The Nebulous Realm of Wolf-Rayet Star 134 in Cygnus

The Nebulous Realm of Wolf-Rayet Star 134 in Cygnus

This cosmic snapshot covers a field of view over twice as wide as the full Moon within the boundaries of the high-flying constellation Cygnus. Made using astronomical narrowband filters, the image highlights the bright edge of a ring-like nebula traced by the glow of ionized hydrogen and oxygen gas. Embedded in the region's expanse of interstellar clouds, the complex, glowing arcs are sections of shells of material swept up by the wind from Wolf-Rayet star WR 134, the brightest star near image center. 

Distance estimates put WR 134 about 6,000 light-years away, making this telescopic frame over 100 light-years across. Shedding their outer envelopes in powerful stellar winds, massive Wolf-Rayet stars have burned through their nuclear fuel at a prodigious rate and end their final phase of massive star evolution in a spectacular supernova. Their stellar winds and final supernova explosion enrich the interstellar material with heavy elements to be incorporated in future generations of stars.

Image Credit & Copyright: Luigi Morrone and Telescope Live
Luigi's website: https://app.astrobin.com/u/Luigi_morrone_1979#gallery
Release Date: May 22, 2026

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #WolfRayetStars #WR134 #CygnusConstellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #LuigiMorrone #Astrophotographers #NASAGoddard #GSFC #Greenbelt #Maryland #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD

Cosmonauts Kud-Sverchkov & Mikaev on Spacewalk | International Space Station

Cosmonauts Kud-Sverchkov & Mikaev on Spacewalk | International Space Station

Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 74 commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Russia works outside the International Space Station in his Orlan spacesuit with red stripes. During the six-hour and five-minute spacewalk, Kud‑Sverchkov, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Mikaev (out of frame), installed a solar radiation experiment and removed physics and microbiology research hardware from the orbital outpost.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 74 flight engineer Sergei Mikaev of Russia (lower center) works outside the International Space Station's Poisk module in his Orlan spacesuit with blue stripes. During the six-hour and five-minute spacewalk, Mikaev, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Russia (out of frame), installed a solar radiation experiment and removed physics and microbiology research hardware from the orbital outpost.

Roscosmos cosmonaut and Expedition 74 commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Russia works outside the International Space Station in his Orlan spacesuit with red stripes. During the six-hour and five-minute spacewalk, Kud‑Sverchkov, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Mikaev of Russia (out of frame), installed a solar radiation experiment and removed physics and microbiology research hardware from the orbital outpost.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (left) and Sergei Mikaev (right) of Russia, Expedition 74 commander and flight engineer respectively, are pictured inside the Poisk module's airlock trying on their Orlan spacesuits.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (left) and Sergei Mikaev (right) of Russia, Expedition 74 commander and flight engineer respectively, are pictured inside the Poisk module's airlock trying on their Orlan spacesuits as Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev of Russia (center) assists them. The duo was preparing for a spacewalk to install a solar radiation experiment and remove biological exposure hardware on the outside of the International Space Station.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (left) and Sergei Mikaev (right) of Russia, Expedition 74 commander and flight engineer respectively, are pictured inside the Poisk module's airlock trying on their Orlan spacesuits.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (left) and Sergei Mikaev (right) of Russia, Expedition 74 commander and flight engineer respectively, are pictured inside the Poisk module's airlock trying on their Orlan spacesuits as Roscosmos flight engineer Andrey Fedyaev of Russia (center) assists them. The duo was preparing for a spacewalk to install a solar radiation experiment and remove biological exposure hardware on the outside of the International Space Station.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov (left) and Sergei Mikaev (right) of Russia, Expedition 74 commander and flight engineer respectively, are pictured inside the Poisk module's airlock trying on their Orlan spacesuits.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev of Russia concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 4:23 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, lasting 6 hours, 5 minutes.

Kud-Sverchkov and Mikayev finished their major objectives, including collecting two completed science experiments and installing a new one. They removed a microorganism study from the exterior of the Poisk module and retrieved a cassette from the Nauka module containing data on how semiconductor materials form in microgravity. The crew also installed a device on the Zvezda service module to measure bursts of solar radiation from solar flares.

During the spacewalk, the duo photographed one of two Kurs rendezvous antennas on the Progress 94 cargo spacecraft that failed to deploy following its March launch to the space station. After collecting the imagery, they secured the antenna with a tie‑down for future dynamic operations.

This was the second spacewalk for Kud-Sverchkov and the first for Mikayev. It also was the 279th spacewalk supporting space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Follow Expedition 74:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

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, ESA/Sophie Adenot
Dates: May 22-27, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Astronomy #ISS #Earth #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #SergeyKudSverchkov #SergeiMikaev #EVA #Spacewalks #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #JSC #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #STEM #Education

Shenzhou-21 Crew Capsule Lands in Inner Mongolia | China Space Station

Shenzhou-21 Crew Capsule Lands in Inner Mongolia | China Space Station

👨‍🚀👏With 210 days spent onboard China's Tiangong Space Station, Shenzhou-21's Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang are back on Earth. Their Shenzhou-22 return crew capsule touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday, May 29, 2026, at 20:11 Beijing Time (1211 GMT).

The three astronauts have set a new record for the longest stay in space by a Chinese astronaut crew. They are all in good health condition, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) stated, while noting that the Shenzhou-21 spaceflight mission was a complete success.

Prior to their return, the crew handed over the space station to the Shenzhou-23 astronauts that arrived on May 25.

The Shenzhou-21 crew's original spacecraft that sent them into space on October 31 last year was previously returned to Earth carrying the astronauts of the preceding Shenzhou-20 mission after tiny cracks were found in the viewport window of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft's return capsule. This spacecraft was later safely brought back to Earth.

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Zhang Lu (张陆) - Commander & Pilot - 2nd spaceflight
Wu Fei (武飞)  Flight Engineer - 1st spaceflight
Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) - Payload Specialist - 1st spaceflight

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 3 minutes
Date: May 29, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou22CrewCapsule #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #LongDurationMissions #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #InnerMongoliaAutonomousRegion #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Lightning Storms over Africa & West Asia | International Space Station

Lightning Storms over Africa & West Asia | International Space Station

Expedition 74 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Jessica Meir: "In this timelapse of the night sky, you can see lightning storms (beginning and end), and one of my favorite night scenes—as we cross over Africa from west to east, it is very dimly lit until the snaking spectacle of light along the Nile appears (worth the wait), erupting into the brilliance of Cairo and the river delta. It’s a perfect illustration of the vitality of our planet’s water sources and how our human cultures have developed along them."

Follow Expedition 74:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

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.

Credits: NASA/JSC/J. Meir
Duration: 1 minute, 25 seconds
Release Date: May 29, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Astronomy #ISS #Earth #Africa #LightningStorms #NileRiver #Astronauts #AstronautVideography #JessicaMeir #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #JSC #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-21 Crew Landing in Inner Mongolia | China Space Station

Shenzhou-21 Crew Landing in Inner Mongolia | China Space Station

From left to right: Shenzhou-21 crew commander and pilot Zhang Lu, Shenzhou-21 flight engineer Wu Fei, and Shenzhou-21 payload specialist Zhang Hong Zhang

Shenzhou-21 crew commander and pilot Zhang Lu

Shenzhou-21 flight engineer Wu Fei

Shenzhou-21 payload specialist Zhang Hong Zhang

Shenzhou-21 crew commander and pilot Zhang Lu capsule egress

Shenzhou-21 crew commander and pilot Zhang Lu exits the Shenzhou-22 crew capsule

Ground personnel prepare to help the Shenzou-21 crew members out of the Shenzhou-22 crew capsule

Shenzhou-22 crew capsule landing over the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 

👨‍🚀👏With 210 days spent onboard China's Tiangong Space Station, Shenzhou-21's Zhang Lu, Wu Fei, and Zhang Hongzhang are back on Earth. Their Shenzhou-22 return crew capsule touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday, May 29, 2026 at 20:11 Beijing Time (1211 GMT).

