Monday, August 21, 2023

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 Mission to the International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 Mission to the International Space Station

An international crew is preparing to launch to the International Space Station aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission. NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli (commander), European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen (pilot) of Denmark, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos (Russia) will perform research technology demonstrations, science experiments, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory.

Crew-7 is targeted to launch no earlier than 3:49 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 25 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. As part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, Crew-7 marks the eighth human spaceflight mission supported by a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the seventh crew rotation mission to the International Space Station since 2020 for NASA.

This will be the first spaceflight for Moghbeli, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017.

Mogensen will be the spacecraft pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission—the first non-US astronaut assigned in this capacity. This will be the first long-duration mission for Mogensen. He previously served as a flight engineer on a ten-day mission to the International Space Station in 2015. Crew-7 will be his second trip to space.

Learn more about the Crew-7 mission here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-7/


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Video Producer: Sonnet Apple

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Aug. 21, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #SpaceX #SpaceXCrew7 #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #JasminMoghbeli #ESA #AndreasMogensen #Denmark #Europe #Cosmonaut #KonstantinBorisov #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #SatoshiFurukawa #Japan #日本 #JAXA #HumanSpaceflight #NASAKennedy #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Ring Nebula in Lyra (MIRI image) | James Webb Space Telescope

The Ring Nebula in Lyra (MIRI image) | James Webb Space Telescope

The NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope has observed the well-known Ring Nebula with unprecedented detail. Formed by a star throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel, the Ring Nebula is an archetypal planetary nebula. Also known as M57 and NGC 6720, it is both relatively close to Earth at roughly 2,500 light-years away.

Image Description: This image of the Ring Nebula appears as a distorted doughnut. The nebula’s inner cavity hosts shades of red and orange, while the detailed ring transitions through shades of yellow in the inner regions and blue/purple in the outer region. The ring’s inner region has distinct filament elements.

This new image provides unprecedented spatial resolution and spectral sensitivity. In particular, Webb’s MIRI (Mid-InfraRed Instrument) reveals particular details in the concentric features in the outer regions of the nebulae’s ring (right).

There are some 20,000 dense globules in the nebula, which are rich in molecular hydrogen. In contrast, the inner region shows very hot gas. The main shell contains a thin ring of enhanced emission from carbon-based molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Roughly ten concentric arcs located just beyond the outer edge of the main ring. The arcs are thought to originate from the interaction of the central star with a low-mass companion orbiting at a distance comparable to that between the Earth and the dwarf planet Pluto. In this way, nebulae like the Ring Nebula reveal a kind of astronomical archaeology, as astronomers study the nebula to learn about the star that created it.

The Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) has both a camera and a spectrograph that sees light in the mid-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, with wavelengths that are longer than our eyes see. MIRI covers the wavelength range of 5 to 28 microns. 

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Barlow, N. Cox, R. Wesson
Release Date: Aug. 21, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC6720 #M57 #Lyra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescope #MIRI #ESA #CSA #Europe #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Ring Nebula in Lyra (NIRCam image) | James Webb Space Telescope

The Ring Nebula in Lyra (NIRCam image) | James Webb Space Telescope

The NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope has observed the well-known Ring Nebula with unprecedented detail. Formed by a star throwing off its outer layers as it runs out of fuel, the Ring Nebula is an archetypal planetary nebula. Also known as M57 and NGC 6720, it is both relatively close to Earth at roughly 2,500 light-years away.

This new image provides unprecedented spatial resolution and spectral sensitivity. For example, the intricate details of the filament structure of the inner ring are particularly visible in this dataset.

Image Description: This image of the Ring Nebula appears as a distorted doughnut. The nebula’s inner cavity hosts shades of blue and green, while the detailed ring transitions through shades of orange in the inner regions and pink in the outer region. The ring’s inner region has distinct filament elements.

