#ppod — Public Fediverse posts

#PPOD: The Expedition 74 crew on the International Space Station turned into meteor chasers as Earth passed through a cloud of dust and small debris left behind by comet Thatcher in 1861. ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot set up a camera to automatically capture thousands of images in hopes of catching a shooting star from the Lyrid meteor shower, an elusive event that often lasts only a fraction of a second. Credit: NASA/ESA – S. Adenot

#space #space

#PPOD: After NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover drilled a sample from this rock on April 25, 2026, it withdrew its robotic arm and pulled the entire rock off the surface with it. Engineers spent several days repositioning the arm and vibrating the drill to try to loosen the rock. When it finally detached on May 1, the rock broke into pieces. This close-up image of the rock was produced by Curiosity’s Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on May 6. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

#planetaryscience #space #science

#PPOD: This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image showcases the remarkable galaxy UGC 12591. UGC 12591 sits somewhere between a lenticular and a spiral. It lies just under 400 million light-years away from us in the westernmost region of the Pisces–Perseus Supercluster. The galaxy itself is also extraordinary: it is incredibly massive. The galaxy and its halo together contain several hundred billion times the mass of the sun, four times the mass of the Milky Way. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA #space

#PPOD: This image features two distinct families: a collection of ALMA antennas and a trio of vicuñas, a camelid related to llamas and alpacas. Unlike in almost every other way, the subjects of this image are linked by their extremely hostile home environment, high in the Chilean Andes. The Chajnantor plateau, site of the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) shown here, is 5000 meters above sea level, making it one of the driest places on Earth. Credit: S. Otarola/ESO

#science

#PPOD: This image of Mars was captured by NASA’s Psyche mission on May 3, 2026, about 3 million miles from the planet as the spacecraft approaches for a gravity assist on May 15. Sunlight is reflected and scattered by dust in the Martian atmosphere, creating an extended crescent around the planet. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

#space #science

#PPOD: A thin sliver of Earth’s edge is brightly illuminated against the vast darkness of space in this April 3, 2026, image taken during the Artemis II mission. This thin blue ribbon is what separates us from the abyss of space vacuum: the Earth's atmosphere, protecting life on the planet, one day at a time. Credit: NASA

#space #science

#PPOD: A pair of spiral galaxies whirl across this excerpt from a First Look image captured by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. Although NGC 4411b (left) and NGC 4411a (right) appear right next to each other, they don’t show signs of interaction, such as distorted arms. Above the pair is RSCG 55, a group of interacting galaxies with trails of material between them. Credit: RubinObs/NOIRLab/SLAC/NSF/DOE/AURA

#astronomy #space #science

#PPOD: The Moeraki Boulders look almost too perfect to be natural — but these giant stone spheres along New Zealand’s Koekohe Beach were formed over millions of years. Scientists believe the boulders began as sediment on the ancient seafloor around 60 million years ago, gradually growing into massive calcite concretions before coastal erosion revealed them along the shoreline. Some are nearly 7 feet across and split open, revealing striking, crystal-filled cracks. Credit: Karsten Sperling #earth

#PPOD: Photographer Josh Dury captured this gorgeous view of the Flower #Moon on May 1, 2026, hanging above a cherry tree in full bloom and giving weight to the origin of the moon's name. "May Day; the second quarter day. With rich smells and colours all around, it is yet another signal that solstice is not far away. Within the period of this lunar cycle - flowers come, flowers go. From vibrant blossom displays, to moonlight stretching across a carpet of bluebells." Credit: Josh Dury

#science

#PPOD: A close-up view taken by the Artemis II crew of Vavilov Crater on the rim of the older and larger Hertzsprung basin. The right portion of the image shows the transition from smooth material within an inner ring of mountains to more rugged terrain around the rim. Vavilov and other craters and their ejecta are accentuated by long shadows at the terminator, the boundary between lunar day and night. Credit: NASA

#space #science

#PPOD: The Bubble Nebula, also known as NGC 7635, is a massive cosmic balloon located approximately 7,100 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. This seven-light-year-wide structure was created by the intense stellar winds of a super-hot O-type star, which is roughly 45 times more massive than our Sun. Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, Hubble Legacy Archive

#space #science

#PPOD: Composed of 18 images, this natural-color mosaic shows a boulder field on "Mount Washburn" (named after a mountain in Wyoming) in Mars' Jezero Crater. The Perseverance science team nicknamed the light-toned boulder with dark speckles near the center of the mosaic "Atoko Point" (after a feature in the eastern Grand Canyon). The images were acquired by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover on May 27, 2024, the 1,162nd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

#space

#PPOD: First Photo from the Surface of the Moon

Close-up image of the Oceanus Procellarum region of the Moon from the Soviet Luna 9 lander in February 1966.