The three astronauts have set a new record for the longest stay in space by a Chinese astronaut crew. They are all in good health condition, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) stated, while noting that the Shenzhou-21 spaceflight mission was a complete success.

Prior to their return, the crew handed over the space station to the Shenzhou-23 astronauts that arrived on May 25.

The Shenzhou-21 crew's original spacecraft that sent them into space on October 31 last year was previously returned to Earth carrying the astronauts of the preceding Shenzhou-20 mission after tiny cracks were found in the viewport window of the Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft's return capsule. This spacecraft was later safely brought back to Earth.

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Zhang Lu (张陆) - Commander & Pilot - 2nd spaceflight
Wu Fei (武飞)  Flight Engineer - 1st spaceflight
Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) - Payload Specialist - 1st spaceflight

Image Credit: CMSA
Date: May 29, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou22CrewCapsule #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #LongDurationMissions #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #LongDurationMissions #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #MicrogravityExperiments #InnerMongoliaAutonomousRegion #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education 

A Brief Review of China's Space Program Milestones

A Brief Review of China's Space Program Milestones

China's Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft undocked from the Tiangong Space Station on Friday afternoon, May 29, 2026, Beijing Time before arriving at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. With the Shenzhou-21 crew completing their journey home, it is a good opportunity to review examples of milestones in China's space program.

Video Credit: Xinhua TV
Duration: 27 seconds
Date: May 29, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Astronomy #China #中国 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #Moon #Change6 #嫦娥六号 #CLEP #Mars #ZhurongRover #祝融 #Tianwen1 #天问一号 #MarsOrbiter #MarsSpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: One Last Look at The Mirror

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: One Last Look at The Mirror

The primary mirror for NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has passed its final inspection. On May 20 and 21, 2026, engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., confirmed that no specks fell onto the mirrors during testing and that there are no defects in the coating or alignment. With this milestone complete, the primary mirror is ready for its next view—space.

Named after NASA’s first chief astronomer, the ‘mother of the Hubble Space Telescope,’ the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will have a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble's, potentially measuring light from a billion galaxies in its lifetime. This observatory will also be able to block starlight to directly see exoplanets and planet-forming disks, complete a statistical census of planetary systems in our galaxy, and address key questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.

The Roman telescope and the discoveries it will enable: 
https://www.stsci.edu/roman

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/roman-space-telescope/

Dr. Nancy Grace Roman: 
https://science.nasa.gov/people/nancy-roman/

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Producer: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Videographers: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS), Sophia Roberts (eMITS) 
Editor: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)
Science Writer: Ashley Balzer (eMITS)
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: May 29, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #NASARoman #RomanSpaceTelescope #NancyGraceRoman #Exoplanets #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #NASAGoddard #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up: Active Spiral Galaxy Messier 88 in Coma Berenices | Hubble

Close-up: Active Spiral Galaxy Messier 88 in Coma Berenices | Hubble

This is a Hubble picture of an active spiral galaxy on a journey lasting hundreds of millions of years. The galaxy Messier 88 (M88), also known as NGC 4501, is located about 63 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair). 

M88 is an active galaxy. This means that its center harbors a supermassive black hole that is snacking on gas and dust. This black hole is estimated to be around 100 million times as massive as the Sun, and it appears to be powering outflows of gas from the galaxy’s center.

Around this black hole is a population of old, reddish stars that give M88 its warmly glowing heart. Spreading out from the center are several tightly wound, symmetrical spiral arms, each outlined by sparkling pink and blue star clusters and knotted clouds of dust. We see M88 from an angle so that it appears elongated, and its spiral arms delicately fan out before it.

