Skywatching: What's Up for November 2018 | JPL

Thanks to Jane Houston Jones for 12 years of "What's Up"
November brings planets, an asteroid, a comet and the Leonids.

Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Duration: 2 minutes, 27 seconds
Release Date: November 1, 2018
#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Skywatching #Asteroid #Juno #Comet46P #Meteor #MeteorShower #Leonids #Moon #Venus #Mars #InSight #Lander #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #Constellations #MilkyWay #Galaxy #JPL #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Closest Spacecraft to the Sun on This Week @NASA | Week of Nov. 2, 2018

A new record for our mission to the Sun, the end of an era for a prolific planet hunter, and our next mission to Mars is closing in on its destination . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

Credit: NASA
Duration: 4 minutes, 4 seconds
Release Date: November 2, 2018
#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Kepler #Exoplanets #Mars #Insight #SpaceWeather #Sun #Solar #Corona #Star #Astrophysics #Spacecraft #Probe #SolarProbe #Parker #EugeneParker #Astrophysicist #Chicago #University #JHUAPL #Goddard #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Getting a Grip Week of | Nov. 2, 2018

Week of Nov. 2, 2018: NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 2 minutes, 19 seconds
Release Date: November 2, 2018

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Research #Microgravity #Astronauts #ESA #AlexanderGerst #Germany #Deutschland #DLR #SerenaAuñónChancellor #Cosmonaut #SergeyProkopyev #Russia #Россия #MikeHopkins #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Expedition57 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Zoom-in on the Ghost Nebula | Hubble

This video zooms in on the emission and reflection nebula IC 63—nicknamed the Ghost Nebula—about 550 light-years away. It starts with a view of the night sky as seen from the ground. It then zooms through observations from the Digitized Sky Survey 2, and ends with a view of the nebula obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Credit: Hubble, Digitized Sky Survey 2, N. Risinger (skysurvey.org)
Music: Astral Electronic
Duration: 50 seconds
Release Date: October 25, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #IC63 #Star #GammaCassiopeiae #Cassiopeia #Cosmos #Universe #Halloween #Telescope #ESA #GSFC #Goddard #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Ghost of Cassiopeia: Wide-field view

Ground-based view of the sky around IC 63
This image shows the sky around the nebula IC 63, nicknamed the Ghost Nebula. It was created from images forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The field of view is dominated by the bright star Gamma Cassiopeiae, which is having a profound influence on IC 63.

IC 63 is only one of several nebulous structures surrounding Gamma Cassiopeiae—all of which are affected by the radiation emitted by the blue-white subgiant star.

Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, Digitized Sky Survey 2
Acknowledgement: Davide de Martin
Release Date: October 25, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #IC63 #Star #GammaCassiopeiae #Cassiopeia #Cosmos #Universe #Halloween #Telescope #ESA #GSFC #Goddard #STScI #STEM #Education

The Ghost of Cassiopeia | Hubble

About 550 light-years away in the constellation of Cassiopeia lies IC 63, a stunning and slightly eerie nebula. Also known as the ghost of Cassiopeia, IC 63 is being shaped by radiation from a nearby unpredictably variable star, Gamma Cassiopeiae, which is slowly eroding away the ghostly cloud of dust and gas. This celestial ghost makes the perfect backdrop for the upcoming feast of All Hallow's Eve—better known as Halloween.

The constellation of Cassiopeia, named after a vain queen in Greek mythology, forms the easily recognizable “W” shape in the night sky. The central point of the W is marked by a dramatic star named Gamma Cassiopeiae.

The remarkable Gamma Cassiopeiae is a blue-white subgiant variable star that is surrounded by a gaseous disc. This star is 19 times more massive and 65,000 times brighter than our Sun. It also rotates at the incredible speed of 1.6 million kilometers per hour—more than 200 times faster than our parent star. This frenzied rotation gives it a squashed appearance. The fast rotation causes eruptions of mass from the star into a surrounding disk. This mass loss is related to the observed brightness variations.