There are some 20,000 dense globules in the nebula, which are rich in molecular hydrogen. In contrast, the inner region shows very hot gas. The main shell contains a thin ring of enhanced emission from carbon-based molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Roughly ten concentric arcs are located just beyond the outer edge of the main ring. The arcs are thought to originate from the interaction of the central star with a low-mass companion orbiting at a distance comparable to that between the Earth and the dwarf planet Pluto. In this way, nebulae like the Ring Nebula reveal a kind of astronomical archaeology, as astronomers study the nebula to learn about the star that created it.

The Near Infrared Camera (NIRCam) is Webb's primary imager that covers the infrared wavelength range 0.6 to 5 microns.


Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, M. Barlow, N. Cox, R. Wesson

Release Date: Aug. 21, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC6720 #M57 #Lyra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescope #NIRCam #ESA #CSA #Europe #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Sparkling Galactic Neighbor: Irregular Galaxy ESO 300-16 | Hubble

 A Sparkling Galactic Neighbor: Irregular Galaxy ESO 300-16 | Hubble

The galaxy ESO 300-16 looms over this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. This galaxy, which lies 28.7 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus, is a ghostly assemblage of stars which resembles a sparkling cloud. A rogue’s gallery of distant galaxies and foreground stars complete this astronomical portrait, which was captured by the Advanced Camera for Surveys. 

Image Description: An irregular galaxy that resembles the shape of a cloud. It is made of many tiny stars all clumped together, surrounded in a diffuse light. In the central, brightest part there is a bubble of blue gas. The galaxy is surrounded by mostly very small and faint objects, though there are bright stars above and to the left of it, and a string of galaxies nearby.

The megaparsec—meaning one million parsecs—is a unit used by astronomers to chart the mind-bogglingly large distances involved in astronomy. The motion of Earth around the Sun means that stars appear to slightly shift against very distant stars over the course of a year. This small shift is referred to as parallax and is measured in angular units: degrees, minutes, and seconds. One parsec is equivalent to saying a parallax of one-arcsecond, and is equivalent to 3.26 light-years or 30.9 trillion kilometers. The closest exoplanet to the Sun is Proxima Centauri b, which lies 1.3 parsecs away.

This observation is one of a series which aims to get to know our galactic neighbors; around three quarters of the known galaxies suspected to lie within 10 megaparsecs of Earth have been observed by Hubble in enough detail to resolve their brightest stars and establish the distances to these galaxies. A team of astronomers proposed using small gaps in Hubble’s observing schedule to acquaint ourselves with the remaining quarter of the nearby galaxies.


Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, R. Tully

Release Date: Aug. 21, 2023


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #ES30016 #IrregularGalaxy #Eridanus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Megaparsecs #Parsecs #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Sunday, August 20, 2023

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Crew Arrival for Prelaunch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 Crew Arrival for Prelaunch | Kennedy Space Center

NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli (crew commander), second from right, answers a question from a member of the media along side fellow crewmates Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov (Russia), European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen (Denmark), and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa








NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli and fellow crewmates Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen of Denmark, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. 

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission is the seventh crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Moghbeli, Mogensen, Furukawa, and Borisov are scheduled to launch no earlier than 3:49 a.m. EDT on August 25, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. 

This will be the first spaceflight for Moghbeli, who became a NASA astronaut in 2017.

Mogensen will be the spacecraft pilot of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7 mission—the first non-US astronaut assigned in this capacity. This will be the first long-duration mission for Mogensen. He previously served as a flight engineer on a ten-day mission to the International Space Station in 2015. Crew-7 will be his second trip to space.

