Sunday, August 18, 2024

Artemis Moon Minute—Improving Spacecraft Calibration | NASA Kennedy

Artemis Moon MinuteImproving Spacecraft Calibration | NASA Kennedy

Want the latest update for NASA's Artemis Program? Learn about the latest on how scientists are using the Moon to improve spacecraft calibration.

Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

For more information about the Space Launch System (SLS), visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/sls


Video Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC)

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Aug. 16, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #Spacecraft #SpacecraftCalibration #SpacecraftNavigation #SpaceTechnology #DeepSpace #Astronauts #MoonToMars #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #NASAKennedy #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Canada's Northwest Territories Ablaze | NASA Earth Observatory

Canada's Northwest Territories Ablaze | NASA Earth Observatory

This image captured by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) on NOAA’s DSCOVR satellite, shows a river of smoke from the fires in western Canada winding its way over Hudson Bay. The EPIC camera is located 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, yet it could identify evidence of these extensive fires.
The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite captured this image of smoke streaming throughout the region on August 11, 2024. The sensor detected nearly 100 active fires burning in the Northwest Territories, according to data posted by the territory’s government.
    

Boreal forests in this northerly Canadian territory have evolved to burn, but the increasing frequency of fires is putting ecosystems to the test. The land area of the Northwest Territories is roughly equal to that of France, Portugal and Spain combined, although its overall area is even larger because of its large lakes. The forests of the Northwest Territories are dominated by black spruce, a type of evergreen that is not just tolerant of fire but dependent on it. Black spruce has waxy, resinous needles adapted to ignite during lightning storms and burn vigorously. The forests thrive if they burn every century or so because fires open the canopy up to light, stimulate new growth, and help maintain biodiversity. Fires also melt away the waxy coating on cones of black spruces allowing them to deposit seeds uniquely designed to thrive in charred, acidic soils. However, Canada’s black spruce boreal forests have been burning more often in recent decades, putting even these fire-loving forests under strain.

When the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-20 satellite captured images of smoke streaming throughout the region on August 11, 2024, the sensor detected nearly 100 active fires burning in the Northwest Territories, according to data posted by the territory’s government. The Canadian government, including the Northwest Territories, uses hotspot data from the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), a fire monitoring system developed by NASA, to help detect and track wildfires.

Most fires in the Northwest Territories burn far from towns or infrastructure, so authorities let many of them burn themselves out, a process that can take weeks or even months depending on the weather. Of the 96 fires active on August 11, Canadian authorities reported that 88 of them burned unhindered by firefighting efforts. Firefighters had controlled five fires and were in the process of suppressing one, according to the territory’s government. None of the fires were close enough to settlements to trigger evacuation orders. However, dense smoke has triggered air quality warnings for fifteen Northwest Territories communities, including settlements in the North Slave, South Slave, Dehcho, and Sahtu regions.

The fires coincided with a drought classified as moderate to extreme by the North American Drought Monitor and a week of extreme warmth that broke temperature records in several places in the Northwest Territories, including the towns of Aklavik, Inuvik, Fort McPherson, and Tuktoyaktuk. All four communities surpassed 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit); Fort McPherson’s temperature soared to a remarkable 34.9°C (94.8°F) on August 7 and 8.

Though Canada’s black spruce forests are accustomed to fire, ecologists that study them are finding that there are examples of forests in the region struggling to recover after fires due to the increasing frequency and size of fires in the region. One study led by Jennifer Baltzer, an ecologist at Wilfrid Laurier University, found that black spruce’s ability to regenerate declined at 38 percent of the 1,500 recently burned forest sites included in the study and failed to regenerate entirely at 18 percent of the sites—unusually high percentages compared to the historic norm. The analysis was based on tree regeneration data compiled and analyzed as part of NASA’s Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE).

Many of the areas burning in this image also burned in 2023, during Canada’s worst wildfire season on record. However, the total number of fires and the number of hectares burned in the Northwest Territories through mid-August 2024 are below the 10-year average so far, according to data released by Canadian authorities. The extent of burning in neighboring British Columbia and Alberta through mid-August 2024, however, was above average.

