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

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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

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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

Astronaut Moments with NASA astronaut Joe Acaba

Acaba and his crewmates, Mark Vande Hei of NASA and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, launched on the Russian Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft on Sept. 12. They are scheduled to return to Earth in March 2018. The crew members will continue several hundred experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science currently underway and scheduled to take place aboard humanity's only permanently occupied orbiting lab.

Joseph M. Acaba was selected by NASA in 2004. The California native has logged a total of 138 days in space during two missions. In 2009, Acaba flew aboard STS-119 on the Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. During this mission, he conducted two spacewalks. In 2012, Acaba flew aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to the space station where he worked as Flight Engineer for the Expedition 31/32. Acaba recently served as Director of Operations Russia in Star City supporting crew training in Soyuz and Russian Segment systems.

Joe's Official NASA Biography:
https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/joseph-m-acaba/biography

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: September 12, 2017

#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science #Astronaut #JoeAcaba #Human #Spaceflight #Geology #Geologist #Marine #Soyuz #MS06 #Spacecraft #Expedition53 #Expedition54 #UnitedStates #JSC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Astronaut Moments with NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei

Vande Hei and his crewmates, Joe Acaba of NASA and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, launched on the Russian Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft on Sept. 12. They are scheduled to return to Earth in March 2018. The crew members will continue several hundred experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science currently underway and scheduled to take place aboard humanity's only permanently occupied orbiting lab. 

Mark T. Vande Hei was selected by NASA in 2009. From Falls Church, Virginia, Vande Hei earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Saint John's University and a Master of Science in Applied Physics from Stanford University.  He was commissioned in the U.S. Army through the ROTC program and served as a combat engineer.  In 1999, he became an assistant professor of physics at the United States Military Academy in West Point.  He is currently assigned to Expedition 53/54, which is planned to launch in August 2017.

Mark's Official NASA Biography:
https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/mark-t-vande-hei/biography
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/vande-hei.pdf

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: September 12, 2017

#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science  #Astronaut #MarkVandeHei #Human #Spaceflight #Physics #Engineer #Army #Military #Soyuz #MS06 #Spacecraft #Expedition53 #Expedition54 #UnitedStates #JSC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Saturn's Dreamy Swirls | NASA Cassini Mission

Sept. 13, 2017: NASA's Cassini spacecraft gazed toward the northern hemisphere of Saturn to spy subtle, multi-hued bands in the clouds there. This view looks toward the terminator—the dividing line between night and day—at lower left. The sun shines at low angles along this boundary, in places highlighting vertical structure in the clouds. Some vertical relief is apparent in this view, with higher clouds casting shadows over those at lower altitude.

Images taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera using red, green and blue spectral filters were combined to create this natural-color view. The images were acquired on Aug. 31, 2017, at a distance of approximately 700,000 miles (1.1 million kilometers) from Saturn. Image scale is about 4 miles (6 kilometers) per pixel.

The Cassini mission is 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, California, 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
Release Date: September 13, 2017

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

The Saturn System Through the Eyes of Cassini | NASA

Free 110-Page e-Book: The Cassini-Huygens mission has revolutionized our knowledge of the Saturn system and revealed surprising places in the solar system where life could potentially gain a foothold—bodies we call ocean worlds.
eBook Download Page [All Formats]:
http://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/the-saturn-system.html

Since its arrival in 2004, Cassini–Huygens has been nothing short of a discovery machine, captivating us with data and images never before obtained with such detail and clarity. Cassini taught us that Saturn is a far cry from a tranquil lone planet with delicate rings. Now, we know more about Saturn’s chaotic, active, and powerful rings, and the storms that rage beneath. Images and data from Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus hint at the possibility of life never before suspected. The rings of Saturn, its moons, and the planet itself offer irresistible and inexhaustible subjects for intense study. As the Cassini mission comes to a dramatic end with a fateful plunge into Saturn on Sept. 15, 2017, scientists are already dreaming of going back for further study.