The radiation of Gamma Cassiopeiae is so powerful that it even affects IC 63, sometimes nicknamed the Ghost Nebula, that lies several light years away from the star. IC 63 is visible in this image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

The colors in the eerie nebula showcase how the nebula is affected by the powerful radiation from the distant star. The hydrogen within IC 63 is being bombarded with ultraviolet radiation from Gamma Cassiopeiae, causing its electrons to gain energy which they later release as hydrogen-alpha radiation—visible in red in this image.

This hydrogen-alpha radiation makes IC 63 an emission nebula, but we also see blue light in this image. This is light from Gamma Cassiopeiae that has been reflected by dust particles in the nebula, meaning that IC 63 is also a reflection nebula.

This colorful and ghostly nebula is slowly dissipating under the influence of ultraviolet radiation from Gamma Cassiopeiae. However, IC 63 is not the only object under the influence of the mighty star. It is part of a much larger nebulous region surrounding Gamma Cassiopeiae that measures approximately two degrees on the sky—roughly four times as wide as the full Moon.

This region is best seen from the Northern Hemisphere during autumn and winter. Though it is high in the sky and visible all year round from Europe, it is very dim, so observing it requires a fairly large telescope and dark skies.

From above Earth’s atmosphere, Hubble gives us a view that we cannot hope to see with our eyes. This photo is possibly the most detailed image that has ever been taken of IC 63, and it beautifully showcases Hubble’s capabilities.

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

Image Credit: NASA, ESA
Release Date: October 25, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #IC63 #Star #GammaCassiopeiae #Cassiopeia #Cosmos #Universe #Halloween #Telescope #ESA #GSFC #Goddard #STScI #STEM #Education

Talking Moon to Mars and more on This Week @NASA

Week of Oct. 26, 2018: A week full of Moon to Mars and more, seeking ideas for future cargo deliveries to our Gateway, and an oddity of an iceberg . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 3 minutes, 49 seconds
Release Date: October 26, 2018

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Earth #Science #Mars #JourneyToMars #Moon #SLS #Orion #Spacecraft #Gateway #ISS #Astronauts #Iceberg #Antarctica #OperationIceBridge #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Neutron Dance

Week of Oct. 26, 2018 | NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. 

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 2 minutes, 53 seconds
Release Date: October 26, 2018

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Research #Combustion #Flammability #Pulsars #Neutron #Stars #Astronauts #AlexanderGerst #SerenaAuñónChancellor #Cosmonaut #SergeyProkopyev #Russia #Россия #Expedition57 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Pirate of the Southern Skies | ESO

The Skull and Crossbones Nebula

Distance: 4500 light years
Oct. 24, 2018: FORS2, an instrument mounted on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, has observed the active star-forming region NGC 2467—sometimes referred to as the Skull and Crossbones Nebula. The image was captured as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems Program, which makes use of the rare occasions when observing conditions are not suitable for gathering scientific data. Instead of sitting idle, the ESO Cosmic Gems Program allows ESO’s telescopes to be used to capture visually stunning images of the southern skies.

This vivid picture of an active star-forming region—NGC 2467, sometimes referred to as the Skull and Crossbones Nebula—is as sinister as it is beautiful. This image of dust, gas and bright young stars, gravitationally bound into the form of a grinning skull, was captured with the FORS instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). While ESO’s telescopes are usually used for the collection of science data, they can also capture images, such as this—which are beautiful for their own sake.

It is easy to see the motivation for the nickname Skull and Crossbones. This young, bright formation distinctly resembles an ominous hollow face, of which only the gaping mouth is visible here. NGC 2467 skulks in the constellation Puppis, which translates rather unromantically as The Poop Deck.

This nebulous collection of stellar clusters is the birthplace of many stars, where an excess of hydrogen gas provided the raw material for stellar creation. It is not, in fact, a single nebula, and its constituent stellar cluster are moving at different velocities. It is only a fortuitous alignment along the line of sight from the Earth that makes the stars and gas form a humanoid face. This luminous image might not tell astronomers anything new, but it provides us all with a glimpse into the churning southern skies, bright with wonders invisible to the human eye.

