That’s not a bomb crater—it’s aluminum struck by a half-inch plastic fragment traveling at 15,000 mph, simulating a real orbital debris collision. These hypervelocity impacts demonstrate how even small objects can destroy spacecraft in low Earth orbit, where relative speeds exceed 6.7 km/s. That’s why space agencies like NASA and ESA design satellites with specialized shielding like the Whipple shield—a layered defense that vaporizes debris before it hits critical systems. #SpaceDebris #OrbitalVelocity #NASA #ESA #HypervelocityImpact

In 1972, during the Apollo 16 mission, astronaut Charles Duke did something deeply human amid the vast silence of space— He left a tiny photo of his wife and children on the Moon. Tucked inside a plastic sleeve and placed gently on the lunar surface, it was a powerful symbol of love, family, and connection—left 238,000 miles from Earth. While the astronauts returned home, the photo remains there to this day... a timeless keepsake in a place where time barely moves. A portrait of humanity, resting on the Moon. Credit: NASA / Charles Duke / Apollo 16

In a major breakthrough, scientists have revised the length of a day on Uranus—and it’s now 28 seconds longer than we thought. Thanks to over a decade of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, researchers have calculated that a full Uranian day lasts exactly 17 hours, 14 minutes, and 52 seconds. That may sound like a tiny change, but for planetary scientists, it’s a big deal. Until now, the only direct measurements came from NASA’s Voyager 2 flyby in 1986, which left lingering uncertainties—especially around Uranus’ magnetic poles. Those outdated rotation estimates made it nearly impossible to accurately track how the planet's magnetosphere behaves over time. To solve this, a team led by Laurent Lamy (Paris Observatory) analyzed Hubble’s ultraviolet observations from 2011 to 2022, tracking auroras caused by solar wind slamming into Uranus’ magnetic field. By following those glowing signals, they were able to pinpoint the magnetic poles and determine Uranus’ rotation period with unprecedented precision—even more accurately than we know Jupiter’s. That’s especially impressive considering Uranus spins almost completely sideways, making these measurements incredibly tricky. This refined rotation rate is crucial—it will help scientists build better models of Uranus’ interior, magnetic field, and future missions, including NASA’s upcoming plans to explore the ice giant in detail. 📄 RESEARCH PAPER: L. Lamy et al., “A new rotation period and longitude system for Uranus”, Nature Astronomy (2025)

Earth "rising" into view beyond the Moon's horizon captured by John Young from lunar orbit while inside the LM "Snoopy" during Apollo 10 on May 22, 1969. Credit: NASA/Jason Major

Space is IMMENSE! Mercury is just 77 million km away, but Voyager 1 is a staggering 18.8 BILLION kilometers away. Credit: NASA #SolarSystem #Vastness #Voyager1