The Milky Way, Venus, Jupiter & Zodiacal Light over Slovakia

The Milky Way, Venus, Jupiter & Zodiacal Light over Slovakia

Ondrej Králik: "After sunset, bright Venus and Jupiter shines on the western horizon. The dark sky made it possible to observe the zodiacal light with all the beautiful winter constellations."

Zodiacal light is related to the Earth’s path through space, as the dust particles responsible for scattering the sunlight are all within a cloud that lies on the ecliptic plane (dubbed the zodiacal cloud). 

Technical details: Canon 6Dmod + Sigma 35mm, f1.4@f2.8, ISO 6400, 13sec, panorama

Image Credit: Ondrej Králik

Ondrej's website: ondrejkralik.wixsite.com/astro

Location: Chata pod Kráľovou Hoľou (1440m), Slovakia, Central Europe

Image Date: Feb. 14, 2023

Release Date: Feb. 21, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #MilkyWayGalaxy #SolarSystem #Planets #Earth #ZodiacalLight #Venus #Jupiter #CitizenScience #OndrejKrálik #Astrophotographer #Astrophotography #Panorama #Skywatching #Cosmos #Universe #SolarSystem #Europe #Slovakia #Slovenská #STEM #Education

Saturn's Rings & Titan Moon | NASA Cassini Mission

Saturn's Rings & Titan Moon | NASA Cassini Mission

Atlas is an inner satellite of Saturn which was discovered by Richard Terrile in 1980 from NASA Voyager spacecraft photos and was designated S/1980 S 28. In 1983, it was officially named after Atlas of Greek mythology, because it "holds the rings on its shoulders" like the Titan Atlas held the sky up above the Earth. The moon is also designated Saturn XV. Atlas has a roughly spherical center surrounded by a large and smooth equatorial ridge.

 

The Cassini spacecraft ended its mission on Sept. 15, 2017. Cassini's end involved a series of close Saturn passes, approaching within the rings, then an entry into Saturn's atmosphere to destroy the spacecraft. This method was chosen because it is necessary to ensure protection and prevent biological contamination to any of the moons of Saturn thought to offer potential habitability.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and www.nasa.gov/cassini

The Cassini-Huygens mission was a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, managed the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. 

Credit: NASA/Jet Propuslion Laboratory-Caltech/Space Science Institute (SSI)/Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS)

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Release Date: Feb. 17, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Science #Space #Saturn #Planet #Rings #Moon #Atlas #SaturnXV #SolarSystem #Exploration #Cassini #Spacecraft #JPL #California #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #ASI #History #KevinGill #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

The Eponymous Spiral Galaxy NGC 691 | Hubble

The Eponymous Spiral Galaxy NGC 691 | Hubble

This image features the spiral galaxy NGC 691, imaged in fantastic detail by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). This galaxy is the eponymous member of the NGC 691 galaxy group, a group of gravitationally bound galaxies that lie about 120 million light-years from Earth. 

Objects such as NGC 691 are observed by Hubble using a range of filters. Each filter only allows certain wavelengths of light to reach Hubble’s WFC3. The images collected using different filters are then colored by specialized visual artists who can make informed choices about which color best corresponds to which filter. By combining the colored images from individual filters, a full-color image of the astronomical object can be recreated. In this way, we can get remarkably good insight into the nature and appearance of these objects.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess et al.

Acknowledgement: M. Zamani

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: July 25, 2021

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Galaxy #NGC691 #Spiral #Aries #Constellation #Science #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Eponymous Spiral Galaxy NGC 691 | Hubble

The Eponymous Spiral Galaxy NGC 691 | Hubble

This image features the spiral galaxy NGC 691, imaged in fantastic detail by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). This galaxy is the eponymous member of the NGC 691 galaxy group, a group of gravitationally bound galaxies that lie about 120 million light-years from Earth. 

Objects such as NGC 691 are observed by Hubble using a range of filters. Each filter only allows certain wavelengths of light to reach Hubble’s WFC3. The images collected using different filters are then colored by specialized visual artists who can make informed choices about which color best corresponds to which filter. By combining the colored images from individual filters, a full-color image of the astronomical object can be recreated. In this way, we can get remarkably good insight into the nature and appearance of these objects.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess et al.

Acknowledgement: M. Zamani

Release Date: May 31, 2021

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Galaxy #NGC691 #Spiral #Aries #Constellation #Science #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Waning Gibbous Moon | International Space Station

Waning Gibbous Moon | International Space Station

The waning gibbous Moon is pictured above Earth's horizon as the International Space Station orbited 264 miles above the Pacific Ocean south of the Alaskan coast.

