Globular Cluster NGC 6397 in Ara | Euclid Space Telescope

Globular Cluster NGC 6397 in Ara | Euclid Space Telescope

The European Space Agency's new Euclid space telescope captured this sparkly image of a globular cluster called NGC 6397. Globular clusters are collections of hundreds of thousands of stars held together by gravity.

Located about 7,800 light-years from Earth, NGC 6397 is the second-closest globular cluster to us. Together with other globular clusters it orbits in the disc of the Milky Way, where the majority of stars are located.

Globular clusters are among the oldest objects in the Universe. This is why they contain many clues about the history and evolution of their host galaxies, like this one for the Milky Way.

The challenge is that it is typically difficult to observe an entire globular cluster in just one sitting. Their centers contain large volumes of stars, so many that the brightest ‘drown out’ the fainter ones. Their outer regions extend a long way out and contain mostly low-mass, faint stars. It is the faint stars that can tell us about previous interactions with the Milky Way.

Image Description: This square astronomical image is speckled with hundreds of thousands of stars visible across the black expanse of space. The stars vary in size and color, from blue to white to yellow/red. Blue stars are younger and red stars are older. More stars are located at the center of the image, where they are bound together by gravity into a spheroid conglomeration—also called a globular cluster. Several stars are a bit larger than the rest, with six diffraction spikes.

Image Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA 

Image Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi

Release Date: Nov. 7, 2024

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #GlobularStarClusters #NGC6397 #Ara #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #Infrared #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education

Panning across Irregular Galaxy NGC 6822 in Sagittarius | Euclid Space Telescope

Panning across Irregular Galaxy NGC 6822 in Sagittarius | Euclid Space Telescope

To create a 3D map of the Universe,  the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope will observe the light from galaxies out to 10 billion light-years. Most galaxies in the early Universe do not look like the quintessential neat spiral, but are irregular and small. They are the building blocks for bigger galaxies like our own, and we can still find some of these galaxies relatively close to us. This first irregular dwarf galaxy that Euclid observed is called NGC 6822 and is located close by, just 1.6 million light-years from Earth. 

Also known as Barnard’s Galaxy, NGC 6822 is one of the Milky Way’s galactic neighbors. This dwarf galaxy has no shortage of stellar splendor and pyrotechnics. Reddish nebulae in this image reveal regions of active star formation, wherein young, hot stars heat up nearby gas clouds. Also prominent in this image are striking bubble-shaped nebulae. At each nebula’s center, a clutch of massive, scorching stars send waves of matter smashing into surrounding interstellar material, generating a glowing structure that appears ring-like from our perspective. Other similar ripples of heated matter thrown out by feisty young stars are dotted across Barnard’s Galaxy.

Image Description: This square astronomical image is speckled with numerous stars visible across the black expanse of space. Most stars are visible only as pinpoints. More stars are crowding the center of the image, visible as an irregular round shape. This is an irregular galaxy. The center of the galaxy appears whiter and the edges yellower. Several pink bubbles are visible spread throughout the galaxy, these are star forming regions. The stars across the entire image range in color from blue to white to yellow/red, across a black background of space. Blue stars are younger and red stars are older. A few of the stars are a bit larger than the rest, with six diffraction spikes.

Video Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA 

Image Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Duration: 42 seconds

Release Date: Nov. 7, 2023

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC6822 #IrregularGalaxy #LowMetallicity #InterstellarDust #Sagittarius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Nearby Irregular Galaxy NGC 6822 in Sagittarius | Euclid Space Telescope

Nearby Irregular Galaxy NGC 6822 in Sagittarius | Euclid Space Telescope

To create a 3D map of the Universe,  the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope will observe the light from galaxies out to 10 billion light-years. Most galaxies in the early Universe do not look like the quintessential neat spiral, but are irregular and small. They are the building blocks for bigger galaxies like our own, and we can still find some of these galaxies relatively close to us. This first irregular dwarf galaxy that Euclid observed is called NGC 6822 and is located close by, just 1.6 million light-years from Earth. 

Also known as Barnard’s Galaxy, NGC 6822 is one of the Milky Way’s galactic neighbors. This dwarf galaxy has no shortage of stellar splendor and pyrotechnics. Reddish nebulae in this image reveal regions of active star formation, wherein young, hot stars heat up nearby gas clouds. Also prominent in this image are striking bubble-shaped nebulae. At each nebula’s center, a clutch of massive, scorching stars send waves of matter smashing into surrounding interstellar material, generating a glowing structure that appears ring-like from our perspective. Other similar ripples of heated matter thrown out by feisty young stars are dotted across Barnard’s Galaxy.

