ALMA explores a Cosmic Jellyfish | ESO

ALMA explores a Cosmic Jellyfish | ESO

Using the detailed eyes of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have mapped the intense tails of a cosmic jellyfish: a number of knotty streams of gas spewing outwards from a spiral galaxy named ESO 137-001.

This celestial cnidarian is shown here in beautiful detail. The various elements making up this image were captured by different telescopes. The galaxy and its surroundings were imaged by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope; its tails, which trace streams of hydrogen and show up in hues of bright purple, by the MUSE instrument mounted on the VLT; and bright hotspots of carbon dioxide emission from within the system, which show up as flares of orange-red, were spotted by ALMA.


These tails are caused by a dramatic phenomenon known as ram-pressure stripping. The space between galaxies in a cluster is not empty, but full of material that acts like a viscous fluid. As a galaxy travels through this resistant environment, gas is stripped out of the galaxy to form a wake that creates beautiful, intricate systems such as that seen here around ESO 137-001 (which resides in the Norma galaxy cluster). The direction and position of the tail shed light on the way in which the galaxy is moving—with galaxies usually falling towards the center of the cluster itself.

This image offers the first high-resolution map of the cold molecular gas lurking within a ram-pressure stripped system. ESO 137-001 is one of the nearest jellyfish galaxies to Earth, and is particularly interesting because its long, extended tails of gas contain features known as ‘fireballs’: bursts of star formation. The precise mechanisms governing how stars form within jellyfish tails are mysterious, and this map thus provides a new window onto the conditions needed for new stars to form in such intense, changeable environments.

The ALMA array comprises 66 antennas, and is located on the Chajinator plateau in the Chilean Atacama Desert at an altitude of 5000 meters. ALMA observes the night sky from this remote location to unlock the secrets of how the Universe—and its weird and wonderful residents, ESO 137-001 included—formed and evolved, revealing more about our cosmic origins.

Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), P. Jachym (Czech Academy of Sciences) et al.
Release Date: September 30, 2019

#ESO #NASA #Astronomy #Space #ESO137001 #Triangulum #Australe #Galaxy #Spiral #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #ALMA #Observatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Medusa Merger: Galaxy NGC 4194 | Hubble

The Medusa Merger: Galaxy NGC 4194 | Hubble

The galaxy pictured in this Hubble Picture of the Week has an especially evocative name: the Medusa merger.

Often referred to by its somewhat drier New General Catalogue designation of NGC 4194, this was not always one entity, but two. An early galaxy consumed a smaller gas-rich system, throwing out streams of stars and dust out into space. These streams, seen rising from the top of the merger galaxy, resembles the writhing snakes that Medusa, a monster in ancient Greek mythology, famously had on her head in place of hair, lending the object its intriguing name.

The legend of Medusa also held that anyone who saw her face would transform into stone. In this case, you can feast your eyes without fear on the center of the merging galaxies, a region known as Medusa's eye. All the cool gas pooling here has triggered a burst of star formation, causing it to stand out brightly against the dark cosmic backdrop.

The Medusa merger is located about 130 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear).

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Adamo
Release Date: September 20, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #NGC4194 #UrsaMajor #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education

NASA's Earth Missions

NASA's Earth Missions

This is a roughly two-minute montage of recent NASA Earth missions and instruments (such as OCO-3, GRACE Follow-On, Oceans Melting Greenland and CORAL), from their construction and launch to their data products and scientists in the field. These campaigns study carbon, Earth’s gravity field, the ocean-ice interface in Greenland, and coral reef health.

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 1 minute, 52 seconds
Release Date: September 11, 2019

#NASA #Earth #Science #Space #Satellite #ISS #GSFC #Goddard #UnitedStates #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #GlobalWarming #Environment #Nature #EarthObservation #Airborne #Observatory #Exploration #STEM #Education #Video

Tonight's Sky: October 2019

Tonight's Sky: October 2019

Crisp, clear October nights are full of celestial showpieces. Find Pegasus, the flying horse of Greek myth, to pinpoint dense globular star clusters and galaxies, including our neighbor Andromeda. Keep watching for space-based views of M15, NGC 7331, and the Andromeda Galaxy.

