LUNAR LANDER RETURNS TO EARTH: Astrobotic's malfunctioning Peregrine lunar lander returned to Earth yesterday, Jan 18th, when it disintegrated in the atmosphere above the South Pacific Ocean. The controlled re-entry at 4 p.m. Eastern Time was intentional, a step the company took to keep the space between Earth and the Moon safe and clear for future lunar missions. [full story]
ICE GEYSER ERUPTS ON COMET 12P: Astronomers are monitoring a new eruption on cryovolcanic Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks. On Jan 18th, the comet's brightness suddenly increased 10-fold (2.5 magnitudes) as a cloud of debris expanded around its icy core. Astronomer Denis Buczynski captured the outburst in progress from his observatory in Tarbatness Highland, Scotland:
Previous eruptions in 2023 have formed strange shapes around the comet. Once it looked like the Millennium Falcon, and several times it resembled a horned devil. It is too soon to say how the current eruption will develop.
Since last November, the comet has been erupting every 15 days, albeit with one or two misses. Why? Basically, it's because the comet spins with a 2 week period. Somewhere on the comet's surface there is a cryovolcanic vent that gets hit with sunlight with the same cadence.
"It's like 'Old Faithful'," explains Richard Miles of the British Astronomical Association. "Comet 12P has a super cryogeyser, eruption of which can be triggered after local sunrise at its location."
This is a relatively easy target for amateur astronomers. The comet is shining like a 10th magnitude star in the constellation Cygnus. Point your optics here.
more images: from Eliot Herman using a telescope at the Utah Desert Observatory
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VALENTINE'S CRYSTAL BEAR AND ROSE: Valentine's Day is coming. Looking for a far-out gift? This Crystal Bear and Rose flew to the stratosphere onboard a cosmic ray research balloon on Dec. 17th:
You can have it for $129.95. The students of Earth to Sky Calculus are selling space bears to support their high-altitude ballooning program. Each one comes with a greeting card showing the ursine astronaut in flight and telling the story of its journey to the edge of space and back again.
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