Star Cluster NGC 346 in The Small Magellanic Cloud | James Webb Space Telescope

Star Cluster NGC 346 in The Small Magellanic Cloud | James Webb Space Telescope

This new infrared image of NGC 346 from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) traces emission from cool gas and dust. In this image blue represents silicates and sooty chemical molecules known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. More diffuse red emission shines from warm dust heated by the brightest and most massive stars in the heart of the region. Bright patches and filaments mark areas with abundant numbers of protostars. 

Image Description: The lower half of this image contains arcs of bluish material that form a boat-like shape. One end of these arcs points to the top right of the image, while the other end points toward the bottom left. Another plume of blue filaments expands from the center to the top left, resembling the mast of a sailboat. Within and extending beyond the boat shape are translucent curtains of pink, which cover most of the image. Stars are noticeably scarce. A couple dozen bright pink patches with six short diffraction spikes are scattered within the blue filaments. Many faint blue dots, or stars, also speckle the background, which is black or dark grey.

This image includes 7.7-micron light shown in blue, 10 microns in cyan, 11.3 microns in green, 15 microns in yellow, and 21 microns in red (770W, 1000W, 1130W, 1500W, and 2100W filters, respectively).

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, N. Habel (JPL), P. Kavanagh (Maynooth University)

Release Date: Oct. 10, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebula #NGC346 #SMC #Galaxy #Infrared #JamesWebb #SpaceTelescope #JWST #MIRI #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education 

Beneath a Desert Moon | International Space Station

Beneath a Desert Moon | International Space Station

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured this photo of the Earth and Moon while orbiting over Iraq (not pictured). Taken at an oblique angle from an altitude of 406 kilometers (252 miles), the photo has a perspective that highlights Earth’s atmospheric limb, or the edge of the atmosphere.

The blue-toned haze that fades into the darkness of space is the mesosphere, which reaches an altitude of about 80 kilometers (50 miles). Above the mesosphere is the thermosphere. Although this layer is part of Earth’s atmosphere, it is commonly considered part of outer space.

In the center of the image, Earth’s moon peeks over the horizon. The Moon is about 405,500 kilometers (251,000 miles) away from Earth at its furthest point, or apogee. In this image, the Moon is in the waning gibbous phase, which occurs between the full moon and half-moon phases.

Below the wispy clouds in the middle of the view is Lake Assad, a Euphrates River reservoir in northern Syria. Lake Assad is Syria’s largest lake and a primary source of the region’s drinking and irrigation water. The Tabqa Dam, which created the lake, is the largest hydroelectric dam in the country.

This astronaut photograph ISS069-E-18445 was acquired on June 8, 2023, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 25 millimeters. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 69 crew. 

Credit: ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center

Caption by Minna Adel Rubio, GeoControl Systems, JETS Contract at NASA-JSC

Image Date: June 8, 2023

#NASA #Space #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Mesophere #Science #ISS #Moon #WaningGibbous #Desert #Syria #LakeAssad #Iraq #Astronauts #SultanAlNeyadi #UAE #UAESA #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #UAE #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition69 #STEM #Education 

NASA Psyche Asteroid Mission Spacecraft Launch Prep | Kennedy Space Center

NASA Psyche Asteroid Mission Spacecraft Launch Prep | Kennedy Space Center

Teams transport NASA's encapsulated Psyche spacecraft from Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville to Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023

Teams transport NASA's encapsulated Psyche spacecraft from the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville to Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than 10:16 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 12. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.

Destination: Only the 16th asteroid to be discovered, Psyche was found in 1852 by Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, who named it for the goddess of the soul in ancient Greek mythology. It has a mean diameter of approximately 220 kilometers (140 mi) and contains about one percent of the mass of the asteroid belt.

What gives asteroid Psyche great scientific interest is that it is likely rich in metal. It may consist largely of metal from the core of a planetesimal, one of the building blocks of the Sun’s planetary system. At Psyche scientists will explore, for the first time ever, a world made not of rock or ice, but rich in metal.

