Dark Matter in the Belly of the Whale | Hubble

Dark Matter in the Belly of the Whale

This image, taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, focuses on an object named UGC 695, which is located 30 million light-years away within the constellation Cetus (The Sea Monster), also known as The Whale.

UGC 695 is a low-surface-brightness (LSB) galaxy. These galaxies are so faint that their brightness is less than the background brightness of Earth’s atmosphere, which makes them tricky to observe. This low brightness is the result of the relatively small number of stars within them — most of the baryonic matter in these galaxies exists in the form of huge clouds of gas and dust. The stars are also distributed over a relatively large area.

LSB galaxies, like dwarf galaxies, have a high fraction of dark matter relative to the number of stars they contain. Astronomers still debate about how LSB galaxies formed in the first place.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Calzetti
Release Date: September 9, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #UGC695 #LSB #Cetus #DarkMatter #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

Jupiter’s Dynamic Atmosphere: A Close-Up Look

Jupiter’s Dynamic Atmosphere: A Close-Up Look

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals the intricate, detailed beauty of Jupiter’s clouds in this new image taken on June 27, 2019 by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3, when the planet was 644 million kilometers from Earth. The image features the distinct bands of roiling clouds that are characteristic of Jupiter’s atmosphere and represents a stretched-out map of the entire planet.

Researchers combined several Hubble exposures to create this flat map, which excludes the polar regions (above 80 degrees latitude). These observations of Jupiter form part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program.

Credit:

NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley)

Release Date: August 8, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #GreatRedSpot #Visualization #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

Zooming Into Jupiter's Great Red Spot

Zooming Into Jupiter's Great Red Spot

This video is a pan across the surface of Jupiter, featuring a zoom into the planet's trademark Great Red Spot.

This new image was taken on June 27, 2019 by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3, when the planet was 644 million kilometers from Earth. The image highlights the Great Red Spot in a more intense color palette in the clouds swirling in the planet’s turbulent atmosphere than seen in previous years.

Credit:
NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley)
Music: Konstantino Polizois
Duration: 40 seconds
Release Date: August 12, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #GreatRedSpot #Visualization #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #Video

Global Model of Jupiter

Global Model of Jupiter

This three-dimensional model of Jupiter was computer-generated from a new global map of the planet that was taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 on June 27, 2019, when the planet was 644 million kilometers from Earth.

Credit:
NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley), M. Kornmesser
Duration: 24 seconds
Release Date: August 8, 2019


#NASA #Hubble #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #GreatRedSpot #Visualization #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #Video

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot | Hubblecast

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot | Hubblecast

This video highlights Jupiter’s trademark spot and observations made of the feature by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope that demonstrate that the spot has shrunk over time.

Credits:
Directed by: Bethany Downer.
Editing: Nico Bartmann.
Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida.
Written by: Bethany Downer
Music: John Stanford (www.nigelstanford.com) – Far Centaurus
Footage and photos: ESA, NASA, A. Simon, M.H. Wong, M. Kornmesser, H. Hammel, R. Beebe.
Duration: 1 minute, 30 seconds
Release Date: August 8, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #GreatRedSpot #GRS #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #Video

Jupiter: A New Portrait | Hubble

Jupiter: A New Portrait | Hubble

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals the intricate, detailed beauty of Jupiter’s clouds in this new image taken on June 27, 2019. It features the planet’s trademark Great Red Spot and a more intense color palette in the clouds swirling in the planet’s turbulent atmosphere than seen in previous years.

Among the most striking features in the image are the rich colors of the clouds moving toward the Great Red Spot. This huge anticyclonic storm is roughly the diameter of Earth and is rolling counterclockwise between two bands of clouds that are moving in opposite directions toward it.

As with previous images of Jupiter taken by Hubble, and other observations from telescopes on the ground, the new image confirms that the huge storm which has raged on Jupiter’s surface for at least 150 years continues to shrink. The reason for this is still unknown so Hubble will continue to observe Jupiter in the hope that scientists will be able to solve this stormy riddle. Much smaller storms appear on Jupiter as white or brown ovals that can last as little as a few hours or stretch on for centuries.

The worm-shaped feature located south of the Great Red Spot is a cyclone, a vortex spinning in the opposite direction to that in which the Great Red Spot spins. Researchers have observed cyclones with a wide variety of different appearances across the planet. The two white oval features are anticyclones, similar to small versions of the Great Red Spot.