Northwest Territories Wildfire Updates:

https://www.gov.nt.ca/ecc/services/wildfire-update/en/firedata


Image Credits: NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and data from DSCOVR EPIC

Article Credit: Adam Voiland

Image Dates: Aug. 10-11, 2024

Release Date: Aug. 14, 2024


#NASA #NOAA #Science #Space #Satellites #DSCOVR #EPIC #NOAA20 #VIIRS #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #Wildfires #Smoke #NorthwestTerritories #NWT #Canada #Environment #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #GreenhouseGases #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #EarthFromSpace #DeepSpace #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Wildfires in Northern California | International Space Station

Wildfires in Northern California | International Space Station

Wildfires in northern California are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Washington's Olympic National Forest.

Visit CAL FIRE for updates: 

https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents

The wildfire season has lengthened in many areas due to factors including warmer springs, longer summer dry seasons, and drier soils and vegetation. Similarly, climate change threatens to increase the frequency, extent, and severity of fires through increased temperatures and drought.

Climate Change Indicators: U.S. and Global Temperature

https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-us-and-global-temperature


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
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:

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: Aug. 8, 2024


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #California #Wildfires #Smoke #Grasslands #Forests #GlobalHeating #ClimateChange #GreenhouseGases #Environment #SpaceLaboratory #Astronauts #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #STEM #Education

Shenzhou-18 Crew Performs Physics & Life Science Research | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 Crew Performs Physics & Life Science Research | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-18 crew, who began their six-month mission on April 25, have carried out a variety space science experiments as scheduled. The three Shenzhou-18 crew members aboard China's orbiting Tiangong space station—Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu—conducted experiments in space microgravity physics, space life sciences, and human research last week, according to the latest footage released by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

This included cleaning the experimental chamber of the containerless cabinet, replacing experimental samples, maintaining the central electrode, changing samples in the fluid physics experiment cabinet, vacuuming the combustion cabinet to exhaust gas, and replacing the ignition head in the combustion cabinet.

In the field of aerospace medicine, they completed their work on research projects on the dynamics and functional evolution of eye and cerebral hemodynamics.

During their stay in orbit, the Shenzhou-18 crew regularly use ultrasound devices to measure bilateral carotid arteries. The collected data will be used to explore key parameter changes before, during, and after flight, and to build predictive models.

Additionally, the three Chinese astronauts underwent eye pressure and dilated fundus examinations. The results will be used to assess in-orbit health and for subsequent research.

They also completed the maintenance and replacement of equipment related to the water management subsystem, trace harmful gas removal subsystem, and urine processing subsystem last week.

Moreover, the three astronauts completed regular inspections and maintenance of "crew equipment". When foreign objects enter their eyes, astronauts can use a flushing device, connecting it to a water bag to flush their eyes and alleviate discomfort using room-temperature drinking water.


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

Duration: 1 minute, 50 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 18, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #Shenzhou18 #神舟十八 #ScientificExperiments #SpacePhysics #LifeSciences #Taikonauts #Astronauts #YeGuangfu #LiCong #LiGuangsu #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's ESCAPADE Twin Mars Spacecraft Prepared for Launch | Rocket Lab

NASA's ESCAPADE Twin Mars Spacecraft Prepared for Launch | Rocket Lab

Rocket Lab built ESCAPADE twin spacecraft were fully assembled and readied for shipping at the company's Spacecraft Production Complex and headquarters in Long Beach, California, before transport to the launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida
ESCAPADE spacecraft: preparing for shipment to launch site
ESCAPADE science instrument suite
Rocket Lab engineer with ESCAPADE solar panel
Deployed ESCAPADE solar panel
Rocket Lab team members with ESCAPADE spacecraft
ESCAPADE spacecraft full integration
ESCAPADE spacecraft undergoing environmental testing

Rocket Lab-built ESCAPADE twin spacecraft were fully assembled and readied for shipping at the company's Spacecraft Production Complex and headquarters in Long Beach, California, before their transport to the launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Escapade will use two identical spacecraft to investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape. The mission is set to launch no earlier than late 2024 on Blue Origin's inaugural New Glenn rocket flight. It will take ESCAPADE about 11 months to arrive at Mars after leaving Earth’s orbit.

