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Sit back, relax and enjoy this journey to NGC 1850, a cluster of thousands of stars roughly 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a Milky Way neighbor.
Among many stars, this cluster is home to a black hole eleven times as massive as the Sun and to the five-solar-mass star orbiting it. By looking at the star’s orbit, a team of astronomers were able to infer the presence of the black hole, making it the first small black hole outside of our galaxy to be found this way. For this discovery, the team used the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument at the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.
Video Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO), N. Risinger, Digital Sky Survey (DSS), NASA/ESA/M. Romaniello
Star Cluster NGC 1850 in Dorado | ESO's Very Large Telescope & Hubble
This image shows NGC 1850, a cluster of thousands of stars roughly 160,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a Milky Way neighbor. The reddish filaments surrounding the cluster, made of vast clouds of hydrogen, are believed to be the remnants of supernova explosions.
The image is an overlay of observations conducted in visible light with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and NASA/European Space Agency’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The VLT captured the wide field of the image and the filaments, while the central cluster was imaged by the HST.
Among many stars, this cluster is home to a black hole eleven times as massive as the Sun and to a five-solar-mass star orbiting it. By looking at the star’s orbit, a team of astronomers were able to infer the presence of the black hole, making it the first small black hole outside of our galaxy to be found this way. For this discovery, the team used the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument at the VLT.
Credit: ESO, NASA/ESA/R. Gilmozzi/S. Casertano, J. Schmidt
Star Cluster NGC 1850 in Dorado | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
NGC 1850 is a bright, double star cluster that lies in the Large Magellanic Cloud—a small neighbor galaxy to the Milky Way. It contains a black hole with a mass of about eleven Suns, and a companion star. No clear detection of X-rays with Chandra implies that the black hole is not quickly pulling material away from its companion. This composite image displays x-rays from Chandra (magenta); optical light from the Hubble Space Telescope (red, yellow, green, cyan, blue); infrared light from the Spitzer Space Telescope (red).
This image features a double star cluster, a blue-tinted cloud, and several neon purple dots. The bright, golden stars in the larger cluster fill the upper center of the image. The other cluster is much smaller and coincides with one of the neon purple circles located slightly above and to the right of the image’s center. This and the other purple circles are X-ray sources detected with Chandra. To our left of the combined cluster is a vertical streak of blue-tinted cloud.
Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1672 in Dorado | Victor Blanco Telescope
The arms of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672 sweep across this image captured by the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab. NGC 1672 is a celestial mystery, as it is difficult to define its galactic activity. A barred spiral galaxy has a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars.
Distance:50 million light years
The nucleus is surrounded by a ring of hot gas filled with individual point sources of X-ray light, in other words bright, newly formed stars. However, the luminous nucleus of NGC 1672 itself shines brightly in types of light ranging from X-ray to infrared. Known as a Seyfert Type 2 nucleus, it is an example of a specific type of active galactic nucleus (AGN) and likely a supermassive black hole. Fragile young stars and a destructive AGN should not necessarily be so close together, and their proximity in this galaxy creates a conundrum. Galaxies like NGC 1672 can open up new pathways to understanding the activities and behaviors of galaxies, including their long-term evolution.
Data for this image were collected using the Dark Energy Camera on the 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope for the Dark Energy Survey. It has mapped millions of galaxies to determine the nature of dark energy. The analysis of data from the Dark Energy Survey is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation, and the Dark Energy Camera science archive is curated by the Community Science and Data Center at NOIRLab.
The 4-meter Víctor M. Blanco Telescope was commissioned in 1974. It is a near twin of the Mayall 4-meter telescope on Kitt Peak. In 1995 it was dedicated and named in honor of Puerto Rican astronomer Víctor Manuel Blanco. It is also part of the Dark Energy Survey (DES), a visible and near-infrared survey that aims to probe the dynamics of the expansion of the Universe.
Image Credit: Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)
China Develops Reusable Commercial Rockets to Improve Launch Capabilities
China has been working to improve its rocket launch capabilities by sending low-cost rockets into space with a focus on developing reusable rockets.
