Congratulations to author John Scalzi, newly commemorated with his own asteroid. The small Solar System body (52692) Johnscalzi, formerly under the temporary designation 1998 FO8, was given its permanent name by the IAU earlier this week. Celebrated author John Scalzi… Read More »Written Into The Sky
The call is out for the 2026 Schweickart Prize. The Prize awards the best new student idea in planetary defense, and related asteroid studies. CALL FOR STUDENT PROPOSALS: 2026 SCHWEICKART PRIZEhttps://www.schweickartprize.org/ Deadline: February 4, 2026. Information webinars with live Q&A… Read More »Call for 2026 Schweickart Prize
‘Breaking’: the Vera Rubin Observatory has announced its results on transient detection S251112cm. First detected Nov. 12 by humanity’s gravitational-wave array(s), Vera Rubin had then pursued any optical counterpart at that general location: gcn.nasa.gov/circulars/43257 Rubin imagery begins at Nov. 14.… Read More »Vera Rubin Update (late-Dec ‘25)
Condolences to family, friends, and coworkers of Yannick Mellier, top scientist for the Euclid mission: https://www.euclid-ec.org/yannick-mellier-1958-2025/Yannick Mellier, 1958-2025 It’s easy to forget these are not merely glass-and-carbon-fiber machines. These are the works of people, living, breathing people. It takes the… Read More »Sweeping the Heavens, Meeting the Heavens (Yannick Mellier)
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
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
Now posted on Nature (vol. 648): -, 11 December 2025 Asteroids, antibiotics and ants: a year of remarkable science p. 539-542d41586-025-03807-w Yes, we’re approaching New Year’s, and it’s time for the retrospectives. Here’s an editorial on behalf of the prestigious… Read More »2025 Hindsight Time
Just out from the Science media family: Science vol. 390 #6778, December 2025Robin George Andrews, 11 Dec 2025 Planet Protector science.zolm8st Sarah Crespi, Elah Feder, Robin George Andrews 11 Dec 2025 Hunting asteroids from space, and talking to pollinators with… Read More »NEO Surveyor We Cover
This week will bring us the Galileo at 30 meeting, a retrospective of the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Jovian system: https://www.kiss.caltech.edu/special_events/2025_Galileo_at_30.html Monday marks 30 years since the orbit insertion maneuver. Let’s not forget, aside from the Jovian system,… Read More »Happy Gali-versary (Galileo at 30)