In two weeks: the Rubin Science Assembly: Science Preparation Seminar on the Solar System, Apr 24: rubinobservatory.org/events/rubin-science-assembly-science-preparation-seminar-on-solar-system This online presentation will be a demonstration and tutorial on the ‘nearby’ (relatively) science with the survey telescope. Given the sheer number of… Read More »Rubin Solar System Science Seminar
…and speaking of good publicity: The Vera Rubin Observatory staff describe good installation of its LSSTCam onto the telescope. This major event (all large parts are now integrated) was well-documented, as one might expect. Coverage of the assembly, and even… Read More »Vera Rubin Update (Apr 2025)
I wrote previously (twice and thrice) on the Japanese COIAS Program (Come On! Impacting ASteroids) and its connection to the manga/TV show Asteroid in Love (Japanese: Koisuru Asteroido, abbreviated Koi As). More recognition: comet C/2015 K7 is now named COIAS.… Read More »…COIAS Continued Continued…
Euclid is a major, international, cross-disciplinary mission. On its face, it is an ESA space telescope to untangle the mysteries of dark matter and the history of the cosmos, by: 1) measuring the distortions of distant galaxies, galaxies which shine… Read More »No (?) Paper: Euclid Q1 Dump
In the Astronomical Journal for March Volume 169 Number 3: Li, J. Shi, J. Ma, Y. et al. Hydrogen Cyanide in Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) from 3.4 mm Wave Spectra article 126 ada7e7Wu, L. Zhang, Q. Lainey, V. et al. A… Read More »Note, Paper: Astronomi-kill Journal
Lots in Icarus for 15 Mar (vol. 429), and this is in a mid-month “extra” issue: Lin, S. Wang, X. Chen, N. Direct solar radiation distribution and driving mechanisms on planetary surfaces – Moon, Mars, Ceres, and Mercury Article 116402 … Read More »Note, Paper: Big-arus
The annual 2025 IEEE Aerospace Conference for 2025 is going on right now. Montana, all week. It’s one of the big ones on the calendar. The program, if you can bear it: https://www.aeroconf.org/program/schedule Some excerpts of note, in my humble… Read More »2025 IEEE Aero Conference
The February Astronomy & Astrophysics (vol. 694) still says “in progress”, despite it being March 1: de la Fuente Marcos, R. de León, J. Serra-Ricart, M. et al. Basaltic quasi-mini-moon: Characterizing 2024 PT5 with the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias… Read More »Note, Paper: Astrono-bodies & Astrophysics
No, I did not fly to Japan. Here’s the agenda for the 2025 (and inaugural) JAXA planetary defense meeting, in conjunction with the Japan Spaceguard Association: https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/researchers/info/files/2024PDSymp_program.pdf Thursday, February 27th: International session(invited) Apophis 2029: Once-per-Millennium Knowledge Opportunity for the Science… Read More »FY2024 Planetary Defense (Spaceguard) Symposium
Wow, the NEOSM mission is staffing up. Again, from Planetary Exploration Newsletter: NEAR-EARTH OBJECT (NEO) SURVEYOR SURVEY SCIENTISTNASA’s Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor is a planned mission (launch: September 2027) with a goal of finding, identifying, and characterizing potentially hazardous asteroids… Read More »MORE Small-Bod Jobs