Nichelle Nichols: Woman on a NASA Mission (1932-2022)

Honoring Nichelle Nichols: Woman on a NASA Mission (1932-2022)

NASA celebrates the life and career of Nichelle Nichols, famous for her role of Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek. Nichelle passed away on July 30, 2022. This video tribute was produced before her death.  

Not only did Nichols portray a character that was an incredible role model, but in 1977, she also partnered with NASA to recruit minority and female personnel for the space agency's shuttle program.

Nichols symbolized to so many what was possible and inspired young minds to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. 

Video Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

Video Producer: Sonnet Apple

Music: Universal Production Music

Duration: 3 minutes, 21 seconds

Release Date: December 4, 2021

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Television #TV #Film #StarTrek #NichelleNichols #Uhura #Actor #Actress #Leader #Pioneer #RoleModel #Women #AfricanAmerican #ScienceFiction #GeneRoddenberry #Science #Technology #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Exploring The Carina Nebula with Laser Optics | European Southern Observatory

Exploring The Carina Nebula with Laser Optics | European Southern Observatory

At first glance, this image looks both awesome and intimidating, with the enormous beams of light resembling some terrible cosmic weapon. Fortunately, that is not the case! This image shows something far more benign—a mixture of gas, dust, and powerful lasers.

Among the largest nebulae in the southern night sky, the Carina Nebula is a perfect viewing target for the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). In this image, the nebula appears as a stunning pink cloud in the clear sky above ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, home of the VLT. The Carina Nebula is a vast cloud of dust and gas—this gas is ionized and made to glow by the stars within the nebula itself. 

The cutting-edge Adaptive Optics Facility installed on one of the 8.2-meter Unit Telescopes (UTs) of the VLT is in full operation here. The orange laser beams are sent from the UTs into the Earth's atmosphere where they excite sodium particles, causing them to glow. This creates artificial ‘stars’ that can be used to measure the blurring effects caused by Earth’s atmosphere, which are then corrected by the telescope.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/G. Hüdepohl

Release Date: November 9, 2020

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Earth #Atmosphere #AdaptiveOptics #Lasers #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #Telescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

A Wider View of The Carina Nebula | ESO

A Wider View of The Carina Nebula (infrared) | ESO

This wider coverage area reveals even more stars from the crowded neighborhood surrounding the Carina Nebula. Captured by VISTA, the world’s largest infrared survey telescope, we witness the dramatic evolution of this living stellar city, where stars form and perish side by side.

Credit: European Southern Observatory/J. Emerson/M. Irwin/J. Lewis

Release Date: August 29, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Infrared #Stars #EtaCarinae #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTA #Telescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Carina Nebula & Our Galaxy's Brightest Star: Eta Carinae | ESO

The Carina Nebula & Our Galaxy's Brightest Star: Eta Carinae | ESO

The Carina Nebula is a large bright nebula that surrounds several clusters of stars. It contains two of the most massive and luminous stars in our Milky Way galaxy, Eta Carinae and HD 93129A. Located 7,500 light years away, the nebula itself spans some 260 light years across, about 7 times the size of the Orion Nebula, and is shown in all its glory in this mosaic. It is based on images collected with the 1.5-m Danish telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory.

Being brighter than one million Suns, Eta Carinae (the brightest star in this image) is the most luminous star known in the Galaxy, and has most likely a mass over 100 times that of the Sun. It is the closest example of a luminous blue variable, the last phase in the life of a very massive star before it explodes in a fiery supernova. Eta Carinae is surrounded by an expanding bipolar cloud of dust and gas known as the Homunculus ('little man' in Latin), which astronomers believe was expelled from the star during a great outburst seen in 1843.

Credit: European Southern Observatory / IDA / Danish 1.5 m/R.Gendler, J-E. Ovaldsen, C. Thöne, and C. Feron

Release Date: December 3, 2009

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Stars #EtaCarinae #HD93129A #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #Telescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Carina Nebula's Hidden Secrets Revealed (infrared) | ESO

The Carina Nebula's Hidden Secrets Revealed (infrared) | ESO

This broad image of the Carina Nebula, a region of massive star formation in the southern skies, was taken in infrared light using the HAWK-I camera on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Many previously hidden features, scattered across a spectacular celestial landscape of gas, dust and young stars, have emerged.

