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Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Hubble Uncovers the Secrets of The Ring Nebula

Hubble Uncovers the Secrets of The Ring Nebula

This episode of the Hubblecast explores the Ring Nebula (Messier 57). Although this nebula is one of the most famous objects in our skies, more than 200 years after its discovery astronomers are still unveiling some of its secrets.

The Ring Nebula was discovered in the late 18th century, but its true shape and structure has remained unclear. Now, a team of astronomers has used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, alongside existing ground-based data, to explore the Ring Nebula in depth. The astronomers wanted to better understand the nebula's structure, evolution, physical conditions, and motion—and it turns out that the Ring Nebula is not actually very ring-shaped after all.

Hubblecast 66—The ESA astronomy podcast—showcases stunning Hubble images of this beautiful object, showing the bright, colorful center of the nebula, and the dramatically turbulent space that surrounds it.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble

Directed by: Nicola Guttridge

Visual design and editing: Martin Kornmesser

Written by: Nicola Guttridge

Presented by: Joe Liske (Dr J)

Narration: Sara Mendes da Costa

Animations: Martin Kornmesser

Images: ESA/Hubble and NASA

- Images of Messier 57: ESA/Hubble & NASA, the Hubble Heritage team (STScI/AURA), the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory (LBTO), and C.R. O'Dell

- The Little Dumbbell Nebula, Messier 76: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona

Web and technical support: Mathias Andre and Raquel Yumi Shida

Music: Toomas Erm

Cinematography: Peter Rixner

Executive producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen

Duration: 5 minutes, 29 seconds

Release Date: May 23, 2013

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #RingNebula #Messier57 #M57 #NGC6720 #Lyra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #Art #Visualization #STEM #Education #HD #Video

ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on Spacewalk | International Space Station

ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on Spacewalk | International Space Station

On July 21, 2022, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy completed her first ever spacewalk alongside cosmonaut and Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev of Russia. Not only that, but this spacewalk was also the first conducted by a European woman, and the first conducted by a European in a Russian Orlan spacesuit from the International Space Station.

Expedition 67 Commander Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) concluded their spacewalk at 5:55 p.m. EDT on July 21, 2022, after 7 hours and 5 minutes. Artemyev and Cristoforetti completed all but one of their major objectives, which included the deployment of 10 nanosatellites designed to collect radio electronics data during the spacewalk and installing platforms and workstation adapter hardware near the 37-foot-long manipulator system mounted to Nauka. The spacewalkers also relocated the arm’s external control panel and replaced a protective window on the arm’s camera unit. The last planned activity, to extend a Strela telescoping boom from Zarya to Poisk, will be completed on a future spacewalk.

Additional spacewalks are planned to continue outfitting the European robotic arm and to activate Nauka’s airlock for future spacewalks.

The work on the European robotic arm will be used to move spacewalkers and payloads around the Russian segment of the station.

This was the sixth spacewalk in Artemyev’s career, and the first for Cristoforetti. It was the sixth spacewalk at the station in 2022 and the 251st spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.

Expedition 67 Crew

Commander Oleg Artemyev (Russia)

Roscosmos Flight Engineers: Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov (Russia)

NASA Flight Engineers: Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins (USA)

European Space Agency (ESA) Flight Engineer: Samantha Cristoforetti (Italy)

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/European Space Agency (ESA)

Capture Date: July 21, 2022

Release Date: July 27, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #ESA #Spacewalk #EVA #Cosmonaut #OlegArtemyev #Astronaut #FlightEngineer #SamanthaCristoforetti #Minerva #MissionMinerva #Italy #Italia #ASI #Science #Technology #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition67 #Europe #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #International #STEM #Education

Exploring The Ring Nebula (3D) | Hubble

Exploring the Ring Nebula (3D) | Hubble

This video begins with a zoom into the constellation of Lyra, to the location of the Ring Nebula and a composite Hubble/Large Binocular Telescope image. Then the three-dimensional model of the Ring Nebula, developed from our observations, is explored.

The main ring glows in the light of nitrogen, shown in red. That ring is filled with oxygen emission, shown in green. Perpendicular lobes are filled with the hottest emission from helium, shown in blue. Dense dark knots line the interior of the ring, and their shadows glow like spikes in hydrogen emission, shown in red.

