Astronomy and Planetary Science Thread

Interesting paper on the new interstellar comet and observation possibilities.

3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1): Direct Spacecraft Exploration of a Possible Relic of Planetary Formation at "Cosmic Noon"
T. Marshall Eubanks, Bruce G. Bills, Adam Hibberd, W. Paul Blase, Andreas M. Hein, Robert G. Kennedy III, Adrien Coffinet, Jean Schneider, Pierre Kervella, Carlos Gomez de Olea Ballester

The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS (also C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), henceforth, 3I), discovered by the ATLAS Chile telescope on 2025 July 1, was rapidly revealed to be the third known interstellar object (ISO) transiting the solar system, with an incoming velocity at infinity of 57.9763 0.0044 km s . An examination of 3I's pre-encounter kinematics shows that it is likely to be an object from the galactic thick disk, and thus a remnant of the Galaxy's ``cosmic noon'' period of intense star formation 9 - 13 gigayears ago. This kinematic assignment of 3I to the thick disk can be tested observationally in the transit of 3I through the solar system. Unfortunately for terrestrial observers, the 3I perihelion will happen when it is on the other side of the Sun as seen from Earth, at a solar elongation of 12.80 degrees, rendering observation from Earth (or near-Earth space telescopes) hard or impossible. With a retrograde orbit inclined 175.114 degrees (only 4.886 degrees from the ecliptic plane), and a trajectory passing inside the orbit of Mars, 3I will pass relatively close to a number of already launched interplanetary spacecraft. We find a strong science case for observations in the periods of the close approaches of the Psyche spacecraft on 2025 September 4, at 0.302 AU, the martian spacecraft array on 2025 October 3, and the Juice spacecraft on 2025 November 4. In addition, the Europa Clipper, Hera and even the more distant Lucy spacecraft may pass through 3I's cometary tail in the period after its perihelion passage, potentially directly observing the conditions and composition there. Spacecraft observations could, to the extent they are possible, provide the only source of spectral and imaging data during the 3I perihelion passage.
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3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1): Direct Spacecraft Exploration of a Possible Relic of Planetary Formation at "Cosmic Noon"

The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS (also C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), henceforth, 3I), discovered by the ATLAS Chile telescope on 2025 July 1, was rapidly revealed to be the third known interstellar object (ISO) transiting the solar system, with an incoming velocity at infinity of 57.9763 $\pm$ 0.0044 km...
arxiv.org arxiv.org
 
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Justo Miranda said:
Isaac contracted the disease from blood transfusions during a bypass operation on his coronary arteries.
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I know, basically the same thing happened to the late tennis legend, Arthur Ashe, who during surgery (I don't recall what for) was given several blood-transfusions and at least one of the units was contaminated with HIV, he was only 40 when he died from AIDS.
 
Anton Petrov has a video about a planetary nebula surrounding a dying star has changed massively during 130 years of observations:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about a bizarre nebula that changed dramatically in just 130 years
Links:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-AG...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ikipedia.org/wiki/Post-AGB_star&v=aiLtvoUMTOM
#nebula #spirograph #astronomy
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0:00 Spirograph nebula and what this is
1:10 Planetary nebula
2:10 What these colors show
2:50 Groundbreaking discovery - 130 years of observations
4:45 Unanswered questions
6:00 How this was discovered
6:55 Why this matters
8:50 Conclusions
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Why these exoplanets are getting new names:


Recently I entered into the NameExoWorlds 3 contest, and my entry focused on finding the most habitable planet out of the 20 provided. Today we look at the rest of these worlds receiving names to try to figure out why they were picked!
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The video was originally uploaded on 2023.
 
