What will the solar corona look like during the 12th August solar eclipse? The LASCO-C2 coronagraph aboard SOHO @science.esa.int gives us a sneak peek! As the Sun rotates roughly every 27 days, we can look at previous solar rotations to anticipate the corona’s structure. (1/5)

In just under two week’s time there will be a solar eclipse (evening of 12th Aug.). From the UK you’ll see a very deep partial eclipse. Are you ready? www.popastro.com/blog/2026/07...

Nice insight into some of the testing our satellites have to endure before they are deemed ready for the harsh space environment. Plato is due for launch early next year.

ESA Space Science@science.esa.int · 2w ago

Plato meets Maxwell Our terrestrial planet hunter Plato has recently completed a series of key tests inside the Maxwell Test Chamber at ESTEC, demonstrating that its electronic equipment is fit to work in space. 🔭 🧪 1/3

This is a fantastic summary of key developments in our understanding of the Sun and its place in the Solar System. Well worth reading!

Royal Astronomical Society@royalastrosoc.bsky.social · 2w ago

Just stepping away from NAM2026 for a moment (although not from the Sun 🌞)... The growing understanding of our star over the past two centuries has been reflected in a new online collection of papers collated from our journal MNRAS. Read the 32-page booklet at: academic.oup.com/mnras/pages/...

New Mirror Moon artwork installed at # GreenwichObservatory London . Made of NASA topographical data allows people to explore the moon by touch.

What is Smile set out to discover? This groundbreaking mission will observe Earth’s magnetosphere in X-rays while capturing the northern lights in ultraviolet, offering an entirely new way to see how our planet defends itself from solar storms. 🔭 🧪 ☀️

Congratulations to the SMILE team! We have a new mission on its way to study how the solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magnetosphere.

ESA Space Science@science.esa.int · 3mo ago

Missed the Smile launch? We have you covered. Watch the replay here 👉 www.youtube.com/live/6q8aKbc... 🔭 🧪 ☀️

Last chance! If you've not seen the powerful 'Our Fragile Space' photography exhibition outside the RAS, this weekend is your final opportunity to do so. 📸 Don't miss out, drop by Burlington House to see the free display, which lays bare the problem of space debris and what can be done about it. 🛰️

Want to support lunar and deep space operations? Goonhilly is hiring a Shift Mission Operations Engineer at its historic Cornwall site. Find more and apply here: spacecareers.uk/jobs/f25f545...

🎉#Artemis II update: Integrity is back on Earth! At 01:07 BST/02:07 CEST, Orion and its crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. 🚀Our European Service Module propelled Orion over 1 million km through deep space, before burning up in Earth's atmosphere, its job complete 🔥 www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

✅ #Artemis II update: Day 7, Orion now heading back to Earth at 2245 km/h, 367 530 km from Earth and 77 666 km from the Moon. Image is from early morning of 7 April, during the eclipse period (pic: NASA). Track at nasa.gov/missions/art... @exploration.esa.int

I love this image taken by the Artemis II crew. Their view of a total solar eclipse - revealing the faint light scattered by dust around the Sun and electrons in the atmosphere of the Sun itself: images.nasa.gov/details/art0...

Today’s the day of the Artemis II lunar fly by! The astronauts will set the record for furthest distance humans have travelled from Earth (previously held by the Apollo 13 crew in 1970) & at around 7:45 pm BST lunar observations will begin.

More Mare Orientale in this new Artemis II image - www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2... - than in the first one with a long focal length presented. The lunar flyby webcast www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-j1... will begin at 17:00 UTC today, and the lunar observations run from 18:45 UTC to 1:20 UTC on 6 April.

✅ #Artemis II update: Day 5, Orion is moving at 1536 km/h, 356 379 km from Earth and 89 967 km from the Moon. One last look at Earth before arriving at the Moon (pic: NASA). See nasa.gov/missions/art... @exploration.esa.int

Getting to the Moon has been an international effort. Find out about the European service module here: www.esa.int/Science_Expl...

European Service Module

The European Service Module is ESA’s contribution to NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will send astronauts to the Moon and beyond. It provides electricity, water, oxygen and nitrogen as well as keeping th...

esa.int

European Space Agency@esa.int · 4mo ago

✅ #Artemis II update: Flight Day 3, the Artemis crew are now closer to the Moon than they are to Earth. Their lunar journey powered by our European Service Module continues. Image at nasa.gov/image-detail... @exploration.esa.int

This image of home just came down from the Artemis II crew. Taken after their translunar injection burn, there are aurorae at top right and lower left, and zodiacal light at lower right. Credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman

T-6️⃣ days until launch! DYK? Smile will observe the northern lights non-stop for 45 hours at a time for the first time ever. This will give us a better idea of how geomagnetic storms lead to auroras, but also of other consequences on our infrastructure 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭 ☀️🧪

The four Artemis II astronauts are no longer orbiting Earth, but are now headed towards the Moon www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

For four billion years, Earth has been under attack. Travelling at 2 million km an hour, the solar wind heads directly our way. Luckily, we have an invisible shield that keeps us safe. Understanding this shield, how it holds and how it breaks will be Smile's goal 👉 youtu.be/XS3INI9IsME 🔭 🧪 ☀️

We’re about to see Earth’s magnetic shield like never before

YouTube video by European Space Agency, ESA

youtu.be

The Sun’s been active today. Let’s hope we have no major space weather events that affect the Artemis II launch www.spaceweather.com

Jeff Foust@jfoust.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Artemis 2 countdown clock is now counting down.

Artemis 2 countdown clock is now counting down.

The RAS is alarmed by the threat to ground-based astronomy posed by proposals put forward by Elon Musk's SpaceX and Reflect Orbital. We have opposed the plans with @eso.org and the International Astronomical Union. Find out more at: ras.ac.uk/news-and-pre...

Interested in doing a PhD in space heritage? If so, this opportunity might be for you!

Jon Agar@jonagar.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We have a 4-year AHRC-funded PhD studentship on 'Rescue curation of space heritage' advertised! Supervision by me, space scientist Lucie Green (@luciegreen.bsky.social), and curators of space and engineering at the Science Museum, Doug Millard and Ben Russell www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

I finally get to see the Sun (in Winchester Cathedral)

Great detective work combined with a stroke of luck!

Dr. Ryan French@ryanjfrench.bsky.social · 6mo ago

BREAKING: This is Richard Carrington, the first person to document solar flares on the Sun & suggest their influence on aurora at Earth. The largest solar storm on record, the Carrington Event, bares his name. But, there has been no photograph available of Carrington – until now!

#Aurora over Alveston near Bristol. Could see no colour unless looking through the iphone. Now cloudy ☹️

Amazing data in real time from the @esa.int #SolarOrbiter magnetometer @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social show that this storm will keep its main Bz > 0 field and its total field will decline, resulting in a West-North-East (WNE) flux rope. At the end there should be an interval Bz < 0 (=more aurora!)

Beautiful!

Barrie White@barriewhite.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Merseyside

Amazing view towards north-east at Hoher Sonnblick in #Austria! Monday Jan 19 2026 22:40 CEST #polarlights #northernlights #spaceweather www.foto-webcam.eu/webcam/klein...