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

The spacecraft is expected to 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. Psyche was selected in 2017 as the 14th mission under NASA’s Discovery Program.

Image Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Image Dates: Oct. 3-6, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #PsycheAsteroid #16Psyche #Asteroids #Science #PsycheMission #PsycheSpacecraft #DSOC #Planets #Mars #Jupiter #AsteroidBelt #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #JPL #Caltech #ASU #MaxarTechnologies #Astrotech #NASAKennedy #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Emission Nebula IC 1274 in Sagittarius | Steward Observatory

Emission Nebula IC 1274 in Sagittarius | Steward Observatory

IC 1274 is a luminous nebula contained within the Lands 227 molecular cloud in Sagittarius. 

Distance: ~4,000 light years

There is a cavity like structure likely due to the star HD 166033.

A number of early type stars have formed and are ionizing and dispersing molecular gas.

Technical Details

Optics: Phillips 24-inch RCOS Telescope

Camera: SBIG STL11000

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

Caption Acknowledgement: Mike Selby

Release Date: June 1, 2009

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Star #HD166033 #Nebulae #Nebula #IC1274 #EmissionNebula #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #StewardObservatory #UA #MountLemmonObservatory #PhillipsTelescope #Astrophotographer #AdamBlock #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Colorful Norwegian Skies: The Aurora Borealis

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

Image Technical Data:

Canon EOS R

20mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art 015

ƒ/2.0 20.0 mm 6 1600

Image Credit: Role Bigler

Image Dates: Sept. 12-13, 2023

Release Dates: Oct. 7-8, 2023

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Planet #LightPollution #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #Nordkapp #Norway #Norge #STEM #Education

Galaxies NGC 3558 & LEDA 83465: A Collision Course in Ursa Major | Hubble

Galaxies NGC 3558 & LEDA 83465: A Collision Course in Ursa Major | Hubble

In this new Hubble Space Telescope image, there are two galaxies: NGC 3558 in the lower left, and LEDA 83465 in the upper right. Both galaxies lie roughly 450 million light years from Earth. The two galaxies are separated from one another by a distance of roughly 150,000 light years, which might sound vast, until we consider that our nearest galactic neighbor—the Andromeda galaxy—is a whopping 2.5 million light years distant from the Milky Way galaxy. In galactic terms, the two galaxies pictured here are practically on top of one another.

This is because they belong to a crowded and chaotic galaxy cluster known as Abell 1185, which is packed with galaxies that are interacting with one another via gravity. These galactic interactions have sometimes led to dramatic results, such as galaxies being torn apart completely. This fate has not befallen NGC 3558. It currently retains its integrity as both an elliptical galaxy and a low-ionisation nuclear emission-line region, or LINER. In fact, it probably attained its present form by devouring smaller galaxies in the cluster—galaxies much like LEDA 83465.

Image Description: Two galaxies are prominent among many much smaller background galaxies in the darkness of space. The larger galaxy is an elliptical galaxy, radiating light in a perfectly even sphere from a bright center. The smaller galaxy is a barred spiral with arms that are wispy like fog connected to a bar crossing the galaxy’s shining core. The shape of the arms makes the smaller galaxy notably squarish.

LINERs are a particular type of galactic nucleus or core, and are distinguished by the chemical fingerprints written into the light that they emit. As their name suggests, LINERs emit light. This  suggests that many of the atoms and molecules within these galactic cores have either been weakly ionised or not ionised at all. Ionisation is the process where atoms or molecules lose or gain electrons. In galaxies, it is driven by a variety of processes—from shockwaves travelling through galaxies, to radiation from massive stars or from hot gas in accretion discs. In the case of LINERs, this means that many of the atoms and molecules within the galaxies have lost either a single electron, or have retained all their electrons. The mechanism that drives this weak ionisation in LINERs, such as NGC 3558, is still debated amongst astronomers. 

