The Outstretched Milky Way

The Outstretched Milky Way

The dust-filled center of our Milky Way galaxy stretches up from the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope and one of the SMARTS Consortium telescopes at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in this Image of the Week. CTIO, a Program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, is located at 2200 meters (7200 feet) in the mountains of Chile. Far from major cities, the dark landscape provides American, Chilean, and international researchers clear views of the southern sky. 

The spectacular green colors in the sky are not due to the aurora borealis, but instead are due to a phenomenon known as airglow. Airglow is not an optical illusion, but a genuine light source that results from chemical reactions in Earth’s upper atmosphere. It is far too faint to be visible during the daytime, and in most human-inhabited places it is drowned out by light pollution. However, out in the Chilean desert, it is possible to detect it.  

Credit: Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO)/National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab)/National Science Foundation (NSF)/Babak Tafreshi

Release Date: April 6, 2022

#NASA #Gemini #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #MilkyWay #Spiral #Airglow #Stars #Constellations #CTIO #Observatory #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #Optical #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #Chile #SouthAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Orbital Sunrise | International Space Station

Orbital Sunrise | International Space Station

An orbital sunrise is pictured from the International Space Station beaming across Earth's horizon revealing the silhouetted clouds above the South China Sea.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

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/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: March 16, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Sunrise #Orbital #SouthChinaSea #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #ESA #Europe #DLR #Germany #Deutschland #FlightEngineers #Science #Technology #Engineering #Research #Laboratory #Russia #Россия #UnitedStates #中国 #International #Expedition66 #OverviewEffect #STEM #Education

SpaceX Crew-4 Official Poster | International Space Station

SpaceX Crew-4 Official Poster | International Space Station

The SpaceX Crew-4 Mission will carry NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, and Jessica Watkins, as well as European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Thursday, April 21, 2022.

Samantha Cristoforetti's Biography (ESA)

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Astronauts/Samantha_Cristoforetti

Jessica Watkins' Biography (NASA)

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/jessica-watkins/biography

Kjell Lindgren's Biography (NASA)

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/kjell-n-lindgren/biography

Robert Hines' Biography (NASA)

https://www.nasa.gov/content/bob-hines-nasa-astronaut

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the  International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

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

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Release Date: April 6, 2022

#NASA #ESA #Space #ISS #SpaceX #Dragon #CrewDragon #SpaceXCrew4 #Art #Poster #Astronauts #LaunchAmerica #Commercial #Science #Research #Technology #SamanthaCristoforetti #JessicaWatkins #KjellLindgren #RobertHines #Human #Spaceflight #Italy #Italia #UnitedStates #Europe #JSC #Expedition67 #STEM #Education

Axiom Ax-1 Mission SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket | International Space Station

Axiom Ax-1 Mission SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket | International Space Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft aboard was rolled out to the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Axiom Space Mission 1 (Ax-1) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) is the world’s first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than Friday, April 8, 2022, at 11:17 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will travel to and from the space station in a Dragon spacecraft. Prelaunch activities, launch, and docking coverage will air live at axiomspace.com beginning April 8 at 7:55 a.m. 

Ax-1 crew members are Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel and Mark Pathy of Canada.

Michael López-Alegría (born May 30, 1958) is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission prior to Ax-1. He has performed ten spacewalks in his career to date.

During their 10-day mission, the crew will spend eight days on the International Space Station conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. Ax-1 is the first of several proposed Axiom missions to the orbiting laboratory and an important step toward Axiom’s goal of constructing a private space station, Axiom Station, in low-Earth orbit that can serve as a global academic and commercial hub. 

Axiom Space is in the process of building a commercial space station.

Credit: Axiom Space/SpaceX

Release Date: April 2, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax1 #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon9 #Rocket #Artemis #ArtemisI #Orion #Spacecraft #SLS #Private #Commercial #Crew #Mission #Astronauts #MichaelLópezAlegría #Spain #Espana #LarryConnor #UnitedStates #EytanStibbe #Israel #MarkPathy #Canada #Science #Research #Kennedy #KSC #Florida #International #STEM #Education

Axiom Ax-1 Mission SpaceX Crew | International Space Station

Axiom Ax-1 Mission SpaceX Crew | International Space Station

Commander Michael López-Alegría (Spain/USA)

Pilot Larry Connor (USA)

Mission Specialist Eytan Stibbe (Israel)

Mission Specialist Mark Pathy (Canada)

Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) is the world’s first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than Friday, April 8, 2022, at 11:17 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will travel to and from the space station in a Dragon spacecraft. Prelaunch activities, launch, and docking coverage will air live at axiomspace.com beginning April 8 at 7:55 a.m. 

