🔎 Today’s Daily Sift: Space Space is having a split screen moment. ESA’s Euclid telescope captured the largest high resolution visible light image ever made of the Milky Way’s center. More than 60 million stars. A crowded galactic heart turned into a searchable archive. The image may help scientists confirm future exoplanets using microlensing, where gravity bends light and hidden planets reveal themselves through tiny flickers in starlight. (European Space Agency) That is the beautiful side of the story. The universe is becoming more readable. But closer to Earth, the picture is darker. China’s secretive Shenlong space plane appears to have released an unidentified object in orbit. Its purpose remains unclear. (Space) That is the new space age in one frame. Deep space is becoming more visible. Earth orbit is becoming more contested. Telescopes are mapping hidden worlds. Space planes are testing silent maneuvering. Forward Hypothesis The next decade of space will not ...