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Welcome to the official website of the Astrophyzix Observatory, Delivering unpaywalled access to a live computational planetary defence suite, timely evidence-driven analysis, real-time N-Body Orbital Refinements and monitoring and tracking of all asteroids, comets and solar system objects using our unique, precision-built suite of 45+ Float64 modules. Daily asteroid news and reports, close approach analysis and profiles of over 1.57 million solar system objects currently catalogued by NASA systems. Unified in one place, totally free. No downloads or login required.

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Showing posts with label Official Source Updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Official Source Updates. Show all posts
Latest Asteroid News — Astrophyzix Observatory
Astrophyzix Evidence-First News & Computational Analysis

Latest Asteroid News and Analysis

Latest news, close-approach reports, single-object bulletins, updates and data analysis.

Trusted, Verifiable and Traceable Asteroid News

NEW
Asteroid Newsclose approach reportLatest News

PHA and NEO Asteroid Close Approach Report 10 October 2026. Daily Asteroid Bulletin from the NASA NeoWs catalogue.

On October 10, 2026 (UTC), screening of the NASA NeoWs catalogue resolves 45 near-Earth object close approaches across the report window. The single closest encounter is 2019 SD8 at approximately 18.63 lunar distances.

NEW
Latest NewsOfficial NASA DataScout data

PHA and NEO Asteroid Close Approach Report for unconfirmed Scout object P12r4oM. Asteroid Object Bulletin from JPL Scout NEOCP.

Unconfirmed NEOCP candidate P12r4oM triaged by NASA's Scout system. Preliminary object alert based on official Scout data.

NEW
Asteroid NewsClose ApproachDiscovery

PHA and NEO Asteroid Close Approach Report for newly discovered Scout asteroid P12r4oM (NEOCP).

Details on the unconfirmed NEOCP object P12r4oM, including Scout score and preliminary classification.

NEW
Close ApproachDiscoveryLatest News

Single-object report for asteroid 2026 TU3, compiled from JPL Close Approach Data.

On October 7, 2026 (UTC), JPL data resolve a close approach by 2026 TU3, an Apollo-class near-Earth asteroid roughly 5 m across. It passed Earth at about 02:51 TDB at approximately 0.826 lunar distances.

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Analysisclose approach reportLatest News

Single-object report for asteroid 2026 TB3, compiled from the JPL Small-Body Database and Close Approach Data.

On October 7, 2026 (UTC), JPL data resolve a close approach by 2026 TB3, an Apollo-class near-Earth asteroid roughly 7 m across. It passes Earth on 9 October 2026 at approximately 1.675 lunar distances.

NEW
Asteroid Newsclose approach reportLatest News

Catalogued Earth close-approaches across a 7-day window from the NASA NeoWs feed.

On October 7, 2026 (UTC), screening of the NASA NeoWs catalogue resolves 46 near-Earth object close approaches. Closest is 2015 TS238 at approximately 4.72 lunar distances.

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Asteroid Newsclose approach reportLatest News

Daily close-approach report for 6 October 2026 from the NASA NeoWs catalogue.

Screening resolves 49 near-Earth object close approaches. Closest encounter is 2015 TS238 at approximately 4.72 lunar distances.

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Latest Newslive alertsNASA

NOAA has issued a space weather warning. Conditions hazardous to satellites, GPS, radio, or power grids are expected or occurring.

Significance level elevated. Multiple depth reports available. Sources include DONKI, NeoWs, NOAA SWPC and GraceDB.

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cad dataLatest NewsOfficial NASA Data

Live sync from the Astrophyzix CAD/Scout/Sentry System, cross-checked against CNEOS Sentry and JPL SBDB.

Monitoring window 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-10. Fleet status: 84 total objects, 2 PHA-class, 4 within 10 LD, closest 1.95 LD.

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Asteroid Newsclose approach reportLatest News

Earth close-approaches from 1–30 September 2026 inside 0.05 au from the NASA/JPL SBDB Close Approach Data API.