Credit: European Southern Observatory/T. Preibisch

Release Date: February 8, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Infrared #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #Telescope #HAWKI #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Cool Clouds of Carina | APEX Telescope

The Cool Clouds of Carina | APEX Telescope

Observations made with the APEX telescope in submillimeter-wavelength light at a wavelength of 870 µm reveal the cold dusty clouds from which stars form in the Carina Nebula. This site of violent star formation, which plays host to some of the highest-mass stars in our galaxy, is an ideal arena in which to study the interactions between these young stars and their parent molecular clouds.

The APEX observations, made with its LABOCA camera, are shown here in orange tones, combined with a visible light image from the Curtis Schmidt telescope at the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory. The result is a dramatic, wide-field picture that provides a spectacular view of Carina’s star formation sites. The nebula contains stars equivalent to over 25,000 Suns, and the total mass of gas and dust clouds is that of about 140,000 Suns.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/APEX/T. Preibisch et al. (Submillimetre); N. Smith, University of Minnesota /NOAO / AURA / NSF (Optical)

Release Date: November 16, 2011

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Star #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #APEXTelescope #CerroTololoInteramericanObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Wolf–Rayet Star WR 22 in The Carina Nebula | ESO

The Wolf–Rayet Star WR 22 in The Carina Nebula | ESO

This image of part of the Carina Nebula was created from images taken through red, green and blue filters with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is centered on the unusual hot massive young star Wolf–Rayet (WR) 22, a member of the rare class of Wolf–Rayet stars. The field of view is 0.55 x 0.55 degrees, covering a 72 x 72 light-year region at the distance of the nebula.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: July 28, 2010

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #WolfRayet #WR22 #Star #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

A Tour of The Carina Nebula (wide-field) | European Southern Observatory

A Tour of The Carina Nebula (wide-field) | European Southern Observatory

Color-composite image of the Carina Nebula, revealing exquisite details in the stars and dust of the region. Several well known astronomical objects can be seen in this wide field image—to the bottom left of the image is one of the most impressive binary stars in the Universe, Eta Carinae, with the famous Keyhole Nebula just adjacent to the star. The collection of very bright, young stars above and to the right of Eta Carinae is the open star cluster Trumpler 14. A second open star cluster, Collinder 228 is also seen in the image, just below Eta Carinae. The Carina Nebula also bears the NGC 3372 designation. On this image, North is up and East is to the left. The field of view is 0.55 x 0.55 degrees, covering a 72 x 72 light-year region at the distance of the nebula.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: February 12, 2009

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTA #Telescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Carina Nebula | VLT Survey Telescope

The Carina Nebula | VLT Survey Telescope

The spectacular star-forming Carina Nebula has been captured in great detail by the VLT Survey Telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory. This picture was taken with the help of Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile, during his visit to the observatory on June 5, 2012, and released on the occasion of the new telescope’s inauguration in Naples on December 6, 2012.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Acknowledgement: VPHAS+ Consortium / Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

Release Date: December 6, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTA #Telescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Stars and Dust in The Carina Nebula | ESO

Stars and Dust in The Carina Nebula | ESO

ESOcast 175 Light: The VISTA telescope has allowed us to peer through the hot gas and dark dust shrouding the spectacular Carina nebula to show us myriad stars, both newborn and in their death throes.

The ESOcast Light is a series of short videos bringing you the wonders of the Universe in bite-sized pieces.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directed by: Nico Bartmann  

Editing: Nico Bartmann

Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida

Written by: Ivana Kurecic and Calum Turner 

Music: tonelabs 

Footage and photos: ESO, G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com), DSS, N. Risinger (skysurvey.org), M. Kornmesser.  

Executive producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen

Duration: 1 minute, 15 seconds

Release Date: August 29, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTA #Telescope #Europe #STEM #Education #Visualization #3D #HD #Video

3D View of The Carina Nebula | ESO VISTA

3D View of The Carina Nebula | ESO VISTA

The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) has allowed us to peer through the hot gas and dark dust shrouding the spectacular Carina Nebula to show us myriad stars, both newborn and in their death throes. This visualization shows a 3D conversion of images of the Carina Nebula.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO), M. Kornmesser

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: May 5, 2022

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTA #Telescope #Europe #STEM #Education #Visualization #3D #HD #Video

Zoom into The Carina Nebula | Hubble

Zoom into The Carina Nebula | Hubble

The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. The nebula is approximately 8,500 light-years (2,600 pc) from Earth.

