Wrapping up the “2025” (vol. 6) papers of Planetary Science Journal: Wright, E. L. Masiero, J. Mainzer, A. NEOWISE Data and Thermophysical Modeling of 98943 Torifune (2001 CC21) A 305 ae21dfCombi, M. R. Mäkinen, T. Bertaux, J-L. et al. Activity… Read More »Note, Paper: Space Data Paper Fate
Want a quick explainer of Interstellar Objects (‘Oumuamua, Borisov, and ATLAS)? Look no further: www.snexplores.org/article/interstellar-objects-stars-comicInterstellar objects: Visitors from other stars! Something fast, to the point, and most importantly verifiable. Show this to family, friends, etc. that have questions about the… Read More »Color Interstellar Object Comic
The Vera Rubin Observatory goes live tonight (in a sense). Shakedown operations with the Vera Rubin ‘scope have been going on for months now, finding the last issues and optimizing the procedures for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.… Read More »Vera Rubin Update (Feb 2026)
Normally, I don’t expect much from Astronomy Journal. February (vol. 171 #2) was a surprise: Fan, X. Zhang, X. Xu, X. et al. Photometric Observations and Analysis of Active Asteroid (62412) 2000 SY178 Art 68 ae2678Cordova Quijano, S. A. Ye,… Read More »Note, Paper: Crack and Track 4-Pack
Just up now from Space Science Reviews (vol. 222): Hegarty, K.P. Kubota, S. Cully, M. et al. The IMAP Observatory Overview Art 16 s11214-026-01272-z No, this isn’t redundant to a previous post. That article was about the IMAP program (including the science… Read More »Space Science Reviews IMAP (the probe)
Going on this moment: the Macao International Forum on Space and Planetary Sciences 2026: ifmacao.must.edu.mo In the program (https://ifmacao.must.edu.mo/program-detail): Xiaodong WANG, Solar Wind, Cometary Ions and Energetic Neutral Atoms (SCIENA) Sensor for the ESA Comet Interceptor Mission Long XIAO, The… Read More »Macau Forum on Space and Planetary Sciences
Much like the last community survey: NASA Infrared Telescope Facility Strategic Planning: Seeking Community Input The IRTF is, by some metrics, the top telescope for doing asteroid follow-up. It is a major asset within our community. Less often, it is… Read More »IRTF 2026 User Survey
Good MNRAS (Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society) for January 2026: Volume 545, #1Trigo-Rodríguez, J. M. Grèbol-Tomàs, P. Ibáñez-Insa, J. et al. Assessing the metal and rare earth element mining potential of undifferentiated asteroids through the study of carbonaceous… Read More »Note, Paper: Flying-Mass MNRAS
The purpose of the Roman Space Telescope- if you could boil it down to one- would be cosmology, not small-body science. Yet a wide field of view- at high sensitivity and small pixels- will inherently catch asteroids/comets, without even trying.… Read More »Roman Space Telescope Call(s)
The December 2025 Astronomy & Astrophysics (vol. 704) still says “in progress”, but January is already being trickled out. So I’m going to call it for December, and what a month: Peña-Asensio, E. Seligman, D. Z. The interstellar flux gap:… Read More »Note, Paper: Year-End Bender (Pending?)