Friends of NASA

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6: Sultan Alneyadi (UAE) & Andrei Fedyaev (Russia)

NASA's SpaceX Crew-6: Sultan Alneyadi (UAE) & Andrei Fedyaev (Russia)

NASA SpaceX Crew-6 astronaut and mission specialist Sultan Alneyadi, United Arab Emirates, stands inside the crew access arm leading to the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Endeavour

At right, Sultan Alneyadi, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut and mission specialist, checks his spacesuit inside the crew suit-up room in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev (Russia) is photographed in his SpaceX spacesuit inside the crew suit-up room in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

Seated from left are Sultan Alneyadi, United Arab Emirates astronaut and mission specialist; and Andrei Fedyaev, Roscosmos cosmonaut and mission specialist

Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronaut Warren “Woody" Hoburg, second from left, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, second from right, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, right, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building

These are pictures of Sultan Alneyadi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut and mission specialist and of Andrei Fedyaev, Roscosmos cosmonaut (Russia) and mission specialist. UAE astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center will make history by becoming the first astronaut from the Arab world to spend six months on the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA's Crew-6 astronauts will launch to the International Space Station aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA and SpaceX teams are now targeting no earlier than Thursday, March 2, 2023, at 12:34am EST (0534 UTC) for the next launch attempt of the Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station.

Crew-6 is the sixth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station, and the seventh flight of Dragon with people as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Obtain updates about the Crew-6 mission here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-6/

You can watch the launch live on NASA TV:

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public

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: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)

Image Dates: Feb. 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #SpaceXCrew6 #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Spacecraft #Falcon9 #Rocket #Astronauts #SultanAlNedayi #MBRSC #UAE #Cosmonaut #AndreyFedyaev #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #WilliamHoburg #StephenBowen #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition68 #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Monday, February 27, 2023

SpaceX Starlink Mission: Feb. 27, 2023 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

SpaceX Starlink Mission: Feb. 27, 2023 | Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

On Monday, February 27, 2023, at 6:13 p.m. ET, SpaceX launched 21 second-generation Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

This was the third launch and landing of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched CRS-26 and OneWeb Launch 16.

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)

Image Date: Feb. 27, 2023

#NASA #Space #SpaceX #Falcon9 #Rocket #Satellites #Starlink #Broadband #Internet #Earth #LEO #ElonMusk #GwynneShotwell #Spaceflight #Technology #Engineering #CommerceSpace #Spaceport #CapeCanaveral #SpaceForce #Florida #FAA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Intense Aurora Borealis over Scotland

Intense Aurora Borealis over Scotland

On Earth, auroras are mainly created by particles originally emitted by the Sun in the form of solar wind. When this stream of electrically charged particles gets close to our planet, it interacts with the magnetic field, which acts as a gigantic shield. While it protects Earth’s environment from solar wind particles, it can also trap a small fraction of them. Particles trapped within the magnetosphere—the region of space surrounding Earth in which charged particles are affected by its magnetic field—can be energized and then follow the magnetic field lines down to the magnetic poles. There, they interact with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the upper layers of the atmosphere, creating the flickering, colorful lights visible in the polar regions here on Earth

Earth auroras have different names depending on which pole they occur at. Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, is the name given to auroras around the north pole and Aurora Australis, or the southern lights, is the name given for auroras around the south pole.

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

Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Tough

Location: Scotland, United Kingdom

Image Date: Feb. 26, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Planet #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #AlanTough #Scotland #UK #UnitedKingdom #STEM #Education #International

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Astronauts: Ready for Falcon 9 Launch | NASA Kennedy

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Astronauts: Ready for Falcon 9 Launch | NASA Kennedy

NASA SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts stand inside the crew access arm leading to the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Endeavour during a countdown dress rehearsal at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 23, 2023. From left are NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, spacecraft commander; Andrei Fedyaev, Roscosmos cosmonaut (Russia) and mission specialist; Sultan Alneyadi, United Arab Emirates astronaut and mission specialist; and NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg, pilot.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts are secured in their seats inside the Dragon spacecraft Endeavour on Feb. 27, 2023. From left are Andrei Fedyaev, Roscosmos cosmonaut (Russia) and mission specialist; NASA astronaut Warren “Woody” Hoburg, pilot; NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, spacecraft commander; and Sultan Alneyadi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut and mission specialist.

From left are Sultan Alneyadi, United Arab Emirates astronaut and mission specialist; and Andrei Fedyaev, Roscosmos cosmonaut (Russia) and mission specialist

From left are Warren “Woody” Hoburg, pilot; and Stephen Bowen, spacecraft commander

NASA's Crew-6 astronauts will launch to the International Space Station aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch was originally targeted for 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A, but the launch was scrubbed. NASA and SpaceX teams are now targeting no earlier than Thursday, March 2, 2023, at 12:34am EST (0534 UTC) for the next launch attempt of the Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station.

