CUBO DE BENAVENTE, Spain (Reuters) – Extreme heat and strong winds caused “fire whirls” as a blaze burned several houses and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from near a UNESCO-listed national park in northern Spain, authorities said on Monday.
Thirteen fires broke out in the north of the Castile and Leon region, with about 700 people told to abandon their homes in half a dozen villages.
Four fires were still live, Juan Carlos Suarez-Quinones, chief of environment for the regional government, said on Monday morning. Firefighters had extinguished the other nine.
High temperatures on Sunday had caused the so-called fire whirls near Las Medallas park, forcing firemen to retreat and burning some houses in the nearby village, according to Suarez-Quinones.
“This occurs when temperatures reach around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in a very confined valley and then suddenly (the fire) enters a more open and oxygenated area. This produces a fireball, a fire whirl,” he said.
“This explosive and surprising phenomenon was very dangerous. It disrupted all the work that had been done, forcing us to start practically from scratch,” he added.
Scientists say the Mediterranean region’s hotter, drier summers put it at high risk of wildfires. Once fires start, dry vegetation and strong winds can cause them to spread rapidly and burn out of control, sometimes provoking fire whirls.
A prolonged heatwave in Spain continued on Monday with temperatures set to reach 42 °C in some regions.
Domingo Aparicio, 77, was evacuated to a nearby town from his home in Cubo de Benavente on Sunday after a warehouse in front of his home burned down.
“How am I supposed to feel? It’s always shocking for people close to the catastrophe,” he said.
Two or three fires may have been started by lightning strikes, Suarez-Quinones said, but there were indications that the majority were the result of arson, which he described as “environmental terrorism”.
In the northern part of neighbouring Portugal, nearly 700 firefighters were battling a blaze that started on Saturday in Trancoso, some 350 km (200 miles) northeast of Lisbon.
So far this year about 52,000 hectares (200 square miles), or 0.6% of Portugal’s total area, have burned, exceeding the 2006-2024 average for the same period by about 10,000 hectares, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
For Stefan Erasmus, it’s a step in the right direction in ensuring that he maximizes production while protecting the environment.
Firefighters were also battling blazes in Navarra in northeastern Spain and in Huelva in the southwest, authorities said.
The European Space Agency has published a call to tender for the development of “flapping wing technology” for a Mars surface explorer.
In the 8 August call, the agency states that on Mars, a flapping-wing propulsion system could offer greater energy efficiency, manoeuvrability, structural robustness, and adaptability than conventional helicopter or fixed-wing alternatives. As a result, the agency is beginning work on the development of a small vehicle powered by a flapping-wing propulsion system that would be used to perform “autonomously in-situ measurements near the Mars surface.”
This initial call will focus on developing flapping-wing propulsion technology and assessing the potential range and payload capacity of a future Mars explorer equipped with it. It outlines a range of possible vehicle sizes, from an “insect-based” lightweight system the size of a bumblebee to hummingbird-sized concepts with a wingspan of up to 30 centimetres.
Work to be done will include a preliminary assessment of the thermal, structural, and aerodynamic design, the development of a breadboard model, and the creation of a roadmap for maturing the core technology. The initial phases of an actual mission will be addressed in subsequent calls and will require funding approval from ESA Member States.
Europe’s first mission to the Martian surface is scheduled for launch in 2028. It will deliver the Rosalind Franklin rover to the Red Planet to search for preserved organic matter beneath the surface of Mars. While this mission will not include a potential future flapping-wing explorer, the agency is planning a second Mars mission in 2035, which may be the perfect opportunity to deploy this novel technology.
Half of Palestine Action supporters arrested in London older than 60: Police data
LONDON: Half of the protesters arrested in London on Saturday in relation to the banned group Palestine Action are older than 60, police data shows.
Officers arrested 532 people at the mass demonstration against the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organization last month, The Guardian reported.
All except 10 were arrested under Section 13 of the UK’s Terrorism Act for displaying placards or signs in support of a banned group.
London’s Metropolitan Police on Sunday released an age breakdown of the people arrested at the demonstration. Almost 100 were in their 70s and 15 were aged 80 or older.
The event was organized in Parliament Square by Defend Our Juries, which requested that protesters hold signs saying: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”
Police arrested high-profile former government and military figures. Jonathon Porritt, 75, a former adviser to the government of Tony Blair, said he is deeply concerned by the erosion of civil liberties in Britain under successive governments.