In September 2026 the JPL catalogue records 165 Earth encounters inside the filter. Thirteen passed inside one lunar distance. Closest was 2026 RT34 on 13 September at 0.055 LD.

Data compiled from official NASA/JPL and CNEOS sources via the Astrophyzix Observatory. astrophyzix.com

Newly Discovered Asteroid 2026 JH2 Updated JPL Solution Official Data Report - Astrophyzix Digital Observatory Latest Asteroid News

NASA SBDB Data · Astrophyzix Scientific Close‑Approach & Orbital Report

Asteroid 2026 JH2 — Post‑Solution Orbital Analysis · JPL SBDB Solution JPL 9 – (Image: Astrophyzix Orbital Viewer)
📌 Cited/Featured by: MSN News, Gemini, CTRadio, BingCopilot News, Crowdbyte News

Apollo NEO Condition Code 4 10‑Day Data Arc NO IMPACT RISK — See JPL Solution
Responsive Image

Key Takeaways of Asteroid 2026 JH2 (Updated JPL Solution) (see previous solution report) 

  • NASA JPL Solution: Solution JPL 9 · Epoch 2461000.5 (2025‑Nov‑21.0 TDB) · SPK‑ID 54629847 · Producer: Otto Matic
  • Orbit class: Apollo Near‑Earth Object — semi‑major axis a = 2.4187 au, eccentricity e = 0.5822, inclination i ≈ 6.0°, orbital period 3.76 years (1373.9 days).
  • Earth MOID: 0.000734498 au (~110,000 km), meaning the nominal orbit passes well inside the Earth–Moon system, but no impact solution is reported in current JPL risk catalogues.
  • Size estimate: Absolute magnitude H = 26.352 → approximate diameter in the 10–25 m range (albedo‑dependent), consistent with a small NEO capable of airburst‑scale effects only in a hypothetical impact.
  • Orbit quality: Condition code 4, based on 166 observations over a 10‑day data arc (2026‑05‑10 to 2026‑05‑20), with a normalised RMS of 0.34634 — a moderately well‑constrained, still‑refining orbit.
  • Future close approach: JPL SBDB lists a notable Earth encounter on 2090‑05‑14 at a nominal distance of 0.00683 au (~1.0 million km) and relative velocity 9.10 km/s — a close but non‑impacting flyby.
  • Risk context: 2026 JH2 is not a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) — its size (H > 22) is far below the PHA threshold, and no impact solutions are listed by NASA CNEOS or JPL SBDB.
  • Ignore clickbait, sensational videos and news reports claiming that “an asteroid is about to hit Earth” — that is not supported by the data. Follow the evidence, not the entertainment.

NASA Powers Down Another Voyager 1 Instrument in a Bid to Extend the Life of Humanity’s Most Distant Explorer - Official Mission News Reported by Astrophyzix Digital Observatory

NASA's Mission to Extend the Life of Humanity’s Most Distant Explorer Voyager 1

Voyager spacecraft artist concept

Written by: Astrophyzix Digital Observatory


Key Takeaways

  • NASA has powered down Voyager 1’s Low-Energy Charged Particle (LECP) instrument to conserve energy
  • The shutdown is reversible — a small motor remains powered to allow potential reactivation
  • Voyager 1 now operates with only a fraction of its original electrical output
  • The upcoming “Big Bang” power reconfiguration may extend the mission by several years
  • Voyager 2 will test the new power strategy before it is attempted on Voyager 1


Introduction

More than 15 billion miles from Earth, where sunlight fades into the black of interstellar space, NASA has powered down another of Voyager 1’s scientific instruments. The Low-Energy Charged Particle detector (LECP) has been placed into a dormant state as part of a long-planned strategy to conserve the spacecraft’s dwindling power supply.