The Hubble image also highlights Jupiter’s distinct parallel cloud bands. These bands consist of air flowing in opposite directions at various latitudes. They are created by differences in the thickness and height of the ammonia ice clouds; the lighter bands rise higher and have thicker clouds than the darker bands. The different concentrations are kept separate by fast winds which can reach speeds of up to 650 kilometers per hour.

These observations of Jupiter form part of the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, which began in 2014. This initiative allows Hubble to dedicate time each year to observing the outer planets and provides scientists with access to a collection of maps, which helps them to understand not only the atmospheres of the giant planets in the Solar System, but also the atmosphere of our own planet and of the planets in other planetary systems.

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

Note:
This image was captured by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3, when the planet was 644 million kilometers from Earth.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon (Goddard Space Flight Center), and M.H. Wong (University of California, Berkeley)
Release Date: August 8, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #ESA #NASA #Astronomy #Space #Jupiter #Planet #Atmosphere #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

Keeping an eye on Hurricane Dorian from Space | This Week @NASA

Keeping an eye on Hurricane Dorian | This Week @NASA

Sept. 6, 2019: Keeping an eye on Hurricane Dorian, the next crew headed to the International Space Station, and a better understanding of Sun-driven space weather . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 2 minutes, 57 seconds
Release Date: September 6, 2019

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Exploration #Dorian #Hurricane #HurricaneDorian #Artemis #Mars #Moon #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #NickHague #AndrewMorgan #Expedition60 #Human #Spaceflight #SpaceX #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Category 5 | Week of Sept. 6, 2019

NASA's Space to Ground: Category 5 | Week of Sept. 6, 2019

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

As the week near its close, the crew of Expedition 60 caught up on maintenance activities while also continuing science investigations integral for the future of space exploration to destinations further into the solar system.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano performed servicing to the EXPRESS Rack located in the Columbus lab of the International Space Station. The EXPRESS Rack is instrumental in supporting science experiments, providing structural interfaces for power, data, cooling water and more to facilitate investigations in microgravity.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Andrew Morgan continued examinations for Fluid Shifts, conducting remotely guided ultrasounds to track the movement of fluids within the body. Spread out over several weeks, the various measurements investigate if long-duration spaceflight can cause severe and lasting physical damage to an astronaut’s eyes. Aboard the orbiting laboratory, a Lower Body Negative Pressure device is being evaluated as a possible intervention for any harmful effects.

Flight Engineer Christina Koch, meanwhile, spent time on Rodent Research habitat cleaning and feeding protocols. Such experiments, as a byproduct of learning how microgravity affects animals, provides relevant insight to human space exploration, basic biology and knowledge that can positively impact human health on Earth.

Crew members performed scheduled maintenance on the Space Moss investigation — a plant-growth experiment attached to the Cell Biology Experiment Facility incubator. Moss, tiny plants without roots, need only a small area to thrive, and thus have potential in space far beyond low-Earth orbit, like on future Moon or Martian bases.

The countdown is on for cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Alexey Ovchinin, who will wrap up packing the Soyuz MS-14 with gear before the spaceship returns to Earth Friday, Sept. 6. Viewers can watch NASA Television as it follows the undocking of the unpiloted vehicle, which begins at 1:45 p.m. EDT for a scheduled undocking at 2:14 p.m. The vehicle is anticipated to land at 5:34 p.m. in Kazakhstan, but with no NASA TV coverage.

Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

For more information about STEM on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stem_on_station/

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 2 minutes, 27 seconds
Release Date: September 6, 2019

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Hurricane #HurricaneDorian #Soyuz #Research #Microgravity #Astronauts #ChristinaKoch #NickHague #AndrewMorgan #ESA #LucaParmitano #Italia #Italy #Cosmonauts #AlexeyOvchinin #AlexanderSkvortsov #Russia #Россия #Expedition60 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Video

Mars: Avalanche Season [Video] | NASA MRO

Avalanche captured from Mars orbit by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft

Every spring the sun shines on the side of the stack of layers at the North Pole of Mars known as the north polar layered deposits. The warmth destabilizes the ice and blocks break loose.

When they reach the bottom of the more than 500 meter tall cliff face, the blocks kick up a cloud of dust. The layers beneath are different colors and textures depending on the amount of dust mixed with ice.

Imagery captured 318.2 km (197.8 miles) above the planet's surface
Black and white images are 5 km across; enhanced color images are 1 km.

Mars Location:
Latitude (centered)
83.796°
Longitude (East)
237.006°

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado.

