Notices by AkaSci 🛰️ (akasci@fosstodon.org), page 3

Looks like everyone is having 2nd thoughts on whether the NASA Artemis 3 mission using the SpaceX Starship HLS will land humans on the moon before the Chinese do in 2030 or at all.

Former NASA admins Bolden and Bridenstine added to the growing skepticism at a Space Exploration Symposium on Oct. 29.

Acting Admin Sean Duffy also wants to “open up” SpaceX’s Artemis 3 contract.

We had a mini discussion here in June at https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/114636721705715879

What do you think?

https://spacenews.com/former-nasa-administrators-call-for-changes-in-artemis-lunar-lander-architecture/
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So, how did SpaceX respond to the statements by former NASA admins Bolden and Bridenstine about Artemis 3 and SpaceX HLS?

By attacking Bridenstine on social media; one of the tweets is shown below.

The tweets do not even bother to link to their own detailed blog post on HLS mentioned in post #2 above.

10 days ago, Musk posted some tweets attacking acting Admin Sean Duffy questioning his IQ, among other things.
https://fosstodon.org/@AkaSci/115421124728265928
🚀 🌛
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Staff cuts at NOAA have resulted in loss of "27,000 years of experience."

NOAA retirees are working as volunteers and unpaid interns to help with the current workload.

The White House wants to entirely eliminate NOAA Research, the branch of the agency that oversees the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

This is deliberate sabotage by the anti-science White House.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/climate/noaa-volunteers-hurricane-melissa.html
#UsPol #NOAA #Climate
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"The trump administration is moving to undercut state-level efforts to wipe medical debt from Americans’ credit reports, just as millions across the country are facing massive healthcare premium increases stemming from congressional Republicans’ refusal to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies."

Sick!

https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-cfpb-medical-debt
#UsPol #Health
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Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) imaged on Sept 13 at sunset just above the western horizon in Zacatecas, Mexico.
Featured on NASA APOD.

Also, watch for a meteor shower around October 5 when Earth will pass through the plane of the comet's orbit.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250916.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Korona
3/n

Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) with its characteristic blue/green glow imaged by Team Ciel Austral on Sept 17 and featured on NASA APOD.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250918.html
https://www.cielaustral.com/
Image Credit & Copyright: Team Ciel Austral
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Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) imaged by Rok Palčič on October 4, 2025 with Rezman ES telescope (28 cm f/2.2) and ASI 6200MC camera. 20x120 seconds exposures and two panel mosaicof 20x120 seconds exposures. 2.5 arc seconds per pixel resolution.

The comet's coma shines in its characteristic green color, caused by diatomic carbon.

https://rezmanobservatory.azurewebsites.net/Images/Comets
Credit: Rok Palčič
5/n

Comets C/2025 R2 (SWAN) and C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) will be closest to Earth around Oct 20 and will both be visible in the evening sky shortly after sunset over the next two weeks.

See graphics below for their location in the evening sky and some vital statistics.

It is best to observe them using binoculars. Also, smart phone cameras are quite good at imaging comets even when they are not visible to the naked eye.

https://astro.vanbuitenen.nl/comets
https://theskylive.com/planetarium?objects=sun-moon-c2025r2-mercury-venus-mars-jupiter-saturn-uranus-neptune-pluto-c2025a6-c2025k1-c2025n1-240p-c2024e1-414p&localdata=38.89511%7C-77.03637%7CWashington%20DC%20(US)%7CAmerica%2FNew_York%7C0&obj=c2025r2&h=22&m=45&date=2025-10-20#ra|16.75827716814635|dec|-7.601527204690013|fov|80
🔭 📷
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Outstanding image of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), along with a diffuse aurora, taken by astro-photographer Josh Dury from Mendip Hills, Somerset, U.K., after sunset on Oct 12 or 13, 2025.

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is currently at magnitude 4.7, bright enough to be seen by the naked eye under good observing conditions. Better seen with binoculars. It will brighten further to mag 4.1 during closest approach on Oct 21.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DPvzi95DfB_/
https://www.joshduryphoto-media.com/
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Location and trajectory of comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) as seen in the evening sky from the northern hemisphere over the next 2 weeks.

