Japan's Kounotori 7 Captured | International Space Station

U.S. Astronaut Drew Feustel: "Last Thursday I captured Japan’s HTV-7 resupply vehicle using the Canadarm2 robotic arm with the support of Serena Auñón-Chancellor. This cargo vehicle delivered much needed science and supplies to the International Space Station. Great teamwork with our International partners!"

Credit: A.J. (Drew) Feustel
Release Date: September 27, 2018

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #JAXA #Kounotori #Kounotori7 #HTV7 #Resupply #Cargo #Japan #日本 #Canadarm2 #Robotics #CSA #Canada #Astronaut #DrewFeustel #UnitedStates #Expedition56 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #Photography #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

NASA's Kennedy Spaceport Magazine: September 2018

Read KSC's September 2018 Spaceport Magazine (Free 21-Page PDF)
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/spaceport-magazine.html
Direct Download:
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spm_september2018_web.pdf
Spaceport Magazine has you covered!
In this September 2018 issue:
· Mobile launcher moves toward Exploration Mission-1
· NASA’s Parker Solar Probe begins journey to the Sun
· NASA Administrator meets Kennedy employees
· Flight tests to prove commercial systems fit for human
spaceflight
· NASA, SpaceX agree on plans for crew launch day
operations
· Heat shield install brings Orion closer to space
· Successful test proves important step toward safeguarding
astronauts
· Orion pressure vessel for Exploration Mission-2 arrives
· NASA research supported by new program at Kennedy
Space Center Visitor Complex
· First-time event sparks wide range of innovation
· First Nations launch winners briefed on aerospace careers

Spaceport Magazine is a monthly NASA publication that serves Kennedy Space Center employees and the American public. The magazine’s wide topic variety mirrors Kennedy's diverse spaceport operations. From launch processing to center development and employee stories, Spaceport Magazine covers it all.

Credit: NASA/Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Release Date: September 2018

#NASA #KSC #Space #Science #Astronomy #SLS #Orion #EM1 #MobileLauncher #Earth #Moon #ISS #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon #Rocket #ParkerSolarProbe #Astronauts #Kennedy #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Magazine #PDF

Inside NASA's Kennedy Space Center! | Week of Sept. 28, 2018

The first science observations from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, are providing valuable data to help NASA scientists discover and study exoplanets—planets beyond our solar system. Children around the world, from ages four to 12, have an opportunity to contribute to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Winning artwork from a contest that runs through Oct. 17 will be used to create a 2019 calendar with different space themes for each month.

To learn more, go to: https://www.nasa.gov/tess

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Duration: 1 minute, 38 seconds
Release Date: September 28, 2018

#NASA #Space #Satellite #Science #Stars #Transit #Planets #Exoplanets #TESS #Spacecraft #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #ISS #CommercialCrew #Human #Spaceflight #Kennedy #KSC #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Ariane 5 Liftoff Posters | Arianespace

Congratulations on 100th Launch!

Flight VA243. Horizons 3e and Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38

Credit: Arianespace
Image Date: September 25, 2018

#Arianespace #Space #Satellite #Ariane5 #Rocket #Launch #Telecommunications #Horizons3e #Intelsat #Intelsat38 #Azerspace2 #Flight #VA243 #Commercial #Boeing #SSL #Europe #Spaceport #Kourou #FrenchGuiana #GuianaSpaceCenter #SouthAmerica #ESA #CNES #STEM #Education

Ariane 5 Rocket: 100th Launch

Ariane 5 V243 ascends from the European Spaceport’s ELA-3 launch zone on its 100th flight, carrying a dual payload of the Horizons 3e and Azerspace-2/Intelsat 38 telecommunications satellites, September 25, 2018.

This was Arianespace’s sixth mission of the year, as well as the 100th mission by the Ariane 5 heavy launcher. In 22 years of operations, Ariane 5 has orbited a total of 207 satellites.

Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace
Image Date: September 25, 2018
Release Date: September 28, 2018

#Arianespace #Space #Satellite #Ariane5 #Rocket #Launch #Telecommunications #Horizons3e #Intelsat #Intelsat38 #Azerspace2 #Flight #VA243 #Commercial #Boeing #SSL #Europe #Spaceport #Kourou #FrenchGuiana #GuianaSpaceCenter #SouthAmerica #ESA #CNES #STEM #Education

Opportunity Spotted as Mars Dust Settles | This Week @NASA

Week of Sept. 28, 2018 | A dusty Opportunity rover spotted on Mars, hot firing the rocket engine that will power us to deep space, and a visit with our newest class of astronaut candidates . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!


