Planet Mars Auroras during Epic May 2024 Solar Storm | NASA MAVEN Mission

Planet Mars Auroras during Epic May 2024 Solar Storm | NASA MAVEN Mission

The purple color in this video shows auroras on Mars’ nightside as detected by the ultraviolet instrument aboard NASA’s MAVEN orbiter between May 14 and 20, 2024. The brighter the purple, the more auroras that were present. 

Auroras Over Mars: High above NASA's Mars Curiosity rover, NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter captured another effect of the recent solar activity—glowing auroras over the planet. The way these auroras occur is different than those seen on Earth.

Our home planet is shielded from charged particles by a robust magnetic field. It normally limits auroras to regions near the poles. (Solar maximum is the reason behind the recent auroras seen as far south as Alabama.) Mars lost its internally generated magnetic field in the ancient past, so there is no protection from the barrage of energetic particles. When charged particles hit the Martian atmosphere, it results in auroras that engulf the entire planet.

During solar events, the Sun releases a wide range of energetic particles. Only the most energetic can reach the surface to be measured by RAD. Slightly less energetic particles, those that cause auroras, are sensed by MAVEN’s Solar Energetic Particle instrument.

Scientists can use that instrument’s data to rebuild a timeline of each minute as the solar particles screamed past, meticulously teasing apart how the event evolved.

“This was the largest solar energetic particle event that MAVEN has ever seen,” said MAVEN Space Weather Lead, Christina Lee of the University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory. “There have been several solar events in past weeks, so we were seeing wave after wave of particles hitting Mars.”

The data coming in from NASA’s spacecraft won’t only help future planetary missions to the Red Planet. It is contributing to a wealth of information being gathered by the agency’s other heliophysics missions, including Voyager, Parker Solar Probe, and the forthcoming ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission.

Targeting a late-2024 launch, ESCAPADE’s twin small satellites will orbit Mars and observe space weather from a unique dual perspective that is more detailed than what MAVEN can currently measure alone.

More About the Missions

MAVEN’s principal investigator is based at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder. LASP is also responsible for managing science operations and public outreach and communications. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the MAVEN mission. Lockheed Martin Space built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California provides navigation and Deep Space Network support. The MAVEN team is preparing to celebrate the spacecraft’s 10th year at Mars in September 2024.

Similarly, the star camera NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter uses for orientation was inundated with energy from solar particles, momentarily going out. (Odyssey has other ways to orient itself, and recovered the camera within an hour.) Even with the brief lapse in its star camera, the orbiter collected vital data on X-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles using its High-Energy Neutron Detector.

This was not Odyssey’s first brush with a solar flare. In 2003, solar particles from a solar flare that was ultimately estimated to be an X45 fried Odyssey’s radiation detector. Ironically, it was designed to measure such events.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the MAVEN mission.

For more information on MAVEN, go to: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/maven/

Video Credit: NASA/University of Colorado/LASP

Duration: 17 seconds

Release Date: June 10, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Star #Sun #SolarMax #Planet #Mars #Atmosphere #Ultraviolet #Auroras #UV #Radiation #Astronauts #MAVENMission #MAVENSpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #GSFC #LASP #CUBoulder #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover Records Major May 2024 Solar Storm | NASA/JPL

NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover Records Major May 2024 Solar Storm | NASA/JPL

In addition to producing auroras, a recent extreme storm provided more detail on how much radiation future astronauts could encounter on the Red Planet.

Mars scientists have been anticipating epic solar storms ever since the Sun entered a period of peak activity earlier this year called solar maximum. Over the past month, NASA’s Mars rovers and orbiters have provided researchers with front-row seats to a series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections that have reached Mars—even causing Martian auroras at times.

This science bonanza has offered an unprecedented opportunity to study how such events unfold in deep space, as well as how much radiation exposure the first astronauts on Mars could encounter.

The biggest event occurred on May 20, 2024, with a solar flare later estimated to be an X12—X-class solar flares are the strongest of several types—based on data from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, a joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. The flare sent out X-rays and gamma rays toward the Red Planet, while a subsequent coronal mass ejection launched charged particles. Moving at the speed of light, the X-rays and gamma rays from the flare arrived first, while the charged particles trailed slightly behind, reaching Mars in just tens of minutes.

The unfolding space weather was closely tracked by analysts at the Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. It flagged the possibility of incoming charged particles following the coronal mass ejection.

