaxy as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program. With its unique ultraviolet capabilities and fine resolution, Hubble’s view reveals young star clusters bursting with high-energy radiation. Hubble’s observations of NGC 7496 help to reveal the ages and masses of these young stars, as well as the extent to which their starlight is blocked by dust.

This Hubble image incorporates new data that highlight the galaxy’s star clusters that are surrounded by glowing red clouds of hydrogen gas. Astronomers collected these data in order to study nebulae like those that massive stars leave behind when they explode as supernovae and that become the source of newborn stars.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy featuring a bright, glowing core that is crossed by a horizontal bar of yellowish light. Spiral arms emerge from each end of this bar and wrap around it, creating a disc that is stretched out to the right. Mostly along the arms are areas glowing in pink where stars are forming in nebulae. Webs of dark reddish dust also follow the arms. A star in our galaxy shines prominently, off to the right.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Chandar, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST team
Release Date: Oct. 13, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #NGC7496 #Grus #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

New Earth Orbital Views | Shenzhou-20 Crew Mission | China Space Station

New Earth Orbital Views | Shenzhou-20 Crew Mission | China Space Station

Earth is a "unique blue note in the universe's symphony." The 33-foot-long (10 meter) robotic arm on the Tianhe module of China's Tiangong Space Station is visible among new planet Earth views.

The Shenzhou-20 astronauts entered the space station on April 25, 2025, for a mission expected to last around 6 months.

Shenzhou-20 Crew

Chen Dong (陈冬) - Commander - Third spaceflight

Chen Zhong Rui (陈中瑞) - Operator - First spaceflight

Wang Jie (王杰) - Flight Engineer - First spaceflight

Video Credit: China Manned Space Agency (CMSA)
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: Oct. 11, 2025

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