Credit: NASA
Duration: 3 minutes, 25 seconds
Release Date: September 28, 2018

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Mars #Opportunity #Rover #DustStorm #SLS #Rocket #DeepSpace #Orion #Astronauts #Astronaut #Candidates #ISS #JPL #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Japan's Kounotori 7 | Week of Sept. 28, 2018

Week of Sept. 28, 2018 | Ground controllers successfully installed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Kounotori 7 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV-7) to the International Space Station’s Earth-facing port of the Harmony module at 10:09 a.m. EDT, Sept. 27, 2018.

The spacecraft’s arrival supports the crew members’ research off the Earth to benefit the Earth. The cargo spacecraft began its trip on an H-IIB rocket at 1:52 p.m. EDT (2:52 a.m. Japan time) on Saturday, Sat. 22 from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan.

The early Thursday morning cargo delivery includes more than five tons of supplies, water, spare parts and experiments for the crew aboard the International Space Station. The spacecraft also is carrying a half dozen new lithium-ion batteries to continue upgrades to the station’s power system.

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Duration: 3 minutes, 5 seconds
Release Date: September 28, 2018

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #JAXA #Kounotori #Kounotori7 #HTV7 #Resupply #Cargo #Spacecraft #EVA #Spacewalk #Astronauts #Expedition56 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #JSC #Houston #Texas #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tonight's Sky: October 2018 | HubbleSite

This October, look for Pegasus, the great winged horse of Greek mythology, prancing across the autumn night sky. Binoculars and small telescopes will reveal the glowing nucleus and spiral arms of the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Orionid meteor shower peaks on the night of October 21.

“Tonight’s Sky” is produced by HubbleSite.org, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Credit: HubbleSite.org
Duration: 4 minutes, 33 seconds
Release Date: September 26, 2018

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #Planets #Mars #Saturn #SolarSystem #Orionid #MeteorShower #Meteors #Constellations #Stars #Andromeda #Galaxy #Skywatching #STEM #Education #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthernHemisphere #HD #Video

New Zealand | International Space Station

U.S. Astronaut Ricky Arnold: "The early morning sun illuminates Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand."

Cook Strait (Māori: Te Moana-o-Raukawa) lies between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast, and runs next to the capital city, Wellington. It is 22 kilometers (14 mi) wide at its narrowest point, and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world.

The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770. In Māori it has the name Raukawa or Te Moana-o-Raukawa. Raukawa may mean "bitter leaves".
(Source: Wikipedia)

Credit: NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold/JSC
Release Date: September 27, 2018


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #NewZealand #CookStrait #NorthIsland #SouthIsland #Pacific #Ocean #TasmanSea #Astronaut #RickyArnold #UnitedStates #Expedition56 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #Photography #STEM #Education #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Super Typhoon Trami | International Space Station

ESA Astronaut Alexander Gerst: "As if somebody pulled the planet's gigantic plug. Staring down the eye of yet another fierce storm. Category 5 Super Typhoon Trami is unstoppable and heading for Japan and Taiwan. Be safe down there!"

Supertaifun Trami
"Als ob jemand einen gigantischen Stöpsel aus der Erde gezogen hätte. Blick ins Auge eines weiteren wütenden Sturms. Kategorie 5 Supertaifun Trami ist unhaltbar auf dem Weg nach Japan und Taiwan. Passt auf euch auf da unten!"

Follow Alexander and his Horizons mission:
http://bit.ly/AlexanderGerstESA and on http://bit.ly/HorizonsBlogESA

Credit: ESA/NASA-A.Gerst
Image Date: September 25, 2018

#NASA #ESA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #SuperTyphoon #Typhoon #Trami #Ryukyu #Islands #琉球諸島 #Japan #日本 #Taiwan #中華民國 #中国 #Pacific #Ocean #AlexanderGerst #Horizons #Europe #Germany #Deutschland #DLR #Expedition56 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #Photography #STEM #Education #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Super Typhoon Trami | NASA Earth

Sept. 25, 2018: In September 2018, Super Typhoon Trami barreled across the Western Pacific basin, visible east of Taiwan in this nighttime image. The image was acquired at 1:45 a.m. local time on September 25, 2018 (17:45 UTC on September 24), with the “day-night band” (DNB) on the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite. The DNB sensor detects dim light signals such as auroras, airglow, and city lights. In this case, a nearly full Moon lit the tops of the clouds. At the time, Trami was the equivalent of a category 5 storm with sustained winds of 260 kilometers (160 miles) per hour.

