Rinus Rekkers
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rinusrekkers.bsky.social
Rinus Rekkers
@rinusrekkers.bsky.social
21 followers 25 following 5 posts
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Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
stsci.edu
Watch as the most detailed infrared view of the Helix Nebula from #NASAWebb is put into context using the famous visible light image from Hubble and previous infrared imaging from the retired Spitzer Space Telescope: news.stsci.edu/4qPKTsL
January 20, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
marcolangbroek.bsky.social
1/x
Three (small slices of) Shergottites (meteorites from Mars), each looking very different.
From left to right: NEA 053; Tarkint 001; NWA 13369
NEA 053 (left) shows elongated pyroxene and isometric olivine phenocrysts in a finer matrix of plagioclase and pyroxene grains. Tarkint 001 (middle) shows phyric brown olivine phenocrysts in a fine grained matrix. NWA 13369 (right) shows green pyroxene cristals poikilitically enclosing black olivine.
January 19, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
technology.esa.int
👀 Our eyes on the Sun’s inner corona, that’s Proba-3! In a 5-hour window, the formation-flying mission captured not 1… not 2… but 3 solar prominence eruptions – structures made of relatively cold plasma extending outwards from the Sun ☀️👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
January 19, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
astronomienl.bsky.social
De RUG organiseert voor de zesde maal een nationale stertelling. Doe mee!

www.astronomie.nl/nieuws/rug-o...
January 15, 2026 at 10:57 AM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
exploration.esa.int
There is a blackout between Mars and Earth, and the Sun is to blame. 🔴⚫️🌍

🌞 Once every 25 months, our star passes between these two planets. The alignment is called solar conjunction.

🔇 While the Sun blocks our view of Mars until 21 January, communication with our martian orbiters falls silent.
January 14, 2026 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
stsci.edu
At the center, two galaxies known as NGC 3921 are in the late stages of merging. Their collision started about 700 million years ago. Their clash, captured by Hubble, caused a rush of star formation.

Credit: ESA, NASA; Judy Schmidt.
At the center of the frame are two interacting galaxies against the black background of space. They look like a faded lowercase q. The brightest region is at the bottom of the loop of the q, forming a large orb with a bright white center. The rest of the shape is in much lighter blues. Throughout the background, there are a few stars with four bright diffraction spikes at the edges, a larger spiral galaxy seen edge-on at top left, and many more teeny stars and galaxies throughout.
January 14, 2026 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
maartenpodcast.bsky.social
Waarom de mullahs in #Iran blijven zitten, ondanks massale protesten. Daarover meer in de podcast. open.spotify.com/episode/3uoj...
Is Trump het grootste gevaar sinds Hitler?
Spotify video
open.spotify.com
January 13, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
stsci.edu
Astronomers using #NASAWebb have found a small sample of tiny galaxies that don’t fit existing categories, comparing them to the odd duck of biology, the platypus. Discover these “platypus galaxies” with Webb: https://news.stsci.edu/4qamfDq #AAS247 🔭
James Webb Space Telescope image showing a broad area of space with thousands of small galaxies, four of which are highlighted in pull-out boxes. The four highlighted galaxies are very small, appearing as points of light. The image isn’t continuous. Black areas of the overall image indicate where the telescope did not collect data: a vertical section in the center and a square in the lower left corner.
January 6, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
stsci.edu
#NASAWebb researchers found iron-rich dust and complex carbon molecules in Sextans A, a nearby galaxy with similar properties to those in the early universe. Why the finding is surprising: https://news.stsci.edu/4st0ccz #AAS247 🔭
A region of space is filled with stars and clumps of glowing orange and tan dust. A small portion of the sky at the center of the image is outlined with a white box. Lines extend from the corner of the box to the inset panel at the top right showing a magnified version of the outlined portion of the image. In the inset, there are smatterings of dim whitish-blueish stars and about seven glowing red orbs across the center in a line. Also across the center of the inset is a green glow. The background of the image is filled with stars and galaxies of various shapes and colors.
January 6, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
esa.int
📷 This NASA/ESA #Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a vibrant star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of our Milky Way’s satellite galaxies🧪🔭

www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/04/Hubble_spots_stellar_sculptors_at_work_in_a_nearby_galaxy

