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An Update on Our Artemis I Moon Mission | This Week @NASA
Week of Sept. 2, 2022: An update on our Artemis I Moon mission, a first for our James Webb Space Telescope, and a new target launch date for the next commercial crew mission . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Within a galaxy hosting around 300 billion stars, here the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has captured a mere handful or two—just about enough to form a single football team. These stellar “teammates” play under the banner of NGC 1333, the cloud of gas and dust which formed them and that they continue to call home.
NGC 1333 is located about 1,000 light-years away in the constellation of Perseus (The Hero). The cool gas and dust concentrated in this region is generating new stars whose light is then reflecting off the surrounding material, lighting it up and making this object’s lingering presence known to us. NGC 1333 is accordingly classified as a reflection nebula.
This image shows just a single region of NGC 1333. Hubble has imaged NGC 1333 more widely before, revealing that the smattering of stars seen here has ample company. Seen in a broader context, this team of stars is but one gathering amongst many in NGC 1333’s celestial Champions League.
In this image, the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has captured the smoking gun of a newborn star, the Herbig–Haro objects numbered 7 to 11 (HH 7–11). These five objects, visible in blue in the top center of the image, lie within NGC 1333, a reflection nebula full of gas and dust found about a thousand light-years away from Earth.
Herbig-Haro objects like HH 7–11 are transient phenomena. Travelling away from the star that created them, at a speed of up to 250,000 kilometers per hour they disappear into nothingness within a few tens of thousands of years. The young star that is the source of HH 7-11 is called SVS 13 and all five objects are moving away from SVS 13 toward the upper left. The current distance between HH 7 and SVS 13 is about 20,000 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.
Herbig–Haro objects are formed when jets of ionized gas ejected by a young star collide with nearby clouds of gas and dust at high speeds. The Herbig-Haro objects visible in this image are no exception to this and were formed when the jets from the newborn star SVS 13 collided with the surrounding clouds. These collisions created the five brilliant clumps of light within the reflection nebula.
Zooming in on The "Flying Saucer" Protoplanetary Disc | ESO
This video takes us on a journey to the young star 2MASS J16281370-2431391 in the spectacular Rho Ophiuchi star formation region, about 400 light-years from Earth. This star is surrounded by a disc of gas and dust—a protoplanetary disc, the early stage in the creation of a planetary system. This particular disc is seen nearly edge-on, and its appearance in visible light pictures has led to its being nicknamed the Flying Saucer.
The final close-up infrared view of the Flying Saucer comes from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope.
The "Flying Saucer" Protoplanetary Disc at Star 2MASS J16281370-2431391 | ESO
The young star 2MASS J16281370-2431391 lies in the spectacular Rho Ophiuchi star formation region, about 400 light-years from Earth. It is surrounded by a disc of gas and dust—such discs are called protoplanetary discs as they are the early stages in the creation of planetary systems. This particular disc is seen nearly edge-on, and its appearance in visible light pictures has led to its being nicknamed the Flying Saucer.
The main image shows part of the Rho Ophiuchi region and a much enlarged close-up infrared view of the Flying Saucer from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope is shown as an insert.
Credit: Digitized Sky Survey 2/NASA/European Space Agency (ESA)
Star Cluster Messier 7: Full Dome Fish-eye View for Planetariums | ESO
The Messier 7, also known as NGC 6475, as seen in a fish-eye view by the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile. This video is for projection in fulldome planetariums.
Panning across the Bright Star Cluster Messier 7 | ESO
This video pan sequence gives a close-up view of one of the brightest star clusters in the sky. This image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile, shows Messier 7, also known as NGC 6475. Easily spotted by the naked eye in the direction of the tail of the constellation Scorpius (The Scorpion), this cluster is one of the most prominent open clusters of stars in the sky and is an important research target.
