China CAS Space Kinetica-2 Y2 Launch of 18 Qianfan Internet Satellites

China CAS Space Kinetica-2 Y2 Launch of 18 Qianfan Internet Satellites

CAS Space’s Kinetica-2 (Lijian-2) launch vehicle lifted off at 8:15am China Standard Time (00:15 am Universal Coordinated Time) on Nov. 3, 2026, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, heading for a polar orbit to deliver a group of eighteen connectivity satellites for only its third commercial outing.

In this mission, Kinetica-2 Y2 delivered >5t payloads to 800km polar orbit.

The eighteen Qianfan connectivity satellites, make up its seventeenth launched group. They were manufactured by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, Chinese Academy of Sciences, allowing the constellation’s cumulative launched count to reach 274.

The Qianfan mega-constellation, also referred to as SpaceSail, is operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co. Ltd. (aiming to provide space-based Internet connectivity services in China and abroad in places including Brazil, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, and via airlines, beginning before the end of this year.

Costing under 10 million Yuan (1.47 million United States Dollars) a piece, each Qianfan satellite weighs 300 kilograms with a ‘flat pack’ design, using a single solar array, to fit as many satellites as possible inside the rocket fairing in two parallel stacks. For maneuvering in orbit, each satellite has an electric hall-effect thruster burning krypton.

By launching today’s group of Qianfan satellites, CAS Space has become the third firm in China’s commercial space sector to perform a deployment for the constellation, also being its largest by a non-state-owned launch vehicle. They follow missions performed by LandSpace and Orienspace in mid-September, deploying ten and eight satellites respectively.

To date, CAS Space states that they have served almost forty domestic and global clients since mid-2022 by launching 140 spacecraft into orbit. Their cumulative launched mass is around 27,000 kilograms with about 9,000 kilograms delivered by Kinetica-2.

Today’s launch was the second mission for Kinetica-2, and the 18th for CAS Space through its Kinetica family of launch vehicles. This was also the 77th launch from China in 2026.

CAS Space is a commercial spaceflight company established by the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Image Credit: CAS Space, CGTN, CCTV
Article Credit: Jack C.
Date: Nov. 2, 2026

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Earth #China #中国 #CASSpace #中科宇航 #CAS #中国科学院 #Kinetica2Rocket #Kinetica2Y2Rocket #LaunchVehicles #SpaceSailConstellation #QianfanConstellation #千帆 #ShanghaiSpacesailTechnologies #CommercialSpace #JiuquanSatelliteLaunchCenter #JSLC #酒泉卫星发射中心 #InnerMongolia #STEM #Education

China CAS Space Kinetica-2 Y2 Launch of 18 Qianfan Internet Satellites

China CAS Space Kinetica-2 Y2 Launch of 18 Qianfan Internet Satellites

CAS Space’s Kinetica-2 (Lijian-2) launch vehicle lifted off at 8:15am China Standard Time (00:15 am Universal Coordinated Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, heading for a polar orbit to deliver a group of eighteen connectivity satellites for only its third commercial outing.

In this mission, Kinetica-2 Y2 delivered >5t payloads to 800km polar orbit.

The eighteen Qianfan connectivity satellites, make up its seventeenth launched group. They were manufactured by the Innovation Academy for Microsatellites, Chinese Academy of Sciences, allowing the constellation’s cumulative launched count to reach 274.

The Qianfan mega-constellation, also referred to as SpaceSail, is operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies Co. Ltd. (aiming to provide space-based Internet connectivity services in China and abroad in places including Brazil, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Türkiye, and via airlines, beginning before the end of this year.

Costing under 10 million Yuan (1.47 million United States Dollars) a piece, each Qianfan satellite weighs 300 kilograms with a ‘flat pack’ design, using a single solar array, to fit as many satellites as possible inside the rocket fairing in two parallel stacks. For maneuvering in orbit, each satellite has an electric hall-effect thruster burning krypton.

By launching today’s group of Qianfan satellites, CAS Space has become the third firm in China’s commercial space sector to perform a deployment for the constellation, also being its largest by a non-state-owned launch vehicle. They follow missions performed by LandSpace and Orienspace in mid-September, deploying ten and eight satellites respectively.

To date, CAS Space states that they have served almost forty domestic and global clients since mid-2022 by launching 140 spacecraft into orbit. Their cumulative launched mass is around 27,000 kilograms with about 9,000 kilograms delivered by Kinetica-2.