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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: Feb. 10, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Astronauts #PacificOcean #Alaska #Moon #WaningGibbous #NicoleMann #FrankRubio #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #JAXA #Japan #日本 #Cosmonauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Россия #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education

Tropical Cyclone Freddy over Indian Ocean | EUMETSAT

Tropical Cyclone Freddy over Indian Ocean | EUMETSAT

Tropical Cyclone Freddy seen here (far right) over the Indian Ocean on the morning of February 20, 2023 at 07:45 UTC.

The storm was captured from space via the EUMETView imagery service: view.eumetsat.int

The European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) is an intergovernmental organization created through an international convention agreed by a current total of 30 European Member States.

EUMETSAT's primary objective is to establish, maintain and exploit European systems of operational meteorological satellites. EUMETSAT is responsible for the launch and operation of the satellites and for delivering satellite data to end-users as well as contributing to the operational monitoring of climate and the detection of global climate changes.

The activities of EUMETSAT contribute to a global meteorological satellite observing system coordinated with other space-faring states.

Credit: EUMETSAT

Image Date: Feb. 20, 2023

#NASA #NOAA #EUMETSAT #Space #Satellite #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #IndianOcean #TropicalCyclones #TropicalCycloneFreddy #Storms #Weather #Meteorology #Madagascar #Africa  #ClimateChange #Europe #International #STEM #Education

Cosmic Contortions: Massive Galaxy Cluster in Cetus | Hubble

Cosmic Contortions: Massive Galaxy Cluster in Cetus | Hubble

A massive galaxy cluster in the constellation Cetus dominates the center of this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. This image is populated with a serene collection of elliptical and spiral galaxies, but galaxies surrounding the central cluster—which is named SPT-CL J0019-2026—appear stretched into bright arcs, as if distorted by a gargantuan magnifying glass. This cosmic contortion is called gravitational lensing, and it occurs when a massive object like a galaxy cluster has a sufficiently powerful gravitational field to distort and magnify the light from background objects. Gravitational lenses magnify light from objects that would usually be too distant and faint to observe, and so these lenses can extend Hubble’s view even deeper into the Universe.

Distance: 5 billion light years

Image Description: A cluster of large galaxies, surrounded by various stars and smaller galaxies on a dark background. The central cluster is mostly made of bright elliptical galaxies that are surrounded by a warm glow. Nearby the cluster is the stretched, distorted arc of a galaxy, gravitationally lensed by the cluster.

This observation is part of an ongoing project to fill short gaps in Hubble’s observing schedule by systematically exploring the most massive galaxy clusters in the distant Universe, in the hopes of identifying promising targets for further study with both Hubble and the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. This particular galaxy cluster lies at a vast distance of 4.6 billion light years from Earth.

Each year, the Space Telescope Science Institute is inundated with observing proposals for Hubble, in which astronomers suggest targets for observation. Even after selecting only the very best proposals, scheduling observations of all of Hubble’s targets for a year is a formidable task. There is sometimes a small fraction of observing time left unused in Hubble’s schedule, so in its ‘spare time’ the telescope has a collection of objects to explore—including the lensing galaxy cluster shown in this image.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, H. Ebeling
Release Date: February 20, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Galaxies #Elliptical #Spiral #SPTCLJ00192026 #2MASXJ001907922026281 #GalaxyClusters #GravitationalLensing #Cetus #Constellation #Science #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Zooming into Galaxy NGC 2525 & Supernova | Hubble

Zooming into Galaxy NGC 2525 & Supernova | Hubble

This video zooms into the beautiful galaxy NGC 2525, in which Hubble has captured a time-lapse of a supernova in exquisite detail in the lower left portion of the frame. It appears as a very bright star located on the outer edge of one of its beautiful swirling spiral arms. This new and unique time-lapse of Hubble images shows the once bright supernova initially outshining the brightest stars in the galaxy, before fading into obscurity during the year of observations. 

NGC 2525 is located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth and galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere. Hubble captured this series of images of NGC2525 in 2018 as part of one of its major investigations; measuring the expansion rate of the Universe, which can help answer fundamental questions about our Universe’s very nature.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble, Digitized Sky Survey, L. Calçada, Nick Risinger 

Duration: 1 minute, 20 seconds

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2020

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Galaxy #NGC2525 #BlackHole #Supernova #SN2018gv #Star #Puppis #Constellation #Science #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Galaxy NGC 2525 | Hubble

Galaxy NGC 2525 | Hubble

Pictured here is the captivating galaxy NGC 2525. Located nearly 70 million light-years from Earth, this galaxy is part of the constellation of Puppis in the southern hemisphere. Together with the Carina and the Vela constellations, it makes up an image of the Argo from ancient greek mythology. 

Another kind of monster, a supermassive black hole, lurks at the center of NGC 2525. Nearly every galaxy contains a supermassive black hole, which can range in mass from hundreds of thousands to billions of times the mass of the Sun. 