Ax-1 crew members are Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel and Mark Pathy of Canada.

Michael López-Alegría (born May 30, 1958) is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission prior to Ax-1. He has performed ten spacewalks in his career to date.

During their 10-day mission, the crew will spend eight days on the International Space Station conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. Ax-1 is the first of several proposed Axiom missions to the orbiting laboratory and an important step toward Axiom’s goal of constructing a private space station, Axiom Station, in low-Earth orbit that can serve as a global academic and commercial hub. 

Axiom Space is in the process of building a commercial space station.

Credit: Axiom Space/SpaceX

Release Date: April 2, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax1 #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon9 #Rocket #Private #Commercial #Mission #Astronauts #MichaelLópezAlegría #Spain #Espana #LarryConnor #UnitedStates #EytanStibbe #Israel #MarkPathy #Canada #Science #Research #International #STEM #Education

NASA Artemis I Moon Rocket & SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Artemis I Rocket & SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket | Kennedy Space Center 

At right is NASA’s Artemis I moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) with the Orion spacecraft aboard, is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B as the Artemis I launch team prepares for the next wet dress rehearsal test. At left, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft aboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Axiom Space Mission 1 (Ax-1), Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Ax-1 mission is the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Ax-1 crew members Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel, and Mark Pathy of Canada are scheduled to launch on April 8 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. 

Michael López-Alegría (born May 30, 1958) is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission prior to Ax-1. He has performed ten spacewalks in his career to date.

Learn more about Ax-1 at Axiom Space:

https://www.axiomspace.com

During their 10-day mission, the Ax-1 crew will spend eight days on the International Space Station conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. Ax-1 is the first of several proposed Axiom missions to the orbiting laboratory and an important step toward Axiom’s goal of constructing a private space station, Axiom Station, in low-Earth orbit that can serve as a global academic and commercial hub. 

Artemis I launch is currently scheduled for spring 2022.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test that will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate NASA's commitment and capability to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond.  It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a three-week mission. Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before.

Learn more about Artemis I at:

https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1

Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Image Date: April 6, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax1 #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon9 #Rocket #Artemis #ArtemisI #Orion #Spacecraft #SLS #Private #Commercial #Crew #Mission #Astronauts #MichaelLópezAlegría #Spain #Espana #LarryConnor #UnitedStates #EytanStibbe #Israel #MarkPathy #Canada #Science #Research #Kennedy #KSC #Florida #International #STEM #Education

Axiom Space Ax-1 Mission Press Conference | International Space Station

Ax-1 Press Conference:

First All-private Astronaut Mission | International Space Station  

Update: Axiom Mission 1 liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than Friday, April 8, 2022, at 11:17 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) is the world’s first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than Friday, April 8, 2022, at 11:17 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will travel to and from the space station in a Dragon spacecraft. Prelaunch activities, launch, and docking coverage will air live at axiomspace.com beginning April 8 at 7:55 a.m. 

Ax-1 crew members are Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel and Mark Pathy of Canada.

Michael López-Alegría (born May 30, 1958) is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission prior to Ax-1. He has performed ten spacewalks in his career to date.

During their 10-day mission, the crew will spend eight days on the International Space Station conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. Ax-1 is the first of several proposed Axiom missions to the orbiting laboratory and an important step toward Axiom’s goal of constructing a private space station, Axiom Station, in low-Earth orbit that can serve as a global academic and commercial hub. 

Axiom Space is in the process of building a commercial space station.

Press Conference participants include:  

Michael Suffredini, President and CEO, Axiom Space

Peggy Whitson, Director of Human Space Flight, Axiom Space

Michael López-Alegría, Commander, Ax-1 

Larry Connor, Pilot, Ax-1 

Eytan Stibbe, Mission Specialist, Ax-1

Mark Pathy, Mission Specialist, Ax-1

Credit: Axiom Space

Duration: 55 minutes

Release Date: April 1, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax1 #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon9 #Rocket #Private #Commercial #Crew #Mission #Astronauts #MichaelLópezAlegría #Spain #Espana #LarryConnor #UnitedStates #EytanStibbe #Israel #MarkPathy #Canada #Science #Research #Laboratory #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Ax-1: First All-private Astronaut Mission | International Space Station

Ax-1: First All-private Astronaut Mission | International Space Station

Commander Michael López-Alegría (Spain/USA)

Pilot Larry Connor (USA)

Mission Specialist Eytan Stibbe (Israel)

Mission Specialist Mark Pathy (Canada)

Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1) is the world’s first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for no earlier than Friday, April 8, 2022, at 11:17 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will travel to and from the space station in a Dragon spacecraft. Prelaunch activities, launch, and docking coverage will air live at axiomspace.com beginning April 8 at 7:55 a.m. 