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Narration: Tre Gibbs (www.tregibbs.com)
Duration: 29 seconds
Capture Date: May 29, 2019
Release Date: September 3, 2019

#NASA #Mars #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Avalanche #NorthPole #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #RedPlanet #MRO #Reconnaissance #Orbiter #Spacecraft #HiRISE #Camera #JPL #University #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Video

Mars: Avalanche Season | NASA MRO

Mars: Avalanche Season | NASA MRO

Avalanche captured from Mars orbit by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft

Every spring the sun shines on the side of the stack of layers at the North Pole of Mars known as the north polar layered deposits. The warmth destabilizes the ice and blocks break loose.

When they reach the bottom of the more than 500 meter tall cliff face, the blocks kick up a cloud of dust. The layers beneath are different colors and textures depending on the amount of dust mixed with ice.

Image captured 318.2 km (197.8 miles) above the planet's surface

Mars Location:
Latitude (centered)
83.796°
Longitude (East)
237.006°

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado.

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
Image Date: May 29, 2019
Release Date: September 3, 2019

#NASA #Mars #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Avalanche#NorthPole #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #RedPlanet #MRO#Reconnaissance #Orbiter #Spacecraft #HiRISE #Camera #JPL #University#Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Three Storms Brewing as Hurricane Season Heats Up

Three Storms Brewing as Hurricane Season Heats Up

While Hurricane Dorian lashed the Bahamas throughout Labor Day weekend, two other storms were brewing — one in the Atlantic, and another in the Eastern Pacific. In this GOES West view, captured at 1:20 p.m. EDT on Sept. 3, 2019, you can see all three storms.

Dorian, still a daunting Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph, is threatening the U.S. mainland as the storm slowly moves to the northwest. Hurricane warnings are in effect from Jupiter Inlet to Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida, as well as from north of Edisto Beach to South Santee River in South Carolina. Although Dorian isn’t forecast to make landfall along the East Coast, with the storm’s increasing size, any deviation to the left of the track could bring hurricane-force winds to portions of Florida’s east coast, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

As Dorian treks along the coast, Tropical Storm Fernand is slowly strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico. This storm, which currently has maximum sustained winds of nearly 40 mph, is forecast to reach the northeastern coast of Mexico late Tuesday or early Wednesday. A tropical storm warning is now in effect for Barra del Tordo to the mouth of the Rio Grande River, according to the latest NHC update.

Although Hurricane Juliette, a Category 3 storm as of 2 p.m. on Sept. 3, 2019, is packing wind speeds near 125 mph, this storm isn’t forecast to affect land. While the storm may gain some strength throughout the day, the NHC forecast shows the storm beginning to slowly fizzle by late Wednesday.

Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Release Date: September 3, 2019

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Satellite #Science #Earth #HurricaneDorian#Hurricane #Dorian #HurricaneJuliette #Tropical #Storm #Fernand #Atlantic#Pacific #Ocean #Florida #Bahamas #Weather #Meteorology #GOESWest#UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Dorian Pulling Away from Northwest Bahamas, Lashing Florida's East Coast

Dorian Pulling Away from Northwest Bahamas, Lashing Florida's East Coast

Dorian is tied for the strongest Atlantic hurricane landfall on record with the 1935 Labor Day hurricane by having maximum sustained winds of 185 mph (295 km/h), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Get the latest forecast here:
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/#dorian

This GeoColor-enhanced imagery was created by NOAA's partners at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere. The GOES East geostationary satellite, also known as GOES-16, provides coverage of the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Pacific. The satellite's high-resolution imagery provides optimal viewing of severe weather events, including thunderstorms, tropical storms, and hurricanes.

Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Release Date: September 3, 2019

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Satellite #Science #Earth #HurricaneDorian #Hurricane #Dorian #Storm #Atlantic #Ocean #Florida #Weather #Meteorology #GOESEast #CIRA #Geocolor #Goddard #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Eye of Hurricane Dorian | International Space Station

The Eye of Hurricane Dorian | International Space Station

". . . You can feel the power of the storm when you stare into its eye from above. Stay safe everyone!"

—NASA Astronaut Nick Hague (ISS Expedition 60)

Sept. 2, 2019: In its 11:00 a.m. EDT advisory, the National Hurricane Center said Dorian was almost stationary, moving toward the west at just 1 mile an hour just over 100 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida, packing catastrophic sustained winds of 155 miles an hour.

A slow westward to west-northwestward motion is forecast during the next day or so, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest and north. On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Grand Bahama Island through much of today and tonight. The hurricane will move dangerously close to the east coast of Florida tonight through Wednesday evening and dangerously close to the Georgia and South Carolina coasts Wednesday night and Thursday.

Currently, Dorian is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Although gradual weakening is forecast, Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next couple of days while moving on a possible track up the southeastern U.S. seaboard.