Each Voyager launched in 1977 with ten scientific instruments. After nearly five decades of continuous operation, seven have already been retired. Voyager 2’s LECP was shut down in March 2025; Voyager 1 has now followed, marking another step in the mission’s carefully managed final phase.


A Command That Takes Almost a Day to Arrive

Communicating with Voyager 1 is unlike communicating with any other spacecraft. At its current distance, a radio signal—traveling at the speed of light—takes roughly 23 hours to reach it. Once the shutdown command arrives, the LECP’s power-down sequence unfolds over three hours and fifteen minutes, executed by hardware designed in the 1970s.

Importantly, NASA has not turned the instrument completely off. A small motor that rotates the LECP sensor through a full 360-degree sweep remains powered. It consumes only about half a watt, but keeping it active preserves the option to revive the instrument if future power-saving measures succeed. 


What the LECP Measures — and Why It Matters

The Low-Energy Charged Particle instrument is one of Voyager’s key plasma-environment sensors. It measures low-energy ions and electrons, tracks their directional flow, and monitors how particle populations change as the spacecraft moves through different regions of space.


These measurements were essential in identifying the termination shock, the heliosheath, and the heliopause—the boundary where the Sun’s influence ends and interstellar space begins. Since Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause in 2012, the LECP has contributed to the only long-term, direct dataset of charged particles in the local interstellar medium.

Its shutdown marks the end of one chapter of interstellar science, but not the end of the mission.


Why Power Is Running Out

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 rely on radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which convert heat from decaying plutonium-238 into electricity. The decay is steady and unavoidable: the RTGs lose a small amount of power every year. After nearly 49 years, the spacecraft operate on only a fraction of their original electrical output.


Every watt must be budgeted. Every heater, transmitter, and instrument competes for the same shrinking energy supply. Shutting down the LECP gives Voyager 1 roughly one additional year of operational margin.


Instrument Shutdown Timeline


Instrument Voyager 1 Status Voyager 2 Status
Plasma Spectrometer (PLS) Shut down (1980) Shut down (1980)
Planetary Radio Astronomy (PRA) Shut down (1990) Shut down (1990)
Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) Shut down (1998) Shut down (1998)
Photopolarimeter (PPS) Shut down (1980) Shut down (1980)
Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer (IRIS) Shut down (1998) Shut down (1998)
Low-Energy Charged Particles (LECP) Shut down (2026) Shut down (2025)
Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS) Active Active
Magnetometer (MAG) Active Active
Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS) Active Active
Imaging Science System (ISS) Inactive (1990) Inactive (1990)


Weekly Near-Earth Object Flyby Report: 17–20 February 2026

Written By: Astrophyzix Science Communication 
Article type: Latest CNEO Asteroid News, Factual, Evidence-based 

Cneonews


Weekly Near-Earth Object Flyby Report: 17–20 February 2026

Track this week’s closest asteroid flybys: over 20 Near-Earth Objects passing within 75 lunar distances, including the largest 801 m asteroid 2001 EC. All objects confirmed safe. Stay updated with NASA/JPL data and planetary-defence insights.

SOLAR NEWS: What Official Space Agencies Are Actually Reporting on Solar Flares, Sunspots and the Sun’s Behaviour - February 2026

Written by: Astrophyzix Science Communication
Article type: News, Explainer, Factual Report, Official Sources

February 2026 Solar Activity: What Official Space Agencies Are Actually Reporting on Solar Flares, Solar Wind, CMEs and Sunspots

Recent increases in solar activity have drawn public attention, particularly on social media where dramatic claims about unusual solar behavior have circulated. To separate speculation from evidence, it is important to rely on official space weather monitoring agencies that continuously observe and model the Sun’s activity.

Are we in danger of Solar Flares and Solar Storms? 

We are protected by Earth's magnetic field. Most solar emissions are diverted around the Earth. A percentage of solar emissions are funneled to Earth’s North and South poles. Satellites are vulnerable but life on earth is safe. Learn about the physics behind Solar flares in our educational article.