If astronauts had been standing next to NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover at the time, they would have received a radiation dose of 8,100 micrograys — equivalent to 30 chest X-rays. While not deadly, it was the biggest surge measured by Curiosity’s Radiation Assessment Detector, or RAD, since the rover landed 12 years ago.

RAD’s data will help scientists plan for the highest level of radiation exposure that might be encountered by astronauts. They would need to use the Martian landscape for protection.

“Cliffsides or lava tubes would provide additional shielding for an astronaut from such an event. In Mars orbit or deep space, the dose rate would be significantly more,” said RAD’s principal investigator, Don Hassler of Southwest Research Institute’s Solar System Science and Exploration Division in Boulder, Colorado. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this active region on the Sun continues to erupt, meaning even more solar storms at both Earth and Mars over the coming weeks.”

During the May 20 event, so much energy from the storm struck the surface that black-and-white images from Curiosity’s navigation cameras danced with “snow”—white streaks and specks caused by charged particles hitting the cameras.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California leads the Curiosity mission.

For more about Curiosity, visit:

http://mars.nasa.gov/msl

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech 

Release Date: June 10, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Star #Sun #SolarMax #Planet #Mars #Atmosphere #Ultraviolet #UV #Radiation #CuriosityRover #MSL #Astronauts #MAVENMission #MAVENSpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #GSFC #LASP #CUBoulder #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #GIF #Animation

Fly over the Gum 3 Nebula in Canis Major | European Southern Observatory

Fly over the Gum 3 Nebula in Canis Major | European Southern Observatory

This video gives us a closeup look at the Gum 3 nebula, a stellar nursery located about 3,600 light-years away, between the Monoceros and Canis Major constellations. The image was taken with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Video Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team

Ack.: CASU

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: June 10, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #Cederblad90 #Gum3 #CanisMajor #Monoceros #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #OmegaCAM #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Gum 3 Nebula in Canis Major | European Southern Observatory

Gum 3 Nebula in Canis Major | European Southern Observatory

This picture shows the brightly colored Gum 3 nebula as seen with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST), hosted at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert. Attentive viewers may find that part of Gum 3 resembles a Koi fish in this VST image. Equipped with the OmegaCAM instrument, an enormous 268-megapixel camera, the telescope is designed to survey large areas of the southern sky in visible light and take images like this one.

Gum 3 is an interstellar cloud of gas and dust located about 3,600 light-years away between the Monoceros and Canis Major constellations. It is named after Colin Stanley Gum, an Australian astronomer who catalogued 84 nebulae in the southern sky. 

When the intense ultraviolet radiation from nearby young stars hits hydrogen atoms in the cloud, they emit visible light at very specific colors. We see these as shades of red and pink in the image. At the same time, tiny particles of dust within the cloud reflect starlight, especially blue colors, similar to what makes the sky look blue here on Earth. This play of colors makes nebulae like this spectacular to look at.

This image shows not only color, but also the lack of it. Look closely at the area just right of the brightest part of the cloud—right of the pink “Koi-smic fish”. Does anything look odd to you? It is not that there really are fewer stars in this dark area; instead, there is a big clump of dust that blocks part of the visible light, hiding the stars from VST and us.

Image Description: Most of the image is taken up by a cloud-like structure in shades of red and hot pink. It is hazy and wispy with areas, especially in the bottom half, brighter than others, and it stretches from the bottom left corner to the top right corner of the frame. Bright white stars shine through gaps in the structure; the one on the top right end is the largest, with red and blue-green rays coming out of it. Surrounding the cloud are thousands of stars of varying sizes and colors over a dark background.

Credit: ESO/VPHAS+ team. 

Ack.: CASU

Release Date: June 10, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #Cederblad90 #Gum3 #CanisMajor #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLTSurveyTelescope #OmegaCAM #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

Globular Cluster NGC 2005: An Ancient Galactic Witness | Hubble

Globular Cluster NGC 2005: An Ancient Galactic Witness | Hubble

The globular cluster NGC 2005 is not unusual in and of itself; but it is a peculiarity in relation to its surroundings. NGC 2005 is located about 750 light-years from the heart of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). This is the Milky Way’s largest satellite galaxy. It lies about 162,000 light-years from Earth. Globular clusters are densely-packed clusters that can be made up of tens of thousands or millions of stars. Their density means that they are tightly gravitationally bound, and are therefore, very stable. This stability contributes to their longevity—globular clusters can be billions of years old, and often contain very old stars. Thus, studying globular clusters in space can be a little like studying fossils on Earth. Fossils give insights into the characteristics of ancient plants and animals, while globular clusters illuminate the characteristics of ancient stars.

