Mapping the nearby Universe | Hubble

Galaxy ESO 376-16

The distances to objects in the Universe can differ enormously. The nearest star to us—Proxima Centauri—lies some 4.2 light-years from us, while some incredibly distant galaxies are so far away—13 billion light-years or more—that they are only visible to us as a result of cosmic tricks of magnification.

The subject of this image, a galaxy called ESO 376-16, sits nearly 23 million light-years from Earth—not that great a distance on a cosmic scale. However, given the galaxy’s relative proximity to us, we know surprisingly little about it. Astronomers are still debating about many of the properties of ESO 376-16, including its morphology. Galaxies are divided into types based on their visual appearance and characteristics; spiral galaxies, like the Milky Way, are flattened discs with curved arms sweeping out from a central nucleus, while irregular galaxies lack a distinct structure and look far more chaotic. On the basis of its rather ill-defined morphology, ESO 376-16 is thought to be either a late-type spiral or a dwarf irregular galaxy.

Despite its mystique, observations of ESO 376-16 have been useful in several studies, including one made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope that aimed to create a 3D map of galaxies lying in the vicinity of Earth. Researchers used Hubble to gauge the distance to galaxies including ESO 376-16 by measuring the luminosities of especially bright red-giant-branch stars sitting within the galaxies. They then used their data to generate and calibrate 3D maps of the distribution of galaxies throughout the nearby cosmos.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Release Date: September 25, 2017

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #ESO37616 #Antlia #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

Stunning aurora | International Space Station

On September 15, 2017, 711 photos were taken by ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli of Italy to create this timelapse of a stunning aurora.

Follow the VITA mission: http://blogs.esa.int/VITAmission/
Connect with Paolo via http://paolonespoli.esa.int

Credit: ESA/NASA
Duration: 32 seconds
Release Date: September 21, 2017

#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science #Aurora #EarthObservation #Astronaut#PaoloNespoli #ASI #ESA #Europe #Italy #Italia #Human #Spaceflight#Expedition53 #VITAMission #UnitedStates #JSC #OverviewEffect#OrbitalPerspective #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Saturn: Shadow Art | NASA Cassini Mission

Assembled using RGB filtered images of Saturn taken on November 7, 2004.

The Cassini mission was a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and https://www.nasa.gov/cassini. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at https://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Kevin M. Gill
Image Date: November 7, 2004
Release Date: September 22, 2017

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Saturn #Planet #Rings #SolarSystem #Exploration #Cassini #Spacecraft #GrandFinale #JPL #Caltech #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #ESA #ASI #STEM #Education

Hurricane Maria | International Space Station

Captured by ESA Astronaut Paolo Nespoli of Italy

Credit: ESA/NASA
Release Date: September 21, 2017

#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science #Hurricane #Maria #Storm #Weather #Atlantic #Ocean #EarthObservation #Astronaut #PaoloNespoli #ASI #ESA #Europe #Italy #Italia #Human #Spaceflight #Expedition53 #VITAMission #UnitedStates #JSC #OverviewEffect #OrbitalPerspective #STEM #Education

NASA ScienceCasts: Riding the Slingshot to Asteroid Bennu

Gravity’s pull is being used to help propel a small spacecraft known as OSIRIS-REx to a near-Earth asteroid called Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx Mission: http://www.asteroidmission.org/

Credit: NASA
Duration: 3 minutes, 21 seconds
Release Date: September 21, 2017

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #OSIRISREx #Asteroid #Bennu #ToBennuAndBack #Organics #Minerals #Mapping #SampleReturn #Technology #Spacecraft #Goddard #GSFC #CSA #JAXA #Japan #日本 #USA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA X-plane Preliminary Design Model Tests Quiet Supersonic Technology

Image: Engineer stands with X-plane design model in wind tunnel
Samantha O’Flaherty, Test Engineer for Jacobs Technology Inc., finalizes the set-up of the Quiet Supersonic Technology (QueSST) Preliminary Design Model inside the 14- by- 22 Foot Subsonic Tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center. Over the next several weeks, engineers will conduct aerodynamic tests on the 15% scale model and the data collected from the wind tunnel test will be used to predict how the vehicle will perform and fly in low-speed flight.

The QueSST Preliminary Design is the initial design stage of NASA’s planned Low-Boom Flight Demonstration experimental airplane, otherwise known as an X-plane. This future X-plane is one of a series of X-planes envisioned in NASA’s New Aviation Horizons initiative, which aims to reduce fuel use, emissions and noise through innovations in aircraft design that depart from the conventional tube-and-wing aircraft shape.