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Duration: 23 seconds

Release Date: December 31, 2014

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Heart of The Carina Nebula | SSO Europa Telescope

The Heart of The Carina Nebula | SSO Europa Telescope

This first light image from the Europa telescope at the SPECULOOS Southern Observatory (SSO) shows the heart of the Carina Nebula. The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. The nebula is approximately 8,500 light-years (2,600 pc) from Earth.

The SSO is installed at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in the vast Atacama Desert, Chile, and consists of four 1-meter planet-hunting telescopes. The project’s telescopes are named after Jupiter’s Galilean moons, and are neighbors of ESO's Very Large Telescope and VISTA. SPECULOOS will focus on detecting Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby ultra-cool stars and brown dwarfs.

Credit: SPECULOOS Team/E. Jehin/European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: December 5, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #SPECULOOS #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #EuropaTelescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

The Swan Nebula Star-forming Region | ESO

The Swan Nebula Star-forming Region | ESO

The first released VLT Survey Telescope (VST) image shows the spectacular star-forming region Messier 17, also known as the Swan Nebula, as it has never been seen before. This vast region of gas, dust and hot young stars lies in the heart of the Milky Way in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer). The VST field of view is so large that the entire nebula, including its fainter outer parts, is captured—and retains its superb sharpness across the entire image. The data were processed using the Astro-WISE software system developed by E.A. Valentijn and collaborators at Groningen and elsewhere.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/INAF-VST/OmegaCAM

Acknowledgement: OmegaCen/Astro-WISE/Kapteyn Institute

Release Date: June 8, 2011

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VST #Telescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Swan Nebula's Smoky Core | ESO

The Swan Nebula's Smoky Core | ESO

This image of the Swan Nebula (Messier 17), captured by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT), is one of the sharpest of this object ever taken from the ground. It shows the dusty, rosy central parts of the famous star-forming region in fine detail.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: January 4, 2012

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #Telescope #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Swan Nebula | European Southern Observatory

Three-color composite image of the Swan Nebula (Messier 17, or NGC 6618), based on images obtained with the EMMI instrument on the ESO 3.58-meter New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory. North is down and East is to the right in the image. It spans an angle equal to about one third the diameter of the Full Moon, corresponding to about 15 light-years at the distance of the Omega Nebula. The three filters used are B (blue), V ("visual", or green) and R (red).

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: July 7, 2009

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #NewTechnologyTelescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Swan Nebula (wide view) | Hubble

The Swan Nebula (wide view) | Hubble

Peering into a celestial maternity ward called the Omega Nebula or M17, images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revealed a watercolor fantasy-world of glowing gases, where stars and perhaps embryonic planetary systems are forming.

Distance: 5,500 light years

Credit: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M.Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA

The ACS Science Team: H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff.

Release Date: April 30, 2002

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

The Swan Nebula: Where Stars Are Born | Hubble

The Swan Nebula: Where Stars Are Born | Hubble

A watercolor fantasyland? No. It's actually a photograph of the center of the Swan Nebula, or M17, a hotbed of newly born stars wrapped in colorful blankets of glowing gas and cradled in an enormous cold, dark hydrogen cloud. This stunning picture was taken by the newly installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope.

The region of the nebula shown in this picture is about 3,500 times wider than our Solar System. The area also represents about 60 percent of the total view captured by ACS. The nebula resides 5,500 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.

Like its famous cousin in Orion, the Swan Nebula is illuminated by ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars—each about six times hotter and 30 times more massive than the Sun—located just beyond the upper right corner of the image. The powerful radiation from these stars evaporates and erodes the dense cloud of cold gas within which the stars formed. The blistered walls of the hollow cloud shine primarily in the blue, green, and red light emitted by excited atoms of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. Particularly striking is the rose-like feature, seen to the right of center, which glows in the red light emitted by hydrogen and sulphur.