@science.esa.int @stsci.edu
A star cluster within a nebula. The background is filled with thin, pale blue clouds. Parts are thicker and pinker in colour. The cluster is made up of bright blue stars that illuminate the nebula around them. Large arcs of dense dust curve around, before and behind the clustered stars, pressed together by the stars’ radiation. Behind the clouds of the nebula can be seen large numbers of orange stars.
January 4, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
transport.esa.int
Let's start 2026 dancing! 🕺

This animation shows how Space Rider could fly to an orbital platform and deliver payloads using a robotic arm as well as retrieving other payloads to return them to Earth.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcJ6...
Space Rider orbital ballet
YouTube video by ESA Extras
www.youtube.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
esa.int
📸 This NASA/ESA #Hubble Space Telescope image captures NGC 4449, a dwarf galaxy just 12.5 million light-years away from us that’s forming stars at an extraordinary rate 🧪🔭

www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed... @stsci.edu @science.esa.int
This Hubble image shows the galaxy NGC 4449. The field is dominated by dust that appears in dark red, with scattered brighter regions of star formation as bright pink globules. The background shows countless blue stars peeking around the dusty regions.
January 2, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
stsci.edu
Before we ring in the new year, let’s talk about the Ring Nebula. #NASAWebb observed this planetary nebula in 2022, showing its filamentary structure, hot gas, and arcs in great detail. The Ring Nebula is located approximately 2,500 light-years away.

Credit: ESA, NASA, CSA.
The Ring Nebula appears as a distorted doughnut against the black background of space. The nebula’s inner cavity hosts shades of blue and green, while the detailed ring transitions through shades of orange in the inner regions and pink in the outer region. The ring’s inner region has distinct filament elements. Many small yellow dots, which are galaxies, and blue-white stars with eight-pointed diffraction spikes are scattered across the image.
December 30, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
stsci.edu
This image of MACS 0416 from #NASAWebb and Hubble shows two galaxy clusters in the process of combining. Their mass magnifies the light from more distant background galaxies, helping astronomers identify distant supernovas and even individual stars: bit.ly/4qSNy5T 🔭
A field of galaxies on the black background of space. In the middle, stretching from left to right, is a collection of dozens of yellowish spiral and elliptical galaxies that form a foreground galaxy cluster. Among them are distorted linear features, which mostly appear to follow invisible concentric circles curving around the center.
December 26, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
esa.int
🌟 Merry Christmas from a newborn star. Earlier this year the NASA/ESA/CSA #Webb Space Telescope took this stunning image of HH30, an edge-on protoplanetary disc. 🧪🔭

🔗 esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Webb_investigates_a_dusty_and_dynamic_disc
A close-in image of a protoplanetary disc around a newly formed star. Many different wavelengths of light are combined and represented by separate and various colours. A dark line across the centre is the disc, made of opaque dust: the star is hidden in here and creates a strong glow in the centre. A band going straight up is a jet, while other outflows form flares above and below the disc, and a tail coming off to one side.
December 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
stsci.edu
Hubble has imaged the largest planet-forming disk ever seen! At 400 billion miles wide, it is roughly 40 times the diameter of our solar system. The disk is unexpectedly chaotic and turbulent, offering new insights into how planetary systems form: https://bit.ly/477sQ9b 🔭 🧪
Near the center is an object that resembles an edge-on view of a hamburger. There is a diagonal dark strip (the meat patty) of dust, running from 1 o’clock to 7 o’clock, that obscures a central star. Curving away from either side of the dark strip are glowing white clouds (the buns) where dust is reflecting starlight. Bright blue finger-like wisps of material extend far above and below the dark center plane. A few dozen stars, some with four diffraction spikes, are scattered on the black background of space.
December 23, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
science.esa.int
🎄 Are your holiday decorations ready? Euclid has a cosmic garland to add: NGC 646.

