Ian J. O'Neill
@astroengine.bsky.social
NASA JPL news media specialist. Topics include (not limited to): ☄️🛰️📡🪐🌕⚛️ Solar physics PhD. Science communicator, writer. Opinions are mine. he/him
Pinned
Ian J. O'Neill
@astroengine.bsky.social
· May 14
NASA Studies Reveal Hidden Secrets About Interiors of Moon, Vesta
Analyzing gravity data collected by spacecraft orbiting other worlds reveals groundbreaking insights about planetary structures without having to land on the surface.
www.jpl.nasa.gov
I got to work on a neat feature about the Moon. It posted today. The cover art was too good not to share. Basically, using high-resolution gravity data, scientists at JPL could measure the very tiny flexing of the Moon as it orbits Earth. More: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-st...
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Text: @astroengine.bsky.social
DSOC successfully demonstrated that data encoded in laser photons could be reliably transmitted, received, and then decoded after traveling millions of miles from Earth out to Mars distances.
Learn more: buff.ly/NkOiLkL
DSOC successfully demonstrated that data encoded in laser photons could be reliably transmitted, received, and then decoded after traveling millions of miles from Earth out to Mars distances.
Learn more: buff.ly/NkOiLkL
A Beacon to Space - NASA
In this infrared photograph taken on June 2, 2025, the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Table Mountain
www.nasa.gov
October 22, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Text: @astroengine.bsky.social
DSOC successfully demonstrated that data encoded in laser photons could be reliably transmitted, received, and then decoded after traveling millions of miles from Earth out to Mars distances.
Learn more: buff.ly/NkOiLkL
DSOC successfully demonstrated that data encoded in laser photons could be reliably transmitted, received, and then decoded after traveling millions of miles from Earth out to Mars distances.
Learn more: buff.ly/NkOiLkL
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
Interstellar object candidate #A11pl3Z from Deep Random Survey, Chile (obs code X09). No obvious tail, will have to do a stack to see if there's anything...
Date is 2025 Jul 2 00:52:39 UTC.
Date is 2025 Jul 2 00:52:39 UTC.
July 2, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Interstellar object candidate #A11pl3Z from Deep Random Survey, Chile (obs code X09). No obvious tail, will have to do a stack to see if there's anything...
Date is 2025 Jul 2 00:52:39 UTC.
Date is 2025 Jul 2 00:52:39 UTC.
Well, shit.
"NASA's budget request is just a going-out-of-business mode"
arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...
"NASA's budget request is just a going-out-of-business mode"
arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...
Trump pulls Isaacman nomination for space. Source: “NASA is f***ed”
“NASA’s budget request is just a going-out-of-business mode” without Isaacman.
arstechnica.com
June 1, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Well, shit.
"NASA's budget request is just a going-out-of-business mode"
arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...
"NASA's budget request is just a going-out-of-business mode"
arstechnica.com/space/2025/0...
This budget request would cripple NASA's space science efforts. Active and planned science missions scrapped. $ billions of wasted taxpayer money.
This is sick.
www.science.org/content/arti...
This is sick.
www.science.org/content/arti...
Dozens of active and planned NASA spacecraft killed in Trump budget request
Proposal would end nearly all new major science missions
www.science.org
May 31, 2025 at 7:23 PM
This budget request would cripple NASA's space science efforts. Active and planned science missions scrapped. $ billions of wasted taxpayer money.
This is sick.
www.science.org/content/arti...
This is sick.
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
Such an amazing view right now. www.youtube.com/live/BqmpkUd...
May 26, 2025 at 4:53 AM
Such an amazing view right now. www.youtube.com/live/BqmpkUd...
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
Which news outlet is actually informing its readers about what happened?
May 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Which news outlet is actually informing its readers about what happened?
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
This movie shows the bubbling surface of a distant star, as captured with unprecedented clarity by the ALMA observatory.
R Doradus is a huge star. Each of these bubbles is 50-75 times the diameter of our entire Sun! 🧪🔭
www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel...
R Doradus is a huge star. Each of these bubbles is 50-75 times the diameter of our entire Sun! 🧪🔭
www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel...
May 24, 2025 at 11:50 PM
This movie shows the bubbling surface of a distant star, as captured with unprecedented clarity by the ALMA observatory.
R Doradus is a huge star. Each of these bubbles is 50-75 times the diameter of our entire Sun! 🧪🔭
www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel...
R Doradus is a huge star. Each of these bubbles is 50-75 times the diameter of our entire Sun! 🧪🔭
www.almaobservatory.org/en/press-rel...