Image Description: This square astronomical image is speckled with numerous stars visible across the black expanse of space. Most stars are visible only as pinpoints. More stars are crowding the center of the image, visible as an irregular round shape. This is an irregular galaxy. The center of the galaxy appears whiter and the edges yellower. Several pink bubbles are visible spread throughout the galaxy, these are star forming regions. The stars across the entire image range in color from blue to white to yellow/red, across a black background of space. Blue stars are younger and red stars are older. A few of the stars are a bit larger than the rest, with six diffraction spikes.

Image Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA 

Image Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Release Date: Nov. 7, 2023

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC6822 #IrregularGalaxy #LowMetallicity #InterstellarDust #Sagittarius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education

The Horsehead Nebula: Close-up View | Euclid Space Telescope

The Horsehead Nebula: Close-up View | Euclid Space Telescope

This is a view of the Horsehead Nebula by the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope using its Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) cameras.

Euclid shows us a spectacularly panoramic and detailed view of the Horsehead Nebula, also known as Barnard 33 and part of the constellation Orion.

At approximately 1,375 light-years away, the Horsehead—visible as a dark cloud shaped like a horse’s head—is the closest giant star-forming region to Earth. It sits just to the south of star Alnitak, the easternmost of Orion’s famous three-star belt, and is part of the vast Orion molecular cloud.

Many other telescopes have taken images of the Horsehead Nebula, but none of them are able to create such a sharp and wide view as Euclid can with just one observation. Euclid captured this image of the Horsehead in about one hour, which showcases the mission's ability to very quickly image an unprecedented area of the sky in high detail.

In Euclid’s new observation of this stellar nursery, scientists hope to find many dim and previously unseen Jupiter-mass planets in their celestial infancy, as well as young brown dwarfs and baby stars.

“We are particularly interested in this region, because star formation is taking place in very special conditions,” explains Eduardo Martin Guerrero de Escalante of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in Tenerife and a legacy scientist for Euclid.

These special conditions are caused by radiation coming from the very bright star Sigma Orionis, which is located above the Horsehead, just outside Euclid’s field-of-view (the star is so bright that the telescope would see nothing else if it pointed directly towards it).

Ultraviolet radiation from Sigma Orionis causes the clouds behind the Horsehead to glow, while the thick clouds of the Horsehead itself block light from directly behind it; this makes the head look dark. The nebula itself is made up largely of cold molecular hydrogen. It gives off very little heat and no light. Astronomers study the differences in the conditions for star formation between the dark and bright clouds.

The star Sigma Orionis itself belongs to a group of more than a hundred stars, called an open cluster. However, astronomers do not have the full picture of all the stars belonging to the cluster. “Gaia has revealed many new members, but we already see new candidate stars, brown dwarfs and planetary-mass objects in this Euclid image, so we hope that Euclid will give us a more complete picture,” adds Eduardo.

Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

Release Date: Nov. 7, 2023

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #HorseheadNebula #Barnard33 #Star #SigmaOrionis #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education

Galaxy Cluster Abell 2764: Close-up View | Euclid Space Telescope

Galaxy Cluster Abell 2764: Close-up View | Euclid Space Telescope

The European Space Agency's new Euclid space telescope captured this high resolution, close-up cutout from a larger frame featuring the galaxy cluster Abell 2764. All the galaxies seen here show signs of interacting with their outer regions and halos of stars appearing quite disrupted. This indicates that some intense dynamic changes are taking place within Abell 2764. Abell 2764 lies around a billion light-years away in the direction of the Phoenix constellation.

Image Description: The image shows tens of galaxies against a background dotted with stars. The galaxies have different shapes. A number are very round and look like haloes of light around bright centers. Other galaxies look smaller or like elongated structures. There are also a couple of spiral galaxies and a handful of stars with diffraction spikes.

Credits: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA 

Image Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi

Release Date: May 23, 2024

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #Abell276 #Phoenix #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #Infrared #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education

Galaxy Cluster Abell 2390: Over 50,000 Galaxies | Euclid Space Telescope

Galaxy Cluster Abell 2390: Over 50,000 Galaxies | Euclid Space Telescope

The European Space Agency's new Euclid space telescope captured this image of Abell 2390—a galaxy cluster, a giant conglomeration of many galaxies like the Milky Way. More than 50,000 galaxies are seen here. The distances can be measured thanks to these new observations. Such clusters contain huge amounts of mass (up to 10 trillion times that of the Sun), with much of this being in the form of dark matter—a form of matter that we cannot observe directly, but is purported to together with dark energy make up the bulk of the contents of the Universe. Abell 2390 lies 2.7 billion light-years away in the constellation of Pegasus.