Over a period of 13 years, Cassini has captured about 450,000 spectacular images within the Saturn system, providing new views of the “lord of the rings” and a plethora of iconic images. To honor the art and science of Cassini, this book was developed collaboratively by a team from NASA’s Planetary Science Division (PSD), NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI). While these images represent the tip of the iceberg—each telling a story about Saturn and its mysterious moons—our hope is that the mission will inspire future artists and explorers. The sheer beauty of these images is surpassed only by the science and discoveries they represent.

› iBooks: The Saturn System [37 MB]:
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/the_saturn_system_0.ibooks

› Kindle readers: MOBI [34.1 MB]
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/the_saturn_system_ebook.mobi

› All other eBook readers: EPUB [14.5 MB]
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/the_saturn_system_ebook.epub

› Fixed layout: PDF [27.8 MB]
http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/the_saturn_system_090817.pdf

Credit: NASA
Release Date: September 12, 2017
#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Saturn #ebooks #Books #Reading #Planet #Rings #Moons #Titan #Huygens #Probe #Enceladus #SolarSystem #Exploration #Cassini #Spacecraft #GrandFinale #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #ESA #ASI #STEM #Education #PDF #ePub #MOBI #iBook

New Soyuz Crew Launches to International Space Station

Expedition 53-54 Soyuz Commander Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos and flight engineers Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba of NASA launched on the Russian Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft Sept. 13 (Kazakhstan time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The trio began a six-hour journey to the International Space Station and the start of a five-and-a-half month mission on the outpost.

Credit: NASA TV
Duration: 11 minutes
Release Date: September 12, 2017

#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science #Soyuz #MS06 #Spacecraft #Rocket #Launch #Commander #Cosmonaut #AlexanderMisurkin #Astronauts #MarkVandeHei #JoeAcaba #Kazakhstan #Baikonur #Cosmodrome #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Human #Spaceflight #Expedition53 #Expedition54 #UnitedStates #JSC #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 53 Soyuz Launch

The Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with Expedition 50 crewmembers Joe Acaba of NASA, Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos, and Mark Vande Hei of NASA from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, (Kazakh time) (Sept. 12, U.S. time). Acaba, Misurkin, and Vande Hei will spend approximately five and half months on the International Space Station.

The crew will orbit Earth four times en route to the spacecraft’s arrival and docking to the space station, at 10:57 p.m. Tune in at 10:15 p.m. to NASA Television or the agency’s website to watch the docking live.

This crew marks the first long-term increase in crew size on the U.S. segment from three to four, allowing NASA to maximize time dedicated to research on the International Space Station. Highlights of upcoming investigations include demonstrating the benefits of manufacturing fiber optic filaments in a microgravity environment, a new study looking to slow or reverse muscle atrophy in astronauts during spaceflight and exploring the ability of a synthetic bone material capable of adhering bone to metal within minutes to accelerate bone repair.

For live coverage and more information about the mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/station

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Release Date: September 12, 2017
#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science #Soyuz #MS06 #Spacecraft #Rocket #Launch #Commander #Cosmonaut #AlexanderMisurkin #Astronauts #MarkVandeHei #JoeAcaba #Kazakhstan #Baikonur #Cosmodrome #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Human #Spaceflight #Expedition53 #Expedition54 #UnitedStates #JSC #STEM #Education

Expedition 53 Crew Waves Farewell

Expedition 53 flight engineer Mark Vande Hei of NASA, top, flight engineer Joe Acaba of NASA, and Soyuz Commander Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos, bottom, wave farewell before boarding their Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017, (Kazakh time) (Sept. 12, U.S. time). Acaba, Misurkin, and Vande Hei will spend approximately five and half months on the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
Release Date: September 12, 2017

#NASA #ISS #Earth #Science #Soyuz #MS06 #Spacecraft #Rocket #Launch #Commander #Cosmonaut #AlexanderMisurkin #Astronauts #MarkVandeHei #JoeAcaba #Kazakhstan #Baikonur #Cosmodrome #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Human #Spaceflight #Expedition53 #Expedition54 #UnitedStates #JSC #STEM #Education

