At the time of posting this, the Artemis II mission is about halfway to the Moon. When the astronauts arrive, they will conduct a lunar flyby and collect scientific observations of the Moon’s surface.
Credit: NASA
![[NASA] We see our home planet as a whole, lit up in spectacular blues and browns from Artemis ll. That's us, together, watching as our astronauts make their journey to the Moon.](https://preview.redd.it/s17a9mjnbzsg1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=8f4751309d267e3a8568f2fe6377c5e7cf33021b)
A view from cameras on board the Orion spacecraft as it climbs to orbit, powered by the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket following a 6:35 p.m. EDT liftoff on April 1, 2026. Included is the jettison of the solid rocket boosters that propelled Orion for the first two minutes of flight, and the jettison of the spacecraft adapter jettison panels, which protect the spacecraft's solar array wings during ascent. Date Created:2026-04-01
Source https://images.nasa.gov/details/art002m1200912237_SAJ-Jettison
To get pics this detailed, you have to be CLOSE. A telephoto lens from miles off isn't enough. But that distance would severely injure any human. What's the solution? Pre-placed cameras and sound activated triggers.
https:/ /x. com/AJamesMcCarthy/status/2040108038963581176
"Here I have zoomed in on both auroral ovals so you can see more clearly the green emissions extending around 100 km into our thermosphere/ionosphere." By Vincent Ledvina
Here full res to see the texthttps://bsky.app/profile/vincentledvina.bsky.social/post/3mimdey6emc2b
Collage by me.
Original image
Link to the science release on ESA website
The James Webb Space Telescope recently captured images of two planet-forming discs — Tau 042021, located about 450 light-years away in the constellation Taurus, and Oph 163131, about 480 light-years away in Ophiuchus.
These discs, called protoplanetary discs, form around newly born stars. When a clump of gas collapses to form a star, the leftover gas and dust orbits it in a thick disc. Over time, the dust clumps together, eventually building up into planets, while material that doesn't make it becomes asteroids and comets.
This is essentially how our own Solar System formed. What makes these two discs special is their orientation — we're seeing them edge-on, meaning the star's blinding light is mostly blocked by the disc itself, giving scientists a clear view of the surrounding dust. Webb's NIRCam and MIRI instruments captured different dust grain sizes and molecules like hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons across the discs.
Data from Hubble and the ALMA radio telescope added further detail, and intriguingly, a gap spotted in Oph 163131's inner disc may already be a sign of a planet forming and sweeping the area clean.
Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, ESA/Hubble, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), G. Duchêne, M. Villenave
Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Messier 13 is located approximately 25,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Hercules.
It is one of the brightest and best-known globular clusters in the northern sky, containing over 100,000 stars bound together by gravity. These stars are predominantly old, low-metallicity Population II stars, formed during the early stages of our galaxy’s evolution. The cluster spans roughly 145 light-years in diameter, with stellar density increasing dramatically towards the core.
Near the centre, the density of stars is around 100 times greater than in the neighbourhood of our Sun. In such a crowded environment, close stellar interactions are likely, and collisions can occur, leading to the formation of so-called “blue stragglers” (stars that appear younger and hotter than the surrounding population).
The light captured here began its journey around 25,000 years ago, during the last glacial maximum, when ancient humans in what is now the Czech Republic were producing some of the first fibre clothes and carving statues of people and animals for reasons now lost to time, while elsewhere, human populations were migrating into North America via the Bering Land Bridge
This image was another unguided test of the telescope, where I checked the holding power of the modified focuser. The next test will be with a new guide camera and OAG, which will allow me to increase the exposure time and capture fainter targets.
Equipment:
PixInsight DSO Processing:
Lightroom Processing:
