• European Space Agency (ESA) just confirmed that the tally of near-Earth asteroids has now crossed 40,000, a milestone underscoring how exhaustively we’re cataloguing cosmic hazards — and how essential planetary-defense infrastructure has become. • Meanwhile, the cosmic backdrop remains dynamic: a distant red giant, scarred by a past stellar collision, just revealed its hidden history through unexpectedly rhythmic “starquakes” — a reminder of how violent and fluid stellar evolution can be. ⸻...