Today’s launch was the second mission for Kinetica-2, and the 18th for CAS Space through its Kinetica family of launch vehicles. This was also the 77th launch from China in 2026.

CAS Space is a commercial spaceflight company established by the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Video Credit: CAS Space
Article Credit: Jack C.
Duration: 16 seconds
Date: Nov. 2, 2026

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Earth #China #中国 #CASSpace #中科宇航 #CAS #中国科学院 #Kinetica2Rocket #Kinetica2Y2Rocket #LaunchVehicles #SpaceSailConstellation #QianfanConstellation #千帆 #ShanghaiSpacesailTechnologies #CommercialSpace #JSLC #JiuquanSatelliteLaunchCenter #酒泉卫星发射中心 #InnerMongolia #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA’s T-38 Artemis Paint Timelapse | Johnson Space Center

NASA’s T-38 Artemis Paint Timelapse | Johnson Space Center

NASA’s T-38 aircraft are used to train astronauts to make real-time decisions in high-stakes, operational environments. This aircraft recently received an updated style honoring NASA’s Artemis Program. The agency will be sending astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars. The timelapse was captured at one frame every ten seconds. This is equal to 300x real-time speed. 

The Northrop Grumman T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation, now known as Northrop Grumman. The T-38 was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced.

For more, visit: 
nasa.gov/artemis
https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 42 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 2, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #T38JetAircraft #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #OrionSpacecraft #SLS #SLSRocket #CrewedMissions #Astronauts #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #EllingtonField #Houston #Texas #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Aurora over Iceland

Aurora over Iceland

Astrophotographer: "It has been great night with northern lights. It started at 6:30pm when it was dark enough. I stayed outside for 7 hours and I could see northern lights most of the time. At midnight being alone outside in the darkness on Halloween was quite an experience."

Also known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. When energetic particles from space collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, they can cause the colorful glow that we call auroras.

Learn more about auroras: 
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/auroras/

Iceland is a Nordic island country between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Europe and North America.

Image Credit: Jónína Óskarsdóttir
Location: Fáskrúðsfjörður, Iceland
Image Details: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV. Lens: Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM. ISO 2000, 1,2s exposure
Jónína's website: https://www.facebook.com/IcelandicQueenOfAuroraBorealis
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Sun #SolarSystem #SolarWind #Planet #Earth #Magnetosphere #GeomagneticStorms #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #Astrophotography #JónínaÓskarsdóttir #Astrophotographers #Hofn #Iceland #Ísland #STEM #Education

U.S. Spacewalk 100: Menon & Kutryk | International Space Station

U.S. Spacewalk 100: Menon & Kutryk | International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon seemingly hangs upside down while attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm's latching end effector during a spacewalk to install a new roll-out solar array on the International Space Station's port side truss structure

Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Joshua Kutryk is tethered to flight support equipment on the International Space Station during a spacewalk

NASA astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Anil Menon points his camera toward his spacesuit’s helmet visor and takes an out-of-this-world “space selfie”

Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Joshua Kutryk points his camera toward his spacesuit’s helmet visor and takes an out-of-this-world “space selfie”

Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Joshua Kutryk is pictured during a spacewalk with his spacesuit's helmet lights on

Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Joshua Kutryk is pictured during a spacewalk with his spacesuit's helmet visor down

Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer on spacewalk

Canadian Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 75 flight engineer Joshua Kutryk is tethered to flight support equipment on the International Space Station during a spacewalk

Expedition 75 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Anil Menon: "Can confirm. It’s always sunny in space . . . we completed USOS EVA 100 and installed a new solar array on space station. Over 25 years operating in the harshest environment and using the sun’s energy to do it!  Here are a few photos taken on the spacewalk."

NASA astronaut Anil Menon (red stripes) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 3:08 p.m. EDT on Thursday, October 29, 2026. During the 7-hour, 11-minute spacewalk, Menon and Kutryk installed and deployed an International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (IROSA) on the station’s 2A electrical power channel. The array is the seventh IROSA installed on the station and will provide additional power to support critical operations, including a safe and controlled deorbit.

Menon and Kutryk also completed several get-ahead tasks to prepare for a planned Thursday, Nov. 5 spacewalk, when they will install the eighth and final IROSA on the 3B power channel.

Follow Expedition 75:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 75 Crew
Station Commander: Pyotr Dubrov 
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Anna Kikina, Sergey Teteryatnikov

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Flight Engineer: Joshua Kutryk

NASA Flight Engineers: Anil Menon, Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney 

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credits: NASA/JSC/A. Menon, CSA/J. Kutryk

Date: Oct. 29, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Planets #Earth #Spacewalks #USSpacewalk100 #USSpacewalk101 #EVA #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition75 #InternationalCooperation #CSA #Canada #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

What's Up for November 2026? Skywatching Tips from NASA | JPL

What's Up for November 2026? Skywatching Tips from NASA | JPL

Meteor showers, a close pairing of Mars and Jupiter, a Voyager 1 milestone, and a November supermoon.

The Southern Taurids peak around November 5, followed by the Northern Taurids around November 12, 2026. Both offer occasional bright fireballs, even though only a handful of meteors per hour are expected under ideal conditions.

On November 15 and 16, look southeast before sunrise to see Jupiter and Mars appear just 1.2 degrees apart. 

The Leonid meteor shower offers another chance to catch shooting stars before dawn on November 17 and 18, after the Moon sets.

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft reaches a historic one light-day milestone. Join the Shine Bright for Voyager’s Light-Day activation on November 17. Learn more at nasa.gov/voyager. 

And on November 24, watch a full supermoon rise in the east around sunset, the first of three consecutive supermoons—in November, December, and January.

Video Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Duration: 3 minutes, 34 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 2, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Skywatching #Earth #Meteors #MeteorShowers #Taurids #Moon #SuperMoon #Planets #Mars #Jupiter #SolarSystem #VoyagerI #Nebulae #Stars #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Skywatching #JPL #California #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Skilled Trades at NASA: Building the Future of Space Exploration

Skilled Trades at NASA: Building the Future of Space Exploration

Behind every NASA mission is a team of highly skilled tradespeople whose craftsmanship helps turn bold ideas into reality. From building spacecraft for Artemis and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to maintaining high-performance research aircraft, welders, machinists, technicians, electricians, and mechanics play a vital role in advancing exploration. Discover how these mission-critical professionals help NASA push the boundaries of science, innovation, and human spaceflight.

We are involving students in NASA’s exciting missions, broad range of careers, and unique opportunities. Join us as we apply science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to explore space, improve aeronautics, examine Earth, and strive to land the next humans on the Moon with the Artemis program.

NASA STEM resources: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/

How to Apply: https://www.nasa.gov/careers/

Search for NASA-related positions at USA Jobs
https://www.usajobs.gov/search/results/?k=NASA

NASA Astronaut Joe Acaba Official Biography
https://www.nasa.gov/people/joseph-m-acaba/

Video Credit: NASA Education
Duration: 4 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 2, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Technology #Mathematics #Math #UnitedStates #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIIMission #Astronauts #JoeAcaba #Engineers #Engineering #Leaders #Employment #Jobs #SkilledWorkers #SkilledTrades #TechnicalSkills #Students #HighSchools #Colleges #Universities #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China Lunar Lander to Undergo Uncrewed Tests Ahead of Crewed Mission

China Lunar Lander to Undergo Uncrewed Tests Ahead of Crewed Mission

China's lunar exploration project will rigorously validate key technologies through uncrewed test flights and near-Earth orbital trials before executing its crewed Moon landing mission, ensuring maximum safety and resource efficiency, said chief designer of the country's lunar exploration program on the sidelines of the 7th Crewed Space Symposium in Beijing.

Currently, the development and construction of China's crewed lunar landing missions are advancing steadily. According to the previously announced plan, two Long March-10 carrier rockets will successively launch the Lanyue lunar lander and the Mengzhou crewed spacecraft. It will then dock in lunar orbit. The Mengzhou spacecraft can carry three astronauts between the Earth and lunar orbit with two of them taking the Lanyue lander to travel between lunar orbit and the lunar surface.

"When planning, we follow two principles: first, for any task to be performed in lunar orbit, we will utilize the space station to conduct validation in near-Earth orbit whenever possible; second, for any crewed mission, we will try to fly it in an uncrewed state first. We will use the near-Earth version of the Long March-10 rocket to launch the near-Earth version of the Mengzhou spacecraft to perform space station missions in near-Earth orbit, validating the rocket's basic technologies and the critical re-entry and return phases of the spacecraft. Then, we will use the lunar version of the Long March-10 rocket to launch the lunar version of the Mengzhou spacecraft to execute the lunar landing mission. This is a validation process for the rocket: near-Earth first, then the Moon," said Wang Xiang, deputy chief designer of China's uncrewed space program and chief designer of the lunar exploration program.

