Up At The Ranch And Beyond

[Bluegreen]

Thx Krysz, super ... all the latest info on America's return to the Moon ...

Posted by Kryztian (here)
NASA’s Artemis II mission will take an astronaut crew around the Moon – a space policy expert describes the long road to launch
https://theconversation.com/nasas-ar...-launch-274481

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket will launch a crewed capsule
into orbit and then on a mission around the Moon. AP Photo/John Raoux

NASA is once again shooting for the Moon, for the first time since the 1970s. As soon as April 2026, NASA will launch its Artemis II mission, using the Space Launch System heavy lift rocket to send a crewed spacecraft, called Orion, into orbit. From there, the crew will circle around the Moon over 10 days […]

https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1708141

From the John F Kennedy Library Foundation





Listening In: JFK on Getting to the Moon (November 21, 1962)

At an off-the-record meeting held on November 21, 1962 with NASA Administrator James Webb, NASA Deputy Administrator Robert Seamans, and Special Assistant to the President Jerome Wiesner, President Kennedy states clearly that his administration's priority is for the United States to land on the Moon before the Soviet Union.

(4:04) - Audio only

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xZFnTBSRKcg

JFK at Rice University, Houston, Texas, Sept. 12, 1962

We choose to go to the Moon

"There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon.

We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."

[Bluegreen]

Antennae Galaxies: Duel in Deep Space by Greg Meyer



www.space.com

Astrophotographer Greg Meyer took aim at the constellation Corvus to capture a majestic view of the Antennae Galaxies, whose once spiral forms have been rendered chaotic as they merge into a single elliptical monster of a galaxy.

The deep space image captures a fleeting moment in a titanic struggle that has lasted hundreds of millions of years, as the gravitational influence of the galaxies NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 pulls at one another to create chaos on a truly cosmic scale.

[Bluegreen]

Huge Freshwater Reservoir Found Hidden Under The Great Salt Lake





The Great Salt Lake is so named because of the salinity of its water, but a new study appears to have detected a huge reservoir of salt-free freshwater hiding underneath it.

Researchers from the University of Utah deployed a helicopter to carry out an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey of part of the lake, covering parts of the Farmington Bay area along the south-eastern edge of the water.

An AEM survey does two jobs: It detects electrical conductivity, which helps differentiate saltwater from freshwater, and it examines rock composition. That means the data can potentially show where freshwater is, and how deep it goes.

The team found that in the surveyed region, there's a sudden and substantial drop in the depth of underlying bedrock below the Great Salt Lake, leaving a massive space for sand and silt to fill – sediment that appears to be saturated with freshwater.

"We were able to answer the question of how deep this potential reservoir is, and what its spatial extent is beneath the eastern lake margin," said geophysicist Michael Zhdanov. "If you know how deep, you know how wide, you know the porous space, you can calculate the potential freshwater volume."

The researchers estimate that the freshwater reservoir could extend down between 3 and 4 kilometers (up to almost 2.5 miles), though a full survey of the entire Great Salt Lake will be needed to make sure – only a small area of it was scanned here.




Section surveyed

It was already suspected that there might be freshwater lurking underneath the Great Salt Lake – in part due to the reed-covered islands that have been popping up across the basin – but this is the first time that researchers have seriously tried to assess how big the freshwater reservoir might be.

What's more, the researchers think this water could be useful: As the waters of the Great Salt Lake have continued to evaporate, pollution from the remaining dust has become more and more of a problem for the health of surrounding communities.

This dust is regularly blowing into the urban areas of Utah, and taking toxic metals along with it. Some damping down with freshwater may help to mitigate that.

"There are beneficial effects of this groundwater that we need to understand before we go extracting more of it," says hydrologist Bill Johnson.

Published 24th March 2026 by David Nield – Science Alert
https://www.sciencealert.com/huge-fr...reat-salt-lake

[Bluegreen]

Two Feet of Snow in Ipswich

A Cold Case: Officials Flummoxed





IPSWICH, SUFFOLK — Suffolk police have launched a cautious inquiry following the overnight appearance of a pair of anatomically detailed, three-meter-long feet sculpted entirely from snow. The frozen appendages, discovered in a residential driveway, have left local authorities grappling with a case that is literally melting away.