Ax-1 crew members are Commander Michael López-Alegría of Spain and the United States, Pilot Larry Connor of the United States, and Mission Specialists Eytan Stibbe of Israel and Mark Pathy of Canada.

Michael López-Alegría (born May 30, 1958) is a Spanish-American astronaut; a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions and one International Space Station mission prior to Ax-1. He has performed ten spacewalks in his career to date.

During their 10-day mission, the crew will spend eight days on the International Space Station conducting scientific research, outreach, and commercial activities. Ax-1 is the first of several proposed Axiom missions to the orbiting laboratory and an important step toward Axiom’s goal of constructing a private space station, Axiom Station, in low-Earth orbit that can serve as a global academic and commercial hub. 

Axiom Space is in the process of building a commercial space station.

Credit: Axiom Space/Chris Gunn

Release Date: April 4, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax1 #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon9 #Rocket #Private #Commercial #Crew #Mission #Astronauts #MichaelLópezAlegría #Spain #Espana #LarryConnor #UnitedStates #EytanStibbe #Israel #מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל #MarkPathy #Canada #Science #Research #Laboratory #International #STEM #Education

Record-Breaking NASA Astronaut Discusses Mission with Media

Record-Breaking NASA Astronaut Discusses Mission with Media

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, who returned to Earth on March 30, 2022, after spending 355 days in space, discussed his historic mission with reporters on April 5, 2022. Vande Hei broke the record for longest single spaceflight by an American astronaut during his mission aboard the International Space Station where he lived and worked aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

Mark Vande Hei Official NASA Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/mark-t-vande-hei/biography

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

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/stemonstation

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Education

Release Date: April 5, 2022

Duration: 28 minutes

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

#NASA #Space #ISS #Astronaut #MarkVandeHei #FlightEngineer #Human #Spaceflight #LongDuration #Health #Science #Technology #Engineering #Research #Laboratory #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #Exploration #JourneyToMars #Mars #Artemis #Expedition66 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Aurora and Zodiacal Lights over North Sea

Aurora and Zodiacal Light over North Sea

Aurora meets zodiacal lights over a stream flowing into the North Sea.

Zodiacal light is sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust particles that lie near the Solar System's ecliptic plane.

Photographer Ruslan Merzlyakov: "Taken on March 26th, 2022, and now waiting to see if the promise of a G3 storm will happen tonight! I cannot wait for nightfall!"

Learn more: 

 The Colors of the Aurora (U.S.—National Park Service) 

https://www.nps.gov/articles/-articles-aps-v8-i1-c9.htm 

NASA - About Aurora 

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/aurora-news-stories/index.html

Image Credit & Copyright: Ruslan Merzlyakov

Technical details: Canon EOS 6Da + Sigma 28mm f/1.4 + iOptron skytracker

Ruslan Merzlyakov on Instagram: https://instagram.com/astrorms

Location: Blokhus, Denmark

Capture Date: March 26, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #ZodiacalLights #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Blokhus #Denmark #Danmark #RuslanMerzlyakov #Photography #Astrophotography #STEM #Education

Keeping Cool in Space: New Spacesuit Technology | NASA Johnson

Keeping Cool in Space: New Spacesuit Technology | NASA Johnson

Imagine you are an Astronaut on the Moon. Your job for the next eight hours will be exploring, collecting science samples, traversing up and down lunar hills, sampling rocks, and setting up equipment as part of the Artemis program. Temperatures on the lunar surface can reach a blistering 250 degrees Fahrenheit. How does NASA keep astronauts cool in spacesuits so that they can work on the Moon?  Fortunately, each spacesuit includes a personal cooling unit.  

As NASA embraces commercial partnerships to optimize spacesuit technology as part of the Artemis program, the Spacesuit Evaporation Rejection Flight Experiment (SERFE) payload continues to be tested onboard the International Space Station. SERFE is designed to evaluate and demonstrate active thermal control technology in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station. At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, engineers have been performing the exact same test on the ground on an identical SERFE unit.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 10 minutes

Release Date: April 4, 2022

#NASA #Space #Moon #Artemis #ISS #Astronauts #Spacesuits #SERFE #Experiment #Research #Cooling #Technology #Engineering #Science #Human #Spaceflight #JSC #Houston #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The American Aurora Collection

The American Aurora Collection 

Named for the Roman goddess of dawn, the aurora is a captivating display of light in the night sky. The aurora borealis and aurora australis—also called the northern lights and southern lights—occur at the northern and southern poles. Occasionally, space weather interacting with Earth can cause auroras to extend even further away from the poles. These colorful lights are constantly changing shape and intensity, from dim and scattered to bright enough to read by.

