Good News on X: A Cat Made of Space Dust, a Year on 'Mars' Ends Today and the Bolts Ranked the Costumes

Happy Halloween, everybody. It's a Saturday Halloween, which means nobody has to get up for work tomorrow and the candy bowl is legally allowed to be empty by 7:15. Mine usually is. I'm the one who empties it.

Here's what people on X were smiling about since yesterday.

There's a cat in space, and it's ignoring us

NASA's two big telescopes teamed up on the most on-brand Halloween picture I've ever seen. Hubble and Webb photographed a dusty pillar in the Carina Nebula, about 7,500 light-years away, that looks exactly like a cat sitting with its back to you and its head turned to the side. Astronomers call it the Cat's Head Nebula.

Beware… space cat! 🐱 Something spooky lurks about 7,500 light-years away. The watchful eyes of Hubble and @NASAWebb captured the Cat's Head Nebula, just in time for Halloween Eve.

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) Watch on X

The cat even has a glowing eye, and per NASA's write-up, that eye may be a young star still tucked inside the dust. The shape was carved by radiation and winds from massive stars nearby, so it won't last forever, which is also true of every cat's patience. The Webb account opened its post with "Pspspsp!" and honestly, NASA's social team deserves a raise.

Four people walk out of "Mars" this afternoon

At 3 p.m. today, four volunteers step outside for the first time in more than a year. Ross Elder, Ellen Ellis, Matthew Montgomery and James Spicer have lived inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed habitat at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston since Oct. 19, 2025, acting like they were on Mars for 378 days. That's the CHAPEA mission, short for Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog.

After more than a year on a simulated Mars mission that will help us better prepare for future long-duration stays on the Moon and Mars, four crew members will “return” to Earth.

— NASA (@NASA) See it on X

They grew crops, did simulated spacewalks, fixed their own stuff and talked to their families only by email, with a built-in Mars-style delay, per NASA. Now they get to hug those families, and then do two weeks of debriefs. The ceremony streams live on YouTube. Imagine coming home after a year and the first thing you see is Halloween. Somebody please hand them a full-size candy bar.

The Bolts ranked their fans' costumes

Thursday's 6-4 win over Winnipeg was the Lightning's Halloween game, and the crowd showed up dressed. The team's Thompson Brandes ranked the top five, and it's a delight: a classic Hot Dog Guy at No. 5, a pair of kids dressed as a Lightning trading card and a player in the penalty box at No. 3, and at No. 1, a fan dressed as Jon Cooper in his Stadium Series pinstripes and top hat. He paired each costume with a real postgame quote that was, ahem, about something else. It's very funny.

A wide array of costumes were on display last night 👀 @ThompsonBrandes breaks down his Top 5️⃣

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) See it on X

The Bolts are back at it this afternoon: they're at the Nashville Predators at 2 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena (ESPN+ and Scripps Sports, per ESPN). Tampa Bay comes in 8-3-1, perfect at home but 2-3-1 on the road. Nashville is 4-4-5. And the team says it's "Game day on Broadway," which sounds like a costume in itself.

The line, per DraftKings via ESPN (pulled about 9:20 a.m. ET Saturday): Tampa Bay is the favorite at -170 on the moneyline, Nashville +142. Puck line TB -1.5 (+154) / NSH +1.5 (-185). O/U 6.5.

USF has a noon kickoff at Raymond James

If your Halloween starts early, the Bulls host UAB at noon at Raymond James Stadium on ESPNU, and @USFFootball is already yelling about it.

🗣️ GET UP, IT'S GAME DAY 📍: @RJStadium ⏰: 12:00 PM 📺: @ESPNU 📻: @MyQ105

— South Florida Football (@USFFootball) See it on X

The line, per DraftKings via ESPN (pulled about 9:20 a.m. ET Saturday): USF is a 7.5-point home favorite, USF -7.5 (-112) / UAB +7.5 (-108). Moneyline USF -305, UAB +245. O/U 41.5.

A noon game on Halloween means you can tailgate, get home, and still be on the porch by dark with the candy. That's called time management.

Florida does have fall colors. You just have to look down.

Manatee County made a point I'll defend forever: we don't get falling leaves, but our preserves are full of fall color right now. Pine lilies, blazing stars, seas of goldenrod, Florida golden aster and deer tongue are all blooming.

We may not have falling leaves, but Florida has its own spectacular fall colors! From the vibrant blooms of pine lilies and blazing stars to seas of goldenrod, Florida golden aster and deer tongue, our preserves are full of seasonal color.

— Manatee County Government (@ManateeGov) See it on X

Northerners get leaf piles. We get purple wildflowers and a sunburn in October. I think we win, and I'm not taking questions.

A pumpkin photo from the Princess of Wales

Kensington Palace shared a sweet Halloween throwback this morning: a never-before-seen picture of Prince Louis at age 1, crouched next to a big orange pumpkin, taken by his mom, the Princess of Wales.

Happy Halloween! 🎃 Prince Louis, aged 1, photographed by The Princess of Wales

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) See it on X

Red wellies, big grin, pumpkin almost as big as he is. Every family has this exact photo somewhere. Ours is in a shoebox with a Polaroid of my brother dressed as a crayon.

Even Tampa Electric's skeleton got a review

With Energy Awareness Month down to its last few hours, Tampa Electric handed its skeleton, Skelly, a performance review. The verdict: energy-saving habits look good, but "having skin in the game still needs work." That's a utility company telling a bone joke on a Friday afternoon, and I respect it.

Have a happy, safe Halloween. Watch for little ghosts in the crosswalks tonight, and remember that clocks fall back an hour tonight too, so you get an extra hour for leftover candy.

— Sandy