Captured the mysterious (269) Justitia tonight! Sitting right in the main asteroid belt, this ~14.2 mag object hides a massive mystery: its spectral profile shows an intense, deep-red tint—a signature rarely seen in the belt, matching objects from the distant Kuiper Belt beyond Neptune. Scientists suspect Justitia didn't form here, but migrated inward across billions of miles. That raises the question: why is this the sole target where the UAE’s upcoming MBR Explorer mission will actually deploy a surface lander? What really did we detect from Earth that made us want to touch it? #Astronomy #Asteroids #Astrometry #CitizenScience #SpaceExploration #DobsonianPower #space

#Asteroids are a real (and underestimated) threat

Just tracked and captured near-Earth asteroid 2026 TG9 from my observatory (MPC Station R39). You can see it crossing from right to left very fast. ​This asteroid is approximately 14 meters across and is traveling at 11.6 km/s. It is making a close approach today, passing at just 0.59 Lunar Distances (around 227,000 km) from Earth—well inside the orbit of the Moon. ​Tracking these fast-moving near-Earth objects with the 16-inch Dobsonian is always a rewarding challenge. Citizen science in action. ​#Asteroid #2026TG9 #Astronomy #Space #CitizenScience #DobsonianPower

Wow! The massive filament we were monitoring just exploded! The Sun still very wild right now #sun #spaceweather #space

This tiny and faint object in the center is the massive Asteroid (363790) 2005 JE46, an Apollo-class Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) measuring approximately 924 meters in diameter, with a rapid rotation period of about 2.1 hours. ​It is currently heading toward a close approach with Earth in November 2026 and i just captured with my telescope. Between November 13 and November 17, 2026, the asteroid will pass at a safe distance of approximately 0.051 Astronomical Units (about 20 lunar distances). During this approach window, it is expected to brighten significantly, reaching a peak visual magnitude of 13.4 to 13.8. Because of its size and proximity, it is also scheduled as a prime target for NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar observations. I'll be following it from my observatory. #2005JE46 #Asteroid2005JE46 #NearEarthObject #NEO #PlanetaryDefense #CitizenScience #Astrometry #LiveStacking #DobsonianPower #Astronomy

Tonight's target: Comet 2P/Encke ☄️ A beautiful celestial visitor captured during my latest session! Massive size of 4.86 km (3 miles) in diameter. It's heading towards the Earth 🌍with the next closest approach on February 3, 2027 and next ☀️ Perihelion on February 10, 2027 🌀 The "Encke Anomaly": This comet is famous for an orbital anomaly where its 3.3-year orbit continuously shortens. While 19th-century astronomers thought it was dragging against "ether" in space, we now know it's caused by outgassing from the comet acting like tiny thrusters. When the interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua passed through our solar system in 2017, it also exhibited non-gravitational acceleration—it changed speed in a way gravity couldn't explain. But unlike Encke, observatories couldn't detect any outgassing, coma, or tail whatsoever which points to a techno signature. Either ways, we'll keep monitoring it for new anomalies 👀 ​#CometEncke #Astronomy #space

Caught the fast Comet P/2026 R2 (Leonard) tonight! 💫🔭 Captured using my 0.41-m f/3.3 Dobsonian Power reflector and SV605MC camera at Station R39. This officially designated Halley-type comet is cruising past Earth at 0.3 AU, moving fast through the constellation Ophiuchus. Glad to get some data on this fast-moving traveler today! 🌌🛰️ ​#Comet #P2026R2 #Space #Astronomy

Caught 88P/Howell on the move! ☄️ Known for its faint, diffuse "ghost comet" appearance, this massive 4.4 km wide object is currently cruising at a distance of 1.498 AU from Earth. Interestingly it's closer to the Earth the same moment the Sun blasted a triple CME. Back during its 2020 approach, astronomers managed to catch a tiny, faint tail about 2 arcminutes long, but it's completely missing from the view now. I captured this sequence directly from the observatory, during yesterday live stream, using Excalibur, my 16-inch (0.41-m) Dobsonian telescope. 🔭🌌 #Astronomy #p88howell #DobsonianPower #CometHowell #Space #CitizenScience

