Interacting Galaxies in Miniature: Wide-field view | Victor Blanco Telescope

Interacting Galaxies in Miniature: Wide-field view | Victor Blanco Telescope

Far, far away in the constellation Phoenix, there are two interacting galaxies spanning a hundred thousand light-years. This image was captured by the 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab in Chile, South America. Collectively known as NGC 454, the upper galaxy is a red elliptical galaxy called NGC 454 E, while below it is NGC 454 W, a blue, gas-rich irregular galaxy. 

Distance: 160 million light years

Despite being in the early stages of their interaction, both galaxies already show severe distortion. Remnants of both galaxies have been stretched far beyond their main bodies—from the disarray of both galaxies’ stellar populations at the top right of this image—to the globular clusters forming at NGC 454 W’s bottom-left side. 

Dust lanes from the dynamic interaction cross NGC 454 E. NGC 454 W barely looks like the disk galaxy it was thought to be. Their early merger is further evidenced by the veil of a low surface brightness halo surrounding the galaxies as well as the myriad of young stars that populate the system. Now gravitationally bound together, the interactions within NGC 454 will eventually lead to them combining.

This interacting pair was captured by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) made by the US Department of Energy as part of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Surveys.

Credit: DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys/LBNL/DOE & KPNO/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Rodriguez (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab) & M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Release Date: Sept. 20, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #NGC454 #InteractingGalaxies #Galaxy #NGC454E #EllipticalGalaxy #NGC454W #IrregularGalaxy #Phoenix #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #CerroTololoObservatory #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #DOE #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #SouthAmerica #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Eta Carinae: A Great Stellar Eruption of the 1840s Recreated | NASA Chandra

Eta Carinae: A Great Stellar Eruption of the 1840s Recreated | NASA Chandra

After taking snapshots for over 20 years with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have learned important new details about an eruption from Eta Carinae witnessed on Earth in the middle of the 19th century.

Chandra data from 1999, 2003, 2009, 2014, and 2020 have been combined into a new video of Eta Carinae. Astronomers used these Chandra observations along with data from the European Space Agency 's XMM-Newton to watch as the stellar eruption from about 180 years ago continues to expand into space.

Eta Carinae is a system that contains two massive stars. One of the stars is about 90 times the mass of the Sun and the other is about 30 solar masses. In the middle of the 19th century, people on Earth watched as Eta Carinae temporarily became one of the brightest stars in the sky.

During this event, which astronomers call “The Great Eruption,” Eta Carinae ejected between 10 and 45 times the mass of the Sun. This material became a dense pair of spherical clouds of gas, now known as the Homunculus Nebula, on opposite sides of the two stars.

Fast-forward to the 20th century when astronomers developed new tools to study Eta Carinae. About 50 years ago, astronomers used the Einstein Observatory to discover a bright ring of X-rays around the Homunculus Nebula. Later they looked at it more closely with Chandra. The new video of Chandra observations over two decades, plus a deep image generated by adding the data together, reveal important hints about Eta Carinae’s volatile history.

The new data also reveals a faint shell of X-rays outside the bright X-ray ring. The astronomers associate this shell with a blast wave from the Great Eruption.

Because the newly discovered outer X-ray shell has a similar shape and orientation to the Homunculus Nebula, the research team think both structures have a common origin. The idea is that clumps of material were blasted away from Eta Carinae well before the mid-1840s Great Eruption—sometime between 1200 and 1800. Later, the blast wave from the Great Eruption tore through space and collided with and heated the clumps of material to millions of degrees, creating the bright X-ray ring. The blast wave has now traveled beyond the bright ring.

A detailed analysis shows that the Great Eruption likely consisted of two explosions. First there was a quick ejection of low-density gas which produced the X-ray blast wave. This was followed by the slower ejection of dense gas that eventually formed the Homunculus Nebula.

While Chandra has revealed so much about Eta Carinae, the story is not yet complete. Astronomers are eagerly awaiting the next episode of data to find out what happens.