The uncrewed flight mission of the Lanyue lander will allow for the on-site collection of critical environmental data, including first-hand measured information on lunar surface temperature, lunar dust conditions, and the in-orbit performance of the spacecraft.

"In an uncrewed state, we will validate as many key technologies of the entire crewed process as possible, including launch, orbiting the Moon, docking with the Mengzhou spacecraft, landing and staying on the lunar surface, taking off again, and re-docking with the Mengzhou spacecraft. This is to ensure that the crewed flight is safe and reliable," Wang explained.

Meanwhile, the uncrewed flight mission of the Lanyue lander is also soliciting secondary payloads nationwide. For a single mission, the total mass of the carried payloads will not exceed 50 kilograms, and the total power consumption will not exceed 100 watts.

"Because it is an uncrewed mission, we will have surplus resources, and we must make full use of them. Through a selection process, we will choose scientific experiment projects that are meaningful and necessary to be conducted on the Moon. It is like giving them a 'free ride' to the Moon to conduct corresponding scientific experiments or technical explorations, achieving the goal of benefiting multiple parties with a single flight," said Wang.

The symposium, running from Saturday to Sunday, drew more than 800 experts and scholars exploring how digital and intelligent technologies can advance human spaceflight.

This year's event focused on cutting-edge technologies, engineering practices, and development needs in the field of human spaceflight, aiming to exchange the latest research results and deepen academic discussion.

It featured 15 sub-forums under three themes—common technologies for human spaceflight, the low-Earth-orbit crewed space station, and lunar exploration missions.

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 2, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Moon #ILRS #MengzhouSpacecraft #梦舟 #Lanyuelunarlander #揽月 #CrewSpacecraft #LongMarch10 #长征十号 #ReusableRockets #ChinaMannedSpaceAgency #中华人民共和国 #HumanSpaceflight #LunarMissions #Taikonauts #Astronauts #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Interacting Galaxy NGC 5291 in Centaurus | ESO’s Very Large Telescope

Interacting Galaxy NGC 5291 in Centaurus | ESO’s Very Large Telescope

The spectacular aftermath of a 360 million year old cosmic collision is revealed in great detail in this image from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory. Among the debris surrounding the elliptical galaxy NGC 5291 at the center is a rare and mysterious young dwarf galaxy. It appears as a bright clump towards the right of the image. This object is providing astronomers with an excellent opportunity to learn more about similar galaxies that are expected to be common in the early Universe, but are normally too faint and distant to be observed by current telescopes.

Learn more about ESO's Very Large Telescope https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/vlt/

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Release Date: Dec. 9, 2015

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #NGC5291 #InteractingGalaxies #NGC5291N #MCG0533005 #CentaurusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #VLTFORS2 #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Earth Night Time-Lapse: Indonesia to Japan | International Space Station

Earth Night Time-Lapse: Indonesia to Japan | International Space Station

Expedition 75 flight engineer and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk: "Night time lapse, Indonesia to North of Japan. A very lively atmosphere up high, with dizzying human activity down low. Blue lights are fishing trawlers hard at work."

Follow Expedition 75:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 75 Crew
Station Commander: Pyotr Dubrov 
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Anna Kikina, Sergey Teteryatnikov

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Flight Engineer: Joshua Kutryk

NASA Flight Engineers: Anil Menon, Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney 

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Video Credit: NASA/JSC/CSA/J. Kutryk

Duration: 26 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #Atmospheres #Airglow #Indonesia #Thailand #Vietnam #China #中国 #Japan #日本 #Astronauts #JoshuaKutryk #CSA #Canada #AstronautPhotography #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition75 #InternationalCooperation #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Material Motions in Shell of Red Carbon Star U Antliae | ALMA Radio Telescopes

Material Motions in Shell of Red Carbon Star U Antliae | ALMA Radio Telescopes

This image was created from Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope data on the unusual red carbon star U Antliae and its surrounding shell of material. The colors show the motion of the glowing material in the shell along the line of sight to the Earth. Blue material lies between us and the central star, and is moving towards us. Red material around the edge is moving away from the star, but not towards the Earth.