Galaxy clusters like Abell 2390 are large repositories of dark matter, making them ideal astrophysical laboratories for studying its properties. Once Euclid begins its main survey it will capture many thousands of galaxy clusters over around one-third of the sky, obtaining information we can use to make unprecedented constraints on the dark Universe. 

Euclid’s new view of the cluster showcases one of the telescope’s key techniques for exploring this dark Universe: indirectly measuring the amount and distribution of dark matter in a galaxy cluster via gravitational lensing, a phenomenon where the light traveling to us from more distant galaxies is bent and distorted by this mysterious matter. Thanks to Euclid’s advanced instruments we can see an especially beautiful display of lensing in Abell 2390, with multiple giant curved arcs, some of which are actually multiple views of the same distant object.

Alongside understanding more about dark matter, scientists are using Euclid data to measure how the masses and number of galaxy clusters on the sky change over cosmic time, revealing more about the evolution of the Universe (and by extension more about dark energy, which is thought to influence this evolution). Euclid’s cutout view of Abell 2390 also shows the faint ‘intracluster light’ emitted by stars that have been ripped away from their parent galaxies into intergalactic space (the light has been enhanced in the cutout image to make it more clearly visible). Viewing this light is a specialty of Euclid, and these stellar orphans may allow us to ‘see’ where dark matter lies.

Euclid captures light ranging from the visible to the near-infrared using its VIS (visible) and NISP (near-infrared) cameras. These can operate simultaneously, imaging wide areas of the sky to create images hundreds of times larger than comparable ones from other space telescopes. This wide field-of-view lets us take pictures of extended objects like Abell 2390 in a single shot, rather than having to take many pictures and stitch them together.

Observing a galaxy cluster in both visible and infrared light allows us to see galaxies at a greater range of distances than using either visible or infrared alone—crucial if we want to observe both the galaxies in a relatively nearby cluster and the galaxies lying behind it (far further from us). Euclid can take these types of deep, wide, high-resolution images hundreds of times faster than other telescopes.

Image Description: Thousands of stars and galaxies dot the image against a pitch-black background.  Bright stars show six diffraction spikes coming from a central light-halo. Other stars and galaxies are just tiny bright dots, like specks of paint distributed over the image. The brightest star sits in the upper left corner. In the center of the image, the tiny bright dots are more abundant.

Credits: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA 

Image Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi

Release Date: May 23, 2024

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #GalaxyCluster #Abell2390 #GravitationalLenses #Pegasus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #Infrared #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education

Rocket Lab Launch of NASA Earth Science PREFIRE Mission in New Zealand

Rocket Lab Launch of NASA Earth Science PREFIRE Mission in New Zealand

Rocket Lab successfully launched the first of two NASA Earth science cubesats via an Electron rocket on May 25, 2024. The Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 3:41 a.m. eastern time. It placed a 6U cubesat into a 525-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit. This is part of a NASA mission called Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment or PREFIRE.

NASA’s PREFIRE mission aims to improve global climate change predictions by expanding our understanding of heat loss at the polar regions. The Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) will send two shoebox-size satellites into space to study the Arctic and Antarctic. They will be the first to systematically measure heat in the form of far-infrared radiation emitted from those regions.

Earth absorbs much of the Sun’s energy at the tropics. Weather and ocean currents then move that heat toward the poles. This helps to regulate Earth’s climate by radiating that heat back into space. However, the Arctic is warming about three times faster than anywhere else on Earth. This is leading to increased ice sheet melt and sea level rise in coastal communities. The data from PREFIRE will help scientists better understand how Earth’s polar regions respond to climate change and what that might mean for the future.

For more information:

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

Image Credit: Rocket Lab

Image Dates: May 25, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Satellites #Earth #Planet #EarthScience #PolarRegions #Arctic #Antarctic #Meltwater #PREFIREMission #Infrared #Atmosphere #Oceans #Land #Climate #ClimateChange #GreenhouseGases #GlobalHeating #EarthObservatory #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #RocketLab #ElectronRocket #RocketLaunch #NewZealand #STEM #Education

NASA’s Europa Clipper Spacecraft Arrives at Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s Europa Clipper Spacecraft Arrives at Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, arrives at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, May 23, 2024. 

Technicians offload NASA’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, from a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 23.