The large barred spiral galaxy appears close to a smaller galaxy to the left, but they’re actually about 45 million light-years apart 👉 https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/12/Euclid_s_galaxy_garland
🔭
An image of space made by the Euclid telescope shows a bright barred spiral galaxywith two sweeping arms glowing in shades of blue and white against a deep black background dotted with stars. Its core is luminous. Its spiral arms curve gracefully outward to the left and down to the right, resembling a cosmic garland draped across the scene. A smaller, faint and round galaxy appears to the left of the barred spiral galaxy.
December 22, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
esa.int
📷 This NASA/ESA #Hubble Space Telescope image shows galaxies MCG-02-05-050a (left) and MCG-02-05-050, collectively called Arp 4. But this pairing is simply an unlikely visual coincidence... 🧪🔭

🔗 esahubble.org/images/potw2... @stsci.edu
This image shows two galaxies side by side. The galaxy on the top left is smaller in size, and appears as a bright glowing spiral with clearly-defined arms. A larger blue galaxy dominates the full right field of the image. This galaxy is more irregularly shaped, with a glowing central bar, and varying regions of concentrated hues of blue. The background is black with various stars and galaxies in the distance.
December 22, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
esa.int
Today is the December solstice at 15:03 GMT/16:03 CET.
This @eumetsat.int MTG‑I1 image from 19 December 2025, 06:00 GMT, shows Earth’s day–night terminator tilted near its annual maximum of about 23.5°.
The 2025 winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere — the shortest day (and longest night) of the year and the beginning of the winter season. The event, which also marks the start of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, is caused by Earth's axial tilt and the planet's motion as it orbits around the sun at the center of our Solar System. Earth doesn't sit upright as it circles the Sun. Instead, it orbits on its axis at a tilt of 23.5 degrees. Our planet's Northern and Southern hemispheres take turns with sunlight, trading places when it comes to seasons. So, on the winter solstice, the planet's Northern Hemisphere is turned as far away from the sun as it ever is.
December 21, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
sterrenwachthalley.bsky.social
Komeet 3I/Atlas die vandaag de Aarde passeert is pas de derde bekende interstellaire komeet en daarom erg instant voor komeetonderzoekers. Niet met het blote oog te zien, maar wel met een telescoop en mogelijk met de verrekijker.
www.rd.nl/artikel/1132...
Roemruchte komeet 3I/Atlas passeert aarde, en is te zien met een telescoop, verrekijker of via livestream
Kometenjagers kunnen hun verrekijker of telescoop alvast afstoffen. Vrijdag passeert komeet 3I/Atlas de aarde. Een livestream is er ook.
www.rd.nl
December 19, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
esa.int
🆕 This NASA/ESA/CSA #Webb Space Telescope image shows the Westerlund 2 star cluster. 🧪🔭

🔗 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/12/Webb_Dwarf_stars_in_a_glittering_sky

@science.esa.int @stsci.edu
December 19, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
josefaschbacher.esa.int
While we publish new images and stories almost around the clock, it is nice to take a step back and spend time on some of the most exciting moments of 2025.

Scroll through @esa.int's Highlights 2025 👇
esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/corpora...
December 18, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
eso.org
Enjoy this trip to NGC 1850, a cluster of stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

This cluster harbours the first small black hole outside of our galaxy to be discovered by looking at its gravitational influence on the path of the star orbiting it

Read more: https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2116/ 🔭
December 17, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
technology.esa.int
🚯 To clean up orbits around Earth, we first need to identify and approach individual pieces of space debris. 🛰️ Two companies from Luxembourg are developing the eyes 👀 for satellites to be able to do just that 👉 www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...
Satellite model in a testing facility
December 10, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Rinus Rekkers
stsci.edu
Another #NASAWebb record breaker: a supernova that existed only 730 million years after the big bang! Learn how Webb delivered the conclusive evidence when it followed up on a fleeting event known as a gamma-ray burst: https://bit.ly/3Y782ul 🔭 🧪
Webb image shows hundreds of galaxies of all shapes and sizes against the black background of space. Toward the center-left is a large white spiral galaxy that is almost face-on. To the right of this is a large box, which zooms in on an area at top right. Within the box is a faint red dot at the center, with the label GRB 250314A.
December 9, 2025 at 4:03 PM