Saturday, September 30, 2023

Tonight's Sky: October 2023 (Northern Hemisphere)

Tonight's Sky: October 2023 (Northern Hemisphere)

Crisp, clear October nights are full of celestial showpieces. Find Pegasus, the flying horse of Greek myth, to pinpoint dense globular star clusters and galaxies, and keep watching for space-based views of M15, NGC 7331, and the Andromeda Galaxy.

“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: 4 minutes, 29 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 26, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #GlobularStarClusters #M15 #NGC7331 #AndromedaGalaxy #M31 #Pegasus #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Skywatching #HST #SpitzerSpaceTelescope #GALEX #STScI #JPL #Caltech #SSU #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China's Chang'e-6 Moon Mission to Collect First Lunar Far Side Samples

China's Chang'e-6 Moon Mission to Collect First Lunar Far Side Samples

China plans to launch the Chang'e-6 lunar probe to collect samples in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the far side of the moon "around 2024." If the mission succeeds, humans will have access to samples from the far side of the moon for the first time. China's long-term goal is to collect and return lunar samples across regions and ages. This will improve humanity's understanding of the Earth's moon, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA). The far side of the moon, viewed as older than the near side, has important scientific research value.


Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN)

Duration: 1 minute, 23 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 30, 2023


#NASA #Space #China #中国 #Earth #Moon #FarSide #SouthPole #AitkenBasin #LunarSampleReturn #LSR #Change6Mission  #CNSA #中国国家航天局 #Science #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #Robotics #Spaceflight #MoonToMars #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #UNOOSA #STEM #Education #CGTN #HD #Video

Our First Asteroid Sample Return Mission is Back on Earth | This Week @NASA

Our First Asteroid Sample Return Mission is Back on Earth | This Week @NASA

Our first asteroid sample return mission is back on Earth, a record ride in space for a NASA astronaut, and our Artemis II mission is making prelaunch progress . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Duration: 2 minutes, 33 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 29, 2023


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ArtemisII #ISS #Astronaut #FrankRubio #OSIRISRExMission #OSIRISRExSpacecraft #Asteroids #AstreroidBennu #SampleReturn #SpaceTechnology #CSA #Canada #CNES #France #JSC #GSFC #UArizona #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Friday, September 29, 2023

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Prepared for NASA's Psyche Mission Launch | NASA Kennedy

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Prepared for NASA's Psyche Mission Launch | NASA Kennedy






Photos of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket that will launch NASA's Psyche mission in the hangar at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida before it rolled out to the pad for a static fire test as part of preparations for the journey to a metal-rich asteroid. Psyche’s launch period opens Oct. 5, 2023. The spacecraft is scheduled to begin orbiting the asteroid Psyche in 2029.

Whether the asteroid Psyche is the partial core of a planetesimal (one of the building blocks 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. 

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. Psyche was selected in 2017 as the 14th mission under NASA’s Discovery Program.

Learn all about NASA's first-of-its-kind Mission to Psyche:

For more information, go to: www.nasa.gov/psyche and psyche.asu.edu

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/psyche


Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Release Date: Sept. 27, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SpaceX #FalconHeavy #SpaceXRocket #MissionToPsyche #PsycheMission #PsycheAsteroid #16Psyche #Asteroids #PsycheSpacecraft #SolarElectricPropulsion #Planets #Mars #Jupiter #AsteroidBelt #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #ASU #MaxarTechnologies #KSC #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's Artemis Moon Rocket Boosters: "Two Minutes of Pure Awesome"

NASA's Artemis Moon Rocket Boosters: "Two Minutes of Pure Awesome"

Towering at 17 stories tall and flanking either side of NASA’s mega Moon rocket with the iconic NASA “Worm” logo, the two solid rocket boosters for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket operate in parallel with the rocket’s four RS-25 engines to send the Artemis missions to the Moon. The twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters produce more than 75% of total thrust at liftoff, making them the most powerful boosters ever built for spaceflight. NASA and Northrop Grumman, the lead SLS booster contractor, manufacture the boosters. Watch this video to learn more about how these boosters help power the SLS rocket’s bold missions into deep space.