Crew-6 is the sixth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the station, and the seventh flight of Dragon with people as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Obtain updates about the Crew-6 mission here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-6/

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)

Image Dates: Feb. 23-27, 2023

Tonight's Sky: March 2023 (Northern Hemisphere)

Tonight's Sky: March 2023 (Northern Hemisphere)

In March 2023, the stars of spring lie eastward: Look for the constellations Gemini and Cancer to spot interesting celestial features like star clusters M35 and the Beehive Cluster, and NGC 3923, an oblong elliptical galaxy with an interesting ripple pattern. Keep watching for space-based views of the galaxies.

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.

This product is based on work supported by NASA under award numbers NNX16AC65A to the Space Telescope Science Institute, working in partnership with Caltech/IPAC, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and Sonoma State University.

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Duration: 5 minutes, 21 seconds

Release Date: Feb. 27, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #Constellations #Gemini #Cancer #StarCluster #M35 #BeehiveCluster #Galaxy #NGC3923 #Elliptical #MilkyWayGalaxy #Skywatching #STScI #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Venus over BlackGEM Telescopes in Chile | European Southern Observatory

Venus over BlackGEM Telescopes in Chile | European Southern Observatory

This image shows Venus shining bright in the night sky at the center of the picture. Around Venus is a weak light, and below Venus is an orange glow that comes from the rising Sun. The night sky takes up about two thirds of the upper part of the image, and is sprinkled with stars. In the lower part of the image is a road that leads to several telescopes. There are three dome shaped telescopes on pillars as well as one larger telescope to the left of the road. At the horizon, to the right, a telescope dome can be seen on top of a mountain. It is far away in the distance.

In this Picture of the Week, Venus is shining brightly over the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. The picture was taken just before dawn, towards the East, and also features the diffuse zodiacal light—sunlight scattered by dust particles in the Solar System.

The three domes to the left of the road are the BlackGEM telescopes, built by Radboud University, the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy (NOVA), and KU Leuven. BlackGEM will search for the afterglow of some of the most dramatic events in the Universe, such as the collision of black holes and neutron stars. The ripples in space and time generated by these violent events can be detected by the LIGO and Virgo observatories. Thanks to their large field of view, the BlackGEM telescopes can locate the source of visible light from the afterglow of these events, and thereby pinpoint where the collision took place. This allows astronomers to study in greater detail what happens when black holes and neutron stars merge.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: Feb. 27, 2023

#ESO #Earth #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Venus #Stars #ZodiacalLight #LaSilla #Observatory #BlackGEMTelescopes #Cosmos #Universe #Chile #Atacama #Desert #SouthAmerica #Europe #Netherlands #Nederland #STEM #Education

Galactic Seascape: Jellyfish Galaxy JO201 | Hubble

Galactic Seascape: Jellyfish Galaxy JO201 | Hubble

A jellyfish galaxy with trailing tentacles of stars hangs in inky blackness in this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. As Jellyfish galaxies move through intergalactic space they are slowly stripped of gas, which trails behind the galaxy in tendrils illuminated by clumps of star formation. These blue tendrils are visible drifting below the core of this galaxy, and give it its jellyfish-like appearance. This particular jellyfish galaxy—known as JO201—lies in the constellation Cetus, which is named after a sea monster from ancient Greek mythology. This sea-monster-themed constellation adds to the nautical theme of this image.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy lies just off-center. It has large, faint, reddish spiral arms and a bright, reddish core. These lie over two brighter blue spiral arms. These are patchy, with blotches of star formation. Long trails of these bright blotches trail down from the lower spiral arm, resembling tendrils. The background is black, lightly scattered with small galaxies and stars, and a larger elliptical galaxy in one corner.

The tendrils of jellyfish galaxies extend beyond the bright disc of the galaxy core. This particular observation comes from an investigation into the sizes, masses and ages of the clumps of star formation in the tendrils of jellyfish galaxies. Astronomers hope that this will provide a breakthrough in understanding the connection between ram-pressure stripping—the process that creates the tendrils of jellyfish galaxies—and star formation.

This galactic seascape was captured by Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), a versatile instrument that captures images at ultraviolet and visible wavelengths. WFC3 is the source of some of Hubble’s most spectacular images, from a view of Jupiter and Europa to a revisit to the Pillars of Creation.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, M. Gullieuszik

Release Date: Feb. 27, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #JellyfishGalaxy #JO201 #Ka364 #Spiral #Cetus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Falcon 9 Rocket Launch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Falcon 9 Rocket Launch | Kennedy Space Center

Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia), NASA astronaut Warren “Woody" Hoburg, NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, wearing SpaceX spacesuits, are seen as they prepare to depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-6 mission launch, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen

NASA astronaut Warren “Woody" Hoburg

The vehicles carrying NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev are seen as they depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building for Launch Complex 39A to board the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-6 mission launch, Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Dragon spacecraft is on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-6 mission at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia) are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

The four Crew-6 crewmates will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.