Officers were called to the scene at dawn after a homeowner reported two frozen feet obstructing their property. Preliminary measurements suggest the sculptures are roughly size 450 in standard UK footwear.

“We are currently treating this as a non-suspicious but highly confusing incident,” said a spokesperson for the Suffolk Constabulary. “While the artistry is undeniable—right down to the distinct toenail ridges—the sheer scale suggests either a prank of giant proportions or a very localized, very specific weather event.”

Police have issued a lighthearted warning to the public.

“We advise residents to remain vigilant. If you see a three-storey-tall snowman wandering the A12 without his shoes, please do not approach him. He is likely cold and irritable.”

Published 10th February 2026 by Anthony Pike – Suffolk Gazette
https://www.suffolkgazette.com/2-fee...ents-driveway/

[Bluegreen]

Sungrazing Comet Update

Sungrazing Comet MAPS (C/2026 A1) is getting very close to the sun. On April 4th it will skim just 160,000 km (0.23 solar radii) above the sun's surface--a true death dive. The event will be invisible from Earth, but space-based coronagraphs will be able to see what happens.



www.spaceweather.com

Astronomer Qicheng Zhang of Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, created this diagram.

"It shows the trajectory of of Comet MAPS through the SOHO/LASCO and GOES-19/CCOR-1 fields of view," says Zhang. "The comet approaches the sun from the lower left and will also depart to the lower left, if it survives perihelion (closest approach to the sun)."

[Bluegreen]

Project Hail Mary Trailer 2 (2026) Ryan Gosling





11.9 Light-years from home. 6th grade science teacher. One chance to save us all.


(3:16)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=D9g_6zVnGm0

Astrophysicist Breaks Down Project Hail Mary (ft. Ryan Gosling)





- Spoiler alert -

How much of the science in Project Hail Mary is actually possible? Because this story is packed with real science! I got to sit down with actor Ryan Gosling and author Andy Weir (as well as directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller), to chat about how the science in Project Hail Mary, one of the most scientifically ambitious sci-fi stories ever written, was translated from the book to the big screen.

Published 13th March 2026 (20:58)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=lYHCTEnYOr4

Becky interview w/ Ryan Gosling (7:54)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj_AbV1Ph90

[Johnnycomelately]

Ever wonder why we rarely meet up with those folks from afar? 👽

@johnnyliminal8032
3 hours ago

Music like this, is why ETs don’t party with us.

They travel millions of miles to this music capital planet of the galaxy, because our tunes are so perplexing to them. Those different FTL races haven’t had game since they lost their eyebrows and their haircuts way back when.

Haha, yeah. 👻🎶🎶🎶😎🎶🎶⚠️



Trunk Junk

Craig Elliott
197 subscribers

Mar 29, 2026

Music]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=CxAbzqR0CzY

[Bluegreen]

Posted by Johnnycomelately (here)
Ever wonder why we rarely meet up with those folks from afar? 👽

"Maybe they just don't want to talk to us."








Where Are All The Aliens?

Back in 1961, astronomer Frank Drake put chalk to board and devised a formula to estimate the number of communicative civilizations in the Milky Way. Just how many alien societies exist and are detectable?

And there's also the paradoxical query asked a decade earlier by physicist Enrico Fermi. It seems like ET should be out there, given the vast amount of cosmic real estate. So, where is everybody?

Over the decades, researchers have been trying to come up with answers to these questions. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) is a mix of technology, super-smart software and patience, along with creative thinking. For example, maybe the problem isn't us or our methods. Perhaps ET is a party pooper, refusing to join in on any interstellar discourse.

In a new research paper, Erik Geslin notes that the Drake Equation asks how many civilizations beyond Earth might exist.

"My work asks whether they would actually want to speak with us," Geslin said. "What we call the 'Great Silence' may not reflect absence, but refusal."

In the view of Geslin, an associate professor of interactive media at Noroff University College in Norway, a civilization capable of interstellar travel may also be one that has moved beyond conquest, excess and ecological self-destruction.

