Planet Mars Images: August 2024 | NASA Curiosity & Perseverance Mars Rovers
Celebrating 12+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)
Friends of NASA (FoN) is an independent non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to building international support for peaceful space exploration, commerce, scientific discovery, and STEM education.
Planet Mars Images: August 2024 | NASA Curiosity & Perseverance Mars Rovers
Celebrating 12+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)
Aurora Borealis on a Hill near Stonehenge, England
"I arrived in Stonehenge early, before sunset. As I set up my equipment to shoot star trails, I overheard people saying that a severe solar storm heading towards us could cause the elusive Northern lights to appear. I had no clue about it! Only by coincidence, I was there. I had never seen the Northern Lights. Experiencing nature’s most spectacular light show was always a dream of mine. I was excited thinking that even a faint and distant capture of the impressive Aurora Borealis would be perfect!"
"While chatting with a Stonehenge security guard, and shooting test shots towards the Northern horizon, we noticed a green tint in the sky at around 22.15. In the next 45 minutes almost the entire sky filled with colours. You could see these huge rays of light and colour painting the sky red and green. I stayed up all night capturing the Lights. I left Stonehenge and visited Wilton Windmill to add a few more photos to my collection."
Stonehenge is a prehistoric megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, two miles (3 km) west of Amesbury.
Learn more about Stonehenge:
https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/introduction-stonehenge
https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/world-stonehenge/stonehenge-timeline
See additional photos by Chris Kotsiopoulos:
Image Credit: Chris Kotsiopoulos
Location: Stonehenge, England Coordinates: 51.178889, -1.826111
Europa Clipper—the agency’s largest spacecraft ever developed for a planetary mission—will span a total length of more than 100 feet and weigh 7,145 pounds without the inclusion of propellants. Europa Clipper is expected to launch to planet Jupiter in October 2024 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft needs to survive a 1.6 billion-mile, six-year journey to Jupiter—and sophisticated enough to perform a detailed science investigation of Europa once it arrives at the Jupiter system in 2030.
Missions such as Europa Clipper contribute to the field of astrobiology, the interdisciplinary research on the variables and conditions of distant worlds that could harbor life as we know it. While Europa Clipper is not a life-detection mission, it will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Europa and investigate whether the icy moon, with its subsurface ocean, has the capability to support life.
Understanding Europa’s habitability will help scientists better understand how life developed on Earth and the potential for finding life beyond our planet.
Download Europa Clipper Ocean World poster:
https://europa.nasa.gov/resources/173/europa-clipper-journey-to-an-ocean-world-poster/
Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with APL for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.
NASA's Europa Clipper Mission website:
Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #Ocean #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #Radiation #EuropaClipper #EuropaClipperSpacecraft #SolarArrays #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #JHUAPL #GSFC #MSFC #JPL #Caltech #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education
Nebula RCW 106: Star Formation Region | ESO APEX & VLT
The glowing red clouds seen in this picture shows dense gas regions where new stars are being born in the RCW 106 region. However, only 1% of this gas will actually go on to create stars, and astronomers do not know why this percentage is so low.
Star formation takes place when regions of these huge clouds of cold gas are able to clump together. Once they reach a critical density, they will collapse into newborn stars. An outstanding question is whether even denser regions can produce greater numbers of stars. Could this help to explain the 1% mystery?
New results from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, suggest this is not the case—denser regions are not more efficient at forming stars. This is perhaps explained by the way these denser clouds fragment into filamentary structures and cores where stars will form, but many questions remain unanswered. This picture highlights areas of interest. It imposes a red map of dense gas, imaged with the ArTéMiS camera at APEX, over an optical image taken with the VLT Survey Telescope.
While APEX continues to investigate this stellar mystery, we can expect to see many more stunning images like this.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/M. Mattern et al.
Release Date: Aug. 19, 2024
#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Nebula #RCW106 #StellarNurseries #Norma #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophysics #APEX #VLT #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education
Nebula RCW 106: Where to Find Newborn Stars | ESO VLT & APEX
The glowing red clouds seen in this picture shows dense gas regions where new stars are being born in the RCW 106 region. However, only 1% of this gas will actually go on to create stars, and astronomers do not know why this percentage is so low.
Star formation takes place when regions of these huge clouds of cold gas are able to clump together. Once they reach a critical density, they will collapse into newborn stars. An outstanding question is whether even denser regions can produce greater numbers of stars. Could this help to explain the 1% mystery?
New results from the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, suggest this is not the case—denser regions are not more efficient at forming stars. This is perhaps explained by the way these denser clouds fragment into filamentary structures and cores where stars will form, but many questions remain unanswered. This picture highlights areas of interest.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/M. Mattern et al.
Release Date: Aug. 19, 2024
#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Nebula #RCW106 #StellarNurseries #Norma #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophysics #APEX #VLT #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education
NASA's Artemis II Moon Rocket: SLS Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter Ready
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) next milestone is right around the corner as the cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter for NASA’s Artemis II mission prepares to make its way from the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Standing 27.5 feet tall, the adapter plays a critical role by partially enclosing the rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage, connecting it to the core stage below and the Orion stage adapter above.
Technicians with NASA and Teledyne Brown Engineering, LVSA lead contractor, work diligently to prepare the hardware before loading it onto NASA’s Pegasus barge for its delivery to the Space Coast. Stacking of the rocket will soon begin at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, marking a pivotal step towards the agency sending a crew of four astronauts around the Moon during Artemis II.
For more information about SLS, visit https://www.nasa.gov/sls
Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/
Video Credit: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
Duration: 1 minute
#NASA #Space #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIIMission #ArtemisII #NASASLS #LVSA #DeepSpace #Astronauts #MoonToMars #Science #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #MSFC #Huntsville #Alabama #NASAKennedy #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #Canada #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video
Mystery Solved: SpaceX Rocket Outgassing & Aurora over Denali National Park
Photographer Zach Goldberg: "We had no idea what [the] spiral [on] the horizon was while shooting aurora at Sheldon Mountain House in Denali National Park. This was April 2023, I think . . . "
For more than a year, Zach Goldberg had been wondering what he saw. The aurora photographer was camping in Denali National Park in April 2023 when, out of nowhere, a giant blue spiral pinwheeled across the night sky. "We had no idea what it was," says Goldberg. "Fortunately, we already had our cameras out for the auroras." This is what he saw . . .
Mystery solved: It was a "SpaceX spiral." On April 15, 2023, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg in California. It carried 51 small satellites to Earth-orbit, a mission known as Transporter-7. When the rocket's discarded upper stage passed over Alaska, it vented its unused fuel.
Spirals are a common side-effect of Transporter rideshare missions. Within these rockets, numerous satellites from various clients have different destinations. SpaceX must rotate the second stage for deployment. The de-orbit burn and fuel dump naturally spirals.
Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is a national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, United States, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America.
https://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm
SpaceX Transporter-7 Mission Launch:
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=transporter-7-pl
Image Credit: Zach Goldberg
Zach's website: https://www.FrozenFoto.com
Caption Credit: SpaceWeather
Image Date: April 6, 2023
#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planet #Earth #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #Transporter7Mission #FuelOutgassing #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Star #Photography #ZachGoldberg #Photographer #DenaliNPS #Alaska #CommercialSpace #UnitedStates #STEM #Education
NASA Aerial Videographer: A Front Row Seat to Thrilling Flights
Thanks to NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s lead aerial videographer, Lori Losey, people can examples of what Lori has captured on NASA’s behalf over her 36-year career.
Join Lori in the back seat of an F-18 (and a few other aircraft) for an epic ride through the flights, the training, and the incredible experiences she’s seen in her efforts to capture NASA’s work in aeronautics. Finally, join NASA in our appreciation of all our videographers across the agency who put themselves in unbelievable places and positions to get the best shots to share with the world.
The NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) is an aeronautical research center. Its primary campus is located inside Edwards Air Force Base in California and is considered NASA's premier site for aeronautical research.
Learn more about the Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in California:
https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/index.html
Video Credit: NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center
Duration: 3 minutes
#NASA #Aerospace #Flight #Aviation #Aircraft #F18Aircraft #AerialPhotography #Videographer #LoriLosey #Science #Physics #Engineering #CivilianResearch #Aeronautical #FlightTests #Boeing #McDonnellDouglas #NASAArmstrong #AFRC #EdwardsAFB #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video
North America & Pelican Nebulae + Star Deneb in Cygnus
The North America Nebula (NGC 7000 or Caldwell 20) is an emission nebula in Cygnus, close to the blue supergiant star Deneb. Its shape resembles North America. The Pelican Nebula (IC 5070 and IC 5067) is an H II region (interstellar atomic hydrogen that is ionized) associated with the North America Nebula.
Technical details: Tair-3S lenses + Canon 250mm f/2.2
Total exposure time: 8h
Capture location: San Pasquale, Viggianello, Basilicate, Italy
Image Credit: Giuseppe Donatiello
Image Date: June 28, 2024
#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #NorthAmericaNebula #NGC7000 #Caldwell20 #PelicanNebula #IC5070 #IC5067 #EmissionNebulae #Star #Deneb #Cygnus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #GiuseppeDonatiello #Italy #Italia #STEM #Education
Why Europe's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Probe is Returning to Earth | ESA
The European Space Agency’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) returns to Earth on August 19–20, 2024, to complete the world's first Lunar-Earth gravity assist. Flight controllers will guide the spacecraft past the Moon and then Earth itself, ‘braking’ the spacecraft. This maneuver may seem counterintuitive but it will allow JUICE to take a shortcut via Venus on its way to Jupiter.