Here's an interesting article concerning "Second Sound":

Scientists Confirm the Incredible Existence of ‘Second Sound’

Here’s visible proof for the first time ever.
BY DARREN ORFPUBLISHED: AUG 30, 2025 9:17 AM EDT



3d wavy background with ripple effect vector illustration with particle 3d grid surface

StudioM1//Getty Images
Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:
  • Usually, when something gets warmed up, heat tends to spread outward before eventually dissipating. But things are a little different in the world of superfluid quantum gas.
  • For the first time, MIT scientists have successfully imaged how heat actually travels in a wave, known as a “second sound,” through this exotic fluid.
  • Understanding this dynamic could help answer questions about high-temperature superconductors and neutron stars.
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Justo Miranda said:
These paleontologists have a lot to learn from corrupt archaeologists: according to certain circles, the usual procedure is to miscatalog the object that is then taken out of the country by paying a small amount to corrupt officials (I don't mean that all of them are), then the object is kept in the basement of a Western museum with few research staff... you wait a few years, circulate the information in the appropriate circuits and make the sale with the utmost discretion.;)
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Perhaps that most unfortunate misconception may be based on the simple fact that the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain? Individual water tables can play havoc with the dating of archeological artifacts, you know...
 
NMaude said:
Here's an interesting article concerning "Second Sound":
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Results like that give me hope that—just perhaps—we might get a little more oomph in either chemical/nuclear reactions…here is hoping some use comes from this finding.

Odd space news
www.odditycentral.com

80-Year-Old Woman Scammed Online by Fake Astronaut Who Claimed to Be Stuck in Space

An old woman ended up sending around 1 million yen ($6,700) to an online scammer who posed as an astronaut stuck in space and in need of money to buy oxygen.
www.odditycentral.com

Another fireball?
www.coasttocoastam.com

Video: Mysterious Fireball Spotted Falling From Sky in New York's Hudson Valley | Coast to Coast AM

Residents of New York's Hudson Valley region were left scratching their heads at the sight of a mysterious fireball seen falling from the sky.
www.coasttocoastam.com www.coasttocoastam.com
 
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Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about a strange sun like star that dimmed by 96% several times
Links:
Dimming stars:
 • Betelgeuse Is Being St...
 • VY Canis Majoris Is Di...
 • Holy Cow! Betelgeuse's...
#dimming #star #astronomy

0:00 Another dimming star! ASASSN-24fw
1:10 Betelgeuse and other dimming stars
2:25 VY Canis Majoris
4:10 New discovery and why it's so different
5:21 What type of star this is
6:40 Historical observations and what this probably is not
8:10 What probably caused this dimming
9:20 What the system probably looks like
11:00 What created the disk though?
12:30 Conclusions and implications
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View: https://youtu.be/R48YyopP7OI
 
So people have figured out using a rectangular mirror telescope could save weight while maximizing aperture size for increased resolution:

Frontiers | The case for a rectangular format space telescope for finding exoplanets

We suggest that rectangular primary-mirror telescopes provide a clearer path to discovering habitable worlds than other designs currently being pursued. We s...
www.frontiersin.org www.frontiersin.org
With this they claim it could see an Earth-sized planet at 30 Ly.
They don't say it but it will require a lot more scanning time to cover the same area of the sky. Maybe it will end up with a more variable sized design... Anyhow, can't wait to see this hopefull coming soon.
 
Alien Life Could Be Found By Simply Changing The Shape Of Telescopes

Since Galileo perfected the telescope and used it to look at the stars, we have made a giant leap forward in terms of technology. Materials, sizes, locations, and configurations have changed, but ultimately, a telescope has a mostly circular setup where mirrors and lenses magnify and direct light on detectors. A new paper argues that this setup might not actually be optimal for finding exoplanets that might host life. And they have a better solution: an extremely rectangular telescope.
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…

To solve most of these problems, a team led by Professor Heidi Newberg at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute suggest a high aspect ratio rectangular mirror, with dimensions 1 meter by 20 meters (3 feet by 66 feet). This would give the benefits of the large mirror but with surface area that's actually smaller than JWST's. There are technical challenges to be solved for sure, but this design might be a winner. The team estimates that it would be able to image 27 Earth-size planets within 30 light-years from Earth.
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www.iflscience.com

Alien Life Could Be Found By Simply Changing The Shape Of Telescopes

Innovation might trump tradition when it comes to finding an Earth twin.
www.iflscience.com www.iflscience.com

Related paper:

Frontiers | The case for a rectangular format space telescope for finding exoplanets

We suggest that rectangular primary-mirror telescopes provide a clearer path to discovering habitable worlds than other designs currently being pursued. We s...
www.frontiersin.org www.frontiersin.org
 
Anton Petrov has just uploaded a new video about a major breakthrough concerning the start of life on Earth:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about a new study examining thioester world hypothesis and connecting it to the origin of RNA and early cells - the basis of abiogenesis
Links:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...com/articles/s41586-025-09388-y&v=jyacVQPzke0
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4146...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...com/articles/s41467-021-25530-6&v=jyacVQPzke0
https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2412514122&v=jyacVQPzke0

Videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmNe2Wo2zMQ
• Something Incredible Discovered About The ...