For more information about QueSST and LBFD, visit:
https://go.nasa.gov/2tdiNif

For more information about NASA’s aeronautics work, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics

Image Credit: NASA/Chris Giersch
Release Date: September 21, 2017

#NASA #Aviation #Aerospace #Aeronautics #Supersonic #XPlane #Aircraft #Technology #Engineering #SonicBoom #Commercial #QueSST #Xplanes #Xvehicles #Experimental #Ames #Langley #Armstrong #JacobsTechnology #Research #STEM #Education

Hurricane Maria Makes Landfall in Puerto Rico | NOAA

This GOES-16 geocolor image was captured as Category 4 Hurricane Maria made landfall near Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, around 6:15 a.m. EDT on September 20, 2017.

Maria knocked out radar on the island just before Maria made landfall. With this critical technology disabled and a major hurricane approaching, forecasters were able to utilize data from NOAA’s latest geostationary satellite, GOES-16, to track the storm in real-time.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Credit: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA)
Release Date: September 21, 2017
#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Science #Space #Satellite #Hurricane #Maria #PuertoRico #Yabucoa #Caribbean #Atlantic #Ocean #Storm #Weather #Meteorology #GOES #GOES16 #Geocolor #CIRA #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #UnitedStates #Education

Hurricane Maria | NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP Satellite

Thermal image of Maria
Sept. 20, 2017: NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite VIIRS instrument captured this thermal image on Sept. 20, 2017, at 2:12 a.m. EDT (0612 UTC). At the time, Maria’s eye was just east of the American Virgin Islands, and its northwestern quadrant stretched over Puerto Rico.

NASA looked into Hurricane Maria and found that powerful convective storms within the hurricane were dropping heavy rainfall. Maria brought that heavy rainfall to Puerto Rico and made landfall on Sept. 20 at 6:15 a.m. EDT. NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite VIIRS instrument captured a thermal image on Sept. 20 at 2:12 a.m. EDT (0612 UTC). The image showed very cold cloud top temperatures in the powerful thunderstorms in Maria’s eyewall. At the time, Maria’s eye was just east of the American Virgin Islands, and its northwestern quadrant stretched over Puerto Rico.

Credit: NASA Goddard Rapid Response Team
Release Date: September 20, 2017

#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Science #Space #Satellite #Hurricane #Maria #PuertoRico #Caribbean #Atlantic #Ocean #Storm #Weather #Meteorology #SuomiNPP #VIIRS #Thermal #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #UnitedStates #Education

Northern Lights over Canada | International Space Station

The spectacular aurora borealis, or the “northern lights,” over Canada is sighted from the International Space Station near the highest point of its orbital path. The station’s main solar arrays are seen in the left foreground. This photograph was taken by a member of the Expedition 53 crew aboard the station on Sept. 15, 2017.

Image Credit: NASA
Image Date: September 15, 2017
Release Date: September 19, 2017

#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science #Planet #Aurora #Borealis #NorthernLights #EarthObservation #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #Human #Spaceflight #Expedition53 #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #OverviewEffect #OrbitalPerspective #STEM #Education

Hurricane Maria | International Space Station

Sept. 19, 2017: External cameras on the International Space Station captured dramatic views of Hurricane Maria as it churned through the Caribbean Sept. 19 as a potentially catastrophic category 5 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 165 MPH. Maria is forecast to pass near or over the U. S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico tonight and Wednesday.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Duration: 55 seconds
Release Date: September 19, 2017

#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science #Planet #Hurricane #Maria #Dominica #VirginIslands #PuertoRico #Caribbean #Sea #Atlantic #Ocean #Weather #Storm #EarthObservation #Astronaut #RandyBresnik #Human #Spaceflight #Expedition53 #JSC #OverviewEffect #OrbitalPerspective #STEM #Education

NTT and beyond

Rising up to block part of the star-studded sky, the New Technology Telescope (NTT) cuts a striking and dramatic figure in this European Southern Observatory (ESO) Picture of the Week.

Located at ESO's La Silla Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert, the NTT was inaugurated in 1989. It was the first ever telescope to have a computer-controlled main mirror. This 3.58-meter mirror is very flexible and its shape can be continuously changed, allowing astronomers to counteract deformations due to external influences such as wind, temperature and mechanical stress mid-observation in order to see the objects as clearly as possible.

Complementing the NTT’s groundbreaking technology is the innovative design of its housing. Its octagonal dome is relatively small and includes a series of flaps that ventilate the structure with reduced turbulence, allowing air to flow smoothly across the mirror. The dome walls can be opened entirely—as opposed to only opening the roof, as with conventional domes—to reveal large swathes of the southern sky.

This image was taken by ESO Photo Ambassador Babak Tafreshi.

