I want to repeat comments I already made on this plot since some news outlets seem to ignore them: Hubble will not reenter until early 2030s. The curve here is alarming, but will flatten out as we hit solar minimum in the coming years. I still think it's time for NASA to take action on a reboost.
We still have time to turn things around for the better.
Fixing the planet is possible, but it means transforming how we power our world, grow food, manage waste, and protect nature.
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A satellite re-entering every 3 minutes. Seems fine.
Vera Rubin Observatory is just mindblowingly insane. A new era of astrophysics.
Illustrated graphic with the boot-shaped Rubin Observatory atop its site on Cerro Pachón beneath a sparkling night sky and the glowing band of the Milky Way stretching from lower left to upper right. Sprinkled throughout are many "Data alert!" popups, labeled with icons that represent supernovae, asteroids, hungry black holes, and more.
A 3-by-4 grid of grayscale astronomical images zoomed in on single objects. From left to right, the columns are labeled Template, New image, and difference. From top to bottom, the rows are labeled supernova, variable star, active galactic nucleus, and solar system object.
The largest spot-the-difference effort EVER has begun!🚨
On the night of Feb 24, NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory officially released its first ~800,000 public alerts of detected changes in the night sky!🔍
A new era of discovery is here✨ 🔭🧪☄️
🔗: rubinobservatory.org/news/first-a...
Because it's been a while, here is an update of my plot on the altitude of the Hubble Space Telescope versus time
Last night astronomers were glued to screens looking at new data coming in publicly in ~real time for the first time 🤩
Now the PR is out—read all about it! It was amazing to be part of the whole astro community excitedly online watching new PUBLIC data stream from this amazing facility we built 🥹 🔭
Alerts are flowing from Rubin Observatory!
There will be a proper press release in the coming hours, please see all the details then, and meanwhile, your favorite alert broker probably has public data available to peruse *now*!
We are up to well over 20k alerts after 20 min on sky 🔭
Space people familiar with SpaceX's FCC application for 1 million satellites:
DarkSky (darksky.org/news/two-sat...) says there is no current deadline for comments on the SpaceX proceeding, but AAS says it is 6 March (aas.org/action-alert...).
Anyone know who is correct?
The article itself is devoid of reasons to defend the thesis suggested in the title. I wonder why the authors decided to ignore radioastronomy, space debris, or metal atmospheric pollution out of the discussion.
A proper answer from the scientific community is on its way.
How to protect the ozone layer and fight #ClimateChange?
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TechEdSat-11 was a 6UXL cubesat from NASA-Ames and San Jose State to test an exobrake drag device, launched on 2024 Jul 4. It reentered Feb 15; the decay rate increased sharply on Jan 16, likely marking the exobrake deployment.
A large yellowish blob in the upper-left centre, with two dimmer dots to the lower right marked by arrows. These dots are giant exoplanets. The remaining dots without arrows are background stars, and the features around the main blob are imaging artefacts.
See those two dots with arrows pointing to them?
They're giant gas planets orbiting their star, located 307 lightyears away.
These are directly imaged exoplanets.
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This galaxy is VERY tiny—much much smaller than our own Milky Way—& incredibly distant. But we can see it AND distinguish its shape!
How?
The light we see from it is from SO LONG AGO that the Universe was MUCH smaller at the time: we see it as it was when it was close enough to us to look big!! 🤯
It’s me, chatting about many satellites. Enjoy!
Uncontrolled use of Low Earth Orbit will replace the brightest stars in the sky with AI data centers.
And decrease the Ozone layer.
And fill the Earth's environment with space debris.
Let's not set the last forest on fire.
Thanks BBC Sky at Night!
www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/satelli...
Regulations are the reason your food and water is not full of lead.
Amazing interview to @planet4589.bsky.social about SpaceX' plans to launch one million AI data centers to Earth orbit.
"Are there other technical advances that could happen to make Earth-based data centers more efficient? It’s very much an open question whether this is the right move."
I talked to Pitchbook about the proposed million sat constellation pitchbook.com/news/article...
Federal Communications Commission 45 L Street NE Washington, DC 20554 News Media Information 202-418-0500 Internet: www.fcc.gov DA 26-113 Released: February 4, 2026 SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING SPACEX'S APPLICATION FOR ORBITAL DATA CENTERS ICFS File No. SAT-LOA-20260108-00016 Comments/Petitions Due: March 6, 2026 Response to Comments/Oppositions to Petition Due: March 16, 2026 Replies to Responses/Oppositions Due: March 23, 2026 By this Public Notice, the Space Bureau (Bureau) accepts for filing and seeks comment on an application by Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (SpaceX) for a new non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) system of up to one million satellites. This satellite system will represent the "first step towards becoming a Kardashev Il-level civilization - one that can harness the Sun's full power," according to SpaceX. On January 30, 2026, SpaceX filed an application seeking authority to launch and operate a new NGSO satellite system of up to one million satellites to operate as the "Space Orbital Data Center system" (System). The System will operate at altitudes ranging from 500 km to 2,000 km and in 30 degree and sun-synchronous orbit inclinations within orbital shells spanning up to 50 km each. The proposed satellites will use high-bandwidth optical inter-satellite links and conduct telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) operations.* The Bureau seeks comment on the application and the associated requests for waiver.
Really can't make this stuff up
I did not have a fast-tracked FCC application for an actual megaconstellation (1 million satellites) justified as "taking the first step towards becoming a Kardashev Il-level civilization" on my 2026 bingo card
What are we doing friends
This is what taxpayer-funded open science plus decades of hard-won investment and expertise looks like
SpaceX just applied to launch a million satellites, but why?
The satellites are intended for vast orbital data centres in orbit. But is it a serious proposal, a land grab, a joke – or all of the above?
Story by me in @newscientist.com
www.newscientist.com/article/2514...
Not one month ago I was getting angry emails from fellow astronomers saying that 560,000 satellites was "exagerated".
Do not underestimate the fires of industry, my friends.
After a year of protests from astronomers, authorities have abandoned plans for a giant, light-polluting renewable-energy facility in Chile’s Atacama Desert
Hey space people, I’m looking for experts to comment and provide some insight on SpaceX’s application for a million satellites.
If that’s you drop me a line. Thanks!
jdaoca[at]gmail[dot]com
SpaceX has put in a kinda-sorta-application to the FCC for an orbital data center constellation with a MILLION satellites. However, the description is rather vague without the usual specifics of the orbital parameters of each shell. fccprod.servicenowservices.com/icfs?id=ibfs...
As land degradation threatens essential ecosystem services such as regulating climate and providing benefits to people, the world has a bold plan: the Global Biodiversity Framework.
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You may have seen pictures, but have you ever seen video of a gigantic jet #TLE from space?
Astronaut Jeanette Epps captured this incredible sequence on July 20th, 2024 for the DTU/@science.esa.int Thor-Davis experiment. 🧪🔭
youtu.be/xN2J7_rOBJY
Credit: ESA/NASA/J. Epps
Processing: Simeon Schmauß