According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, forecasts called for the storm to curve north and then northeast toward Japan by the end of the week.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Kathryn Hansen, using VIIRS day-night band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership
Caption Credit: Kathryn Hansen
Image Date: September 25, 2018
#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Space #Satellite #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #SuperTyphoon #Typhoon #Trami #Night #Ryukyu #Islands #琉球諸島 #Japan #日本 #Taiwan #中華民國 #中国 #Pacific #Ocean #SuomiNPP #VIIRS #Infographic #STEM #Education

Super Typhoon Trami, Western Pacific | NOAA

Less than ten days after Super Typhoon Mangkhut battered the Philippines and southern China, another powerful tropical cyclone is churning through the western Pacific Ocean.

Super Typhoon Trami, seen here from the NOAA-20 polar orbiting satellite at 12:23 a.m. EDT September 24, could threaten parts of Taiwan and Japan's Ryukyu Islands later this week. About eight hours after NOAA-20 captured this image of the storm, Trami's one-minute sustained winds had reached 150 mph —the threshold at which the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center considers a tropical cyclone to have achieved "super typhoon" status.

Trami first developed as a tropical storm on September 21, but quickly strengthened as it moved across the warm waters of the Philippine Sea. Over a 24-hour period ending September 23, Trami had morphed from a tropical storm with 65 mph winds to a dangerous Category 4 tropical cyclone with winds of 130 mph. Forecasts show Trami's peak winds may reach Category 5 intensity (157 mph or greater) over the next 24 hours as the storm moves west-northwest into the warm waters of the East China Sea.

This image was captured by the NOAA-20 satellite's VIIRS instrument, which scans the entire globe twice daily at a 750-meter resolution. The VIIRS sensor provides high-resolution visible and infrared imagery of Earth's atmosphere, land, and oceans, and helps atmospheric scientists monitor severe weather events such as tropical cyclones (which are commonly referred to as typhoons in the western Pacific and hurricanes in the eastern Pacific and Atlantic Ocean).

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Credit: NOAA
Image Date: September 24, 2018

#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Space #Satellite #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #SuperTyphoon #Typhoon #Trami #Ryukyu #Islands #琉球諸島 #Japan #日本 #Taiwan #中華民國 #中国 #Pacific #Ocean #NOAA20 #VIIRS #STEM #Education

Super Typhoon Trami, Pacific Ocean | Eumetsat

Composite image of category 5 super-Typhoon Trami, approaching Japan, from 06:00 UTC on Wednesday, September 25, 2018. The storm is packing winds of 155 mph as it tracks toward Japan's Ryukyu Islands.

Updates and advisories on this storm can be found on the Global Disaster Alerting Coordination System (GDACS) website:
http://www.gdacs.org

Infrared data from the geostationary satellites of EUMETSAT, JMA and NOAA overlays a computer-generated model of the Earth, containing NASA's Blue Marble Next Generation imagery.

Credit: EUMETSAT - Copyright: 2018
Image Date: September 25, 2018

#NASA #EUMETSAT #Earth #Space #Satellite #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #SuperTyphoon #Typhoon #Trami #Ryukyu #Islands #琉球諸島 #Japan #日本 #Taiwan #中華民國 #中国 #Pacific #Ocean #Infrared #Europe #JMA #NOAA #BlueMarble #STEM #Education

At Earth's Edge | International Space Station

Credit: U.S. Astronaut Ricky Arnold/NASA/JSC
Release Date: September 21, 2018

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Sun #Sunset #Orbit #Astronaut #RickyArnold #UnitedStates #Expedition56 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #Photography #STEM #Education #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Nightscapes | International Space Station

Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev: "Together with Alex Gerst recently taking pictures of night landscapes." 🚀✨