The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) Mission will study the magnetosphere of Mars. ESCAPADE is the first multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to the Red Planet. Its twin orbiters—dubbed “Blue” and “Gold”—will take simultaneous observations from locations around Mars. The observations will reveal the planet’s real-time response to space weather and how the Martian magnetosphere changes over time. ESCAPADE will analyze how Mars’ magnetic field guides particle flows around the planet, how energy and momentum are transported from the solar wind through the magnetosphere, and what processes control the flow of energy and matter into and out of the Martian atmosphere. Each satellite will carry three instruments: a magnetometer for measuring magnetic field, an electrostatic analyzer to measure ions and electrons, and a Langmuir probe for measuring plasma density and solar extreme ultraviolet flux.


The ESCAPADE Mission is managed by the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California, Berkeley, with key partners Rocket Lab, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space LLC, and Blue Origin.


Learn more about NASA's ESCAPADE Mission:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade

https://escapade.ssl.berkeley.edu

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=ESCAPADE


Image Credit: Rocket Lab 

Image Dates: Feb. 16, 2021-Aug. 15, 2024


#NASA #RocketLab #Space #Astronomy #Science #Star #Sun #SpaceWeather #Planet #Mars #Magnetosphere #Atmosphere #Radiation #Astronauts #ESCAPADEMission #ESCAPADESpacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #GSFC #SSL #UCBerkeley #ERAU #AdvancedSpace #BlueOrigin #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Views of Giant Emission Nebula IC 1396 in Cepheus | Mayall Telescope

Views of Giant Emission Nebula IC 1396 in Cepheus | Mayall Telescope



These images were obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. IC 1396 is a giant emission nebula that is over 3 degrees in diameter. It is illuminated by a hot, massive O-type star (HD 206267) near its center. The star is not visible in this image—it is off of the top edge. This image is of a portion of IC 1396 in the south-eastern part of the nebula. It shows only about 5% of the entire nebula. The image was generated with observations in the Hydrogen alpha (red) and Sulphur [SII] (blue) filters.

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

Learn more about the Mayall Telescope: 

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/kpno/telescopes/nicholas-mayall-4m-telescope


Image Credits: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage), H. Schweiker & S. Pakzad (NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)

Release Date: June 30, 2020


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #IC1396 #EmissionNebula #StarHD206267 #Cepheus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MayallTelescope #KittPeakNationalObservatory #KPNO #Arizona #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Saturday, August 17, 2024

Hurricane Ernesto Barreling Toward Bermuda | NASA Earth Observatory

Hurricane Ernesto Barreling Toward Bermuda | NASA Earth Observatory


After battering Puerto Rico, Hurricane Ernesto picked up steam over the western Atlantic Ocean as it moved toward Bermuda. The Category 1 hurricane made landfall on the western side of Bermuda early Saturday, August 17, 2024. It could generate large waves along the Atlantic shore of the U.S. and Canada.

This image, acquired with the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP satellite, shows Ernesto at about 18:00 Universal Time (3 p.m. local time in Bermuda) on August 15, when the center of the storm was 530 miles southwest of the British island territory. At the time, Ernesto had sustained winds of around 85 miles (140 kilometers) per hour and was continuing to strengthen.

Earlier in the week, Ernesto moved through the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands, and eastern Puerto Rico, bringing torrential rains and wind gusts near hurricane strength. According to news reports, the storm knocked out power for about half of Puerto Rico’s residents and dumped 3 to 10 inches (8 to 25 centimeters) of rain over much of the island. The storm flooded roadways, downed power lines, and destroyed homes and vehicles.

As Ernesto moved north from Puerto Rico, NASA scientists teamed up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to drop small sensors into and around the storm to better understand how the storm was changing. On August 15, 35 dropsondes were released from NOAA’s Gulfstream IV jet from 40,000 feet above the Atlantic. As the dropsondes careened through the storm, they measured temperature, moisture, pressure, and wind conditions.