About this Series
“Tonight’s Sky” is a monthly video of constellations you can observe in the night sky. The series is produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute, home of science operations for the Hubble Space Telescope, in partnership with NASA’s Universe of Learning.

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute
Duration: 4 minutes, 29 seconds
Release Date: September 25, 2019


#NASA #Astronomy #Hubble #Spitzer #Space #Science #Earth #Stars #Pegasus #M15 #Globular #Star #Clusters #Galaxy #Galaxies #MilkyWay #Andromeda #M31 #NGC7331 #Planets #SolarSystem #Skywatching #STScI #STEM #Education #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthernHemisphere #Video

Arctic Sea Ice Reaches 2019 Minimum Extent | NASA

Arctic Sea Ice Reaches 2019 Minimum Extent | NASA

Arctic sea ice likely reached its 2019 minimum extent of 1.60 million square miles (4.15 million square kilometers) on Sept. 18, tied for second lowest summertime extent in the satellite record, according to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The Arctic sea ice cap is an expanse of frozen seawater floating on top of the Arctic Ocean and neighboring seas. Every year, it expands and thickens during the fall and winter and grows smaller and thinner during the spring and summer. But in the past decades, increasing temperatures have caused marked decreases in the Arctic sea ice extents in all seasons, with particularly rapid reductions in the minimum end-of-summer ice extent. The shrinking of the Arctic sea ice cover can ultimately affect local ecosystems, global weather patterns, and the circulation of the oceans.

Release Date: September 23, 2019
Duration: 2 minutes, 32 seconds
Credits:

Lead Producer:
Katie Jepson (USRA)

Technical Support:
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET)

Scientists:
Nathan T. Kurtz (NASA/GSFC)
Walt Meier (NASA/GSFC)

Lead Visualizers:
Trent L. Schindler (USRA)
Cindy Starr (GST)

Lead Animator:
Bailee DesRocher (USRA)

Narrator:
LK Ward (USRA)

Visualizer:
Lori Perkins (NASA/GSFC)

Lead Writer:
Maria-Jose Vinas Garcia (Telophase)

Videographers:
Kate Ramsayer (Telophase)
Jefferson Beck (USRA)
John Caldwell (AIMM)


#Earth #Science #Space #Satellite #Arctic #Ocean #Ice #Sea #Canada #Greenland #Grønland #Denmark #Iceland #Россия #Russia #GSFC #Goddard #UnitedStates #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #GlobalWarming #EarthObservation #STEM #Education #Video

Earth: South Pacific Swirl | International Space Station

Earth: South Pacific Swirl | International Space Station

Earth from space is always breathtaking . . . especially this view of the South Pacific.

This circular cloud formation caught the eye of an astronaut while orbiting over the South Pacific Ocean. Traveling near the southernmost reaches of its orbit, the International Space Station (ISS) was more than 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) east of New Zealand and more than 4,400 kilometers (2,700 miles) west of South America.

The striking colors within the cloud formation are a result of the local sunrise. When the Sun is at a low angle (relative to the atmosphere and ISS), sunlight passes through a thicker slice of the atmosphere. This can enhance the red end of the visible color spectrum, leading to the pink hues visible at the center of the image.

When photos are taken close to the day-night line (also known as the terminator), the sunlight can cast shadows that accentuate contrasting cloud heights and make the sense of circular motion more distinct to the eye. This photo was taken while the astronaut was looking back toward the night hemisphere, so the clouds become less defined as they fade into the terminator.

The astronaut who took this photograph sent a message from the ISS to ask if this specific cloud formation had been a named tropical cyclone. However, because the weather system was short-lived, the storm dissipated before making landfall, and thus was not named.

Image Credit: NASA/JSC
Release Date: September 22, 2019

#NASA #ISS #Science #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Sunrise #Terminator #Pacific #Ocean #EarthObservation #Astronaut #FlightEngineer #Human #Spaceflight #Expedition60 #UnitedStates #JSC #OverviewEffect #OrbitalPerspective #STEM #Education

NASA Astronauts | SpaceX Crew Dragon

NASA Astronauts | SpaceX Crew Dragon

Returning flights of US astronauts from US soil

NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken familiarize themselves with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, the spacecraft that will transport them to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Their upcoming flight test is known as Demo-2, short for Demonstration Mission 2.

