Ian J. O'Neill

Ian J. O'Neill

@astroengine.bsky.social

NASA JPL news media specialist. Topics include (not limited to): ☄️🛰️📡🪐🌕⚛️ Solar physics PhD. Science communicator, writer. Opinions are mine, mine, all mine. he/him

518 followers56 following52 posts

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

From NASA The initial reports are in: #MissionToPsyche aced its Mars flyby. ☑️ With the Red Planet in the rearview mirror, the spacecraft will resume using its solar-electric propulsion system to make a beeline to the main asteroid belt and rendezvous with the asteroid Psyche go.nasa.gov/4dn30CI

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

Replying to @stim3on.bsky.social

Psyche captured this sequence a few hours later during closest approach when Psyche was about 5000 km above Mars. The sequence starts over Isisdis Planitia, moves across Syrtis Major (a bit south of where Perseverance is) and ends over Huygens crater.

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

Two worlds: Earth, taken by the Artemis II crew and Mars, taken by the Psyche probe... I wonder when human eyes will see Mars as a crescent like this... Earth image: NASA Mars image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU Additional processing: S Atkinson

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

De nouvelles images acquises par la sonde #Psyche continuent d'arriver sur Terre via le Deep Space Network ! J'en ai ajouté 5 à ma mosaïque précédente, maintenant on distingue bien Syrtis Major Planum (plaines sombres cratérisées en bas de l'image) de Isidis Planitia (plus claire en haut). 1/3

NASA's Psyche spacecraft has Mars in its sights for a gravity assist on Friday, May 15. This is Mars' crescent as Psyche approaches from a high phase angle to the planet. The crescent extends around the planet as sunlight scatters through the atmosphere. Read: science.nasa.gov/blogs/psyche...

science.nasa.govNASA’s Psyche Mission to Fly by Mars for Gravity Assist  - NASA ScienceNASA’s Psyche spacecraft will get a boost from Mars on Friday, May 15, passing just 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) from the planet’s surface at some 12,333

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

For @msnownews.bsky.social, I wrote an article about how ICE Watch is grounded in sociological theories of violence prevention. The reality is that most men will only commit public violence in extremely specific scenarios and ICE Watch disrupts the conditions necessary for escalation.

ms.nowOpinion | I'm a Minneapolis sociologist who studies violence. Here's how ICE observers are helping.Research into how violence occurs shows that disapproval from the people around you can help reduce it.

Just watched The Rip and my review is: Any movie under 2 hours is ok in my books. Also, seeing Ben and Matt on screen together is never a bad thing. 5 out of 10. Totally predictable, then it's not, and then... oh yeah, I knew he was the bad guy. Silly fun with a lot of shooting in the dark.

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has been a member of the deep-sea club for almost 2 decades. New research might revoke its water world card. 🪐 🌊 My 2nd #AGU2025 story of the week for @science.org : www.science.org/content/arti... #space #titan #nasa

science.orgTitan might not have an ocean after allA reanalysis of data from NASA’s Cassini mission suggests Saturn’s icy moon may lack the subsurface ocean presumed for a decade

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

Cassini, Saturn, and Titan, what's not to love? 🛰🌕📡 A new Nature study, led by JPL scientists, has taken a new look at archived gravity data from NASA's Cassini mission to reveal that, perhaps, Saturn's largest moon Titan does not have a subsurface ocean: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-st...

jpl.nasa.govNASA Study Suggests Saturn’s Moon Titan May Not Have Global OceanReanalysis of data from NASA’s Cassini mission has revealed Saturn’s moon may instead have layers of slush with isolated pockets of liquid water.

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

Replying to @setiinstitute.bsky.social

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Text: @astroengine.bsky.social DSOC successfully demonstrated that data encoded in laser photons could be reliably transmitted, received, and then decoded after traveling millions of miles from Earth out to Mars distances. Learn more: buff.ly/NkOiLkL

nasa.govA Beacon to Space - NASAIn this infrared photograph taken on June 2, 2025, the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Table Mountain

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

Interstellar object candidate #A11pl3Z from Deep Random Survey, Chile (obs code X09). No obvious tail, will have to do a stack to see if there's anything... Date is 2025 Jul 2 00:52:39 UTC.

Not one but TWO science features today 🙌 In this one, NASA's Magellan is a mission that just keeps on giving. By combining topography and gravity data from the spacecraft, VERITAS scientists have detected tectonic processes shaping the planet's coronae. More: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-m...

jpl.nasa.govNASA’s Magellan Mission Reveals Possible Tectonic Activity on VenusUsing archival data from the mission, launched in 1989, researchers have uncovered new evidence that tectonic activity may be deforming the planet’s surface.

I got to work on a neat feature about the Moon. It posted today. The cover art was too good not to share. Basically, using high-resolution gravity data, scientists at JPL could measure the very tiny flexing of the Moon as it orbits Earth. More: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-st...

jpl.nasa.govNASA Studies Reveal Hidden Secrets About Interiors of Moon, VestaAnalyzing gravity data collected by spacecraft orbiting other worlds reveals groundbreaking insights about planetary structures without having to land on the surface.

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

This is a bigger issue than people realize. Not just jobs lost. But their families losing benefits. Landlords losing tenants. Cities and towns losing revenue. This is how recessions start Ready Fire Aim is no way to govern.

A Siegel@asiegel.bsky.social

More accurate, fewer words; "There are plenty of contractors going under". A friend furloughed 75% of staff (furlough w/paying for health insurance for three months), 50% exec pay cut, 25% rest of staff to keep as many people w/salary. PS: Wasn't 18F a government office, not a contractor.

"The Lunar Trailblazer team has been working around the clock to re-establish communications with the spacecraft ... if anyone can bring Lunar Trailblazer back, it is them." - Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate, NASA HQ

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

On March 1, the Europa Clipper spacecraft will soar past Mars, using that planet’s gravity to shape its trajectory, sending it first back by Earth, then on toward its 2030 rendezvous with Jupiter. Onward and upward! #Europa #EuropaClipper www.nasa.gov/missions/eur...

nasa.govNASA’s Europa Clipper Uses Mars to Go the Distance - NASAThe orbiter bound for Jupiter’s moon Europa will investigate whether the moon is habitable, but it first will get the help of Mars’ gravitational force to get

Led by Caltech and managed by JPL, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer is launching (no earlier than) Wed., Feb. 26, as a rideshare on the Intuitive Machines mission to the Moon, IM-2. Apart from the awesome science Trailblazer will do, its journey is quite interesting, too: www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/how-nas...

jpl.nasa.govHow NASA’s Lunar Trailblazer Will Make a Looping Voyage to the MoonBefore arriving at the Moon, the small satellite mission will use the gravity of the Sun, Earth, and Moon over several months to gradually line up for capture into lunar orbit.

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

Pin this, save it, we’ll need it. “When a prison camp opens in your town…when a DREAMer is disappeared from your classroom…when the President destroys what’s left of the Constitution…They will all say they didn’t know this was coming. And I want the American people to know that they did.” AOC 🔥🎯

Ian J. O'Neill reposted

Excellent by @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social "If you’re always consumed by the next outrage, you can’t look closely at the last one. The impression of Trump’s power remains; the fact that he keeps stepping on rakes is missed. The projection of strength obscures the reality of weakness. Don’t believe him."