“Dropsonde data indicated that dry air along Ernesto’s path likely prevented it from becoming an even more powerful storm,” said Justin Stachnik, an atmospheric scientist at NASA Headquarters. “These dropsondes give scientists and weather forecasters a better picture of the moisture present near the storm, and they can retrieve measurements near the surface, where it’s not safe for aircraft to fly.”

The dropsonde measurements can be used to calibrate and validate simultaneous observations from satellites that are part of NASA’s TROPICS mission—a constellation of CubeSats designed to provide high-resolution, rapid updates of the intensity, size, and precipitation of tropical cyclones. “Calibrating satellite observations with these in-air measurements will allow NASA to better provide near-real-time monitoring of storms,” Stachnik said.

Although Ernesto was not expected to hit the mainland U.S., high surf and rip currents from the hurricane were expected to spread up the east coast on August 17 and 18 and could reach portions of Atlantic Canada.

NASA’s Disasters program has been activated in response to Hurricane Ernesto, working with the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, & Research Trust and the Puerto Rico Department of Public Safety to support response activities. As new information becomes available, the team will be posting maps and data products on its open-access mapping portal.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership

Article Credit: Emily Cassidy

Image Date: Aug. 15, 2024

Release Date: Aug. 17, 2024


#NASA #NOAA #Science #Space #Satellite #SuomiNPP #VIIRS #Planet #Earth #Weather  #Meteorology #Storm #Precipitation #Hurricanes #HurricaneErnesto #Bermuda #Britain #CaribbeanSea #AtlanticOcean #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #Environment #UnitedStates #GSFC #STEM #Education

Northern Lights above Teton Mountains in Idaho

Northern Lights above Teton Mountains in Idaho

Photographer Glenn McCreery: "The photo of the colorful aurora featured [here] was captured from eastern Idaho on May 11, 2024, at 10:47 p.m. local time. I was positioned about 5 miles (8 km) south of the town of Driggs, Idaho. Lights of the town are shown in the foreground, with the silhouetted Teton Mountain Range in the background. The highest peak in the range, Grand Teton, is at center. Thanks primarily to the long shutter speed, the colors in the photograph are more brilliant and saturated than the human eye can perceive."

The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It extends for approximately 40 miles (64 km) in a north–south direction through the U.S. state of Wyoming, east of the Idaho state line. It is south of Yellowstone National Park, and most of the east side of the range is within Grand Teton National Park.

Grand Teton National Park:

https://www.nps.gov/grte/index.htm


Photo Details: Canon 6D camera; Sony ART 24 mm lens; f1.4; 10 second exposure; ISO 1250. 

 

Image & Caption Credit: Glenn McCreery

Driggs, Idaho Coordinates: 43.7232, -111.1109

Image Date: May 11, 2024

Release Date: Aug. 12, 2024


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Earth #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Star #Astrophotography #TetonMountains #RockyMountains #Driggs #Idaho #GlennMcCreery #Astrophotographer #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Distant Spiral Galaxies in Dorado: Wide-field view | Victor Blanco Telescope

Distant Spiral Galaxies in Dorado: Wide-field view | Victor Blanco Telescope


Intermediate barred spiral galaxy NGC 1515 composed of data taken with the Dark Energy Camera on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, as part of the Dark Energy Survey, a project that mapped millions of galaxies. One of the most powerful digital cameras in the world, the Dark Energy Camera was designed specifically for the Dark Energy Survey and was operated by the US Department of Energy and NSF between 2013 and 2019.

Distance: 55 million light years 

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.

Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope


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)
Release Date: Dec. 29, 2021

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC1515 #NGC1566 #DoradoGroup #Spirals #Barred #Dorado #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #DECam #CTIO #Chile #KPNO #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Collection of Distant Spiral Galaxies in Dorado | Victor Blanco Telescope

A Collection of Distant Spiral Galaxies in Dorado | Victor Blanco Telescope

At the center of this image is NGC 1515, an intermediate barred spiral galaxy that is part of the Dorado Group at a distance of 55 million light years. Large-scale observations of the Universe have found that galaxies “clump” together. These clumps are held together by a loose gravitational pull and designated a group or cluster, depending on the number of galaxies within a bounded radius. 