Luna 9 made the first survivable landing on the moon and snapped the first photos from its surface.

Credit: National Space Science Data Center

#planetaryscience #space #science

#PPOD: The colors in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope tell a story about density in the Trifid Nebula, a star-forming region about 5000 light-years from Earth. The top left, where it is bright blue, has the least dust. Here, powerful ultraviolet light stripped electrons from nearby gas, creating a glow, with winds creating a bubble by clearing out surrounding dust. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI. Processing: J. DePasquale (STScI)

#space #science

Es verdichtet sich, dass ich The Primeval Holt of the Elk Lord für #Wander im September mit zur #LoFiCon nehmen werde. Nen schöner Point-Crawl in nem Wald von Nate Treme. 4 Seiten, das lässt sich bestimmt in 3 bis 4 Stunden spielen.

In #Wander gibt es eigentlich nach Abschluss eines Abenteuers 50 EP, aber ich überlege, ob ich nach bestimmten Meilensteinen während des Spiels schon EP vergebe und die Spielfiguren mittendrin aufleveln lasse. Fand das auf der #PPoD-Con in Mainz mit #Grotten schon cool. #pnpde #Rollenspiel

Es verdichtet sich, dass ich The Primeval Holt of the Elk Lord für #Wander im September mit zur #LoFiCon nehmen werde. Nen schöner Point-Crawl in nem Wald von Nate Treme. 4 Seiten, das lässt sich bestimmt in 3 bis 4 Stunden spielen.

In #Wander gibt es eigentlich nach Abschluss eines Abenteuers 50 EP, aber ich überlege, ob ich nach bestimmten Meilensteinen während des Spiels schon EP vergebe und die Spielfiguren mittendrin aufleveln lasse. Fand das auf der #PPoD-Con in Mainz mit #Grotten schon cool. #pnpde #Rollenspiel

#PPOD: This image, released in celebration of Earth Day, shows the terminator – the line between night and day – on Earth. The Artemis II astronauts captured this view on April 2, 2026, during their journey to the Moon. Credit: NASA

#planetaryscience #space #science

#PPOD: This image of Neptune and Triton was captured by Voyager 2 as it departed the Neptune system on 31 August 1989. Voyager 2's flyby over Neptune's northern hemisphere bent the spacecraft's trajectory downwards out of our solar system's orbital plane. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Justin Cowart

#space #science #planetaryscience

#PPOD: NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover sees its tracks receding into the distance at a site nicknamed “Ubajara” on April 30, 2023. This site is where Curiosity made the discovery of siderite, a mineral that may help explain the fate of the planet’s thicker ancient atmosphere. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

#planetaryscience #space #science

#PPOD: Noticeable change on Mars can take millions of years – but ESA’s Mars Express has captured a blanket of dark ash creeping across the planet in just decades. The image shows a scene of two halves, with Mars’s typical bright tan-colored sands butting up against dark volcanic ash deposits. When this part of Mars was viewed by NASA’s Viking orbiters in 1976, the ash was noticeably less widespread than it is today. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

#planetaryscience #space #science

#PPOD: These two images of Pluto were captured several days apart in 1978. The planet appears elongated on the left because these images captured both Pluto and its companion dwarf planet, Charon. After eliminating the possibility that the elongations were produced by plate defects and background stars, the only plausible explanation was that they were caused by a previously unknown moon orbiting at a distance of about 19,600 km with a period of just over six days. Credit: U.S. Naval Observatory

#PPOD: No, this photo, taken from the International Space Station, does not reveal a massive fire. Instead, the clouds reflect the sunset light, creating the illusion of flame. ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot captured this stunning view on April 9, 2026. Credit: NASA/ESA – S. Adenot

#space #science #planetaryscience

#PPOD: Taken on April 6, 2026, a portion of the #Moon’s far side is seen along the terminator where low-angle sunlight casts long shadows across the surface. A section of the Orientale Basin is visible in the upper-right portion of the lunar disk, its structure subtly revealed under grazing illumination. This lighting enhances contrast across the cratered terrain, highlighting variations in surface features and providing insight into the Moon’s geologic history. Credit: NASA

#planetaryscience

#PPOD: This view of Jupiter's icy moon Europa was captured by JunoCam, the public engagement camera aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft, during the mission's close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. In the image, the terrain beside the day-night boundary appears rugged, with pits and troughs. Numerous bright and dark ridges and bands stretch across a fractured surface, revealing the tectonic stresses that the moon has endured over millennia. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS; Processing by Björn Jónsson #space

#PPOD: The Sun’s inner corona, the hottest part of our star's atmosphere, appears faint yellow in this image taken by the ASPIICS coronagraph aboard Proba-3. The image combines data from Proba-3’s ASPIICS coronagraph (inner solar corona in yellow) and from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (solar disc in dark orange). Credit: ESA/Proba-3/ASPIICS, NASA/SDO/AIA

#space #science

#PPOD: Discovered on January 13, 2026, in Chile’s Atacama Desert, Comet C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was part of the Kreutz family of “sungrazers”—comets that dive dangerously close to the Sun. The image was captured in infrared light by JWST's Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on February 7, 2026, by a team led by Qicheng Zhang and was then processed by Melina Thévenot. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, and the JWST MIRI team

#space #science

#PPOD: The #ArtemisII crew captured this view of Earth setting on April 6, 2026. As the astronauts flew over the Moon’s far side, the crew photographed and described terrain features, including impact craters, ancient lava flows, and surface cracks and ridges formed as the Moon slowly evolved. They also noted differences in color, brightness, and texture, which provide clues that help scientists understand the composition and history of the lunar surface. Credit: NASA

#planetaryscience #space

#PPOD: The linearity of the Martian volcanic vent shown in this HiRISE image, in conjunction with evidence of lava flow from the vent, suggests control by combined volcano-tectonic processes. The details of this vent, obtained by HiRISE, should provide insight into volcano-tectonic processes along the Cerberus Fossae fissures in two ways. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

#planetaryscience #space #science

#PPOD: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures an active lava flow on the Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Réunion Island. The center of the island shelters three vast cirques, or calderas, created by huge collapses. Together they form the dormant shield volcano and the island's highest peak, Piton des Neiges (3069 m), which peeps out in brown from beneath the clouds near the center of the image. Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA

#space #science

#PPOD: A red-green-blue image of 3I/ATLAS taken by Juice’s high-resolution science camera, JANUS, from more than 180 million km away. The comet seems to glow green because gases in the halo around the nucleus emit light at green wavelengths. Background stars have different colors depending on their temperatures. Credit: ESA/Juice/JANUS

Learn more: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice/Five_things_Juice_has_revealed_about_Comet_3I_ATLAS

#space #science

#PPOD: NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) mission has made a new observation of the supernova RCW 86, shown here in an image released on March 24, 2026. This observation helps fill in a fuller picture of what other telescopes have seen.

The full image combines IXPE’s data with legacy observations from two other X-ray telescopes: NASA’s Chandra and the ESA (European Space Agency) XMM-Newton telescope.

#space #science

#PPOD: Like a tiny snail shell lying on a beach, a small spiral juts out from the expanse of the Atacama Desert. While most of the lines carving the landscape are natural consequences of geology, the circling path is in fact a road leading up the mountain Cerro Armazones. At the top sits ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction, visible only as a black dot below the center of this image. Credit: ESA – S. Adenot

#space #science

#PPOD: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission acquired this lunar image by rolling one of its satellites sideways to view the Moon instead of Earth. This is part of a regular calibration process, whereby the stable intensity of the Moon’s light makes it possible to detect and correct even the smallest changes in the performance of Sentinel-2’s instrument. This ensures data accuracy throughout the mission, which is critical for its applications. Credit: Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), ESA

#space

#PPOD: Hello, World

NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman took this picture of Earth from the Orion spacecraft’s window after completing the translunar injection burn. There are two auroras (top right and bottom left), and zodiacal light (bottom right) is visible as the Earth eclipses the Sun.

Credit: NASA/Reid Wiseman

#space #science

#PPOD: A bright ice cap of frozen water covers the North Pole of #Mars. In the winter, thin coverings of carbon dioxide and water frost cover this area, and these frosts finally disappear at the end of the Martian spring season. In this image, the winter frosts are about to disappear, and we can begin to see the surface features of the ice. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona; Description: Shane Byrne

#planetaryscience #space #science

#PPOD: NASA’s #ArtemisII Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B, March 27, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth with launch opportunities beginning today. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Wünsche allen auf der #PinkPonyOfDeath in Mainz allen erdenklichen Spaß! Ich hab gestern kurzfristig aussteigen müssen, weil ich mir irgend eine Erkältung* eingefangen habe und Hals habe. Der Rachen schmerzt, aber die #PPOD zu verpassen, schmerzt mehr. Wir sehen uns zur #LoFiCon! 🤞

* haha, Autocorrect..