Hydrogen emission also reveals the inner and outer halos. A circuit around the 3D model showcases the more accurate and most detailed structure that astronomers have uncovered.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 1 minute, 51 seconds

Release Date: May 23, 2013

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #RingNebula #Messier57 #M57 #NGC6720 #Lyra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #LGBTO #UnitedStates #Europe #Art #Visualization #3D #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Revealing the Structure of The Ring Nebula | Hubble

Revealing the Structure of The Ring Nebula | Hubble

This is an artist's impression of the Ring Nebula's structure, fading from a Hubble image into a 3D visualization.

Based on Hubble observations of the nebula, which is actually shaped a little like a distorted doughnut. Although the center of this doughnut may look empty, it is actually full of lower density material that stretches both towards and away from us, creating a shape similar to a rugby ball slotted into the doughnut's central gap. The space around the nebula is turbulent and full of knotty structures that formed in the nebula's past.

The brightest part of this nebula is what we see as the colorful main ring. This is composed of gas thrown off by a dying star at the center of the nebula.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 35 seconds

Release Date: May 23, 2013

Zooming in on The Ring Nebula | Hubble

Zooming in on The Ring Nebula | Hubble

This video zooms in on planetary nebula Messier 57, known as the Ring Nebula. The sequence begins with a view of the night sky near the constellation of Lyra. It then zooms through observations from the Digitized Sky Survey 2, and ends with a view of the nebula obtained by Hubble.

The data of the region surrounding the Ring Nebula's central region are provided by the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 56 seconds

Release Date: May 23, 2013

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #RingNebula #Messier57 #M57 #NGC6720 #Lyra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #LGBTO #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Ring Nebula | Hubble

The Ring Nebula | Hubble

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the dramatic shape and color of the Ring Nebula, otherwise known as Messier 57. From Earth’s perspective, the nebula looks like a simple elliptical shape with a shaggy boundary. However, updated observations combining existing ground-based data with NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope data show that the nebula is shaped like a distorted doughnut. This doughnut has a rugby-ball-shaped region of lower-density material slotted into in its central “gap”, stretching towards and away from us.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and C. Robert O’Dell (Vanderbilt University)

Release Date: May 23, 2013

Lunar Gateway Assembly Animation | NASA Johnson

Lunar Gateway Assembly Animation | NASA Johnson

Animation of the Lunar Gateway's assembly in sequential order. The Gateway, a vital component of NASA’s Artemis program, will serve as a multi-purpose outpost orbiting the Moon that provides essential support for long-term human return to the lunar surface and serves as a staging points for deep space exploration. NASA is working with commercial and international partners to establish the Gateway.

Learn more here: https://www.nasa.gov/gateway

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 2 minutes, 49 seconds

Release Date: July 26, 2022

#NASA #Space #Artemis #Moon #Mars #LunarGateway #Gateway #DeepSpace #Cislunar #Orbit #Orion #SLS #HLS #Technology #Engineering #HumanSpaceflight #JourneyToMars #MoonToMars #SolarSystem #Exploration #Animation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tuesday, July 26, 2022

SpaceX Crew-5 Mission Suit Up & Training | NASA Johnson

SpaceX Crew-5 Mission: Crew Suit Up & Training | NASA Johnson

NASA Astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada are going to the International Space Station no earlier than Sept. 29, 2022 alongside their crewmates, Koichi Wakata of JAXA, and Anna Kikina of Roscosmos.

Astronaut Josh Cassada Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/josh-a-cassada

Astronaut Nicole Mann Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/nicole-a-mann

Astronaut Koichi Wakata Official JAXA Biography

https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/astronaut/wakata-koichi/

Cosmonaut Anna Kikina Roscosmos Info

Anna Yuryevna Kikina (Russian: Анна Юрьевна Кикина, born August 27, 1984, in Novosibirsk) is a Russian engineer and test cosmonaut, selected in 2012. She is the only woman cosmonaut currently in active service at Roscosmos. [Wikipedia]

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: July 26, 2022

#NASA #Space #ISS #ESA #Roscosmos #JAXA #SpaceX #SpacexCrew5 #CrewDragon #Astronaut #NicoleMann #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #YuryevnaKikina #Astronauts #HumanSpaceflight #JSC #Japan #日本 #Russia #Россия #UnitedStates #Science #STEM #Education

