Tuesday, February 07, 2023

Orbital Sunrise Illuminating Earth's Atmosphere | International Space Station

Orbital Sunrise Illuminating Earth's Atmosphere | International Space Station

An orbital sunrise begins illuminating Earth's atmosphere and its horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 268 miles above the south Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Argentina.

Follow Expedition 68 crew updates at:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 68 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Anna Kikina & Dmitri Petelin

NASA: Flight Engineers Nicole Mann, Frank Rubio & Josh Cassada

JAXA (Japan): Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata

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.


Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: Feb. 1, 2023


#NASA #Space #ISS #Sun #Star #Earth #Sunrise #Atmosphere #AtlanticOcean #Argentina #Astronauts #NicoleMann #FrankRubio #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #JAXA #Japan #Cosmonauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education

Giant Interacting Galaxies NGC 6872 & IC 4970 | ESO

Giant Interacting Galaxies NGC 6872 & IC 4970 | ESO

This image shows the spectacular barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 that is shaped like an "integral sign". It is of type SBb and is accompanied by a smaller, interacting galaxy, IC 4970 of type S0 (just above the center). The bright object to the lower right of the galaxies is a star in the Milky Way whose image has been strongly overexposed and exhibits multiple optical reflections in the telescope and instrument. There are also many other, fainter and more distant galaxies of many different forms in the field. 

This interesting system is located in the southern constellation Pavo (The Peacock). It is comparatively distant, almost 300 million light-years away. It extends over more than 7 arcmin in the sky and its real size from tip to tip is thus nearly 750,000 light-years. It is in fact one of the largest known, barred spiral galaxies. In order to image all of this extraordinary object within the available field of the FORS1 camera, the instrument was rotated so that the galaxy extends along the diagonal. For this reason, the orientation is such that North is to the upper right and East is to the upper left.

The upper left spiral arm of NGC 6872 is significantly disturbed and is populated by a plethora of blueish objects, many of which are star-forming regions. This may have been be caused by a recent passage of IC 4970 through it.

Three-color composite reproduced from one blue (B), one green-yellow (V) and one red (R) exposure, obtained with FORS1 at ANTU in the morning of March 29, 1999. The field size is again 6.8x6.8 arcmin 2.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Duration: 18 seconds

Release Date: Nov. 25, 2015


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ESO #Galaxies #Galaxy #IC4970 #Interacting #NGC6872 #Spiral #Barred #Pavo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS1 #Chile #Europe #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Giant Interacting Galaxies NGC 6872 & IC 4970 | ESO

Giant Interacting Galaxies NGC 6872 & IC 4970 | ESO


This image shows the spectacular barred spiral galaxy NGC 6872 that is shaped like an "integral sign". It is of type SBb and is accompanied by a smaller, interacting galaxy, IC 4970 of type S0 (just above the center). The bright object to the lower right of the galaxies is a star in the Milky Way whose image has been strongly overexposed and exhibits multiple optical reflections in the telescope and instrument. There are also many other, fainter and more distant galaxies of many different forms in the field. 

This interesting system is located in the southern constellation Pavo (The Peacock). It is comparatively distant, almost 300 million light-years away. It extends over more than 7 arcmin in the sky and its real size from tip to tip is thus nearly 750,000 light-years. It is in fact one of the largest known, barred spiral galaxies. In order to image all of this extraordinary object within the available field of the FORS1 camera, the instrument was rotated so that the galaxy extends along the diagonal. For this reason, the orientation is such that North is to the upper right and East is to the upper left.

The upper left spiral arm of NGC 6872 is significantly disturbed and is populated by a plethora of blueish objects, many of which are star-forming regions. This may have been be caused by a recent passage of IC 4970 through it.

Three-color composite reproduced from one blue (B), one green-yellow (V) and one red (R) exposure, obtained with FORS1 at ANTU in the morning of March 29, 1999. The field size is again 6.8x6.8 arcmin 2.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: April 30, 1999


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ESO #Galaxies #Galaxy #IC4970 #Interacting #NGC6872 #Spiral #Barred #Pavo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #VLT #FORS1 #Chile #Europe #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

An Interacting Colossus: Galaxies NGC 6872 & IC 4970 | Hubble

An Interacting Colossus: Galaxies NGC 6872 & IC 4970 | Hubble

This picture, taken by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), shows a galaxy known as NGC 6872 in the constellation of Pavo (The Peacock). Galaxy NGC 6872 is five times larger than our Milky Way Galaxy. NGC 6872's unusual shape is caused by its interactions with the smaller galaxy that can be seen just above NGC 6872, called IC 4970. They both lie roughly 300 million light-years away from Earth.

From tip to tip, NGC 6872 measures over 500,000 light-years across, making it the second largest spiral galaxy discovered to date. In terms of size it is beaten only by NGC 262, a galaxy that measures a mind-boggling 1.3 million light-years in diameter! To put that into perspective, our own galaxy, the Milky Way, measures between 100,000 and 120,000 light-years across, making NGC 6872 about five times its size.

The upper left spiral arm of NGC 6872 is visibly distorted and is populated by star-forming regions, which appear blue on this image. This may have been be caused by IC 4970 recently passing through this arm—although here, recent means 130 million years ago! Astronomers have noted that NGC 6872 seems to be relatively sparse in terms of free hydrogen, which is the basis material for new stars, meaning that if it were not for its interactions with IC 4970, NGC 6872 might not have been able to produce new bursts of star formation.

A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Judy Schmidt.


Image Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA

Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (geckzilla.com)

Release Date: Sept. 15, 2014


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #Galaxies #IC4970 #Interacting #NGC6872 #Spiral #Pavo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #JudySchmidt #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Monday, February 06, 2023

Flight to Dwarf Galaxy Bedin 1 | Hubble

Flight to Dwarf Galaxy Bedin 1 | Hubble

This computer animation, using real astronomical data from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescopes and from ground-based telescopes, allows us to fly through the globular cluster NGC 6752 and shows the newly discovered dwarf galaxy Bedin 1 behind it. The galaxy, about 30 million light-years away, is classified as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy and has been nicknamed Bedin 1, after the principal investigator.


Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, M. Kornmesser

Duration: 23 seconds

Release Date:  Jan. 31, 2019


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #BedinI #Galaxy #Dwarf #Spheroidal #Stars #StarCluster #NGC6752 #Globular #Pavo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Visualization #HD #Video

Zooming in on Star Cluster NGC 6752 & Dwarf Galaxy Bedin 1 | Hubble

Zooming in on Star Cluster NGC 6752 & Dwarf Galaxy Bedin 1 | Hubble

This video takes the viewer on a journey to the globular cluster NGC 6752. The final view, from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, shows the bright stars of the cluster, as well as a collection of faint stars; these faint stars are actually part of a background galaxy, which was discovered accidentally by astronomers studying the cluster itself. The galaxy is about 30 million light-years away, is classified as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy and has been nicknamed Bedin 1, after the principal investigator.


Credits: Risinger, DSS, Hubble, Damian Peach  

Duration: 55 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 31, 2019


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #BedinI #Galaxy #Dwarf #Spheroidal #Stars #StarCluster #NGC6752 #Globular #Pavo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Location of Dwarf Galaxy Bedin 1 in Star Cluster NGC 6752 | Hubble

Location of Dwarf Galaxy Bedin 1 in Star Cluster NGC 6752 | Hubble

This composite image shows the location of the accidentally discovered dwarf galaxy Bedin 1 behind the globular cluster NGC 6752. The lower image, depicting the complete cluster, is a ground-based observation from the Digitized Sky Survey 2. The upper right image shows the full field of view of the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The upper left one highlights the part containing the galaxy Bedin 1.

Distance: 30 million light years


Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, NASA, Bedin et al., Digitized Sky Survey 2

Release Date: Jan. 31, 2019


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #BedinI #Galaxy #Dwarf #Spheroidal #Stars #StarCluster #NGC6752 #Globular #Pavo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Infographic #STEM #Education

Bedin I: "The Accidentally Discovered Dwarf Galaxy" | Hubble

Bedin I: "The Accidentally Discovered Dwarf Galaxy" | Hubble


This image, taken with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, shows a part the globular cluster NGC 6752. Behind the bright stars of the cluster a denser collection of faint stars is visible—a previously unknown dwarf spheroidal galaxy. This galaxy, nicknamed Bedin 1, is about 30 million light-years from Earth.


Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, NASA, Bedin et al.

Release Date: Jan. 31, 2019


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #BedinI #Galaxy #Dwarf #Spheroidal #Stars #StarCluster #NGC6752 #Globular #Pavo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Prepares for Launch | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Prepares for Launch | International Space Station

Astronaut Stephen Bowen of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX Crew-6 Commander, poses for a portrait in his pressure suit at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Specialist

Cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos, SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Specialist


Astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX Crew-6 Pilot


A SpaceX launch and entry suit bears an American flag, and the name of NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, who will serve as the commander of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station


A SpaceX launch and entry suit bears a United Arab Emirates flag, and the name of Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre astronaut Sultan Alneyadi


A SpaceX launch and entry suit bears a Russian flag, and the name of Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev


A SpaceX launch and entry suit bears an American flag, and the name of NASA astronaut Warren "Woody" Hoburg

The four crew members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station are Mission Specialist Sultan Al Nedayi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos (Russia), Pilot William Hoburg (NASA), and Commander Stephen Bowen (NASA). Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023.


Image Credit: SpaceX
Image Date: Jan. 30, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Earth #Science #ISS #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Spacecraft #SpaceXCrew6 #Astronauts #SultanAlNedayi #MBRSC #UAE #Cosmonaut #AndreyFedyaev #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #WilliamHoburg #MIT #StephenBowen #USNavy #CCP #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Globular Star Cluster NGC 6752 in Pavo | Hubble

Globular Star Cluster NGC 6752 in Pavo | Hubble


This image, taken with the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, shows a part of the globular cluster NGC 6752. The observations were made to study white dwarfs within it and to use these stars to measure the age of the globular cluster.