For clarity this view does not include the material on the far side of the star that is receding from us in a symmetrical manner.

Around 2,700 years ago, U Antliae went through a short period of rapid mass loss. During this period of only a few hundred years, the material making up the shell seen in the new ALMA data was ejected at high speed. Examination of this shell in further detail also shows some evidence of thin, wispy clouds known as filamentary substructures.

Distance: ~900 light years from Earth in the constellation Antlia

U Antliae is an extremely red C-type carbon star. Carbon stars are cool, luminous red giants with atmospheres containing more carbon than oxygen, giving them a striking red appearance and a key role in enriching the galaxy with carbon. These stars are further reddened by strong mass loss and dust that forms around the star. U Antliae is calculated to have an effective surface temperature of 2,800 K, although the light that reaches us has an appearance more like that from a black body with a temperature of 2,300 K surrounded by dust at a temperature of 72 K. It emits most of its radiation in the infrared and although it is only about 500 times brighter than the sun at visual wavelengths, its bolometric luminosity is 8,000 times higher than the Sun's. Bolometric luminosity is the total electromagnetic power a star radiates across all wavelengths, expressed in watts. It is a crucial measure of a star's true luminosity, as it accounts for all wavelengths, including gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, and radio waves.

Learn more about the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA):
https://www.almaobservatory.org/en/about-alma/

Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), F. Kerschbaum
Release Date: Sept. 20, 2017

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Stars #UAntliae #VariableStars #CarbonStars #FilamentarySubstructures #AntliaConstellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #ALMA #RadioAstronomy #NSF #UnitedStates #AUI #NRAO #NAOJ #国立天文台 #Japan #日本 #ESO #Europe #Chile #STEM #Education

Dark clouds and a starry night sky over ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile

Dark clouds and a starry night sky over ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile

The center of the Milky Way emerges between two telescopes at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile’s Atacama Desert with splatters of light embedded in dark clouds.

Two gleaming nebulae can be seen between the telescopes: the Trifid Nebula (left) and the Lagoon Nebula (right). They can be found in the constellation Sagittarius, and their red color comes from hydrogen atoms ionized by young stars in these clouds. The Trifid Nebula also shows a blue tint caused by dust reflecting the light of some of these stars. However, most of the dust in this image appears as dark clouds. When not lit up by nearby stars, interstellar dust clouds block the light behind them, thus appearing black against the starry background.

The telescope to the left is the European Southern Observatory’s New Technology Telescope (NTT). It was a pioneer in active optics, a technology that maintains the telescope mirror’s shape during observations despite deformations due to weight or temperature. To the right we see the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 3.6-meter telescope, home to the exoplanet hunting instruments High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) and Near Infra-Red Planet Searcher (NIRPS), and a very important telescope for the astronomer that took this picture, José Rodrigues. 

“It is very special as I grew up with a poster of the 3.6 m in my room, dreaming of using it to find exoplanets”––a dream he has now realized as an exoplanet researcher.

Image Description: The image shows two white telescopes on two hills on the bottom left and right of the frame. In the background, the night sky features a lot of stars, and, in the center of it, a dark cloud, in tones of black and brown, that goes from top to bottom. In the bottom of this cloud, spots shining in red and pink, and blue, appear. Another telescope can be seen further away in the picture.

Credit: J. Rodrigues/ESO
Release Date: Sept. 28, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #MilkyWayGalaxy #Nebulae #LagoonNebula  #Messier8 #TrifidNebula #Messier20 #SagittariusConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #NewTechnologyTelescope #NTT #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education 

Aurora over Iceland

Aurora over Iceland

Photographer Marko Korosec: "Spectacular northern lights display over Hofn and Vestrahorn, Iceland this evening as strong solar wind arrived."

Also known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. When energetic particles from space collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, they can cause the colorful glow that we call auroras.

Learn more about auroras: 
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/auroras/

Iceland is a Nordic island country between the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean, located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Europe and North America.