• Experimental Evidence of RNA World Hypothe... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og59L1UYUog&pp=0gcJCR0AztywvtLA
#abiogenesis #originoflife #biology
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0:00 How did life actually start (abiogenesis)?
0:59 History of biology - Darwin and Miller Urey
2:01 Challenges of modern theories
2:40 RNA World Hypothesis
4:30 Thioester World Hypothesis explained
5:55 New groundbreaking evidence
8:00 What this means
8:40 Protocells and the Droplet World Hypothesis
10:40 Linking everything together
11:30 Can we explain the origins of life?
12:15 We still need to find extraterrestrial life
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NMaude said:
This is to say the least an extremely unusual proposed telescope design.
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In space, a telescope can be made up of a huge number of mirrors equipped with autonomous propulsion systems that maneuver independently to form a large mirror, by being placed next to each other with the precision of laser rangefinders.

In theory, its size can be infinite, as well as its capacity. In my opinion, it is not necessary for these mirrors to be physically connected to each other, which avoids the problem of dilation.

Can you imagine a multiple mirror the size of Jupiter focused with precision?

The technology is already available: low-energy positioning motors, precision gyro-stabilization, and laser rangefinders to coordinate the formation of any necessary geometric shape. They already do it with drones as a light show.
 
"Thanks to its Venus gravity assist on Aug. 31, JUICE will be in the best position for the important period around the 3I/ATLAS perihelion, when observations from Earth will be the hardest," Eubanks explained. "Various spacecraft orbiting Mars, including the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), Tianwen-1, and Hope, all have both the vantage point and good equipment to provide good data on 3I/ATLAS.

"Of all of these, I think that the JUICE data near perihelion is likely to be the most critical."
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…

Eubanks added that 3I/ATLAS will also pass through the fields of view of the ESA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), NASA's PUNCH solar monitoring spacecraft, and the Parker Solar Probe as the comet passes near the sun. That means these spacecraft will provide scientists the opportunity to monitor the day-by-day behavior of 3I/ATLAS, albeit at larger distances and lower resolutions.
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…

The likelihood of a spacecraft passing through the cometary tail of 3I/ATLAS will depend on how it develops.

"It depends on the direction of the tail. The Europa Clipper and Hera spacecraft are moving at a farther distance than 3I/ATLAS and may pass through its tail or observe it at a closer distance," Hein said. "Ideally, we would be able to do mass spectroscopy to find out about the composition of 3I/ATLAS. The results would tell us if 3I/ATLAS indeed has its origin in the thick disk.

"It's like an aeon-old fridge, which will open during the next months to release some of its contents."
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…

Eubanks and Hein explained to Space.com just why scientists shouldn't miss this opportunity to study 3I/ATLAS and to potentially snatch some material from its tail.

"Stars in the galactic thick disk have formed billions of years earlier than those in the thin disk, which includes our sun," Hein explained. "If 3I/ATLAS has been ejected from a thick disk star system, it means that we could gain insights into it without flying there - something which we will not be able to do for the foreseeable future. Hence, observing 3I/ATLAS is a literal example of: If the prophet cannot go to the mountain, let the mountain come to the prophet."
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…

"Some believe that those objects are fairly common, but I am skeptical. If similar objects had buzzed through the solar system, we would have observed them much earlier than in 2017 when we observed ʻOumuamua or 2019 when we observed 2I/Borisov."
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www.space.com

Interstellar invader comet 3I/ATLAS could be investigated by these spacecraft as it races past the sun: 'This could be literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity'

"It's like an aeon-old fridge, which will open during the next months to release some of its contents."
www.space.com www.space.com
 
Here's a new update concerning Earendil (The earliest known star) from Anton Petrov and it turns out it's not a star:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about Earendel, the object we thought was a star but isn't
Links:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10...
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...rticle/10.3847/2041-8213/acb645&v=bzncIFtPYGA
Additional videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxeFWmM85GU
• JWST Breaks the Distance Record Again But ...