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
National missile defense is the longest-running scam in the history of the Department of Defense. Musk didn’t invent it, but he’s about to get a whole lot richer by perpetuating it.
https://trib.al/Qpb9WJE
https://trib.al/Qpb9WJE
Trump’s “Golden Dome” Won’t Work—but It’ll Make Elon Musk Richer
For 40 years, missile defense has never been about keeping America safe. It’s all about the contracts.
trib.al
May 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
National missile defense is the longest-running scam in the history of the Department of Defense. Musk didn’t invent it, but he’s about to get a whole lot richer by perpetuating it.
https://trib.al/Qpb9WJE
https://trib.al/Qpb9WJE
The Coyotes of San Francisco www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/u...
The Coyotes of San Francisco
www.nytimes.com
May 25, 2025 at 5:33 PM
The Coyotes of San Francisco www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/u...
Rob From the Poor, Give to the Rich, Steal Like Crazy newrepublic.com/post/195695/... via @newrepublic.com
Trump’s Week: Rob From the Poor, Give to the Rich, Steal Like Crazy
Nothing sums up the descent into authoritarian corruption of the once-republican USA like the events of May 22, 2025.
newrepublic.com
May 24, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Rob From the Poor, Give to the Rich, Steal Like Crazy newrepublic.com/post/195695/... via @newrepublic.com
Not entirely surprising, though sudden and... sad. Thinking, especially, about my remote telework colleagues today, who will need to make some very hard decisions 😔 www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-to-...
JPL to Transition to Fully Onsite Work
In an email to employees, the director’s office announced that a transition to fully onsite work will occur this year.
www.jpl.nasa.gov
May 23, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Not entirely surprising, though sudden and... sad. Thinking, especially, about my remote telework colleagues today, who will need to make some very hard decisions 😔 www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-to-...
Not one but TWO science features today 🙌 In this one, NASA's Magellan is a mission that just keeps on giving. By combining topography and gravity data from the spacecraft, VERITAS scientists have detected tectonic processes shaping the planet's coronae. More: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-m...
NASA’s Magellan Mission Reveals Possible Tectonic Activity on Venus
Using archival data from the mission, launched in 1989, researchers have uncovered new evidence that tectonic activity may be deforming the planet’s surface.
www.jpl.nasa.gov
May 14, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Not one but TWO science features today 🙌 In this one, NASA's Magellan is a mission that just keeps on giving. By combining topography and gravity data from the spacecraft, VERITAS scientists have detected tectonic processes shaping the planet's coronae. More: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-m...
I got to work on a neat feature about the Moon. It posted today. The cover art was too good not to share. Basically, using high-resolution gravity data, scientists at JPL could measure the very tiny flexing of the Moon as it orbits Earth. More: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-st...
NASA Studies Reveal Hidden Secrets About Interiors of Moon, Vesta
Analyzing gravity data collected by spacecraft orbiting other worlds reveals groundbreaking insights about planetary structures without having to land on the surface.
www.jpl.nasa.gov
May 14, 2025 at 10:38 PM
I got to work on a neat feature about the Moon. It posted today. The cover art was too good not to share. Basically, using high-resolution gravity data, scientists at JPL could measure the very tiny flexing of the Moon as it orbits Earth. More: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-st...
NASA JPL's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) tech demo flying with NASA's Psyche mission streamed the now famous (and historic) UHD video of Taters the cat over 19 million miles to Earth in late 2023. Today, the orange tabby up for a Webby. Vote! vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...
Vote for the best of the internet
I just voted in The Webby People's Voice Awards and checked my voter registration.
vote.webbyawards.com
April 1, 2025 at 10:46 PM
NASA JPL's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) tech demo flying with NASA's Psyche mission streamed the now famous (and historic) UHD video of Taters the cat over 19 million miles to Earth in late 2023. Today, the orange tabby up for a Webby. Vote! vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting...
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
This is a bigger issue than people realize. Not just jobs lost. But their families losing benefits. Landlords losing tenants. Cities and towns losing revenue. This is how recessions start
Ready Fire Aim is no way to govern.
Ready Fire Aim is no way to govern.
More accurate, fewer words;
"There are plenty of contractors going under".
A friend furloughed 75% of staff (furlough w/paying for health insurance for three months), 50% exec pay cut, 25% rest of staff to keep as many people w/salary.
PS: Wasn't 18F a government office, not a contractor.
"There are plenty of contractors going under".
A friend furloughed 75% of staff (furlough w/paying for health insurance for three months), 50% exec pay cut, 25% rest of staff to keep as many people w/salary.
PS: Wasn't 18F a government office, not a contractor.
March 2, 2025 at 2:14 PM
This is a bigger issue than people realize. Not just jobs lost. But their families losing benefits. Landlords losing tenants. Cities and towns losing revenue. This is how recessions start
Ready Fire Aim is no way to govern.
Ready Fire Aim is no way to govern.
The latest on Lunar Trailblazer: The ops team at @caltechipac.bsky.social continue to work on reestablishing communications with the small satellite, with ongoing support from NASA's Deep Space Network and ground based observatories: blogs.nasa.gov/trailblazer/...
