Planetary Science News 10 July 2025

Hidden ‘Planet-Killer’ Asteroid Found in Sun’s Glare Exposes Dangerous Blind Spot

A “Twilight” Asteroid Breaks Speed Records Astronomers are buzzing about 2025 SC79, a newfound asteroid that’s zipping around the sun at near-record pace. Scott S. Sheppard, an astronomer at Carnegie Science, first spotted the object on September 27 using the Blanco 4-meter telescope in Chile carnegiescience.edu carnegiescience.edu. What he found was astonishing: an asteroid orbiting the sun in just 128 days, making it the second-fastest asteroid ever recorded space.com. Only one known asteroid orbits faster – 2021 PH27, a 1-km rock discovered by Sheppard in 2021 that races around the sun in 113 days livescience.com. Even Mercury, the innermost planet, takes

26 October 2025

Northern Lights, New Comet & Saturn Shine: Must-See Sky Events on Sept 25–26, 2025

Summary Auroras Dance Under Equinox Skies It’s aurora season! The autumnal equinox (September 22) is traditionally a prime time for auroras because of the way Earth’s magnetic field interacts with the solar wind this time of year. Researchers have observed that around the equinoxes, cracks tend to open in Earth’s magnetosphere, allowing even relatively minor solar activity to trigger auroral displays spaceweatherarchive.com spaceweatherarchive.com. This is known as the Russell–McPherron effect – essentially, “even a gentle gust of solar wind can breach our planet’s magnetic defenses” near the equinox spaceweatherarchive.com. Over the past week, the Sun has kept forecasters on their

25 September 2025

Astronomy · Northern Lights · Planetary Science · Space Events · Stargazing

Skywatchers’ Weekend Spectacle: Eclipse, Auroras & Saturn Dazzle Sept 20–21, 2025

Key Facts Meteor Showers & Fireballs Even without a major meteor shower peak, the night sky is still offering shooting stars this weekend. Several minor meteor showers are active, and combined with random “sporadic” meteors they can produce up to 10 meteors per hour under dark skies imo.net imo.net. The Moon is new on Sept 21 (invisible at night) imo.net, which means moonless dark skies ideal for meteor spotting in the predawn hours. Active meteor showers right now include: Most of the meteors this weekend will be sporadics, the random bits of dust and rock that hit Earth’s atmosphere every

20 September 2025

Astronomy · Eclipses · Night Sky Events · Planetary Science · Stargazing

Don’t Miss This Weekend’s Celestial Show: Moon & Venus Dawn Dance, Saturn at Peak Brightness, and Aurora Alerts

In-Depth: This Weekend’s Celestial Highlights (Sept. 19–20, 2025) 1. A Dazzling Dawn Conjunction (Moon, Venus & Regulus) – Sept. 19 & 20 If you’re up early, look east before sunrise on Friday, Sept. 19. You’ll be rewarded with a gorgeous trio of celestial objects clustered together in the growing dawn light earthsky.org. The crescent Moon, just 27 days old and barely 7% illuminated, will hover right above brilliant Venus (the brightest “star” in the sky at that hour) predicalendar.com earthsky.org. Just adjacent to Venus you’ll spot Regulus, the blue-white heart of the Leo constellation. NASA calls it “a magnificent conjunction”

19 September 2025

Astronomy · Aurora · Celestial Events · Planetary Science · Stargazing

6,000 Alien Planets & a Healing Ozone Layer: Biggest Science News (Sept 17-18, 2025)

Key Facts Space Exploration: 6,000 New Worlds & Starship Progress In a milestone for astronomy, NASA confirmed the 6,000th exoplanet – planets orbiting other stars – in its records this week. The official tally of alien worlds crossed the 6k mark after only ~30 years of exoplanet hunting, reflecting an exponential discovery rate space.com. “We’re entering the next great chapter of exploration – worlds beyond our imagination,” a NASA video proclaimed space.com. NASA noted that because new planets are added on a rolling basis by scientists worldwide, “no single planet is considered the 6,000th entry… There are more than 8,000

18 September 2025

Astronomy · Environmental Science · Planetary Science · Science News · Space Exploration