Police arrested him under Section 13 and he was bailed until Oct. 23. He described the ban on Palestine Action as “a measure of the government’s desperation” that is “entirely inappropriate.”
Porritt said: “I thought this was overreach by the home secretary, trying to eliminate the voices of those who are deeply concerned about what is happening in Gaza.
“This was an absolutely clear case of a government using its powers to crush dissenting voices when it is the government itself that is most reprehensible for what continues to be an absolute horror story in the world.
“What we are seeing now in Gaza has just utterly shocked people and it’s completely abhorrent that we are living through a genocide on our TV screens.”
Some people who attended the protest complained that police detained older demonstrators for hours in the hot summer weather and denied them access to water.
Defend Our Juries on Sunday said everyone arrested had been released from police custody and no charges had been issued.
The Met Police said: “There was water available at the prisoner processing points and access to toilets. We had police medics on hand as part of the policing operation and we processed people as quickly as possible to ensure nobody was waiting an unreasonably long time.
“Notwithstanding that, a degree of personal responsibility is required on the part of those who chose to come and break the law.
“They knew they were very likely to be arrested which is a decision that will inevitably have consequences.”
Chris Romberg, a 75-year-old former British Army officer colonel and a military attache at the British embassies in Jordan and Egypt, was also arrested under Section 13 and bailed.
“This is a serious assault on our freedoms,” Romberg, the son of a Holocaust survivor told, The Guardian. “When I protested against the US war in Vietnam, we were able to chant ‘victory to the NLF’ without being criminalized.
“Now a statement of support for a nonviolent direct-action group is prosecuted under anti-terrorism legislation.”
Award-winning poet Alice Oswald, 58, told officers who had detained her to write to the home secretary about the position they were forced into as a result of the Palestine Action ban.
She said: “Clearly there were some police officers who were really struggling with what they had to do. You could see the slightly shifty look in their faces, too.
“When I was speaking to them in the police van I did say: ‘Write to Yvette Cooper and tell her that this is making your life impossible’.”
She told The Guardian that she was partly motivated to attend the demonstration after delivering online poetry classes to young people in Gaza.
Since the proscription of Palestine Action in July, 10 people have been charged for suspected offenses under the Terrorism Act.
The 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk will return to the track at the István Gyulai Memorial – Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix as part of his preparations for the World Championships in Tokyo this September.
The South African superstar will compete in the 400m after finishing third in his last race on 23 July — the 100m at the International Pegaso Meeting in Florence, which was won by compatriot Tsebo Matsoso.
Prior to that, van Niekerk placed third again over 400m at Meeting Madrid on Saturday (19 July), behind Elián Larregina. The race in Budapest on 12 August will be his second one-lap event of the year.
The 33-year-old sprinter is cautiously building up to the World Championships following the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he crashed out in the semi-finals.
“It’s no secret to anyone I put a lot of pressure on myself, so I’ve taken a day-by-day approach, and I’m just looking at every individual day as its own,” he told Olympics.com.
“So far I’ve been finishing every race. Step by step. Trying to improve and not get too far ahead of myself.”
Scroll down to discover how to watch the Rio 2016 gold medallist.
Nuclear physicists working at the Large Hadron Collider recently made headlines by achieving the centuries-old dream of alchemists (and nightmare of precious-metals investors): They transformed lead into gold.
At least for a fraction of a second. The scientists reported their results in Physical Reviews.
The accomplishment at the Large Hadron Collider, the 17-mile particle accelerator buried under the French-Swiss border, happened within a sophisticated and sensitive detector called ALICE, a scientific instrument roughly the size of a McMansion.
It was scientists from the University of Kansas, working on the ALICE experiment, who developed the technique that tracked “ultra-peripheral” collisions between protons and ions that made gold in the LHC.
“Usually in collider experiments, we make the particles crash into each other to produce lots of debris,” said Daniel Tapia Takaki, professor of physics and leader of KU’s group at ALICE. “But in ultra-peripheral collisions, we’re interested in what happens when the particles don’t hit each other. These are near misses. The ions pass close enough to interact — but without touching. There’s no physical overlap.”