M88 is a member of the Virgo Cluster, a collection of more than a thousand galaxies held together by gravity—and therefore linked by fate. As this massive group of galaxies moves through space, the galaxies themselves are in constant motion as they orbit the cluster’s center of gravity. M88 itself is on a long and somewhat perilous cosmic journey that will bring it to the innermost reaches of the cluster.

As is the case with any epic journey, M88 will be fundamentally changed by its trek to the center of the Virgo Cluster, about 2 million light-years from where it is today. In 200–300 million years, M88 will make its closest approach to Messier 87, the massive elliptical galaxy that anchors the entire cluster. As it draws close to this gravitational behemoth, M88 will experience intense ram pressure stripping. Ram pressure stripping occurs when a galaxy’s gas is swept away as it pushes through the ever-present gas between the galaxies in a cluster.

Researchers have already seen this process at work in M88. The galaxy’s swirling disc of gas is truncated, and it appears to have been compressed on the leading edge of the galaxy, piling up like snow before a plough. In fact, M88 appears to have considerably less cold gas—the raw fuel for star formation—than expected for a galaxy of its size, especially in its outer regions. This is a clear sign that M88 will be altered by its journey. This will affect its ability to form stars and alter the course of its evolution.

Astronomers observed M88 with Hubble as part of an observing program (#18103; PI: D. Thilker) dedicated to understanding the lives of spiral galaxies in crowded environments. This program uses Hubble’s highly capable Wide Field Camera 3. This can finely resolve individual star clusters and nebulae in galaxies tens of millions of light-years away. By studying galaxies on these scales, astronomers can understand how a journey through a cluster impacts galaxies’ evolution and ability to form new stars.

Image Description: A large spiral galaxy. It is seen tilted at an angle, so that it is foreshortened and appears very wide. Its tightly-wound, blue spiral arms swirl out from its glowing center, spreading apart at the tips. They are followed by strands and clumps of dark red dust, and spotted with pink dots where stars are forming in clouds of gas. The galaxy is surrounded by a slight glow and lies on a dark background.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker and the MAUVE-HST Team

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: May 29, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Messier88 #GalaxyClusters #RamPressureStripping #VirgoCluster #SpiralGalaxies #BlackHoles #AGNs #ComaBerenicesConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #WFC3 #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Active Spiral Galaxy Messier 88 in Coma Berenices | Hubble Space Telescope

Active Spiral Galaxy Messier 88 in Coma Berenices | Hubble Space Telescope

This is a Hubble picture of an active spiral galaxy on a journey lasting hundreds of millions of years. The galaxy Messier 88 (M88), also known as NGC 4501, is located about 63 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair). 

M88 is an active galaxy. This means that its center harbors a supermassive black hole that is snacking on gas and dust. This black hole is estimated to be around 100 million times as massive as the Sun, and it appears to be powering outflows of gas from the galaxy’s center.

Around this black hole is a population of old, reddish stars that give M88 its warmly glowing heart. Spreading out from the center are several tightly wound, symmetrical spiral arms, each outlined by sparkling pink and blue star clusters and knotted clouds of dust. We see M88 from an angle so that it appears elongated, and its spiral arms delicately fan out before it.

M88 is a member of the Virgo Cluster, a collection of more than a thousand galaxies held together by gravity—and therefore linked by fate. As this massive group of galaxies moves through space, the galaxies themselves are in constant motion as they orbit the cluster’s centre of gravity. M88 itself is on a long and somewhat perilous cosmic journey that will bring it to the innermost reaches of the cluster.

As is the case with any epic journey, M88 will be fundamentally changed by its trek to the center of the Virgo Cluster, about 2 million light-years from where it is today. In 200–300 million years, M88 will make its closest approach to Messier 87, the massive elliptical galaxy that anchors the entire cluster. As it draws close to this gravitational behemoth, M88 will experience intense ram pressure stripping. Ram pressure stripping occurs when a galaxy’s gas is swept away as it pushes through the ever-present gas between the galaxies in a cluster.