Zooming in on the Bright Star Cluster Messier 7 | ESO
This zoom video starts with a view of the central parts of the Milky Way. We zoom in towards the bright constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion) and we see a fuzzy spot close to the tail. This is the bright star cluster Messier 7 and is visible with the naked eye. The final very detailed close up image comes from the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Nick Risinger
This image from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, shows the bright star cluster Messier 7, also known as NGC 6475. Easily spotted by the naked eye in the direction of the tail of the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion), this cluster is one of the most prominent open clusters of stars in the sky and an important research target.
NASA's Space to Ground: Outfitting a New Robotic Arm | Week of Sept. 1, 2022
Two Russian cosmonauts are finalizing preparations for a spacewalk to configure the European robotic arm (ERA) for payload operations on the outside of the International Space Station.
Roscosmos Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineer Denis Matveev have been given the go to exit the space station’s Poisk airlock on Friday, September 2, 2022, at 9:20 a.m. EDT beginning a spacewalk to continue outfitting Europe’s robotic arm. The duo was joined on Sept. 1 by Flight Engineer Sergey Korsakov for a final procedures review and last minute Orlan spacesuit checks ahead of the planned six-hour spacewalk.
The spacewalkers will complete the tasks left unfinished during the previous spacewalk that took place on Aug. 17. The tasks Artemyev and Matveev are scheduled to complete include relocating the ERA’s external control panel and testing the arm’s ability to grasp payloads. Korsakov will help the two cosmonauts in and out of their spacesuits, monitor the spacewalking activities, and maneuver the ERA on Friday.
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)
Learn more about the important research being operated on the International Space Station:
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.
Expedition 68 International Space Station Crew Undergoes Final Training in Russia
Soyuz Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin of Roscosmos and NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio, along with SpaceX Crew-5 crew member Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, conducted final qualification training Aug. 30 and 31, 2022, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, for their upcoming International Space Station mission. Their backups, cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of Roscosmos and astronaut Loral O’Hara of NASA, joined them for the training sessions. Prokopyev, Petelin, and Rubio are scheduled to launch Wednesday, Sept. 21, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in the Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station.
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]
NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio Official NASA Biography
What's Up for September 2022 | Skywatching Tips from NASA
What are some skywatching highlights in September 2022?
Mars is on the move this month, forming a "red triangle" with bright red stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse. Saturn and Jupiter fly with the Moon on the 9th, and then the Moon slides over closer Jupiter in the morning sky on the 11th. At the end of the month, September 23rd brings the equinox, meaning day and night are of nearly equal length, and a change of seasons is afoot.
In September 2022, Pegasus becomes increasingly prominent in the southeastern sky, allowing stargazers to locate globular star clusters and a nearby double star, Alpha Capricorni. Keep watching for space-based views of densely packed, spherical collections of ancient stars in visible and X-ray light.
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.
NASA Astronauts Kjell Lindgren & Jessica Watkins Answer Student Questions
Aboard the International Space Station, NASA Expedition 67 Flight Engineers Kjell Lindgren and Jessica Watkins answered pre-recorded questions about life and work on the orbiting laboratory during an in-flight event August 31 with students at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, Colorado. Lindgren and Watkins are part of the Expedition 67 mission—living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and to 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.
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.
Our Star: A Week Filled with Solar Flares | NASA Goddard
During the week of Friday, August 12, to Thursday, August 18, 2022, the Sun was particularly busy. Several bright active regions were present, and starting on the 15th, they were responsible for 11 M-class flares. M-class flares are one level below X-class, the highest-energy designation. This imagery is all captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in the 171-angstrom wavelength of extreme-ultraviolet light. This wavelength is particularly good at showing loop structures in the Sun's corona, or atmosphere.
At times, the image of the Sun disappears from view. SDO is in a geosynchronous orbit and occasionally Earth gets in between SDO and the Sun, blocking the view. Careful observation will reveal a fuzzy edge to the blackness that travels across the solar disk. This is Earth's atmosphere.
Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)/SDO
