Expedition 69 Crew Photos: September 2023 | International Space Station

Expedition 69 Crew Photos: September 2023 Reunions | International Space Station

Expedition 69 flight engineers and NASA astronauts (from left) Frank Rubio, Woody Hoburg, and Jasmin Moghbeli, pose for a portrait aboard the International Space Station. All three crew members were selected as part of the NASA astronaut class of 2017.

Expedition 69 flight engineers (from left) Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara, and Frank Rubio, all NASA astronauts, pose for a portrait aboard the International Space Station's Unity module. All three crew members were selected as part of the NASA astronaut class of 2017.

Jasmin Moghbeli: "While I think it is important to be passionate about what you do, I’ve found that what often matters most is who you do it with. After training closely together for over 2 years following our selection in 2017, our class of astronaut candidates has grown very close. We are known as “The Turtles”. 🐢🐢🐢 Frank has been on the space station for nearly a year now and has been teaching me and the rest of Crew-7 the ropes since we arrived." 

"We said goodbye to our Turtle classmate, Woody Hoburg a couple weeks ago." 

"On Friday, I was so excited to welcome my good friend Loral O'Hara to the ISS! Her Soyuz crew and our Dragon crew will make up Expedition 70, which will begin when we say goodbye to Frank and his Soyuz crewmates." 

"Turtles have continuously been in orbit since Raja Chari and Kayla Barron launched on Crew-3 in 2021!"

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

Expedition 69 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin, Konstantin Borisov

European Space Agency: Flight Engineer Andreas Mogensen (Denmark)

JAXA: Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa (Japan)

NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Jasmin Moghbeli, Loral O'Hara (USA)

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)

Caption Credit: Jasmin Moghbeli/NASA/JSC

Image Dates: Sept. 4-15, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ISS #Astronauts #FrankRubio #JasminMoghbeli #WoodyHoburg #LoralOHara #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #JAXA #Japan #日本 #UnitedStates #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education

Aurora Borealis over Scotland

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: Sept. 18, 2023

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

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio: Final Media Briefing | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio: Final Media Briefing | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio speaks to media about his record-breaking mission aboard the International Space Station during an Earth-to-space call on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023.

Rubio is scheduled to return to Earth on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, after spending 371 days in low Earth orbit, earning him the record of the longest single spaceflight by an American. The previous United States record of 355 days, which Rubio surpassed Sept. 11, was held by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei.

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio Official NASA Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/frank-rubio

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/frank-rubio/biography

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 ISS: https://www.nasa.gov/iss-science

Credit: NASA

Release Date: Sept. 19, 2023

Duration: 24 minutes

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #ISS #Astronaut #FrankRubio #LongDurationSpaceflight #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #MediaBriefing #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Bahamas | International Space Station

The Bahamas | International Space Station

The teal and deep blue waters of The Bahamas are seen from the International Space Station as it orbited roughly 260 miles above. To the left of the image, the Andros island can be seen, while Nassau is shown to to the right.

The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an island country of the Lucayan Archipelago consisting of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean; north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic); northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands; southeast of the U.S. state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys. Its capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. [Source: Wikipedia]

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

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: Aug. 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Bahamas #Island #Nassau #Islands #AndrosIsland #CarribeanSea #AtlanticOcean #Astronauts #UAE #Cosmonauts #Роскосмос #Russia #Science #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition69 #JSC #UnitedStates #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #STEM #Education

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Rock Samples: The Stories They Could Tell | JPL

NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover Rock Samples: The Stories They Could Tell | JPL

What secrets could we unravel by studying Mars samples in state-of-the-art labs on Earth? Scientists around the globe are eager to find out.

As of late fall 2023, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has collected 21 scientifically selected samples of Martian rock, which scientists believe may hold extraordinary evidence to help answer centuries-old questions like—“Did life ever exist on Mars?” and “How did the Red Planet evolve over time?”

The Perseverance rover has collected a diverse set of samples, including:

• Sedimentary rocks, which are good at preserving ancient life

• Igneous rocks, which can tell us about the early evolution of Mars 

• Regolith, which can provide insight into the global and local landscape of Mars

Through a series of future missions called Mars Sample Return, these samples could be brought to Earth for in-depth study and could help astrobiologists in their search for signs of ancient microbial life on the Red Planet. 

