Daniel Fischer

· 2w ago

Replying to

Sky test near the zenith a bit outside of Bergrothenfels with the cell phone lying on a car roof - 30 seconds at f/1.79 and ISO 3200 - capturing the #MilkyWay between Cygnus and Cassiopeia.

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· 1w ago

A Search for Substellar Companions around A-type Stars - Pulsation Timing Detection of Eight Brown Dwarf Candidates and a Possible #HabitableZone Planet: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae93a0 -> Stellar Pulsations Suggest Habitable-Zone Planet Around a Massive Star: https://aasnova.org/2026/09/25/stellar-pulsations-suggest-habitable-zone-planet-around-a-massive-star/

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· 2w ago

Replying to

The view east right now from #BurgRothenfels - cheap Chinese cellphone in Pro mode, 30 seconds at ISO 3200 at f/1.79.

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· 3w ago

Since 2017, ESA’s #SpaceDebris Office has published an annual Space Environment Report to provide a transparent overview of global space activities and determine how well international debris-reduction measures are improving the long-term sustainability of spaceflight: https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/ESA_Space_Environment_Report_2026 -> "The number and scale of commercial satellite constellations continue to increase each year. Not enough satellites leave heavily congested orbits at the end of their lives, creating a growing collision risk. More than three intact satellites or rocket bodies are reentering the Earth’s atmosphere every day on average. At the same time, ten new payloads are launched daily. A new trend has constellations change altitude significantly year-on-year. New report metric added in 2026: on-ground casualty risk of reentries. Even though the numbers are low compared to everyday risks in life, the chance of a casualty increased in recent years due to increased traffic."

ESA Space Environment Report 2026

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· 2w ago

Replying to

The Moon setting behind the #BurgRothenfels star party later before Saturn took the stage.

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

The new group (1)4489 on the left just above the clouds during today's Bochum #sunset - later timesteps in https://bsky.app/profile/cosmos4u.bsky.social/post/3mqmygeisqc22

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· 2mo ago

175 years ago #OTD the Prussian photographer Johann Julius Friedrich #Berkowski took the first photograph of a total #SolarEclipse, seen here in 19th century 'processing': more in https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/julius-berkowski/ and https://web.archive.org/web/20150402161350/http://www.astro.uni-jena.de/~schie/20130000_WittmannSchielicke_Parish_Mitt_Gauss-Ges_Nr_50%282013%29_S_37-54.pdf (PDF pages 8-12) and https://time.com/4883424/solar-eclipse-first-photo-taken/ and https://hyperallergic.com/the-first-photographs-of-a-solar-eclipse/ and https://petapixel.com/2017/08/05/first-ever-solar-eclipse-photo-shot-1851/

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

Yeah, Archive! Here is the full Ray #Bradbury #shortstory “There Will Come Soft Rains” - read by Leonard #Nimoy: https://archive.org/details/bradbury-nimoy/1-There+Will+Come+Soft+Rains.mp3

Internet Archive

Ray Bradbury read by Leonard Nimoy : Ray Bradbury : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Leonard Nimoy reads two of Ray Bradbury

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· 2mo ago

The #lunar crash of a Falcon 9 upper stage is expected at 06:35:37.5 UTC +/- a few seconds: https://www.projectpluto.com/25010d.htm#where - find out more in the papers https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.14625 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.23904 and https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.00360 while on https://www.youtube.com/live/ZfgrV4nmvcg and https://www.youtube.com/live/UKIIMm6TwT8 live views of the Moon at impact time are planned.

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· 2mo ago

The seismic signature of lunar ice: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adz7220 -> By studying how seismic waves travel through frozen soil on Earth, a University of Maryland geophysicist helped develop a better way to detect water ice on the #moon—a critical resource for future astronauts and extended lunar missions: https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/news/nicholas-schmerr-moonquakes-locate-lunar-ice

science.org

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

The sunday #Bochum #sunset, with the big spot (1)4482 still prominent on the disk - one earlier and three later timesteps in https://bsky.app/profile/cosmos4u.bsky.social/post/3mqi6n52wck2x

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· 2mo ago

This ‘miracle’ lens adapter brought the big screen to the home screen, but history had forgotten it – until now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOMCzMHFhto -> https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/cameras/camera-accessories/this-miracle-lens-adapter-brought-the-big-screen-to-the-home-screen-but-history-had-forgotten-it-until-now on the #Delrama #Anamorphic Adapter. #MovieHistory