As the infant stars evaporate the surrounding cloud, they expose dense pockets of gas that may contain developing stars. Because these dense pockets are more resistant to the withering radiation than the surrounding cloud, they appear as sculptures in the walls of the cloud or as isolated islands in a sea of glowing gas. One isolated pocket is seen at the center of the brightest region of the nebula and is about 10 times larger than our Solar System. Other dense pockets of gas have formed the remarkable feature jutting inward from the left edge of the image, which resembles the famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion.

The ACS made this observation on April 1-2, 2002. The color image is constructed from four separate images taken in these filters: blue, near infrared, hydrogen alpha, and doubly ionized oxygen.

Credit: NASA, Holland Ford (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA

Release Date: April 30, 2002

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Orion in Miniature: Messier 43 | Hubble

Orion in Miniature: Messier 43 | Hubble

A massive star is illuminating this small region, called Messier 43 (M43), and sculpting the landscape of dust and gas. Astronomers call the area a miniature Orion Nebula because of its small size and the single star that is shaping it. The Orion Nebula itself is much larger and has four hefty stars that are carving the dust-and-gas terrain. The distance to the Orion Nebula is 1,500 light-years (460 parsecs).

Technical details:

This image is a composite mosaic of many separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's La Silla 2.2 meter telescope using several different filters isolating the light of specific elements or of specific broad wavelength ranges. The color arises by assigning different hues (colors), to each monochromatic image. In this case, the colors are:

Blue: ACS F435W (B) + ESO BB#B/99_ESO842 B

Green: ACS F555W (V) + ESO NB#OIII/8_ESO859 [O III]

Red-orange: ACS F658N (Halpha)

Red: ACS F775W (i) + F850LP (z) + ESO NB#Halpha/7_ESO856 + ESO NB#SIIr/8_ESO857 [S II]

Credits: NASA, European Space Agency, ESO, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

Release Date: January 11, 2006

#NASA #ESA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #Messier43 #DeMairansNebula #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Orion’s Lesser-known Nebula Takes Center Stage: Messier 43 | Hubble

Orion’s Lesser-known Nebula Takes Center Stage: Messier 43 | Hubble

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has taken a close-up view of an outer part of the Orion Nebula’s little brother, Messier 43. This nebula, which is sometimes referred to as De Mairan’s Nebula after its discoverer, is separated from the famous Orion Nebula (Messier 42) by only a dark lane of dust. Both nebulae are part of the massive stellar nursery called the Orion molecular cloud complex, which includes several other nebulae, such as the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) and the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024).

The Orion molecular cloud complex is about 1,400 light-years away, making it one of the closest massive star formation regions to Earth. Hubble has therefore studied this extraordinary region extensively over the past two decades, monitoring how stellar winds sculpt the clouds of gas, studying young stars and their surroundings and discovering many elusive objects, such as brown dwarf stars.

This view shows several of the brilliant hot young stars in this less-studied region and it also reveals many of the curious features around even younger stars that are still cocooned by dust.

This picture was created from images taken using the Wide Field Channel of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Images through yellow (F555W, colored blue) and near-infrared (F814W, colored red) filters were combined. The exposure times were 1000 s per filter and the field of view is about 3.3 arcminutes across.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA

Release Date: February 28, 2011

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #Messier43 #DeMairansNebula #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

The Horsehead Nebula: Visible and Infrared Views | Hubble

The Horsehead Nebula: Visible and Infrared Views | Hubble

This image shows two different views of the Horsehead Nebula. On the right is a view of the nebula in visible light, taken using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. The image on the left shows the nebula in the infrared, using observations from Hubble’s high-resolution Wide Field Camera 3.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI); ESO

Release Date: April 19, 2013

#NASA #ESA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #HorseHeadNebula #Barnard33 #Infrared #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #Infographic #STEM #Education

The Horsehead Nebula (wide view) | Rancho Del Sol Observatory

The Horsehead Nebula (wide view) | Rancho Del Sol Observatory

The Horsehead Nebula and NGC 2023 in Orion (B33). B33-1 is the little yellow patch on the brow on the "head" area. The red knots below the neck area are known as Herbig-Haro objects and are believed to be stars in the early stages of formation.

NGC 2023 is an emission and reflection nebula in the equatorial constellation of Orion. It was discovered by the German-born astronomer William Herschel on January 6, 1785. This reflection nebula is one of the largest in the Earth's night sky.

