Congratulations to the Vera Rubin Observatory staff, all around, for being named a runner-up for Science magazine’s Breakthrough of the Year, after the boom in renewable energy (i. e., Swanson’s Law): vol. 390 #6779, 18 DecScience’s 2025 Breakthrough of the… Read More »Vera Rubin Up Next For Uprate
Interesting presser from the University of Canterbury, a partner institution with the Vera Rubin Observatory: https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news-and-events/news/2025/kiwi-team-lead–out-of-this-world–study-of-new-comet17 Dec 2025 Kiwi team lead ‘out of this world’ study of new comet A little human interest and behind-the-scenes for our field. Read about… Read More »ATLAS Staff And Handling
Yes, I know YouTube is a full-color sewer of mediocrity. Every so often, a reputable source puts up a reputable short. Here’s one that’s reputable, and not-so-short: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgrD1bd_In4Dec 17, 2025 Deep Space Dialogues (Stefanie Milam) Planets, Asteroids, and Interstellar Interlopers, OH… Read More »JW Pub (Dubbed): 3I, YR4, etc.
Now posted by the European Southern Observatory (ESO): https://www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann25011/16 Dec 2025, New SOXS instrument ready to observe fleeting cosmic events The SOXS instrument– Son of X-Shooter- has been installed on the La Silla telescope in Chile, and has taken test… Read More »ESO SOXS Now On
Hot on the heels of the last apparent comet discovery: http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/iau/cbet/005600/CBET005648.txt We have multiple reports of an object with a coma and/or tail- therefore indicating activity, therefore indicating a comet. Except this “comet” orbits, to the precision of our measurements… Read More »*NEW* : Main-Belt Comet P/2025 W4 (Pan-STARRS)
The December issue of Nature Astronomy is out (vol. 9), and: Rehemtulla, N. Coughlin, M. W. Miller, A. A. et al. The automation of optical transient discovery and classification in Rubin-era time-domain astronomy p 1764 s41550-025-02720-6 There is simply no… Read More »Vera Rubin Upload
Quick blurb in Astronomers’ Telegram: www.astronomerstelegram.org/?read=17538Jehin, E. Hmiddouch, S. Aravind, K. et al. TRAPPIST bright comets production rates: 3I/ATLAS, 24P/Schaumasse, C/2025 T1 (ATLAS), C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) and C/2025 R2 (SWAN)on 10 Dec 2025: 22:50 UT Besides covering multiple comets, coverage of interstellar… Read More »ATLAS Slight-Aperture Brightnesses
The International Journal of Impact Engineering covers mostly human-level, terrestrial impacts, of course. But December (vol. 206) is one of the few astronomical-containing issues: Ma, J. Lv, H. He, Q. et al. Analysis of the contact compression stage and ejecta motion in… Read More »Note, Paper: More Impact Mastery
Nothing in MNRAS (Monthly Notices Royal Astr. Society) for December 2025 regarding small Solar System bodies. No asteroids, near-Earth or otherwise, no comets, transition objects, etc. Volume 544, Issue 2– Volume 544, Issue 3– Volume 544, Issue 4–
Time for the Autumn meeting of the AGU (American Geophysical Union). The big meet is in New Orleans, Dec. 15-19: https://www.agu.org/annual-meeting As you might expect from the name “Geophysical”, it mostly deals with the Earth. It deals with the Earth… Read More »2025-Fall AGU Meeting