Hubble has captured a series of images of NGC 2525 as part of one of its major investigations; measuring the expansion rate of the Universe, which can help answer fundamental questions about our Universe’s very nature. European Space Agency/Hubble has now published a unique time-lapse of this galaxy and its fading supernova.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess and the SH0ES team

Acknowledgment: Mahdi Zamani

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2020

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Galaxy #NGC2525 #BlackHole #Supernova #SN2018gv #Star #Puppis #Constellation #Science #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

China's Shenzhou-14 Crew Share Unforgettable Moments in Space

China's Shenzhou-14 Crew Share Unforgettable Moments in Space

China's Shenzhou-14 crew members shared their unforgettable moments in space at a press conference held in Beijing on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, 75 days after returning to Earth from a six-month mission in orbit on the China Space Station. Shenzhou-14 represents the second space mission for Chen Dong and Liu Yang. Cai Xuzhe was on his first.

Liu became the first Chinese woman in space during the Shenzhou-9 Mission in 2012.

Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)

Duration: 2 minutes, 11 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 18, 2023

#NASA #Space #China #中国 #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #Tianhe #天和核心舱 #Laboratory #Shenzhou14 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ChenDong #LiuYang #CaiXuzhe #王亚平 #天宫 #CNSA #CMSA #国家航天局 #Science #Technology #Engineering #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starlink Mission: Feb. 17, 2023 | Vandenberg Space Force Base

On Friday, February 17, 2023, at 11:12 a.m. PT, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 51 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit (LEO) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

This was the ninth launch and landing for this Falcon 9 first stage booster, launched which previously launched Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich, DART, and now seven Starlink missions.

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)

Image Date: Feb. 17, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Orbit #LEO #SpaceX #Falcon9 #Rocket #Satellite #Broadband #Internet #Communications #ElonMusk #GwynneShotwell #Spaceflight #Technology #Engineering #CommercialSpace #SpaceForce #VandenburgSFB #Spaceport #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Can You Spot It? Dwarf Galaxy Donatiello II | Hubble

Can You Spot It?  Dwarf Galaxy Donatiello II | Hubble

Right in the middle of this image, nestled amongst a smattering of distant stars and even more distant galaxies, lies the newly discovered dwarf galaxy known as Donatiello II. If you cannot quite distinguish the clump of faint stars that is all we can see of Donatiello II in this image, then you are in good company. Donatiello II is one of three newly discovered galaxies that were so difficult to spot that they were all missed by an algorithm designed to search astronomical data for potential galaxy candidates. Even the best algorithms have their limitations when it comes to distinguishing very faint galaxies from individual stars and background noise. In these most challenging identification cases, discovery has to be done the old-fashioned way—by a dedicated human trawling through the data themselves. 

Image Description: A black, mostly empty field with a variety of stars and galaxies spread across it. Most are very small. A couple of galaxies and stars are larger with visible details. In the center is a relatively small, irregularly-shaped galaxy; it is formed of many very small stars and a few slightly larger, bright stars, all surrounded by a very faint glow that marks the borders of the galaxy.

The data that enabled these discoveries was collected by the Dark Energy Survey (DES), an intense observation effort that spanned six years, and was carried out using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), which is mounted on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab. As is the case for most major telescopes that receive public funding, the DES data were made available to the public. This is when the experienced amateur astronomer Giuseppe Donatiello stepped in. He laboriously processed and analyzed chunks of the DES data, and made his discovery—three very faint galaxies, now named Donatiello II, III and IV respectively. All three are satellites of the well known Sculptor galaxy (otherwise known as NGC 253), meaning that they are all bound gravitationally to their much more massive companion. 

This image comes from an observing program from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. Based on their own independent search, a team led by Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil used Hubble to obtain long-exposure images of several faint galaxies, including Donatiello II. With the Hubble images, they were able to confirm their target galaxies’ association with NGC 253—thereby providing both an independent confirmation of Donatiello’s discovery.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, B. Mutlu-Pakdil

Acknowledgement: G. Donatiello

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 6, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #DwarfGalaxy #DonatielloII #Cetus #Constellation #Galaxy #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Can You Spot It? Dwarf Galaxy Donatiello II | Hubble

Can You Spot It? Dwarf Galaxy Donatiello II | Hubble

Right in the middle of this image, nestled amongst a smattering of distant stars and even more distant galaxies, lies the newly discovered dwarf galaxy known as Donatiello II. If you cannot quite distinguish the clump of faint stars that is all we can see of Donatiello II in this image, then you are in good company. Donatiello II is one of three newly discovered galaxies that were so difficult to spot that they were all missed by an algorithm designed to search astronomical data for potential galaxy candidates. Even the best algorithms have their limitations when it comes to distinguishing very faint galaxies from individual stars and background noise. In these most challenging identification cases, discovery has to be done the old-fashioned way—by a dedicated human trawling through the data themselves. 