Favorable conditions for aurora: "In March 2022, our Sun produced 146 solar flares, including one X-flare and 13 M-flares. Auroras were sighted as far south as Colorado (+38N) and Nebraska (+42N) in the United States. Multiple shortwave radio blackouts disrupted communications on ships at sea and airplanes flying over the poles. If current trends continue, April will be even busier. Stay tuned."

Photographer: Rocky Raybell (04-01-22) | Keller, Washington (State)

Photographer: Judit Fabian (03-30-22) | Steamboat Rock State Park, Washington (State)

Photographer: Kevin Palmer (03-30-22) | Decker, Montana

Solid Colored Aurora

Green is common at the upper latitudes, while red is rare. On the other hand, aurora viewed from lower latitudes tend to be red.

Element Emission Colors

Oxygen: The big player in the aurora is oxygen. Oxygen is responsible for the vivid green (wavelength of 557.7 nm) and also for a deep brownish-red (wavelength of 630.0 nm). Pure green and greenish-yellow aurorae result from the excitation of oxygen.

Nitrogen: Nitrogen emits blue (multiple wavelengths) and red light.

Other Gases: Other gases in the atmosphere become excited and emit light, although the wavelengths may be outside of the range of human vision or else too faint to see. Hydrogen and helium, for example, emit blue and purple. Although our eyes cannot see all of these colors, photographic film and digital cameras often record a broader range of hues.

Aurora Colors According to Altitude

Above 150 miles: red, oxygen

Up to 150 miles: green, oxygen

Above 60 miles: purple or violet, nitrogen

Up to 60 miles: blue, nitrogen

Learn more: 

The Colors of the Aurora (National Park Service)

https://www.nps.gov/articles/-articles-aps-v8-i1-c9.htm

NASA - About Aurora

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/aurora-news-stories/index.html

Story Credit: NASA 

March 2022 Update: Thanks to SpaceWeather.com

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Washington #Montana #UnitedStates #Photography #Astrophotography #STEM #Education

Mars: The North Polar Cap | United Arab Emirates Hope Mission

Mars: The North Polar Cap | United Arab Emirates Hope Mission

The north polar ice cap on Mars spans approximately 1000 km during the northern Mars summer. Like Earth, Mars has frozen polar caps, but unlike Earth, these caps are made of carbon dioxide ice as well as water ice. 

The Emirates Mars Mission is a United Arab Emirates (UAE) Space Agency uncrewed space exploration mission to Mars. The Hope orbiter was launched on July 19, 2020, and went into orbit around Mars on February 9, 2021. The mission design, development, and operations are led by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC). The spacecraft was assembled in the United States at the University of Colorado Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), with support from Arizona State University (ASU) and the University of California, Berkeley.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Credit: ©UAESA/MBRSC/HopeMarsMission/EXI/AndreaLuck

Filters: R+G+B (+5% UV to enhance the clouds)

Spacecraft Altitude: 26 813 km

Image Date: November 8, 2021

#NASA #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #UAE #Dubai #Hope #Orbiter #Spacecraft #Science #Geology #Polar #NorthPole #IceCap #مشروع الإمارات لاستكشاف المريخ #SolarSystem #Exploration #AndreaLuck #مسبار الأمل #Emirates #UnitedArabEmirates #STEM #Education

Hubble Finds a Planet Forming in an Unconventional Way | NASA

 Hubble Finds a Planet Forming in an Unconventional Way | NASA

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has directly photographed evidence of a Jupiter-like protoplanet forming through what researchers describe as an "intense and violent process." This discovery supports a long-debated theory for how planets like Jupiter form, called "disk instability."

"Interpreting this system is extremely challenging. This is one of the reasons why we needed Hubble for this project—a clean image to better separate the light from the disk and any planet."

Thayne Currie, lead researcher on the study

The new world under construction is embedded in a protoplanetary disk of dust and gas with distinct spiral structure swirling around surrounding a young star that’s estimated to be around 2 million years old. That's about the age of our solar system when planet formation was underway. (The solar system's age is currently 4.6 billion years.)