The Crew Dragon will launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In March 2019, SpaceX completed an uncrewed flight test of Crew Dragon known as Demo-1, which was designed to validate end-to-end systems and capabilities, bringing NASA closer to certification of SpaceX systems to fly a crew.

NASA is months away from setting a new course in Human Space Flight History. The Commercial Crew Program, a partnership between Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and Space X’s Crew Dragon are leading the way for the return to flight of US astronauts from US soil. NASA's Kennedy Space Center is leading the way in these efforts.

The agency has contracted six missions with up to four astronauts, per-mission, for each company. Commercial transportation to and from the space station will maintain a crew of seven astronauts, maximizing time dedicated to scientific research on the orbiting laboratory. This research is crucial for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight, which will allow humans to explore farther into space than ever before.

Image Credit: SpaceX
Image Date: August 30, 2018

#NASA #Earth #Space #ISS #SpaceX #ElonMusk #Astronaut #CrewDragon #BobBehnken #DougHurley #Falcon9 #Rocket #Spacecraft #Crew #Commercial #CommercialCrew #Human #Spaceflight #Science #Technology #Kennedy #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #LaunchAmerica #UnitedStates #History #STEM #Education

NASA Astronaut Bob Behnken in SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacesuit

NASA Astronaut Bob Behnken in SpaceX Spacesuit

Returning flights of US astronauts from US soil

NASA and SpaceX conducted a formal verification of the company’s emergency escape system on Sept. 18, 2019, at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida.

NASA astronaut Bob Behnken participated in the exercise to verify the crew can safely and quickly evacuate from the launch pad in the unlikely event of an emergency before liftoff of SpaceX’s first crewed flight test, called Demo-2.

As Boeing and SpaceX begin to make regular flights to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the agency will continue to advance its mission to go beyond low-Earth orbit and establish a human presence on the Moon with the ultimate goal of sending astronauts to Mars.

NASA is months away from setting a new course in Human Space Flight History. The Commercial Crew Program, a partnership between Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and Space X’s Crew Dragon are leading the way for the return to flight of US astronauts from US soil. NASA's Kennedy Space Center is leading the way in these efforts.

The agency has contracted six missions with up to four astronauts, per-mission, for each company. Commercial transportation to and from the space station will maintain a crew of seven astronauts, maximizing time dedicated to scientific research on the orbiting laboratory. This research is crucial for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight, which will allow humans to explore farther into space than ever before.

Image Credit: SpaceX

Image Date: September 18, 2019

#NASA #Earth #Space #ISS #SpaceX #ElonMusk #Astronaut #CrewDragon #BobBehnken #Falcon9 #Rocket #Spacecraft #Crew #Commercial #CommercialCrew #Emergency #Human #Spaceflight #Science #Technology #Kennedy #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #LaunchAmerica #UnitedStates #History #STEM #Education

Inside NASA's Kennedy Space Center! | Week of Sept. 27, 2019

Inside NASA's Kennedy Space Center! | Week of Sept. 27, 2019

Kennedy Space Center senior leaders viewed a mock-up of the cargo logistics module for Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser inside the SSPF. And the Orbital Syngas Commodity Augmentation Reactor (OSCAR) is approaching another major milestone.

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Duration: 2 minutes, 2 seconds
Release Date: Week of September 27, 2019



#NASA #Space #Science #Astronomy #SierraNevada #DreamChaser #ISS #Cargo #Resupply #SLS #Orion #Artemis #Moon #Mars #Kennedy #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: New Arrivals | Week of Sept. 27, 2019

NASA's Space to Ground: New Arrivals 

Week of Sept. 27, 2019

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

Sept. 27, 2019: A Japanese space freighter is on track to deliver more than four tons of cargo to the International Space Station on Saturday morning. The Expedition 60 crew is preparing for its arrival while also researching a variety of microgravity phenomena.


Flight Engineers Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan are practicing on a computer the techniques they will use to maneuver the Canadarm2 robotic arm and capture the HTV-8 resupply ship on Saturday. The duo will be in the cupola monitoring the cargo craft’s approach when Koch will command the Canadarm2 to reach out and grapple the HTV-8 at 7:15 a.m. EDT.


Today, Astronaut Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) started his morning playing with slime for the Non-Newtonian Fluids in Microgravity experiment. Koch and Morgan joined him for the fun research being filmed for students on Earth to excite them about space research.