"Advanced extraterrestrials may not be shy, they may simply be prudent," Geslin said. "If extraterrestrial civilizations are biocentric or ecocentric, humanity may not yet appear to them as a safe partner for contact. Such civilizations might simply be cautious."

Other starfolk may understand very well the potential risks involved in interacting with humanity, a species that is still strongly anthropocentric, heavily resource-driven and often conflict-prone, according to Geslin.

"What we interpret as silence might therefore not reflect fear, but prudence! Perhaps even a kind of ethical restraint. In that sense, their behavior could resemble a principle of non-interference," he said.

But as for us Earthlings, we've been busy beavers, in terms of broadcasting signals into space and putting an ear to the cosmos in the hope of making contact.






Sending “Game of Thrones” and “Gilligan's Island” into deep space

We have even planted messages to "the others" out there on outward-bound spacecraft, like NASA's Pioneer and Voyager probes.




Sending “Johnny B Goode” and “The Brandenburg Concerto” into deep space

"But sending friendly messages does not necessarily mean that we appear as a friendly civilization when viewed from the outside. An advanced society would likely take its time to observe us before considering any form of interaction," Geslin said. "They might study our communications, our media, our films, simulations, games and social networks, all of which reveal something about who we are."





Geslin said that it doesn't take much effort to simply observe the state of our planet and the way our civilization interacts with its biosphere.

"From that perspective," he said, "our signals might reveal a species that is inventive and technologically creative, but also ecologically unstable and often destructive toward both its environment and its own members."

Published 17th March 2026 by Leonard David – Space.com
https://www.space.com/space-explorat...-to-talk-to-us

Related:
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...=1#post1708562

[Bluegreen]

April 2026 Calendar



Don’t Miss These Night Sky Events in April 2026

Tsula's Big Adventures

I tried and failed to find out where Tsula is from, but am pretty sure its not Canada.

(8:32)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=bKbqC2oHcN4

○ April 1: Full Moon
○ April 5-8, 2026: Look potentially for a bright comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) low on the horizon just after sunset.
○ April 13: Neptune will be .3° from Mars before sunrise!
○ April 17: New Moon
○ April 17: 5:00 am look for Comet C/2025 R3 (Panstarrs), Magnitude 8 low on the horizon in Pegasus
○ April 17: Mercury at Greatest Elongation and brightest.  Look Low on the horizon just before sunrise
○ April 19: Saturn will be 1.2° below Mars before sunrise
○ April 20: Mercury will be .5% from Saturn before sunrise
○ April 21: Mercury will be 1.7° below Mars early in the morning before sunrise
○ April 21-22, 2026: Lyrid Meteor Shower.  10 pm until sunrise.  Look in the direction of Lyra the Harp or look for bright Vega
○ April 23: Look for Uranus .8 ° lower left of Venus just after sunset
○ April 24: First Quarter Moon

○ Jupiter will be in Gemini all month

All Saints Days




St Benedict the African





Benedict the Moor OFM (Italian: Benedetto il Moro; 1526 – 4 April 1589), also known as Benedict of Palermo, Benedict the Black, or Benedict the African, was an Afro-Sicilian Franciscan friar. He was born to enslaved Africans in San Fratello, Sicily and freed at birth.

As a young man, he joined a Franciscan-affiliated hermit group, of which he became the leader. In 1564 he was sent to the Franciscan friary in Palermo, where he continued good works. He rarely talked about himself, and never used the word 'mine', always 'ours'. He became known for his charity and work on behalf of others. He died in 1589 and was canonized by Pope Pius VII in 1807.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_the_Moor

[Bluegreen]

From the Frozen Tundra





Scientists Drill Through Antarctic Ice, Uncovering 23 Million Years of Climate Secrets





Deep beneath Antarctica’s ice, scientists have uncovered a geological archive that could reshape predictions of future sea-level rise.

Working roughly 700 kilometers from the closest Antarctic research stations, the team drilled through 523 meters of solid ice at Crary Ice Rise, located along the edge of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Beneath the ice, they recovered a 228-meter-long core made up of layered mud and rock.

These sediments preserve a long record of environmental change during earlier warm phases in Earth’s history, offering crucial evidence for estimating how quickly ice in the region could melt as the planet warms.