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· 3mo ago

Replying to

Another Bochum (Germany) sunrise today, super-clear - and with green segments and rims galore plus still the sunspot groups 4478 (bottom) and 4479 on the disk: more timesteps in https://www.facebook.com/dan.fischer.393/posts/pfbid037LxVnGhX1WXwgqbJy58LeVa1ijBV9zrfGbE2TFbUEu7fJGR2iiGskfe86w73KKbdl

facebook.com

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

The #JodrellBank radio dish is a British icon ... since seven decades: https://www.britishpathe.com/lightbox/?st=1cc4c6302b117bd07855e9decc15fb253ed43abf&target=same has 12 British Pathé clips from the 1950s and 1960s.

britishpathe.com

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

During today's #Bochum #sunset the big #sunspot (1)4482 was seen in the lower right while at "10 o'clock" - above the church spire - the new group (1)4489 has just appeared on the disk. Later timestep: https://bsky.app/profile/cosmos4u.bsky.social/post/3mqkjezmlp22g

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· 2mo ago

35 years ago today a particularly long total #SolarEclipse hit Hawaii and Central and South America - of which astronomers on #MaunaKea made ample use as the legendary #WGBH documentary "Eclipse of th Century" shows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRI5FEQbn7o = https://archive.org/details/EclipseoftheCentury (my favorite scene is in minute 45-46 when astronomers rush out of a telescope control room during totality to marvel at the eclipse with their own eyes). See also https://diary4dan.wordpress.com/2016/07/11/heute-vor-25-jahren-bei-der-riesen-sofi-in-mexiko and https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2026/07/06/das-sind-die-asteroiden-torifune-kamo%ca%bboalewa ("Eine ungewöhnlich lange Totale Sonnenfinsternis") for further memories of that event I've found online 10 years ago and today.

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· 3mo ago

Sunrise III - Instrument, Mission, Data, and First Results / more papers: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae796b / https://iopscience.iop.org/collections/apjl-260303-220_Focus-on-Sunrise-III -> Oscillations, Flares and Tornados on the Sun: https://www.mps.mpg.de/oscillations-flares-and-tornados-on-the-sun - the #SunriseIII mission offers a completely new view of the Sun; first results have now been published.

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· 3mo ago

Replying to

The Bochum #sunset today, with two spot groups and lots of atmospheric optics: more timesteps in https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=dan.fischer.393&set=a.10235020897078284 (final 48 pictures) with a selection in https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2026/07/06/das-sind-die-asteroiden-torifune-kamo%ca%bboalewa/ ("Der heutige Bochumer Sonnenuntergang ...").

facebook.com

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

"As of the morning of 27 July, ESA reviewed the situation at the #Cebreros station and declared it safe for nominal operations": https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/07/Wildfires_near_Cebreros_ground_station_Spain and https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/07/Raging_wildfires_near_Madrid_Spain

Wildfires near Cebreros ground station, Spain

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 26 July, shows a zoomed-in view over ESA

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

"On July 25, an initial onsite inspection by the NASA Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) emergency response team found wildfire damage primarily to pavement and surrounding vegetation, with no significant structural damage observed to antennas or buildings," writes https://x.com/NASASpox/status/2081114506843881941 now about the Spanish #DeepSpaceNetwork site: "Meanwhile, NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program has seamlessly transitioned mission support to its other Deep Space Communications Complexes in Goldstone, California and Canberra, Australia, ensuring continuity of operations and uninterrupted spacecraft communications."

X (formerly Twitter)

NASA Spox (@NASASpox) on X

On July 25, an initial onsite inspection by the NASA Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) emergency response team found wildfire damage primarily to pavement and surrounding vegetation, with no significant structural damage observed to antennas or buildings. Additional inspections and…

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· 2mo ago

100 years ago #OTD the #planetarium in #Jena (Germany) opened to the public: it's the oldest one in the world srill operating in the same location! Scroll down on https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2026/07/18/die-leuchtenden-nachtwolken-sind-weiter-aktiv for some news coverage back then and the wider context.

skyweek.wordpress.com

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· 2mo ago

This week the launch services contract was signed for the Heliospheric Pioneer for Solar and Interplanetary Threats Defence - #Henon - mission, ESA’s first stand-alone deep-space CubeSat, confirming that the pioneering spacecraft will fly onboard Ariane 6, alongside ESA’s Plato mission: https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Shaping_the_Future/Deep_space_pioneer_Henon_signs_to_launch_with_Plato

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

Friday's Bochum (Germany) #sunset, with AR (1)4482 near the center of the refraction-distorted disk. Far fewer atmospheric optics effects than yesterday but https://bsky.app/profile/cosmos4u.bsky.social/post/3mqdf5g7ni224 shows four more timesteps anyway. The shift to the left as the Sun's declination is falling is quite evident.