SpaceX Crew-5 Mission: Crew Member Portraits | NASA Johnson

SpaceX Crew-5 Mission Crew Members | NASA Johnson

Anna Kikina Portrait (Roscosmos)

Nicole Mann Portrait (NASA)

Koichi Wakata Portrait (JAXA)

Josh Cassada Portrait (NASA)

Astronaut Josh Cassada Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/josh-a-cassada

Astronaut Nicole Mann Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/nicole-a-mann

Astronaut Koichi Wakata Official JAXA Biography

https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/astronaut/wakata-koichi/

Cosmonaut Anna Kikina Roscosmos Info

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: July 26, 2022

SpaceX Crew-5 Mission: Crew Members & Patch | NASA

SpaceX Crew-5 Mission: Crew Members & Patch | NASA

From left to right: Anna Kikina (Russia), Josh Cassada (USA), Nicole Mann (USA) and Koichi Wakata (Japan)—the crew of NASA's SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station—poses for a group photo along with the official mission patch.

Astronaut Josh Cassada Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/josh-a-cassada

Astronaut Nicole Mann Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/nicole-a-mann

Astronaut Koichi Wakata Official JAXA Biography

https://humans-in-space.jaxa.jp/en/astronaut/wakata-koichi/

Cosmonaut Anna Kikina Roscosmos Info

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: July 26, 2022

Marching Martian Dust Devils | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Marching Martian Dust Devils | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

On an early fall afternoon in Ganges Chasma (Valles Marineris), we managed to capture a cluster of 8 dust devils, five of them in the enhanced color strip. They are together on a dark sandy surface that tilts slightly to the north, towards the Sun. These dust devils were captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument.

Dust devils are whirlwinds that pick up the light colored dust on the surface as they move around in odd patterns. The lines visible on the dunes are the dark sand left behind when the surface layer of dust has been removed.

Note: Enhanced color images are 1 km across.

Malin Space Science Systems built the Mars Color Imager (MARCI), Context Camera (CTX) systems for MRO.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Narration: Tre Gibbs

Duration: 1 minute, 16 seconds

Release Date: November 4, 2015

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Atmosphere #DustDevils #GangesChasma #VallesMarineris #Science #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #MRO #Orbiter #Spacecraft #HiRISE #Camera #JPL #Caltech #UniversityOfArizona #BallAerospace #MSSS #Animation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Waiting for Martian Dust Devils | NASA MRO

Waiting for Martian Dust Devils | NASA MRO

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) captured some stunning images of dust devils in action using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument, but the overall sample remains fairly limited. Dust devils are whirlwinds that pick up the light colored dust on the surface as they move around in odd patterns. The lines visible on the dunes are the dark sand left behind when the surface layer of dust has been removed.

Note: Enhanced color images are 1 km across.

Malin Space Science Systems built the Mars Color Imager (MARCI) and Context Camera (CTX) systems for MRO.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Narration: Tre Gibbs

Duration: 1 minute, 14 seconds

Release Date: June 18, 2014

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Atmosphere #DustDevils #AmazonisPlanitia #Science #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #MRO #Orbiter #Spacecraft #HiRISE #Camera #JPL #Caltech #UniversityOfArizona #BallAerospace #MSSS #Animation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

A Monster Dust Devil Stalks the Martian Landscape | NASA MRO

A Monster Dust Devil Stalks the Martian Landscape | NASA MRO

A dust devil the size of a terrestrial tornado towers above the Martian surface in this late springtime afternoon image of Amazonis Planitia. Dust devils are whirlwinds that pick up the light colored dust on the surface as they move around in odd patterns. The lines visible on the dunes are the dark sand left behind when the surface layer of dust has been removed. The dust devil still images were captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument and Context Camera (CTX).

Malin Space Science Systems built the Mars Color Imager (MARCI), Context Camera (CTX) systems for MRO.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Duration: 52 seconds

Release Date: April 4, 2012

Dust Devil Tracks & Slope Streaks on Martian Sand Dunes | NASA MRO

Dust Devil Tracks & Slope Streaks on Martian Sand Dunes | NASA MRO

The dark lines swirling over the surface of the dunes are the tracks of dust devils on Mars.