If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to collapse entirely, scientists estimate that global sea levels would climb by four to five meters. Until now, predictions about how the ice sheet might react to additional warming have relied largely on satellite data and sediment records gathered near the ice margin, beneath floating ice shelves, within sea ice, and across the Ross Sea and Southern Ocean.

The newly recovered core was drilled as part of the international SWAIS2C project (Sensitivity of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet to 2°C). It was collected at Crary Ice Rise, an ice dome anchored at the inner edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. Unlike previous records, this core provides direct and detailed evidence of how the ice sheet’s margin behaved during earlier warm intervals.





Initial age estimates were made at the drilling site by identifying microscopic fossils from marine organisms preserved in several sediment layers. Researchers from 10 countries involved in the SWAIS2C project will now carry out more detailed analyses to confirm and refine the timeline.

Published 2nd March 2026 by ETH Zurich - SciTech Daily
https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-...imate-secrets/


Rhinoceros Found in the Arctic Changes Everything







Artist's recreation of Epiatheracerium itjilik in its forested lake habitat, Devon Island, Early Miocene, 23 million years ago. The plants and animals shown, including a rodent, rabbit and the transitional seal Puijila darwini, are all based on fossilized remains found at the site.

Researchers from the Canadian Museum of Nature have identified a previously unknown species of extinct rhinoceros from the High Arctic. The remarkably well-preserved fossil skeleton was uncovered in ancient lakebed sediments at Haughton Crater on Devon Island in Nunavut. This find represents the northernmost rhino species ever documented.

Rhinoceroses have a long evolutionary history spanning more than 40 million years, once inhabiting nearly every continent except South America and Antarctica. This newly identified "Arctic rhino" lived roughly 23 million years ago during the Early Miocene. It is most closely related to species that lived in Europe millions of years earlier.

The species, named Epiatheracerium itjilik [eet-jee-look], is described in a new study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

"Today there are only five species of rhinos in Africa and Asia, but in the past they were found in Europe and North America, with more than 50 species known from the fossil record," says the study's lead author Dr. Danielle Fraser, head of palaeobiology at the Canadian Museum of Nature (CMN). "The addition of this Arctic species to the rhino family tree now offers new insights to our understanding of their evolutionary history."

Published 24th March 2026 by Canadian Museum of Nature – Science Daily
https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0324024245.htm

[Bluegreen]

“Oh ****!”

Artemis II Moon Mission: Toiletry Issues





It's bad enough when it happens at home.

The astronauts on the Artemis II mission experienced some potty troubles just hours after takeoff Wednesday ... forcing them to hold number 1 or use a backup system until the issue was fixed.

Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch -- the only woman onboard the 10-day mission -- first reported the issue to mission control when she noticed a blinking fault light, per Space.com. Norm Knight, NASA's director of flight operations, told reporters at the Kennedy Space Center the malfunction was due to a controller issue on the toilet.

Meanwhile, NASA spokesperson Gary Jordan said during live mission commentary that the toilet fan was jammed.

The issue shut down the urine collection portion of the one-of-a-kind toilet aboard the Orion spacecraft ... forcing the crew to use a backup system. However, NASA confirmed they could still go number 2 with no troubles.

Luckily, after a few hours, the problem was fixed ... and astronauts could finally get back to their toilet business as planned.

This mission to fly by the moon marks the first time a real toilet has been used for such an expedition -- the Apollo missions in the 1960s and '70s, for instance, did not have a toilet or even a designated bathroom area on board. Astronauts simply used waste collection bags ... and then left those bags in space to reduce mass and contamination risks.

Published April 2, 2026 by TMZ Staff
https://www.tmz.com/2026/04/02/artem...throom-issues/




For the First Time, a Toilet Heads Into Deep Space - Published 2nd April 2026 – NY Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/s...om-toilet.html

[Johnnycomelately]

The Soviets’ Luna 15 almost beat Apollo 11 to be the first to bring back Moon rocks

Was our Cold War opposition COMPLICIT in a mondo GEOPOLITICAL DECEPTION? Haha, no.