Puppis is one of three nautically named constellations that sail the southern skies, and which used to make up the single, giant Argo Navis constellation, named after the ship of the mythical Jason and the Argonauts. Argo Navis has since been divided into three: Carina (the keel), Vela (the sails) and Puppis, where this nebula finds its home. While a heroic figure, Jason is most famous for his theft of the golden fleece, so NGC 2467 rests not only in the midst of a vast celestial ship, but among thieves—an appropriate abode for this piratical nebula.

This image was created as part of the ESO Cosmic Gems program, an outreach initiative to produce images of interesting, intriguing or visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes, for the purposes of education and public outreach. The program makes use of telescope time that cannot be used for science observations. All data collected may also be suitable for scientific purposes, and are made available to astronomers through ESO’s science archive.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Release Date: October 24, 2018

More information
ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organization in Europe and the world’s most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 16 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic Partner. ESO carries out an ambitious program focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organizing cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-meter Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become “the world’s biggest eye on the sky”.

#ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #NGC2467 #Skull #Crossbones #Stars #Puppis #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #FORS2 #VLT #Observatory #Paranal #Atacama #Desert #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

Skull and Crossbones Nebula: Wide-field view

This vivid picture of an active star forming region—NGC 2467, otherwise known as the Skull and Crossbones nebula—is as sinister as it is beautiful. This image of dust, gas and bright young stars, gravitationally bound into the form of a grinning skull, was captured with the FORS instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Whilst ESO’s telescopes are usually used for the collection of science data, their immense resolving power makes them ideal for capturing images such as this—which are beautiful for their own sake.

The image is a color composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), and shows the region surrounding NGC 2467. The field of view is approximately 2.4 x 2.0 degrees.

Credit: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2
Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin
Release Date: October 24, 2018

#ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #NGC2467 #Skull #Crossbones #Stars #Puppis #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #FORS2 #VLT #Observatory #Paranal #Atacama #Desert #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

Hurricane Willa Battering Western Mexico | NASA-NOAA

On Oct. 22, 2018, NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured a visible image of Hurricane Willa when it was battering western Mexico with heavy rainfall, rough surf and strong winds. The images shows powerful thunderstorms circling a cloud-filled eye. Willa made landfall on Oct. 23rd.

Credit: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) /NOAA
Image Date: October 22, 2018

#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Space #Satellite #Science #HurricaneWilla #Category5 #Storm #Weather #Meteorology #Mexico #Pacific #Ocean #SuomiNPP #EarthObservation #STEM #Education

Category 5 Hurricane Willa Heads Toward Mexico | NOAA

Powerful Hurricane Willa, the twenty-second named storm of the 2018 Eastern Pacific Hurricane Season, is on a collision course with Mexico's southwestern coast. This image of the storm, captured by GOES East at 10 a.m. EDT October 22, shows Willa moving northward toward Mexico shortly after sunrise local time.

Over the weekend, Willa rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just 48 hours. At 2 p.m. ET Monday (Oct. 22), the National Hurricane Center reported Willa had sustained winds of 160 mph. Willa is expected to unleash a combination of destructive waves and dangerous storm surge along the coast of southwestern Mexico by Tuesday evening, and dump up to 6 to 12 inches of rain, which will likely cause life-threatening flash flooding and landslides.

Willa is the tenth major hurricane (defined as a Category 3 storm or higher) to form in the eastern Pacific basin this year, and the third Category 5 hurricane after Hurricane Lane and Walaka.

Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Release Date: October 22, 2018

#NASA #NOAA #Earth #Space #Satellite #Science #HurricaneWilla #Category5 #Storm #Weather #Meteorology #Mexico #Pacific #Ocean #CIRA #GOESEast #EarthObservation #STEM #Education

The Expedition 57 Crew | International Space Station

Crew of Expedition 57: Sergey Prokopyev, Alexander Gerst and Serena Auñón-Chancellor.

"The difference between an ordeal and an adventure is attitude."
—Bob Bitchin
Despite being temporarily understaffed, Expedition 57 is on its way. Many new experiments are rollin', from medication research to water regeneration to robotics.

