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Outbursts from a Massive Star

2026-11-13 16:39

Using Chandra, astronomers have discovered the star’s previously hidden companion, which triggers luminous outbursts every 113 days. The spiral galaxy is NGC 4559. Shown at a sharp angle in the composite image, its flat pink and milky blue face tilts toward our upper left. Sitting near the outer edge of the dense spiral, near the center of the frame, is a small group of pink and blue dots. This group is outlined with a white square, enlarged and annotated in supporting images. The smallest pink dot in the square is AT 2016blu, a massive star some 33 times the size of our Sun. For over 15 years astronomers have been watching this star get bright and then dim again in optical light on a regular basis. Chandra’s X-ray observations suggest that a hidden companion object, either a stellar mass black hole or a neutron star, is pulling material from AT 2016blu every 113 days as they orbit one another. This captured material gets so hot that it shines brightly in X-rays. Other pink and blue specks within the white square and enlargement are unresolved stars or star clusters, too distant to be related to the movement of material between AT 2016blu and its hidden but influential neighbor.

X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Virginia/M. Aghakhanloo et al.; Optical: SDSS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/P. Edmonds

Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have discovered what is triggering repeated outbursts from a giant, unstable star located in the galaxy shown in this image released on Nov. 9, 2026.

The volatile star, known as AT 2016blu, is in the spiral galaxy NGC 4559, located about 30 million light-years from Earth. Astronomers estimate the mass of this star is at least 33 times that of the Sun.

Gemini Astronaut Photos Inspired Early Earth Observation Program

2026-11-13 16:05

View of the Red Sea and Nile Valley area as seen from space

NASA astronauts James A. Lovell Jr. and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. captured this image of the area surrounding the Red Sea and Nile river valley on November 14, 1966, during their four-day mission in space. Gemini XII was the final flight of NASA’s Gemini Program.

NASA

Astronauts James A. Lovell Jr. and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. orbited Earth from November 11 to 15, 1966, on Gemini XII, the final mission of NASA’s Gemini program.

In addition to successfully completing rendezvous maneuvers and spacewalks, procedures vital to sending American astronauts to the Moon, the crew was also spurring the development of a different field of exploration, observing Earth from space.

The photos taken by Lovell, Aldrin, and other Gemini astronauts demonstrated the value of orbital imagery for studying Earth’s surface. Their images helped scientists make the case for a dedicated Earth observation satellite program. One of strongest advocates for accelerating the use of Earth-observing satellites was William T. Pecora, the director of the United States Geological Survey from 1965 to 1971. In a 1969 statement, Pecora noted that the Earth Resources Observation Satellite (EROS) program he championed, and which later paved the way for Landsat, was “conceived in 1966 largely as a direct result of the demonstrated utility of Mercury and Gemini orbital photography to Earth resource studies.”

For more than five decades, Landsat and other Earth-observing satellites have provided invaluable data used around the world to monitor crops, wildfires, flooding, vegetation health, land use, and countless other changes to our planet.

APOD: 2026 November 13 – NGC 206 and the Star Clouds of Andromeda

2026-11-13 05:05

APOD

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

Close up of NGC 206 in the Andromeda galaxy.

NGC 206 and the Star Clouds of Andromeda

Explanation: The large stellar association cataloged as NGC 206 is nestled within the dusty arms of the neighboring Andromeda galaxy along with the galaxy’s pinkish star-forming regions. Also known as M31, the spiral galaxy is a mere 2.5 million light-years away. NGC 206 is found at the center of this sharp and detailed close-up of the southwestern extent of Andromeda’s disk. The bright, blue stars of NGC 206 indicate its youth. In fact, its youngest massive stars are less than 10 million years old. Much larger than the open or galactic clusters of young stars in the disk of our Milky Way galaxy, NGC 206 spans about 4,000 light-years. That’s comparable in size to the giant stellar nurseries NGC 604 in nearby spiral M33 and the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Tomorrow’s picture: pixels on the Moon

Date:	November 13, 2026
Credit & Copyright:	David Cruz
Authors & editors:	Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Robert Nemiroff, Keighley Rockcliffe
A service of:	ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.

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APOD: 2026 November 12 – Moon, Venus and Spica Meet

Tomorrow’s Image

A Global Rebound for Mangroves

2026-11-13 05:01

2010

2026

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

In 2026, the same area shows mangrove forests have expanded in several places along the coast, while the adjacent tan farmland has shrunk.

