The world is getting brighter. From astronomy to bird migration, we explore how growing levels of artificial light are impacting our ecosystem and the effort to preserve dark skies. It’s “Don’t Lighten Up” on Big Picture Science.

Listen here: https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/dont-lighten-up

#podcast #science #astronomy

Planet WISPIT 2b is about 5 million years old, 1/1000th the age of our solar system. Relative to a human lifetime, it's a two-week-old infant.

If you want to go deep: The full paper about this newborn planet is available online.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adf721 #science #nature #astronomy

This is, at last, my first picture EVER of the galaxy where we live, the Milky Way.
The place: San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, very close to the National Observatory.

#scicomm #astrophotography #astronomy #nightsky #outdoors #space #landscape

This is, at last, my first picture EVER of the galaxy where we live, the Milky Way.
The place: San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, very close to the National Observatory.

#scicomm #astrophotography #astronomy #nightsky #outdoors #space #landscape

A very hungry planet! 🪐

That little dot is WISPIT 2b, a newborn exoplanet. About 5 times the mass of Jupiter, the planet is eating its way through its dusty cradle as it orbits the host star, a younger version of our Sun 🌞

Taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in #Chile, this image is the first clear detection of a baby planet in a disc with multiple rings.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2534a/

📷 ESO/R. F. van Capelleveen et al.

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

2025 #Perseid meteor shower, taken with long exposure tracking by Josh Dury. Photo via @nasa, reposted for alt text. #astronomy#ArtText

A very hungry planet! 🪐

That little dot is WISPIT 2b, a newborn exoplanet. About 5 times the mass of Jupiter, the planet is eating its way through its dusty cradle as it orbits the host star, a younger version of our Sun 🌞

Taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in #Chile, this image is the first clear detection of a baby planet in a disc with multiple rings.

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2534a/

📷 ESO/R. F. van Capelleveen et al.

#astrodon #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science

2025 #Perseid meteor shower, taken with long exposure tracking by Josh Dury. Photo via @nasa, reposted for alt text. #astronomy#ArtText

The world is getting brighter. From astronomy to bird migration, we explore how growing levels of artificial light are impacting our ecosystem and the effort to preserve dark skies. It’s “Don’t Lighten Up” on Big Picture Science.

Listen here: https://bigpicturescience.org/episodes/dont-lighten-up

#podcast #science #astronomy

So thrilled to realize that the German Astronomical Society ✨ @GermanAstroSoc ✨ has sneaked into the Fediverse last week!

Greetings 🥳

Let's make them welcome, shall we? Go ahead and start following them if you're interested in astronomy at all, and boost their introduction post above so everyone can know about this exciting new arrival.

I personally think this is huge, so let's make this work for them 🚀

I am also sure they will in turn be able to lure even more astronomers here, and we'd all love that, wouldn't we?

#Introduction#NeuHier#FollowFriday#Astronomy#Astrophysics#Astrodon#Space#GermanAstroSoc#AG#AstronomischeGesellschaft #ag2025goerlitz#Fediverse

From Voyager 2’s smooth blue-green view in 1986 to Webb’s breathtaking 2023 image, our vision of Uranus has transformed. Keck (2002) revealed faint rings, Hubble (2022) showed brighter tones and weather patterns, and Webb unveiled glowing rings and a luminous atmosphere.

#Uranus#SpaceExploration#Voyager2 #KeckObservatory#Hubble#JWST#Astronomy #OuterPlanets#IcyGiant#SpaceScience#PlanetaryScience

... then you just have to use your mount Alt and Az knobs to place Polaris bellow the green circle and you should be done. It works well in "live view" mode in my app.

I then plate solved the result with astrometry.net and I'm pretty happy with the result.

#astronomy #astrophotography

Last night I tried something different: can I detect Caph (β Cassiopeiae) variability by taking pictures of it for hours and analyzing it's brightness. And the answer is: no, I can't 😅 (please don't show this toot to conspiracy theorists).

But I've also used for the first time a homemade way to polar align and it worked decently well... (more bellow 👇 )
#astronomy #astrophotography

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has said that it will launch the first HTV-X new resupply vehicle to the International Space Station at around 10:58 a.m. on Oct. 21. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/23/japan/science-health/japan-new-iss-resupply-vehicle/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #sciencehealth #jaxa #space #astronomy #iss

Starlink satellite emissions interfere with #radio #astronomy.

The largest-ever survey of low-frequency radio emissions from satellites has detected emissions from the #Starlink satellite “mega-constellation” across scientifically important low-frequency bands, including some that are protected for radio astronomy by international regulations.

These emissions, which come from onboard electronics and are not intentional transmissions, could mask the weak radio-wave signals that astronomers seek to detect.

As well as being damaging for radio astronomy, the researchers who conducted the survey say their findings highlight the need for new regulations that cover unintended transmissions, not just deliberate ones.

https://physicsworld.com/a/starlink-satellite-emissions-interfere-with-radio-astronomy/

So thrilled to realize that the German Astronomical Society ✨ @GermanAstroSoc ✨ has sneaked into the Fediverse last week!

Greetings 🥳

Let's make them welcome, shall we? Go ahead and start following them if you're interested in astronomy at all, and boost their introduction post above so everyone can know about this exciting new arrival.

I personally think this is huge, so let's make this work for them 🚀

I am also sure they will in turn be able to lure even more astronomers here, and we'd all love that, wouldn't we?

#Introduction#NeuHier#FollowFriday#Astronomy#Astrophysics#Astrodon#Space#GermanAstroSoc#AG#AstronomischeGesellschaft #ag2025goerlitz#Fediverse

Nabta Playa: The world’s first astronomical site was built in Africa and is older than Stonehenge
This 7,000-year-old stone circle tracked the summer solstice and the arrival of the annual monsoon season. It's also the oldest known astronomical site on Earth.

https://www.astronomy.com/observing/nabta-playa-the-worlds-first-astronomical-site-was-built-in-africa-and-is-older-than-stonehenge/

#astronomy #archaeology#Egypt#Africa

Nabta Playa: The world’s first astronomical site was built in Africa and is older than Stonehenge
This 7,000-year-old stone circle tracked the summer solstice and the arrival of the annual monsoon season. It's also the oldest known astronomical site on Earth.

https://www.astronomy.com/observing/nabta-playa-the-worlds-first-astronomical-site-was-built-in-africa-and-is-older-than-stonehenge/

#astronomy #archaeology#Egypt#Africa

Starlink satellite emissions interfere with #radio #astronomy.

The largest-ever survey of low-frequency radio emissions from satellites has detected emissions from the #Starlink satellite “mega-constellation” across scientifically important low-frequency bands, including some that are protected for radio astronomy by international regulations.

These emissions, which come from onboard electronics and are not intentional transmissions, could mask the weak radio-wave signals that astronomers seek to detect.

As well as being damaging for radio astronomy, the researchers who conducted the survey say their findings highlight the need for new regulations that cover unintended transmissions, not just deliberate ones.

https://physicsworld.com/a/starlink-satellite-emissions-interfere-with-radio-astronomy/