Credit & Copyright: Ken Crawford 

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #HorseheadNebula #Barnard33 #NGC2023 #HerbigHaroObjects #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #RanchoDelSolObservatory #Telescope #Astrophotographer #Astronomer #KenCrawford #CitizenScience #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Horsehead Nebula | European Southern Observatory

The Horsehead Nebula | European Southern Observatory

A reproduction of a composite color image of the Horsehead Nebula and its immediate surroundings. It is based on three exposures in the visual part of the spectrum with the FORS2 multi-mode instrument at the 8.2-m KUEYEN telescope, part of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT), at Paranal. It was produced from three images, obtained on February 1, 2000, with the FORS2 multi-mode instrument at the 8.2-m KUEYEN Unit Telescope and extracted from the VLT Science Archive Facility. 

The frames were obtained in the B-band (600 sec exposure; wavelength 429 nm; FWHM 88 nm; here rendered as blue), V-band (300 sec; 554 nm; 112 nm; green) and R-band (120 sec; 655 nm; 165 nm; red). The original pixel size is 0.2 arcsec. The photo shows the full field recorded in all three colors, approximately 6.5 x 6.7 arcmin 2 . The seeing was about 0.75 arcsec.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: January 25, 2002

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #HorseheadNebula #Barnard33 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #Telescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

The Horshead Nebula | SSO Callisto Telescope

The Horshead Nebula | SSO Callisto Telescope

This first light image from the Callisto Telescope at the SPECULOOS Southern Observatory (SSO) shows the famous Horsehead Nebula. First light for a newly commissioned telescope is a tremendously exciting time, and usually well-known astronomical objects such as this are captured to celebrate a new telescope's commencing operations.

The Horsehead Nebula is approximately 422 parsecs or 1,375 light-years from Earth.

The SSO is installed at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in the vast Atacama Desert, Chile, and consists of four 1-meter planet-hunting telescopes. The project’s telescopes are named after Jupiter’s Galilean moons, and are neighbors of the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) and VISTA. 

SPECULOOS will focus on detecting Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby ultra-cool stars and brown dwarfs.

Search for habitable Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars (SPECULOOS)

Credit: SPECULOOS Team/E. Jehin/European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: December 5, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #SPECULOOS #Nebula #HorseheadNebula #Barnard33 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #CallistoTelescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

The Horsehead Nebula: Hubble's Universe Unfiltered

The Horsehead Nebula: Hubble's Universe Unfiltered

The Horsehead Nebula is a striking, dark gas cloud just below Orion's belt. It is a favorite of both professional and amateur astronomers. However, as a dark nebula, most of its true structure is hidden from visible light observations. To celebrate the 23rd anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, we revealed the considerable detail of that unseen nebular structure via an infrared portrait. The result is even more striking, and something one does not see very often—a veritable astronomical horse of a different color.

"Hubble's Universe" is a recurring broadcast from HubbleSite, online home of the Hubble Space Telescope. Astrophysicist Frank Summers takes viewers on an in-depth tour of the latest Hubble discoveries.

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Duration: 12 minutes, 47 seconds

Release Date: September 5, 2013

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #HorseHeadNebula #Barnard33 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Horsehead Nebula: Celebrating Hubble's Infrared View

The Horsehead Nebula: Celebrating Hubble's Infrared View

Hubblecast 65: This episode of the Hubblecast celebrates 23 years of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, by unveiling a beautiful and striking image of the Horsehead nebula. 

Our host Dr Joe Liske (aka Dr J) explains the secrets of nebulae, cosmic clouds of gas and dust that have been the subjects of some of Hubble's most striking astronomical images. The Horsehead nebula is one of the most distinctive, and is now shown in a whole new light thanks to a stunning new infrared image—revealing the delicate wisps of gas that are normally hidden by the thick dust that makes up the Horsehead's famous and familiar shape.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble

Visual design and editing: Martin Kornmesser

Web and technical support: Mathias Andre and Raquel Yumi Shida

Written by: Nicola Guttridge

Presented by: Joe Liske (Dr J)

Narration: Sara Mendes da Costa

Images: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI); ESO

Animations: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI); F. Summers, L. Frattare, T. Davis, Z. Levay, T. Borders, and G. Bacon (Viz 3D team, STScI)