A United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft carrying NASA’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, arrives at the Launch and Landing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, May 23, 2024. 

NASA’s Europa Clipper, a spacecraft designed to investigate Jupiter’s icy moon Europa and its potential to support life, arrived in Florida on Thursday, May 23, 2024. The spacecraft, assembled at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, landed aboard a United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

The mission aims to gather detailed measurements of the moon’s surface, interior, and space environment by performing approximately 50 close flybys, some as low as 16 miles (25 kilometers) from the surface of Europa. This moon holds a global ocean underneath its ice shell.

“My job for Europa Clipper is to ensure the team meets all the ground and flight requirements to place the spacecraft in the proper orbit to initiate the long journey to Jupiter,” said Armando Piloto, Europa Clipper mission manager for NASA’s Launch Services Program. “The team is excited that the spacecraft is in Florida for processing. We’re pairing Europa Clipper with a fully expendable SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to ensure it provides the required performance to explore a destination very far away from Earth.”

Teams at Kennedy spent several hours offloading Europa Clipper before transferring it to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, where they will process the spacecraft and perform final checkouts as part of prelaunch preparations.

Europa Clipper joins the spacecraft’s two five-panel solar arrays that arrived at Kennedy in March. The arrays, each 46.5 feet (14.2 meters) long, will collect enough sunlight to power the spacecraft on its way to Jupiter’s moon. Technicians will install the arrays on the spacecraft before launch.

The spacecraft was designed to withstand the pummeling of radiation from Jupiter and gather the measurements needed to investigate Europa’s surface, interior, and space environment.

Europa Clipper has nine dedicated science instruments, including cameras, spectrometers, a magnetometer, and an ice-penetrating radar. These instruments will study Europa’s icy shell, the ocean beneath, and the composition of the gases in the moon’s atmosphere and surface geology, and provide insights into the moon’s potential habitability. The spacecraft also will carry a thermal instrument to pinpoint locations of warmer ice and any possible eruptions of water vapor. Strong evidence shows the ocean beneath Europa’s crust is twice the volume of all the Earth’s oceans combined.

The Europa Clipper mission demonstrates NASA’s commitment to exploring our solar system and searching for habitability beyond Earth. The data will contribute to our understanding of the Jovian system and will help pave the way for potential future missions to study Europa and other potentially habitable worlds.

Europa Clipper is expected to reach the Jupiter system in April 2030, and it will accomplish a few milestones along the way, including a Mars flyby in February 2025 that will help propel the spacecraft toward Jupiter’s moon through a Mars-Earth gravity assist trajectory.

“After two years of painstaking work on the spacecraft here at JPL, with the help of our partners, it was bittersweet to see the spacecraft encased in its shipping container and on its way to Florida,” said Jordan Evans, Europa Clipper project manager at JPL. “But we already have Europa Clipper engineers and technicians at Kennedy who are welcoming this precious cargo and are set to accomplish the final assembly and testing so that we’re ready for launch.”

NASA and SpaceX are targeting launch aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy later this year. The launch period opens on Oct. 10. After testing and final preparations are complete, the spacecraft will be encapsulated in a protective payload fairing and moved to the SpaceX hangar at the launch complex.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The main spacecraft body was designed by APL in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.

For more information on the mission, visit: https://europa.nasa.gov/

Image Credit: NASA/Isaac Watson

Image Date: May 23, 2024

Release Date: May 24, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #Ocean #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #Radiation #EuropaClipper #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #APL #MSFC #GSFC #JPL #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

China Long March 2D Rocket Successfully Completes Grid Fin Controlled Re-entry

China Long March 2D Rocket Successfully Completes Grid Fin Controlled Re-entry

A new grid fin landing zone control system carried by China's Long March 2D (two-stage orbital) rocket for satellite launches has successfully completed a series of actions, such as unlocking, unfolding, and controlling commands during the re-entry and return phase of the rocket's first stage, once again achieving precise landing zone control to ensure environmental safety. The grid fin used this time is a whole fin with a backward bending and rear-swept type. This significantly reduces drag and further improves the attitude control ability of the grid fin. The Long March 2D is a two-stage version of the Long March 4 launch vehicle.