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/Joel Kowsky

Image Capture Date: August 20, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #SpaceX #SpaceXCrew7 #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #JasminMoghbeli #ESA #AndreasMogensen #Denmark #Danmark #Europe #Cosmonaut #KonstantinBorisov #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #SatoshiFurukawa #Japan #日本 #JAXA #HumanSpaceflight #NASAKennedy #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Cosmic Zoo in Cepheus: Elephant, Bat, Squid & Seahorse Nebulae

A Cosmic Zoo in Cepheus: Elephant, Bat, Squid & Seahorse Nebulae

Sprawling emission nebulae IC 1396 and Sh2-129 mix glowing interstellar gas and dark dust clouds in this nearly 12 degree wide field of view toward the northern constellation Cepheus the King. Energized by its central star IC 1396 (left), is hundreds of light-years across and some 3,000 light-years distant. The nebula's intriguing dark shapes include a winding dark cloud popularly known as the Elephant's Trunk below and right of center. Tens of light-years long, it holds the raw material for star formation and is known to hide protostars within. Located a similar distance from planet Earth, the bright knots and swept back ridges of emission of Sh2-129 on the right suggest its popular name, the Flying Bat Nebula. Within the Flying Bat, the most recently recognized addition to this royal cosmic zoo is the faint bluish emission from Ou4, the Giant Squid Nebula. Near the lower right edge of the frame, the suggestive dark marking on the sky cataloged as Barnard 150 is also known as the dark Seahorse Nebula.


Image Credit & Copyright: Yann Sainty

Yann's website: 

https://www.astrobin.com/users/yann_sainty/

Release Date: Aug. 17, 2023


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #IC1396 #ElephantsTrunk #SH2129 #FlyingBatNebula #EmissionNebula #Ou4 #GiantSquidNebula #Barnard150 #SeahorseNebula #Star #HD206267 #Cepheus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula: IC 1396A | WIYN Telescope

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula: IC 1396A | WIYN Telescope

This image of the Elephant's Trunk Nebula was taken with the Mosaic camera on the WIYN 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Arizona. The Elephant's Trunk is a dense, elongated cloud of gas inside a bright cluster of stars known as IC 1396. The trunk conceals many young protostars that are in the process of forming. It is located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth.


Credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and WIYN/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Release Date: June 30, 2020


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #IC1396 #EmissionNebula #Star #HD206267 #Cepheus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KittPeakNationalObservatory #KPNO #WIYNTelescope #Arizona #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula: IC 1396A | Mayall Telescope

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula: IC 1396A | Mayall Telescope


This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the 4-meter Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. IC 1396 is a giant emission nebula that is over 3 degrees in diameter. It is illuminated by a hot, massive O-type star (HD 206267) near its center. The star is not visible in this image—it is off of the top edge. This image is of IC 1396A, a dark, dense cloud of gas embedded in the nebula. It is informally known as the “Elephant's Trunk Nebula” because of its distinctive shape. The Elephant's Trunk Nebula is a concentration of interstellar gas and dust within the much larger ionized gas region of IC 1396. It is located in the constellation Cepheus about 2,400 light years away from Earth.

The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope in Arizona named after the American observational astronomer of the same name. The telescope saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest in the world at that time.


Image Credit: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) and H. Schweiker (WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

Release Date: Nov. 11, 2015


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #IC1396 #EmissionNebula #Star #HD206267 #Cepheus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KittPeakNationalObservatory #KPNO #MayallTelescope #Arizona #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Under The Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds in Chile's Atacama Desert

Under The Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds in Chile's Atacama Desert

Astrophotographer Tomas Slovinsky: "This is a splendid view of southern night sky with the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds (lower right). This image was captured from the edge of the Atacama Desert of Chile, perhaps the most arid place on the planet and home to some of the darkest night skies in the world as well. I spent a month here earlier this year, in the house/observatory at center, with the desert and night sky as my backyard." 

The Magellanic Clouds are two irregular dwarf galaxies visible in the southern celestial hemisphere. Orbiting the Milky Way galaxy, these satellite galaxies are members of the Local Group. The Local Group is the galaxy group that includes the Milky Way.