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

Here is yet another version of "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray #Bradbury: https://bsky.app/profile/bowiesongs.bsky.social/post/3msbhkca4ds27 - this (the full text) was the very first publication of the short story in Collier's magazine in 1950, with the date still set to 1985, not 2026 to which it was changed days later when it appeared in "The Martian Chronicles".

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· 3mo ago

In 6 hours - at 6:00 UTC - a webcast (with commentary in Japanese) at https://www.youtube.com/live/tl8CoHvky4I will cover the #Hayabusa2 visit to #asteroid (98943) #Torifune. See also https://x.com/haya2_jaxa/status/2073388791822532727 for unresolved approach images, https://www.monitormyplanet.com/posts/5707 for a prediction of the rotation state during the encounter, https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2026/06/20260609-1_e.html for its importance, https://www.hayabusa2.jaxa.jp/topics/20260703_direction/index.html for where the asteroid is in the sky and https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/japanese-probe-set-for-super-close-flyby-on-july-5-were-going-to-discover-another-beast-to-put-in-the-zoo-of-asteroids and https://astropics.bookbright.co.jp/hayabusa2-torifune-flyby for preview articles.

小惑星探査機「はやぶさ2」による小惑星トリフネ・フライバイのライブ中継

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· 2mo ago

First detection of ultra-fast outflows in a quiescent galaxy: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.06844 -> #UFO Sighting in a Dead Galaxy! https://astrobites.org/2026/07/30/ufo-sighting-in-a-dead-galaxy/

arxiv.org

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

"My teams have completed all necessary checks and testing of the #Cebreros station," writes https://bsky.app/profile/josefaschbacher.esa.int/post/3mrkysmg5ws2e "After careful review, we have declared the antenna GREEN for nominal operations as of 27 July. Onsite presence will be kept to a minimum, in accordance with restrictions in the area." Meanwhile https://bsky.app/profile/amsat-dl.org/post/3mrkrwxlgls2c reports that "DSN Madrid is back in business, while DSN Now status display shows offline."

Bluesky Social

Josef Aschbacher (@josefaschbacher.esa.int)

My teams have completed all necessary checks and testing of the Cebreros station. After careful review, we have declared the antenna GREEN for nominal operations as of 27 July. [contains quote post or other embedded content]

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· 2mo ago

From 9:15 UTC on https://www.youtube.com/live/4h884umjihw the #Soyuz MS-28 Re-entry and Landing.

NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Soyuz MS-28 Re-entry and Landing

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· 2mo ago

Beyond the merger–quasar–quench paradigm - mergers are neither necessary nor sufficient to #quench central galaxies in illustrisTNG: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/548/3/stag507/8529012?searchresult=1&login=false -> FIU study challenges leading explanation for why galaxies stop forming stars: https://news.fiu.edu/2026/fiu-study-challenges-leading-explanation-for-why-galaxies-stop-forming-stars

academic.oup.com

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· 2mo ago

Error signals for overcoming the laser power limits of #GravitationalWave detectors: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6382/ae86aa -> New technique enables LIGO to peer farther into the distant universe: https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2026/07/21/new-technique-enables-ligo-peer-farther-distant-universe - thermal imaging could boost future gravitational-wave detectors.

