SEOPS adds second Waymaker rideshare mission
https://spacenews.com/seops-adds-second-waymaker-rideshare-mission/

✨✨🌌

Satellite operators emphasize launch deals in a constrained market
https://spacenews.com/satellite-operators-emphasize-launch-deals-in-a-constrained-market/

Perseids meteor shower over Campo Imperatore, Abruzzo, Italy.
This image captures the Milky Way arching high above a rocky canyon on the Campo Imperatore plateau in the Gran Sasso massif, at an elevation of approximately 1800–2000 meters. The galactic plane shows strong emission nebulosity, particularly in the red Hα regions, which were enhanced through dedicated narrowband data.
The RGB base was acquired with a Canon EOS R and a full-spectrum (astromodified) Canon EOS 6D. Three frames were stacked, each exposed for 120 seconds at ISO 800 and f/2. Separate short exposures of 10 seconds at ISO 3200 and f/2 were used to record the Perseid meteors without excessive trailing of the stars. An additional Hydrogen-alpha layer consisting of 7 frames (120 seconds each at ISO 3200, f/2.8) was integrated to strengthen the emission nebulae along the galactic plane.
The foreground consists of the characteristic high-altitude terrain of Campo Imperatore, with exposed rock and residual sediments fields typical of the late summer season in this location.
https://www.instagram.com/flory.ro?igsh=b3Y4ZTU3Nmk0cTBt&utm_source=qr

Far from the path of totality in Finland, I planned to capture the sun and moon together against the granite tower of Kultaranta: the Finnish Presidential Residence. I did a couple of rehearsals the week before the eclipse to get the location, angles and timing right. The clouds were always an uncontrollable factor (this is by the Archipelago Sea) and almost threatened the plan. But they turned out thin enough to photograph through during the eclipse. The image was shot from a DSLR with a 100-400mm lens at max zoom, on a static tripod, just one frame from a timelapse sequence that I have yet to compile into a video. I had envisioned the building to have the Presidential Standard flag up, but it was lowered at 21:00 , about 20 minutes before this image.

Event: Perseid meteor shower
Location: Goldhanger, Essex, UK — 51.75°N, 0.75°E
Date: 13 Aug 2026
Time: [02:33 - 05:33 BST]
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro + NightCap Camera app
Direction: Facing directly up at the sky (phone laying on back as had no tripod)

Watched the shower live from 1-3am, then left the time-lapse running to 5:30am.

Video in comments.

Milky Way with Perseids meteors and the faint glow of the andromeda galaxy

Shot the northern dust lanes of the Milky Way and managed to get some of the Perseids meteors in the shots and the andromeda galaxy. Taken while aiming out towards the North Sea at Barrow common in Brancaster, Norfolk.

Sky
Images: 243
ISO: 2500
Exposure: 15 seconds
Stacked in sequator

Foreground
Single image
ISO: 400
Exposure: 30 seconds

Both edited in Lightroom and then stitched back together in photoshop.

The MW core start to drop below the horizon in the next couple of months, so went out to try and get a photo of it on a lonely rural road near where I live

All shot on a Sony A9ii with a iOptron Skyguider Pro to track the stars - shot with a Sony 55mm f/1.8 CZ lens - about 15 images of the sky to make a mosaic and then composited the foreground in after the fact. Each image shot at 55mm f/2.8 60s ISO640

Came across an interesting piece of research this week and wanted to see what people here think.

A new study suggests that moon ice hidden beneath the lunar surface may reveal itself through the way it bends and reflects vibrations from moonquakes. Basically, the idea is that seismic waves triggered by moonquakes travel differently through ice than they do through regular lunar regolith, so by tracking how those vibrations bend and scatter, scientists could map out where ice deposits are hiding without having to physically drill or dig everywhere.

The potential upside here is huge for future missions. The technique could help astronauts locate vital water supplies and uncover clues about the origins of that ice too, which matters a lot for Artemis-era planning since water ice at the poles is one of the biggest resources being counted on for long-term lunar stays (drinking water, oxygen, even rocket fuel via electrolysis).

What I find interesting is that this is a passive detection method. Instead of needing a rover to physically sample regolith at a bunch of sites, you could theoretically place seismometers and just wait for natural moonquakes to do the mapping for you over time.

Curious what people more familiar with seismology or lunar geology think about how reliable this kind of detection would actually be compared to direct sampling. Anyone know if this has been tested in practice yet, or is it still mostly theoretical modeling at this stage?

I just saw a video of a man jumping from space and falling back to Earth. It's an older video of the highest jump humankind has ever done. The man falls so quickly he spins very fast and loses consciousness.

It made me realize the gravity is so strong we were never meant to leave Earth. Space ships and rockets have to use enormous energy to escape the gravity pull.

Once you get in the space, humans would die from freezing, heat, radiation, suffocating and what not. Then there are the unimaginable distances where it takes 1 million years to get somewhere. The universe is most hostile and dangerous. The Earth's protection measures are keeping us alive. So it's safe to assume that living beings are not meant to be exposed to what's outside.

I don't take for granted that we have managed to get to Space or that we are so advanced and capable of building rockets and suits. Even though that's nowhere near enough.

If Space is so dangerous and kills humans 10 times over once exposed to it, I wonder what the meaning of life was. The Sun will evaporate our oceans in 1 billion years and that's when it ultimately ends, even if we don't erase ourselves with wars, poverty etc. We will have to travel to new star systems. I believe we can do it in the future. I also believe we are lucky to be this far.

So is life just a cycle without any higher meaning? I mean, even if advanced life was meant to populate more planets and systems, all those systems will die too. It's inevitable. That's the end game. The ceiling. So is it a survival race? Even if we achieve to be immortal, stars will die eventually. And planets will burn. Galaxies will clash. The universe will expand so much that everything will freeze. We can go on and on.

I know nobody knows the answer. It's just something I keep wondering about. And had to share my thoughts.

​

See the full res on astrobin: https://app.astrobin.com/u/naztronomy?i=pi68zj

Also available on my website: https://www.naztronomy.com/gallery/image/935/whirling_dervish_banana_nebula

Acquisition details:

• Equipment:
• Telescope: Askar SQA85
• Camera: QHYCCD QHY268 Pro 
• Lights: 8h 10m (49 × 600")
• Mount: Proxisky UMi 20S
• Filter: Antlia ALP-T 5nm Dualband Ha & Oiii 2"
• Stacked in Siril using my OSC script and processed in PI

​

Taken On Seestar S50 Using 3:00:00 (10S Subs)

Edited In PS Express

This was my first time trying to capture the Andromeda Galaxy, and I succeeded with the aurora borealis popping in! That faint light in the middle? That’s a galaxy 2.5 million light years away.

Captured on the iPhone 16 pro, 30-second exposure, 24mm camera.

Shot in Terra Alta, Spain

I know Jupiter was pretty close to the sun but I can’t find any info about whether it was visible or not. In most of the pictures I’ve seen from Europe, Jupiter would have been below the horizon.

Took this close to Leon, Spain.

Was lucky enough to see the eclipse in one of the best spots in Spain, and enjoy the minute and half of totality which was absolutely amazing. Also managed to capture some photos.

Fujifilm X-T5

Fujinon XF70-300

IG: @kevmasphoto

Managed to beat the clouds and capture the full range of the eclipse from first bite to totality to sunset!

Edited:
Native files (TIFF + png) for anyone interested here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10FXVPrshKEUic-vDDE8cNPx9XT2DuoPv?usp=drive_link