Image & Caption Credits: Tomas Slovinsky  

Location: Atacama Desert, Chile Coordinates: -23.8634, -69.1328

Image Date: April 22, 2023

Release Date: Aug. 18, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #DwarfGalaxies #MagellanicClouds #SMC #LMC #Earth #AtacamaDesert #Chile #SouthAmerica #SouthernHemisphere #Astrophotographer #TomasSlovinsky #Astrophotography #CitizenScience #STEM #Education #EPoD

Saturday, August 19, 2023

The Fox Fur Nebula: NGC 2264 in Monoceros | Steward Observatory

The Fox Fur Nebula: NGC 2264 in Monoceros | Steward Observatory

The Fox Fur Nebula is a nebula (a formation of gas and dust) located in the constellation of Monoceros (the Unicorn) not far off the right arm of Orion and included in the NGC 2264 Region. In the Sharpless catalog it is number 273. This image is a close-up of a small section of a much larger complex, generally known as the Christmas Tree cluster. The Cone Nebula is also a part of the same cloud. 

The red regions of this nebula are caused by hydrogen gas that has been stimulated to emit its own light by the copious ultraviolet radiation coming from the hot, blue stars of the cluster. The blue areas shine by a different process. They are mainly dust clouds that reflect the bluish light of the same stars.

The popular name of this nebula comes from those who thought it looked like the head of a stole made from the fur of a red fox. A stole is a woman's shoulder scarf of fur.


Distance: 2,700 light years

Technical Details

Optics: Phillips 24-inch RCOS Telescope

Camera: SBIG STL11000


Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC2264 #Sh2273 #EmissionNebula #Monoceros #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #StewardObservatory #UA #MountLemmonObservatory #PhillipsTelescope #Astrophotographer #AdamBlock #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Hurricane Hilary in Pacific Ocean Nearing Mexico's State of Baja California | NOAA

Hurricane Hilary in Pacific Ocean Nearing Mexico's State of Baja California | NOAA

National Weather Service Forecast (U.S.) on Aug. 19, 2023: "Hurricane Hilary has now turned north-northwestward and is forecast to track near Baja California before making landfall near the U.S.-Mexico border later this weekend. Heavy rainfall associated with the system is forecast to develop across the southwestern U.S. today, well in advance of the storm's center, and continue through the weekend, with the heaviest amounts expected on Sunday."

"Highly anomalous moisture transport into the region will support rainfall amounts exceeding the average annual totals for some locations in the Southwest. Flash, urban, and arroyo flooding is expected, with dangerous and locally catastrophic impacts likely.  In addition to flooding rains, Hilary is forecast to bring tropical storm conditions to portions of southern California on Sunday."

"Large swells will affect portions of southern California over the next few days. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Widespread cloud cover will keep temperatures below average, with unseasonably cool temperatures forecast to expand northward from southern California and western Arizona into the Sierra Nevada and the Great Basin through the weekend."

Baja California is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. The mainland portion of the state is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean; on the east by Sonora, the U.S. state of Arizona, and the Gulf of California; on the north by the U.S. state of California; and on the south by Baja California Sur. [Wikipedia]


Image Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Image Date: Aug. 19, 2023

Release Date: Aug. 19, 2023


#NASA #NOAA #Space #Satellites #GOESEast #Science #Earth #Planet #Weather #Meteorology #NWS #August2023 #PacificOcean #EasternPacific #HurricaneHilary #Hurricane #Storm #Rainfall #Precipitation #Flooding #BajaCalifornia #Mexico #California #Arizona #UnitedStates #NorthAmerica #STEM #Education

Planet Mars Images: August 2023 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers | JPL

Planet Mars Images: August 2023 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers | JPL
Mars 2020 - Ingenuity Mars helicopter - sol 880
Ingenuity Mars helicopter - sol 881
MSL - sol 3917
MSL - sol 3921
Mars 2020 - sol 884
Mars 2020 - sol 886
MSL - sol 3912
Mars 2020 - sol 879




Celebrating 11+ 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

Celebrating 2+ Years on 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 return to Earth.
Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity)
Launch: July 30, 2020    
Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

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

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS
Processing: Kevin M. Gill
Image Release Dates: Aug. 10-18, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #IngenuityHelicopter #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