March 5, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The latest on Lunar Trailblazer: The ops team at @caltechipac.bsky.social continue to work on reestablishing communications with the small satellite, with ongoing support from NASA's Deep Space Network and ground based observatories: blogs.nasa.gov/trailblazer/...
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
On March 1, the Europa Clipper spacecraft will soar past Mars, using that planet’s gravity to shape its trajectory, sending it first back by Earth, then on toward its 2030 rendezvous with Jupiter. Onward and upward! #Europa #EuropaClipper
www.nasa.gov/missions/eur...
www.nasa.gov/missions/eur...
NASA’s Europa Clipper Uses Mars to Go the Distance - NASA
The orbiter bound for Jupiter’s moon Europa will investigate whether the moon is habitable, but it first will get the help of Mars’ gravitational force to get
www.nasa.gov
February 26, 2025 at 3:37 AM
On March 1, the Europa Clipper spacecraft will soar past Mars, using that planet’s gravity to shape its trajectory, sending it first back by Earth, then on toward its 2030 rendezvous with Jupiter. Onward and upward! #Europa #EuropaClipper
www.nasa.gov/missions/eur...
www.nasa.gov/missions/eur...
It has been quite the week. After the Intuitive Machines IM-2 launch on Wednesday, mission operators at @caltechipac.bsky.social received telemetry from NASA's Lunar Trailblazer that things weren't right with its power system. They then had communications issues with the spacecraft.
March 1, 2025 at 5:27 PM
It has been quite the week. After the Intuitive Machines IM-2 launch on Wednesday, mission operators at @caltechipac.bsky.social received telemetry from NASA's Lunar Trailblazer that things weren't right with its power system. They then had communications issues with the spacecraft.
Led by Caltech and managed by JPL, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer is launching (no earlier than) Wed., Feb. 26, as a rideshare on the Intuitive Machines mission to the Moon, IM-2. Apart from the awesome science Trailblazer will do, its journey is quite interesting, too: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/how-nas...
How NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Will Make a Looping Voyage to the Moon
Before arriving at the Moon, the small satellite mission will use the gravity of the Sun, Earth, and Moon over several months to gradually line up for capture into lunar orbit.
www.jpl.nasa.gov
February 21, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Led by Caltech and managed by JPL, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer is launching (no earlier than) Wed., Feb. 26, as a rideshare on the Intuitive Machines mission to the Moon, IM-2. Apart from the awesome science Trailblazer will do, its journey is quite interesting, too: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/how-nas...
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
Pin this, save it, we’ll need it.
“When a prison camp opens in your town…when a DREAMer is disappeared from your classroom…when the President destroys what’s left of the Constitution…They will all say they didn’t know this was coming. And I want the American people to know that they did.”
AOC 🔥🎯
“When a prison camp opens in your town…when a DREAMer is disappeared from your classroom…when the President destroys what’s left of the Constitution…They will all say they didn’t know this was coming. And I want the American people to know that they did.”
AOC 🔥🎯
January 22, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Pin this, save it, we’ll need it.
“When a prison camp opens in your town…when a DREAMer is disappeared from your classroom…when the President destroys what’s left of the Constitution…They will all say they didn’t know this was coming. And I want the American people to know that they did.”
AOC 🔥🎯
“When a prison camp opens in your town…when a DREAMer is disappeared from your classroom…when the President destroys what’s left of the Constitution…They will all say they didn’t know this was coming. And I want the American people to know that they did.”
AOC 🔥🎯
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
Super Bowl
USAID
Save Foreign Aid
USAID
Save Foreign Aid
February 9, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Super Bowl
USAID
Save Foreign Aid
USAID
Save Foreign Aid
Reposted by Ian J. O'Neill
Excellent by @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social "If you’re always consumed by the next outrage, you can’t look closely at the last one. The impression of Trump’s power remains; the fact that he keeps stepping on rakes is missed. The projection of strength obscures the reality of weakness. Don’t believe him."
February 2, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Excellent by @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social "If you’re always consumed by the next outrage, you can’t look closely at the last one. The impression of Trump’s power remains; the fact that he keeps stepping on rakes is missed. The projection of strength obscures the reality of weakness. Don’t believe him."
More information about how CNEOS assesses the impact probability of newly discovered near-Earth objects and the development of the Sentry system: How we monitor impact hazards: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-n...
NASA’s Next-Generation Asteroid Impact Monitoring System Goes Online
The new system improves the capabilities of NASA JPL’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies to assess the impact risk of asteroids that can come close to our planet.
www.jpl.nasa.gov
February 1, 2025 at 7:03 PM
More information about how CNEOS assesses the impact probability of newly discovered near-Earth objects and the development of the Sentry system: How we monitor impact hazards: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-n...