The ions racing around the LHC tunnel are heavy nuclei with many protons, each generating powerful electric fields. When accelerated, these charged ions emit photons — they shine light.
“When you accelerate an electric charge to near light speeds, it starts shining,” Tapia Takaki said. “One ion can shine light that essentially takes a picture of the other. When that light is energetic enough, it can probe deep inside the other nucleus, like a high-energy flashbulb.”
The KU researcher said during these UPC “flashes” surprising interactions can occur, including the rate event that sparked worldwide attention.
“Sometimes, the photons from both ions interact with each other — what we call photon-photon collisions,” he said. “These events are incredibly clean, with almost nothing else produced. They contrast with typical collisions where we see sprays of particles flying everywhere.”
However, the ALICE detector and the LHC were designed to collect data on head-on collisions that result in messy sprays of particles.
“These clean interactions were hard to detect with earlier setups,” Tapia Takaki said. “Our group at KU pioneered new techniques to study them. We built up this expertise years ago when it was not a popular subject.”
These methods allowed for the news-making discovery that the LHC team transmuted lead into gold momentarily via ultra-peripheral collisions where lead ions lose three protons (turning the speck of lead into a gold speck) for a fraction of a second.
Tapia Takaki’s KU co-authors on the paper are graduate student Anna Binoy; graduate student Amrit Gautam; postdoctoral researcher Tommaso Isidori; postdoctoral research assistant Anisa Khatun; and research scientist Nicola Minafra.
The KU team at the LHC ALICE experiment plans to continue studying the ultra-peripheral collisions. Tapia Takaki said that while the creation of gold fascinated the public, the potential of understanding the interactions goes deeper.
“This light is so energetic, it can knock protons out of the nucleus,” he said. “Sometimes one, sometimes two, three or even four protons. We can see these ejected protons directly with our detectors.”
Each proton removed changes the elements: One gives thallium, two gives mercury, three gives gold.
“These new nuclei are very short-lived,” he said. “They decay quickly, but not always immediately. Sometimes they travel along the beamline and hit parts of the collider — triggering safety systems.”
That’s why this research matters beyond the headlines.
“With proposals for future colliders even larger than the LHC — some up to 100 kilometers in Europe and China — you need to understand these nuclear byproducts,” Tapia Takaki said. “This ‘alchemy’ may be crucial for designing the next generation of machines.”
This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Office of Nuclear Physics.
Air conditioning can feel heaven-sent on hot summer days. It keeps temperatures comfortable and controls humidity, making indoor environments tolerable even on the most brutally warm days.
But some people avoid using air conditioning (AC) no matter how hot it gets outside, out of fear that it will make them sick. While this may sound far-fetched to some, as a microbiologist I can say this fear isn’t altogether unfounded.
If an air conditioning system malfunctions or isn’t properly maintained, it can become contaminated with infectious microbes. This can turn your AC unit into a potential source of numerous airborne infections – ranging from the common cold to pneumonia.
Sick buildings
“Sick building syndrome” is the general name for symptoms that can develop after spending extended periods of time in air-conditioned environments. Symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, congested or runny nose, persistent cough or wheeze, skin irritation or rashes, trouble focusing on work and tiredness.
Related: Mysterious, Rapid Surge in Legionnaires’ Disease Linked to Cleaner Air
The condition tends to occur in people who work in office settings, but can happen to anyone who spends extended periods of time in air-conditioned buildings such as hospitals. The symptoms of sick building syndrome tend to get worse the longer you’re in a particular building, and are alleviated after you leave.
A 2023 study from India compared 200 healthy adults who worked at least six-to-eight hours per day in an air-conditioned office with 200 healthy adults who didn’t work in AC.
The AC group experienced more symptoms consistent with sick building syndrome over the two-year study period – particularly a higher prevalence of allergies. Importantly, clinical tests showed those who were exposed to AC had poorer lung function and were absent from work more often, compared with the non-AC group.
Other studies have confirmed that AC office workers have a higher prevalence of sick building syndrome than those who do not work in an air-conditioned environment.
It’s suspected that one cause of sick building syndrome is malfunctioning air conditioners. When an AC unit isn’t working properly, it can release allergens, chemicals and airborne microorganisms into the air that it would normally have trapped.