Analyzing the data, astronomers discovered a previously unknown galaxy behind the globular cluster. The galaxy, nicknamed Bedin 1, is visible as a collection of faint stars at the top left of the image.


Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, NASA, Bedin et al.

Release Date: January 31, 2019


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #NGC6752 #Globular #BedinI #Pavo #Constellation #Galaxy #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Hypnotizing Galaxy: NGC 4303 | European Southern Observatory

A Hypnotizing Galaxy: NGC 4303 | European Southern Observatory


Fall deeper into the entrancing NGC 4303, a spiral galaxy located approximately 55 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. This image combines data taken at radio and visible wavelengths, and is helping astronomers understand how stars form in galaxies.

The hypnotizing golden glow drawing you into the image corresponds to clouds of molecular gas, the raw material out of which stars form. The data was taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), co-operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in the Chilean Andes. The blueish regions in the background, on the other hand, were imaged with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), also in Chile, and they reveal already formed stars. By comparing the distribution of gas and stars astronomers are able to study what triggers, enhances or hampers the birth of new stars. 

This image is part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project, which is using ground-based and space telescopes to make detailed observations of nearby galaxies across the electromagnetic spectrum.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/PHANGS

Release Date: Feb. 6, 2023


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #NGC4303 #Spiral #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #ALMA #Telescope #VLT #MUSE #PHANGS #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Sunday, February 05, 2023

Open Star Cluster NGC 6791 in Lyra | Hubble

Open Star Cluster NGC 6791 in Lyra | Hubble

This Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) field image is full of stars from the open star cluster NGC 6791 estimated to be 8 billion years old. Two background galaxies can be seen at upper left.

Distance: 13,000 light years


Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and L. Bedin (STScI)

Release Date: July 10, 2008


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #NGC6791 #Lyra #Constellation #Galaxy #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA Kennedy’s Swamp Works Celebrates a Decade of Discoveries

NASA Kennedy’s Swamp Works Celebrates a Decade of Discoveries

This year, we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Swamp Works. Swamp Works was developed as a space devoted to innovation and collaboration across Kennedy’s research facilities, which include the granular mechanics and regolith operations (GMRO), applied chemistry, electrostatics and surface physics, and applied physics laboratories.

As NASA prepares to return to the Moon, the technologies developed at Swamp Works are playing a major role across multiple programs at the agency. These advancements will help provide humans with the capabilities that will be needed for living and exploring on the surfaces of the Moon, and one day, Mars.


Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 3, 2023


#NASA #NASAKennedy #KSC #SwampWorks #Space #Earth #Moon #Artemis #Research #GMRO #Science #Physics #Chemistry #Technology #Engineering #Robotics #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New Mars Images: Feb. 2023 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers | JPL

New Mars Images: Feb. 2023 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers | JPL

MSL - Sol 3727 - Mastcam

Mars2020 - Sol 693 - Mastcam

Mars2020 - Sol 693 - Mastcam-Z

MSL - Sol 3730 - MastCam

MSL - Sol 3728 - Mastcam

MSL - Sol 3730 - MastCam

MSL - Sol 3730 - MAHLI

Support FriendsofNASA.org | For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Celebrating 10 Years+ on Mars! (2012-2023)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life. 

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars


Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.

Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity)

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars


Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: Feb. 2-3, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #UnitedStates #MoonToMars #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

Saturday, February 04, 2023

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Prepares for Launch | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 Prepares for Launch | International Space Station

The four crew members that comprise the SpaceX Crew-6 mission are pictured in front of the SpaceX Dragon crew ship during a crew equipment integration test at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left, in their pressure suits are, Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos; Pilot Warren "Woody" Hoburg and Commander Stephen Bowen, both from NASA; and Mission Specialist Sultan Alneyadi from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.



Roscosmos cosmonaut and SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev is pictured during a Crew Dragon cockpit training session at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California


Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre astronaut and SpaceX Crew-6 Mission Specialist Sultan Alneyadi is pictured during a Crew Dragon cockpit training session at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California


The four crew members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station are Mission Specialist Sultan Al Nedayi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos (Russia), Pilot William Hoburg (NASA), and Commander Stephen Bowen (NASA). Launch is scheduled for no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023.


Credit: SpaceX
Image Date: Jan. 30, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Earth #Science #ISS #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Spacecraft #SpaceXCrew6 #Astronauts #SultanAlNedayi #MBRSC #UAE #Cosmonaut #AndreyFedyaev #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #WilliamHoburg #MIT #StephenBowen #USNavy #CCP #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Friday, February 03, 2023

Work to Do Outside the International Space Station | This Week @NASA

Work to Do Outside the International Space Station | This Week @NASA

Week of  Feb. 3, 2023: Work to do outside the International Space Station, honoring a pair of former astronauts, and a milestone on Mars . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Video Producer: Andre Valentine

Video Editor: Haley Reed

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Feb. 3, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #Mars #Astronauts #Spacewalk #EVA #NicoleMann #FrankRubio #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #JAXA #Japan #Cosmonauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education #HD #Video