Credit: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

Duration: 3 minutes, 25 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 26, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Star #AGCarinae #Carina #Constellation #Astrophysics #Physics #Cosmos #Universe #ESA #XMMNewton #Europe #SpaceTelescope #XrayAstronomy  #MSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #History #Visualization #3D #HD #Video

Seeing Satellite Benefits on the Ground with the National Park Service | NASA

Seeing Satellite Benefits on the Ground with the National Park Service | NASA

From the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon to the caves of Carlsbad Caverns and the giant sequoias of Yosemite, did you know researchers use NASA satellite data in America's National Parks?

NASA's view from space can help monitor water resources, assess air quality, analyze fire patterns, track vegetation changes, and more. It all helps the National Park Service make informed decisions for protecting and restoring America’s most beautiful natural spaces.

Yosemite National Park (California)

https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm

Carlsbad Caverns National Park (New Mexico)

https://www.nps.gov/cave/index.htm

Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)

https://www.nps.gov/brca/index.htm

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 2 minutes, 13 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 21, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #Satellites #Earth #USGS #Landsat #Landsat8 #NationalParkService #NPS #YosemiteNationalPark #Yosemite #California #BryceCanyon #Utah #CarlsbadCaverns #CarlsbadCavernsNationalPark #NewMexico #UnitedStates #RemoteSensing #EarthObservation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Aurora Borealis over Scotland

Aurora Borealis over Scotland

Astrophotographer Alan Tough: "This was the scene around local midnight. At times, the reds were so intense the colour could be picked up by the unaided eye."

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: Northeast Scotland, United Kingdom
Image Date: Sept. 24, 2023

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

All Engines Added to NASA’s Artemis II Moon Rocket Core Stage | NASA Michoud

All Engines Added to NASA’s Artemis II Moon Rocket Core Stage | NASA Michoud

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have structurally joined all four RS-25 engines onto the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket that will send four astronauts on their journey around the Moon during the Artemis II Mission.

Technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will now focus their efforts on the complex task of fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure.

Image Description: The yellow core stage is seen in a horizontal position in the final assembly area at Michoud. The engines are arranged at the bottom of the rocket stage in a square pattern, like legs on a table.

Learn more about the Artemis II Mission:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii 

Learn more about SLS: nasa.gov/sls

Image Credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon

Image Date: Sept. 21, 2023

#NASA #Space #Moon #NASAArtemis #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #NASASLS #SpaceLaunchSystem #SLS #CoreStage #RS25Engines #DeepSpace #Astronauts #MoonToMars #Science #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #MSFC #NASAMichoud #MAF #NewOrleans #Louisiana #UnitedStates #STEM #Education 

Expedition 69-70 International Space Station Change of Command Ceremony

Expedition 69-70 International Space Station Change of Command Ceremony

[Event starts at 1 minute mark] Aboard the International Space Station, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergei Prokopyev handed over command of the space station to European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen of Denmark during a change of command ceremony September 26, 2023. Prokopyev and Mogensen are in the midst of long-duration missions living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions. 

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

Expedition 69 Crew (September 26, 2023—)

Station Commander: Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency (Denmark)

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

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.

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: 6 minutes, 42 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 26, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #Astronauts #AndreasMogensen #CommandCeremony #FrankRubio #Cosmonauts #SergeyProkopyev #DmitiriPetelin #LongDurationMission #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #JAXA #Japan #日本 #Denmark #ESA #Europe #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 69: Awaiting New Crew Arrival | International Space Station

Expedition 69: Awaiting New Crew Arrival | International Space Station 

In this image, Expedition 69 crew members await the arrival of three new crew members on a Russian Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft on Sept. 15, 2023: NASA Astronaut Loral O'Hara, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of Russia. In order from the closest to farthest: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa, NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli, Roscomos Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov (Russia), NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio, Roscomos Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin, and Station Commander Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia) in the far background.

NASA Astronaut Loral O'Hara is greeted by Expedition 69 crew members after the hatch of her Russian Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft was opened to allow boarding of the International Space Station. NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio can be seen hugging Loral here.

Russian Soyuz MS-23 (left) and the newly-arrived Soyuz MS-24 (right) spacecraft docked to the International Space Station on Sept. 15, 2023.