Researchers have already seen this process at work in M88. The galaxy’s swirling disc of gas is truncated, and it appears to have been compressed on the leading edge of the galaxy, piling up like snow before a plough. In fact, M88 appears to have considerably less cold gas—the raw fuel for star formation—than expected for a galaxy of its size, especially in its outer regions. This is a clear sign that M88 will be altered by its journey. This will affect its ability to form stars and alter the course of its evolution.

Astronomers observed M88 with Hubble as part of an observing program (#18103; PI: D. Thilker) dedicated to understanding the lives of spiral galaxies in crowded environments. This program uses Hubble’s highly capable Wide Field Camera 3. This can finely resolve individual star clusters and nebulae in galaxies tens of millions of light-years away. By studying galaxies on these scales, astronomers can understand how a journey through a cluster impacts galaxies’ evolution and ability to form new stars.

Image Description: A large spiral galaxy. It is seen tilted at an angle, so that it is foreshortened and appears very wide. Its tightly-wound, blue spiral arms swirl out from its glowing center, spreading apart at the tips. They are followed by strands and clumps of dark red dust, and spotted with pink dots where stars are forming in clouds of gas. The galaxy is surrounded by a slight glow and lies on a dark background.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker and the MAUVE-HST Team
Release Date: May 29, 2026

#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Messier88 #NGC4501 #GalaxyClusters #RamPressureStripping #VirgoCluster #SpiralGalaxies #BlackHoles #AGNs #ComaBerenicesConstellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #WFC3 #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Japanese Astronaut Ayu Yoneda Spacewalk Training | NASA's Johnson Space Center

Japanese Astronaut Ayu Yoneda Spacewalk Training | NASA's Johnson Space Center

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Ayu Yoneda on practicing spacewalks in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas: "It's precisely because it's difficult that it's interesting. Extravehicular activity training. Even as we repeat trial and error, we move forward little by little. Every time we dive into the pool wearing a spacesuit, there are new lessons and insights. I'm grateful for an environment where I can take on challenges."

"I'll keep pushing forward!" 👨‍🚀

Ayu Yoneda/米田あゆ was born in 1995. She joined JAXA in April 2023. After basic training as an astronaut candidate, she was certified as a JAXA astronaut in October 2024. She is currently training for her first spaceflight assignment aboard the International Space Station. She may also become one of the first Japanese astronauts to land on the Moon under NASA's Artemis program for international lunar exploration.

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 Credit: JAXA/A. Yoneda
Date: May 28, 2026

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #ArtemisProgram #Moon #Science #Astronauts #AyuYoneda #米田あゆ #AstronautTraining #EVA #Spacewalks #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #NeutralBuoancyLaboratory #NBL #NASAJohnson #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education

NASA’s X-59 Prepares for Supersonic Flight | Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA’s X-59 Prepares for Supersonic Flight | Armstrong Flight Research Center

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft is gearing up for its most significant flights yet as teams continue expanding the aircraft’s flight envelope ahead of upcoming tests at speeds faster than sound.

Since the aircraft’s first flight, the X-59 team has spent months evaluating its performance and handling qualities across a growing range of flight conditions. Take a look at the milestones achieved so far that mark steady progress as NASA moves closer to the aircraft’s first supersonic flight.

The upcoming supersonic flights will help engineers evaluate the aircraft’s performance across more of its operating range as teams advance toward later phases of the Quesst mission.

The X-59 aircraft builds on decades of supersonic flight research and is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission. The vast amount of data collected over the years has given designers the tools they needed to craft the shape of the X-59. The goal is to enable the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce a loud sonic boom to a quieter “sonic thump.”

Data gathered during X-59 research flights will be shared with the U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.

The X-59’s engine, a modified F414-GE-100, packs 22,000 pounds of thrust. This will enable the X-59 to achieve the desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet. It sits in a nontraditional spot–atop the aircraft—to aid in making the X-59 quieter.