Follow Alexander and the Horizons mission:
http://bit.ly/AlexanderGerstESA and on http://bit.ly/HorizonsBlogESA

Credit: Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev/Roscosmos
Release Date: September 24, 2018

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Night #Orbit #Aurora #Moon #SolarSystem #Expedition56 #Cosmonaut #OlegArtemyev #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Russia #Россия #Astronaut #AlexanderGerst #Horizons #ESA #Germany #Deutschland #Photography #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Warped and Distorted Galaxies | Hubble

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image contains a veritable mix of different galaxies, some of which belong to the same larger structure: At the middle of the frame sits the galaxy cluster SDSS J1050+0017.

The gigantic mass of this cluster creates the fascinating phenomenon of strong gravitational lensing. The gravity of the cluster bends light coming from behind it in a similar way to how the base of a wine glass bends light. The effects of this lensing can be clearly seen as curved streaks forming a circular shape around the center of the frame. Astronomers can use these distorted galaxies to calculate the mass of the cluster—including the mass of the dark matter within it—and to peer deeper into the Universe as otherwise possible. Gravitational lensing does not only distorts the views of galaxies, it also enlarge their appearance on the sky and magnifies their light.

Hubble has viewed gravitational lensing many times, and produced truly stunning images. Astronomers even set up a dedicated program to study different galaxy clusters which show a great number of lensed galaxies: The Frontier Fields program. This way some of the most distant galaxies in the Universe were found. With each additional cluster being observed some more distant galaxies are added to this list, slowly completing our picture of how galaxies looked and evolved in the early Universe.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: September 24, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Cluster #Galaxies #Light #Gravity #GravitationalLensing #Astrophysics #SDSSJ10500017 #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Goddard #GSFC #ESA #STScI #STEM #Education

Inside NASA's Kennedy Space Center: ICESat-2 Launch

Week of Sept. 21, 2018 | This week in space news, NASA’s ICESat-2 spacecraft begins its three-year mission to measure the changing height of Earth's ice after a spectacular liftoff on Saturday, September 15, from Space Launch Complex-2 at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. By delivering the ICESat-2 spacecraft to its orbital destination, the Delta II rocket finished its 29 years in service with one more success.

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Duration: 1 minute, 39 seconds
Release Date: September 21, 2018

#NASA #Earth #Science #Space #Satellite #Ice #Glacier #Melting #ICESat #ICESat2 #Spacecraft #Climate #ClimateChange #Research #Mapping #DeltaII #Rocket #ULA #Vandenberg #AirForce #Kennedy #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Festival of “First Lights” on This Week @NASA

Sept. 21, 2018: Several NASA instruments see their first light, another active week for our administrator, and discover just how much space is in our daily lives . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

Credit: NASA
Duration: 3 minutes, 19 seconds
Release Date: September 21, 2018

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Orion #SLS #Spacecraft #Satellite #TESS #Exoplanets #ParkerSolarProbe #Sun #ISS #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Long Distance Call

Week of Sept. 21, 2018: NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. The launch of a Japanese resupply ship to the International Space Station was postponed till Saturday. Meanwhile, the Expedition 56 crew moved on with critical space research and orbital lab maintenance.

Inclement weather at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan led managers at JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) to postpone the launch of its HTV-7 resupply ship by one day. The HTV-7 is now due to launch atop the H-IIB rocket Saturday at 1:52 p.m. EDT loaded with over five tons of cargo, including new science experiments and science hardware. Its arrival at the station is now planned for Thursday, September 27, 2018, at 7:54 a.m.

The station’s Zvezda service module fired its engines today slightly boosting the space lab’s orbit. The reboost enables a crew swap taking place next month when Expedition 57 begins. Three Expedition 56 crew members will depart on Oct. 4 and return to Earth inside the Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft. A new pair of Expedition 57 crew members will arrive aboard the Soyuz MS-10 crew ship to replace them Oct. 11

Astronauts Ricky Arnold and Serena Auñón-Chancellor conducted a variety of biomedical research today sponsored by scientists from around the world. The duo partnered up for ultrasound scans inside Europe’s Columbus lab module as doctors on the ground monitored in real-time. Arnold also worked throughout the day processing blood and urine samples inside the Human Research Facility’s centrifuge.

