#spacescience

A nice conjunction during dusk this evening between our Moon at 30% illumination, and Jupiter and its four Galilean moons.

I post this as an apology to Callisto, which was the last location to be axed from my forthcoming book, "111 Places in Space You Must Not Miss" during final edits last night

I mean, it's a fascinating place & the chapter I'd written had some good stuff in it, but since I'd written 118 chapters, something had to give

#Astronomy
#Photography
#SpaceScience

Since this morning, the NASA/ESA/CSA #JWST has been taking near-IR images of Sharpless 305, a star-forming region in the outer reaches of the Milky Way

Below is an image taken with the ESO VLT many years ago in poor weather – the JWST images should be better

When finished in a couple of hours, that'll be the last of my Guaranteed Time Observations, granted when I was selected as a member of the JWST Science Working Group in 2002

It has been a privilege

#SpaceScience #Astronomy

To further mark the retirement of the ESA's amazingly successful #Gaia Milky Way surveyor spacecraft yesterday, some pictures taken of it during my visit to EADS Astrium in Toulouse on 3 May 2013, 6.5 months before launch.

1. Me in front of the large silicon carbide torus with its two large rectangular telescope primary mirrors;

2. The torus from below;

3. The huge focal plane with its 106 CCD detectors;

4. The large "top hat" that covers it all.

#SpaceScience #Astronomy #Photography

This November we are going to Cyprus for our #COSPAR2025 Symposium. At it we'll work together to harness the potential of space to address the challenges facing our planet from the historic city of Nicosia.

Would you like to join us? Abstract submission is open until 4 April: https://www.cospar-assembly.org/uploads/documents/COSPAR%202025%20Call%20for%20Abstracts%20-%20SD%20-%20v2.pdf #SpaceResearch #SpaceforEarth #SpaceScience

Some memorabilia from yesterday’s event at ESOC as the ESA #Gaia spacecraft was deactivated after running out of propellant & moved off L2 into an Earth-trailing solar orbit.

One of these objects might last until the Sun turns into red giant five billion years from now; the other will be lucky to last the weekend

Thanks to my ESA colleagues for the former & the fine folk at Oedipus Brewing in Amsterdam for the latter

https://oedipus.com

#SpaceScience #Astronomy #Photography

Planets, stars, clusters, & the Milky Way – the view in four directions from our rooftop terrace this evening

The perfect way to reflect on the retirement of the astonishing Gaia spacecraft, its 11 year work scanning the skies now at an end

It’s in one of those pictures

And on time spent today with good friends & colleagues from ESA & beyond who made this all possible, celebrating the science, but also the shared purpose & endeavour for all humankind

#SpaceScience #Astronomy

The #European #Space Agency #ESA has powered down its #Gaia spacecraft after more than a decade spent gathering data that are now being used to unravel the secrets of our home galaxy. On 27 March 2025, Gaia’s control team at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre carefully switched off the spacecraft’s subsystems and sent it into a ‘retirement orbit’ around the Sun. #SpaceScience #Astronomy #Science https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Farewell_Gaia!_Spacecraft_operations_come_to_an_end

Fittingly the last talk of today’s celebration & wake for the Gaia spacecraft – Anthony Brown of the Sterrewacht Leiden, chair of the Data Processing & Analysis Consortium, presenting some of the science highlights from the mission (so far).

I’ve read a lot of these papers & have presented many the committees, but it always amazes me just how broad & revolutionary the science is, including but far beyond the Milky Way archaeology work

#SpaceScience #Astronomy #Gaia

Here’s the moment that we lost radio contact with Gaia today

The memories of the same happening here at the end of the Rosetta mission in 2016 are strong

A sad day, but the science continues

Ad astra, Gaia

#SpaceScience #Astronomy #Gaia #Science

Wow – didn’t think I’d be in tears today, but this message sent home from Gaia as it was shut down forever today hits hard

What you’re seeing is a map of the 106 CCD detectors that Gaia used to measure the positions of billions of stars in the Milky Way for the past 11 years

They were turned off in a special sequence …

#SpaceScience #Astronomy #Science

Evolution of the price per kg of payload (LEO) for several space missions:

Space Shuttle - $19.8k/kg
Ariane 5 - $10.3k/kg
Soyuz FG - $7.2k/kg
H-IIB - $7.1k/kg
LongMarch 3B - $5.8k/kg
Polar Satellite - $3.9k/kg
SpaceX Falcon - $2.7k/kg
SpaceX Falcon 9 (reuse) - $1.9k/kg

#Space #SpaceShuttle #Payload #SpaceMission #SpaceMIssions #Evolution #LEO #LowEarthOrbit #Mission #Missions #Shuttle #Ariane #Ariane5 #Soyuz #SoyuzFG #HIIB #LongMarch #LongMarch3B #PolarSatellite #SpaceX #Falcon #Falcon9 #Reuse #SpaceScience #Planet #SpaceTech #Astrodynamics #Astrophile #OrbitalDynamics #Technology #STEM

A bittersweet but celebratory day at ESOC, the European Space Operations Centre, in Darmstadt

Later this morning, the final commands will be sent to ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, ending the operational phase of its mission after 11 years

But the mission is by no means over – the mission’s amazing scientific insights into the formation & evolution of our Milky Way galaxy will only increase as new data catalogues are released in coming years

#SpaceScience #Astronomy #Science

Do you use space research or resources to make the world a better place? Make sure to submit an abstract for our #COSPAR2025 Scientific Symposium by 4 April!

The event will bring together our global community of leaders from space agencies, academia and industry. Learn more about how to join us: https://www.cospar-assembly.org/uploads/documents/COSPAR%202025%20Call%20for%20Abstracts%20-%20SD%20-%20v2.pdf #SpaceResearch #SpaceScience #SustainableSpace

Niche question for astronomers & historians of astronomy, particularly those at Harvard perhaps.

Can anyone tell me the birth & death dates of Edith F. Reilly, who worked with Bart Bok in the 1940's & co-authored the discovery paper on "small dark nebulae", now called "Bok globules"?

I've looked online, but have drawn a blank. They'd be good to have for my book.

https://adsabs.harvard.edu/pdf/1947ApJ...105..255B

#SpaceScience #Astronomy #HistoryOfScience

Euclid’s data treasure trove is here . A new era of understanding dark matter and dark energy! #EuclidMission #SpaceScience
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Euclid/Euclid_opens_data_treasure_trove_offers_glimpse_of_deep_fields

Euclid’s data treasure trove is here . A new era of understanding dark matter and dark energy! #EuclidMission #SpaceScience
https://champ.ly/Z0MWPVpu

Well, since it’s my binary 1000000th birthday today , it’s time let you know about the book I’ve been writing

Titled “111 Places in Space That You Must Not Miss”, it’s a tour guide to some fascinating locations in the Solar System, Milky Way, & beyond. Each “chapter” comes with a full page image & a description of what you’d see & learn if you could travel there

Published by Emons Verlag, it’s out in July in the UK, September in the US

https://www.accartbooks.com/uk/book/111-places-in-space-that-you-must-not-miss/

#SpaceScience

Super niche toot aimed at people involved in Cosmic Microwave Background work:

Has anyone made in-painted CMB temperature maps based on the Planck 2020 PR4 release data?

Ideally at higher resolution than the 2018 release maps here, although of course I realise that the resolution is instrument-dependent, not arbitrary.

The higher-res 2015 temp images released by ESA were badly interpolated up & I'd like to redo that with the latest data release.

http://pla.esac.esa.int/pla/#maps

#SpaceScience

Have been playing around a bit this evening with some data from Akatsuki (aka JAXA's Venus Climate Orbiter): when needs must

This is a 2-colour composite of images taken on 11 August 2017 through the 283nm (blue) & 365nm (red) UV filters, which nicely reveal structure in Venus' sulphuric acid clouds.

Work in progress ...

#SpaceScience

It's not easy being green, especially in space research and exploration. But we are rising to the challenge to make Earth a better place, including by fostering New Space Entrepreneurs and emerging technologies.

Be a part of the community by presenting at the #COSPAR2025 Scientific Symposium:
https://www.cospar-assembly.org/uploads/documents/COSPAR%202025%20Call%20for%20Abstracts%20-%20SD%20-%20v2.pdf #SustainableSpace #SpaceforEarth #SpaceResearch #SpaceScience