Music: Steve Buick

Directed by: Nicola Guttridge

Cinematography: Peter Rixner (www.perix.de)

Executive producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen

Duration: 6 minutes

Release Date: April 19, 2013

#NASA #ESA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #HorseHeadNebula #Barnard33 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #Visualization #3D #HD #Video

The Gaseous Landscape of The Horsehead Nebula (infrared) | Hubble

The Gaseous Landscape of The Horsehead Nebula (infrared) | Hubble

The Horsehead Nebula is a dark cloud of dense gas and dust located just below the belt of Orion on the sky. A visible light view shows a strong silhouette resembling the horse's head used for a knight in chess. Infrared light, however, reveals a more complex scene, as shown in this Hubble image. The warm parts of the clouds glow in infrared light, plus longer infrared wavelengths can penetrate deeper into the clouds. A dark and relatively featureless scene is revealed as a glowing gaseous landscape.

This video presents a scientific visualization of the Horsehead Nebula as seen in infrared light. To fill out the widescreen frame, the central Hubble image has been augmented by ground-based observations from the European Southern Observatory's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). The three-dimensional interpretation has been sculpted to create a wispy and mountainous environment, with stars distributed in an approximate and statistical manner. The computer graphics model is intended to be scientifically reasonable, but not fully accurate. This imaginative traverse provides an inspiring spaceflight experience that brings the celestial scene to life.

Credit: Hubble Space Telescope/NASA/European Space Agency (ESA)/Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)    

Duration: 48 seconds

Release Date: March 26, 2014

#NASA #ESA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #HorseHeadNebula #Barnard33 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #Visualization #3D #HD #Video

Zooming in on The Horsehead Nebula (3D) | Hubble

Zooming in on The Horsehead Nebula (3D) | Hubble

This video zooms into part of the sky in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter), showing infrared Hubble observations of the Horsehead Nebula (otherwise known as Barnard 33). The video ends on a 3D fly-through of the nebula.

The video continues with a scientific visualization of a flight into the infrared Horsehead. The computer graphics model is intended to be scientifically reasonable, but not fully accurate. 

This infrared image was released to celebrate 23 years of the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The data in this video come from Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, supplemented by ground-based observations from the European Southern Observatory's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA).

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, the Hubble Heritage Team: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA); G. Bacon, T. Borders, L. Frattare, Z. Levay, and F. Summers (Viz 3D team, STScI); European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: April 19, 2013

#NASA #ESA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #HorseHeadNebula #Barnard33 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #Visualization #3D #HD #Video

The Horsehead Nebula (infrared) | Hubble

The Horsehead Nebula (infrared) | Hubble

This Hubble image, shows part of the sky in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter). Rising like a giant seahorse from turbulent waves of dust and gas is the Horsehead Nebula, otherwise known as Barnard 33.

This image shows the region in infrared light, which has longer wavelengths than visible light and can pierce through the dusty material that usually obscures the nebula’s inner regions. The result is a rather ethereal and fragile-looking structure, made of delicate folds of gas—very different to the nebula’s appearance in visible light.

This image was captured and released to celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 23rd year in orbit in 2013.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)

Release Date: April 19, 2013

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #HorseHeadNebula #Barnard33 #Infrared #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

NASA's Mars Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers: New July 2022 Images | JPL

NASA's Mars Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers: New July 2022 Images | JPL

MSL - sol 3545 - Mastcam

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3544 - Mastcam

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3544 - Mastcam

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3544 - Mastcam

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3544 - MAHLI

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

Mars2020 - sol 507 - Mastcam-Z

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Kevin M. Gill

Mars2020 - sol 507 - Mastcam-Z

NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Kevin M. Gill

MSL - sol 3545 - Mastcam

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Kevin M. Gill

Curiosity Rover Update for July 28, 2022

Sols 3546-3547: Staring at the Ground (excerpt)

Written by Keri Bean and Kristin Bennett

Today’s plan is chock full of goodies! We start out sol 3546 with a ChemCam observation of a sand ripple “Deposito” and an RMI observation of the Bolivar outcrop in the distance. Then we’ll do some Mastcam observations of Deposito, “Lilas” which is one of our robotic arm targets later in the sol, Bolivar, and “Deepdale.” Once all that wraps up, we’ll get into our robotic arm activities for the sol!