"Der Unterschied zwischen einer Zumutung und einem Abenteuer ist die Einstellung." - Bob Bitchin. Trotz temporärer Minimalbelegschaft ist Expedition 57 in vollem Gange - mit zahlreichen neuen Experimenten, von Medikamentenforschung und Wasseraufbereitung bis Robotik.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: October 11, 2018

#NASA #ESA #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Cosmonaut #SergeyProkopyev #Russia #Россия #Astronauts #AlexanderGerst #Germany #Deutschland #SerenaAuñónChancellor #UnitedStates #Expedition57 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #Photography #STEM #Education #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

A galaxy with a bright heart | Hubble

This unbarred spiral galaxy NGC 5033, located about 40 million light-years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs). The galaxy is similar in size to our own galaxy, the Milky Way, at just over 100,000 light-years across. Like in the Milky Way NGC 5033’s spiral arms are dotted with blue regions, indicating ongoing star formation. The blue patches house hot, young stars in the process of forming, while the older, cooler stars populating the galaxy’s center cause it to appear redder in color.

In contrast to the Milky Way NGC 5033 is missing a central bar. Instead it has a bright and energetic core called an active galactic nucleus, which is powered by a supermassive black hole. This active nucleus gives it the classification of a Seyfert galaxy. Due to the ongoing activity the core of NGC 5033 shines bright across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. This released energy shows that the central black hole is currently devouring stars, dust and gas getting to close to it. As this matters falls onto the supermassive black hole, it radiates in many different wavelengths.

While its relative proximity to Earth makes it an ideal target for professional astronomer to study its active nucleus in more detail, its big apparent size on the night sky and its brightness also makes it a beautiful target for amateur astronomers.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: October 22, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #Spiral #Unbarred #NGC5033 #CanesVenatici #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #Education

BepiColombo Mercury Mission Poster | ESA

This poster shows artist’s impression of the BepiColombo spacecraft at Mercury: European Space Agency’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter (foreground) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter (background).

The ESA-built Mercury Transfer Module (MTM) will carry the orbiters to Mercury using a combination of solar electric propulsion and gravity assist flybys, with one flyby of Earth, two at Venus, and six at Mercury, before entering orbit at Mercury in late 2025.

Learn more about BepiColombo: http://bit.ly/ESAsBepiColombo

The image of Mercury was taken by NASA’s Messenger spacecraft.

Credit: ESA/NASA
Release Date: July 2017

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Mercury #BepiColombo #Spacecraft #Orbiter #MPO #MMO #MTM #Mission #Messenger #Arianespace #Europe #JAXA #Japan #日本 #SolarSystem #Exploration #Infographic #Poster #Art #STEM #Education

BepiColombo Mercury Mission Liftoff | European Space Agency

A Joint European-Japanese Mission to Explore Planet Mercury
The BepiColombo spacercraft lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on an Ariane 5 rocket at 01:45 GMT on October 20, 2018.

BepiColombo is a joint endeavor between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It is the first European mission to Mercury, the smallest and least explored planet in the inner Solar System, and the first to send two spacecraft to make complementary measurements of the planet and its dynamic environment at the same time.

“Launching BepiColombo is a huge milestone for ESA and JAXA, and there will be many great successes to come,” says Jan Wörner, ESA Director General.

“Beyond completing the challenging journey, this mission will return a huge bounty of science. It is thanks to the international collaboration and the decades of efforts and expertise of everyone involved in the design and building of this incredible machine, that we are now on our way to investigating planet Mercury’s mysteries.”

Learn more about Bepi Colombo: http://bit.ly/ESAsBepiColombo

ESA is Europe's gateway to space. Our mission is to shape the development of Europe's space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Arianespace
Duration: 1 minute, 44 seconds
Release Date: October 19, 2018

#ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Mercury #BepiColombo #Rocket #Launch #Ariane5 #Arianespace #Kourou #Spaceport #FrenchGuiana #SouthAmerica #Europe #JAXA #Japan #日本 #STEM #Education #HD #Video