The biological sample work is supporting a pair of ongoing experiments observing the physiological changes to humans in space. The Repository study analyzes blood and urine samples collected from astronauts before, during and after a space mission. The Biochemical Profile study also researches these samples for markers of astronaut health.

Commander Drew Feustel and Fight Engineer Alexander Gerst worked throughout the orbital lab on housekeeping tasks. Fuestel was in the Unity module installing computer network gear on an EXPRESS rack that can support multiple science experiments. Gerst relocated smoke detectors in the Tranquility module then moved on to computer maintenance in the Destiny lab module.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 2 minutes, 34 seconds
Release Date: September 21, 2018

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Orion #SLS #EVA #Spacewalk #Japan #JAXA #日本 #HTV #Kounotori #Cargo #Resupply #Astronauts #Expedition56 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #JSC #Houston #Texas #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Eerie cloud shadows | International Space Station

European Space Agency Astronaut Alexander Gerst: "I know it's just the simple shadow of our planet, but approaching the terminator gives me an eerie feeling every time. It's as scary as it is fascinating."

"Ich weiß, dass es einfach nur der Schatten unseres Planeten ist. Aber dem Terminator entgegen zu fliegen finde ich ebenso unheimlich wie faszinierend. Wie als Kind den Eingang zur Geisterbahn."

Credit: ESA/NASA-A.Gerst
Image Date: July 30, 2018

#NASA #ESA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Clouds #Shadows #Wolkenschatten #Astronaut #AlexanderGerst #Horizons #Europe #Germany #Deutschland #DLR #Expedition56 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #Photography #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

A Galactic Gem | ESO

Distance: 65 million light years from Earth
The European Southern Observatory's FORS2 instrument captures stunning details of spiral galaxy NGC 3981
FORS2, an instrument mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, has observed the spiral galaxy NGC 3981 in all its glory. The image was captured as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems Program, which makes use of the rare occasions when observing conditions are not suitable for gathering scientific data. Instead of sitting idle, the ESO Cosmic Gems Program allows ESO’s telescopes to be used to capture visually stunning images of the southern skies.

This wonderful image shows the resplendent spiral galaxy NGC 3981 suspended in the inky blackness of space. This galaxy, which lies in the constellation of Crater (the Cup), was imaged in May 2018 using the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT).

FORS2 is mounted on Unit Telescope 1 (Antu) of the VLT at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. Amongst the host of cutting-edge instruments mounted on the four Unit Telescopes of the VLT, FORS2 stands apart due to its extreme versatility. This ”Swiss Army knife” of an instrument is able to study a variety of astronomical objects in many different ways—as well as being capable of producing beautiful images like this one.

The sensitive gaze of FORS2 revealed NGC 3981’s spiral arms, strewn with vast streams of dust and star-forming regions, and a prominent disc of hot young stars. The galaxy is inclined towards Earth, allowing astronomers to peer right into the heart of this galaxy and observe its bright centre, a highly energetic region containing a supermassive black hole. Also shown is NGC 3981’s outlying spiral structure, some of which appears to have been stretched outwards from the galaxy, presumably due to the gravitational influence of a past galactic encounter.

NGC 3981 certainly has many galactic neighbors. Lying approximately 65 million light years from Earth, the galaxy is part of the NGC 4038 group, which also contains the well-known interacting Antennae Galaxies. This group is part of the larger Crater Cloud, which is itself a smaller component of the Virgo Supercluster, the titanic collection of galaxies that hosts our own Milky Way galaxy.

NGC 3981 is not the only interesting feature captured in this image. As well as several foreground stars from our own galaxy, the Milky Way, FORS2 also captured a rogue asteroid streaking across the sky, visible as the faint line towards the top of the image. This particular asteroid has unwittingly illustrated the process used to create astronomical images, with the three different exposures making up this image displayed in the blue, green and red sections of the asteroid’s path.

This image was taken as part of ESO’s Cosmic Gems program, an outreach initiative to produce images of interesting, intriguing or visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes, for the purposes of education and public outreach. The program makes use of telescope time that cannot be used for science observations. In case the data collected could be useful for future scientific purposes, these observations are saved and made available to astronomers through ESO’s science archive.

