NASA Astronauts Prepare for SpaceX Crew Dragon

American Astronauts will soon launch again from U.S. soil

Commercial Crew Program astronauts, from the left Doug Hurley, Eric Boe, Bob Behnken and Suni Williams, pose just outside Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts toured the pad for an up-close look at modifications that are in work for the SpaceX Crew Dragon flight tests. The tower modifications included removal of the space shuttle era rotating service structure. Future integration of the crew access arm will allow for safe crew entry for launch and exit from the spacecraft in the unlikely event a pad abort is required.

Image Credit: SpaceX
Image Date: March 27, 2018

#NASA #Space #SpaceX #Astronauts #LaunchAmerica #Commercial #CCP #Science #Technology #Kennedy #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #Photography #STEM #Education #SuniWilliams #DougHurley #EricBoe #BobBehnken

Stellar Camping in Kyrgyzstan

The sky is lit by the setting Moon. Panoramic shot during our last camping night on the bank of Lake iIssuk-Kul on a 2017 trip to Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country with mountainous terrain. It is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west and southwest. (Source: Wikipedia)

Credit: Mike Reva (Михаил Рева)
Location: Issuk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan
Release Date: May 2, 2018

Technical details:
Canon6D+Samyang 24mm F2.0 ISO 2500 20s - 18 shot panorama

#Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Galaxy #MilkyWay #Stars #Astrophotography #Photography #Art #Kyrgyzstan #CentralAsia #Panorama #STEM #Education #Кыргыз #Республикасы #Республика #Кыргызстан

Exoplanet WASP-107b: Artist’s impression

The exoplanet WASP-107b is a gas giant, orbiting a highly active K-type main sequence star. The star is about 200 light-years from Earth. Using spectroscopy, scientists were able to find helium in the escaping atmosphere of the planet—the first detection of this element in the atmosphere of an exoplanet.

Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, M. Kornmesser
Duration: 15 seconds
Release Date: May 2, 2018
#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Exoplanet #WASP107b #Atmosphere #Helium #Star #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #STScI #Art #Illustration #ESA #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Hubble detects helium in exoplanet atmosphere for first time

May 2, 2018: Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have detected helium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-107b. This is the first time this element has been detected in the atmosphere of a planet outside the Solar System. The discovery demonstrates the ability to use infrared spectra to study exoplanet extended atmospheres.

Image Description:
The exoplanet WASP-107b is a gas giant, orbiting a highly active K-type main sequence star. The star is about 200 light-years from Earth. Using spectroscopy, scientists were able to find helium in the escaping atmosphere of the planet—the first detection of this element in the atmosphere of an exoplanet.

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, M. Kornmesser

The international team of astronomers, led by Jessica Spake, a PhD student at the University of Exeter in the UK, used Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 to discover helium in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-107b This is the first detection of its kind.

Spake explains the importance of the discovery: “Helium is the second-most common element in the Universe after hydrogen. It is also one of the main constituents of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in our Solar System. However, up until now helium had not been detected on exoplanets—despite searches for it.”

The team made the detection by analysing the infrared spectrum of the atmosphere of WASP-107b [1]. Previous detections of extended exoplanet atmospheres have been made by studying the spectrum at ultraviolet and optical wavelengths; this detection therefore demonstrates that exoplanet atmospheres can also be studied at longer wavelengths.

“The strong signal from helium we measured demonstrates a new technique to study upper layers of exoplanet atmospheres in a wider range of planets,” says Spake “Current methods, which use ultraviolet light, are limited to the closest exoplanets. We know there is helium in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and this new technique may help us to detect atmospheres around Earth-sized exoplanets—which is very difficult with current technology.”

WASP-107b is one of the lowest density planets known: While the planet is about the same size as Jupiter, it has only 12% of Jupiter’s mass. The exoplanet is about 200 light-years from Earth and takes less than six days to orbit its host star.

The amount of helium detected in the atmosphere of WASP-107b is so large that its upper atmosphere must extend tens of thousands of kilometers out into space. This also makes it the first time that an extended atmosphere has been discovered at infrared wavelengths.

Since its atmosphere is so extended, the planet is losing a significant amount of its atmospheric gases into space—between ~0.1-4% of its atmosphere’s total mass every billion years [2].

As far back as the year 2000, it was predicted that helium would be one of the most readily-detectable gases on giant exoplanets, but until now, searches were unsuccessful.