Malfunctioning air conditioners can also release chemical vapours from AC cleaning products or refrigerants into the building’s air. Chemicals such as benzene, formaldehyde and toluene are toxic and can irritate the respiratory system.
Poorly maintained air conditioning systems can also harbour bacterial pathogens which can cause serious infections.
Legionella pneumophila is the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease – a lung infection contracted from inhaling droplets of water containing these bacteria. They tend to grow in water-rich environments such as hot tubs or air conditioning systems.
Legionella pneumophila can cause infection when inhaled in water droplets. (Science Photo Library/Canva)
A Legionella infection is most often caught in communal places such as hotels, hospitals or offices, where the bacteria have contaminated the water supply.
Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease are similar to pneumonia, causing coughing, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, fever and general flu-like symptoms. Symptoms usually begin to show between two and 14 days after being exposed to Legionella.
Legionella infections can be life-threatening and often require hospitalisation. Recovery can take several weeks.
Fungal and viral infections
The accumulation of dust and moisture inside air conditioning systems can also create the right conditions for other infectious microbes to grow.
For instance, research on hospital AC systems has found that fungi such as Aspergillus, Penicillium, Cladosporium and Rhizopusspecies commonly accumulate within the water-rich areas of hospital ventilation systems.
These fungal infections can be serious in vulnerable patients such as those who are immunocompromised, have had an organ transplant or are on dialysis – as well as babies who were born premature. For example, Aspergillus causes pneumonia, abscesses of the lungs, brain, liver, spleen, kidneys and skin, and can also infect burns and wounds.
Symptoms of fungal infections are mostly respiratory and include persistent wheeze or cough, fever, shortness of breath, tiredness and unexplained loss of weight.
Viral infections can also be caught from air conditioning. One case study revealed that children in a Chinese kindergarten class were infected with the norovirus pathogen from their AC system. This caused 20 students to experience the stomach flu.
While norovirus is usually transmitted through close contact with an infected person or after touching a contaminated surface, in this instance it was confirmed, unusually, that the virus was spread through the air – originating from the air conditioning unit in a class restroom. Several other cases of norovirus being spread this way have been reported.
However, air conditioners can also help stop the spread of airborne viruses. Research shows AC units that are regularly maintained and sanitised can reduce circulating levels of common viruses, including COVID.
Keeping your AC well maintained can be a boon for your health. (Pramote Polyamate’s Images/Canva)
Another reason AC may increase your risk of catching an infection is due to the way air conditioners control humidity levels. This makes inside air drier than outside air.
Spending extended periods of time in low-humidity environments can dry out the mucus membranes in your nose and throat. This can affect how well they prevent bacteria and fungi from getting in your body – and can leave you more vulnerable to developing a deep-tissue infection of the sinuses.
Air conditioners are designed to filter air contaminants, fungal spores, bacteria and viruses, preventing them from entering the air we breathe indoors. But this protective shield can be compromised if a system’s filter is old or dirty, or if the system isn’t cleaned. Ensuring good AC maintenance is essential in preventing air-conditioner-acquired infections.
Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of Leicester
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The final test event at Hill Dickinson stadium took place on Saturday
Everton’s inaugural fixture at Hill Dickinson stadium took place at the weekend, with more than 50,000 fans watching the Blues play AS Roma.
Saturday’s game was the first full-capacity match at the 53,000-seater stadium on the Mersey waterfront, following Everton’s move from Goodison Park.
It follows concerns, in recent month, over how large crowds of supporters would travel to and from the new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock.
Fans who attended the match have been sharing their views on the available public transport and the parking options at the event, with a city councillor saying the travel infrastructure “functioned well”.
Parking
Amy Wilson, who is a blue-badge holder, drove to the game and parked in a side street near the ground.
“We got back to where we parked with no difficulties,” she said, adding the road surface was accessible with drop kerbs and tactile pavements in place.
“It took about seven or eight minutes from leaving the stadium wall to getting back to the car,” she said.
“It was pretty empty by the time we got back to where we parked, so there were no difficulties in getting away from the side streets.
“We know it won’t be like that every game, and we were probably quite lucky to have found that space, but the day was pretty successful for me as a blue-badge holder.”
Everton were defeated 1-0 by Roma in the first senior men’s game at the new stadium
Trains
Neil Vaughn caught the train, but said a lack of taxis meant he had to walk back into the city centre to pick up his rail connection.