• JWST Reveals Details About Earendel, Most ...

• Wow, Hubble Found a Star At The Edge of th...

• JWST Finds a Strange Star Magnified by a D... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUJCEDYe_AE
#earendel #hubble #universe
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0:00 Earendel updates
0:55 How this was found originally
2:10 New research - it's not a star!
4:35 What this seems to be
5:40 What's the new record holder then?
6:50 Actual record holder from a different study
9:00 Conclusions and what's next?
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Marsquakes Reveal A Solid Inner Core In The Red Planet

Let’s not imagine that Mars is in any way Earth-like, even bone-deep. Just last week, researchers revealed that while Earth has a fluid mantle, Mars' mantle is a little bit like nougat, with chunks from ancient collisions. Those findings and new ones about the core come from data collected by NASA’s InSight mission. The lander was equipped with a seismometer.
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www.iflscience.com

Marsquakes Reveal A Solid Inner Core In The Red Planet

Data from a defunct NASA mission has led to exciting new info about Mars.
www.iflscience.com www.iflscience.com

Related paper:

www.nature.com

Seismic detection of a 600-km solid inner core in Mars - Nature

An analysis of seismic data acquired by the InSight mission demonstrates that Mars has a 600-km solid inner core.
www.nature.com www.nature.com
 
Astrum has just put a video about why he might stop making videos about NASA:


NASA is on the brink of an extinction-level event.
▀▀▀▀▀▀
The future of NASA is changing. A proposed budget cut, the largest in the space program’s history, threatens to cancel missions and gut decades of progress. What happens when the world's leader in space exploration is brought to its knees? Join us as we investigate the shocking truth behind the cuts and the private companies waiting to fill the void.
▀▀▀▀▀▀
0:00 Is This the End of NASA?
1:42 The Budget Cuts and Their Impact
13:42 Space Privatization
20:53 The Future of Space Exploration
▀▀▀▀▀▀
References:

“NASA 2026 Budget Proposal in Charts”, via planetary.org https://astrumspace.info/trump_planhttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...s://astrumspace.info/trump_plan&v=spw7nv79L5o
“The Missions NASA May Be Forced to Abandon”, via planetary.org https://astrumspace.info/budget_cutshttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...://astrumspace.info/budget_cuts&v=spw7nv79L5o
“Space Under Threat”, via universemagazine.com https://astrumspace.info/nasa_futurehttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...://astrumspace.info/nasa_future&v=spw7nv79L5o
“NASA Artemis Programme”, via nasa.gov https://astrumspace.info/artimishttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ttps://astrumspace.info/artimis&v=spw7nv79L5o
“Budget Impact on Prospects of Space Exploration”, via satnews.com https://astrumspace.info/budget_impacthttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev.../astrumspace.info/budget_impact&v=spw7nv79L5o
“SpaceX Targeting Record-Breaking 170 Orbital Launches in 2025”, via aiaa.org https://astrumspace.info/spacex_launcheshttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...strumspace.info/spacex_launches&v=spw7nv79L5o
“US Pays SpaceX, Blue Origin, ULS $1.4B for Space Defence”, via satellitetoday.com https://astrumspace.info/space_fundinghttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev.../astrumspace.info/space_funding&v=spw7nv79L5o
“NASA Contributions to Science”, via nasa.gov https://astrumspace.info/nasa_importancehttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...strumspace.info/nasa_importance&v=spw7nv79L5o
“What’s in NATO’s First-Ever Commercial Space Strategy”, via atlanticcouncil.org https://astrumspace.info/nato_spacehttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...s://astrumspace.info/nato_space&v=spw7nv79L5o
“Every Living Former NASA Science Chief Opposes Trump’s Proposed Budget Cuts” via planetary.org https://astrumspace.info/opposition
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I thought I'd post this video in this thread as many NASA science satellites including various space telescopes are under due to the shortsighted stupidity of these ill-considered NASA budget cuts no doubt motivated by right-wing ideology.
 