JUICE has already traveled more than a billion km to the giant planet. However, it still has a long way to go although Jupiter is on average ‘just’ 800 million km away from Earth. Join us as we explain JUICE's eight-year journey to Jupiter.
Follow the JUICE Mission: www.esa.int/juice
Read more:
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Juice_why_s_it_taking_sooo_long
Video Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Duration: 9 minutes, 23 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 19, 2024
#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #Earth #Jupiter #Moons #Europa #Callisto #Ganymede #JUICE #JUICEMission #Spacecraft #LunarEarth #GravitationalAssists #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video
Pan of Barred Spiral Galaxy UGC 11861 | Hubble
This activity has resulted in three supernova explosions being spotted in and nearby UGC 11861, in 1995, 1997 and 2011. The earlier two were both Type II supernovae, a kind that results from the collapse of a massive star at the end of its life. This Hubble image was made from data collected to study Type II supernovae and their environments.
Image Description: A spiral galaxy with two broad spiral arms wrapping around a large central region. It has a glowing white bar in the very center. Thin strands of dark dust lie over much of the galaxy. The arms have small and large patches of glowing blue light, emitted by new stars. The galaxy is on a dark background. In the foreground, bright stars with four points are dotted around.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)
Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 16, 2024
#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Galaxies #Galaxy #UGC11861 #Spiral #Barred #Supernovae #Cepheus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video
Spiral Galaxy UGC 11861 in Cepheus | Hubble Space Telescope
This activity has resulted in three supernova explosions being spotted in and nearby UGC 11861, in 1995, 1997 and 2011. The earlier two were both Type II supernovae, a kind that results from the collapse of a massive star at the end of its life. This Hubble image was made from data collected to study Type II supernovae and their environments.
Image Description: A spiral galaxy with two broad spiral arms wrapping around a large central region. It has a glowing white bar in the very center. Thin strands of dark dust lie over much of the galaxy. The arms have small and large patches of glowing blue light, emitted by new stars. The galaxy is on a dark background. In the foreground, bright stars with four points are dotted around.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick
Release Date: Aug. 19, 2024
#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Galaxies #Galaxy #UGC11861 #Spiral #Barred #Supernovae #Cepheus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education
Exploring Volcanoes with NASA’s GEODES Team | Goddard Space Flight Center
Close your eyes. Listen. Imagine lava seeping from the Earth, flowing and melting rock in its path. This is what inspired Ben Cosgrove’s new instrumental, “Volcano.” As an Artist-in-Residence, Cosgrove accompanied NASA’s Geophysical Exploration of the Dynamics and Evolution of the Solar System (GEODES) team to Lava Beds National Monument, where he participated in planetary science research to develop methods and tools to explore the surface of the Moon.
GEODES is a team within the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute. They investigate the Moon, near-Earth asteroids, and the moons of Mars with geophysics methods to enable the exploration of their surfaces. They test geophysics methods, including seismic and ground penetrating radar surveying, on Earth to study and refine how these methods can best be used on the lunar surface. In addition, based on field research and remote sensing data, they develop numerical and statistical models to characterize the surfaces of our defined planetary targets.
In this video, you will see members of the GEODES team operating instruments including ground-penetrating radar, seismometers, magnetometers, drones, and gravitometers in lunar-like landscapes in Hawaii, California, and Arizona. When combined, these instruments provide an overall picture of the surface structure and what is below. So sit back and let us transport you—from lava beds on the surface of the Earth and the Moon, to the volcanic depths of the solar system, and beyond.
Learn more about GEODES:
Lava Beds National Monument
https://www.nps.gov/labe/index.htm
Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/University of Maryland
David Obajemu (University of Maryland): Producer, Editor, Videographer
Molly Wasser (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Videographer, Support
Nick Schmerr (University of Maryland): Scientist
Jacob Richardson (USRA): Scientist
Dan Gallagher (ROAR/Abacus Technology): Technical Support
Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Technical Support
Duration: 4 minutes
Release Date: Aug. 16, 2024
#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #PlanetaryScience #Moon #ArtemisProgram #MoonToMars #Earth #GEODES #Geology #EarthAnalogs #Volcanoes #LavaTubes #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #NASAGoddard #GSFC #California #UnitedStates #Art #STEM #Education #HD #Video
Artemis Moon Minute—Improving 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:
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
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 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/
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