Artemis II will be NASA’s first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft around the Moon to verify today’s capabilities for humans to explore deep space and pave the way for long-term exploration and science on the lunar surface.

Learn more about the Artemis II Mission:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-ii 

Learn more about Space Launch System (SLS) : nasa.gov/sls


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

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Sept. 29, 2023


#NASA #Space #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #Moon #Rocket #SpaceLaunchSystem #NASASLS #SRB #NorthropGrumman #MoonToMars #DeepSpace #Propulsion #Engineering #Technology #MSFC #Utah #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #Exploration #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Earth Clouds Collect Starlight over Middle East | International Space Station

Earth Clouds Collect Starlight over Middle East | International Space Station


A collection of clouds hangs low over the Middle East as the International Space Station orbited about 260 miles above. Golden reflections from the Sun are dispersed throughout, creating a watercolor-like blend of light gold, white and grey.

Follow Expedition 70 updates here:

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

Expedition 70 Crew (Sept. 26, 2023—)

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

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, Konstantin Borisov 

JAXA: Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa (Japan)

NASA: Flight Engineers 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.


Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: Sept. 16, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ISS #Star #Sun #Planet #Earth #MiddleEast #Starlight #Sunlight #Atmosphere #Clouds #HumanSpaceflight #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Astronauts #JAXA #Japan #日本 #ESA #Europe #UnitedStates #OverviewEffect #OrbitalPerspective #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition70 #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education

Farewell: Sergey, Rubio & Dmitri in Russian Soyuz | International Space Station

Farewell: Sergey, Rubio & Dmitri in Russian Soyuz | International Space Station


Three Expedition 69 crew members are pictured inside the Russian Soyuz MS-23 crew ship that would return the trio back to Earth after living and working for 371 days aboard the International Space Station. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin (Russia), NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev (Russia).

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio ended his record-breaking time in space with a parachute-assisted landing in the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, on Sept. 27, 2023.

Rubio arrived at the International Space Station on Sept. 21, 2022, spending 371 days in low Earth orbit, and breaking the previous American record held by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei by 16 days.

During his 371 days aboard the station, Rubio experienced:
- Approximately 5,936 orbits of Earth
- Approximately 157,412,306 statute miles traveled (equivalent of approximately 328 round trips to the Moon and back)
- Fifteen spacecraft visited the International Space Station, including four Roscosmos Progress cargo ships, two Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft, two Roscosmos Soyuz, four crewed SpaceX Dragons, and three uncrewed SpaceX Dragons.

Follow Expedition 70 updates here:

Expedition 70 Crew (Sept. 26, 2023—)

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

Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, Konstantin Borisov 

JAXA: Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa (Japan)

NASA: Flight Engineers 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)


Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date: Sept. 27, 2023


#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #SoyuzMS23Spacecraft #SoyuzLanding #Astronaut #FrankRubio #Cosmonauts #SergeyProkopyev #DmitiriPetelin #LongDurationMission #HumanSpaceflight #JSC #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Kazakhstan #Қазақстан #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education

What is Light? | European Southern Observatory

What is Light? | European Southern Observatory

ChasingStarlight 5: Your eyes are fine-tuned by thousands of years of evolution to see what is called visible light. However, this makes up only a tiny fraction of all the light out there. 

Although invisible, the light you cannot see plays a significant role in your life, from helping you communicate over long distances, having safe plane landings in the fog or getting your broken bones checked.  

When it comes to space, entire new realms are uncovered by this invisible light. Join European Southern Observatory (ESO) astronomer, Suzanna Randall, in the latest episode of Chasing Starlight and discover what different types of light reveal about the Universe. 

00:00 Introduction

02:06 Why do we see only a part of the electromagnetic spectrum?

02:38 What can we observe with optical telescopes?

03:40 What can we observe in the infrared?

04:59 What about the low energy part of the spectrum?