The Lijian-2 carrier rocket, the first liquid-propellant rocket developed by a high-tech enterprise in Beijing, is scheduled to be launched next year for the first time with the first stage and the booster of the rocket recycled by 2028.
"It's highly reliable and developed rapidly, with a payload capacity of around eight tonnes. It's mainly used to launch satellite groups for the construction of the low-orbit Internet constellation, and low-cost cargo ships," said Shi Xiaoning, vice president of Beijing CAS Space Technology Co., Ltd.
He said the construction of large-scale satellite constellation puts forward higher requirements on the costs and production capacity of rockets, and they have conducted a number of recycling tests.
"To recycle rockets is the major way to reduce the demand for rocket production capacity as it's impossible for us to build production lines without limits. So we recycle the big stuff, which is the best way to improve the launch capacity," Shi said.
Another commercial rocket company LandSpace in Beijing is also working on the research on reusable rockets.
The vertical return technology of Zhuque-3, a reusable rocket developed by the company, has successfully completed its first flight test at the beginning of this year.
The flight test verified the vertical recovery of a rocket at low altitude and low speed, matching between the control system and engine thrust adjustment performance, and the rocket vertical recovery's guidance and control algorithm, according to LandSpace.
"We have made a rough assessment before. It is preliminarily estimated that if the first stage of the rocket can be reused for 20 times, the entire cost can be reduced by more than half. Taking into account the expense on test, maintenance and fuel after recycling, we can save more than 60 percent of the costs," said Dai Zheng, commander in chief of China's reusable rocket Zhuque-3.
Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency
The Clear Blue Waters of The Bahamas | International Space Station
The clear blue waters surrounding The Bahamas in the Atlantic Ocean are pictured from the International Space Station as it soared 258 miles above.
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is an island country of the Lucayan Archipelago consisting of more than 700 islands, cays, and islets in the Atlantic Ocean; north of Cuba and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic); northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands; southeast of the U.S. state of Florida and east of the Florida Keys. Its capital is Nassau on the island of New Providence. [Source: Wikipedia]
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:
Hybrid Observatory Concept Could Find Earth-like Worlds | NASA
Researchers are working on a new concept that could help us search for Earth-like exoplanets like never before. By combining the light-blocking capability of an in-space starshade with the immense power of the largest ground-based telescopes, the Hybrid Observatory for Earth-like Exoplanets concept could change the way we hunt for Earth-like planets beyond our own.
We take a look at the NASA Innovative Advanced Concept (NIAC) that could help us hunt for Earth-like worlds. To learn more visit: https://go.nasa.gov/3EdqgRa
To watch the in-depth presentation about this topic please visit the 2022 NIAC Symposium Vimeo site:
This video represents a research study within the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. NIAC is a visionary and far-reaching aerospace program, one that has the potential to create breakthrough technologies for possible future space missions. However, such early-stage technology developments may never become actual NASA missions.
NASA Artemis Updates: Orion Assembly + Mobile Launcher | Kennedy Space Center
Here's the latest update for NASA's Artemis program. Learn about Orion spacecraft mating and new sound suppression testing on the Mobile Launcher.
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew, sending NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back.
Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:
Nearby Galaxies: The Large & Small Magellanic Clouds | International Space Station
The Large Magellanic Cloud (center) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (upper left), dwarf galaxies in close proximity with the Milky Way galaxy, are pictured from the International Space Station. NASA astronaut and Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick took this long-duration photograph with a station camera increasing its sensitivity to account for low light conditions.
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:
Farewell to NEOWISE: NASA’s Asteroid-Hunting Telescope | JPL
NASA's NEOWISE mission ended on Aug. 8, 2024, after more than a decade of discovering and tracking near-Earth objects—asteroids and comets that come close to Earth’s orbit. The mission team gathered at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California as the spacecraft received its final command to turn off its transmitter, concluding the mission.
Launched in 2009 as Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), the space telescope completed its primary mission to conduct an all-sky survey in the infrared spectrum. The spacecraft was put into hibernation in 2011, then re-awakened in 2013 for a second career as NEOWISE (Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer).
NEOWISE is expected to re-enter the atmosphere and safely burn up in late 2024.
Views of Galaxy Messier 106 by Hubble & Webb Space Telescopes
This collage features three views of Messier 106, also known as NGC 4258. The first two images show the target in visible light as seen by the Kitt Peak National Observatory's Mayall Telescope and the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The image on the right is a new image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope in the infrared.
This is a nearby spiral galaxy that resides roughly 23 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, practically a neighbor by cosmic standards. Messier 106 is one of the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to our own and two supernovae have been observed in this galaxy in 1981 and 2014.
Image Description: A graphic with three images. The leftmost image shows a spiral galaxy in full on a dark background, seen in visible light by a ground-based telescope. A box over an area in the center of the galaxy links by a pullout to the two right images. They both display this area larger and in more detail. The center image shows it in visible light by the Hubble Space Telescope, the right in infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Glenn, KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), R. Gendler, M.T. Patterso, T.A. Rector, D. de Martin & M. Zamani
Pan of Galaxy Messier 106 | James Webb Space Telescope
Featured in this new image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope is Messier 106, also known as NGC 4258. This is a nearby spiral galaxy that resides roughly 23 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, practically a neighbor by cosmic standards. Messier 106 is one of the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to our own and two supernovae have been observed in this galaxy in 1981 and 2014.
At its heart, as in most spiral galaxies, is a supermassive black hole, but this one is particularly active. Unlike the black hole at the center of the Milky Way that pulls in wisps of gas only occasionally, Messier 106’s black hole is actively gobbling up material. As the gas spirals towards the black hole, it heats up and emits powerful radiation.
This image was captured with Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). The observation was taken as part of a dedicated program to study the galaxy’s active galactic nucleus, the galaxy’s bright central region that is dominated by the light emitted by dust and gas as it falls into the black hole. The blue regions in this image reflect stellar distribution throughout the central region of the galaxy. The orange regions indicate warmer dust and the stronger red hues represent colder dust. The teal, green and yellow tones near the center of the image depict varying gas distributions throughout the region.
The galaxy has a remarkable feature—it is known to have two ‘anomalous’ extra arms visible in radio and X-ray wavelengths, rather than in the visible. Unlike the normal arms, these are composed of hot gas instead of stars. Astronomers believe these extra arms result from the black hole’s activity, a feedback effect seen in other galaxies as well. They are likely caused by outflowing material produced by the violent churning of gas around the black hole, creating a phenomenon analogous to a wave crashing up out of the ocean when it hits a rock near the shore.
Despite carrying his name, Messier 106 was neither discovered nor cataloged by the renowned 18th century astronomer Charles Messier. Discovered by his assistant, Pierre Méchain, the galaxy was never added to the catalogue in his lifetime. Along with six other objects discovered but not logged by the pair, Messier 106 was posthumously added to the Messier catalogue in the 20th century.
Image Description: The central region of a spiral galaxy. Its core is a small bright point radiating bright, bluish-white light over the scene. The white light is diffuse and many point-like stars in the galaxy (and even background galaxies) can be seen through it. The galaxy’s arms can be seen as broad, swirling streaks of glowing gas and dust, colored red and orange. Two additional arms are revealed in green.
Video Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Glenn; M. Zamani, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)
The Hidden Intricacies of Galaxy Messier 106 | James Webb Space Telescope
Featured in this new image from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope is Messier 106, also known as NGC 4258. This is a nearby spiral galaxy that resides roughly 23 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, practically a neighbor by cosmic standards. Messier 106 is one of the brightest and nearest spiral galaxies to our own and two supernovae have been observed in this galaxy in 1981 and 2014.
At its heart, as in most spiral galaxies, is a supermassive black hole, but this one is particularly active. Unlike the black hole at the center of the Milky Way that pulls in wisps of gas only occasionally, Messier 106’s black hole is actively gobbling up material. As the gas spirals towards the black hole, it heats up and emits powerful radiation.
This image was captured with Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). The observation was taken as part of a dedicated program to study the galaxy’s active galactic nucleus, the galaxy’s bright central region that is dominated by the light emitted by dust and gas as it falls into the black hole. The blue regions in this image reflect stellar distribution throughout the central region of the galaxy. The orange regions indicate warmer dust and the stronger red hues represent colder dust. The teal, green and yellow tones near the center of the image depict varying gas distributions throughout the region.