David Sing, co-author of the study also from the University of Exeter, concludes: “Our new method, along with future telescopes such as the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, will allow us to analyse atmospheres of exoplanets in far greater detail than ever before.”

Notes:
[1] The measurement of an exoplanet’s atmosphere is performed when the planet passes in front of its host star. A tiny portion of the star’s light passes through the exoplanet’s atmosphere, leaving detectable fingerprints in the spectrum of the star. The larger the amount of an element present in the atmosphere, the easier the detection becomes.

[2] Stellar radiation has a significant effect on the rate at which a planet’s atmosphere escapes. The star WASP-107 is highly active, supporting the atmospheric loss. As the atmosphere absorbs radiation it heats up, so the gas rapidly expands and escapes more quickly into space.

More information:
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.

The study was published in the paper “Helium in the eroding atmosphere of an exoplanet”, published in Nature.

Science paper:
www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/releases/science_papers/heic1809/heic1809a.pdf

The international team of astronomers in this study consists of J. J. Spake (University of Exeter, UK), D. K. Sing (University of Exeter, UK; Johns Hopkins University, USA), T. M. Evans (University of Exeter, UK), A. Oklopčić (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA), V. Bourrier (Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, Switzerland), L. Kreidberg (Harvard Society of Fellows, USA; Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA), B. V. Rackham (University of Arizona, USA), J. Irwin (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA), D. Ehrenreich (Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, Switzerland), A. Wyttenbach (Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, Switzerland), H. R. Wakeford (Space Telescope Science Institute, USA), Y. Zhou (University of Arizona, USA), K. L. Chubb (University College London, UK), N. Nikolov (University of Exeter, UK), J. Goyal (University of Exeter, UK), G. W. Henry (Tennessee State University, USA), M. H. Williamson (Tennessee State University, USA), S. Blumenthal (Space Telescope Science Institute, USA), D. Anderson (Keele University, UK), C. Hellier (Keele University, UK), D. Charbonneau (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USA), S. Udry (Observatoire de l’Université de Genève, Switzerland), and N. Madhusudhan (University of Cambridge, UK)

Article Credit: NASA, ESA
Release Date: May 2, 2018

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Exoplanet #WASP107b #Atmosphere #Helium #Star #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #STScI #Art #Illustration #ESA #STEM #Education

NASA's Kennedy Spaceport Magazine - May 2018

Read KSC's May 2018 Spaceport Magazine (Free 20-Page PDF)
www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/spaceport-magazine.html
Direct Download: www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spm_may_2018_web.pdf

In the May 2018 issue:

· TESS begins quest to find habitable extrasolar planets

· Space Launch System flight hardware touches down at Kennedy

· NASA, Boeing may evolve flight test strategy

· Space explorers inducted into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame

· Tupperware takes to space to help improve astronaut diets

· Students help NASA decide what plants to grow in space

· Emergency Response Team trains to protect space center

· Center Director Cabana provides update to National Space Club

· JoAnn Morgan shares story for Women's History Month

· Crowds flock to spaceport for Family Open House Day

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

Credit: NASA/Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Release Date: May 1, 2018
#NASA #KSC #Space #Science #SLS #Boeing #Women #Family #Students #ISS #Astronaut #TESS #Exoplanets #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Magazine #PDF

Heading to Gibraltar | International Space Station

Timelapse HD 1080p video
Credit: AstronautiCAST/JSC
Duration: 3 minutes, 11 seconds
Video Capture Date: February 13, 2018
Release Date: February 17, 2018

Original timelapse by Riccardo Rossi (ISAA) - Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License -

Music: Lost by Zell - Attribution International License -
https://www.jamendo.com/artist/419285/zell

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #ISS #Earth #Gibraltar #UK #Spain #España #Mediterranean #Sea #Africa #Ocean #Atlantic #Spacecraft #Astronauts #Expedition54 #Photography #Art #Science #HD #Video #Timelapse #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect #AstronautiCAST

The Aurora and The Sunrise | International Space Station

"Sunrise crashes an aurora party over the southern hemisphere," said NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold of this image he snapped from the International Space Station.

Auroras are one of the many Earthly phenomena the crew of the space station observe from their perch high above the planet. The dancing lights of auroras provide spectacular views, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from our Sun. Auroras are one effect of such energetic particles, which can speed out from the Sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind or from giant eruptions known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs. After a trip toward Earth that can last three days, the solar particles and magnetic fields cause the release of particles already trapped near Earth, which in turn trigger reactions in the upper atmosphere in which oxygen and nitrogen molecules release photons of light. The result: the Northern and Southern lights.