Video Credits:

Directed by: L. Calçada, M. Kornmesser, M. Wallner 

Hosted by: S. Randall   

Written by: S. Randall, B. Ferreira

Editing: M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada   

Videography: A. Tsaousis

Animations & footage: ESO, M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada, NASA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI), The Planetary Society, ZDF, VLA/NRAO/AUI/NSF, NASA/Spitzer/JPL-Caltech, ESA, Hubble (STScI), XMM-Newton/ESA, NASA/Chandra/CXC, C. Malin, N. Risinger, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, A. Boley, A. Kritsuk and M. Norman, the Advanced Visualization Laboratory at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, S. Guisard, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), Wong et al., Igor Chekalin, J. Pérez M.-R. Cioni/VISTA Magellanic Cloud survey, Digitized Sky Survey 2 and ESO/Nogueras-Lara et al. 

Additional footage:

BBC, Rise of the Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates

Presenter: D. Attenborough

Director: D. Lee

Series Producer: A. Geffen

Web and technical support: G. Bazin, R. Shida   

Scientific consultant: P. Amico, J.C. Muñoz Mateos 

Promotion: O. Sandu

Filming locations: ESO Supernova 

Produced by ESO, the European Southern Observatory (eso.org)

Duration: 7 minutes, 29 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 28, 2023


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Physics #LightSpectrum #LightWavelengths #Infrared #Optical #Microwave #Stars #Galaxies #SolarSystem #Cosmos #Universe #Astronomers #SuzannaRandall #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM #ALMA #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #ChasingStarlightSeries #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Rubio's Record Ride | Week of Sept. 29, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground: Rubio's Record Ride | Week of Sept. 29, 2023

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio ended his record-breaking time in space with a parachute-assisted landing in the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, on Sept. 27, 2023.

Rubio arrived at the International Space Station on Sept. 21, 2022, spending 371 days in low Earth orbit, and breaking the previous American record held by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei by 16 days.

During his 371 days aboard the station, Rubio experienced:
- Approximately 5,936 orbits of Earth
- Approximately 157,412,306 statute miles traveled (equivalent of approximately 328 round trips to the Moon and back)
- Fifteen spacecraft visited the International Space Station, including four Roscosmos Progress cargo ships, two Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft, two Roscosmos Soyuz, four crewed SpaceX Dragons, and three uncrewed SpaceX Dragons.

Follow Expedition 70 updates here:

Expedition 69 Crew (Sept. 26, 2023—)
Station Commander: 


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: 3 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 28, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #SoyuzMS23Spacecraft #SoyuzLanding #Astronaut #FrankRubio #Cosmonauts #SergeyProkopyev #DmitiriPetelin #LongDurationMission #HumanSpaceflight #JSC #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Kazakhstan #Қазақстан #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Thursday, September 28, 2023

Shell Galaxy NGC 3923 in Hydra | Victor Blanco Telescope

Shell Galaxy NGC 3923 in Hydra | Victor Blanco Telescope

DECam captures the stunning layers of shell galaxy NGC 3923 and nearby gravitational lensing in large 250-megapixel image

The symmetrical, onion-like layers of shell galaxy NGC 3923 are showcased in this galaxy-rich image taken by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Dark Energy Camera mounted on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. A nearby, massive galaxy cluster is also captured exhibiting the phenomenon known as gravitational lensing.

Much like humans, galaxies are shaped by the environment in which they form. While no two are exactly alike, they can be divided into three main types: spiral, elliptical and irregular. Of these types, elliptical galaxies are the largest and are thought to evolve out of galactic collisions and mergers between spirals. About one-tenth of elliptical galaxies are classified as shell galaxies, characterized by the concentric shells that make up their galactic halos.

A striking example of this type of galaxy is NGC 3923, with its onion-like layers beautifully showcased in this image. Located in the constellation Hydra (the Serpent), NGC 3923 is about 70 million light-years away from Earth and 150,000 light-years across, making it about 50% larger than our Milky Way.

As is thought to be the story of all shell galaxies, the layered structure seen in NGC 3923 likely developed as a consequence of a merger with another, smaller spiral galaxy in the past. As they merged, the larger galaxy’s gravitational field slowly peeled off stars from the smaller galaxy’s disk. Those stars began to gradually mix with the larger galaxy’s outer halo, forming concentric bands, or shells. A simple analogy is adding a drop of food color to a bowl of batter that you’re slowly stirring. The drop gets stretched out in a spiral that remains visible for a long time before completely mixing.