There is no way to convince stalwart conspiracy theorists that their pet theories are untrue. But we can keep presenting evidence to the contrary, of what actually has happened, in hopes that their manic din will fade from public discourse. Melt away, Flat Earthers and Moon-Landing Deniers! You dummies, you are distracting from the real conspiracies, like Gulf of Tonkin, Nine 11, Benghazi, Covert 19.

L = 11:29. Through t= 10:07, Luna 15 is said to be what is visible in the Lunar sky, transiting left to right above the Tranquility lander.

OP Mark Felton is imo bulletproof, as a professional historian. He has exposed the British royalty of misdeeds. He is always sure of his conclusions, to the extent that he seems fearless.

I don’t expect any responses to this post, because affirmation should be unnecessary by sensible investigators, and to dissent would be goofy.

Apollo 11 Wasn't Alone on the Moon! 1969 Soviet Moon Landing

Mark Felton Productions
2.4M subscribers

Apr 2, 2026

Shortly after Apollo 11 landed on the Moon in July 1969, a second spacecraft that was already in Moon orbit prepared to also land on the lunar surface. This spacecraft was Soviet and was part of a bizarre race with the Americans, a race with profound consequences for human science and national pride.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=awRIBq0kQPI

[Bluegreen]

Missing Air Force General With Ties to UFO Community 'Planned Not To Be Found'

Chilling 911 Call From Wife Hours After Disappearance

The wife of retired Air Force general William “Neil” McCasland who disappeared without a trace from his New Mexico home in February told 911 dispatchers she feared her husband “planned not to be found.”




McCasland and his wife, Susan Wilkerson

Susan Wilkerson called 911 three hours after her husband, who has strong ties to the UFO community, vanished from their Albuquerque home on Feb. 27 with hiking boots and a revolver.

“My husband is missing. It’s been about 3 hours and I have some indication that he must have planned not to be found,” Wilkerson warned 911 dispatchers in newly released audio obtained by the Law&Crime Network. 

Wilkerson told dispatchers that her alien-expert husband suspiciously turned his phone off and left it at  home alongside his prescription glasses before he vanished. 

“He turned it off and left it behind which seems kind of deliberate because he’s always got his phone. He has a smartwatch. I don’t know if that’s with him or not,” she said.

The worried wife told dispatchers that her husband had changed his clothes and left on foot in the middle of the day while she was out at an appointment.

“I think he’s on foot. All of our cars and bicycles are in the garage."

Local authorities and the FBI have been searching for the 68-year-old since late February but have come up short.

Prior to his retirement, McCasland worked at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, overseeing classified space weapon programs.

Published 3rd April 2026 by E. Morrison – NY Post
https://nypost.com/2026/04/03/us-new...t-to-be-found/

'National Security Fears': Top Scientists Killed or Missing



Former Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker discusses the disappearance of a retired Air Force general with ties to UFOs, along with other cases of top scientists reported missing or dead, on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime'.

Published 23rd March 2026 (6:21)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=f13KIjiTCxk

[Bluegreen]

Scientists Cure Type 1 Diabetes in Mice

By creating a hybrid immune system between the recipient and the donor, researchers were able to transplant insulin-producing cells that were not rejected





Scientists have cured type 1 diabetes in mice, without long-term immune suppression.

In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells, and replacing them with transplanted cells from donors has historically required people to take strong immunosuppressants for life, which severely limited the reach of such transplants.

But in a new study, researchers created a "chimeric," or blended immune system that contains elements of both the recipient's and the donor's immune systems. This enabled mice to tolerate a transplant of insulin-producing cells without long-term immune suppression.

Much more research is needed before this kind of treatment could be available to patients in a clinic, and keeping the blended immune system balanced is tricky. But if extensive follow-up testing in humans shows the transplantation process is safe and durable, it could offer an avenue for reversing the potentially deadly disease.

"This is potentially a way to cure diabetes," Dr. John DiPersio, an oncologist at Washington University in St. Louis who researches cellular therapy. "It does represent a big step forward."

The team came up with a multistep process that uses multiple antibodies, low-dose radiation and a rheumatoid arthritis drug called baricitinib, and tested that protocol in more than a dozen mice. This immune system "conditioning" process made space in the recipient's bone marrow for some donor stem cells, without wiping out all of the recipient's stem cells. It also muted different parts of the immune system just long enough for the donor's stem cells and islets to take root.