On the International Space Station (ISS), you can only admire an aurora until the sun rises. Then the background Earth becomes too bright. Unfortunately, after sunset, the rapid orbit of the ISS around the Earth means that sunrise is usually less than 47 minutes away.

In this image, a green aurora is visible below the ISS—and on the horizon to the upper right, while sunrise approaches ominously from the upper left. Watching an aurora from space can be mesmerizing as its changing shape has been compared to a giant green amoeba. Auroras are composed of energetic electrons and protons from the Sun that impact the Earth's magnetic field and then spiral down toward the Earth so fast that they cause atmospheric atoms and molecules to glow. The ISS orbits at nearly the same height as auroras, many times flying right through an aurora's thin upper layers, an event that neither harms astronauts nor changes the shape of the aurora.

Image Credit: NASA, Astronaut Ricky Arnold, Expedition 55
Release Date: April 11, 2018

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #Aurora #Sunrise #Atmosphere #ISS #Spacecraft #Astronaut #RickyArnold #Expedition55 #JSC #Photography #Art #Science #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect #APoD

Lenticular Galaxy: Stuck in the middle | Hubble

This pretty, cloud-like object may not look much like a galaxy—it lacks the well-defined arms of a spiral galaxy, or the reddish bulge of an elliptical—but it is in fact something known as a lenticular galaxy. Lenticular galaxies sit somewhere between the spiral and elliptical types; they are disc-shaped, like spirals, but they no longer form large numbers of new stars and thus contain only ageing populations of stars, like ellipticals.

NGC 2655’s core is extremely luminous, resulting in its additional classification as a Seyfert galaxy: a type of active galaxy with strong and characteristic emission lines. This luminosity is thought to be produced as matter is dragged onto the accretion disc of a supermassive black hole sitting at the center of NGC 2655. The structure of NGC 2655’s outer disc, on the other hand, appears calmer, but it is oddly-shaped. The complex dynamics of the gas in the galaxy suggest that it may have had a turbulent past, including mergers and interactions with other galaxies.

NGC 2655 is located about 80 million light-years from Earth in the constellation of Camelopardalis (The Giraffe). Camelopardalis contains many other interesting deep-sky objects, including the open cluster NGC 1502, the elegant Kemble’s Cascade asterism, and the starburst galaxy NGC 2146.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Fillipenko
Release Date: April 23, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #ESA #Galaxy #Lenticular #NGC2655 #Seyfert #Camelopardalis #Telescope #STScI #Cosmos #Universe #STEM #Education

Japan: North to South | International Space Station

This view of Japan from the International Space Station looks from north to south and encompasses the cities of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hiroshima and Fukuoka.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: March 30, 2018

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #ISS #Earth #Japan #日本 #Tokyo #東京都 #名古屋市 #大阪市 #広島市 #福岡市 #JAXA #Ocean #Pacific #Spacecraft #Astronauts #Expedition55 #Photography #Art #Science #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

New Zealand's North Island | International Space Station

The International Space Station was orbiting above the Tasman Sea when an Expedition 55 crew member took this picture of New Zealand's North Island where the city of Auckland is located. The sun's glint over the South Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea clearly outlines the island nation.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: March 25, 2018

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #ISS #Earth #NewZealand #Auckland #NorthIsland #Tasman #Sea #Ocean #Pacific #Sunglint #Spacecraft #Astronauts #Expedition55 #Photography #Art #Science #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Wanderers - a short film by Erik Wernquist | Narrated by Carl Sagan

"Wanderers is a vision of humanity's expansion into the Solar System, based on scientific ideas and concepts of what our future in space might look like, if it ever happens. The locations depicted in the film are digital recreations of actual places in the Solar System, built from real photos and map data where available."

"Without any apparent story, other than what you may fill in by yourself, the idea of the film is primarily to show a glimpse of the fantastic and beautiful nature that surrounds us on our neighboring worlds—and above all, how it might appear to us if we were there."

"As some may notice I have borrowed ideas and concepts from science fiction authors such as Kim Stanley Robinson and Arthur C. Clarke, just to name a few. And visually, I of course owe many tips of my hat to painter Chesley Bonestell—the legendary master of space art."