Current theories of galaxy evolution predict that galaxies merge with one another. It is widely thought that the relatively large galaxies that we observe in the modern Universe were formed via the merging of smaller galaxies. If this is correct, then astronomers would expect to see evidence that the most ancient stars in nearby galaxies originated in unique galactic environments. As globular clusters are known to contain ancient stars, and because of their stability, they are an excellent laboratory to test this hypothesis. 

NGC 2005 is such a globular cluster, and its very existence has provided evidence to support the theory of galaxy evolution via mergers. Indeed, the stars in NGC 2005 have a chemical composition that is distinct from the stars in the LMC around it. This suggests that the LMC underwent a merger with another galaxy during its history. Although the other galaxy has long-since merged and otherwise dispersed, NGC 2005 remains behind as an ancient witness to the long-past merger. 

Image Description: A globular cluster, appearing as a highly dense and numerous collection of shining stars. A number appear a bit larger and brighter than others with the brightest having cross-shaped spikes around them. They are scattered mostly uniformly, but in the center they crowd together more and more densely, and merge into a strong glow at the cluster’s core.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA, F. Niederhofer, L. Girardi

Release Date: June 10, 2024

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarClusters #GlobularStarCluster #NGC2005 #Dorado #Constellation #Galaxy #LargeMagellanicCloud #LMC #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

China Chang'e-6 Far Side Moon Mission Offers Scientists Information Treasure Chest

China Chang'e-6 Far Side Moon Mission Offers Scientists Information Treasure Chest

After its May 3, 2024 launch, James Head, distinguished American professor emeritus of geological sciences at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, spoke about the scientific importance for humanity of China's Chang'e-6 Mission to the Moon's far side south polar region. The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan.

Professor Brown has trained astronaut crews in geology and surface exploration and participated in the selection of landing sites for NASA's Apollo Moon program. Professor Brown studies the roles of volcanism in planetary crusts as well as the geological evolution of Mars, and has served as the investigator on many major international planetary science missions. He has published 25 chapters in books on planetary geology and over 300 refereed articles in scientific journals, and has supervised nearly 40 PhD students.

The Chang'e-6 lunar lander-ascender combination touched down at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on Sunday, June 2, 2024.

The SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude) is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.

The ascender of China's Chang'e-6 probe successfully lifted off from the lunar surface on Tuesday morning, June 4, 2024, carrying samples collected from the Moon's far side south polar region—an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history. 

The probe's returner, carrying the samples, is expected to make its planned touchdown in the Siziwang Banner in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region around June 25, 2024.

In 2020, Chang'e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.

Note: The first phase of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) construction project will see a basic station built by 2035 in the lunar south pole region. This station will have comprehensive scientific facilities with complete basic functions and supporting elements to carry out regular scientific experiments, and to develop and utilize resources on a limited scale, according to Wu Weiren, chief designer of China's Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP).

Video Credit: China Global Television Network (CGTN) Europe

Duration: 4 minutes

Release Date: May 2, 2024

#NASA #CNSA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #Change6 #嫦娥六号 #LunarSampleReturn #FarSide #SouthPole #Queqiao2Satellite #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #InternationalCooperation #France #CNES #Italy #ASI #Sweden #STEM #Education #History #HD #Video

NASA Artemis II Moon Rocket Core Stage Nearing Completion | NASA Michoud

NASA Artemis II Moon Rocket Core Stage Nearing Completion | NASA Michoud

The core stage is the backbone of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will help power NASA’s Artemis II mission to send a crew of four astronauts around the Moon in 2025. Here, the core stage is currently behind scaffolding to allow work to continue at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. 

NASA will roll the fully assembled core stage for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will launch the first crewed Artemis mission out of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in mid-July. Following hardware acceptance reviews and final checkouts, the stage will be readied for delivery via the agency’s Pegasus barge to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for Artemis II launch preparations. The stage’s two massive propellant tanks hold a collective 733,000 gallons of liquid propellant to power the four RS-25 engines at its base. 