New station resident Jessica Meir of NASA began her day observing and photographing protein crystal samples in a microscope. The research is exploring cancer therapies targeting a protein responsible for tumor growth and survival.


Meir and the station’s other new crewmates, cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka and spaceflight participant Hazzaa Ali Almansoori of the United Arab Emirates, joined the rest of the station crew to review their roles in the event of an emergency. All nine crewmembers practiced evacuating the station, communications and using safety hardware during the afternoon.


Commander Alexey Ovchinin and Flight Engineer Nick Hague are less than a week away from returning to Earth after 203 days in space. They are finalizing packing and readying their Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft for the undocking on Oct. 3. The duo will parachute to Earth with Almansoori aboard their Soyuz crew ship and land in Kazakhstan.


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


For more information about STEM on Station:
Learn more about the important research being operated on Station:
https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/stem_on_station/


Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 2 minutes, 29 seconds
Release Date: September 27, 2019


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Soyuz #Rocket #Research #Microgravity #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #Cosmonauts #OlegSkripochka #HazzaaAliAlmansoori #UAE ‎#Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Japan #日本 #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Video

T-60 Seconds with NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir

T-60 Seconds with NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir

You’ve got to know a lot to earn a master’s degree in space science and a doctorate in marine biology, and that’s before you consider all you need to learn to become a NASA astronaut. As it turns out, little of that knowledge applied as astronaut Jessica Meir sat for a barrage of questions just before her launch to the International Space Station—take a look.

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 1 minute, 26 seconds
Release Date: September 20, 2019


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Research #Microgravity #Astronaut #JessicaMeir #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Earth #Women #Leader #Scientist #Biologist #UnitedStates #Maine #Caribou #Sweden #Sverige #STEM #Education #Video

Congratulations to NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir

Congratulations to NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir

Congratulations on arriving at the International Space Station! Official portrait of NASA Astronaut Jessica Meir in a WB-57 high altitude flight suit.

From Caribou, Maine, Jessica Meir is a graduate of Brown University, has an advanced degree from the International Space University, and earned her doctorate from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Meir’s September launch to the station will mark her first spaceflight. She was selected as an astronaut in 2013. On September 25, 2019, Jessica became the first woman from the U.S. state of Maine to reach Earth orbit and visit the International Space Station.

Meir launched to the International Space Station on board Soyuz MS-15 on September 25, 2019, as a flight engineer for Expeditions 61 and 62. She is due to return to Earth in the spring of 2020. Due to holding dual American and Swedish citizenship, she is the first Swedish woman in space, and the second Swedish national in space.

Jessica's Official NASA Astronaut Bio:
https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/meir-u-jessica
https://www.nasa.gov/…/default/files/atoms/files/meir-ju.pdf

Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz
Release Date: April 22, 2019

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Research #Microgravity #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Earth #Women #Leader #Scientist #Biologist #UnitedStates #Maine #Caribou #Sweden #Sverige #STEM #Education

NASA Astronaut Moments: Jessica Meir - Exploring Extreme Environments

NASA Astronaut Moments: 

Jessica Meir - Exploring Extreme Environments

Astronaut Jessica Meir is no stranger to extreme environments. She’s studied penguins in Antarctica and mapped caves in Italy, all of which prepared her for the ultimate extreme environment: space.

From Caribou, Maine, Jessica Meir is a graduate of Brown University, has an advanced degree from the International Space University, and earned her doctorate from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Meir’s September launch to the station will mark her first spaceflight. She was selected as an astronaut in 2013. On September 25, 2019, Jessica became the first woman from the U.S. state of Maine to reach Earth orbit and visit the International Space Station.

Meir launched to the International Space Station on board Soyuz MS-15 on September 25, 2019, as a flight engineer for Expeditions 61 and 62. She is due to return to Earth in the spring of 2020. Due to holding dual American and Swedish citizenship, she is the first Swedish woman in space, and the second Swedish national in space.