"More directly, with kind permission from Ann Druyan I have also borrowed the voice of astronomer and author Carl Sagan to narrate the film. The audio I used are excerpts from his own reading of his book:
'Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space' (1994, Random House)
penguinrandomhouse.com/books/159735/pale-blue-dot-by-carl-sagan/
—needless to say, a huge inspiration for this film.

Watch 1080p Vimeo version:
https://vimeo.com/108650530

For more information and stills gallery, please turn to: erikwernquist.com/wanderers

--------------
CREDITS:
VISUALS BY - Erik Wernquist - erik@erikwernquist.com
MUSIC BY - Cristian Sandquist - cristiansandquist@mac.com
WRITTEN AND NARRATED BY - Carl Sagan - from his book 'Pale Blue Dot' penguinrandomhouse.com/books/159735/pale-blue-dot-by-carl-sagan/, courtesy of Ann Druyan, copyright by Democritus Properties, LLC, with all rights reserved
COLOR GRADE BY - Caj Müller/Beckholmen Film - caj@beckholmenfilm.se
LIVE ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY BY - Mikael Hall/Vidiotism - mikael@vidiotism.com
LIVE ACTION PERFORMANCE BY - Anna Nerman, Camilla Hammarström, Hanna Mellin
VOCALIST - Nina Fylkegård - nina@ladystardust.se
THANK YOU - Johan Persson, Calle Herdenberg, Micke Lindgren, Satrio J. Studt, Tomas Axelsson, Christian Lundqvist, Micke Lindell, Sigfrid Söderberg, Fredrik Strage, Johan Antoni, Henrik Johansson, Michael Uvnäs, Hanna Mellin

THIS FILM WAS MADE WITH USE OF PHOTOS AND TEXTURES FROM:
NASA/JPL, NASA/CICLOPS, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, ESA, John Van Vliet, Björn Jonsson (and many others, of which I unfortunately do not know the names)

Duration: 3 minutes, 50 seconds
Release Date: 2015

#NASA #Space #Exploration #SolarSystem #CarlSagan #Science #Astronomy #Humanity #Future #STEM #Education #ErikWernquist #Film #Art #Visualization #Cosmos #Universe #HD #Video #APoD

Earth Rotation: Nepal, Himalayas

Earth's rotation is the rotation of the planet Earth around its own axis. The Earth rotates from the west towards east. As viewed from North Star or polestar Polaris, the Earth turns counter-clockwise.

Credit: Anton Yankovyi
Release Date: March 30, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Earth #Nepal #Himalayas #Asia #Astrophotography #Photography #Timelapse #Art #STEM #Education #नेपाल

Crossing Panama | International Space Station

Timelapse HD 1080p video
Credit: AstronautiCAST/JSC
Duration: 2 minutes, 15 seconds
Video Capture Date: February 13, 2018
Release Date: February 18, 2016

Original timelapse by Riccardo Rossi (ISAA) - Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License -

Music: Piano Beautiful Full Version by Maryna - Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike International License -
https://www.jamendo.com/artist/491819/maryna

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #ISS #Earth #Panama #CentralAmerica #Ocean #Pacific #Atlantic #Spacecraft #Astronauts #Expedition54 #Photography #Art #Science #HD  #Video #Timelapse #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect #AstronautiCAST

The Sun: Active Region Coming Around the Bend | NASA SDO

A good-sized active region with bright, towering arches began to rotate into view on April 19, 2018. The arches consist of charged particles spiraling along magnetic field lines revealed in this wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. They rise up above the sun's surface many times the size of Earth. We will keep our eyes on this region to see if it has the kind of dynamism to produce solar storms.

Credit: Solar Dynamics Observatory, NASA
Image Date: April 19, 2018

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Solar #Sun #Earth #ActiveRegion #Plasma #SDO #Observatory #MagneticField #Ultraviolet #Wavelength #UnitedStates #Infographic #STEM #Education

Europe's ExoMars Spacecraft: First images from new orbit

April 26, 2018: The European Space Agency's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter has returned the first images of the Red Planet from its new orbit. The spacecraft arrived in a near-circular 400 km altitude orbit a few weeks ago ahead of its primary goal to seek out gases that may be linked to active geological or biological activity on Mars.

The orbiter’s Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System, CaSSIS, took this stunning image, which features part of an impact crater, during the instrument’s test period. The camera was activated on March 20 and was tested for the start of its main mission on April 28.

“We transmitted new software to the instrument at the start of the test phase and after a couple of minor issues, the instrument is in good health and ready to work,” says the camera’s principal investigator, Nicolas Thomas from the University of Bern in Switzerland.