The hatches between the International Space Station and the newly arrived Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft officially opened at 5:16 p.m. EDT on Sept. 15, 2023. The arrival of three new crew members to the existing seven people already aboard for Expedition 69 temporarily increases the station’s population to ten.

NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub of Russia joined the space station’s Expedition 69 crew of NASA astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Frank Rubio, Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin, Konstantin Borisov, and Sergey Prokopyev, as well European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen (Denmark) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa. O’Hara will spend six months aboard the orbital laboratory, while Kononenko and Chub will both spend one year on the orbital outpost.

On Sept. 27, 2023, Rubio, Petelin, and Prokopyev will return to Earth on the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft. The trio have been aboard the orbital laboratory since arriving Sept. 21, 2022.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

Expedition 69 Crew (September 2023)

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/JSC/ESA Astronaut Andreas Mogensen of Denmark

Image Date: Sept. 15, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Science #Docking #SoyuzMS24Spacecraft #СоюзМС24 #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Cosmonauts #OlegKononenko #NikolaiChub #Astronaut #LoralOHara #Expedition69 #Expedition70 #HumanSpaceflight #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Post-Landing Briefing: What's Next?

NASA OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Post-Landing Briefing: What's Next?

Mission experts recap the touchdown of OSIRIS-REx on Sept. 24, 2023. The OSIRIS-REx capsule delivered America's first pristine sample of rocks and dust from an asteroid.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule, carrying a sample of asteroid Bennu, touched down on the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range at 10:52 a.m. EDT (14:52 UTC).

The OSIRIS-APEX mission will continue the discoveries of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft at a second asteroid, Apophis. An hour after Apophis’s dramatic close approach to Earth on April 13, 2029, The OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will use Earth’s gravity to put itself on a course to rendezvous with the asteroid to begin an 18-month campaign of investigation and discovery. Having already challenged our understanding of “carbonaceous” (C-complex) asteroids during its exploration of Bennu, the spacecraft instrument suite will provide first-of-its-kind high-resolution data of a “stony” (S-complex) asteroid—dramatically advancing our knowledge of this asteroid class and its connection to the meteorite collection. After 15 months orbiting Apophis, APEX will use its thrusters to dig into the surface. This will allow us to observe subsurface material, which will provide otherwise inaccessible insight into space weathering and the surface strength of stony asteroids.

Follow sample-delivery updates on NASA's OSIRIS-REx blog: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/

OSIRIS-REx NASA page: 

https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

University of Arizona's OSIRIS-REx Mission Page: 

http://www.asteroidmission.org

University of Arizona's OSIRIS-APEX Mission Page:

https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/missions/osiris-apex

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 1 hour

Release Date: Sept. 24, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #OSIRISRExMission #OSIRISAPEXMission #OSIRISRExSpacecraft #Asteroids #AstreroidBennu #ToBennuAndBack #SampleReturn #SpaceTechnology #CSA #Canada #CNES #France #JSC #GSFC #UArizona #LockheedMartin #Utah #DoD #KSC #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Ring of Fire: A Sunrise Solar Eclipse in Western Australia

Ring of Fire: A Sunrise Solar Eclipse in Western Australia

What is rising above the horizon behind those clouds? It is the Sun. However, most sunrises do not look like this. This is because sunrises do not usually include the Moon. In the early morning of May 10, 2013, from Western Australia, the Moon was between the Earth and the rising Sun. In an annular eclipse, the Moon is too far from the Earth to block the entire Sun. It leaves a ring of fire where sunlight pours around every edge of the Moon. 

This time-lapse video recorded the eclipse through the high refraction of the Earth's atmosphere just above the horizon. As the video continues, the Sun continues to rise, while the Sun and Moon begin to separate. 

The next annular solar eclipse will occur in less than three weeks. On Saturday, October 14, 2023, a ring of fire will be visible through clear skies from a thin swath crossing both North and South America.

