February 24, 2026 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- One of the largest known stars has changed color
The star is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud 160,000 light years away, and has a diameter believed to be 1,500 times that of the Sun. What is happening is not really understood, but the possibilities are fascinating,
- Perseverance’s software can now more precisely pinpoint the rover’s location
The article makes a lot of silly claims (such as this is “like GPS”), but all that is happening is the software compares multiple images to gather a 3D picture of its surroundings. And it is simply doing it more precisely than in the past.
- On this day in 1990, Pioneer 11 crossed the orbit of Neptune, the first human spacecraft to travel that far
Contact was lost in 1995.
- On this day in 1997, the Air Force’s Titan IVB rocket launched for the first time
The tweet shows a photo from the launch of the Cassini-Huygens mission later that year.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- One of the largest known stars has changed color
The star is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud 160,000 light years away, and has a diameter believed to be 1,500 times that of the Sun. What is happening is not really understood, but the possibilities are fascinating,
- Perseverance’s software can now more precisely pinpoint the rover’s location
The article makes a lot of silly claims (such as this is “like GPS”), but all that is happening is the software compares multiple images to gather a 3D picture of its surroundings. And it is simply doing it more precisely than in the past.
- On this day in 1990, Pioneer 11 crossed the orbit of Neptune, the first human spacecraft to travel that far
Contact was lost in 1995.
- On this day in 1997, the Air Force’s Titan IVB rocket launched for the first time
The tweet shows a photo from the launch of the Cassini-Huygens mission later that year.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News


Is It Time To Permanently Ground NASA?
https://issuesinsights.com/2026/02/24/is-it-time-to-permanently-ground-nasa/
Hmmm…Seems that Voyager 2 crossed Neptune’s path in August 1989. It even took photos to prove it.
“On this day in 1990, Pioneer 11 crossed the orbit of Neptune, the first human spacecraft to travel that far”
Not quite. Voyager 2 encountered Neptune in August 1989, crossing its orbit in the process.