iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Gaia DR4 is coming on December 2, and we’ve been hard at work designing the catalogs for #GaiaSky. We’ve made some important changes compared to DR3. Wanna learn more? 👇 gaiasky.space/news/2026/ga...

gaiasky.space

Gaia Sky | DR4 star catalogs

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Firefox for Web Developers @webdevs.firefox.com · 24/08/2026

Intent to ship: JPEG XL! This will be on-by-default in Firefox 157, which should become the main release version at the end of September. This includes key JPEG XL features like progressive rendering. groups.google.com/a/mozilla.or...

groups.google.com

Intent to ship: JPEG XL

As of Firefox 157 I intend to turn JPEG XL decoding on by default on all platforms. It has been developed behind image.jxl.enabled, which today is on by default on Nightly only, and has had a Firefox…

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The eclipse yesterday was amazing. What an experience. I took some photos with my small LX-15 which turned out alright. I knew what to expect but the moment of totality, when the corona ignited and the land went fully dark, still caught me off guard.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

All set and ready! 😎☀️🌕

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European Space Agency @esa.int · 12/08/2026

Eclipse day! ☀️ Today's total solar eclipse is visible from Greenland, Iceland, northeastern Portugal and Spain. Most of the rest of Europe, northern North America and western Africa will witness a partial solar eclipse. More info: www.esa.int/Science_Expl... #EuropeanSolarEclipse

Map of Earth shown as a globe, with the focus on its northern hemisphere. A red, C-shaped arc marked 'total eclipse' reaches from northeast Russia, past the North Pole, Greenland, Iceland and the Iberian Peninsula. An orange oval surrounds this arc, marked 'partial eclipse', covering most of Europe, Canada and parts of the USA, the western edge of Africa and the northeastern corner of Russia.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Today is the day. Some time after 18.00 UTC, a solar Eclipse will be seen from the Iberian peninsula. Animations with #GaiaSky. First, a wide view of the Eclipse as it sweeps the Earth, with umbra/penumbra lines.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The Solar Eclipse of August 12, 2026. Wide view.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Solar Eclipse of August 12, 2026. Close view of the Iberian peninsula.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

#GaiaSky 3.8.0 is out now! It includes exciting new features in the UI and the procedural planets system, and lots of fixes. gaiasky.space/news/2026/ga...

gaiasky.space

Gaia Sky | Gaia Sky 3.8.0

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Gaia Sky is ready for the next release, I think...

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Celestia @celestiaproject.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Side-by-side comparison of a sunset on Earth, left is using the latest master build, right is using the HDR build. #space #computergraphics #rendering #OpenGL #opensource #simulator #planetarium #CelestiaProject

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Solar Eclipse of August 12, 2026. Close view of the Iberian peninsula.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The Solar Eclipse of August 12, 2026. Wide view.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

A few procedurally generated planets. #GaiaSky

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

The procedural generation system in #GaiaSky will get a little face lift with better algorithms and a more accessible parametrization. Below is a little video showcasing some of it. 🍿

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Firefox now supports JPEG XL! Activate in Settings > Firefox Labs!

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

PSA: @firefox.com 152, released yesterday, already supports JPEG XL! But the feature is behind a checkbox in Settings > Firefox Labs, so do not forget to enable it!

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

📢📢📢 We are proud to announce the release of #GaiaSky 3.7.4. This release brings a major overhaul of the atmospheric scattering model with ozone absorption, and important bugfixes for the keyframe system. gaiasky.space/news/2026/ga...

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Just a screenshot of the Earth. Been working on the amtospheric scattering shader. #GaiaSky

A view of the Earth in Gaia Sky featuring realistic atmospheric scattering.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Today we release #GaiaSky 3.7.3! 📢📢📢 This release focuses on QoL improvements and bugfixes. gaiasky.space/news/2026/ga...

gaiasky.space

Gaia Sky | Gaia Sky 3.7.3

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ICCUBDivulga @iccubdivulga.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

🔭 L’ #ICCUB a la XII Festa de la Ciència de la @ubdivulga.bsky.social! Tallers d’eclipsis, llum, quarks, física quàntica i fins i tot per escoltar l’univers 🎧✨ Una jornada plena de curiositat, preguntes i ciència compartida. Gràcies per acostar-vos-hi 💫 #ICCUB #Divulgació #FestaCiènciaUB @ub.edu

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

#GaiaDR4 is coming! Mark your calendars: 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝟐 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔. This release contains data from the first 5.5 years of the mission. The data volume will be 50x larger than DR3! www.cosmos.esa.int/web/gaia/dat...

cosmos.esa.int

Data Release 4 - Gaia - Cosmos

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

🍎 To all macOS users: Gaia Sky can now be installed via brew! Learn more here: gaia.ari.uni-heidelberg.de/gaiasky/docs...