WARNING: During an annular eclipse, it is never safe to look directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection designed for solar viewing. How to safely view an eclipse: 

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses/2023/oct-14-annular/safety/

Not in the path of the eclipse? Watch with us from anywhere in the world. We will provide live broadcast coverage on Oct. 14, 2023 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. EDT (1530-1715 UTC) on NASA TV, NASA.gov and the NASA app.

Learn more about the upcoming annular solar eclipse: 

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/eclipses/2023/oct-14-annular/overview/

Video Credits: Colin Legg, Geoff Sims, Peter Nanasi

Colin: https://www.facebook.com/ColinLeggPhotography/

Geoff: https://www.facebook.com/BeyondBeneath/

Peter: https://www.peternanasi.com

Photography & Editing: Colin Legg

Photography: Geoff Sims

Duration: 2 minutes, 16 seconds

Capture Date: May 10, 2013

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Sun #SolarEclipses #SolarEclipse #AnnularEclipse #EclipseMap #EyeProtection #SafetyMeasures #Canada #Mexico #SouthAmerica #GSFC #UnitedStates #Australia #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video #APoD

OSIRIS-REx: NASA's First Mission to Deliver Asteroid Samples to Earth

OSIRIS-REx: NASA's First Mission to Deliver Asteroid Samples to Earth

On September 24, 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft successfully delivered samples of asteroid Bennu to Earth, following a seven-year mission that saw the spacecraft travel nearly four billion miles through deep-space. These samples could give insights into the planetary formation of our solar system and the origins of life on Earth.

Designed, built, and flown by Lockheed Martin teams, the spacecraft has now begun its extended mission to the asteroid Apophis under its new mission name, OSIRIS-APEX.

Follow sample-delivery updates on NASA's OSIRIS-REx blog: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/

OSIRIS-REx NASA page: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

University of Arizona's OSIRIS-REx Mission Page: http://www.asteroidmission.org

University of Arizona's OSIRIS-APEX Mission Page:

https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/missions/osiris-apex

Credit: Lockheed Martin Space

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 25, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #OSIRISRExMission #OSIRISRExSpacecraft #Asteroids #AstreroidBennu #ToBennuAndBack #SampleReturn #SpaceTechnology #CSA #Canada #CNES #France #JSC #GSFC #UArizona #LockheedMartin #Utah #DoD #KSC #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Aurora over Georgian Bluffs, Ontario, Canada

Aurora over Georgian Bluffs, Ontario, Canada

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 (U.S. 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 Details: 

Canon 6D, Samyang 14mm f/2.8 @ f/2.8, ISO 6400, 15 seconds

Image Credit & Copyright: Northern Lights Graffiti (CC by 2.0)

Location: Georgian Bluffs, Ontario

Image Date: Sept. 18, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Planet #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #NorthernLightsGraffiti #GeorgianBluffs #Ontario #Canada #STEM #Education

Reflection Nebula NGC 7129 in Cepheus | Schulman Telescope

Reflection Nebula NGC 7129 in Cepheus | Schulman Telescope

NGC 7129 is a reflection nebula located 3,300 light years away in the constellation Cepheus. A young open cluster is responsible for illuminating the surrounding nebula. The nebula is rosebud-shaped. The young stars have blown a large, oddly shaped bubble in the molecular cloud that once surrounded them at their birth. The rosy pink color comes from glowing dust grains on the surface of the bubble being heated by the intense light from the young stars within. Ultraviolet and visible light produced by the young stars is absorbed by the surrounding dust grains.

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 from inception 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

Caption Acknowledgements: Wikipedia

Release Date: Sept. 1, 2011

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC7129 #ReflectionNebula #StellarNursery #Stars #StarCluster #Cepheus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #UA #MountLemmonObservatory #SchulmanTelescope #Astrophotographer #AdamBlock #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Asteroid Bennu Sample Processed for Study | NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission

Asteroid Bennu Sample Processed for Study | NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx curation teams process the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in a cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. 

The clean room team has finished disassembling the sample capsule and packaging its components, including the unopened sample canister. Now packed in shipping containers—along with the environmental samples the recovery team collected around the capsule’s landing site this—the items are scheduled to be delivered on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, to their permanent home at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

Follow sample-delivery updates on NASA's OSIRIS-REx blog: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/

OSIRIS-REx NASA page: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

University of Arizona's OSIRIS-REx Mission Page: http://www.asteroidmission.org

Image Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

Image Capture Date: Sept. 24, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #OSIRISRExMission #OSIRISRExSpacecraft #Asteroids #AstreroidBennu #ToBennuAndBack #SampleReturn #SpaceTechnology #CSA #Canada #CNES #France #JSC #GSFC #UArizona #LockheedMartin #Utah #DoD #KSC #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education 

Aurora Borealis over Scotland

Aurora Borealis over Scotland

Astrophotographer Alan Tough: "This was the scene around local midnight. At times, the reds were so intense the colour could be picked up by the unaided eye."

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. 24, 2023

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

Asteroid Bennu Sample Retrieved for Study | NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission

Asteroid Bennu Sample Retrieved for Study | NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission

On Scene Commander of Recovery, Jasmine Nakayama, attaches the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to a helicopter for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed in the Utah desert.

The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen en route to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed in the Utah desert.

The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is lowered into the parking lot in front of the cleanroom hangar by helicopter, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.

From left to right, Lockheed Martin Mission Operations Assurance Lead Graham Miller, Lockheed Martin Recovery Specialist Michael Kaye, and Lockheed Martin Recovery Specialist Levi Hanish, prepare the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission for transport, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed.

On Scene Commander of Recovery, Jasmine Nakayama, attaches the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission to a helicopter for transport to the cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed.

A capsule containing a sample of asteroid Bennu from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Mission is seen en route to a local cleanroom, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed in the Utah desert. 

At 12:37 p.m. EDT (10:37 a.m. MDT), a helicopter gently placed NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample capsule, attached to the end of a 100-foot cable, on the ground outside a hangar on the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. Two technicians on the ground helped guide the capsule down. 

Once the helicopter line was detached and the helicopter had departed, the clean room team removed the capsule from its metal transport cradle. They loaded the capsule onto a cart and wheeled it into the hangar where a temporary clean room had been set up. In the hangar, the capsule was fully unwrapped and cleaned, and then taken into the clean room for disassembly.    

To protect the clean room from contaminants, only six people are allowed inside. Covered from head to toe in bunny suits, hoods, nitrile gloves, shoe covers, plus hair and beard covers, their job is to disassemble the capsule and remove the unopened sample canister inside. They will package all the parts for transport by aircraft to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Monday morning.  

Follow sample-delivery updates on NASA's OSIRIS-REx blog: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/

OSIRIS-REx NASA page: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

University of Arizona's OSIRIS-REx Mission Page: http://www.asteroidmission.org

Image Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

Image Capture Date: Sept. 24, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #OSIRISRExMission #OSIRISRExSpacecraft #Asteroids #AstreroidBennu #ToBennuAndBack #SampleReturn #SpaceTechnology #CSA #Canada #CNES #France #JSC #GSFC #UArizona #LockheedMartin #Utah #DoD #KSC #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education

Asteroid Bennu Sample Lands on Earth Successfully | NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission

Asteroid Bennu Sample Lands on Earth Successfully | NASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission

The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the Utah desert, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.

Lockheed Martin System Safety Engineer Victoria Thiem performs preliminary checks on the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, shortly after the capsule landed.

From left to right, NASA Astromatierals Curator Francis McCubbin, NASA Sample Return Capsule Science Lead Scott Sandford, and University of Arizona OSIRIS-REx Principal Investigator Dante Lauretta, collect science data, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.

The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.

Follow sample-delivery updates on NASA's OSIRIS-REx blog: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/

OSIRIS-REx NASA page: https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

University of Arizona's OSIRIS-REx Mission Page: http://www.asteroidmission.org

Image Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

Image Capture Date: Sept. 24, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #OSIRISRExMission #OSIRISRExSpacecraft #Asteroids #AstreroidBennu #ToBennuAndBack #SampleReturn #SpaceTechnology #CSA #Canada #CNES #France #JSC #GSFC #UArizona #LockheedMartin #Utah #DoD #KSC #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education