The galaxy has a remarkable feature—it is known to have two ‘anomalous’ extra arms visible in radio and X-ray wavelengths, rather than in the visible. Unlike the normal arms, these are composed of hot gas instead of stars. Astronomers believe these extra arms result from the black hole’s activity, a feedback effect seen in other galaxies as well. They are likely caused by outflowing material produced by the violent churning of gas around the black hole, creating a phenomenon analogous to a wave crashing up out of the ocean when it hits a rock near the shore.
Despite carrying his name, Messier 106 was neither discovered nor cataloged by the renowned 18th century astronomer Charles Messier. Discovered by his assistant, Pierre Méchain, the galaxy was never added to the catalogue in his lifetime. Along with six other objects discovered but not logged by the pair, Messier 106 was posthumously added to the Messier catalogue in the 20th century.
Image Description: The central region of a spiral galaxy. Its core is a small bright point radiating bright, bluish-white light over the scene. The white light is diffuse and many point-like stars in the galaxy (and even background galaxies) can be seen through it. The galaxy’s arms can be seen as broad, swirling streaks of glowing gas and dust, colored red and orange. Two additional arms are revealed in green.
Credits: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Glenn; CC BY 4.0
The Sun emitted a strong solar flare, peaking at 3:35 p.m. ET on August 8, 2024. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory watches the Sun constantly and it captured an image of the event as seen in the bright flash on the right. This image shows a subset of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares. It is colorized in teal. This flare is classified as an X1.3 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy. Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.
The Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields. Where these fields are closed, often above sunspot groups, the confined solar atmosphere can suddenly and violently release bubbles of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections (CMEs). A large CME can contain a billion tons of matter that can be accelerated to several million miles per hour in a spectacular explosion. Solar material streams out through the interplanetary medium, impacting any planet or spacecraft in its path. CMEs are sometimes associated with flares but can occur independently.
To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center https://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government’s official source for space weather forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts.
NASA works as a research arm of the nation’s space weather effort. NASA observes the Sun and our space environment constantly with a fleet of spacecraft that study everything from the Sun’s activity to the solar atmosphere, and to the particles and magnetic fields in the space surrounding Earth.
Image Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
China's Shenzhou-18 Astronauts Celebrate Paris Olympics with Microgravity Games
The three Shenzhou-18 crew members aboard China's orbiting Tiangong space station—Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu—celebrated the Paris Summer Olympics and China's 16th National Fitness Day in microgravity via a video released by China Manned Space Agency on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. It showed the astronauts participating in exercises reminiscent of the sports played during the Games.
The activity started with the passing of a torch from Ye Guangfu to Li Cong to Li Guangsu, then finally back to Ye, the commander.
Following this, the orbital games began. Li Guangsu demonstrated impressive skills in the men's singles table tennis match. While watching a thrilling group stage match of China's women's volleyball team, Ye Guangfu and Li Cong began playing volleyball in zero gravity.
A men's medley in the 16-meter-long Tianhe core module was also included in the light-hearted video, with Ye eventually winning the competition with a slight advantage.
Ye also did some weightlifting, lifting a bar that Li Guangsu and Li Cong were clutching off the "ground."
In addition, the crew gave their best wishes to the Olympic athletes.
"May the medals of Chinese Olympic athletes line up from one end of a street to the other. Enjoy the journey and create remarkable moments!" said Ye.
"Going all out to progress towards your dreams. At the space station, we will witness the endless potential in you," said Li Cong.
"Wishing you all to surpass your limits, achieve greater success, and create new brilliance!" said Li Guangsu.
China launched the Shenzhou-18 crewed spaceship to send the three astronauts to its orbiting Tiangong space station for a six-month mission on April 25, 2024. This is the 32nd flight mission of the country's crewed space program.
Shenzhou-18 Crew:
Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)
Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)
Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)
Video Credit: China Central Television (CCTV) Video News Agency
NASA's Space to Ground: "Delivery" | Week of Aug. 9, 2024
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. The Northrop Grumman Cygnus commercial cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station on Aug. 6, 2024. It carried 8,200 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory for Northrop Grumman’s 21st commercial resupply mission for NASA.
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:
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