gaia.ari.uni-heidelberg.de

Installation — Gaia Sky docs

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Loading datasets on-the-fly in #GaiaSky just got easier: We've added a new "Installed Datasets" tab to the load dialog, allowing you to quickly jump into your library without browsing folders. The classic file picker is still there for your custom .vot, .csv, and .fits files. Watch below! 🎬

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Anyone know where I can find an open&free Orion service module 3D model? I looked at the NASA and ESA websites, but there's only a rough model for 3D printing. All models in sketchfab&co seem to be paid.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Here is an animation of the Artemis-II mission and the Lunar flyby. #Artemis #Artemis2 #NASA #ESA #GaiaSky @exploration.esa.int @esa.int

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Josef Aschbacher @josefaschbacher.esa.int · 08/04/2026

Them: Tell me Europe is mission-critical to bringing humanity back to the Moon without telling me Europe is mission-critical to bringing humanity back to the Moon. Me:

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Release day: #GaiaSky 3.7.2 is out! 📢📢📢 This one comes with many new features and bug fixes, as usual. See the release notes here: gaiasky.space/news/2026/ga...

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

I liked this #ArtemisII picture of the Moon so much, that I tried to recreate it in #GaiaSky. Left is the real picture, right is Gaia Sky.

"A Moment with the Moon" picture, aken by the Artemis II crew at 2:19 p.m. EDT.

Recreation of "A Moment with the Moon" in Gaia Sky.

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European Space Agency @esa.int · 07/04/2026

✅ #Artemis II update: 'Earthset', 6 April 2026, and 'totality', 7 April, seen from lunar orbit, the Moon eclipses the Sun, a view few humans have ever witnessed (pics: NASA) 🔗 www.nasa.gov/gallery/jour... @exploration.esa.int l

On a black background of space, a blue and white Earth just before 'setting' behind the Moon, in foreground, seen from Artemis II, 6 April 2026

Totality seen from lunar orbit, the Moon eclipses the Sun, revealing a view few humans have ever witnessed, a dark disc surrounded by a pale solar corona.

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European Space Agency @esa.int · 03/04/2026

😮 Awesome views from Day 2 of #Artemis II this morning. @exploration.esa.int @esaearth.esa.int

Spectacular high-resolution image of our home planet viewed through the Orion Crew Module window by the Artemis II astronauts as they continue their journey to the Moon on Flight Day 2, 3 April 2026 (pic: NASA)

A full disc image of Earth, as seen from the Orion Crew Module. The planet is a pale blue, swirling with white clouds and glowing slightly lighter blue in place from reflected light. At lower left, a large brown landmass is Africa, with Spain and Portugal with twinkling lights where the planet curves. At top right, auroras glow in a thin green glow, just barely separated from the planet's surface. Earth is set against the black of space (pic: NASA/R.Wiseman)

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Josef Aschbacher @josefaschbacher.esa.int · 01/04/2026

You’re gonna want to turn the sound on for this one 🔊 Europe’s contribution to #Artemis is powerful, precise, and built for deep space. With the European Service Module powering Orion, Europe isn’t just watching history unfold. It’s creating it. Delivered by ESA, built by Europeans. L-12 🚀

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Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) @dlr-de.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

🚀🌕 Artemis II Countdown läuft! Voraussichtlicher Start ist am 2. April 2026 um 00:24 Uhr MESZ. Erstmals seit fast 55 Jahren fliegen Menschen wieder Richtung Mond. Den Start könnt ihr via Livestream verfolgen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIua... (1/4)

Let´s Go! Artemis II am Startkomplex 39B des Kennedy Space Centers

Das Bild zeigt den Startkomplex 39B des Kennedy Space Centers der NASA im US-amerikanischen Florida, nachdem die SLS-Rakete (Space Launch System) der Mission Artemis II mit dem Orion-Raumschiff an der Spitze zur Startrampe verbracht wurde. Der Artemis-II-Testflug wird den Kommandanten Reid Wiseman, den Piloten Victor Glover und die Missionsspezialistin Christina Koch von der NASA sowie den Missionsspezialisten Jeremy Hansen von der CSA (Canadian Space Agency) um den Mond und zurückbringen.

Credit: NASA / Bill Ingalls

Die Artemis-II-Crew

Die vierköpfige Orion-Besatzung der Mission Artemis II ist die erste seit fast 55 Jahren, die wieder Richtung Mond aufbricht. Seit Apollo 17 Ende 1972 waren keine Menschen jenseits eines erdnahen Orbits. Die Orion-Crew besteht aus Kommandant Reid Wiseman (unten), dem Piloten Victor Glover (oben) und der Missionsspezialistin Christina Koch (links) von der US-amerikanischen NASA sowie dem kanadischen Missionsspezialisten Jeremy Hansen von der Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Credit: NASA

Infografik: Die Missionsmeilensteine von Artemis II (engl.)