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

The tiny group (1)4489 now center left during Thursday's Bochum #sunset - later timesteps in https://bsky.app/profile/cosmos4u.bsky.social/post/3mqsbwv6ctk2k

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· 2mo ago

RE: https://scicomm.xyz/@AstroDave/116930089360556295 SpaceX's original webcast of the #Starship 13 test from 22:10 UTC on https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1MKgNNXAZdmxL

x.com

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· 2mo ago

As reported here 3 weeks ago a third planet of #BetaPictoris was discovered independently with two methods - today both papers have been published formally 'side by side': https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae80a0 and https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae801b -> Faintest planet ever imaged from Earth found after more than 10 years of hide-and-seek / NASA’s Webb Discovers Hidden Planet in Famous Star System: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2609/ / https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-discovers-hidden-planet-in-famous-star-system/

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· 2mo ago

Probing the ion-neutral drift velocity toward the L1544 prestellar core - detection of ambipolar diffusion using N2D+ and para-NH2D: https://www.aanda.org/component/article?access=doi&doi=10.1051/0004-6361/202658871 -> Capturing the cosmic ‘drift’ before a star is born: https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/researches/view/405 - researchers observe the velocity difference between two molecules in a prestellar core, elucidating the process of early #StarFormation.

aanda.org

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· 3mo ago

AT2019ijn, A Fast-rising, Slow-decaying Blue Optical Transient with Exceptionally Bright Radio Emission: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae732c -> Hidden Jet from a “Missing-Link” #BlackHole Lights Up the Radio Sky: https://public.nrao.edu/news/vla-at2019ijn-relativistic-jet/

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· 2mo ago

Artistic visions shape and respond to #Mars missions: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2622471123 -> "decades before humans might actually travel through interplanetary space, artistic visions continue to help nurture those aspirations."

A community for scientists and science communicators.

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· 2mo ago

The #HabitableWorldsObservatory Technology Development Plan: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.02773 -> How NASA Plans to Build the Habitable Worlds Observatory: https://www.universetoday.com/articles/how-nasa-plans-to-build-the-habitable-worlds-observatory

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· 2mo ago

During commissioning, the #Katalyst team encountered a series of technical issues related to attitude control of the LINK spacecraft to raise the orbit of #Swift: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7487913846473416704/ and https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/swift/2026/07/28/commissioning-update-for-spacecraft-to-boost-nasas-swift/ - over the last 72 hours, the #LINK spacecraft has been in a multi-axis spin, causing a temporary loss of communications and subsequent bus reset.

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· 2mo ago

TDE 2025abcr - A #TidalDisruptionEvent in the Outskirts of a Massive Galaxy: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ae77f3 -> NASA’s #Swift Sees ‘Wandering’ Mega #BlackHole Shredding Star: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/swift/nasas-swift-sees-wandering-mega-black-hole-shredding-star/

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· 2mo ago

Replying to

"ESA is closely monitoring the wildfire situation in the vicinity of its deep-space ground station in #Cebreros, Spain," says https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Corporate_news/ESA_statement_on_the_wildfires_near_Cebreros "Based on the information currently available, the station appears to have remained unharmed. [...] All ESA personnel are safe and accounted for. [...] At present, ESA does not have physical access to the station and is therefore unable to conduct an on-site inspection."

ESA statement on the wildfires near Cebreros

(Spanish text below)ESA is closely monitoring the wildfire situation in the vicinity of its deep-space ground station in Cebreros, Spain.

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· 2mo ago

Dynamic electron radiation belt at Mercury controlled by solar wind driving: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02925-3 -> #Mercury has part-time radiation belts: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2026/07/mercury-has-part-time-radiation-belts/ - scientists thought Mercury’s magnetic field was disrupted by the sun too often to trap a radiation belt, but new analysis of MESSENGER data says that’s not always the case.

nature.com

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· 2mo ago

A Calibrated Bayesian Search for Potential Chemical Technosignatures in Polluted White Dwarfs: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae742c -> Seeking Technosignatures in Polluted #WhiteDwarfs: https://aasnova.org/2026/07/15/seeking-technosignatures-in-polluted-white-dwarfs/

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· 2mo ago

Quasars Acting as Strong Lenses Found in DESI DR1: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae8014 -> Astronomers discover super-bright #quasar lenses: https://news.osu.edu/astronomers-discover-super-bright-quasar-lenses/

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· 2mo ago

75 years ago the Soviet #SpaceDogs Dezik and Tsygan became the first vertebrates to survive a spaceflight, if only a suborbital one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dezik_and_Tsygan (and see https://skyweek.wordpress.com/2024/06/11/allgemeines-live-blog-ab-dem-11-juni-2024/ for the first vertebrate to reach space but didn't make it back alive two years earlier).

en.wikipedia.org

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