"Nature is clever; it can produce planets in a range of different ways," said Thayne Currie of the Subaru Telescope and Eureka Scientific, lead researcher on the study.

All planets are made from material that originated in a circumstellar disk. The dominant theory for jovian planet formation is called "core accretion," a bottom-up approach where planets embedded in the disk grow from small objects—with sizes ranging from dust grains to boulders—colliding and sticking together as they orbit a star. This core then slowly accumulates gas from the disk. In contrast, the disk instability approach is a top-down model where as a massive disk around a star cools, gravity causes the disk to rapidly break up into one or more planet-mass fragments.

The newly forming planet, called AB Aurigae b, is probably about nine times more massive than Jupiter and orbits its host star at a whopping distance of 8.6 billion miles—over two times farther than Pluto is from our Sun. At that distance it would take a very long time, if ever, for a Jupiter-sized planet to form by core accretion. This leads researchers to conclude that the disk instability has enabled this planet to form at such a great distance. And, it is in a striking contrast to expectations of planet formation by the widely accepted core accretion model.

The new analysis combines data from two Hubble instruments: the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph. These data were compared to those from a state-of-the-art planet imaging instrument called SCExAO on Japan's 8.2-meter Subaru Telescope located at the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The wealth of data from space and ground-based telescopes proved critical, because distinguishing between infant planets and complex disk features unrelated to planets is very difficult.

The research team's results are published in the April 4 issue of Nature Astronomy: https://www.nature.com/natastron/

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and European Space Agency (ESA). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.

Credit: NASA/European Space Agency (ESA)

Image Credits: Science: NASA, ESA, Thayne Currie (Subaru Telescope, Eureka Scientific Inc.); Image Processing: Thayne Currie (Subaru Telescope, Eureka Scientific Inc.), Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Illustration Credit: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI)

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Exoplanets #Star #ABAurigaeb #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #ESA #Goddard #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Starry, Starry Night | European Southern Observatory

Starry, Starry Night | European Southern Observatory

Beneath this breathtaking splatter of stars, the road to the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert is home to a rich variety of telescopes. In the foreground we can see the Danish 1.54-meter telescope, followed by the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope and the European Southern Observatory’s New Technology Telescope (NTT)  in the background. 

The Danish 1.45-meter telescope is performing its nightly duties, seeking to unveil some of the mysteries of the cosmos. It has provided a plethora of scientific discoveries, such as observing the afterglows of short gamma-ray bursts, likely caused by the catastrophic collision of two neutron stars.

The MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope is also an avid chaser of gamma-ray bursts: its GROND instrument looks for the afterglows of these events, which are then followed up by larger telescopes. The telescope also hosts a spectrograph and a wide field imager that has captured stunning images.

Although it may be just a speck in this image, the NTT is responsible for some key advances in observational astronomy. Large telescope mirrors bend under their own weight, so they have to be adjusted to preserve optimal image quality and detail. The NTT was the first telescope where these adjustments were done on the fly during observations, by monitoring a reference star. This technique, called active optics, is now widely used in large professional telescopes.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Image Credit: ESO/M. Zamani

Release Date: April 4, 2022

#ESO #Earth #Astronomy #Space #Science #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Stars #NTT #Telescopes #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #LaSilla #Observatory #Chile #Atacama #Desert #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

A Vortex Aurora over Iceland

A Vortex Aurora over Iceland

"No, the car was not in danger of being vacuumed into space by the big sky vortex. For one reason, the vortex was really an aurora, and since auroras are created by particles striking the Earth from space, they do not create a vacuum. This rapidly developing auroral display was caused by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the Sun that passed by the Earth closely enough to cause a ripple in Earth's magnetosphere. The upper red parts of the aurora occur over 250 kilometers high with its red glow created by atmospheric atomic oxygen directly energized by incoming particles. The lower green parts of the aurora occur over 100 kilometers high with its green glow created by atmospheric atomic oxygen energized indirectly by collisions with first-energized molecular nitrogen. Below 100 kilometers, there is little atomic oxygen, which is why auroras end abruptly. The concentric cylinders depict a dramatic auroral corona as seen from the side. The featured image was created from a single 3-second exposure taken in mid-March over Lake Myvatn in Iceland."

Learn more about aurora: 

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/aurora-news-stories/index.html

Image Credit & Copyright: Christophe Suarez

Christophe's website: https://www.webemoi.com

Release Date: April 4, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #CME #Iceland #Ísland #LakeMyvatn #ChristopheSuarez #Photography #Astrophotography #STEM #Education #APoD