The X-59's goal is to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land.

Learn more about the Quesst mission: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/quesst/

Video Credit: NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC)
Duration: 3 minutes, 36 seconds
Release Date: May 28, 2026

#NASA #Aerospace #SupersonicFlight #SupersonicAircraft #X59 #Sonicbooms #QuietAviation #Aviation #QuesstMission #CommercialAviation #Science #Physics #Engineering #AerospaceResearch #AeronauticalResearch #FlightTests #LockheedMartin #NASAArmstrong #AFRC #Edwards #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Starset: View from Croatia | Solar System Science

Starset: View from Croatia | Solar System Science

The Sun is the star located at the center of the Solar System. It is a massive sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light and infrared radiation with 10% at ultraviolet energies. It is the main source of energy for life on Earth. The Sun has been an object of veneration in many cultures and a central subject of astronomical research since antiquity.

The Sun orbits the Galactic Center of the Milky Way at a distance of 24,000 to 28,000 light-years. Its mean distance from Earth is about 1.496×108 kilometers or about 8 light-minutes. The distance between the Sun and the Earth was used to define a unit of length called the astronomical unit (au), now defined to be 149.5978707×106 kilometers. 

The Sun is the largest and most massive object in the Solar System; its diameter is about 1,391,400 km (864,600 mi), around 109 times that of Earth. The Sun's mass is around 330,000 times that of Earth, making up about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. The mass of the Sun's surface layer, its photosphere, consists mostly of hydrogen (~73%) and helium (~25%) with much smaller quantities of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron.

The Sun formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud. Most of this matter gathered in the center; the rest flattened into an orbiting disk that became the Solar System. The central mass became so hot and dense that it eventually initiated nuclear fusion in its core. It is now classified as a G-type main-sequence star (G2V). Every second, the Sun's core fuses about 600 billion kilograms (kg) of hydrogen into helium and converts 4 billion kilograms of matter into energy.

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Italy to the west.

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

Image Credit: Sonja 
Date: Aug. 29, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #SolarSystem #Sun #Planets #Earth #Sunlight #Atmosphere #Sunsets #Starsets #Astrophotographers #Sofia #Astrophotography #Croatia #RepublikaHrvatska #Europe #STEM #Education

Planet Earth Aurora to Orbital Dawn | International Space Station

Planet Earth Aurora to Orbital Dawn | International Space Station

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. This view was captured by NASA astronaut Don Pettit.

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

Crew members aboard the International Space Station see 16 sunrises and sunsets per day due to their high orbital velocity (greater than 28,000 km per hour). The multiple chances for photography are fortunate because at that speed, each sunrise or sunset only lasts a few seconds.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth on April 19, 2025, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station. Pettit spent 220 days in space, earning him a total of 590 days in space over the course of his four spaceflights. He orbited the Earth 3,520 times, traveling 93.3 million miles in low-Earth orbit.

Follow Expedition 74:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Andrey Fedyaev, Sergei Mikaev

European Space Agency Flight Engineer: Sophie Adenot

NASA Flight Engineers: Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Chris Williams

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.

Credits: NASA/JSC/D. Pettit
Duration: 19 seconds
Release Date: May 23, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #Astronomy #ISS #Earth #Aurora #OrbitalDawn #Astronauts #AstronautVideography #DonPettit #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #JSC #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Psyche Mission Mars Flyby: Arrival and Departure Views | JPL

NASA Psyche Mission Mars Flyby: Arrival and Departure Views | JPL

Mars - Psyche Imager A - May 15, 2026

Mars - Psyche Imager A - May 15, 2026

Mars - Psyche Imager A - May 16, 2026

Mars - Psyche Imager A - May 19, 2026

Mars - Psyche Imager A - May 19, 2026

Mars - Psyche Imager A - May 20, 2026

Mars - Psyche Imager B - May 27, 2026

NASA Psyche Mission emblem

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft performed a successful flyby of Mars on May 15, 2026. This provided the mission team with a valuable practice run before the spacecraft's arrival at the mysterious asteroid Psyche in 2029. The Psyche spacecraft came within 2,864 miles (4,609 kilometers) of the planet’s surface. The flyby delivered a gravity assist from Mars generating a critical boost in speed and adjusting the spacecraft’s orbital plane without using any onboard propellant, sending it on its way toward the metal-rich asteroid Psyche.

