Let’s check the New Astronomy issue for October (vol. 119). Yes, they’re up to October already: Wang, S. Yang, Y. Yuan, H. et al. CCD Photometric studies of two Primitive C-type main-belt asteroids: (51) Nemausa and (52) Europa 102391 .2025.102391Vaduvescu,… Read More »Note, Paper: See NEAs Overseas
Just over a week until the Vera Rubin Observatory’s First Look Event, June 23 (online presentation at 11:00 am Eastern Time). Observatory testing and calibration has peaked, and is now wrapping up loose ends, since… the remaining tasks are becoming… Read More »Vera Rubin Update (Mid-Jun 2025)
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
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)
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
The June issue of Astronomical Journal (vol. 169 #6) brings us: B. T. Bolin, C. Fremling, M. Belyakov, et al. Keck and Gemini Characterization of Hayabusa2# Rendezvous Target 1998 KY26 303 adccbe(The DES Collaboration) Photometry of Outer Solar System Objects… Read More »Note, Paper: Eyes on Target
Commissioning of the Vera Rubin Observatory (Simonyi Telescope, LSSTCam, etc.) continues apace. Aside from glitches with a few CCDs in the detector array, and the Camera cooling system, things are looking good. How good? An outside review panel has surveyed… Read More »Vera Rubin Update: First Look Event
Space Science Reviews comes through again. Now up (vol. 221) is a detailed (!) paper on the two optical imaging instruments (“cameras”) of the Psyche mission: Bell, J.F., Ravine, M.A., Caplinger, M.A. et al. The Psyche Multispectral Imager Investigation: Characterizing… Read More »Note, Paper: Psyche’s Eyes Fly
Time for another survey for IRTF (and Keck Observatory) participants. The NASA IRTF (InfraRed Telescope Facility) is the leading source for asteroid follow-up observations, determining spectra and mineralogies for more small bodies than any other. Staff are interested in: -budgets-observing… Read More »IRTF/Keck User Survey