Jessica's Official NASA Astronaut Bio:
https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/meir-u-jessica
https://www.nasa.gov/…/default/files/atoms/files/meir-ju.pdf

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 3 minute, 42 seconds
Release Date: September 24, 2019

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Research #Microgravity #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Earth #Women #Leader #Scientist #Biologist #UnitedStates #Maine #Caribou #Sweden #Sverige #STEM #Education #Video

View of Soyuz Rocket Launch | International Space Station

View of Soyuz Rocket Launch | International Space Station

Sept. 25, 2019: NASA Astronaut Christina Koch captured this image of three multinational crewmembers launching to the International Space Station aboard their Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan, including NASA astronaut Jessica Meir.

Christina: "What it looks like from the International Space Station when your best friend achieves her lifelong dream to go to space. Caught the second stage in progress! We can’t wait to welcome you onboard, crew of Soyuz 61!"

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, Oleg Skripochka of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Hazzaa Ali Almansoori from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched safely for their mission aboard the International Space Station on the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft at 9:57 a.m. EDT.

The crew began their six-hour trip to the orbital laboratory during which they will orbit Earth four times.

From Caribou, Maine, Jessica Meir is a graduate of Brown University, has an advanced degree from the International Space University, and earned her doctorate from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Meir’s September launch to the station will mark her first spaceflight. She was selected as an astronaut in 2013. Jessica is the first woman from Maine to reach orbit!

United Arab Emirates’ Hazzaa Ali Almansoori, a Roscosmos spaceflight participant, will return with to Earth Oct. 3rd. This is his first spaceflight.

Image Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: September 25, 2019

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Soyuz #Rocket #Research #Microgravity #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #Cosmonaut #OlegSkripochka #HazzaaAliAlmansoori #UAE #الإمارات‎#Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Kazakhstan #Қазақстан #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #وكالةالإمارات للفضاء

Soyuz Rocket Blasts Off to Station With Multinational Crew

Soyuz Rocket Blasts Off to Station With Multinational Crew

Congratulations to NASA's Jessica Meir and UAE's Hazzaa Ali Almansoori!

Sept. 25, 2019: Three multinational crewmembers blasted off to the space station today aboard their Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, Oleg Skripochka of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Hazzaa Ali Almansoori from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched safely for their mission aboard the International Space Station on the Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft at 9:57 a.m. EDT.

The crew began their six-hour trip to the orbital laboratory during which they will orbit Earth four times.

From Caribou, Maine, Jessica Meir is a graduate of Brown University, has an advanced degree from the International Space University, and earned her doctorate from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Meir’s September launch to the station will mark her first spaceflight. She was selected as an astronaut in 2013. Jessica is the first woman from Maine to reach orbit!

United Arab Emirates’ Hazzaa Ali Almansoori, a Roscosmos spaceflight participant, will return with to Earth Oct. 3rd. This is his first spaceflight.

Video Credit: NASA/JSC/Roscosmos
Duration: 1 minute, 26 seconds
Release Date: September 25, 2019

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Soyuz #Rocket #Research #Microgravity #Astronauts #JessicaMeir #Cosmonauts #OlegSkripochka #HazzaaAliAlmansoori #UAE #الإمارات‎#Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Kazakhstan #Қазақстан #Expedition61 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Video #وكالةالإمارات للفضاء

Galaxy Messier 86: Beacon of Light | Hubble

Galaxy Messier 86: Beacon of Light | Hubble

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy Messier 86. Despite its being discovered over 235 years ago by astronomer Charles Messier, the morphological classification of Messier 86 remains unclear; astronomers are still debating over whether it is either elliptical or lenticular (the latter being a cross between an elliptical and spiral galaxy).

Messier 86 is part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and is situated about 50 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy is moving through space remarkably quickly—its current trajectory is bringing it in our direction, back towards the center of its cluster from the far side, at the incredible speed of over 875,000 kilometers per hour! Because of the speed with which it is moving through the cluster, Messier 86 is undergoing a process known as ram-pressure stripping; the resistive material filling the gaps between individual cluster galaxies is pulling at the gas and dust in Messier 86 and stripping them out as the galaxy moves, creating a long trail of hot gas that is emitting X-ray radiation.

Astronomers are using these data to study elliptical and lenticular galaxies, both of which are often found at the centers of galaxy clusters. By studying the cores of these galaxies, astronomers hope to determine details of the central structure and to analyze both the history of the galaxy and the formation of its core.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Cote et al.
Release Date: September 23, 2019


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #Messier86 #Virgo #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education