The spacecraft is now headed directly toward the asteroid, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. After the Mars flyby, the flight team analyzed radio signals between the spacecraft and NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), the agency’s global system for communicating with interplanetary spacecraft, to confirm that Psyche was on the correct trajectory.

“Although we were confident in our calculations and flight plan, monitoring the DSN’s Doppler signal in real time during the flyby was still exciting,” said Don Han, Psyche’s navigation lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “We’ve confirmed that Mars gave the spacecraft a 1,000 mile‑per‑hour boost and shifted its orbital plane by about 1 degree relative to the Sun. We are now on course for arrival at the asteroid Psyche in summer 2029.”

In the days running up to and during close approach, all of Psyche’s instruments were powered up for calibration efforts, including its imagers, magnetometers, and gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer. As a bonus, Psyche captured Mars images from a rare perspective.

Because Psyche approached Mars from a high phase angle, the planet appeared as a thin crescent in the days running up to the close approach, lit by sunlight reflecting off its surface. In observations from the spacecraft’s multispectral imager, the crescent appeared brighter and extended farther around the planet’s disk than anticipated because of the strong scattering of sunlight through the planet’s dusty atmosphere. As Psyche passed from Mars’ nighttime skies to daytime, it took a rapid series of pictures of the surface around the time of closest approach.

“We’ve captured thousands of images of the approach to Mars and of the planet’s surface and atmosphere at close approach. This dataset provides unique and important opportunities for us to calibrate and characterize the performance of the cameras, as well as test the early versions of our image processing tools being developed for use at the asteroid Psyche,” said Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe. “As the spacecraft continues its journey after the flyby, we’ll continue calibration imaging of Mars for the rest of the month as it recedes into the distance.”

Bell also leads the Mastcam-Z imaging investigation on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover mission team that was among several missions that provided complementary surface and atmospheric imaging, as well as navigation data, during the flyby to help with calibration efforts. Other missions involved include NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter, and the Curiosity rover, along with the European Space Agency’s Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter.

In addition to the imager, early calibration measurements made by Psyche’s magnetometers may have detected Mars’ bow shock as the spacecraft passed the planet. The gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer team was also quickly gathering data to calibrate the instrument by comparing their measurements with the large pool of existing Mars data.

With Mars in the rearview mirror, the spacecraft will soon resume using its solar-electric propulsion system to reach the main asteroid belt. When it arrives in August 2029, it will insert itself into orbit around the asteroid Psyche. It is thought to be the partial core of a planetesimal, a building block of an early planet. Through a series of circular orbits that go lower and then higher in altitude around Psyche, about 173 miles (280 kilometers) across at its widest point, the spacecraft will map the asteroid and gather science data.

If the asteroid proves to be the metallic core of an ancient planetesimal, it could offer a one-of-a-kind window into the interior of rocky planets like Earth.

“We’ve been anticipating the Mars flyby for years, but now it’s complete. We can thank the Red Planet for giving our spacecraft a critical gravitational slingshot farther into the solar system,” said Lindy Elkins-Tanton, principal investigator for Psyche at the University of California, Berkeley. “Onward to the asteroid Psyche!”

The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University (ASU). A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Intuitive Machines in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. The operations of the imager instrument are led by ASU, collaborating with Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego on the design, fabrication, and testing of the cameras.

Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA’s Discovery Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, managed the launch service.