NMaude said:
Astrum has just put a video about why he might stop making videos about NASA:



I thought I'd post this video in this thread as many NASA science satellites including various space telescopes are under due to the shortsighted stupidity of these ill-considered NASA budget cuts no doubt motivated by right-wing ideology.
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I did see that but didn’t post it as I was worried it would get the thread locked.
 
Flyaway said:
I did see that but didn’t post it as I was worried it would get the thread locked.
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I've watched maybe the first minute or so of the video but even that made me angry that this is happening because of some Project 2025 anti-science luddite fuckwits are trying to bugger NASA for very shortsighted far-right political reasons:mad:. Hopefully the US Senate can put a stop to this nonsense otherwise amongst other things there will be a dramatic decrease in amount of new astronomical and planetary science observations:(:mad:.​
 
New evidence that the The impact aka the Big Splat was needed for the start of life on Earth, from Anton Petrov:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about the effect of early collision of Theia on life on Earth
Links:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...e/article/pii/S0019103525002726&v=lz11a6kFkWo
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev....org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adw1280&v=lz11a6kFkWo
#theia #earth #originoflife
Click to expand...
0:00 Giant impact hypothesis and Theia
1:10 Early Earth and how the Moon was formed
3:05 Problem with carbonaceous materials
3:40 Theia as a delivery truck - new study
5:20 Another study discusses water delivery
6:15 Why this matters and what mysteries this solves
7:28 Implications on the origins of life
9:20 Conclusions
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My guess is that if we ever saw an Earth-like world with a quiet history--you can bank on its oceans being absolutely sterile.

Space in the press
www.livescience.com

The universe's first magnetic fields were 'comparable' to the human brain — and still linger within the 'cosmic web'

New computer simulations suggest the first magnetic fields that emerged after the Big Bang were much weaker than expected — containing the equivalent magnetic energy of a human brain.
www.livescience.com www.livescience.com
 
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NMaude said:
New evidence that the The impact aka the Big Splat was needed for the start of life on Earth, from Anton Petrov:
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if this be true. it would explain allot for Fermin Paradox

How many earth size planets get hit by Mars size object,
That create a Moon, platte-tectonics and Life ?
 
Quite right Michel Van. It was a stroke of luck that the planetesimal struck Earth and that created the necessary conditions for life to form all those years ago.
 
A record breaking high-mass binary star system in the Milky Way galaxy has been discovered, from Anton Petrov:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about the new record breaking star in the Milky Way NGC 3603-A1
Links:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10...
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...le/10.3847/1538-4357/ade799/pdf&v=wf1ZKJr79Vc
Other videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJYTqn9uQpI
• Most Massive Star Ever Found R136a1 Reveal...

• New Findings About Eta Carinae - The Stran... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsetBA6um0M
#star #milkyway #science
0:00 Record breaking star NGC 3603-A1
0:50 What kind of a star is this?
2:10 Exact properties
2:30 Tarantula Nebula and most massive stars known
3:30 How this was found
5:00 Why these stars matter
5:40 Why this system is so strange
8:20 How this compares to other stars
9:50 Why this matters for science
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UMD-Led Study Discovers Warm Space Dust in Distant Place

Astronomer Sylvain Veilleux helped to detect dust far outside the body of a galaxy in a reservoir of hot gas, raising questions about how these particles survived such a long and volatile journey.
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cmns.umd.edu

UMD-Led Study Discovers Warm Space Dust in Distant Place | College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences | University of Maryland

Astronomer Sylvain Veilleux helped to detect dust far outside the body of a galaxy in a reservoir of hot gas, ra
cmns.umd.edu cmns.umd.edu

Related paper:

 

japannews.yomiuri.co.jp

Total Lunar Eclipse Appears over Diet Building; Phenomenon Able to Be Seen Across Japan for 1st Time in 3 Years

<p>A dusky red moon is seen slowly descending above the Diet Building in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, during a total lunar eclipse in the early hours on Monday. When the moon completely enters Earth’s shadow, only red light from the sun reaches the moon through the Earth’s atmosphere, causing it to...
japannews.yomiuri.co.jp japannews.yomiuri.co.jp
 

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