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Release Date: September 2, 2019

#NASA #Earth #Science #Space #ISS #Hurricane #Dorian #HurricaneDorian #Eye #Astronaut #NickHague #Expedition60 #Caribbean #Sea #Atlantic #Ocean #Bahamas #Florida #UnitedStates #Weather #Storm #Precipitation #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #Environment #Planet #STEM #Education

Hurricane Dorian - Sept. 2, 2019 | International Space Station

Hurricane Dorian - Sept. 2, 2019 | International Space Station

Cameras outside the International Space Station captured views at 11:27 a.m. Eastern time September 2 of Hurricane Dorian from 260 miles in altitude as it churned over the over the northwestern Bahamas. In its 11:00 a.m. EDT advisory, the National Hurricane Center said Dorian was almost stationary, moving toward the west at just 1 mile an hour just over 100 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida, packing catastrophic sustained winds of 155 miles an hour.

A slow westward to west-northwestward motion is forecast during the next day or so, followed by a gradual turn toward the northwest and north. On this track, the core of extremely dangerous Hurricane Dorian will continue to pound Grand Bahama Island through much of today and tonight. The hurricane will move dangerously close to the east coast of Florida tonight through Wednesday evening and dangerously close to the Georgia and South Carolina coasts Wednesday night and Thursday.

Currently, Dorian is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Although gradual weakening is forecast, Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next couple of days while moving on a possible track up the southeastern U.S. seaboard.

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 3 minutes, 11 seconds
Release Date: September 2, 2019

#NASA #Earth #Science #Space #ISS #Hurricane #Dorian#HurricaneDorian #Caribbean #Sea #Atlantic #Ocean #Bahamas #Florida#UnitedStates #Weather #Storm #Precipitation #Safety #Alert #Warning#ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #Environment #Planet #STEM#Education #Video

Galaxy NGC 3351: Caught in the Act | European Southern Observatory

Galaxy NGC 3351: Caught in the Act | ESO

NGC 3351, also known as Messier 95, was first discovered in 1781 by Pierre Méchain, a French astronomer and surveyor who worked alongside Charles Messier. NGC 3351 is a type of galaxy known as a barred spiral galaxy and it is located in the constellation of Leo (The Lion).

New observations of this object have shown stellar feedback in action. Stellar feedback is the process of redistributing energy into the interstellar medium (the space in between the stars) within star-forming galaxies. In this particular galaxy, star formation is occurring in the ring surrounding the galaxy nucleus at such a violent rate that massive bubbles of hot gas can actually be seen being ejected. This ejected gas can then contribute (both positively and negatively) to ongoing star formation within the galaxy.

The data for this observation were taken with ALMA, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Telescope, showing once again that scientific collaboration across multiple facilities can produce some wonderful results.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/ R. Leaman/ D. Gadotti/ K. Sandstrom/ D. Calzetti
Release Date: September 2, 2019

#ESO #Hubble #ESA #NASA #Astronomy #Space #Galaxy #Spiral#Barred #NGC3351 #Messier95 #Leo #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope#VLT #ALMA #Observatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Galaxy UGC 685 | Hubble Space Telescope

Galaxy UGC 685 | Hubble Space Telescope

Distance: 15 million light years

This Picture of the Week shows a dwarf galaxy named UGC 685. Such galaxies are small and contain just a tiny fraction of the number of stars in a galaxy like the Milky Way. Dwarf galaxies often show a hazy structure, an ill-defined shape, and an appearance somewhat akin to a swarm or cloud of stars—and UGC 685 is no exception to this. Classified as an SAm galaxy—a type of unbarred spiral galaxy—it is located about 15 million light-years from Earth.

These data were gathered under the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s LEGUS (Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey) Program, the sharpest and most comprehensive ultraviolet survey of star-forming galaxies in the nearby Universe.

LEGUS is imaging 50 spiral and dwarf galaxies in our cosmic neighborhood in multiple colors using Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3. The survey is picking apart the structures of these galaxies and resolving their constituent stars, clusters, groups, and other stellar associations. Star formation plays a huge role in shaping its host galaxy; by exploring these targets in detail via both new observations and archival Hubble data, LEGUS will shed light on how stars form and cluster together, how these clusters evolve, how a star’s formation affects its surroundings, and how stars explode at the end of their lives.

Credit:
ESA/Hubble & NASA; the LEGUS team, B. Tully, D. Calzetti
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)
Release Date: September 2, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #UGC685 #Dwarf #Unbarred #Spiral #Pisces #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education