The latest pictures of 3I/ATLAS we have... just came from the Keck Observatory! ☄️🔭 Astronomers just published their deep imaging of our 3rd interstellar visitor (captured using the Keck/LRIS instrument). It's incredible to still be tracking this ancient traveler from beyond our solar system as it heads back out into deep space! The full report is up on The Astronomer's Telegram (ATel #18098). The Keck Observatory telescopes (where the LRIS instrument is mounted) each have a massive primary mirror aperture of 10 meters (394 inches or 32.8 feet). This massive aperture allowed to capture this now very faint object in space. #3IATLAS #InterstellarComet #Astronomy #KeckObservatory #CitizenScience #Astrotwitter

This might be the best Planet 9 candidate we have. Captured as a thermal signal by the AKARI space telescope in 2006, a team of scientists in Taiwan linked it to an anomaly from the 1983 IRAS survey. They tracked its slow movement across 23 years, but here is the catch: they need a "triplet"—a 3rd, modern observation to confirm the Keplerian orbit and secure one of history's biggest discoveries. To do that, they are fighting for time on massive telescopes like the Dark Energy Camera. With so much public interest, you'd think pointing a scope at these coordinates would be top priority, but securing observatory time is a brutal waiting game. The hunt is paused in a queue! ​#Astronomy #Planet9 #SolarSystem #AKARI #AstroTwitter #Astrophysics #Astrometry #CitizenScience #DobsonianPower #planetx #nibiru #NTHU

Saturn last night from my observatory in case you missed the live stream. From raw live views with my 16" telescope to the stacked image #Saturn #Space #Astronomy

Just pulled this quick clip from my latest Saturn infrared video 🔭✨ If you look closely, you can actually see a bit of a difference at the poles. Could we be catching a hint of the bizarre Hexagon or that mysterious new Decagon anomaly? 🌀 There is definitely something strange swirling up there... This is completely raw, unprocessed footage straight from the camera. IR is basically a cheat code for planetary imaging—it slices right through poor seeing conditions and makes those atmospheric bands pop even before any editing. Drop a 🪐 if you love this view! #SaturnOpposition #Space #CitizenScience #saturn #space #nasa #solarsystem

If Saturn Hexagon is weird, the newly discovered DECAGON is even stranger. 🪐🌀 What exactly is going on at the poles of the ringed giant? Are we looking at extreme atmospheric fluid dynamics, or could it be hiding something else... like a portal? 🛸 We broke down these bizarre geometric anomalies in our latest deep dive. Which shape breaks your brain more? 👇 #Saturn #SpaceAnomalies #Astronomy #DobsonianPower #CitizenScience

Is this a Monolith on Titan, or just an artifact? 🪐 NASA's Dragonfly mission launches in summer 2028, landing a nuclear-powered rotorcraft on Saturn’s moon by late 2034. Right near the newly defined landing zone, we spotted a weird object casting a massive shadow—looking exactly like a monolith. Titan is getting very interesting, regardless. #Titan #DragonflyMission #NASA #Saturn #SpaceAnomaly #Monolith #AstroTwitter #SpaceExploration #PlanetaryScience #DobsonianPower #SolarSystem

Today is a special and mysterious day for Saturn: it reaches opposition. Earth is passing directly between the Sun and Saturn, meaning the planet is fully illuminated, at its closest approach to us this year, and visible all night long. If weather allows, I'll go live pointing Excalibur telescope to it. 🔭 Here is what makes tonight's observation stand out: -​The Seeliger Effect: Because the Sun's light is hitting Saturn from directly behind Earth, the ice particles in Saturn's rings hide their own shadows. This "opposition surge" causes the rings to suddenly appear noticeably brighter than the planet's actual globe. -​The Ring Angle: After being almost completely edge-on in 2025, the rings are now gradually opening back up to a wider viewing angle, making them increasingly prominent and easier to separate from the planetary disk. We'll see if we can spot it live tonight #Saturn #SaturnOpposition #SeeligerEffect #AstroTwitter #AstronomyLive #Telescope #NightSky #DobsonianPower

Comet 161P/Hartley-IRAS just captured from my observatory. As a Halley-type comet with an orbit of about 21.5 years, it's currently making its closest approach to Earth. 🌌☄️ #HartleyIRAS #Comets #NightSky #Space #Astro