Considered one of the highest priorities by the scientists in the Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032, Mars Sample Return would be the first mission to return samples from another planet and provides the best opportunity to reveal the early evolution of Mars, including the potential for ancient life. NASA is teaming with European Space Agency (ESA) on this important endeavor. 

Read about all the carefully selected samples: https://mars.nasa.gov/mars-rock-samples

Learn more about the Mars Sample Return campaign: https://mars.nasa.gov/msr 

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/GSFC/MSFC/JSC/MAVEN/Lunar and Planetary Institute

Images: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Mastcam-Z images: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Duration: 3 minutes, 20 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 19, 2023

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #MarsSampleReturn #MSR #JezeroCrater #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #UnitedStates #Europe #MoonToMars #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Artemis IX Moon Rocket Booster Motor Testing | NASA Marshall

NASA Artemis IX Moon Rocket Booster Motor Testing | NASA Marshall

Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, completed a subscale booster motor test Sept. 14, 2023, in Marshall’s East Test Area. The 24-inch booster produced more than 82,000 pounds of thrust. It is the third test in an ongoing series supporting development of an upgraded booster design with alternative nozzle and insulation materials for SLS (Space Launch System) flights after Artemis VIII. Marshall manages the SLS Program.

Beginning with Artemis IX, the SLS rocket in its Block 2 configuration will use the BOLE (booster obsolescence and life extension) booster. The more powerful solid rocket motor will give the SLS rocket the capability to send even heavier payloads to the Moon and other areas of deep space for future Artemis missions.

The SLS solid rocket boosters are the largest, most powerful boosters ever built for spaceflight. They produce more than 75% of total thrust for the first two minutes of flight.

NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

For information about the Space Launch System, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

https://www.nasa.gov/sls

Credit: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 19, 2023

#NASA #Space #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIX #Moon #Rocket #RocketScience #SpaceLaunchSystem #NASASLS #BoosterMotor #NorthropGrumman #MoonToMars #DeepSpacePropulsion #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #MSFC #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Moon's Shackleton Crater: A New Lunar South Pole Mosaic | NASA

The Moon's Shackleton Crater: A New Lunar South Pole Mosaic | NASA

This new mosaic of Shackleton Crater was created with imagery acquired by  the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), which has been operating since 2009, and from ShadowCam, a NASA instrument on board a Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) spacecraft called Danuri, which launched in Aug. 2022. ShadowCam was developed by Malin Space Science Systems and Arizona State University.

Shackleton is an impact crater at the lunar south pole. The peaks along the crater's rim are exposed to almost continual sunlight, while the interior is perpetually in shadow. Measurements by NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft showed higher than normal amounts of hydrogen within the crater. This may indicate the presence of water ice.  The crater is named after Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton.

LROC can capture detailed images of the lunar surface but it has a limited ability to photograph shadowed parts of the Moon that never receive direct sunlight, known as permanently shadowed regions. ShadowCam is 200-times more light-sensitive than LROC and can operate successfully in these extremely low-light conditions, revealing features and terrain details that are not visible to LROC. ShadowCam relies on sunlight reflected off lunar geologic features or the Earth to capture images in the shadows.

ShadowCam’s light sensitivity, however, renders it unable to capture images of parts of the Moon that are directly illuminated, delivering saturated results. With each camera optimized for specific lighting conditions found near the lunar poles, analysts can combine images from both instruments to create a comprehensive visual map of the terrain and geologic features of both the brightest and darkest parts of the Moon. The permanently shadowed areas in this mosaic, such as the interior floor and walls of Shackleton Crater, are visible in such detail because of the imagery from ShadowCam. In contrast, the sunlit areas in this mosaic, like the rim and flanks of the crater, are a product of imagery collected by LROC.

With ShadowCam, NASA can image permanently shadowed regions of the Moon in greater detail than previously possible, giving scientists a much better view of the lunar South Pole region. This area has never been explored by humans and is of great interest for science and exploration because it is thought to contain ice deposits or other frozen volatiles. Scientists believe layers of the ice deposits have existed on the Moon for millions or billions of years, and the ability to study samples could further our understanding of how the Moon and our solar system evolved. The ice deposits could also serve as an important resource for exploration because they are comprised of hydrogen and oxygen that can be used for rocket fuel or life support systems.

A more complete map of the lunar South Pole region area is valuable for future surface exploration endeavors, such as VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) and Artemis missions, which will return humans to the lunar surface and establish a long-term presence at the Moon.