Wünsche allen auf der #PinkPonyOfDeath in Mainz allen erdenklichen Spaß! Ich hab gestern kurzfristig aussteigen müssen, weil ich mir irgend eine Erkältung* eingefangen habe und Hals habe. Der Rachen schmerzt, aber die #PPOD zu verpassen, schmerzt mehr. Wir sehen uns zur #LoFiCon! 🤞

* haha, Autocorrect..

Wünsche allen auf der #PinkPonyOfDeath in Mainz allen erdenklichen Spaß! Ich hab gestern kurzfristig aussteigen müssen, weil ich mir irgend eine Erkältung* eingefangen habe und Hals habe. Der Rachen schmerzt, aber die #PPOD zu verpassen, schmerzt mehr. Wir sehen uns zur #LoFiCon! 🤞

* haha, Autocorrect..

Wünsche allen auf der #PinkPonyOfDeath in Mainz allen erdenklichen Spaß! Ich hab gestern kurzfristig aussteigen müssen, weil ich mir irgend eine Erkältung* eingefangen habe und Hals habe. Der Rachen schmerzt, aber die #PPOD zu verpassen, schmerzt mehr. Wir sehen uns zur #LoFiCon! 🤞

* haha, Autocorrect..

Wünsche allen auf der #PinkPonyOfDeath in Mainz allen erdenklichen Spaß! Ich hab gestern kurzfristig aussteigen müssen, weil ich mir irgend eine Erkältung* eingefangen habe und Hals habe. Der Rachen schmerzt, aber die #PPOD zu verpassen, schmerzt mehr. Wir sehen uns zur #LoFiCon! 🤞

* haha, Autocorrect..

#PPOD: An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed a sunset that looks like a vast sheet of flame. With Earth’s surface already in darkness, the setting sun, the cloud masses, and the sideways viewing angle make a powerful image of the kind that astronauts use to commemorate their flights. Credit: NASA; Caption: M. Justin Wilkinson, Texas State University

#spae #science

#PPOD: An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed a sunset that looks like a vast sheet of flame. With Earth’s surface already in darkness, the setting sun, the cloud masses, and the sideways viewing angle make a powerful image of the kind that astronauts use to commemorate their flights. Credit: NASA; Caption: M. Justin Wilkinson, Texas State University

#spae #science

#PPOD: An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed a sunset that looks like a vast sheet of flame. With Earth’s surface already in darkness, the setting sun, the cloud masses, and the sideways viewing angle make a powerful image of the kind that astronauts use to commemorate their flights. Credit: NASA; Caption: M. Justin Wilkinson, Texas State University

#spae #science

#PPOD: An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed a sunset that looks like a vast sheet of flame. With Earth’s surface already in darkness, the setting sun, the cloud masses, and the sideways viewing angle make a powerful image of the kind that astronauts use to commemorate their flights. Credit: NASA; Caption: M. Justin Wilkinson, Texas State University

#spae #science

#PPOD: An astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed a sunset that looks like a vast sheet of flame. With Earth’s surface already in darkness, the setting sun, the cloud masses, and the sideways viewing angle make a powerful image of the kind that astronauts use to commemorate their flights. Credit: NASA; Caption: M. Justin Wilkinson, Texas State University

#spae #science

#PPOD: Today is #AsteroidDay, the anniversary of the Tunguska Event, when we raise awareness about potentially hazardous asteroids and their possible impacts on Earth. We also celebrate the addition of a new tool in our quest for #planetarydefense—the Vera Rubin Observatory. During the observatory's First Look last week, a new video revealed the discovery of over 2,100 new asteroids, including seven near-Earth objects (NEOs). Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

#science #space #scicomm

#PPOD: Today is #AsteroidDay, the anniversary of the Tunguska Event, when we raise awareness about potentially hazardous asteroids and their possible impacts on Earth. We also celebrate the addition of a new tool in our quest for #planetarydefense—the Vera Rubin Observatory. During the VRO's First Look last week, a new video revealed the discovery of over 2,100 new asteroids, including seven near-Earth objects (NEOs). Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory

#science #space #scicomm

#PPOD: NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this view of Jupiter during the mission’s 40th close pass by the giant planet on Feb. 25, 2022. The large, dark shadow on the left side of the image was cast by Jupiter’s moon Ganymede. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Thomas Thomopoulos

#space #science #junocam #scicomm

#PPOD: By Jove! Fantastically beautiful imagery of storms on Jupiter by NASA's Juno spacecraft, taken from 445 km above the gas giant's atmosphere on July 10, 2017. #JunoCam Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/SwRI/Kevin M. Gill

#planetaryscience #science #scicomm