Today’s Space News Digest - August 29, 2025

Cassiopeia A’s Death Throes Unveiled Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have detected, for the first time, a violent “inner convulsion” in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A mere hours before it exploded roughly 11,000 years ago. By mapping the distribution of silicon and neon in the X-ray glow, the team discovered that an inner silicon‐rich layer burst outward and mixed into an outer neon‐rich shell just before core collapse, while neon simultaneously surged inward. This turbulent layer‐scrambling likely ignited the asymmetric blast, shedding new light on how massive stars die and seed the cosmos with heavy elements.

Webb Reveals “Cosmic Crystals” in Butterfly Nebula On the heels of Chandra’s breakthrough, the James Webb Space Telescope has captured mid-infrared images of the planetary Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302), unveiling vast fields of crystalline silicate grains-tiny quartz-like “gems”-embedded within its dusty waist. Unexpectedly, complex polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) also appear in this oxygen-rich environment, challenging long-held theories of cosmic dust chemistry and illuminating how dying stars create the raw materials for future planets and life.

Starlink “Trains” Illuminate Night Sky Back on Earth, skywatchers around the globe reported seeing signature “trains” of SpaceX Starlink satellites moving in tight, evenly spaced lines just after sunset and before dawn. Two Falcon 9 launches on August 27-28 deployed fresh batches of satellites, creating spectacular aerial streaks that are best visible one to three days post-launch. Meanwhile, the International Space Station continues its predawn flyovers at many mid-northern latitudes, offering another dazzling “star” in the sky for enthusiasts to track.

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