United Federation of Planets

09/22/2026

"When NASA’s Perseverance rover reached the inner edge of Mars’ Jezero Crater in September 2023, mission scientists were surprised by what they found."

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-discovery-reveals-complex-water-systems-on-early-mars/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c92f5d78644b3ac5d5b4

09/22/2026

"Since their discovery by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022, little red dots (LRDs) have been the subject of great interest to astronomers."

Since their discovery by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022, little red dots (LRDs) have been the subject of great interest to astronomers.

09/20/2026

"Though the spiral galaxy in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope seems serene, it hides a chaotic secret."

Though the spiral galaxy in this new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope seems serene, it hides a chaotic secret. This galaxy is NGC 4698, and it lies about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It's one of more than a thousand galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, the nearest....

09/20/2026

"Northrop Grumman has won a U.S. Space Force deal to develop a new reconnaissance satellite for geosynchronous orbit."

Northrop Grumman will build a GHOST-R prototype using its compact ESPASat-L platform to track objects in geosynchronous orbit.

09/20/2026

"Speaking at the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference on Monday, September 14, US Secretary of the Air Force Dr Troy Meink confirmed that the United States had deployed a space weapon in Earth’s orbit."

https://www.iflscience.com/the-us-has-admitted-for-the-first-time-that-it-placed-weapons-in-space-what-does-this-mean-84669?utm_source=newsletters.iflscience.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=twis-the-us-admits-it-placed-weapons-in-space&_bhlid=60a5d25f89a5d65f630f8c7e9a48a8ccd2434217

09/19/2026

"NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has orbited the Moon for 17 years, mapping its surface with unprecedented precision."

It only formed in 2024 and is the largest fresh impact ever found.

09/19/2026

"Since it began sending observations back to Earth in summer 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has helped scientists create a much clearer picture of the universe, but it has also delivered some frustrating mysteries."

https://www.space.com/astronomy/james-webb-space-telescope/galaxies-housing-the-james-webb-space-telescopes-mysterious-little-red-dots-mightve-revealed-their-secrets

09/19/2026

"The star-forming region IC 348 is located just 1000 light-years away in the constellation Perseus. In regions like IC 348, cold clouds of molecular hydrogen gas collapse to form new stars, creating glowing, sculpted scenes like this one."

This starry view of the nearby star-forming region IC 348 is one of the largest images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope released to the public so far. Using Webb, astronomers searched IC 348 for brown dwarfs, which are less massive than the smallest stars. The researchers discovered....

09/19/2026

"On Sept. 18, 1977, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft took its first photo of Earth and the moon."

Before Voyager 1 captured its iconic Pale Blue Dot photo, it snapped this portrait of our home in space.

09/19/2026

"It is 9 am on a warm July Sunday in Cambridge, as I head towards a café in the city centre."

A black hole rings like a struck bell, then settles into silence, forgetting almost everything about its history. Why?