The shells of NGC 3923 make the galaxy quite exceptional. Not only does it have the largest known shell of all observed shell galaxies, but it also has the largest number of shells and the largest ratio between the radii of the outermost and innermost shells. A 2016 study determined that NGC 3923 could be made up of as many as 42 distinct shells, with the outermost layers having been created first, followed by the innermost layers as the galaxies’ celestial dance slowed.

Another notable characteristic of NGC 3923 is that its shells are much more subtle than those of other shell galaxies. Its shells are also interestingly symmetrical, while other shell galaxies are more skewed. These uncommon features are a sublime example of the unique structures that galaxies can embody depending on their specific evolutionary conditions.

While NGC 3923 is certainly the main attraction in this expansive, 250-megapixel image, the longer one spends perusing the glittering field the more cosmic treasures can be found. Among the thousands of galaxies and countless foreground Milky Way stars speckling this image are the face-on spiral galaxies LEDA 744285 and ESO 440-11. And near the top of the image is the extremely large gravitational lens around galaxy cluster PLCK G287.0+32.9.

Discussed in scientific journals since the 1930s, gravitational lenses are predicted by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, which states that a massive object, such as a cluster of galaxies, can warp spacetime. Narrow arc-like shapes located around clusters of galaxies were first found in 1989 by NOIRLab (then NOAO) astronomer Roger Lynds and Stanford colleague Vahé Petrosian using the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. These extragalactic properties were interpreted as the result of strong gravitational lensing from distant galaxies in the background.

Indeed, when zoomed into this image, a handful of galaxies can be seen stretched out and distorted under the gravitational influence of dark matter, the mysterious substance found concentrated around clusters of galaxies. Gravitational lenses allow astronomers to explore the most profound questions of our Universe, including the nature of dark matter and the value of the Hubble constant, which defines the expansion of the Universe.

This image was created using data from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys.

Strong gravitational lenses are those where the effect is easily visible in the form of arcs or Einstein Rings.


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

Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab), R. Colombari (NSF’s NOIRLab) & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Release Date: Sept. 28, 2023


#NASA #Gemini #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxy #NGC3923 #EllipitcalGalaxies #ShellGalaxies #GravitationalLensing #Galaxies #LEDA744285 #ESO44011 #Hydra #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Observatory #VictorBlancoTelescope #Optical #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #KittPeak #KPNO #Tucson #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

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

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

Mars 2020 - sol 925
Mars 2020 - sol 925
MSL - sol 3950
MSL - sol 3960
Mars 2020 - sol 916
Mars 2020 - sol 915
MSL - sol 3958
MSL - sol 3951

Support FriendsofNASA.org 

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: Sept. 18-28, 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

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio Returns Home to Houston After Year-long Mission

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio Returns Home to Houston After Year-long Mission

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio waves after returning to Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, aboard a NASA jet following the completion of his 371-day mission aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is greeted by fellow NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei following his arrival. Rubio had just completed a 371-day mission aboard the International Space Station the day before, breaking Vande Hei's previous single spaceflight record of 355 days set back on March 30, 2022.
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is greeted by coworkers, including fellow NASA astronaut Christina Koch (center)
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is greeted by coworkers, including fellow NASA astronauts Woody Hoburg (far left) and Reid Wiseman (center)
    NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is greeted by Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio ended his record-breaking time in space with a parachute-assisted landing in the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft on the steppe of Kazakhstan, southeast of the remote town of Dzhezkazgan, on Sept. 27, 2023.

Rubio arrived at the International Space Station on Sept. 21, 2022, spending 371 days in low Earth orbit, and breaking the previous American record held by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei by 16 days.

During his 371 days aboard the station, Rubio experienced:
- Approximately 5,936 orbits of Earth
- Approximately 157,412,306 statute miles traveled (equivalent of approximately 328 round trips to the Moon and back)
- Fifteen spacecraft visited the International Space Station, including four Roscosmos Progress cargo ships, two Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft, two Roscosmos Soyuz, four crewed SpaceX Dragons, and three uncrewed SpaceX Dragons.