One of the characteristics of groups of galaxies is the slow speed of individual galaxies, about 150 km/s (93 mi/hr), which results in frequent interactions between members. The Dorado Group is composed of three subgroups and NGC 1515 is a member of the subgroup associated with the galaxy NGC 1566. In the background of this image are thousands of other galaxies, located even further away than NGC 1515, alongside stars located in our own Milky Way.

This image is composed of data taken with the Dark Energy Camera on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, as part of the Dark Energy Survey, a project that mapped millions of galaxies. One of the most powerful digital cameras in the world, the Dark Energy Camera was designed specifically for the Dark Energy Survey and was operated by the US Department of Energy and NSF between 2013 and 2019.

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.

Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:

https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope


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)

Release Date: Dec. 29, 2021


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC1515 #NGC1566 #DoradoGroup #Spirals #Barred #Dorado #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #VictorBlancoTelescope #DECam #CTIO #Chile #KPNO #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Dark Nebula Barnard 163 in Cepheus | Digitized Sky Survey 2

Dark Nebula Barnard 163 in Cepheus | Digitized Sky Survey 2


Barnard 163 is a dark nebula within IC 1396, a very large emission nebula complex in the constellation Cepheus. This interstellar cloud was discovered by Edward Emerson (E. E.) Barnard (1857-1923), an American astronomer and pioneer of astrophotography who began as an amateur comet hunter, earned a degree in mathematics and later worked at Lick Observatory and the University of Chicago. He is also the namesake of Barnard’s star, the second closest known star system to Earth.

The Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) is a ground-based imaging survey of the entire sky in several colors of light produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute through its Guide Star Survey group.


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

Release Date: Jan. 7, 2007


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Nebula #Barnard163 #IC1396 #Cepheus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #DSS2 #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The 'Hungry' Ghost Nebula: vdB 141 in Cepheus | Mayall Telescope

The 'Hungry' Ghost Nebula: vdB 141 in Cepheus | Mayall Telescope

The Hungry Ghost Festival on August 18 this year is one of the most eerie celebrations in Chinese culture. In Hong Kong, the city comes alive with vibrant rituals and community events that are steeped in superstition and rituals. The festival is thought to have roots in Buddhist, Taoist, and folk traditions dating back to the Tang dynasty (618-907). According to Chinese folklore, the festival is a time when ghosts and spirits are free to wander the earth. During this time, the rituals are observed to try and avoid the wrath of wandering spirits.

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic Camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. vdB 141 is a reflection nebula located in the constellation Cepheus. Sometimes referred to as the ghost nebula, its awkward name is its catalog number in Sidney van den Bergh's catalog of reflection nebulae, published in 1966. Several stars are embedded in the nebula. Their light gives it a ghoulish brown color. North is down and East is to the right. 

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.


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

Caption Credit: NOIRLab/SCMP

Image Date: Aug. 28, 2009


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #GhostNebula #vdB141 #ReflectionNebula #Cepheus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #MayallTelescope #KittPeak #KPNO #Tucson #Arizona #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Expedition 71 Crew Photos: August 2024 | International Space Station

