- Iran–Israel war (Wikipedia)
The ongoing armed conflict between Iran and the Houthi movement in Yemen against Israel and the United States began on 13 June 2025, when Israel launched a surprise series of attacks on key Iranian military and nuclear facilities. In the opening hours of the war, Israelis forces assassinated some of Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, and politicians; and damaged or destroyed Iran’s air defenses and some of its nuclear and military facilities. Iran retaliated by launching missiles at military sites and cities in Israel. The Iran-allied Houthis have also fired several missiles at Israel, in an adjunct of the Red Sea crisis. For the first nine days of the war, the United States refrained from military activity other than defending Israel against incoming Iranian missiles and drones, but on 22 June, it took offensive action by striking three Iranian nuclear sites. The Houthis took the American strikes as a “declaration of war” and unilaterally ended its May 2025 United States–Houthi ceasefire.
- Black Eye Galaxy (Wikipedia)
The Black Eye Galaxy (also called Sleeping Beauty Galaxy or Evil Eye Galaxy and designated Messier 64, M64, or NGC 4826) is a relatively isolated spiral galaxy 17 million light-years away in the mildly northern constellation of Coma Berenices. It was discovered by Edward Pigott in March 1779, and independently by Johann Elert Bode in April of the same year, as well as by Charles Messier the next year. A dark band of absorbing dust partially in front of its bright nucleus gave rise to its nicknames of the “Black Eye”, “Evil Eye”, or “Sleeping Beauty” galaxy. M64 is well known among amateur astronomers due to its form in small telescopes and visibility across inhabited latitudes.