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)

Release Date: Sept. 28, 2023


#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #SoyuzMS23Spacecraft #SoyuzLanding #Astronaut #FrankRubio #Cosmonauts #SergeyProkopyev #DmitiriPetelin #LongDurationMission #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Kazakhstan #Қазақстан #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education

Aurora Intersects Earth's Airglow | International Space Station

Aurora Intersects Earth's Airglow | International Space Station

An aurora intersects Earth's airglow beneath a starry sky in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above western Kazakhstan near the Caspian Sea.

Airglow is not an optical illusion, but a genuine light source that results from chemical reactions in Earth’s upper atmosphere. It is far too faint to be visible during the daytime, and in most human-inhabited places it is drowned out by light pollution.

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.

NASA - About Aurora

The Colors of the Aurora (National Park Service)

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: Sept. 25, 2023


#NASA #Space #Earth #ISS #Science #Sun #Stars #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Aurora #Airglow #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Expedition69 #HumanSpaceflight #ESA #Europe #JAXA #Japan #JSC #UnitedStates #Kazakhstan #Қазақстан #STEM #Education

NASA's "Espacio a Tierra" | Un año después: 22 de septiembre de 2023

NASA's "Espacio a Tierra" | Un año después: 22 de septiembre de 2023

Espacio a Tierra, la versión en español de las cápsulas Space to Ground de la NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que está sucediendo en la Estación Espacial Internacional. 

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: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 4 minutes, 23 seconds
Release Date: Sept. 27, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #NASAenespañol #español #Astronauts #FrankRubio #Cosmonauts #SergeyProkopyev #DmitiriPetelin #LongDurationMission #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #JAXA #Japan #日本 #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Exploring the Origins of Planet Saturn's Rings & Moons | NASA Ames

Exploring the Origins of Planet Saturn's Rings & Moons | NASA Ames

New NASA and Durham University simulations put forth a theory of the origin of Saturn’s rings and icy moons. They may have formed following a massive collision between two moons orbiting the gas giant. The simulations used in this research are among the most detailed of their kind to study the formation of Saturn’s rings and potentially habitable icy moons. 

NASA's Ames Research Center is located in California's Silicon Valley.

Learn more: go.nasa.gov/3ti6eCw


Video Credit: NASA/Jacob Kegerreis/Luís Teodoro

Duration: 1 minute, 34 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 26, 2023


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SolarSystem #Planet #Saturn #Rings #IcyMoons #Moons #Collisions #ComputerSimulations #Visualizations #CassiniMission #DurhamUniversity #UnitedKingdom #UK #NASAAmes #ARC #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

What Happens When a STEVE and The Milky Way "Cross" a Country Road?

What Happens When a STEVE and The Milky Way "Cross" a Country Road?

A rural road is pictured running to the horizon with rural grassy fields on both sides. Rising from the lower left is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Rising from the horizon—just at the visible end of the road, is a thin twisting band of light twisting green and red bands—a STEVE. The STEVE crosses in front of the Milky Way band making a big entrance . . .

Not every road ends in a STEVE. A week ago, a sky enthusiast's journey began with a goal—to photograph an aurora over Lake Huron. Driving through rural Ontario, Canada, the forecasted sky show started unexpectedly early, causing the photographer to stop before arriving at the scenic Great Lake. Aurora images were taken toward the north—but over land, not sea. 

While waiting for a second round of auroras, a peculiar band of light was noticed to the west. Slowly, the photographer and friends realized that this western band was likely an unusual type of aurora: a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE). [Unlike other auroras, the STEVE seems to form from a ribbon of hot gases.] Moreover, this STEVE was putting on quite a show. It appeared to be intertwined with the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy while intersecting the horizon just near the end of the country road. After capturing this "cosmic X" on camera, the photographer paused to appreciate the unexpected awesomeness of finding extraordinary beauty in an ordinary setting.


Image Credit & Copyright: Theresa Clarke

Theresa's Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/tc_1865/

Release Date: Sept. 27, 2023


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