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. West

Release Date: Oct. 9, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #LEDA83465 #BarredSpiralGalaxy #NGC3558 #EllipticalGalaxy #LINERGalaxy #InteractingGalaxies #GalaxyCluster #Abell1185 #UrsaMajor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Entrancing Galaxy NGC 685 in Eridanus | Hubble

Entrancing Galaxy NGC 685 in Eridanus | Hubble

NGC 685 takes center stage amid faintly twinkling stars on an inky black background. This galaxy is clearly a barred spiral galaxy with its bright center bar and patchy, curving arms. It is about 58 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus. NGC 685 lies south of the celestial equator and is visible from the southern hemisphere at certain times of the year.

British astronomer John Herschel discovered NGC 685 in 1834, and early observers noted its apparent roundness. The whole galaxy is about 60,000 light-years across—a little more than half the size of our Milky Way. The patches of bright blue along the galaxy’s arms are star clusters, groups of stars held together by their mutual gravitational attraction. Wisps of dark red near the central bar depict interstellar gas and dust, the matter from which stars form. About two-thirds of all spiral galaxies have a central bar like NGC 685. Its intense glow comes from many stars concentrated in a relatively small area.

The Hubble Space Telescope took this image as part of a scientific effort to study star cluster formation and evolution. Hubble’s ultraviolet capabilities are well-suited to this task, since young stars shine brightly at ultraviolet wavelengths. An average-sized galaxy like NGC 685 can have around 100 million stars, which is on the low end.

Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, and J. Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute)

Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Release Date: Oct. 8, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #Galaxies #NGC685 #Galaxy #SpiralGalaxy #BarredSpiralGalaxy #Eridanus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #Optical #Infrared #Ultraviolet #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

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

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

MSL - Sol 3966

MSL - Sol 3969

MSL - Sol 3967

MSL - Sol 3966

MSL - Sol 3967

Mars 2020 - Sol 932

Mars 2020 - Sol 934

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: Oct. 4-7, 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

Virgin Galactic Completes Fourth Private Astronaut Flight: Galactic 04

Virgin Galactic Completes Fourth Private Astronaut Flight: Galactic 04

Galactic 04—Virgin Galactic’s fourth commercial spaceflight and fifth successful human space mission in five months—was launched from Spaceport America, New Mexico, on October 6, 2023, at 09:28 local time. VSS Unity, the second SpaceShipTwo, transported three private passengers: Ron Rosano, Trevor Beattie and Namira Salim; as well as Beth Moses (Chief Astronaut Instructor). The flight reached an apogee of 54.3 miles (~87 km).

Namira Salim is reported to be the first Pakistan citizen in space. Virgin Galactic said Salim is also a resident of Monaco and the United Arab Emirates.

This makes her the first person from Monaco and the first Emirati woman to travel to space.

Learn more on Virgin Galactic's website: https://www.virgingalactic.com

Credit: Virgin Galactic

Duration: 1 minute, 22 seconds

Release Date: Oct. 7, 2023

    

#NASA #Space #Earth #CommercialSpaceflight #VirginGalactic #SpaceShipTwoVehicle #Galactic04 #VSSUnity #VMSEve #SuborbitalFlight #Astronauts #RonRosano #TrevorBeattie #NamiraSalim #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceportAmerica #SpaceTourism #NewMexico #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 70 Crew: Behind the Scenes | International Space Station

Expedition 70 Crew: Behind the Scenes | International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral O'Hara shows off tools she will use during a spacewalk to swab surfaces on the International Space Station and collect potential microbe samples for analysis.

O'Hara is pictured trimming her hair aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli replaces cables on the advanced resistive exercise device inside the International Space Station's Tranquility module.

European Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen of Denmark is pictured with the International Space Station's new exercise cycle after it was installed in the Destiny laboratory module.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa loads camera and light hardware into the Kibo laboratory module's airlock that will be installed outside the International Space Station.

The Soyuz MS-24 crew ship is pictured docked to the International Space Station's Rassvet module. The spacecraft launched three Expedition 69-70 crew members, NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub, to the orbiting lab on Sept. 15, 2023.

