2. Launch of the Legacy Survey of Space and Time and a New Interstellar Comet
Matthew's Astronomy Report #2
Published 27 August 2025
On 11 June, ESA published images of the South Pole of the Sun — the first of their kind.
ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 2 concluded abruptly with a hard landing on the Moon due to issues with the Laser Range Finder. ispace remains committed to their next two Moon missions which launch in 2027.
On 23 June, NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory released first-look images taken through the Simonyi Survey Telescope. The Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) begins later this year, although some early data products from commissioning observations have already been released.
In July, NASA's Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer (SPHEREx) released its first data.
On 01 July, ATLAS detected a new interstellar comet. The comet was designated 3I/ATLAS (as the 3rd such interstellar object discovered), aka C/2025 N1 (ATLAS). Images by the Hubble Space Telescope and spectral observations by various instruments followed.
In research published 06 August, researchers identified white dwarf merger remnants via thee detection of carbon in UV observations with the Hubble Space Telescope. They suggest that these merger remnants are less rare than previously expected.
In a press release on 19 August, observers announced the discovery of a 29th moon of Uranus via James Webb Space Telescope observations taken 02 February. The object is designated S/2025 U1.
UPCOMING
--------
- 31 August: Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) flyby of Venus
- September: NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission could launch
MY THOUGHTS
-----------
On 26 August, SpaceX conducted a fully successful test of its Starship launch vehicle. This is mostly noteworthy because one successful mission objective was the release of mock Starlink payloads. Starship may soon carry 60 Starlink satellites into orbit with every launch.