Notices by Corey S Powell (coreyspowell@mastodon.social), page 2

A 6-year survey mapped the biggest structures in the universe. The results are beautiful...and, annoyingly, they fit nicely with the current model of cosmology.

We know there's something missing from that model, but figuring out *what* is not easy!

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/scientists-release-new-survey-biggest-objects-universe #space #science #nature

Marvelous new image of interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS, taken by photographer Satoru Murata before dawn this morning. *

On the right you can also see galaxy NGC 4691. There should be a lot more pictures coming in soon.

(Yes, this one really is the interstellar comet.)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/227002358661288/permalink/1619658589395651/?mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=Es101r7n2s2JTsMn #space #science #nature

Spectacular time-lapse image of Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6), taken by astrophotographer Michael Jäger.

There might have been, um, a few satellites passing by during the long exposure.

https://forum.vdsastro.de/viewtopic.php?t=7600&start=50#p43988 #space #science #astronomy #art

Historians are still decoding the complex calendar system in the Dresden Codex. Who knows what information was in the many other, lost Mayan manuscripts.

All of these tables were created using centuries of carefully recorded, naked eye observations.

https://archaeologymag.com/2025/10/maya-astronomers-predicted-solar-eclipses/ #history #science #astronomy

I find this remarkable:

The Dresden Codex, one of the few surviving Mayan manuscripts, contains tables that give highly accurate timings of solar eclipses over more than 700 years, from 350 CE to the 12 century.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adt9039 #history #science #astronomy

This is what the band of the Milky Way would look like at night if your eyes could see radio waves. A hidden beauty.

It's a new image created by the Murchison Widefield Array, which scanned the sky in 20 radio "colors" over frequencies from 72 to 231 megahertz.

https://www.icrar.org/gleam-x-galactic-plane/ #space #science #nature #tech

What a shot of Comet Lemmon! You can almost reach out and touch it.

Photo taken 3 days ago by Debra Ceravolo.

https://app.astrobin.com/u/debraceravolo?i=0614kk#gallery #space #science #art #photography

The Witch Head Nebula, located near the bright star Rigel in Orion.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/witch-head-nebula/

Astronomers sure do conjure up a lot of spooky images when they look out into deep space. A short Halloween thread:

Let's start with the Cosmic Bat Nebula (LDN 43).

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap241027.html #space #science #art #halloween

More space beauty for your day: This new JWST image of Uranus shows exquisite detail in the rings, clouds, and huge polar cap. Imagine what it took to knock this planet on its side.

Processing by Andrea Luck.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/192271236@N03/54879990600/ #space #science #nature #art

Astronomers have discovered rings forming around a Centaur. For real: Chiron (a comet-asteroid hybrid orbiting beyond Saturn) has set of rings that seem to be changing by the year.

Regardless of what's happening on Earth, space continues to be amazing.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae0b6d #space #science #astronomy #nature

Chiron is a 200 km oddity orbiting between Saturn & Uranus. Its rings may have formed from an impact, a broken satellite, or eruptions from Chiron itself.

Here's a more accessible story about the young, fast-changing rings around Chiron:

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/astronomers-discover-an-evolving-ring-system-forming-around-chiron/ #astronomy #astrodon #science

Earth's magnetic field is changing, with its weak spot (the South Atlantic Anomaly) growing significantly over the past decade.

No, it's not doomsday...but it does affect the radiation doses hitting satellite that pass through that region.

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm/Swarm_reveals_growing_weak_spot_in_Earth_s_magnetic_field #space #science #nature #tech

Something big is happening 3,000 kilometers underground, where Earth's inner ocean of molten, magnetic iron generates the global magnetic field.

The strong parts of the field near the poles are changing, too, getting weaker over Canada and stronger over Siberia.

https://www.esa.int/Applications/Observing_the_Earth/FutureEO/Swarm/Swarm_reveals_growing_weak_spot_in_Earth_s_magnetic_field #science #nature

Wild! A meteorite may have struck the windshield of a 737 flying over Colorado, according to early reports.

Whatever the object was, it cut a pilot's arm but did not seriously damage the plane.

https://avbrief.com/united-max-hit-by-falling-object-at-36000-feet/ #science #tech #technology #space

China's Tianwen-2 is on its way to Kamoʻoalewa, an asteroid that currently doubles as a "quasi-moon" of Earth. The spacecraft will collect samples & bring them back home.

On its outward trajectory, Tianwen-2 looked back and got this lovely view of our planet.

https://english.news.cn/20251001/ef35fcb0ed1649c787045fd51547149b/c.html #space #science #nature

Astronomers have detected a dark blob of...something, billions of light years away. It's as massive as a million Suns & it emits no detectable radiation.

It might be a clump of dark matter, revealing new details about the structure of the invisible universe.

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/astronomers-find-mystery-dark-object-distant-universe #space #science #nature

If you need a blast of beauty (and who doesn't?) I highly recommend browsing the new Astronomy Photographer of the Year winners. They're spectacular -- and neither of these shots even made it to #1.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/galleries/overall-winners-2025 #space #science #nature #art #photography

The largest optical telescope in the world is taking shape on Cerro Armazones in Chile.

Photographer Boris Häußler set up carefully timed shots to capture the Extremely Large Telescope (yes, that is its real name!) silhouetted in front of the Sun & Moon at various milestones.

https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw2537a/ #space #science #technology #tech

In another part of the world, meanwhile, people doggedly pursue beauty, knowledge & a deeper connection to the universe: A short thread.

A new study of the Butterfly Nebula shows it blowing out mineral crystals & carbon molecules--the raw material for future Earthlike planets.

https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/research-highlights/cosmic-butterfly-reveals-clues-earths-creation #space #science #nature