Sun Erupts With Significant Solar Flare | NASA SDO

via GIPHY
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured images of a solar flare—as seen in the bright flash on the right side—on Sept. 10, 2017. Sept. 11, 2017: The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 12:06 p.m. EDT on Sept. 10, 2017. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured images of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however—when intense enough—they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. To see how this event may affect Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings. This flare is classified as an X8.2-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. This flare is the capstone on a series of flares from Active Region 2673, which was identified on Aug. 29 and is currently rotating off the front of the sun as part of our star’s normal rotation. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured images of the events. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

Credit: NASA/SDO/Goddard
Image Date: September 10, 2017
Release Date: September 11, 2017


#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Sun #Solar #Flare #SolarFlare #Radiation #Sunspot #Magnetic #Loops #Magnetism #Physics #Astrophysics #Ultraviolet #SDO #GSFC #Goddard #STEM #Education #Animation #GIF

Sun Erupts With Significant Solar Flare | NASA SDO

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare—as seen in the bright flash on the right side—on Sept. 10, 2017. The image shows a combination of wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares, which has then been colorized.
Sept. 11, 2017: The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 12:06 p.m. EDT on Sept. 10, 2017. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however—when intense enough—they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

To see how this event may affect Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.

This flare is classified as an X8.2-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.

This flare is the capstone on a series of flares from Active Region 2673, which was identified on Aug. 29 and is currently rotating off the front of the sun as part of our star’s normal rotation.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured images of the events. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

Credit: NASA/SDO/Goddard
Image Date: September 10, 2017
Release Date: September 11, 2017
#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Sun #Solar #Flare #SolarFlare #Radiation #Sunspot #Magnetic #Loops #Magnetism #Physics #Astrophysics #Ultraviolet #SDO #GSFC #Goddard #STEM #Education

Hurricane Irma Strikes Florida | NASA Earth

After battering Cuba and several Caribbean islands for most of a week as it crept slowly northwestward, Hurricane Irma turned north into Florida on September 10, 2017. Heavy rain and hurricane-force winds battered both the east and west coasts of southern Florida, even though the eye of the monstrous storm made landfall in the southwestern part of the state. Seas were rising with storm surges as far north as Charleston, South Carolina.

Hurricane Irma made its first U.S. landfall on Cudjoe Key, Florida, about 30 miles east of Key West, around 9 a.m. on September 10. The storm was rated as a category 4, with sustained winds of 130 miles per hour at the time. It made its second landfall at Marco Island around 3:30 p.m. with similarly potent winds.

At 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the National Hurricane Center reported that Irma was over Naples, Florida, bringing sustained winds of 110 miles (180 kilometer) per hour, with gusts to 140 miles per hour. Hurricane-force winds extended 80 miles (130 kilometers) from the center of the storm; tropical storm winds stretched at least 220 miles (350 kilometers), wider than the state from west to east. The storm was moving north at 14 miles (22 kilometers) per hour. It was expected to hug the west coast of Florida through Monday morning.

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 13 (GOES-13) acquired data for this composite image at 8:15 a.m. on September 10 as the storm was passing over the Florida Keys. Infrared data (band 4) is overlaid on a MODIS blue marble. The satellite is operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), while NASA helps develop and launch the GOES series of satellites.

Though much popular interest focuses on the winds and rain of a hurricane, storm surges are often the most deadly part of such an event. National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters warned of dangerous storm surges from the Florida Keys to Tampa Bay. Forecasters predicted waters as high as 10 feet (3 meters) above normal in places. The western shore is known for its relatively shallow coastal waters, and many neighborhoods are carved into lagoons and canals near the shore. “This is a life-threatening situation,” NWS declared.

Irma has been churning at hurricane force since August 31, and it has been a major hurricane—category 3 or above—for nearly all of that time.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using data from the NASA-NOAA GOES project
Story Credit: Mike Carlowicz
Image Date: September 10, 2017
Release Date: September 11, 2017

#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Science #Space #Satellite #Hurricane #Irma #Forecast #Caribbean #Sea #Atlantic #Ocean #Cuba #Florida #Georgia #Alabama #UnitedStates #Weather #Storm #Precipitation #Rain #Flooding #StormSurge #Wind #GOES #GOES13 #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #Education