BPAA Members: Save the Date for the Annual Meeting
Please save the date for the Battle Point Astronomical Association Annual Meeting!
Saturday, January 10th, 2026 at 6 pm
Newsletter
The Rotten Fish Nebula (LDN 1251)
Credit: Chuck Wraith
Also sometimes called the “Angler Fish Nebula”, this is a dark nebula 1000 LYRs away in Cepheus. There are two tiny spiral galaxies that can just be seen…one by the mouth (PGC69472, 150 Million LYRs away) and one just above the tail (LEDA 166755, 300 Million LYRs away). Running from left to upward right just above the pectoral fin region are multiple small, bright areas of dust … these are stellar nurseries in the process of birthing new stars and planetary systems. This nebula is very faint and extremely dark, not making its photographic appearance until stacked and stretched.
NASA’s Webb Traces Details of Complex Planetary Nebula
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured detailed images of the planetary nebula NGC 6072, revealing a complex and asymmetrical structure formed by multiple outflows of gas from a dying star. These observations provide insight into the late stages of stellar evolution and the interactions shaping the nebula’s unique appearance.
Baby Planet Clears Gap in Young Protoplanetary Disk
An international team of astronomers has directly imaged a newborn planet, WISPIT 2b, orbiting within a gap it cleared in the multi-ringed protoplanetary disk of the 5-million-year-old star TYC 5709-354-1, located 430 light-years away. This marks the first clear detection of an embedded planet in such a cleared gap, with observations revealing its orbital motion and hydrogen gas accretion, confirming it as a rare example of a growing protoplanet.
Astronomers Discover One of the Most Massive Binary Stars in the Galaxy
Using archival Hubble Space Telescope data and new observations, astronomers have precisely measured the binary star system NGC3603-A1 in the starburst region NGC 3603, located 22,000 light years from the Sun. This system consists of two massive stars weighing approximately 93 and 70 times the mass of the Sun, orbiting each other every 3.8 days, making it one of the most massive and fastest-orbiting binary systems discovered in our galaxy.
How A Dead Star Carved The “Hand of God” In Space
Located 17,000 light-years away, a very special nebula, carved by a young, pulsing, rapidly spinning neutron star, looks like an enormous cosmic hand, reaching out through the void.
But this isn’t a cosmic hand at all: it’s a region of interstellar space filled with cosmic particles, heated and energized by the surrounding environment, with a special role played by the young pulsar.
TESS Spotted 3I/ATLAS Two Months Before It Was Discovered
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), primarily designed to observe stars and detect exoplanets, captured images of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS as early as May, two months before its official discovery in July. This early detection, along with previous findings from the Vera Rubin Observatory, indicates that 3I/ATLAS may have been active during that time.
Dark Energy-Filled Black Holes Plus DESI Data Give Neutrino Masses That Make Sense
Recent data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) at Kitt Peak National Observatory reveal that dark energy’s effect on the universe may be evolving over time, suggesting matter could be transforming into dark energy. These findings also provide new insights into neutrino masses, aligning theoretical frameworks with observed cosmic phenomena.