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

2010

2026

Mangroves have replaced rice fields in parts of Burma’s Myeik District. The TM (Thematic Mapper) on Landsat 5 captured the image on the left on February 14, 2010, and the OLI on Landsat 9 captured the image on the right on February 2, 2026.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

Scientists began using satellites to map mangrove forests in the 1970s after the launch of the first Landsat satellite. For decades, the story they told about mangroves was dominated by loss and decline. Research published in Science suggests that the tide has turned.

A global rebound began around 2010, the scientists found, led by the expansion of mangrove forests in Asia, Australia, and South America. The researchers analyzed Landsat imagery collected between 1984 and 2023, looking for signs of changes in the extent and density of mangrove canopy.

They tallied losses of nearly 3,000 square kilometers (1,200 square miles) between 1984 and 2010, followed by an unexpected increase of nearly 2,000 square kilometers (770 square miles) of mangroves after 2010. They also found that many of today’s mangrove forests have denser, more closed canopies than they did in 2010, a sign of healthier, less degraded forests, particularly in South America.

“Other research groups have mapped and analyzed long-term changes in select regions, but these are the first global mangrove maps that cover such a long period,” said Zhen Zhang, an environmental scientist at Tulane University. “About two-thirds of the expansion was due to mangroves colonizing new areas and the other third due to restoration and regrowth in degraded areas,” he added.

One of the most notable reversals occurred in Southeast Asia—especially Burma (Myanmar). The country lost mangroves rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s due to the expansion of agriculture, aquaculture, and firewood harvesting in coastal areas, but the trend reversed around 2010, when mangrove area began expanding in many places. The authors attribute the turnaround to increased awareness and restoration efforts after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, strengthened legal protections for forests, and high rates of sedimentation that opened up new mudflats for colonization.

The pair of Landsat images above shows expansion of mangrove forests in Palaw Township in Burma’s Myeik District—an area that has seen both significant regeneration of degraded mangrove forests and the spread of trees into new areas since 2010. In this region, much of the regeneration appears to be occurring in abandoned rice fields (brown) south of the village of Kyauktaung. People on nearby Pyin Bukyi Island, meanwhile, have experimented with conservation projects and tree planting efforts to support mangroves. Despite the gains, deforestation remains a common challenge in Burma, which lost 28.6 percent of its mangrove area between the 1980s and 2010. Since then, the country’s mangrove area has grown about 10 percent.

Mangrove trees are relatively small—averaging about 13 meters (43 feet)—but mighty from an ecological perspective, with mangrove ecosystems storing up to four times as much carbon as taller inland tropical forests. The trees play an important role in protecting coastal communities from erosion and storm surges, and their distinctive stilt-like roots provide habitat and vital nursery grounds for fish, shrimp, crabs, and other marine life.

In several areas, such as around the mouth of the Amazon River and in northern Australia, extensive deposition of sediment has created new mudflats that mangroves have successfully colonized, contributing to steady increases in each of these regions since the 1990s. At the northern and southern edges of their range, including the southeastern U.S., warming temperatures and fewer freezes have also allowed mangroves to push into areas that were previously too cold, Zhang explained.

There are some areas, however, where losses have outweighed gains. Substantial mangrove losses in the Niger Delta, for instance, have reduced the total mangrove area in West and Central Africa since 2010. North America and southern Africa, meanwhile, have seen widespread degradation after tropical cyclones devastated broad swaths of mangroves. “The global successes we’ve seen with mangroves during the past decade should not be seen as grounds for complacency,” cautioned Zhang. “This underscores that conservation and slowing deforestation can lead to huge positive impacts when coupled with natural expansion and regeneration.”

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland.

