The U.S. Secretary of Defense just stated that—so far—the war with Iran has cost $37.5 billion dollars. That's since February. That same amount is how much the United States spent on planetary science from FY2013 through FY2026 inclusive. Thirteen years of planetary science or five months of war.

This is a cool photo of Earth and the Moon from the Artemis II mission. OK back to work

Fifty years ago today. The first clear image of the surface of Mars ever taken, acquired by the Viking 1 lander in an expansive, flat plain called Chryse Planitia.

Fifty-seven years ago today. Happy International Moon Day!

This is Comet Leonard during its approach to the Sun, imaged by Gerald Rhemann on Christmas Day 2021. The comet had been discovered earlier that year, and broke apart in 2022. This photo won the overall prize for Rhemann of the Royal Observatory Greenwich's Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2022.

Oh lawd he comin'

Left: Venus, 1 March 1982 Centre: Titan, 14 January 2005 Right: Boston, 15 July 2026

Jezero Crater, Mars. Photographed Sunday, 12 July 2026.

The small icy moon Mimas, floating in space above Saturn, the planet crossed by the shadows of its vast ring system. NASA Photojournal image PIA06176, taken by the Cassini spacecraft on 18 January 2005.

I'm just sorry he didn't live long enough to see this prophecy fulfilled.

Now with a slight improvement

This is a real image. Taken by Voyager 1 in 1979, the icy moon Europa floats above Jupiter's swirling Red Spot maelstrom. The shadow is from Io, another of Jupiter's large inner moons, which is out of frame. Oh to see this view with my own eyes (safely shielded from the lethal radiation fields)

This new image from #JWST is AWESOME. This is the Centaurus A galaxy seen in mid-infrared light. At the centre of this galaxy, which is 11–13 million lightyears away, is a supermassive black hole that's 55 million times the mass of our Sun. Neato!

This is my first Fourth of July as a US citizen. It's hard to feel pride in this country right now. The spirit of hope and optimism that permeates US culture is dimmed. But it's not extinguished. This dark moment will pass. There are better days ahead, if we work for them.

You're looking at spacetime itself being distorted. In this stunning new #JWST view, the two bright, glowing features are giant galaxies gravitationally bound in a still-forming cluster called MACS J0553.4-3342. And those thin, orange arcs? Yet farther galaxies, their light bent by the cluster.

Something was missing, but it's fixed now

If you take an incredibly capable space telescope and point it at newborn stars, you get this stunning disco view of the Universe. These are protostars in the young FS Tau star system, shining like diamonds.

An ocean of stars. This is one of the first images from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory's ten-year-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time! The image covers a region of space about 3°, six times the width of a full Moon—only a tiny portion of the gigantic survey Rubin has embarked upon. Open it up!

Today is #AsteroidDay! So here's a photo of the surface of an asteroid.

I decided it needed some pterodactyls

There's something... Hadean about this scene. So here's a quick-and-dirty mockup in Photoshop of this scene, taken 4.4 billion years ago.

Kīlauea's doing its thing again. Watch live: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz5t...

Reid Wiseman just dropped this photo on his Instagram page. It's our homeworld, looking at the nightside, taken from inside the Artemis II Orion spacecraft through one of the windows. There's something so casual about it, about the reflections in the window, but outside IS A WHOLE PLANET HOLY SHIT

Türkiye is up 2-1 in its match against the US. Time to cut to a livestream of B-2 bombers arriving over Istanbul

1) Open this image up 2) Find the small, blue feature in the very middle Congratulations, you've spotted the Perseverance rover on Mars, photographed from orbit! 3) Trace the rover tracks as they wend their way across the surface

There have been two enormous earthquakes in Venezuela, likely causing catastrophic damage and loss of life. The first of the doublet was Mw 7.2, 24 km ENE of the city of San Felipe. The second, at Mw 7.5 almost three times stronger than the first, struck 39 s later 23 km SE of the town of Yumare.

This is the most detailed view of the centre of the Milky Way ever acquired—taken by ESA's Euclid space telescope on 23 March 2025. There's about 60 million stars in this view. On *average*, there's about one exoplanet per star. So there's about 60 million planets in this view.

The M82 Cigar Galaxy, imaged by JWST. The bright central part is the main disk of the galaxy; jets of gas emanate at 90 degrees to the disk. This version is 4,000 px across. You can access the full 155 mpx image in the next post.

A stunning photo of the crescent Moon. And above it, a point of light. The only other large rocky world we will ever visit: Venus. Image credit and copyright: Debra Ceravolo

Seven Prime Ministers within ten years. A deeply unserious country.