The Expedition 70 crew is preparing for a pair of spacewalks for science and maintenance outside the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Mogensen of Denmark are getting ready for their first spacewalk set to begin at 10 a.m. EST on Oct. 12, 2023. The duo will use specialized tools to collect microbe samples from specific areas outside of the station.

Another spacewalk is scheduled for Oct. 20, 2023, with O’Hara and fellow NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli. They will remove and replace communications and solar array hardware.

Follow Expedition 70 Updates:

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

Expedition 70 Crew

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

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

JAXA: Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa (Japan)

NASA: 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 Dates: Sept. 25-Oct. 5, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ISS #Earth #HumanSpaceflight #Astronauts #EVA #Spacewalks #LoralOHara #JasminMoghbelli #AndreasMogensen #Denmark #SatoshiFurukawa #JAXA #Japan #日本 #ESA #Europe #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition70 #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education

Preparing to Journey to a Metal World | This Week @NASA | Week of Oct. 6, 2023

Preparing to Journey to a Metal World | This Week @NASA | Week of Oct. 6, 2023

Preparing to journey to a metal world, a milestone for a simulated Mars mission, and celebrating an anniversary for our agency . . . a few of the stories to tell you about—This Week at NASA!

For more information about NASA’s Psyche mission go to: 

www.nasa.gov/psyche and psyche.asu.edu

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

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Video Producer, Editor & Narrator: Andre Valentine

Duration: 2 minutes, 34 seconds

Release Date: Oct. 7, 2023

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

Reflection Nebula M78 (NOIRLab 'Fan Version') | Kitt Peak National Observatory

Reflection Nebula M78 (NOIRLab 'Fan Version') | Kitt Peak National Observatory

M78 is part of the Orion complex, a large region of star-forming gas and dust centered around M42 and M43. It is the brightest diffuse reflection nebula in the sky, and fairly easy to see with binoculars (and almost visible to the naked eye, claim some observers). M78 is some 1,600 light-years away and around 4 light-years across.

This picture is a color composite mosaic of CCD images from the 0.9-meter telescope of the Kitt Peak National Observatory, near Tucson, Arizona, taken in November 1998. 

M78 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects that same year.

Credit: NOIRLab/National Science Foundation (NSF)/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)

Release Date: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #M78 #NGC2068 #ReflectionNebula #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KittPeakNationalObservatory #KPNO #Telescope #Optical #Arizona #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 5068 in Virgo | Hubble

Spiral Galaxy NGC 5068 in Virgo | Hubble

Patches of bright pink and wisps of dark red paint the foreground of this new Hubble Space Telescope image. NGC 5068 is a barred spiral galaxy with thousands of star-forming regions and large quantities of interstellar dust. First discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1785, NGC 5068 sits in the southern region of the constellation Virgo and is around 20 million light-years away. Astronomers estimate the galaxy is 45,000 light-years in diameter.

At the top center of this image lies NGC 5068’s bright central bar, a densely packed region of mature stars. A black hole lurks behind the bar, tugging the stars together with its intense gravitational pull. The bright pinkish-red splotches along the bottom and sides of the image are regions of ionized hydrogen gas where young star clusters lie. Though not very clear from this angle, these splotches are along the galaxy’s spiral arms, where new stars typically form.

Astronomers also found at least 110 Wolf-Rayet stars in NGC 5068. Wolf-Rayet stars are a type of old, massive star that loses mass at a very high rate. They are typically more than 25 times the mass of our Sun and up to a million times more luminous. There are about 220 Wolf-Rayet stars in our Milky Way galaxy.

NGC 5068 is difficult to see with human eyes because it has relatively low surface brightness. Luckily, Hubble’s ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared capabilities helped capture the beauty and intrigue of this galaxy. Different cosmic objects emit different wavelengths of light; young and hot stars emit ultraviolet light, so Hubble uses ultraviolet observations to find them.

Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, R. Chandar (University of Toledo), and J. Lee (Space Telescope Science Institute); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)

Release Date: Oct. 6, 2023

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #WolfRayetStars #Galaxies #NGC5068 #Galaxy #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #Optical #Infrared #Ultraviolet #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Reflection Nebula M78 in Orion | Mayall Telescope

Reflection Nebula M78 in Orion | Mayall Telescope

This image of M78, the brightest diffuse reflection nebula in the sky, was taken in 2006 with the Mosaic imager on the Mayall 4-meter telescope on Kitt Peak. Located about 1,600 light-years away and around 4 light-years across, M78 is part of the Orion complex, a large region of star-forming gas and dust.

M78 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects that same year.

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

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

Release Date: Aug. 9, 2006

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #M78 #NGC2068 #ReflectionNebula #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KittPeakNationalObservatory #KPNO #MayallTelescope #Optical #Arizona #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Reflection Nebula M78 in Orion | Steward Observatory

Reflection Nebula M78 in Orion | Steward Observatory

This is a spectacular visible light wide-field view of Messier 78 (M78), also known as NGC 2068. 

It is a reflection nebula in the constellation Orion. 

M78 was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1780 and included by Charles Messier in his catalog of comet-like objects that same year.

Technical Details

Phillips 24-inch RCOS Telescope

Camera: SBIG STL11000

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

Release Date: Jan. 1, 2010

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #M78 #NGC2068 #ReflectionNebula #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #StewardObservatory #UA #MountLemmonObservatory #PhillipsTelescope #Astrophotographer #AdamBlock #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Wildfires: A Smoky Pall over Canada | NASA Earth Observatory

Wildfires: A Smoky Pall over Canada | NASA Earth Observatory

September 25, 2023

October 1, 2023

Wildland fires burn through Canada’s boreal forests every summer as temperatures rise and lightning ignites blazes. Widespread fire activity typically begins to taper off in late-August and fades away by October as days shorten, temperatures cool, and fall weather patterns take control.

Not in 2023. Fires that had been burning in western Canada for months continued to rage furiously into October, growing at some of the fastest rates they have all year and generating record amounts of emissions. Evidence of their intensity filled North American skies in the last two weeks of September, with expansive smoke plumes swirling across much of Canada.

The October 1, 2023, image—acquired by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on NOAA-20—shows a long smoke plume extending along the U.S. East Coast. NASA atmospheric scientist Gary Partyka described the pattern as “highly indexed meridional flow” that drew smoke in a circuitous route around Canada and into the United States, rather than carrying it generally west to east at higher latitudes, as is more typical.

The smoke over the eastern U.S. originated thousands of miles away in western Canada, added Partyka, who tracked its movement using the GEOS forward processing (GEOS-FP) model developed by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office. 

VIIRS acquired the other image of smoke streaming over eastern Canada on September 25, 2023. Meteorologists with The Washington Post reported that part of the reason that smoke dipped so far south was that winds had to steer the smoke around a sprawling zone of high pressure over central North America known as an omega block.

Of the 447 fires that were active across Canada on September 15, nearly half were classified as out of control, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC). On September 27, the last day that CIFFC reported numbers for the year, those numbers remained remarkably high. Of the 798 fires burning on that date, 382 were out of control.

Particularly intense burning on September 15 and 22 in British Columbia and Alberta fueled several pyrocumulunimbus clouds (pyroCbs) that lofted smoke high in the atmosphere, where fast-moving, upper-level winds then spread it widely. In the absence of pyroCbs, the smoke would have remained closer to the surface, nearer to the fires that produced it, and less visible in satellite imagery.

While the influx of smoke was noticeable in New York City and other major cities along the eastern seaboard, the impact on air quality was modest because the smoke was relatively high. In June 2023, a major intrusion of surface-level smoke from fires in Quebec darkened skies in the same region and triggered more severe air quality problems.

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using GEOS data from the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA GSFC and VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)

Story Credit: Adam Voiland

Release Date: Oct. 4, 2023

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Earth #Planet #Satellites #NOAA20 #VIIRS #Science #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #Canada #GSFC #UnitedStates #Wildfires #Fires #Smoke #Clouds #Pyrocumulonimbus #PyroCb #EarthObservingSystem #EarthObservation #Climate #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #Environment #RemoteSensing #STEM #Education