The rocket stage with its four RS-25 engines will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission. Once at Kennedy, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program will finish outfitting the stage and prepare it for stacking and launch. Artemis II is currently scheduled for launch in September 2025.

Building, assembling, and transporting the core stage is a collaborative process for NASA, Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, and lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company.

NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under the agency’s Artemis campaign. The SLS rocket is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. The SLS rocket is the only rocket designed to send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

Learn more about NASA’s Artemis campaign:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis/

Image Credit: NASA/ Eric Bordelon

Release Date: June 7, 2024

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

How to Protect Telescopes from Earthquakes | European Southern Observatory

How to Protect Telescopes from Earthquakes | European Southern Observatory

Chile's Atacama Desert is among the darkest skies on Earth, but it is also a seismically active area. How does the European Southern Observatory protect its large and sophisticated telescopes against earthquakes?

Follow European Southern Observatory astronomer Suzanna Randall in this episode of Chasing Starlight, where she travels to Chile to show us the clever anti-seismic technology that keeps our telescopes safe.

00:00 Introduction

01:01 What causes earthquakes?

02:26 The Very Large Telescope

04:43 The Extremely Large Telescope

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directed by: Luis Calçada, Martin Kornmesser, Juan Carlos Muñoz Mateos 

Hosted by: Suzanna Randall  

Written by: Thomas Howarth and Pamela Freeman 

Editing: Martin Kornmesser 

Videography: Angelos Tsaousis, Rodrigo Soruco 

Footage and Photos: ESO, L. Calçada, C. Malin/ Vectorial/ J. F. Salgado/ Chepox/ G. Huedepohl /ESO/Alessio Dradi (Cimolai), U.S. Navy, NASA, ESO/ACe Consortium 

Animations & Infographics: Luis Calçada, Martin Kornmesser 

Scientific Consultant: Paola Amico 

Filming Locations: ESO Supernova, Cerro Armazones and Paranal in northern Chile

Duration: 7 minutes 

Release Date: June 7, 2024

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Earthquakes #TelescopeDesign #Nebulae #Stars #Exoplanets #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #ELT #Telescopes #ParanalObservatory #CerroArmazones #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

"Shine on You Crazy Diamond" | International Space Station

"Shine on You Crazy Diamond" | International Space Station

The last rays of an orbital sunset shine like a diamond while fading below Earth's atmosphere as the International Space Station soared 263 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the east coast of New Zealand.

"Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition written by David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright. It appeared on Pink Floyd's 1975 concept album "Wish You Were Here". The song is written about and dedicated to founder member Syd Barrett. Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965.

Learn more here: https://www.pinkfloyd.com

Follow Expedition 71 Updates: 

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

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

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: May 19, 2024 

#NASA #Space #ISS #Sun #Earth #OrbitalSunset #Astronauts #FlightEngineers #HumanSpaceflight #Science #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #Engineering #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #STEM #Education

Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean: May-June 2024 | International Space Station

Aurora Australis over Indian Ocean: May-June 2024 | International Space Station

An aurora swirls above the Indian Ocean in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 266 miles above and due south of Australia's island state of Tasmania.

An aurora and an atmospheric glow crown Earth's horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 266 miles above a cloudy Indian Ocean southwest of Australia. In the foreground, from left, are a portion of Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter, the Rassvet module, and the Russian Soyuz MS-25 crew ship docked to the Prichal docking module which is itself mated to the Nauka science module.

A dim aurora and an atmospheric glow crown Earth's horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 266 miles above a cloudy Indian Ocean southwest of Australia. In the foreground, from left, are a portion of Northrop Grumman's Cygnus space freighter, the Rassvet module, and the Russian Soyuz MS-25 crew ship docked to the Prichal docking module which is itself mated to the Nauka science module.

The aurora australis, also known as the Southern Lights, shimmers over the Indian Ocean in between Australia and Antarctica in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 266 miles above.

For many people, the aurora is a beautiful nighttime phenomenon that is worth traveling to Earth's polar regions just to observe. It is the only way for most people to actually experience space weather. 

Earth auroras are assigned names depending on the pole where they occur. 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.