Hope you get to see and photograph it.
📷 ☄️
https://stellarium-web.org/
7/n

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) beautifully captured by Petr Horálek on October 9, from the shore of Seč Lake, Czech Republic. The big dipper shines bright above the comet.

Petr is a freelance photographer and popularizer of astronomy with degrees in Astrophysics and the 1st Czech Photo Ambassador of the European Southern Observatory.

Check out his other works at https://www.petrhoralek.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/petrhoralek/?hl=en

Quiz: Was this photo taken before sunrise or after sunset?

Credit: Petr Horálek
6/n

Telescopic shot of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) with fine details of its tail imaged by astro-photographers Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann on October 13, probably using their remote telescope in Namibia.

How many galaxies do you see in the star background?

Equipment: LRGB 8/1/1/1 min 11" RASA QHY 600
Credit: Michael Jäger, Gerald Rhemann
10/n

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) over Mt Shasta, California, beautifully captured by professional photographer Kenneth LeRose last night.
☄️
Kenneth LeRose's website - https://www.krlphoto.com/shop-art
9/n

Here is another outstanding (composite) image of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) captured by Lukasz Remkowicz in Poland.

The short thick dust tail and the long ion tail can be seen distinctly in this image.

The dust tail, consisting of vaporized ejecta from the comet, points behind the comet's track and slightly away from the sun, while the ion tail, made of ionized gases, points along the streamlines of the solar wind.

Equipment: Canon EOS R, Samyang 135mm F2.0 ED UMC
☄️
https://app.astrobin.com/u/LukaszRemkowicz#gallery
14/n

A close-up shot of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) captured by Petr Horálek on Oct 18, from the shore of Seč Lake, Czech Republic.

The G2 geomagnetic storm that day, caused by a CME ejected by the Sun few days earlier, disrupted the comet's long wispy ion tail, but not the shorter and thicker white dust tail.
☄️
Camera: Nikon Z6III, Nikkor 135mm, ISO 1000, f1.8, stack of 40x20s, tracked on Vixen Polarie U.

https://www.petrhoralek.com/?p=25820
#Comet #Lemmon
13/n

Yet another outstanding image of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) by Petr Horálek taken on October 18, from the shore of Seč Lake, Czech Republic.

The pic also captures the aurora caused by a G2 geomagnetic storm that day and the storm's effect on the comet's long ion tail.
☄️
Also, watch the reflections.

Camera: Canon Ra, Sigma Art 50mm, f 1.4, ISO 4000, 43x8s.

Check out Petr's other works at https://www.petrhoralek.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/petrhoralek/?hl=en
#Comet #Lemmon
12/n

Closer shot of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) taken last night in Austria by Michael Jäger and Gerald Rhemann, with some interesting details in its tail.

Date: 2025-10-20 17.51 UT
Equipment: RGB 15min 11" RASA QHY600 field 3x1,7°

C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) will be closest to Earth and at its brightest today. Hope you get a chance to catch it within the next few days with your binoculars or camera.

https://spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=227080
11/n

An artistic shot of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) by astro-photographer Marina Prol from the Canary Islands, taken probably on October 25.

https://www.marinaprol.com/astroandnightscapes
Credit: Marina Prol
16/n

Another fabulous shot of Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) over Suotojärvi Lake, northern Sweden, by Petr Horálek, with the multi-color Aurora Borealis lighting up the sky.

Date: 24 October 2025
Equipment: Canon Ra, Sigma 50mm, f1.4, ISO 2500, 3.2s exposure from tripod

https://www.petrhoralek.com/?p=25820
15/n

The ad by the Govt. of Ontario faithfully used Reagan's words from 1987:

"You see, at first, when someone says, ``Let's impose tariffs on foreign imports,'' it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works -- but only for a short time. What eventually occurs is: ... Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs."

https://youtu.be/4eB_36uVfM0?si=-BmDZPdZhT25pL_w
#UsPol
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