Video Credit: China National Space Administration (CNSA)

Duration 30 seconds

Release Date: May 24, 2024

#NASA #Space #China #中国 #LongMarch2DRocket #长征二号丁火箭 #ReusableRocket #VTVL #SpaceTechnology #Spaceflight #JiuquanSatelliteLaunchCenter #JSLC #GansuProvince #CommercialSpace #Satellites #TiangongSpaceStation #ChinaSpaceStation  #CSS #SAST #Shanghai #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Getting Ready to Image Faraway Planets | This Week @NASA

Getting Ready to Image Faraway Planets | This Week @NASA

Getting ready to image faraway planets, discussing artificial intelligence at NASA, and a milestone for our supersonic X-plane . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

For more information about the Roman Coronagraph Instrument, visit: 

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

Learn about Dr. Nancy Grace Roman

https://science.nasa.gov/people/nancy-roman/

Learn more about NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope:

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/the-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Video Producer & Editor: Andre Valentine

Narrator: Emanuel Cooper

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: May 24, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #RomanSpaceTelescope #Coronagraph #Exoplanets #Planets #SolarSystem #NancyGraceRoman #Astronomer #MilkyWayGalaxy #Stars #Universe #SpaceTelescope #ESA #GSFC #STScI #ArtificialIntelligence #X59 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Sierra Space Dream Chaser Spaceplane Arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Sierra Space Dream Chaser Spaceplane Arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Dream Chaser has arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its first flight to the International Space Station.

The Dream Chaser, spaceplane, named Tenacity, arrived at Kennedy on May 18, 2024, and joined its companion Shooting Star cargo module, where they will undergo final testing and prelaunch processing ahead of launch scheduled for later this year.

Upon arrival at NASA Kennedy, teams moved Tenacity to the high bay inside the Space Systems Processing Facility (SSPF).

The remaining pre-flight activities at Kennedy include acoustic and electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing, completion of work on the spaceplane’s thermal protection system, and final payload integration.

“The last several years have required an enormous amount of tenacity by our team and no other name would have been more appropriate for our first Dream Chaser spaceplane.” 

—Sierra Space CEO Tom Vice

Learn more about the Dream Chaser spaceplane:

https://www.sierraspace.com/dream-chaser-spaceplane/

Sierra Space: https://www.sierraspace.com

Video Credit: Sierra Space

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: May 24, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #CommercialCargo #CRS #SierraSpace #DreamChaser #DC100 #ReusableSpacecraft #DreamChaserSpacecraft #Tenacity #VulcanCentaurRocket #ULA #Spaceflight #Science #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #CommercialSpace #NASAKennedy #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New Planet Mars Images: May 2024 | NASA Mars Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

New Planet Mars Images: May 2024 | NASA Mars Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

MSL - sol 4191

Mars 2020 - sol 1155

Mars 2020 - sol 1155

Mars 2020 - sol 1149 - Sunspots detected from Martian surface

MSL - sol 4187

Mars 2020 - Sol 1152

MSL - sol 4191

MSL - sol 4184

Support FriendsofNASA.org

Celebrating 11+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)

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

Celebrating 3+ Years on 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 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 Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: May 14-23, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

Five New Images from Europe's Euclid Space Telescope

Five New Images from Europe's Euclid Space Telescope

The European Space Agency’s Euclid space mission has released five unprecedented new views of the Universe. These never-before-seen images demonstrate Euclid’s ability to unravel secrets of the cosmos.

"Scientists are now equipped to hunt for rogue planets, to study mysterious matter through lensed galaxies, and explore the evolution of the Universe. Join us as we explore these groundbreaking discoveries and what they mean for the future of space exploration."

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 6 minutes

Release Date: May 24, 2024

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Galaxy #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Canada's Dextre Robot & Waxing Gibbous Moon | International Space Station

Canada's Dextre Robot & Waxing Gibbous Moon | International Space Station

Dextre infographic: A closer look at the Canadian versatile robot

Canadarm2's Latching End Effector (LEE) illustration

The International Space Station's Dextre, the fine-tuned robotic hand, attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm dominates the frame with the waxing gibbous Moon (at top) in the background and the Indian Ocean 259 miles below. The International Space Station's Dextre, the fine-tuned robotic hand, attached to the Canadarm2 robotic arm dominates the frame with the waxing gibbous Moon (at top) in the background and the Indian Ocean 259 miles below.

The 17-meter-long (55+ feet) Canadarm2 robotic arm, with the 3.7m (12 feet) high Dextre fine-tuned robotic hand attached. Canadarm2 and Dextre are part of Canada's contribution to the International Space Station (ISS). Canadarm2 was extensively involved in the assembly of the orbiting laboratory.

Dextre tackles the tough or routine jobs that need to be done in the harsh environment of space. The Station's robotic assistant allows astronauts to spend more time doing scientific experiments instead of performing risky spacewalks. 