Dr. Ken Edgett, a staff scientist at Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, California, describes a dust devil as follows: "A dust devil is something that happens both on Earth and on Mars and looks somewhat like a mini-tornado. As with tornadoes, dust devils are spinning columns of air. Such a column is called a vortex—you might see the same effect when you let water run down a bathtub drain . . . Unlike tornadoes, dust devils aren't usually associated with storms."

These dust devil tracks were captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument.

Note: Enhanced color images are 1 km across.

Malin Space Science Systems built the Mars Color Imager (MARCI), Context Camera (CTX) systems for MRO.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Narration: Tre Gibbs

Duration: 1 minute, 10 seconds

Release Date: May 15, 2013

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Atmosphere #DustDevils #Science #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #MRO #Orbiter #Spacecraft #HiRISE #Camera #JPL #Caltech #UniversityOfArizona #BallAerospace #MSSS #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Dust Devils of Mars | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Dust Devils of Mars | NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

This image shows gorgeous swirls on sand dunes created by dust devils that expose the darker subsurface. Dr. Ken Edgett, a staff scientist at Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego, California, describes a dust devil as follows: "A dust devil is something that happens both on Earth and on Mars and looks somewhat like a mini-tornado. As with tornadoes, dust devils are spinning columns of air. Such a column is called a vortex—you might see the same effect when you let water run down a bathtub drain . . . Unlike tornadoes, dust devils aren't usually associated with storms."

These dust devil tracks were captured by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument.

The scene is located in the center of an ancient impact crater to the west of the Isidis basin in the Northern Hemisphere of Mars.

Image is less than 5 km (3 mi) across and is 285 km (177 mi) above the surface.

Malin Space Science Systems built the Mars Color Imager (MARCI), Context Camera (CTX) systems for MRO.

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Release Date: July 20, 2022

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Atmosphere #DustDevils #Science #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #Geoscience #MRO #Reconnaissance #Orbiter #Spacecraft #HiRISE #Camera #JPL #Caltech #UniversityOfArizona #BallAerospace #MSSS #STEM #Education

NASA's X-59 Supersonic Aircraft: Preparing for the Next Generation

NASA's X-59 Supersonic Aircraft Model: Preparing for the Next Generation

In these images, a technician works on the X-59 model during testing in the low-speed wind tunnel during February 2022. NASA's Quesst mission has two goals: 1) design and build NASA’s X-59 research aircraft with technology that reduces the loudness of a sonic boom to a gentle thump to people on the ground; and 2) fly the X-59 over select U.S. communities to gather data on human responses to the sound generated during supersonic flight and deliver that data set to U.S. and international regulators.

Using this data, new sound-based rules regarding supersonic flight over land can be written and adopted, which would open the doors to new commercial cargo and passenger markets to provide faster-than-sound air travel.

Before NASA’s quiet supersonic X-59 aircraft takes to the skies, plenty of testing happens to ensure a safe first flight. One part of this safety check is to analyze data collected for the X-59’s flight control system through low-speed wind tunnel tests.

The X-59 is central to NASA’s Quesst mission to expand supersonic flight and provide regulators with data to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land. The aircraft is designed to produce a gentle thump instead of a sonic boom.

Recently, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility in Palmdale, California, completed low-speed wind tunnel tests of a scale model of the X-59’s forebody. The tests provided measurements of how wind flows around the aircraft nose and confirmed computer predictions made using computational fluid dynamics, or CFD, software tools. The data will be fed into the aircraft flight control system and will allow the pilot to know the altitude, speed and angle that the aircraft is flying at in the sky.

For more information about NASA's quiet supersonic mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/Quesst

Image Credit: Lockheed Martin

Release Dates: July 21 & 27, 2022

#NASA #Aviation #Aerospace #Aeronautics #Supersonic #XPlane #X59 #Aircraft #Technology #Engineering #SonicBoom #Commercial #QueSST #Xplanes #Xvehicles #Experimental #Ames #Langley #Glenn #Armstrong #LockheedMartin #Research #STEM #Education

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Wednesday, July 27, 2022

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