Credit: ESO/B. Tafreshi (twanight.org)
Release Date: September 18, 2017

#ESO #Astronomy #Science #Space #Stars #Telescope #NewTechnology #NTT #LaSilla #Observatory #Technology #Chile #Atacama #Desert #SouthAmerica #Astrophotography #Photography #Cosmos #Universe #Europe #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 6753 | Hubble

Despite the advances made in past decades, the process of galaxy formation remains an open question in astronomy. Various theories have been suggested, but since galaxies come in all shapes and sizes—including elliptical, spiral, and irregular—no single theory has so far been able to satisfactorily explain the origins of all the galaxies we see throughout the Universe.

To determine which formation model is correct (if any), astronomers hunt for the telltale signs of various physical processes. One example of this is galactic coronas, which are huge, invisible regions of hot gas that surround a galaxy’s visible bulk, forming a spheroidal shape. They are so hot that they can be detected by their X-ray emission, far beyond the optical radius of the galaxy. Because they are so wispy, these coronas are extremely difficult to detect. In 2013, astronomers highlighted NGC 6753, imaged here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, as one of only two known spiral galaxies that were both massive enough and close enough to permit detailed observations of their coronas. Of course, NGC 6753 is only close in astronomical terms—the galaxy is nearly 150 million light-years from Earth.

NGC 6753 is a whirl of color in this image—the bursts of blue throughout the spiral arms are regions filled with young stars glowing brightly in ultraviolet light, while redder areas are filled with older stars emitting in the cooler near-infrared.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: September 18, 2017

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #NGC6753 #Spiral #Pavo #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #GSFC #Goddard #STScI #STEM #Education

Cassini Spacecraft's Final Image of Saturn | NASA

This natural color view, created using images taken with red, green and blue spectral filters, was provided by the Cassini spacecraft before the mission concluded on September 15, 2017. The view was acquired on September 14 at 19:59 GMT (spacecraft event time) with the spacecraft's wide-angle camera at a distance of 634,000 km from Saturn.

The Cassini–Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA and the Italian Space Agency.

Read the press release here:
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Cassini_concludes_pioneering_mission_at_Saturn

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Image Date: September 14, 2017
Release Date: September 15, 2017

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Saturn #Planet #Rings #SolarSystem #Exploration #Cassini #Spacecraft #GrandFinale #JPL #Caltech #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #ESA #ASI #STEM #Education

Ocean Moon Enceladus Setting Behind Saturn | NASA Cassini Mission

Saturn's active, ocean-bearing moon Enceladus sinks behind the giant planet in a farewell portrait from the international Cassini spacecraft. The image was taken on September 13, 2017 and is among the last images Cassini sent back.

It was taken using Cassini's narrow-angle camera at a distance of 1.3 million km from Enceladus and about 1 million km from Saturn. Image scale on Enceladus is 8 km/per pixel. Images taken using red, green and blue spectral filters were assembled to create the natural colour view.

The Cassini–Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA and the Italian Space Agency.

Press Release:
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Cassini_concludes_pioneering_mission_at_Saturn

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Image Date: September 13, 2017
Release Date: September 15, 2017

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Saturn #Planet #Moon #Enceladus #Ocean #Water #Astrobiology #Life #SolarSystem #Exploration #Cassini #Spacecraft #GrandFinale #JPL #Caltech #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #ESA #ASI #STEM #Education

Farewell to Cassini on This Week @NASA

On Sept. 15, our Cassini spacecraft concluded its remarkable mission with a plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere. This was the last of 22 close orbits Cassini made between Saturn and its rings as part of the mission’s Grand Finale. No other spacecraft has ever explored this unique region. Although the spacecraft may be gone after the finale, the enormous amount of data collected about Saturn, its magnetosphere, rings and moons during this last dive is expected to yield new discoveries for decades.

Also, Recovering from Irma, New Crew Launches to the Space Station, Successful Orion Chute Test and Shane Kimbrough in Washington!

Credit: NASA
Duration: 3 minutes, 35 seconds
Release Date: September 15, 2017

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Saturn #Planet #Rings #Moons #Enceladus #Titan #Huygens #Probe #SolarSystem #Exploration #Cassini #Spacecraft #GrandFinale #JPL #Caltech #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #ESA #ASI #STEM #Education #Orion #ISS #Astronaut #HD #Video

Jose, Western Atlantic Ocean | NOAA Satellite

This full-disk GOES-16 satellite image captured early on September 15, 2017 shows Tropical Storm (now Hurricane) Jose near the Bahamas.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Created by NOAA's partners at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA).

Credit: NOAA/CIRA
Release Date: September 15, 2017

#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Science #Space #Satellite #TropicalStorm #Jose #Hurricane #Storm #Caribbean #Sea #Atlantic #Ocean #Bahamas #UnitedStates #Weather #Storm #GOES #GOES16 #Geocolor #CIRA #GSFC #STEM #Education