For more information about NASA’s Psyche Mission, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/psyche/

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Image Processing: Kevin M. Gill
Image Dates: May 15-27, 2026

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #PsycheAsteroid #16Psyche #Asteroids #PsycheMission #PsycheSpacecraft #Planets #Mars #MarsFlyby #Jupiter #AsteroidBelt #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #KevinGill #JPL #Caltech #ASU #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Close-up: Herbig–Haro Object HH111: "Astronomy in Action" | Hubble

Close-up: Herbig–Haro Object HH111: "Astronomy in Action" | Hubble

This striking image features a relatively rare celestial phenomenon known as a Herbig–Haro object. This particular Herbig–Haro object is named HH111, and was imaged by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). These spectacular objects are formed under very specific circumstances. Newly formed stars are often very active, and they can expel very narrow jets of rapidly moving ionized gas—gas that is so hot that its molecules and atoms have lost their electrons, making the gas highly charged. The streams of ionized gas then collide with the clouds of gas and dust surrounding newly-formed stars at speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second. It is these energetic collisions that create Herbig–Haro objects, such as HH111.

WFC3 takes images at optical and infrared wavelengths. This means that it observes objects at a wavelength range similar to the range that human eyes are sensitive to (optical) and a range of wavelengths that are slightly too long to be detected by human eyes (infrared). Herbig–Haro objects actually release a lot of light at optical wavelengths, but they are difficult to observe because their surrounding dust and gas absorb much of the visible light. Therefore, the WFC3’s ability to observe at infrared wavelengths—where observations are not as affected by gas and dust—is crucial to observing Herbo–Haro objects successfully. 

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, B. Nisini

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 30, 2021

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Shenzhou-21 & 23 Crews Complete In-Orbit Handover | China Space Station

Shenzhou-21 & 23 Crews Complete In-Orbit Handover | China Space Station

China's Shenzhou-21 and Shenzhou-23 astronaut crews held a handover ceremony on May 28, 2026, where the Shenzhou-21 crew transferred the key of the country's space station. 

The Shenzhou-21 crew has now completed all planned tasks. The three astronauts will take the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft and return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the coming few days, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

"Seven months ago, the Shenzhou-20 crew handed this key over to us. Now, we are about to leave the space station, and I feel truly reluctant to say goodbye. Living and working with you all these days has been a great joy and pleasure. What has left a deep impression on us is your team spirit of three as one and your working ability, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I am confident that you will continue to do an even better job aboard the space station in the days ahead. Today, we pass this key on to you. We hope you will operate the space station even better in the future. And we will wait for your triumphant return in Beijing," said Zhang Lu, commander of the Shenzhou-21 spaceflight mission crew.

"Now, we have received the key—a symbol of the baton for China's space station. During the past few days, you, the Shenzhou-21 crew, have shared with us your knowledge and experience in every aspect of life and work, leaving no detail unattended. We are truly grateful and deeply impressed by your dedication. Over the past seven months, you have carried out your mission with great success. Going forward, we will carry forward your work spirit and valuable experience. We will run our own leg of the space relay steadily and well. We will learn from you and complete our mission successfully. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you for your hard work. We are truly grateful," said Zhu Yangzhu, commander of the Shenzhou-23 spaceflight mission crew.

At present, final preparations are in full swing across all participating systems and the landing site in order to welcome the trio back.

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Zhang Lu (张陆) - Commander & Pilot - 2nd spaceflight
Wu Fei (武飞)  Flight Engineer - 1st spaceflight
Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) - Payload Specialist - 1st spaceflight

Shenzhou-23 Crew

Zhu Yangzhu 朱杨柱, Commander & Flight Engineer (second spaceflight)

Zhang Zhiyuan 张志远, Pilot (first spaceflight)

Li Jiaying 黎家盈, Payload Specialist (first spaceflight) [Hong Kong SAR]

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 48 seconds
Release Date: May 28, 2026

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou21 #Shenzhou23Mission #神舟二十三号 #Shenzhou23 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #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