The Colors of the Aurora (National Park Service)

https://www.nps.gov/articles/-articles-aps-v8-i1-c9.htm

Follow Expedition 71 Updates: 

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

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominik, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

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 Dates: May 26-June 3, 2024 

#NASA #Space #ISS #Sun #Earth #Aurora #AuroraAustralis #IndianOcean #Astronauts #Astronauts #FlightEngineers #HumanSpaceflight #Science #SpaceTechnology #SpaceLaboratory #Engineering #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #STEM #Education

Edge-on Beauty of The Silver Sliver Galaxy: NGC 891 | Hubble

Edge-on Beauty of The Silver Sliver Galaxy: NGC 891 | Hubble

Visible in the constellation of Andromeda, NGC 891 is located approximately 30 million light-years away from Earth. The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope turned its powerful wide field Advanced Camera for Surveys towards this spiral galaxy and took this close-up of its northern half. The galaxy's central bulge is just out of the image on the bottom left.

The galaxy, spanning around 100,000 light-years, is seen exactly edge-on, and reveals its thick plane of dust and interstellar gas. While initially thought to look like our own Milky Way if seen from the side, more detailed surveys revealed the existence of filaments of dust and gas escaping the plane of the galaxy into the halo over hundreds of light-years. They can be clearly seen here against the bright background of the galaxy halo, expanding into space from the disc of the galaxy.

Astronomers believe these filaments to be the result of the ejection of material due to supernovae or intense stellar formation activity. By lighting up when they are born, or exploding when they die, stars cause powerful winds that can blow dust and gas over hundreds of light-years in space.

A few foreground stars from the Milky Way shine brightly in the image. Distant elliptical galaxies can also be seen in the lower right of the image.

NGC 891 is part of a small group of galaxies bound together by gravity. 

A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures Image Processing Competition by contestant Nick Rose. Hidden Treasures is an initiative to invite astronomy enthusiasts to search the Hubble archive for stunning images that have never been seen by the general public.

Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA

Acknowledgement: Nick Rose

Release Date: May 14, 2012

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC891 #SpiralGalaxy #Andromeda #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

The Silver Sliver Galaxy: NGC 891 in Andromeda | Mayall Telescope

The Silver Sliver Galaxy: NGC 891 in Andromeda | Mayall Telescope

The Silver Sliver Galaxy—more formally known as NGC 891—is shown in this striking image from the Mosaic instrument on the 4-meter Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab. NGC 891 is a spiral galaxy that lies almost perfectly edge-on to us, leading to its elongated appearance and its striking resemblance to our home galaxy, the Milky Way, as seen from the Earth. 

Since NGC 891 is oriented edge-on, it is helpful for investigating the galactic fountain model. When stellar winds and supernovae from the disk of a galaxy eject gas into the surrounding medium, it can create condensation that rains back down onto the disk. The condensed gas then provides new fuel for star formation. In addition to the portrait of NGC 891, this image is littered with astronomical objects near and far—bright foreground stars from our own galaxy intrude upon the view of NGC 891 and distant galaxies lurk in the background.

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: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA 

Acknowledgments: PI: M.T. Patterson (New Mexico State University)

Image Processing: Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin

Image Date: June 3, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #SilverGalacticSliverGalaxy #NGC891 #SpiralGalaxy #Andromeda #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Observatory #Telescope #Optical #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #MayallTelescope #KittPeak #KPNO #Tucson #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The "UFO" Galaxy: NGC 2683 in Lynx | Kitt Peak National Observatory

The "UFO" Galaxy: NGC 2683 in Lynx | Kitt Peak National Observatory

This spiral galaxy is viewed nearly edge-on from our perspective, giving it the shape of a classic science fiction spaceship. This is why the astronomers at the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory gave it this attention-grabbing nickname. The reddened light from the center of the galaxy appears yellowish due to thousands of light years of intervening gas and dust in the outer arms of this galaxy. The core can be glimpsed at through the last wall of dust in the center. NGC 2683 is a nearby galaxy.

This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.

Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Doug Matthews/Adam Block

Release Date: March 12, 2014

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #UFOGalaxy #NGC2683 #SpiralGalaxy #Lynx #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Observatory #Telescope #Optical #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #KittPeak #KPNO #Tucson #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The "UFO" Galaxy: NGC 2683 in Lynx | Hubble

The "UFO" Galaxy: NGC 2683 in Lynx | Hubble

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a UFO—well, the UFO Galaxy, to be precise. NGC 2683 is a spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on, giving it the shape of a classic science fiction spaceship. This is why the astronomers at the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory gave it this attention-grabbing nickname.

Distance: 35 million light years

While a bird’s eye view lets us see the detailed structure of a galaxy (such as this Hubble image of a barred spiral), a side-on view has its own perks. In particular, it gives astronomers a great opportunity to see the delicate dusty lanes of the spiral arms silhouetted against the golden haze of the galaxy’s core. In addition, brilliant clusters of young blue stars shine scattered throughout the disc, mapping the galaxy’s star-forming regions.

Perhaps surprisingly, side-on views of galaxies like this one do not prevent astronomers from deducing their structures. Studies of the properties of the light coming from NGC 2683 suggest that this is a barred spiral galaxy, even though the angle we see it at does not let us see this directly.

NGC 2683, discovered on 5 February 1788 by the famous astronomer William Herschel, lies in the Northern constellation of Lynx. A constellation named not because of its resemblance to the feline animal, but because it is fairly faint, requiring the “sensitive eyes of a cat” to discern it. And when you manage to get a look at it, you’ll find treasures like this, making it well worth the effort.

This image is produced from two adjacent fields observed in visible and infrared light by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. A narrow strip which appears slightly blurred and crosses most the image horizontally is a result of a gap between Hubble’s detectors. This strip has been patched using images from observations of the galaxy made by ground-based telescopes, which show significantly less detail.

The field of view is approximately 6.5 by 3.3 arcminutes.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Release Date: March 26, 2012

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Galaxies #Galaxy #UFOGalaxy #NGC2683 #SpiralGalaxy #Lynx #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Stars Sparkle above Earth's Atmospheric Glow | International Space Station

Stars Sparkle above Earth's Atmospheric Glow | International Space Station

Stars sparkle above Earth's atmospheric glow in this long-duration photograph taken from the International Space Station as it orbited 266 miles above the Indian Ocean and due south of Australia's island state of Tasmania.

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Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

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: June 2, 2024

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International Scientists Collect Valuable Data | China Chang'e 6 Moon Mission

International Scientists Collect Valuable Data | China Chang'e 6 Moon Mission

International scientists that contributed to China's Chang'e-6 science mission to explore the far side south polar region of the Moon have praised the probe's success in retrieving valuable data. The Chang'e-6 mission features scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan. 

The Chang'e-6 lunar probe was launched on May 3, 2024, and carried four international payloads. Its lander-ascender combination touched down at the designated landing area in the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on Sunday, June 2, 2024.

The SPA basin (43°±2° south latitude, 154°±4° west longitude) is a large impact crater on the far side of the Moon. At roughly 2,500 km (1,600 mi) in diameter and between 6.2 and 8.2 km (3.9–5.1 mi) deep, it is the largest, oldest, and deepest basin recognized on the Moon.

The international payloads include the French-developed Detection of Outgassing RadoN (DORN) and the cube satellite, ICUBE-Q, developed by Pakistan's Institute of Space Technology and China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The satellite has successfully photographed the Moon from orbit.

A laser retro-reflector installed on the top of the lander was developed by Italy's National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN). Scientists of the institute expressed gratification in seeing their work reach the lunar surface.

"We are very proud that the laser retro-reflector that we designed and developed successfully landed on the moon aboard Chang'e-6 probe, the first of its kind ever to reach the far side of the Moon where it will serve as the only position marking point for distance measurement," said Luciana Filomena, laboratory researcher at the INFN.

Chang'e-6 was also installed with the Negative Ions on the Lunar Surface (NILS) instrument, developed by the European Space Agency (ESA)/Sweden.

"We got very good data and we only needed one hour of data on the surface, but we managed more than three times this. So our scientists are very happy. But already we see that we did detect negative ions. We don't know yet the quantity and the type and things like this, that needs a lot more analysis, but we already know it's really a great success," said Neil Melville-Kenney, NILS technical officer for the European Space Agency (ESA).

"It's actually the first ESA payload on the Moon at all, and it's the first lunar cooperation between ESA and China. So it's really quite a big event. It's really nice to be part of it," he said.

The ascender of China's Chang'e-6 probe lifted off from the lunar surface on Tuesday morning, June 4, 2024, carrying samples collected from the Moon's far side, an unprecedented feat in human lunar exploration history.

In 2020, Chang'e-5 was the first lunar sample-return mission since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976. The mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.

Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: June 7, 2024

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