CIRCLE WITH A DOT

Nature Astronomy editorial: "With threats to #astronomy from all directions, we must consider the true value of astronomy. Astronomy educates the public; astronomy trains a data- and technology-centred workforce; astronomy supports other sciences, providing a laboratory to physicists and a chance to investigate other worlds to biologists and geologists; astronomy inspires curiosity and art and interest in science; astronomy involves big projects; astronomy gets people out into nature; astronomy is an international field, with global collegiality; astronomy adds to the repository of human knowledge. These are the aspects of astronomy that we should be regularly reminding our elected representatives about."

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02830-9

@MamaLake And yet he may well only get a fraction of what he's asking for.

On the front page of spaceweather.com today: "Last month, astronomer Gerald Rhemann attempted to photograph Comet Wierzchoś (C/2024 E1) during its closest approach to Earth. The comet was outnumbered 10:1 by #satellites.

"It's about to worsen. Right now, Earth is surrounded by almost 10,000 Starlinks with future plans calling for 42,000. Amazon’s Project Kuiper has begun launching its own planned 3,200-satellite broadband fleet, while China is building two more megaconstellations: Guowang (13,000 satellites) and "Qianfan" ("Thousand Sails", 15,000-plus). Together, they could eventually rival Starlink or even surpass it."

#Space #Astronomy

This morning's total #LunarEclipse as seen from Tucson, Arizona, in a three-image sequence.