Aurora Glow Fades, Planets Dazzle and ‘Corn Moon’ Rises: Skywatch Alert for Sept 4–5, 2025

Aurora Afterglow: Northern Lights Recede to Poles One of this week’s big celestial events was an unexpected aurora display that ventured far beyond the polar regions. A long-lasting solar flare on Aug 30 unleashed a coronal mass ejection (CME) toward Earth, sparking a geomagnetic storm (Kp 7–8) that hit on Sept 1–2 ts2.tech ts2.tech. The result: vibrant Northern Lights (and Southern Lights in the Southern Hemisphere) danced in the sky on those nights, delighting skywatchers much farther south than usual. Observers reported auroral glows in at least 18 U.S. states – sightings came from states like Oregon, Illinois, and New

4 September 2025

Astronomy · Celestial Events · Night Sky · Planetary Science · Skywatch

Sky Spectacles of September 2025: Blood Moon Eclipse, Double Eclipses & Planetary Pairings

Eclipses of September 2025: A Blood Moon and a Crescent Sun Total Lunar Eclipse & “Corn Moon” (Sept 7): On the night of September 7, Earth’s shadow will completely engulf the full Moon, causing a total lunar eclipse that lasts about 82 minutes timesofindia.indiatimes.com. During totality (from ~17:30–18:52 UTC), the Moon will dim to a deep reddish hue – hence the dramatic “Blood Moon” nickname nationalgeographic.com earthsky.org. This eerie copper-red color occurs because Earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light and bends some red sunlight into the shadow, painting the Moon in sunset shades science.nasa.gov. “Total lunar eclipses can turn a deep

31 August 2025

Astronomy · Celestial Events · Eclipses · Night Sky · Planetary Science

Don’t Miss This Weekend’s Cosmic Show: Perseid Meteors, Planet Parade & Aurora Hints (Aug 17–18, 2025)

The Perseid meteor shower peaked on August 12-13, 2025, and NASA’s Bill Cooke says under moonlit skies observers may see about 10-20 meteors per hour (versus 40-50 per hour under dark skies). By August 17-18, the Moon is a waning crescent, allowing ideal conditions to yield roughly 15-20 Perseids per hour before dawn. The minor kappa Cygnids are active around August 14 at about 1 meteor per hour. Venus and Jupiter form a bright dawn pair in the eastern sky on August 17-18, after having been only about 1° apart in a close conjunction on August 11-12. On August 19-20,

17 August 2025

Astronomy Events · Aurora Borealis · Meteor Showers · Planetary Science · Stargazing

Cosmic Weekend Spectacle: Meteors, Planets, and Aurora Hints Light Up Aug 16–17, 2025

The Perseid meteor shower remains active on August 16–17, even though its peak occurred on August 12–13. The meteors originate from debris of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, an ancient celestial body well over 5 billion years old. Moonlight washes out fainter meteors, but a few bright Perseid fireballs have still been observed. Meteor rates predawn are expected to be around a dozen per hour at mid-northern latitudes, with the American Meteor Society estimating about 15–20 meteors per hour in ideal conditions (though moonlight will reduce that). Minor sources like the kappa Cygnids contribute about 1 meteor per hour. Venus and Jupiter form

16 August 2025

Astronomy · Aurora · Meteor Showers · Planetary Science · Space Events

Brain‑Melting Discovery: Why July 9’s Record‑Breaking Earth Spin Could Crash Your Clock—and What Experts Are Doing About It

On July 9, 2025, Earth’s length of day was predicted to be −1.30 ms, the fastest day of 2025 and close to 2024’s all‑time −1.66 ms. A 1 millisecond timing error can yield GPS position errors of hundreds of meters and disrupt high‑frequency trading algorithms. Leading explanations for the spin‑up include an unusual Moon alignment, deep core fluid motions, and mass redistribution from melting ice. Future ultra‑short days are forecast for July 22 and August 5, 2025. The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service may introduce the first negative leap second as early as 2029. More than 450 cesium

10 July 2025

Clocks · Earth Science · Planetary Science · Scientific Discovery · Timekeeping

Planetary Science News 10 July 2025 - 26 October 2025