From start to finish, the process took around 12 days, the immune system was never completely wiped out, and the radiation dose was lower than is typically used in bone-marrow transplants.

The mice were still making insulin 20 weeks later, and blood tests and postmortem analysis showed their immune systems were functioning well and not rejecting the transplants, the study authors noted in the paper, which was published in the January issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Published 2nd April 2026 by Tia Ghose – Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/health/s...-immune-system

[Bluegreen]

Hello World by NASA, Reid Wiseman, Artemis II





From pole to pole our fair planet is captured in this snapshot from space, an evocative image from a window of the Orion spacecraft Integrity. From the spacecraft's perspective the Sun is moving behind Earth's bright limb along the lower right. Africa and the Iberian peninsula are in view on the pale blue planet's surface, while aurorae crown Earth's south and north poles at top right and bottom left.

Commander Reid Wiseman took the historic picture on Artemis II mission flight day 2 (April 2), after the completion of the planned translunar injection burn. That burn boosted the spacecraft out of Earth orbit, sending Integrity and crew on a trajectory that will take them around the Moon and back again. That's a journey humans last made over 50 years ago.

Venus is photobombing Wiseman's historic pic. Currently appearing in our western skies after sunset, the inner planet is in the frame below and right of Earth's bright limb, immersed in a faint band of zodiacal light.



Although we already know what we are looking at, here is the Professor to explain further.

Published 3rd April 2026 (4:02)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ocb-3M2dl_0

[Bluegreen]

This Week in Volcano News: Strong Dukono Eruption, Bulusan's Increased Alert Level



This week, a strong eruption of the Dukono volcano occurred, possibly in association with a magnitude 7.6 earthquake. Meanwhile, in France, another lava flow entered the ocean on France's populated Reunion Island, forming 7 additional acres of new land. And, in the Philippines, the alert level of the Bulusan volcano was raised due to the detection of hundreds of shallow earthquakes. Today's video will discuss these stories through the opinion and analysis of a geologist and list the 40 world volcanoes that are actively erupting.

Published 5th April 2026 (5:42)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZpVZO5VDrcs

[Bluegreen]

History's Worst Cheapskates: Fired For Wasting A Paperclip



Misers: We all know the type. They hoard their money and delight in their savings regardless of the human cost, or how incredibly rich they already may be. Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol is the most famous miser of all time; and while he may never have existed, plenty of other misers were all too real.

(12:14)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uJzJKXz3wzQ

[Bluegreen]

See How Orchids Use Deception For Pollination | Science News



Those little rascals.

Orchids don’t always reward their pollinators — sometimes they trick them. From flowers that mimic insect mates to blooms that smell like rotting fish, orchids have evolved remarkable strategies to ensure their reproductive success.

Published 20th March 2026 (6:25)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=zJk9tDZw7S0

[Bluegreen]

Sungrazing Comet MAPS Obliterated (UPDATED)

Right Off The MAP

The solar system has one less comet. On April 4th, Comet MAPS (C/2026 A1) flew through the sun's atmosphere only 160,000 km above the sun's surface. The comet went in, but only a cloud of debris came out.





SOHO coronagraphs captured the death dive, which was invisible from Earth. Above, there's a sudden brightening around 0300 UTC, That was probably the comet's nucleus exploding due to thermal stress.

While the comet was behind the coronagraph's occulting disk, the fragmented nucleus was vaporized, leaving only a stream of dusty debris to exit on the other side.

The emerging dust cloud is not amorphous. On the contrary, it is organized into a spray of narrow structures called "striae." These are rare narrow bands of light dust observed in the tails of certain high-production-rate comets. (Exploding is a good way to turn a comet into a "high producer.")




A short SOHO coronagraph centered on the emerging striae

Astronomers had hoped for a different ending. Comet MAPS was discovered last January farther from the sun than any sungrazer in history. It looked like it might be unusually big--perhaps big enough to survive and even become visible in broad daylight. Instead, RIP, Comet MAPS.

https://www.spaceweather.com/