Clouds over The Atlantic Ocean | International Space Station

Clouds over The Atlantic Ocean | International Space Station


Light pink-orange and white clouds scatter across the blue waters of the planet Earth's Atlantic Ocean as the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 69 Crew (August 2023)
Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin & Andrey Fedyaev
Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg

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:

For more information about STEM on Station:
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: August 15, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Star #Sun #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Clouds #AtlanticOcean #ISS #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education

The Star T Tauri in Variable Nebula NGC 1555: Close-up View | Schulman Telescope

The Star T Tauri in Variable Nebula NGC 1555: Close-up View | Schulman Telescope

NGC 1555 is a variable nebula illuminated by the star T Tauri (yellow-colored star to the right of center in a cocoon of gas and dust), located in the constellation Taurus. Variable nebulae are reflection nebulae that change in brightness because of alterations in their star. NGC 1555, a Herbig–Haro object, is also in the second Sharpless catalog as 238. This nebula was discovered in 1852 by John Russell Hind and explains why it is sometimes known as Hind's Variable Nebula.

Herbig–Haro (HH) objects are bright patches of nebulosity associated with newborn stars. They are formed when narrow jets of partially ionized gas ejected by stars collide with nearby clouds of gas and dust at several hundred kilometers per second. Herbig–Haro objects are commonly found in star-forming regions, and several are often seen around a single star, aligned with its rotational axis. Most of them lie within about one parsec (3.26 light-years) of the source, although some have been observed several parsecs away. 

Optics: Schulman 32-inch RCOS Telescope

Camera: SBIG STL11000

The 0.81 m (32 in) Schulman Telescope is a Ritchey-Chrétien reflector built by RC Optical Systems and installed in 2010. It is operated by the Mount Lemmon SkyCenter and is Arizona's largest dedicated public observatory. The Schulman Telescope was designed for remote control over the Internet by amateur and professional astrophotographers worldwide. It is currently the world's largest telescope dedicated for this purpose.


Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #VariableNebula #ReflectionNebula #NGC1555 #HerbigHaroObject #Star #TTauri #TTauStars #Taurus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #UA #MountLemmonObservatory #SchulmanTelescope #Astrophotographer #AdamBlock #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Friday, August 18, 2023

The Star T Tauri in Nebula NGC 1555 | Mayall Telescope

The Star T Tauri in Nebula NGC 1555 | Mayall Telescope

T Tauri is a famous variable star in the constellation of Taurus. In this image, it is the star at the center, embedded in dust and gas. The nebula itself is known as NGC 1555. T Tauri is a variable star in the constellation Taurus, the prototype of the T Tauri stars. T Tauri is the prototype for a class of stars (known collectively as "T Tau stars") that are notable because they are very young stars in the process of forming. These stars have just recently emerged from the dense dust and gas "cocoons" from which they formed. 

Distance: ~450 light years

The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope in Arizona named after the American observational astronomer of the same name. The telescope saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest in the world at that time.


Credit: T. A. Rector/University of Alaska Anchorage, H. Schweiker/WIYN and NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Release Date: June 30, 2020


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Nebulae #Nebula #VariableNebula #NGC1555 #Star #TTauri #TTauStars #Taurus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KittPeakNationalObservatory #KPNO #MayallTelescope #Arizona #UniversityOfAlaska #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

July 2023: A Record-breaking Month | This Week @NASA

July 2023: A Record-breaking Month | This Week @NASA

Find out why July 2023 was a record-breaking month, a high-flying NASA aircraft is helping to study lighting, and making landings safe for flights of the future . . . a few of the stories to tell you about— This Week at NASA!


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Narrator: Jesse Carpenter

Video Producer: Andre Valentine and Haley Reed

Video Editor: Haley Reed

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: August 18, 2023


#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Planet #Earth #July2023 #GlobalTemperatureRecords #Weather #Meteorology #Model #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #Climate #Environment #GreenhouseGases #GHG #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #ER2Aircraft #GISS #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video