Courtesy of Planetary Science Newsletter– Overview papers on HWO– the facility-flagship telescope after, and bigger than, the James Webb telescope- are out now, and accepting comments from the science community. Note that HWO will view in the optical and ultraviolet,… Read More »HWO Early White Papers
Here’s something different. In American Mineralogist (vol. 110): Tomioka, N. Kurosawa, K. Miyake, A. et al. Progressive change in dislocation microstructures in shocked calcite with pressure: Characterization of micrometeoroid bombardment on asteroid Ryugu p. 945 am-2024-9540 Experimental astronomy again. As… Read More »Note, Paper: To Shoot Ryugu
A rich Icarus issue for 1 July (vol. 434): Charnoz, S. Limare, A. De Araujo Pereira, E. et al. Degasing of Phobos in a giant impact scenario: Implications for the MMX sample return mission Article 116462 .2025.116462 Sorli, K. C.… Read More »Note, Paper: Movin’ an’ Shakin’
Previously (Winter’s SBAG), I briefly posted about D. Adamo’s research into asteroid way-stations on the path to Mars. Alongside, Lopez and Conte corroborated Adamo’s general idea with their own paper. Adamo’s paper has been published, by the AIAA’s Journal of… Read More »Note, Paper: Layover-Station Paper
On the flip side… as part of the “American Women” quarters series, the U.S. Mint has issued a quarter-dollar coin celebrating the life and work of the codiscoverer of dark matter in galaxies, Vera Rubin. buff.ly/lyog709 https://www.usmint.gov/american-women-quarters-2025-rolls-and-bags-dr-vera-rubin-MASTER_AWQVR.html A bit more… Read More »Quarter? More Like Leader
As part of the Vera Rubin survey project, tests and metrics should be used to hone the plan. Those metrics are now being used on a simulation of the sky survey. Try the homepage, https://sorcha.space . For papers describing these… Read More »Rubin Sim Given
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) will hold its biannual (Summer) meeting in Anchorage, Alaska this week. Even though this “general” meeting includes the sub-meetings of the Laboratory Astrophysics Division and Solar Physics Division, there’s still relevant content here for the… Read More »Summer AAS Meeting 2025 (Anchorage)
Beresheet crashed.Vikram crashed.Hakuto-R crashed.Luna-25 crashed.Peregrine crashed.Resilience crashed. Hayabusa bounced. It then continued its mission, and… returned to Earth. Almost 20 years ago. The gravity of Earth’s natural satellite is one-sixth Earth’s gravity… and that of Ceres, the largest asteroid, is… Read More »“Low Gravity” Indeed
In Earth and Planetary Science Letters for 15 June (volume 660): Cassata, W. S. A refined isotopic composition of cometary xenon and implications for the accretion of comets and carbonaceous chondrites on Earth Art 119307 .2025 119307 Comets did not fill… Read More »Note, Paper: Comet Not Wet
The White House 2026 budget request that covers NASA has been released… and it’s as bad as other White House actions on science would indicate. There hasn’t been carnage to this level since the ’80s abandonment of planetary exploration. The… Read More »FY2026 NASA Budget Request- Regress