The image captures a 40 km-long segment of Korolev Crater located high in the northern hemisphere. The bright material on the rim of the crater is ice.

“We were really pleased to see how good this picture was given the lighting conditions,” says Antoine Pommerol, a member of the CaSSIS science team working on the calibration of the data. “It shows that CaSSIS can make a major contribution to studies of the carbon dioxide and water cycles on Mars.”

The image is assembled from three images in different colors that were taken almost simultaneously on April 15.

“We aim to fully automate the image production process,” says Nick. “Once we achieve this, we can distribute the data quickly to the science community for analysis.”

The team also plans to make regular public releases.

The orbiter’s camera is one of four instruments on the Trace Gas Orbiter, or TGO, which also hosts two spectrometer suites and a neutron detector.

The spectrometers began their science mission on April 21 with the spacecraft taking its first ‘sniff’ of the atmosphere. In reality, the sniffing is the spectrometers looking at how molecules in the atmosphere absorb sunlight: each has a unique fingerprint that reveals its chemical composition.

A long period of data collection will be needed to bring out the details, especially for particularly rare—or not even yet discovered—ingredients in the atmosphere. Trace gases, as hinted at from their name, are only present in very small amounts: that is, less than one percent of the volume of the planet’s atmosphere. In particular, the orbiter will seek evidence of methane and other gases that could be signatures of active biological or geological activity.

The camera will eventually help characterise features on the surface that may be related to trace gas sources.

“We are excited to finally be starting collecting data at Mars with this phenomenal spacecraft,” says Håkan Svedhem, ESA’s TGO project scientist. “The test images we have seen so far certainly set the bar high.”

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter is on a multiyear mission to understand the tiny amounts of methane and other gases in Mars’ atmosphere that could be evidence for possible biological or geological activity.

The ExoMars program is a joint endeavor between ESA and Roscosmos. The Trace Gas Orbiter is the first of two missions in the program: the next is scheduled for launch in 2020 and will comprise a rover and a surface science platform. TGO will act as a communication relay for both. It proved this capability earlier this week in the first of a series of relay communications with NASA’s Curiosity rover, highlighting the cooperation between ESA and NASA to maintain a communications infrastructure around Mars for future missions.

Image Description#1:
The ExoMars Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System, CaSSIS, captured this view of the rim of Korolev crater (73.3ºN/165.9ºE) on April 15, 2018. The image is a composite of three images in different colors that were taken almost simultaneously. They were then assembled to produce this color view. The original image has a nominal scale of 5.08 m/pixel and was re-projected at a resolution of 4.6 m/pixel to create the final version. The dimensions are therefore about 10 x 40 km. The image was taken with a ground-track velocity of 2.90 km/s. The solar incidence angle was 76.6º at a local solar time of 07:14:11.

In this orientation, north is off-center to the upper left.

Image Description#2:
The ExoMars Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System, CaSSIS, captured this view of the rim of Korolev crater (73.3ºN/165.9ºE) on April 15, 2018. The image is a composite of three images in different colors that were taken almost simultaneously. They were then assembled to produce this color view. The original image has a nominal scale of 5.08 m/pixel and was re-projected at a resolution of 4.6 m/pixel to create the final version. The dimensions are therefore about 10 x 40 km. The image was taken with a ground-track velocity of 2.90 km/s. The solar incidence angle was 76.6º at a local solar time of 07:14:11.

In this orientation north is just below center to the left.

Image Credit: ESA/Roscosmos/CaSSIS
Image Date: April 15, 2018
Release Date: April 26, 2018

#NASA #ESA #Roscosmos #Mars #Space #Astronomy #Science #Geology #Crater #Korolev #Planet #RedPlanet #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #ExoMars #Orbiter #Spacecraft #Europe #Russia #STEM #Education

The Lagoon Nebula: Wide-field view

This ground-based image from the Digitized Sky Survey shows the area around the Lagoon Nebula, otherwise known as Messier 8. This nebula is filled with intense winds from hot stars, churning funnels of gas, and energetic star formation, all embedded within an intricate haze of gas and pitch-dark dust.

Credit: NASA, ESA, Digitized Sky Survey 2
Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin
Release Date: April 19, 2018
#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #ESA #Nebula #Lagoon #Messier8 #Anniversary #Telescope #STScI #Cosmos #Universe #STEM #Education