More information
ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world’s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 15 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a strategic partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-meter Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Release Date: September 12, 2018

#ESO #Astronomy #Space #Galaxy #Spiral #NGC3981 #Crater #NGC4038 #Stars #Asteroid #SolarSystem #MilkyWay #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS2 #Paranal #Observatory #CosmicGems #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Pulsar Wind from a Neutron Star: Artist's Impression

This is an illustration of a pulsar wind nebula produced by the interaction of the outflow particles from the neutron star with gaseous material in the interstellar medium that the neutron star is plowing through. Such an infrared-only pulsar wind nebula is unusual because it implies a rather low energy of the particles accelerated by the pulsar’s intense magnetic field. This hypothesized model would explain the unusual infrared signature of the neutron star as detected by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

Credits: NASA, ESA, and N. Tr’Ehnl (Pennsylvania State University)
Release Date: September 17, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #Neutron #Pulsar #Wind #Nebula #Pulsars #Infrared #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #Artist #Artwork #Illustration #STEM #Education

Never Before Seen Features Around a Neutron Star | Hubble

Image: Artist's Impression/illustration
Sept. 17, 2018: An unusual infrared light emission from a nearby neutron star detected by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, could indicate new features never before seen. One possibility is that there is a dusty disk surrounding the neutron star; another is that there is an energetic wind coming off the object and slamming into gas in interstellar space the neutron star is plowing through.

Although neutron stars are generally studied in radio and high-energy emissions, such as X-rays, this study demonstrates that new and interesting information about neutron stars can also be gained by studying them in infrared light, say researchers.

The observation, by a team of researchers at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania; Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey; and the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona could help astronomers better understand the evolution of neutron stars—the incredibly dense remnants after a massive star explodes as a supernova. Neutron stars are also called pulsars because their very fast rotation (typically fractions of a second, in this case 11 seconds) causes time-variable emission from light-emitting regions.

A paper describing the research and two possible explanations for the unusual finding appears Sept. 17, 2018 in the Astrophysical Journal.

“This particular neutron star belongs to a group of seven nearby X-ray pulsars— nicknamed ‘the Magnificent Seven’—that are hotter than they ought to be considering their ages and available energy reservoir provided by the loss of rotation energy,” said Bettina Posselt, associate research professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Pennsylvania State and the lead author of the paper. “We observed an extended area of infrared emissions around this neutron star—named RX J0806.4-4123—the total size of which translates into about 200 astronomical units (approximately 18 billion miles) at the assumed distance of the pulsar.”

This is the first neutron star in which an extended signal has been seen only in infrared light. The researchers suggest two possibilities that could explain the extended infrared signal seen by the Hubble. The first is that there is a disk of material—possibly mostly dust—surrounding the pulsar.

“One theory is that there could be what is known as a ‘fallback disk’ of material that coalesced around the neutron star after the supernova,” said Posselt. “Such a disk would be composed of matter from the progenitor massive star. Its subsequent interaction with the neutron star could have heated the pulsar and slowed its rotation. If confirmed as a supernova fallback disk, this result could change our general understanding of neutron star evolution.”

The second possible explanation for the extended infrared emission from this neutron star is a “pulsar wind nebula.”

“A pulsar wind nebula would require that the neutron star exhibits a pulsar wind,” said Posselt. “A pulsar wind can be produced when particles are accelerated in the electrical field that is produced by the fast rotation of a neutron star with a strong magnetic field. As the neutron star travels through the interstellar medium at greater than the speed of sound, a shock can form where the interstellar medium and the pulsar wind interact. The shocked particles would then emit synchrotron radiation, causing the extended infrared signal that we see. Typically, pulsar wind nebulae are seen in X-rays and an infrared-only pulsar wind nebula would be very unusual and exciting.”

Using NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers will be able to further explore this newly opened discovery space in the infrared to better understand neutron star evolution.

In addition to Posselt, the research team included George Pavlov and Kevin Luhman at Pennsylvania State; Ünal Ertan and Sirin Çaliskan at Sabanci University; and Christina Williams at the University of Arizona. The research was supported by NASA, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, the U.S. National Science Foundation, Pennsylvania State, the Penn State Eberly College of Science, and the Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.

Credits: NASA, ESA, and B. Posselt (Pennsylania State University)
Release Date: September 17, 2018
#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #Neutron #Pulsars #Infrared #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #Artist #Artwork #STEM #Education