Credits: Mosaic created by LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) and ShadowCam teams with images provided by NASA/Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)/Arizona State University

Release Date: Sept. 19, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #ArtemisProgram #Geology #LunarOrbiter #LRO #LunarSpacecraft #Danuri #ShadowCam #LunarSpacecraft #Korea #한국 #KARI #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA Psyche Mission Electrical Engineer Luis Dominguez | JPL

NASA Psyche Mission Electrical Engineer Luis Dominguez | JPL

Behind the Spacecraft: Meet Luis Dominguez, an engineer on NASA’s Psyche mission, which will be the first to explore a metal-rich asteroid, also named Psyche. In this video, Dominguez, of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), shows the JPL clean room where he and the assembly, test, and launch operations team are putting together and testing the spacecraft. He also talks about his passion for outreach and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Whether the asteroid Psyche is the partial core of a planetesimal (a building block of the rocky planets in our solar system) or primordial material that never melted, scientists expect the mission to help answer fundamental questions about Earth’s own metal core and the formation of our solar system. 

Psyche’s launch period opens Oct. 5, 2023. The spacecraft will begin orbiting the asteroid Psyche in 2029.

More About the Psyche Mission

Arizona State University leads the Psyche mission. JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Maxar is providing the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis.

Learn all about our first-of-its-kind Psyche Mission at: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/psyche

For more information about NASA’s Psyche mission go to: www.nasa.gov/psyche and psyche.asu.edu

Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Produced by: NASA 360 Productions

Duration: 1 minute, 36 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 19, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #MissionToPsyche #PsycheMission #PsycheAsteroid #16Psyche #Asteroids #PsycheSpacecraft #SolarElectricPropulsion #LuisDominguez #ElectricalEngineer #Planets #Mars #Jupiter #AsteroidBelt #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #MaxarTechnologies #JPL #Caltech #ASU #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact: NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Program

Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact: NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Program

NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program nurtures visionary ideas from America's innovators and entrepreneurs that could transform future NASA missions with the creation of radically better or entirely new aerospace concepts. NIAC projects study innovative, technically credible, advanced concepts to turn science fiction to science fact.

For more information about NIAC: https://www.nasa.gov/NIAC

Apply to NIAC link: 

https://www.nasa.gov/content/apply-to-niac

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 2 minutes, 26 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 19, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #SpaceResearch #Robotics #NIAC  #SolarSystem #Moons #Planets #SpaceExploration #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Moon in Blue | International Space Station

The Moon in Blue | International Space Station

The Moon's image is refracted due to Earth's atmosphere in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean south of Alaska's Aleutian islands. Note: The translucent "squiggly line" in the lower right-hand corner is an image artifact.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

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: Aug. 31, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Moon #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #PacificOcean #Alaska #AleutianIslands #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #UAE #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio: A Year of Science | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio: A Year of Science | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is set to return to Earth this fall after setting the record for the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut. He arrived at the International Space Station on Sept. 21, 2022, and will return home after 371 days in space. 

While on the orbiting lab, Rubio and his fellow crew members conducted dozens of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations. 

Learn more about Frank Rubio’s year-long scientific journey aboard the space station: https://go.nasa.gov/3LrwS29

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)

Duration: 2 minutes, 39 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Science #Astronaut #FrankRubio #LongDurationMission #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition69 #SpaceLaboratory #SpaceResearch #SpaceTechnology #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission: First US Asteroid Sample Lands Soon

NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission: First US Asteroid Sample Lands Soon

NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) is the first U.S. mission to return samples from an asteroid to Earth. When it lands, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will release the sample capsule for a safe landing in the Utah desert. The pristine material from Bennu—rocks and dust collected from the asteroid’s surface in 2020—will offer generations of scientists a window into the time when the Sun and planets were forming about 4.5 billion years ago.

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 45 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #OSIRISRExMission #OSIRISRExSpacecraft #Asteroids #AstreroidBennu #ToBennuAndBack #Organics #Minerals #SampleReturn #SpaceTechnology #GSFC #CSA #Canada #CNES #France #UArizona UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #Visualization #Animation #HD #Video

Tropical Storm Jova in Pacific Ocean | International Space Station

Tropical Storm Jova in Pacific Ocean | International Space Station

Tropical storm Jova is pictured in the Pacific Ocean from the International Space Station as it orbited 259 miles above.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

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)

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: Sept. 9, 2023

#NASA #Earth #Space #ISS #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #TropicalStorms #TropicalStormJova #PacificOcean #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #GreenhouseGases #GHG #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Hispanic Heritage Month Greetings from the International Space Station | NASA

Hispanic Heritage Month Greetings from the International Space Station | NASA

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month 2023, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio pays tribute to former NASA astronaut José Hernández and his inspirational life story with a message from aboard the International Space Station, orbiting 260 miles above Earth.