Downloads

February 14, 2010

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February 2, 2026

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References & Resources

Estoque, R., et al. (2018) Assessing environmental impacts and change in Myanmar’s mangrove ecosystem service value due to deforestation (2000–2014). Global Change Biology, 24(11), 5391-5410.
Gaw, L., et al. (2018) Mangrove forest dynamics in Tanintharyi, Myanmar from 1989–2014, and the role of future economic and political developments. Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 39(2), 224-243.
IUCN (2018, November 21) Sometimes, you just need to let nature take its course. Accessed November 12, 2026.
Tulane University (2026, June 4) Global Mangrove Forests Rebound, Offering Hopeful Sign for Climate and Coastal Resilience. Accessed November 12, 2026.
UN-REDD (2021) Myanmar Mangrove Extent Explorer. Accessed November 12, 2026.
The Weather Channel (2026, September 7) The biggest comeback story in climate science just happened. Accessed November 12, 2026.
Win M. & Takeda, S. (2021) Development and Abandonment of Mangrove Paddy Fields and the Impacts Thereof in a Mon Village in Taninthayi Region, Myanmar. Southeast Asian Studies, 10(3), 359-390.
Yale Environment 360 (2026, October 22) What Is Driving the Global Resurgence of Mangrove Forests? Accessed November 12, 2026.
Zhang, Z., et al. (2026) Unexpected expansion and regrowth in Earth’s mangrove forests over the past four decades. Science, 392(6802), 1082-1087.

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I Am Artemis Katie Spicer

2026-11-12 20:10

4 Min Read

I Am Artemis Katie Spicer

NASA’s Katie Spicer stands in front of the crew cabin prototype for Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar lander. The lander is one of two commercial human landing systems that will help safely ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface and back for the agency’s crewed Artemis missions in 2028.

For Katie Spicer, embracing opportunity and challenge has led to giant leaps during her time at NASA. Now as the NASA lander integration lead for Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 lander, one of the commercially provided human landing systems for NASA’s Artemis program, Spicer will have her handprint on history.

NASA’s Katie Spicer stands in front of the crew cabin prototype for Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar lander. The lander is one of two commercial human landing systems that will help safely ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface and back for the agency’s crewed Artemis missions in 2028.

NASA/Bill Strafford

Spicer works in the Flight Operations Directorate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where she evaluates and monitors design and development of Blue Origin’s lander. The design of the Blue Moon lander is rapidly evolving as Blue Origin continues to develop a streamlined lander test article for the agency’s Artemis III rendezvous and docking mission in low Earth orbit as well as a fully functional lander for a crewed lunar landing in 2028.

Spicer works closely with her NASA and Blue Origin counterparts to ensure the design of the Blue Moon lander can support the overall Artemis mission objectives.

“I look at the design of everything Artemis crews will touch, work with, or interface with to ensure systems will function the way crews will need them to,” Spicer said. “In some cases, the design might meet requirements, but I delve deeper into details. How easy will it be for crew to grab handles or handrails? Can they operate push-button displays in microgravity? Are the hygiene systems as user-friendly as possible in the limited space that’s available in the spacecraft? And, are there proper procedures and training to ensure the crew can safely and effectively use the systems? Evaluating all these operational details with crew perspective is part of my job.”

Spicer has spent her career looking at the small details in the big picture.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the Pennsylvania State University in State College, Spicer spent several years working as a full-time homemaker and raising three children. She got her start at NASA working part-time in the historic Life Sciences Laboratory, performing duties such as washing dishes, cleaning lab equipment, and running tests for scientists.

“I went from tidying up and keeping my home running to maintaining the historic lab where the Apollo crews were quarantined when they came back from the Moon and the Moon rock samples were stored,” Spicer said.

From there, Spicer began working with science payloads on the space station. She helped operate the Human Research Facility racks in the International Space Station National Laboratory and worked with scientists and crew to ensure in-flight processes and protocols were completed. It was there that Spicer found a love for the fast-paced dynamic of real-time space operations.

Spicer became a flight controller at NASA Johnson’s Mission Control Center in 2018. The learning curve to become a flight controller was steep, but it did not deter her. Spicer studied and trained for five years to earn the ultimate instructor and flight controller certifications.

“Unlike most people I work with, I don’t have an engineering degree,” Spicer said. “On my own, I studied engineering principles. I passed boards and certification tests. I learned to speak ‘engineer!’”

Spicer spent five years as an Operations and Support Officer in the space station’s flight control room in Mission Control, also known as the “front room” to spaceflight.

Now, when she looks at the Moon in the night sky, Spicer says she’s humbled and honored to be part of the team that’s sending astronauts back to the lunar surface.

“I’m reminded of the great responsibility that NASA has in this endeavor, of the legacy of the courageous Apollo crews who went before, and inspiring the next generation of space explorers to keep going and reaching for the stars!” she said.

As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions near the lunar South Pole to explore more of the Moon than ever before. In addition to providing economic benefits and advancing scientific discovery through its Moon missions, NASA will establish an enduring human presence on the lunar surface and build on the agency’s foundation for the first crewed mission to Mars.

To learn more about the Artemis program, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis