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The Lagoon Nebula in Sagittarius | Hubble Space Telescope
This NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image shows the Lagoon Nebula, an object with a deceptively tranquil name. The region is filled with intense winds from hot stars, churning funnels of gas, and energetic star formation, all embedded within an intricate haze of gas and pitch-dark dust.
Distance:4,500 light years
Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
BBC Star Diary: Mars Gives Taurus Constellation Another Eye (July 22-28, 2024)
The planet of Mars passes through Taurus this week, giving the constellation a second red eye. Find out how to see it for yourself and other astronomy highlights in this week's episode of Star Diary July 22-28, the stargazing podcast guide from the makers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
NASA to Host Panels, Forums & More at Oshkosh 2024: July 22-28
Each summer, aviation enthusiasts and experts from around the planet—including NASA’s aeronautical innovators—descend into a regional airport near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to attend the Experimental Aviation Association’s AirVenture Oshkosh. In this 66 second video, get a sense of what NASA’s presence is like at Oshkosh through scenes captured from previous years.
The weeklong airshow and fly-in, where droves of pilots arrive in their own aircraft, draws hundreds of thousands of aviation enthusiasts to enjoy aerial demonstrations, static aircraft displays, aviation-related forums, and hands-on activities for people of all ages and all education levels.
NASA will appear at Oshkosh with a full slate of interactive exhibits, informative activities, and fascinating people to meet. This year’s event, held July 22-28, is chock-full of things to do and see.
If you’re attending Oshkosh this year, here’s a brief summary of what you can expect inside the NASA Pavilion and on the forum stages:
NASA’s pavilion will feature the X-66 sustainable flight demonstrator, X-59 quiet supersonic demonstrator, a Saab 340B, a small drone, an air taxi concept, and a DeHavillland “Dash 7.” The Saaab and Dash 7 are part of the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project.
Meet and greet opportunities with NASA’s researchers, leaders, pilots, and maybe even an astronaut
Hands-on educational STEM activities and handouts for kids and adults of all ages
Talks and panels on NASA activities from our leadership, engineers, pilots, and other subject matter experts
Models of NASA aircraft and spacecraft
And if you are looking for certain activities, NASA guides will be available onsite to help you find the ones best suited to you and your group.
NASA Panel Events
In addition to the NASA Pavilion and forum talks, there are also several NASA-focused panels that should not be missed.
For example, the “NASA Artemis Campaign: For All Humankind” panel will be held at 7 p.m. CDT on Friday, July 26 at AirVenture’s Theater in the Woods. The event will feature astronaut Randy Bresnik and subject matter experts discussing the upcoming Artemis II mission.
“Women of NASA,” another great panel, will take place at 8:30 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, July 24, the WomenVenture Center. It will feature several inspiring NASA Women, from senior leaders to project managers and engineers.
A list of all NASA activities is available on AirVenture’s website, and our aeronautical innovators will be inside the NASA Pavilion to assist you.
More NASA’s activities are available on the event schedule or on EAA’s app:
The NASA Pavilion’s STEM Zone will have interactive activities and demonstrations. NASA will also have materials available for educators. The STEM Zone will be open Monday to Sunday, July 22-28, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. CDT.
The KidVenture buildings, hosted by the EAA Museum, will include hands-on NASA STEM activities also, and NASA will participate at the AeroEducate Center in Aviation Gateway Park with activities intended for middle—and high-school aged youth—including lectures and a drone flight cage.
Video Credit: NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate
China's Lunar Exploration Program Welcomes More Global Partners
The United Nations has marked July 20 as International Moon Day to honor the anniversary of the first landing of a human on the Moon. Following China's successful Chang'e-6 lunar mission this year, many countries now seek to work more closely with China on future lunar programs.
China's aerospace and lunar exploration programs are open to the world and welcome all countries to engage in cooperative missions and projects, said Wu Weiren, chief designer of the country's lunar exploration program, ahead of the International Moon Day on July 20.
After the successful operation of payloads from the European Space Agency (ESA), France, Italy, and Pakistan in China's Chang'e-6 Moon mission, China will aim to expand its international collaboration in upcoming lunar exploration endeavors, Wu said in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
"We are open and welcome international cooperation from all countries, including those countries from the Global South, emerging BRICS countries, as well as Western countries. We do not have any isolating or exclusionary policies, and we want to cooperate in an all-round way. I think our principle is to share data, share results. We are willing to co-build and co-share with our partners. We have no intention to establish small circles or groups. Therefore, China's aerospace and lunar exploration programs, including planetary exploration, are all open to the whole world," said Wu.
He also offered an update on the development of the international lunar research station (ILRS) and the country’s plans for the station.
"The international lunar research station is actually the first large-scale scientific project to be implemented in our country. We are preparing to build a lunar scientific research station at the south pole of the Moon. This scientific research station will be combined with an orbital station and a lunar surface station, plus ground facilities such as the headquarters for major scientific projects. This is being done so that work can continue for a long time, with or without people at the south pole of the moon. It will enable scientific exploration and resource development," said Wu.
"We hope to build a basic station by 2035, and an extended station by 2045. So far, we have signed agreements with more than 10 countries and nearly 30 international research institutions. We hope to work with 50 countries by inviting 500 foreign scientific research institutions, and 5,000 foreign scientific research personnel to jointly build our international lunar scientific research station," he added.
Wu said that in the future, visiting the the international lunar research station will no longer be just a dream for ordinary citizens, while Chinese astronauts and international partners will reach deeper into the solar system.
"I think China should also think about these plans, including space tourism, space breeding, and space mining in the future. We can achieve these targets on the Moon and Mars. I don't think this is too far away," Wu said.
Space breeding involves exposing plant seeds to cosmic radiation and microgravity in space to generate potentially beneficial genetic mutations.
30 Years Since Historic Shoemaker-Levy 9 Comet Impacts of Jupiter | NASA
In July 1994, astronomers around the world watched with bated breath as fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 slammed into the planet Jupiter.
The impacts proved to be impressive. Fragments plunged into Jupiter’s atmosphere over the course of six days. Like the splash from throwing a rock into a pond, the impacts created giant plumes of material from Jupiter’s lower atmosphere which rose as high as 1,900 miles or 3,000 kilometers above the cloud tops into the stratosphere. In the aftermath, the plume splashback scarred Jupiter’s atmosphere with dark clouds of impact debris that could be seen for months as they were gradually dispersed by Jupiter's winds.
This historic event helped to give rise to the field of planetary defense.
Explore more about NASA’s mission of finding, tracking and better understanding asteroids and comets that could pose an impact hazard to Earth: https://www.nasa.gov/planetarydefense
NASA Apollo 11 Anniversary Event: "Go for The Moon" Outdoor Show [Replay]
Over 500,000 people assembled on the National Mall in Washington, DC, in July 2019 for the Apollo 50: Go For The Moon projection show on the Washington Monument. You can now relive this once-in-a-lifetime celebration in full. Go for the Moon captures the excitement of the first Moon landing and tells the story of the iconic Apollo 11 mission from launch to landing and beyond.
"Apollo 50: Go for the Moon" was commissioned by the National Air and Space Museum and produced by 59 Productions. The Museum's Apollo 50 programming was made possible by the support of Boeing with additional support from Raytheon.
Learn more about NASA's historic Apollo 11 Moon Mission:
New Mars 2024 Images Released| NASA Curiosity & Perseverance Mars Rovers
MSL - sol 4142
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this view of Gediz Vallis channel on March 31, 2024. This area was likely formed by large floods of water and debris that piled jumbles of rocks into mounds within the channel.
Mars 2020 - sol 1213
MSL - sol 4239
MSL - sol 4244
Mars 2020 - sol 1193
Mars 2020 - sol 1213
Mars 2020 - sol 1192
MSL - sol 4178
While exploring the Gediz Vallis channel in May, NASA’s Curiosity rover captured this image of rocks that show a pale color near their edges. These rings, also called halos, resemble markings seen on Earth when groundwater leaks into rocks along fractures, causing chemical reactions that change the color.
Elon Musk: "And now it is time for America to reach far greater heights by sending astronauts to Mars! Ultimately, anyone who wants to be a space traveler and help build a new civilization on Mars should be able to do so. That is an inspiring future!"
Celebrating 11+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)
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 3+ 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.
Launch: July 30, 2020
Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars
For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov
The Plaque NASA Apollo 11 Astronauts Left on The Moon in July 1969
This is a replica of the plaque the Apollo 11 astronauts left behind on the Moon in commemoration of the historic event. The plaque was made of stainless steel, measuring nine by seven and five-eighths inches, and one-sixteenth inch thick. The plaque was attached to the ladder on the landing gear strut on the descent stage of the Apollo 11 lunar module (LM). Covering the plaque during the flight, there was a thin sheet of stainless steel that was removed on the lunar surface.
On July 20, 1969—55 years ago today—NASA's Apollo 11 lunar module, named "Eagle", touched down on the Moon with commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin. They landed in the south-western corner of the dark lunar plain Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility") on the Moon's near side.
The Apollo 11 crew left behind an American flag, a patch honoring the fallen Apollo 1 crew, and this plaque on one of Eagle’s legs. It reads, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”
NASA Apollo 11: Earth Views | 55th Anniversary (1969-2024)
View of the Pacific Ocean and the West coast of the United States and Mexico
View of Africa, the Middle East, and western Asia from the Apollo 11 spacecraft
Distant Earth view from Apollo 11 spacecraft
Landing site view of Earth (in background at top) from the dark lunar plain Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility") with the Apollo 11 lunar module in the foreground.
View of Earth and of the Apollo 11 lunar module ascent stage (with commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin aboard) from the Apollo 11 command and service (CSM) module with astronaut/pilot Michael Collins.
Earthrise from lunar orbit
Sunlit view of Earth's atmosphere
Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula
On July 20, 1969—55 years ago today—NASA's Apollo 11 lunar module, named "Eagle", touched down on the Moon with commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin. They landed in the south-western corner of the dark lunar plain Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility") on the Moon's near side.
The Apollo 11 crew left behind an American flag, a patch honoring the fallen Apollo 1 crew, and a plaque on one of Eagle’s legs. It reads, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”
NASA Apollo 11 Mission Emblem: An Eagle as a Dove of Peace | 55th Anniversary
"The Eagle has landed."
On July 20, 1969—55 years ago today—NASA's Apollo 11 lunar module, named "Eagle", touched down on the Moon with commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin. They landed in the south-western corner of the dark lunar plain Mare Tranquillitatis ("Sea of Tranquility") on the Moon's near side.
The Apollo 11 crew left behind an American flag, a patch honoring the fallen Apollo 1 crew, and a plaque on one of Eagle’s legs. It reads, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind.”
Michael Collins, the Command and Service Module pilot, designed the mission emblem for Apollo 11. It is the only mission emblem where the names of the astronauts are not written at the edge, as was common practice on the Mercury and Gemini flights and the first three Apollo flights, as well as on subsequent missions.
Collins wanted to show that the crew was flying to the Moon on behalf of all the 400,000 people who were involved in the construction of the launcher and the three spacecraft modules, the preparations and the planning. The bald eagle, the heraldic creature of the USA, holds an olive branch in its talons. This expresses the peaceful character of the mission.
The Earth, the place where the Apollo 11 crew came from and would return safely to in order to fulfill United States President John F. Kennedy’s challenge to the nation, rested on a field of black, representing the vast unknown of space.
Note: It has since been noticed that the Earth above the lunar horizon here is illuminated by the Sun from the wrong direction during Apollo 11’s flight along the lunar equator. The hemisphere in shadow should be on the underside and not to the left as the emblem depicted.
Unlike most entries in Charles Messier's famous catalog of deep sky objects, M24 is not a bright galaxy, star cluster, or nebula. It is a gap in nearby, obscuring interstellar dust clouds that allows a view of the distant stars in the Sagittarius spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy.
Direct your gaze through this gap with binoculars or small telescope and you are looking through a window over 300 light-years wide at stars 10,000 light-years or more from Earth. Also called the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, M24's luminous stars are left of center in this vast starscape. Covering over 6 degrees or the width of 12 full moons in the constellation Sagittarius, the telescopic field of view includes dark markings B92 and B93 near the center of M24, along with other clouds of dust and glowing nebulae toward the center of the Milky Way.
Southeast Asia & Russian Soyuz at Night | International Space Station
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick: "Looking aft from the cupola towards Soyuz over Southeast Asia at night. A sun about to rise from behind the camera (forward of space station) provides the light blue light to illuminate Soyuz."
Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)
NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore
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:
Scientists have combined Euclid’s recently released image of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 2390 with the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton’s X-ray observation of the same site to showcase the blazing million degree hot gas that fills the space between the galaxies.
Abell 2390 is a giant conglomeration of many galaxies like the Milky Way, located 2.7 billion light-years from Earth. Euclid’s image was obtained from observations in visible and near-infrared light and features more than 50,000 galaxies. Thousands of these are part of the cluster. Yet, we cannot directly see most of the mass that makes up this cluster in Euclid’s sparkling view.
A galaxy cluster like Abell 2390 is a gigantic pile of dark matter that makes up about 80% of its total mass. Most of the ‘normal’ matter in the pile is in the form of scorching hot gas. It makes up about 15% of the cluster. These galaxies, add up to only a few percent of the total mass, sit in this pile like raisins in a cake.
The temperature of the gas ranges between 10 to 100 million degrees Celsius. Here, electrons are stripped from the atoms in the gas and become ionized. The sizzling mixture of charged particles produces the X-rays captured by XMM-Newton.
In the image, the X-ray light appears as a blue glow that permeates the expanses between the galaxies. The diffuse light is brighter towards the center of the cluster, indicating that there the gas becomes hotter and more concentrated.
By mapping where the hot gas is located and studying how it behaves, astronomers learn more about how galaxy clusters grow, and about how galaxies interact and evolve in this dynamic environment.
The gigantic, curved arcs in Euclid’s image are the result of gravitational lensing where the light travelling to us from more distant galaxies is bent and distorted by the matter in the foreground (‘normal’ and dark matter). Euclid uses lensing as a key technique for exploring the dark Universe, indirectly mapping the amount and distribution of dark matter both in galaxy clusters and elsewhere.
Credits: ESA/XMM-Newton/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Acknowledgements: XMM-Newton: Ignacio de la Calle. Euclid: Processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi
Severe Thunderstorms Race Through American Midwest | NOAA
Parts of the Midwest are cleaning up after thunderstorms barreled through the region on the night of Monday, July 15, 2024, bringing hurricane-force winds and multiple tornadoes around Chicago. More than 600 reports of damaging winds from Iowa to Michigan left over 350,000 customers without power Tuesday morning.
The storm complex was a derecho, or a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of fast-moving showers or thunderstorms. Storms first erupted during the mid-evening hours in central and eastern Iowa, bringing tennis-ball-size hail in Crawford. Initial storms began as rotating supercells, including one that spawned a tornado near Des Moines, then continued through northeastern Indiana along a 500-mile-long path before dissipating around 2 a.m. Tuesday. It toppled hundreds of trees, downed wires and power poles, ripped off roofs and damaged vehicles.
In Chicago, forecasters at the National Weather Service had to abandon their posts as a tornado approached, transferring warnings to a sister office in Gaylord, Michigan. These storms then merged into a cluster, reaching 55,000 feet in height. From there, the storms moved east along a stalled frontal boundary. Cooler air was present to the north, with very warm, moist air to the south. Storms tend to straddle boundaries, in this case, steering them into northern and central Illinois and then Chicago.
Video Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Watch Boeing Starliner Astronauts Dock at International Space Station
“Nice to be attached to that big city in the sky!”
Go inside Starliner while in flight and autonomously docking to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
From launch to docked operations, the spacecraft and its crew accomplished all capability checkouts and 77 flight test objectives for certification. The remaining 10 objectives will be accomplished from undocking to landing.
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.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program works with the American aerospace industry to provide safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the orbital outpost on American-made rockets and spacecraft launching from American soil.
Learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program at:
Skylight—A Small Moon Rover with a Big Vision | NASA Artemis
Researchers are working on a mission concept to explore and model lunar craters and pits. Planetary pits are visionary destinations for exploration and science. They are gateways to caves that offer havens for human habitation and are also high priority targets for science. This mission concept, called Skylight, proposes technologies to rapidly survey and model craters and pits. This mission would use high-resolution images to create 3D models of the environment. The data would be used to determine whether a crater can be explored by future human or robotic missions.
NASA 360 takes a look at the NASA Innovative Advanced Concept (NIAC) that could dramatically accelerate lunar exploration.
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