Image Credit: Marko Korosec

Image Details: iPhone 18 Pro
Location: Hofn, Iceland
Date: Oct. 31, 2026 

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Sun #SolarSystem #SolarWind #Planet #Earth #Magnetosphere #GeomagneticStorms #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #Astrophotography #MarkoKorosec #Astrophotographers #Hofn #Iceland #Ísland #STEM #Education

Apparent Colors of The Moon from Earth's Atmosphere

Apparent Colors of The Moon from Earth's Atmosphere

What color is the Moon? It depends on the night—and the time. Outside the Earth's atmosphere, the dark Moon, shines by reflected sunlight. It appears as a magnificently brown-tinged gray. This image highlights a collection of apparent colors of the full Moon on Earth, documented by an astrophotographer over ten years from locations across Italy. 

A red- or yellow-colored Moon usually indicates a Moon seen near the horizon. There, blue light has been scattered away by a long path through the Earth's atmosphere at times laden with fine dust. A blue-colored Moon is more rare and can indicate an atmosphere carrying larger dust particles. What created the purple Moon is unclear—it may be a combination of several effects. The last image captures the total lunar eclipse of July 2018—where the Moon, in Earth's shadow, appeared a faint red—due to light refracted through air around the Earth.

Have you ever seen an unusually colorful Moon?

Credit & Copyright: Marcella Giulia Pace
Marcella's website: https://greenflash.photo/about-me/
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff, Jerry Bonnell, Cecilia Chirenti, Keighley Rockcliffe
A service of the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Technological University (MTU)
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Sun #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #Moon #SolarSystem #Astrophotography #CitizenScience #MarcellaGiuliaPace #Astrophotographers #Italy #Italia #NASAGoddard #MTU #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD

Shenzhou-23 Advances Science Experiments & Maintenance | China Space Station

Shenzhou-23 Advances Science Experiments & Maintenance | China Space Station

China's Shenzhou-23 crew has been living and working in orbit for over five months, carrying out scientific experiments, maintaining the Tiangong Space Station and managing their health in coordination with ground control to ensure the steady operation of their space home.

Multiple projects advanced as planned last week. Using optical 3D spatial measurement equipment, the astronauts—Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying—alternately touched their noses and a blue handrail with their right index fingers to collect data on tactile and proprioceptive perception of mechanical forces in microgravity.

They also completed behavioral tests for visual motion processing experiments. Wearing electroencephalogram (EEG) recording devices and virtual reality (VR) headsets, they conducted tests including weak-stimulus brain-computer interface, microgravity intuitive physics, and spatial cooperative coding and regulation experiments; ground researchers will conduct follow-up studies based on downlink data.

Last week, the crew completed the collection, centrifugation and storage of blood samples for in-orbit medical examinations and related experiments.

Following the experiment schedule, the crew replaced gas cylinders in the combustion science experiment cabinet, cleaned samples from the containerless experiment cabinet's chamber, maintained electrodes in the axial mechanism, and replaced the window cover lens.

The crew completed platform inspections and replaced components of the water treatment subsystem in the core module, continuing to ensure the stable operation of the station's regenerative life support system.

The three astronauts underwent 12-lead ECG examinations and ambulatory ECG and blood pressure monitoring, and received diagnosis and treatment using a traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic instrument to continuously monitor their condition in orbit.

They also exercised as scheduled to counteract the physiological effects of microgravity and maintain good physical and mental health.

The three astronauts were sent into space aboard the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft on May 24, with one of them scheduled to spend a full year in orbit.

Shenzhou-23 Crew
Zhu Yangzhu 朱杨柱, Commander & Flight Engineer (second spaceflight)
Zhang Zhiyuan 张志远, Pilot (first spaceflight)

Lai Ka-ying/Li Jiaying 黎家盈, Payload Specialist (first spaceflight) [Hong Kong SAR]

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 36 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 1, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou23Mission #神舟二十三号 #Shenzhou23 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhuYangzhu #ZhangZhiyuan #LiJiaying #LaiKaying #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #MicrogravityExperiments #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Aurora BOO-realis over Alaska

Aurora BOO-realis over Alaska

Happy Halloween! Known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. When energetic particles from space collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, they can cause the colorful glow that we call auroras.

Learn more about auroras: 
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/auroras/

Alaska is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is considered to be the northernmost, westernmost, and easternmost state in the United States. It borders the Canadian territory of the Yukon and the province of British Columbia to the east. It shares a western maritime border in the Bering Strait with Russia. The Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the Arctic Ocean lie to the north, and the Pacific Ocean lies to the south. 

Image Credit: Todd Salat
Location: Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Todd's website: https://www.aurorahunter.com
Release Date: Oct. 31, 2026 

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