Here's some AI music for the soundtrack. If you missed it, I had an article up yesterday on AI music as the orchestra, not the composer.
I'm going to start with a little history. It really didn't take long to go from this to Apollo and Starlink.
12 seconds that ushered in a new era of possibility
— NASA History Office (@NASAhistory) December 17, 2025
On the anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first sustained, controlled flight of a heavier-than-air machine on Dec 17, 1903, we salute the pioneers—both old and new—who have taken humanity to new heights in air and space. pic.twitter.com/voAuL0jaKH
A lot of Andrew McCarthy's stuff is long exposures, merged to get high resolution. But this is more or less raw.
This is a single, unedited, 5 minute exposure taken through my telescope just a moment ago.
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) December 17, 2025
I know I share a lot of work that is the result of hours or even days of exposures, so it’s nice to show what’s possible from a single snapshot with no editing. pic.twitter.com/BxZlZyKpL9
He gets some other interesting stuff.
I pointed one of my astronomy lenses at a storm and ended up with this: lightning and star trails.
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) December 15, 2025
The fury of nature photobombing the majesty of the universe. pic.twitter.com/GQglFaFHfC
I remember hearing Jack Schmitt talk about this in real-time — well, two seconds behind — with a lot of speculation about the color.
53 years ago today geologist Harrison "Jack" Schmitt discovered a patch of orange-colored soil on the surface of the Moon, later found to be made of bits of volcanic glass rich in titanium https://t.co/KiMtGcxsYQ https://t.co/dULdDLTQJO
— Jason Major (@JPMajor) December 12, 2025
A flashy picture from the ISS.
Lightning over Maui, Hawaii, photographed from Earth and space in collaboration with National Geographic. pic.twitter.com/7xd3nEoD8W
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) December 11, 2025
Another flashy picture.
I was in the middle of shooting my narrowband data on this galaxy when the supernova happened so I was probably one of the first people to photograph it! https://t.co/XxcHSdzaCQ pic.twitter.com/QiriuKYiae
— Andrew McCarthy (@AJamesMcCarthy) December 10, 2025
I was going to try for a special Christmas Sky Candy this week, but the available pictures didn't cooperate. If things go as usual, all the Christmas stuff will come out next week, so maybe we'll have a special post-Christmas Sky Candy.
But there are some great pictures anyway.
This stunning new image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope captures the heart of Westerlund 2, a young and massive star cluster about 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina, nestled within the stellar nursery Gum 29.The view shows a glittering field of… pic.twitter.com/gqvFsxYf7Q
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) December 19, 2025
The interstellar object 3I ATLAS continues to put on a show. Wave goodbye, it's not coming back.
The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to Earth TODAY, Dec. 19, 2025.
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) December 19, 2025
By the way, scientists confirm it won’t hit us — it’ll pass at about 1.8 AU (~270 million km) away and poses no threat as it continues out of our Solar System.pic.twitter.com/NP7ahR4kQB
A les 7 d'aquest matí, el cometa interestel·lar 3I/ATLAS ha fet el seu pas més a prop de la Terra, a 270 milions de km de distància i ara s'allunyarà cada cop més fins sortir finalment del sistema solar per no tornar mai més.
— Joan Anton Català Amigó (@estelsiplanetes) December 19, 2025
Crèdit: Gemini Observatory. pic.twitter.com/iNVOe9d5WW
"It's full of stars!"
That's a stunning capture of Messier 21 (M21, or NGC 6531), an open star cluster in the constellation Sagittarius!This image is one of the first public releases from the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory's massive 3.2-gigapixel LSST Camera, taken during commissioning in 2025. M21… pic.twitter.com/ttwVO4E8Kd
— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) December 19, 2025
AstroBin's Image of the Day: "Lower's Nebula (Sh2-261) in Orion" by Daniel Cimborahttps://t.co/1tTwVcKECz#astrophotography pic.twitter.com/l0NgunKSS8
— AstroBin.com (@AstroBin_com) December 19, 2025
No one really knows all of Tokyo.
There are huge metropolis, and then there’s Tokyo.
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) December 19, 2025
The largest and the most populated city on earth: the latest estimates indicate that more than 37 million people live there.pic.twitter.com/PLnTzaLedL
Also for our VIPs: Sky Candy in Context
And a closing thought.
[✏️ Rob Seaman] pic.twitter.com/nBskzbFx9O
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) December 19, 2025
