europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

This series of Hubble Space Telescope images of the fragmenting comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), or K1 for short, was taken over the course of three consecutive days: November 8, 9, and 10, 2025. Captured by Hubble’s STIS (Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph) instrument, the sequence shows the progressive disintegration of the comet over this brief period. This is the first time Hubble has witnessed a comet so early in the process of breaking up.

Hubble caught K1 fragmenting into at least four pieces, each with a distinct coma, the fuzzy envelope of gas and dust that surrounds a comet’s icy nucleus. Hubble cleanly resolved the fragments, but from the ground they only appeared as barely distinguishable blobs.

[Image description: Three annotated panels side by side show K1 fragmenting over three consecutive days. Arrows show the orientation of object on sky. From left to right, panels are labeled November 8, 2025; November 9, 2025; and November 10, 2025. Each panel shows several bright, fuzzy, blue objects streaking diagonally from upper left to lower right of black background. In first panel, four comet-like objects are numbered 1 to 4. In second panel, the largest object has broken into two pieces, 2a and 2b. In third panel, pieces appear to be moving away from each other diagonally.

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Credits: NASA, ESA, D. Bodewits (Auburn). Image processing: J. DePasquale (STScI); CC BY 4.0

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

This image is part of a series shared on social media by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, who wrote:

“Day 032, orbit 0498 – Here is the very first picture I took from the Cupola… just like when you’re flying on a plane, clouds are at times the only thing as far as the eye can see – the biggest difference being that we’re about 390 km higher than a commercial jetliner!”

The blue tone visible in the image comes from Earth’s atmosphere, which scatters shorter wavelengths of light such as blue and violet. A similar effect can be seen from an aircraft, though less pronounced.

Along the curved horizon, the atmosphere appears as a thin layer fading from pale to deeper blue before disappearing into the blackness of space, highlighting the fragile boundary that protects life on Earth.

Follow Sophie’s mission on the εpsilon page and on her social media platforms, such as X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

[Image description: View of Earth from the International Space Station showing a vast blanket of white clouds stretching to the horizon. A thin blue layer of atmosphere curves along the edge of the planet, gradually fading into the blackness of space above.]

Credits: NASA/ESA - S. Adenot

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

This diagram shows the path the long-period comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), or K1 for short, took as it swung past the Sun and began its journey out of the Solar System. On November 10, 2025, NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the inset image of the fragmenting comet. Hubble took this image just a month after K1’s closest approach to the Sun, called perihelion.

During perihelion, a comet experiences its most intense heating and maximum stress. Just past perihelion is when some long-period comets like K1 tend to fall apart. K1’s perihelion was inside Mercury’s orbit, about one-third the distance of the Earth from the Sun. This is the first time Hubble has witnessed a comet so early in the process of breaking up.

[Image description: Diagram showing comet K1’s path. With the Sun near middle right of image, truncated nearly circular orbits of Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars appear against black background. K1’s tight parabolic curve, marked by solid, light blue curving line, illustrates how K1 swooped toward the Sun from above. It curved around the Sun, coming closest inside Mercury’s orbit, and continued its outbound journey.

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Credits: NASA, ESA, R. Crawford (STScI); CC BY 4.0

europeanspaceagency posted a photo:

Since their arrival aboard the International Space Station on 14 February 2026, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway have already carried out two sessions of EchoFinder, an experiment developed by the French space agency CNES for the εpsilon mission.

EchoFinder tackles a key challenge for the future of human space exploration: how astronauts can perform reliable ultrasound scans without medical training and without real-time support from a doctor.

The system combines augmented reality and artificial intelligence. An augmented reality interface guides the astronaut to position the ultrasound probe correctly, while an AI system identifies organs and records images. These data can then be sent to medical teams on Earth for diagnosis.

Developed with future missions in mind, EchoFinder addresses scenarios where communication delays make real-time assistance impossible. The technology also holds promise on Earth, including use on ships, in submarines, or in remote regions without immediate access to medical expertise.

Among the mission’s thirty-six European experiments, seven French experiments, including EchoFinder, were developed by CADMOS, CNES’s centre for the development of microgravity applications and space operations.

At European level, CADMOS is one of ESA’s four User Support and Operations Centres (USOCs), supporting more than 25 scientific experiments each year on behalf of ESA and its international partners.

Follow Sophie’s mission on the εpsilon page and on her social media platforms, such as X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

[Image description: Two astronauts float inside the International Space Station surrounded by cables and equipment. ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway are preparing for an EchoFinder session, holding handheld devices used for ultrasound imaging. A tablet and multiple instruments are attached to the workstation around them in microgravity.]

Credits: ESA/NASA

Did you know that you can discover many great, new films by sorting them via the Highest Rating setting on Letterboxd?

I'm not a member, but in recent years I've came to use the New-Zealand-based Letterboxd as my primary source for movies. Unlike the Bezos-owned IMDb, it hadn't been enshittified yet, and if you play with the 'Sort by' buttons, you can glean a lot of information there. The reviews that individuals compose vary in depth and quality, but the interface is much more user-friendly that other platforms. For example, you can pick any country, and in a glance, get a curated list of all the films ever produced there, then sort them by earliest ever, newest ever or by (subjective, but community-generated) ratings. There are many, many useful lists that individual member compile. It's an endless source of information. (Of course, giant hats off to the ultimate list of them all...)

Paul Ehrlich, dead at 93. Famous as the co-author with his wife Anne Ehrlich of The Population Bomb (1968; credited as sole author at the time), co-founder of Zero Population Growth (now Population Connection), public intellectual Paul Ehrlich was one of the best known critics of human overpopulation.