Image Description: A black, mostly empty field with a variety of stars and galaxies spread across it. Most are very small. A couple of galaxies and stars are larger with visible details. In the center is a relatively small, irregularly-shaped galaxy; it is formed of many very small stars and a few slightly larger, bright stars, all surrounded by a very faint glow that marks the borders of the galaxy.

The data that enabled these discoveries was collected by the Dark Energy Survey (DES), an intense observation effort that spanned six years, and was carried out using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), which is mounted on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab. As is the case for most major telescopes that receive public funding, the DES data were made available to the public. This is when the experienced amateur astronomer Giuseppe Donatiello stepped in. He laboriously processed and analyzed chunks of the DES data, and made his discovery—three very faint galaxies, now named Donatiello II, III and IV respectively. All three are satellites of the well known Sculptor galaxy (otherwise known as NGC 253), meaning that they are all bound gravitationally to their much more massive companion. 

This image comes from an observing program from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. Based on their own independent search, a team led by Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil used Hubble to obtain long-exposure images of several faint galaxies, including Donatiello II. With the Hubble images, they were able to confirm their target galaxies’ association with NGC 253—thereby providing both an independent confirmation of Donatiello’s discovery.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, B. Mutlu-Pakdil

Acknowledgement: G. Donatiello

Release Date: Feb. 6, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxy #DwarfGalaxy #DonatielloII #Cetus #Constellation #Galaxy #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Artemis Moonwalk Practice: US & Japan | NASA's Johnson Space Center

Artemis Moonwalk Practice: US & Japan | NASA's Johnson Space Center

The Desert Research and Technology Studies (DesertRATS) is one of NASA’s analog missions to test hardware and operational scenarios in a remote environment with geographic similarities to the Moon and Mars. In October 2022, NASA evaluated rover design and operations, communications with the Mission Control Center and a Science Evaluation Room at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

A key element of the DesertRATS analog is the pressurized rover, a capability that is planned for astronaut surface exploration at the Moon and Mars. NASA has a study agreement with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for development of the Artemis pressurized rover, and JAXA representatives joined NASA at DesertRATS.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Dates: Oct. 12-17, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #SouthPole #Artemis #MoonToMars #DesertRATS #Analog #AnalogAstronauts #Astronauts #Rover #Technology #Engineering #JSC #Flagstaff #Arizona #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #STEM #Education

Exploring the Solar System's Ice Giants | Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

Exploring the Solar System's Ice Giants | Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory

The ice giants, Uranus and Neptune, are two of the solar system’s largest planets, yet they have hardly been explored. The only spacecraft to visit them was Voyager 2 more than 30 years ago

A mission to Uranus was prioritized in a recent study by the National Academies of Sciences. It would explore how Uranus formed, its interior structure, and its atmosphere.

It will solve mysteries about its rings and moons, including if some have liquid water oceans beneath their surfaces. Five of Uranus’ largest moons  show evidence of recent resurfacing, suggesting ongoing geologic activity. They may even have liquid water oceans under an ice shell, making them 'ocean worlds.'

Learn more about APL's research on ice giants: https://jhuapl.link/eho

Learn more about Uranus:

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/uranus/overview/

Learn more about Neptune:

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/neptune/overview/

Credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory 

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Feb. 17, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SolarSystem #Planets #Uranus #Neptune #Spacecraft #Voyager2 #Exploration #Uranus #Neptune #IceGiants #Baltimore #Maryland #JHUAPL #UnitedStates #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 68: New 2023 Crew Photos | International Space Station

Expedition 68: New 2023 Crew Photos | International Space Station

Astronaut Nicole Mann's image refracts through a sphere of water

Cosmonaut Anna Kikina (Russia) plays with a sphere of water flying in microgravity

Astronaut Josh Cassada plays with a sphere of water flying in microgravity

Cosmonaut Anna Kikina (Russia) works on orbital plumbing tasks

Astronaut Josh Cassada studies how astronauts grip objects in space

Astronaut Nicole Mann configures spacewalking hardware

Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev (Russia) services physics research hardware

Astronaut Koichi Wakata (Japan) tends to tomato plants

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.

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)

Release Date: Jan. 31 - Feb. 12, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Astronauts #NicoleMann #FrankRubio #JoshCassada #KoichiWakata #JAXA #Japan #Cosmonauts #SergeyProkopyev #AnnaKikina #DmitriPetelin #Роскосмос #Russia #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #JSC #UnitedStates #Canada #CSA #Research #Laboratory #STEM #Education