His message recognizes countless contributions made by other astronauts of Hispanic heritage like Ellen Ochoa, Franklin Chang-Diaz, and Joe Acaba. These pioneering explorers remind us that space needs to remain inclusive—a place for all to discover, explore, and inspire. 

Find out more about Jose Hernandez, and the true story behind the film “A Million Miles Away”:  

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-contributes-to-film-detailing-life-of-astronaut-jos-hern-ndez

To learn more about American astronauts of Hispanic heritage, check out:

https://www.nasa.gov/subject/16278/hispanic-heritage-month/

Para obtener más información sobre la ciencia de la NASA, suscríbete al boletín semanal: https://www.nasa.gov/suscribete

Ciencia de la NASA: https://ciencia.nasa.gov

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA TV Producer: Eric Galler

Duration: 52 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #NASAenespañol #españo #Astronauts #JoséHernández #FrankRubio #EllenOchoa #FranklinChangDiaz #JoeAcaba #HumanSpaceflight #HispanicHeritageMonth #UnitedStates #History #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Reaches Gediz Vallis Ridge: 360-degree view | JPL

NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Reaches Gediz Vallis Ridge: 360-degree view | JPL

Drag your mouse to look around within this 360-degree panorama captured by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover. See the steep slopes, layered buttes, and dark rocks surrounding Curiosity while it was parked below Gediz Vallis Ridge, which formed as a result of violent debris flows that were later eroded by wind into a towering formation. This happened about 3 billion years ago, during one of the last wet periods seen on this part of the Red Planet.

On Aug. 19, 2023, Curiosity’s Mastcam took 136 images that were stitched together into this mosaic after being sent back to Earth. The color has been adjusted to match lighting conditions as the human eye would see them on Earth. 

Gediz Vallis Ridge was one of the last features to form on the 3-mile-tall (5-kilometer-tall) Mount Sharp, which Curiosity has been ascending since 2014. Dark rocks studding the landscape in this panorama were likely carried down from higher up on Mount Sharp, where Curiosity will never venture. Studying these rocks on the ridge allows scientists a rare look at material from the upper part of the mountain.

Arriving after one of the most difficult climbs the mission has ever faced, Curiosity spent 11 days at the ridge. It then departed to ascend higher up the mountain, where the rover will investigate Gediz Vallis Channel, through which water flowed some 3 billion years ago, carrying the rocks and debris that piled up to begin forming the ridge.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/UC Berkeley

Duration: 1 minute, 24 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #GedizVallisRidge #MountSharp #GaleCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #360DegreeVideo #HD #Video

The Red Sprite and The Tree | Earth Science

The Red Sprite and The Tree | Earth Science

The sprite and tree could hardly be more different. To start, the red sprite is an unusual form of lightning, while the tree is a common plant. The sprite is far away—high in Earth's atmosphere, while the tree is nearby—only about a football field away. The sprite is fast—electrons streaming up and down at near light's speed, while the tree is slow—wood anchored to the ground. The sprite is bright—lighting up the sky, while the tree is dim—shining by reflected light. The sprite was fleeting—lasting only a small fraction of a second, while the tree is durable—living now for many years. Both however, when captured together, appear oddly similar in this featured composite image captured earlier this month in France as a thunderstorm passed over mountains of the Atlantic Pyrenees.

Red Sprites: These mysterious bursts of light in the upper atmosphere momentarily resemble gigantic jellyfish. One unusual feature of sprites is that they are relatively cold. They operate more like long fluorescent light tubes than hot compact light bulbs. In general, red sprites take only a fraction of a second to occur and are best seen when powerful thunderstorms are visible from the side.

Image Credit & Copyright: Maxime Villaeys

Caption Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Maxime's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maximevillaeys/

Release Date: Sept. 18, 2023

#NASA #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #Storm #Lightning #RedSprite #France #AtlanticPyrenees #Photography #MaximeVillaeys #Photographer #CitizenScience #STEM #Education #APoD