Die Mission Artemis II startet mit dem Abheben der Schwerlastrakete SLS (Space Launch System) mit dem Orion-Raumschiff an der Raketenspitze. Nach und nach werden Booster, Stufen und Schutzsysteme abgetrennt. Die ICPS-Stufe (Interim Cryogene Propulsion Stage) bringt die Orion zuletzt auf eine stabile Umlaufbahn von etwa 160 Kilometer, bevor auch sie abgetrennt wird und die Orion mit dem eigenen Triebwerk weiterfliegt. Das Raumschiff führt in Erdnähe erste Manöver und Flugtests durch. Anschließend bringt ein kräftiger Schub – die sogenannte Trans-Lunar Injection (TLI) – des Europäischen Servicemoduls ESM die Orion in Richtung Mond. Die Flugbahn führt das Raumfahrzeug zum Mond, um ihn herum und wieder zurück zur Erde. Beim Vorbeiflug am Mond passiert das Raumschiff die Rückseite des Erdtrabanten in mehreren tausend Kilometern Abstand, wobei kurzzeitig der Funkkontakt zur Erde abbricht und die Crew Beobachtungen durchführt und Bildaufnahmen erstellt. Nach der Rückkehr zur Erde trennt sich das ESM von der Kapsel. Diese tritt geschützt durch ihren Hitzeschild in die Atmosphäre ein und landet schließlich per Fallschirm im Ozean. Das ESM verglüht in der Erdatmosphäre.

Credit: NASA

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European Space Agency @esa.int · 02/04/2026

Early this morning, at 00:35 CEST 2 April, NASA's SLS rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center. At the heart of the Artemis II mission is ESA's European Service Module, which powers, propels and sustains the Orion spacecraft and its crew on their journey around the Moon and back to Earth.

esa.int

Artemis II mission begins

At 00:35 CEST today (18:35 local time on 1 April), NASA's Space Launch System rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on Artemi...

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

A new Gaia Sky release is in the horizon. What are the new featrues? Here is a writeup detailing them. 👇 gaiasky.space/news/2026/3....

gaiasky.space

Gaia Sky | What's new in upcoming Gaia Sky 3.7.2

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Been working on a dataset to add some detail to the rings of Saturn in the form of particles. I'm quite happy with the result, especially the performance. The video shows 1.5 million rock/dust particles. Transitions to/from the ring model are quite seamless. #GaiaSky #Saturn #SolarSystem #Astronomy

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

I've been plyaing around with the keyframes system in #GaiaSky and the OptFlowCam export method. After some bug-fixing, it produces very good results. It works best in a "points of interest" workflow. The following video is exported from only 25 keyframes.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Yet another video of the asteroid belt using Gaia DR3 data with the new shading. #GaiaSky #Gaia #GaiaDR3 #Space #Asteroids #AsteroidBelt #Astronomy

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Do you have red-cyan anaglyph glasses? Try this video below for an amazing 3D effect on the asteroids in Gaia DR3.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Asteroids, other SSOs, and particle sets in general will get a much needed improvement in visual fidelity in #GaiaSky 3.7.2. We can now shade them (kind of) realistically while maintaining the high frame rate. In the video, we show the ~150.000 asteroids in Gaia DR3.

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Plateau Astro @plateauastro.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

What will Earth look like when Artemis II goes to the Moon? Which "phase"? Monday night at 8:00 PM ET, I'm doing a live stream showing you a cool free app called Gaia Sky. I'll show you the possible ways the Earth and the Moon will appear. @gaiasky.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SgB...

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Testing #GaiaSky VR with the Valve Index and an RTX 5080 (laptop). Performance is very, very good!

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Working with a contributor on the Simplified Chinese translation of #GaiaSky. This requires some re-engineering in the UI system, but we're getting there.

Gaia Sky showing Simplified Chinese object names

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

I just got a new laptop for our VR demonstrations with an RTX 5080 16GB. With base #GaiaSky and default datasets, it's getting over 700 FPS. Let's see how it does with VR😅

Gaia Sky running on an RTX laptop, showing 743 FPS.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

#GaiaSky 3.7.1 is now available! 📢📢📢 This release comes with many new features and bug fixes. Check it out 👇 gaiasky.space/news/2026/ga...

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

📖 We have updated the #GaiaSky documentation with a new theme and we've done a little bit of restructuring. It should flow better and look cleaner now. Give it a try! gaiasky.space

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Today is testing day, so it's time to dust off the Valve Index and see how much VR on Linux has improved since the last time I tried (it was underwhelming). With the Steam Frame on the horizon, I'm kind of excited to see the progress. #GaiaSky #GaiaSkyVR #VR #valvesoftware #ValveIndex

The Valve Index in its box ready to test.

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

#GaiaSky will get an interactive UI accent color in the next version, dropping the static UI themes system. 👀

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Gaia Sky @gaiasky.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

🚀 Gaia Sky server is BACK! After a few months of downtime, our main server is once again accessible from the outside. You can now access installers, datasets, and documentation. Thank you for your patience during the downtime. More info: gaiasky.space/news/2026/se... #GaiaSky #Astronomy #SciComm

An SVG drawing of the Gaia spacecraft with a connection cable, symolizing the online status.

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