There was a well known bet between Ehrlich and economist Julian Simon, anchored on the price of a group of commodities; here's one very readable book on it (Internet Archive copy). Here's one of many appearances Ehrlich made on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. The movie Z.P.G. (1972) was inspired by the Ehrlichs' work. Obituaries from the New York Times (gift link), the Washington Post editorial board, UnHerd. A critical reflection on Population Bomb by Charles Mann. Previously.

Alexander Butyagin faces up to 10 years in Ukrainian prison for "destroying cultural heritage sites" in annexed Crimea.

Russia’s human rights council said that “images of minors were used without obtaining the consent of their parents” in the film.

Gebruikers van de website van het Stadsarchief Rotterdam zullen het al hebben gemerkt. Sinds twee weken is de zoekfunctie uitgeschakeld en worden bezoekers omgeleid. Dat gebeurt na massale aanvallen van AI-robots, die de website vertraagden. Er is geen sprake van een hack, zegt de woordvoerder.

In Volendam wordt uiteraard volop geroddeld over het huwelijk van Jan Smit dat in puin ligt. Vooral Liza Plat moet het ontgelden.

Zo zou ze ook nauwelijks voor haar kinderen zorgen. “Liza was druk met andere zaken. Wanneer Jan met ome Cor, zijn vaste chauffeur, de straat uitreed om in Duitsland aan het werk te gaan met Klubbb3, maakte Liza zich ook vaak uit de voeten”, zegt een ‘goed ingevoerde bron’ in De Telegraaf.

Die vervolgt: “We zijn haar nooit achterna gereden om te zien wat ze ging doen, maar zodra haar moeder was gearriveerd, liet ze het gezin aan haar over en was ze zelf spoorloos. Soms ook dagenlang. Jan voelde zich weleens bezwaard dat zijn schoonouders zoveel tijd moesten besteden aan zijn gezin.”

Ook wordt haar arrogantie verweten. Zo scheurde ze met haar nieuwe grote Mercedes door het dorp. “Het was echt zo van: kijk mij eens, hier is de vrouw van Jan. En daar houden we niet van, in Volendam. We werken allemaal hard, maar dat deed zij niet meer.”

De Mercedes werd zelfs van Liza afgepakt. “Jan kreeg vaak te horen dat hij wat moest doen aan het rijgedrag van zijn vrouw. Hij was bang dat er op een dag ongelukken van zouden komen en dat dan ’de vrouw van Jan Smit iemand had doodgereden’”, aldus een andere ingewijde. “Ineens werd de Mercedes ingeruild voor de lage Audi. Met al die verkeersdrempels in het dorp houd je dan vanzelf op met te hard rijden…”

Bron: Mediacourant

Trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. I like that Tom Holland. I’m into it.

Het leek een onbelangrijk orgaan voor volwassenen, de zwezerik. Dat orgaan in de borstkas had te maken met de immuniteit van kinderen en dat was het. Niet dus, ontdekte Hugo Aerts. Hoe gezonder het orgaan bij volwassenen is hoe minder snel ze sterven. Veel is nog onbekend, maar het zou een doorbraak kunnen zijn.

Met een nieuwe bedrijfsvorm hoopt de Europese Commissie de EU aantrekkelijker te maken voor bedrijven. Snel, goedkoop en digitaal een bedrijf opzetten,

Democratie is ook de keuze om niet te stemmen. Zeker bij de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen vind ik dat meer dan begrijpelijk, maar als je hardop zegt dat je van plan bent om niet te…

Voor dag en dauw hebben de leden van stembureau 137 in Amsterdam-Oost twee grote sporttassen bij de gemeente opgehaald met spullen die de verkiezingen mogelijk moeten maken.

Revolutionary Guards say they will strike infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar after South Pars field hit

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Iran has threatened to attack energy infrastructure across the Gulf region in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its largest gasfield, the first targeted attacks on its fossil fuel production since the war began.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have threatened counterstrikes on several energy facilities across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar “in the coming hours” after state media reports that missiles had targeted its gas facilities at the giant South Pars field, the largest gas reserves in the world.

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After Aston Villa shocked the world last week by doing the unthinkable as an English team by winning away in Europe, on Thursday they have the chance of following that up by securing a place in the last eight of the Europa League. The road to Istanbul is paved with claret because they have Unai Emery at the helm, a man who knows a thing or two about winning a second tier competition. Mr Big Vase, or Señor Florero Grande, as he’s known in Spain, has won the competition four times, three with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. He failed to do so with Arsenal for a simple reason: their name does not include V-I-L-L-A, which was surely his downfall and why they lost to Chelsea in the 2019 final.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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Prof Kaveh Madani, winner of the Stockholm water prize, was accused of sabotage with his environmental work

Eight years before he got the call telling him he had won the Stockholm water prize, Prof Kaveh Madani was being interrogated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, accused of being a spy for the CIA, MI6 or the Mossad.

Today he is in exile and on Wednesday won the world’s most prestigious water prize for combining “groundbreaking research on water management with policy, diplomacy and global outreach, often under personal risk and political complexity”.

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As Deep As the Grave, the true story of 1920s archeologists, will bring late actor back with support from his estate

Val Kilmer is set to be the latest Hollywood star to be resurrected by AI. The acting legend, who died last year at age 65, will star in the drama As Deep As the Grave.

Kilmer was attached to the project prior to his death from throat cancer.

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