“When I left the stadium there were no taxis available anywhere near the ground, when we were led to believe there would be drop-off and pick-up points,” he said.
“We had to walk to Moorfields station when we got on the train. The trains were absolutely ram-packed.
“We expected that, but I think they really need to get the taxi situation – and drop-off pick-up points – sorted out for future games.”
In a post on X on Saturday, Merseyrail shared footage of crowds moving through Sandhills station, the nearest station to the football ground, and thanked travellers for their cooperation.
Merseyrail
Merseyrail thanked crowds for “moving quickly” at Sandhills station
Buses
Peter MacFarlane, from The Blue Room podcast, caught the bus – which he described as “plain sailing”.
“Myself and my dad got the 918, which is the new service which goes from Kirkby,” he said.
“It was just £2 journey – really smooth – and had the added bonus of going past Goodison Park on the way.”
After passing Goodison Park, it was “straight through to the new stadium” with no stops, he said.
However, on the way home he said had a “slight issue”, after finding all the Kirby buses had already left and he had to take the Bootle bus instead.
The stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will also host music and cultural events
Liverpool City Council leader Liam Robinson said feedback from Merseyrail had indicated services at Sandhills station had worked “really well”.
“Shuttle buses, road closures and the parking restrictions equally functioned well,” he told BBC Radio Merseyside’s Kev Duala.
“I think we’ve got into a good place, but there is still more we are going to focus on improving over the next couple of weeks and beyond.
“I’m sure over the football season ahead little things will keep on popping up because it’s new for everyone.
“This is years of planning and it was absolutely fantastic to see how Saturday went, but, most importantly, just how much Evertonians really enjoyed being in the brand new stadium.”
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – FEBRUARY 01: (R-L) Michael Page of England punches Shara Magomedov of Russia in a middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at anb Arena on February 01, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
Chris Unger | Ufc | Getty Images
Days after completing its merger with Skydance, Paramount has acquired the U.S. rights to TKO Group’s UFC for seven years, beginning in 2026.
Paramount is paying an average of $1.1 billion per year, totaling $7.7 billion, for UFC’s full slate of 13 marquee events and 30 “Fight Nights,” the companies said in a statement. All matches and events will be streamed in the U.S. via Paramount+, and select events will be simulcast on CBS. The deal payments are weighted, with Paramount paying less than $1.1 billion in the early years of the deal and higher values later.
Paramount won’t charge users any additional fees for access to the events, eliminating the pay-per-view model that ESPN+ has used for certain premium UFC events. Disney’s ESPN had been paying an average of $500 million for five years of UFC rights. That deal expires at the end of 2025.
“The pay-per-view model is a thing of the past,” said Mark Shapiro, TKO Group’s president and chief operating officer, in an interview. “What’s on pay-per-view anymore? Boxing? Movies on DirecTV? It’s an outdated, antiquated model. So, it was paramount to us – forgive the pun – where it’s one-stop shopping, especially for our younger fans in flyover states. When they find out, ‘Wait, if I just sign up for Paramount+ for $12.99 a month, I’m going to automatically get UFC’s numbered fights and the rest of the portfolio?’ That’s a message we want to amplify.”
It’s been a busy few days for both Paramount and TKO. Paramount officially sold control of the company to Skydance Media on Thursday, bringing in new leadership led by Chief Executive Officer David Ellison. Also last week, TKO signed a five-year, $1.6 billion deal with ESPN for the U.S. rights to WWE’s premium live events. UFC and WWE merged to become TKO in 2023.
TKO leadership initially believed it would sell just the 30 Fight Night events to Paramount and the premium numbered events to another media partner, said Shapiro. When the Skydance-Paramount deal closed Thursday, the two sides negotiated this deal in 48 hours, he said.
It was important for Ellison to buy the entire UFC package given the scarcity of sports rights available in the coming years, he said in an interview. With Formula 1 rights likely earmarked for Apple and Major League Baseball waiting until 2028 to reorganize its major media packages, there won’t be many top-shelf sports assets coming to market for Paramount to acquire.
“UFC is a unicorn asset that comes up about once a decade,” Ellison said. He described himself as a UFC fan.
UFC events are desirable for streamers because they take place year-round — keeping fans paying for monthly subscriptions with less incentive to cancel seasonally than with other sports. There are 43 live events annually, consisting of 350 hours of live programming.