Dextre's body was designed to move in many different ways. Each of its arms has seven joints that can move up and down, go from side to side, and rotate. This large range of motion means Dextre can actually carry out more complex movements than a human arm. Each hand has a retractable motorized wrench, a camera and lights for close-up viewing, and a retractable connector to provide power, data and video connection. The robot can carefully grip delicate equipment without causing damage. For example, it can successfully manipulate small safety caps, cables and wires with minute precision—all while being controlled from Earth, hundreds of kilometers away. Dextre can can ride on the end of Canadarm2 to move from each worksite or be ferried on the Mobile Base System to work almost anywhere on the ISS. 

The robot is operated by ground control teams at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) headquarters outside Montreal, Quebec, and at NASA.

Discover more about Canadian space robotics:

https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/iss/robotics/default.asp

The International Space Station (ISS) Program’s greatest accomplishment is as much a human achievement as it is a technological one—how best to plan, coordinate, and monitor the varied activities of the Program’s many organizations.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the 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.

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: May 19, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceTechnology #Moon #WaxingGibbous #Earth #Canada #CSA #Canadarm2 #Dextre #Robotics #Robots #Expedition70 #Earth #IndianOcean #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #JSC #UnitedStates #Infographic #STEM #Education

Aurora over Slovakia

Aurora over Slovakia

Slovakia is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and Czechia to the northwest.

On Earth, auroras are mainly created by particles originally emitted by the Sun in the form of solar wind. When this stream of electrically charged particles gets close to our planet, it interacts with the magnetic field, which acts as a gigantic shield. While it protects Earth’s environment from solar wind particles, it can also trap a small fraction of them. Particles trapped within the magnetosphere—the region of space surrounding Earth in which charged particles are affected by its magnetic field—can be energized and then follow the magnetic field lines down to the magnetic poles. There, they interact with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the upper layers of the atmosphere, creating the flickering, colorful lights visible in the polar regions here on Earth.

Earth auroras have different names depending on the pole they occur at. Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, is the name given to auroras around the north pole and Aurora Australis, or the southern lights, is the name given for auroras around the south pole.

The Colors of the Aurora (U.S. National Park Service)

https://www.nps.gov/articles/-articles-aps-v8-i1-c9.htm

Image Credit: Ondrej Králik

Image Date: May 10, 2024

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Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744: Wide-field View | Euclid Space Telescope

Spiral Galaxy NGC 6744: Wide-field View | Euclid Space Telescope

Here, the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope captures NGC 6744, one of the largest spiral galaxies beyond our local patch of space. It is a typical example of the type of galaxy currently forming most of the stars in the nearby Universe, making it a wonderful archetype to study with Euclid.

Euclid’s large field-of-view covers the entire galaxy, revealing not only spiral structures on larger scales but also capturing exquisite detail on small spatial scales, and at a combination of wavelengths. This detail includes feather-like lanes of dust emerging as ‘spurs’ from the spiral arms.

Euclid’s observations will allow scientists to count individual stars within NGC 6744 and to also trace the wider distribution of stars and dust in the galaxy, as well as mapping the dust associated with the gas that fuels new star formation. Forming stars is the main way galaxies grow and evolve, so these investigations are central to understanding galactic evolution—and why our Universe looks the way it does today.

Euclid scientists are using this dataset to understand how dust and gas are linked to star formation; map how different stellar populations are distributed throughout galaxies and where stars are currently forming; and unravel the physics behind the structure of spiral galaxies, something that is still not fully understood after decades of study. Spiral structure is important in galaxies, as spiral arms move and compress gas to foster star formation (most occurs along these arms). However, the exact role of spirals in coordinating ongoing star formation remains unclear. As the aforementioned ‘spurs’ along NGC 6744’s arms are only able to form in a strong enough spiral, these features therefore provide important clues as to why galaxies look and behave as they do.

The dataset will also allow scientists to identify clusters of old stars (globular clusters) and hunt for new dwarf galaxies around NGC 6744. In fact, Euclid has already found a new dwarf ‘satellite galaxy’ of NGC 6744—a surprise given that this galaxy has been intensively studied in the past.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy against a dark background speckled with bright dots. The clockwise spiral has many arms, not fully distinguishable from one another, extending out from a bright central spot. There is a thin cloudy structure right above the galaxy, in the outskirts of its furthest reaching arm. In the bottom left of the image, two bright dots are surrounded by a halo of light.

Credits: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA 

Image Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi

Release Date: May 23, 2024

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