Today I (Keri) was the Arm Rover Planner, which means I was responsible for writing up the commands for the robotic arm activities in this plan. I noticed this lovely rock in our workspace. The top of it looked like a nice large flat spot where we could use our DRT to brush off some dust! The scientists also were thinking the same thing and agreed, so we added it to the plan. The scientists are also interested in the rough face pointing at the rover, so we are also taking some MAHLI images of that rough face “Simoni” followed by brushing away the surface dust on the top of the rock with DRT and taking some MAHLI and Mastcam images of Lilas.

Once the arm activities wrap up, we’ll begin driving! 

During the drive, the science team decided to add in an observation that we don’t often use: a MARDI sidewalk observation. MARDI is a camera that is pointing down at the ground. 

After all that completes, we will take some post-drive imaging with Hazcams, Navcams, and Mastcams which will help the next planning team determine their activities...

Full article: https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission-updates/9235/sols-3546-3547-staring-at-the-ground/

Perseverance Rover Update for July 21, 2022

Laser Marking on Mars

Written by Roger Wiens, Principal Investigator, SuperCam/Co-Investigator, SHERLOC instrument at Purdue University

https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/393/laser-marking-on-mars/

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life. 

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Release Dates: July 24-29, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #Boulders #MountSharp #GaleCrater #Curiosity #Rover #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #JourneyToMars #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

Benefits of International Space Station Research & Development | This Week@NASA

Benefits of International Space Station Research & Development | This Week@NASA

Week of July 29, 2022: The benefits of International Space Station research and development, refining the architecture for the Mars Sample Return mission, and test firing a solid-rocket booster for our mega Moon rocket . . . a few of the stories to tell you about–This Week at NASA!

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Producer: Andre Valentine

Editor: Lacey Young

Music: Universal Production Music

Duration: 4 minutes, 8 seconds

Release Date: July 29, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Mars #MSR #Artemis #Astronauts #FlightEngineers #Science #Technology #Research #Laboratory #Experiments #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition67 #Europe #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Canada #Japan #日本 #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on Spacewalk | International Space Station

ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on Spacewalk | International Space Station

On July 21, 2022, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy completed her first ever spacewalk alongside cosmonaut and Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev of Russia. Not only that, but this spacewalk was also the first conducted by a European woman, and the first conducted by a European in a Russian Orlan spacesuit from the International Space Station.

Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) concluded their spacewalk at 5:55 p.m. EDT on July 21, 2022, after 7 hours and 5 minutes. Artemyev and Cristoforetti completed all but one of their major objectives, which included the deployment of 10 nanosatellites designed to collect radio electronics data during the spacewalk and installing platforms and workstation adapter hardware near the 37-foot-long manipulator system mounted to Nauka. The spacewalkers also relocated the arm’s external control panel and replaced a protective window on the arm’s camera unit. The last planned activity, to extend a Strela telescoping boom from Zarya to Poisk, will be completed on a future spacewalk.

Additional spacewalks are planned to continue outfitting the European robotic arm and to activate Nauka’s airlock for future spacewalks.

The work on the European robotic arm will be used to move spacewalkers and payloads around the Russian segment of the station.

This was the sixth spacewalk in Artemyev’s career, and the first for Cristoforetti. It was the sixth spacewalk at the station in 2022 and the 251st spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Expedition 67 Crew

Commander Oleg Artemyev (Russia)

Roscosmos Flight Engineers: Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov (Russia)

NASA Flight Engineers: Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins (USA)

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer: Samantha Cristoforetti (Italy)

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. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Learn more about the important research being operated on ISS: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/European Space Agency (ESA)/Roscosmos

Capture Date: July 21, 2022

Release Date: July 28, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #ESA #Spacewalk #EVA #Cosmonaut #OlegArtemyev #Astronaut #FlightEngineer #SamanthaCristoforetti #Minerva #MissionMinerva #Italy #Italia #ASI #Science #Technology #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition67 #Europe #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #International #STEM #Education

Growing the Low-Earth Orbit Economy: International Space Station Benefits

Growing the Low-Earth Orbit Economy: International Space Station Benefits

As a platform used by small businesses, entrepreneurs, and researchers to test their science and technology in space, the International Space Station has supported development of new and improved products, spawned new commercial ventures, and provided growth for existing ones. It has expanded the overall space industry, especially in the fields of robotics, small satellites, and in-space manufacturing. Much of this equipment and technology benefits life on Earth as well as the space economy.

 Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/3ATR9Jo

Explore other station benefits: https://www.nasa.gov/stationbenefits

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)/Science@NASA

Duration: 1 minute, 14 seconds

Release Date: July 29, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Astronauts #FlightEngineers #Science #Technology #Research #Laboratory #Experiments #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition67 #Europe #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Canada #Japan #日本 #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

What's Up for August 2022 | Skywatching Tips from NASA

What's Up for August 2022 | Skywatching Tips from NASA

What are some skywatching highlights in August 2022? 

The daily parade of four naked-eye planets in the mornings comes to an end this month. However, there are still lots of great highlights, especially if you have access to binoculars. Plus, Saturn and Jupiter are returning to nighttime skies! The outlook for Perseid meteors is not great due to a full moon on the peak night of August 12, but it is still worth keeping an eye out for early Perseids after midnight the week before. August is also a great month to learn an easy-to-spot constellation—Cygnus the swan.

Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Duration: 4 minutes, 9 seconds

Release Date: July 29, 2022

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Skywatching #Earth #Moon #Planets #Mars #Jupiter #Saturn #Uranus #SolarSystem #Stars #Nebulas #Constellations #MilkyWay #Galaxy #JPL #Pasadena #California #Skywatching #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tonight's Sky: August 2022

Tonight's Sky: August 2022

In August 2022, a flock of star-studded figures soars overhead. Look for the Vega and Lyra constellations, which point to Epsilon Lyrae and the Ring Nebula. You can also spot three bright summer stars: Vega, Deneb, and Altair, which form the Summer Triangle. Keep watching for space-based views of these and other stars and nebulas.

“Tonight’s Sky” is a monthly video of constellations you can observe in the night sky. The series is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA’s Universe of Learning.

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Duration: 4 minutes, 48 seconds

Release Date: July 25, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Hubble #Science #Earth #Stars #RingNebula #Messier57  #DumbellNebula #Messier27 #PlanetaryNebulas #Lyra #Constellations #Galaxy #MilkyWay #Planets #SolarSystem #Skywatching #STScI #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Pillars of Creation (infrared close-up view) | ESO

The Pillars of Creation (infrared close-up view) | ESO

This shows a zoom into the center of an infrared view of the Pillar of Creation's columns and their immediate surroundings in more detail. The pillars themselves are less prominent than on the Hubble visible-light image of this region. This is because near-infrared light penetrates the thinner parts of the gas and dust clouds and only the heads remain opaque. A number of red objects can be seen associated with the pillars. Some of these are just background sources seen through the dust, but some are probably young stars embedded in the pillars. The purple arc near the bottom of the picture is Herbig-Haro object 216, a fast-moving clump of heated gas emanating from a young star.

Technical information: This image shows an enlarged section of the full mosaic covering 6.2 x 7.5 light-years (1.9 x 2.3 pc) centered on the pillars. North is up and East left.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/M.McCaughrean & M.Andersen (AIP)

Release Date: December 20, 2001

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #EagleNebula #PillarsOfCreation #Stars #Infrared #Messier16 #NGC6611 #HerbigHaroObject216 #SerpensCauda #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

The Eagle Nebula | European Southern Observatory

The Eagle Nebula | European Southern Observatory

Three-color composite mosaic image of the Eagle Nebula (Messier 16, or NGC 6611), based on images obtained with the Wide-Field Imager camera on the MPG/European Southern Observatory (ESO) 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory. At the center, the so-called “Pillars of Creation” can be seen. This wide-field image shows not only the central pillars, but also several others in the same star-forming region, as well as a huge number of stars in front of, in, or behind the Eagle Nebula. The cluster of bright stars to the upper right is NGC 6611, home to the massive and hot stars that illuminate the pillars. The “Spire”—another large pillar—is in the middle left of the image.

This image is a composite of 3 filters in the visible range: B (blue), V (green) and R (red).

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: July 16, 2009

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #EagleNebula #PillarsOfCreation #Spire #Stars #Messier16 #NGC6611 #SerpensCauda #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education