Paramount is interested in buying UFC’s international rights to pair with U.S. rights, the company said in a statement. Those rights arise on a rolling basis, with about one-third of them available each year. UFC matches are currently available in more than 210 countries.
Paramount will have a 30-day exclusive negotiating window for each country’s rights when they’re up for renewal, Shapiro said.
Apple TV+ will premiere its Martin Scorsese documentary series, “Mr. Scorsese,” on Oct. 17. The five-part documentary event about the legendary filmmaker comes from acclaimed director Rebecca Miller (“She Came to Me,” “Personal Velocity”).
The “Mr. Scorsese” team was given exclusive, unrestricted access to Scorsese’s private archives and conducted extensive interviews with the filmmaker. It is anchored by conversations with Scorsese, his friends, family and creative collaborators including Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mick Jagger, Robbie Robertson, Thelma Schoonmaker, Steven Spielberg, Sharon Stone, Jodie Foster, Paul Schrader, Margot Robbie, Cate Blanchett, Jay Cocks and Rodrigo Prieto, along with his children, wife Helen Morris and close childhood friends.
“Mr. Scorsese” examines how Scorsese’s colorful life experiences informed his artistic vision. Starting with his earliest experiences with New York University student films to the present day, the documentary explores the themes that have fascinated Scorsese, including the place of good and evil in the fundamental nature of humankind.
“This project is a filmmaker’s dream, to have had such access to legends of the industry, from Marty himself to his prolific collaborators, close friends and family members,” Miller said. “I was honored he trusted me to create this documentary, which I believe will resonate with everyone from dedicated Scorsese fans to anyone who has grappled with failure and reached for stars. I’m excited to share a sneak peek of ‘Mr. Scorsese,’ which includes the true version of a mythic (a never-before-told) story about ‘Taxi Driver,’ and how thanks to Marty’s perseverance and dedication to his art, the film retained its integrity and went on to become one of the most culturally significant films of all time.”
“Mr. Scorsese” originated with executive producers Miller and Damon Cardasis at Round Films (“Maggie’s Plan,””Saturday Church”), and Cindy Tolan (“Étoile,” “Dandelion”), Miller’s longtime creative collaborator. Emmy Award-nominated trio Cardasis, Tolan and Miller (“Arthur Miller: Writer”) serve as executive producers alongside Rick Yorn, Christopher Donnelly and Julie Yorn. Ron Burkle produces. Robert Fernandez and Patrick Walmsley co-executive produce. The series is presented by Expanded Media and Round Films in association with LBI Entertainment and Moxie Pictures.
In a new first-look clip, Scorsese and his filmmaker friends, including Steven Spielberg, reflect on how the director’s cut of “Taxi Driver” almost never saw the light of day, and the extreme lengths the filmmaker was willing to go to protect what would go on to be one of his most iconic films. Watch it below:
Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronaut Don Petit took this stunning image in a long exposure capture.
Within just one photo, Petit revealed many different events that could be seen from low-Earth orbit, from star trails to orbiting Starlink satellites to the glow of city lights on Earth.
What is it?
On the ISS, Petit had a view like none other from which to photograph. As the space station zoomed around our planet at a rate of 17,500 mph ( 28,000 km/h), the veteran astronaut was able to take long exposure images that created brilliant streaks in the darkness.
In the photograph Petit posted on social media, the golden, curved lines below show the lights of urban areas and cities on Earth’s surface, while the whiter lines in the middle of the image are the many trajectories that stars in the background make due to the orbital motion of the ISS.
Where is it?
The ISS is in low-Earth orbit, at approximately 248 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth, orbiting at around 17,500 mph (28,000 km/h).
Why is it amazing?
Not only did Petit capture the bustle of both Earth and space, but he also caught a couple of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites in his photograph, seen as a couple of horizontal lines to the right of the photo.
As of Aug. 1, 2025, there are 8,094 Starlink satellites above Earth in a megaconstellation, making up approximately 70% of all satellites in orbit. While these satellites help provide internet to various parts of the Earth below, they are also becoming more of a concern for astronomers and scientists, as they can block the skies and interfere with data collection.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
Want to learn more?
You can read more about the International Space Station and the ongoing launches of Starlink satellites.