You can watch the launch live on NASA TV:

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public

Learn more about the Crew-6 mission here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-6/

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Image Date: Feb. 26, 2023

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Falcon 9 Rocket Preflight | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Falcon 9 Rocket Preflight | Kennedy Space Center

The four Crew-6 crewmates will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.

You can watch the launch live on NASA TV:

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public

Learn more about the Crew-6 mission here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-6/

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Image Dates: Feb. 22-23, 2023

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Star-Forming Chamaeleon Cloud I | Hubble

Star-Forming Chamaeleon Cloud I | Hubble

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image captures one of three segments that comprise a 65-light-year wide star-forming region named the Chamaeleon Cloud Complex. The segment in this Hubble composite image, called Chamaeleon Cloud I (Cha I), reveals dusty-dark clouds where stars are forming, dazzling reflection nebulae glowing by the light of bright-blue young stars, and radiant knots called Herbig-Haro objects.

Herbig-Haro objects are bright clumps and arcs of interstellar gas shocked and energized by jets expelled from infant “protostars” in the process of forming. The white-orange cloud at the bottom of the image hosts one of these protostars at its center. Its brilliant white jets of hot gas are ejected in narrow torrents from the protostar’s poles, creating the Herbig-Haro object HH 909A.

Image Description: Bright blue and white nebula with bright young blue stars dotted through the image. Bottom center: Herbig-Haro object, bright white clouds extend left and right, center point is white with rusty margins

The cross-like spikes around bright stars in the image occur when light waves from a very bright point source (like a star) bend around Hubble’s cross-shaped struts that support the telescope’s secondary mirror. As the light waves pass these struts, they coalesce on the other side, creating the bright, spikey starburst effect we see.

Hubble studied Cha I as part of a search for extremely dim, low-mass brown dwarfs. These “failed stars” lie somewhere in size between a large planet and a small star (10 to 90 times the mass of Jupiter), and do not have enough mass to ignite and sustain nuclear fusion in their cores. Hubble’s search found six new low-mass brown dwarf candidates that are helping astronomers better understand these objects.

This 315-million-pixel composite image is comprised of 23 observations made by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Gaps between those observations were filled by 20 Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 images. Any remaining gaps were filled with ground-based data from the European Southern Observatory's VISTA VIRCAM.

Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), K. Luhman and T. Esplin (Pennsylvania State University), et al., and ESO Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Release Date: Jan. 31, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #ChamaeleonCloudComplex #ChamaeleonCloudI #ChaI #HerbigHaroObjects#HH909A #Nebulae #Reflection #Chamaeleon #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Sparkling Spray of Stars in Open Cluster NGC 2660 | Hubble

Sparkling Spray of Stars in Open Cluster NGC 2660 | Hubble

This glittering group of stars, shining through the darkness like sparks left behind by a firework, is NGC 2660 in the constellation Vela, best viewed in the southern sky. NGC 2660 is an open cluster, a type of star cluster that can contain anywhere from tens to a few hundreds of stars loosely bound together by gravity. The stars of open clusters form out of the same region of gas and dust and thus share many characteristics, such as age and chemical composition. Unlike globular clusters—their ancient, denser, and more tightly-packed cousins—open clusters are easier to study since astronomers can more easily distinguish between individual stars. Their stars can be old or young, and they may disperse after a few million years into the spiral or irregular galaxies where they are born.

Image Description: Bright blue-white stars fill the scene, but are concentrated on the right side of the image. A bright reddish-orange star sits in the upper left quadrant of the image near image center.

The spikes surrounding many of the stars in this image are “diffraction spikes,” which occur when the glow from bright points of light reflects off of Hubble's secondary mirror support. The bright red object to the left with the very prominent diffraction spikes is a foreground star that is not part of the cluster. Hubble observed this open cluster as part of a program to study the ages of white dwarf stars in open clusters.

Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), and T. von Hippel (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)

Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Release Date: Nov. 29, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarCluster #NGC2660 #Vela #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Falcon 9 Rocket Preflight | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Falcon 9 Rocket Preflight | Kennedy Space Center

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company's Dragon spacecraft on top is seen at launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-6 mission, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev (Russia) are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

The four Crew-6 crewmates will dock the Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, to the forward port on the space station’s Harmony module about 23 hours after liftoff.

You can watch the launch live on NASA TV:

https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public

Learn more about the Crew-6 mission here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-6/

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Image Dates: Feb. 24-25, 2023

Pages

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Monday, February 27, 2023

Sunday, February 26, 2023