Expedition 71 Crew Photos: August 2024 | International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Boeing Crew Flight Test Pilot Suni Williams, inside the International Space Station's Unity module, displays portable carbon dioxide monitors recently delivered aboard Northrop Grumman's Cygnus cargo spacecraft.
 NASA astronauts (from left) Tracy C. Dyson and Suni Williams enjoy an ice cream dessert with fresh ingredients delivered aboard the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft. The duo was enjoying their delicious snack inside the International Space Station's Unity module where crews share meals in the galley.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Jeanette Epps processes blood and saliva samples aboard the International Space Station's Harmony module. She stowed the specimens in a science freezer and the Kubik research incubator for future retrieval and later analysis. The weightless environment of the orbital outpost allows investigators to explore how living in space long term affects humans and gain insights not possible in Earth’s gravity conditions.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Matthew Dominick displays a bag containing simulated lunar soil and other materials mixed with a liquid solution. He was exploring how microgravity affects the production of cement materials that could be used to build infrastructure on the lunar surface.
NASA astronaut and Expedition 71 Flight Engineer Mike Barratt points a camera out a window on the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory and photographs landmarks on Earth. The orbital outpost was soaring 258 miles above China near Hong Kong on the coast of the South China Sea at the time of this photograph.
NASA astronaut and Boeing Crew Flight Test Pilot Suni Williams installs the Packed Bed Reactor Experiment, experimental life support hardware, inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox located aboard the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory.
NASA astronaut and Boeing's Crew Flight Test Pilot Suni Williams observes a pair of Astrobee robotic free-flying assistants demonstrating autonomous docking maneuvers inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. Williams was inside Kibo's logistics module. It serves as a storage area that houses materials for experiments, maintenance tools, and crew supplies.
NASA astronauts (from left) Jeanette Epps and Matthew Dominick, both Expedition 71 Flight Engineers, are pictured wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) shortly after entering the Northrop Grumman Cygnus space freighter. Inside Cygnus is a poster of former NASA astronaut Francis R. "Dick" Scobee for whom the spacecraft is named after. The duo was wearing PPE after opening the hatch and entering the vehicle to protect against potential dust or debris that may have dislodged during Cygnus' launch and ascent to space.

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
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:

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: Aug. 1-12, 2024


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

China's CAS Space Successfully Tests Lijian-2 Rocket Engine for 320 seconds

China's CAS Space Successfully Tests Lijian-2 Rocket Engine for 320 seconds


[No Audio] Chinese commercial rocket company CAS Space successfully tested its first stage 85-ton liquid oxygen/kerosene Lijian-2 rocket engine and servo system for 320 seconds, meeting flight requirements. This validates its reliability for upcoming power system tests. First flight is set for 2025. It is expected to become a major liquid propellant carrier rocket for China's launch missions, supporting low-cost cargo spacecraft and the buildout of large communications satellite constellations. This will include first stage recovery being achieved by a vertical landing.

Lijian-2 has a core stage diameter of 3.35 meters, a total length of 53 meters, a takeoff weight of 625 tons, and a takeoff thrust of 766 tons. The Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) carrying capacity is 8 tons, and the LEO carrying capacity is 12 tons.

CAS Space (Chinese: 中科宇航) is a Chinese commercial space launch provider based in Guangzhou. It was founded in 2018 and is majority owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).


Video Credit: CNSA Watcher

Duration: 5 minutes, 31 seconds 

Release Date: Aug. 14, 2024


#NASA #Space #China #中国 #CASSpace #中科宇航 #Rocket #RocketEngines #Lijian2Engine #LOXKerosene #RocketEngineTests #VTOL #LEO #Spaceflight #CommercialSpace #Satellites #SatelliteConstellations #TiangongSpaceStation #ChinaSpaceStation #CSS #CommercialCargo #Guangzhou #Guangdong #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Friday, August 16, 2024

Lightning over India | International Space Station

Lightning over India | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick: "When trying to capture lighting in an image, I use burst mode and hope lighting strikes in the frame. I was super happy when this lightning strike ended up in the middle of the frame. No crop needed." 

Techncial details: 1/5s, 85mm, f1.4, ISO 6400

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
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:

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)

Release Date: Aug. 11, 2024


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Meteorology #Weather #Lightning #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #SoyuzCrewSpacecraft #Astronaut #MatthewDominick #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #SpaceLaboratory #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #STEM #Education

Aurora over Pennsylvania

Aurora over Pennsylvania

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 the 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.

The Colors of the Aurora (U.S. National Park Service)

Technical details: Canon 5D Mark IV + Rokinon 24mm 1.4 Shutter Speed: 10 seconds F/1.4 ISO 500


Image Credit: Tony Bendele

Tony's website:

https://www.tonybendelephotography.com

Location: Upper Augusta Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

Image Date: August 12, 2024 


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Earth #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Star #Astrophotography #TonyBendele #Astrophotographer #UpperAugustaTownship #NorthumberlandCounty #Pennsylvania #UnitedStates #NorthAmerica #STEM #Education