NASA "Espacio a Tierra" | Actualización de la misión: 30 de agosto 2024

NASA "Espacio a Tierra" | Actualización de la misión: 30 de agosto 2024

Espacio a Tierra, la versión en español de las cápsulas Space to Ground de la NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que está sucediendo en la Estación Espacial Internacional.

Aprende más sobre la ciencia a bordo de la estación espacial: https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-research-and-technology/ciencia-en-la-estacion/

Para obtener más información sobre la ciencia de la NASA, suscríbete al boletín semanal: 

https://www.nasa.gov/suscribete

Ciencia de la NASA: https://ciencia.nasa.gov

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 5 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 4, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #NASAenespañol #español #Boeing #Starliner #CST100 #CrewSpacecraft #CommercialCrewProgram #CCP #Astronauts #UnitedStates #SpaceLaboratory #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Expedition71 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Fast Fireball Flash over West Asia | International Space Station

Fast Fireball Flash over West Asia | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick: "Here is a . . . faster frame rate version of the timelapse. I think it is interesting to compare the size of the bolide blast to other objects in view like the Mediterranean, Cairo, or lightning strikes."

Note: Fireballs and bolides are astronomical terms for exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to to be seen over a very wide area. A fireball is an unusually bright meteor that reaches a visual magnitude of -3 or brighter when seen at the observer’s zenith.

Objects causing fireball events can exceed one meter in size. Fireballs that explode in the atmosphere are technically referred to as bolides although the terms fireballs and bolides are often used interchangeably.

During the atmospheric entry phase, an impacting object is both slowed and heated by atmospheric friction. In front of it, a bow shock develops where atmospheric gases are compressed and heated. Part of this energy is radiated to the object causing it to ablate, and in most cases, to break apart. Fragmentation increases the amount of atmosphere intercepted and so enhances ablation and atmospheric braking. The object catastrophically disrupts when the force from the unequal pressures on the front and back sides exceeds its tensile strength.

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.

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/M. Dominick

Duration: 20 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 3, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Meteor #Bolide #Cairo #Egypt #Africa #WestAsia #MediterraneanSea #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #SpaceLaboratory #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition71 #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

Fireball: Meteor Explodes in Earth Atmosphere | International Space Station

Fireball: Meteor Explodes in Earth Atmosphere | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Matthew Dominick: "I showed this to a couple of friends yesterday to see what they thought. They both thought it was a meteor exploding in the atmosphere—a rather bright one called a bolide. Timelapse is slowed down to one frame per second for you to see it streaking and then exploding . . . Timelapse was setup over Northern Africa where it was very dark with lightning . . ."

Technical details: 1/2s exposure, ISO 25600, 15mm, T1.8, 1/2s intervalometer, 1 fps for the timelapse playback

Note: Fireballs and bolides are astronomical terms for exceptionally bright meteors that are spectacular enough to to be seen over a very wide area. A fireball is an unusually bright meteor that reaches a visual magnitude of -3 or brighter when seen at the observer’s zenith.

Objects causing fireball events can exceed one meter in size. Fireballs that explode in the atmosphere are technically referred to as bolides although the terms fireballs and bolides are often used interchangeably.

During the atmospheric entry phase, an impacting object is both slowed and heated by atmospheric friction. In front of it, a bow shock develops where atmospheric gases are compressed and heated. Part of this energy is radiated to the object causing it to ablate, and in most cases, to break apart. Fragmentation increases the amount of atmosphere intercepted and so enhances ablation and atmospheric braking. The object catastrophically disrupts when the force from the unequal pressures on the front and back sides exceeds its tensile strength.

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.

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/M. Dominick

Duration: 21 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 3, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #Meteor #Bolide #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #SpaceLaboratory #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #Expedition71 #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #Timelapse #HD #Video

Wide-field View: Distant 'Question Mark' Galaxy Pair | Webb Telescope

Wide-field View: Distant 'Question Mark' Galaxy Pair | Webb Telescope

A cosmic question mark appears amid a powerful gravitational lens in the James Webb Space Telescope’s wide-field view of the galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154. Gravitational lensing occurs when something is so massive, like this galaxy cluster, that it warps the fabric of space-time itself, creating a natural funhouse-mirror effect that also magnifies galaxies behind it. 

The rarely seen type of lensing captured here that astronomers term hyperbolic umbilic, created five repeated images of one galaxy pair. The red, elongated member of this pair traces the familiar shape of a question mark across the sky due to the distortion. Another unrelated galaxy happening to be in just the right space-time to appear like the question mark’s dot—especially for humans who love to recognize familiar shapes and patterns. 

The Webb images and spectra in this research came from the Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS). The research paper is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/532/1/577/7686125

Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), STScI, Vicente Estrada-Carpenter (Saint Mary's University)

Release Date: Sept. 4, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Galaxies #InteractingGalaxies #QuestionMarkPair #GravitationalLensing #GalaxyClusters #GalaxyclusterMACSJ041751154 #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #CSA #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Distant 'Cosmic Question Mark' Galaxy Pair | Webb Telescope

The Distant 'Cosmic Question Mark' Galaxy Pair | Webb Telescope

Amid a field of galaxies, a repeated, elongated red galaxy forms a shape like the top of a question mark, with another galaxy positioned like the question mark’s dot. In each occurrence, another white, clumpy galaxy with an overall circular shape appears perched on top of the red galaxy. A very bright foreground galaxy appears to the right of the bottom curve of the question mark shape. To the lower right, among other galaxies, another occurrence of the galaxy pair appears, unaffiliated with the question mark shape.

Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope were surprised to find a distant, red galaxy distorted into the shape of a question mark. A specific, rarely-seen type of natural gravitational lens is causing the galaxy to appear multiple times. The lensing also magnifies the galaxy and its spiral companion, allowing astronomers to pinpoint specific regions of star formation, using a combination of infrared data from Webb and ultraviolet data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. 

While this region has been observed previously with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, the dusty red galaxy that forms the intriguing question-mark shape only came into view with Webb. This is a result of the wavelengths of light that Hubble detects getting trapped in cosmic dust, while longer wavelengths of infrared light are able to pass through and be detected by Webb’s instruments.

Astronomers used both telescopes to observe the galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154. It acts like a magnifying glass because the cluster is so massive it warps the fabric of space-time. This allows astronomers to see enhanced detail in much more distant galaxies behind the cluster. However, the same gravitational effects that magnify the galaxies also cause distortion, resulting in galaxies that appear smeared across the sky in arcs and even appear multiple times. These optical illusions in space are called gravitational lensing. 

The red galaxy revealed by Webb, along with a spiral galaxy it is interacting with that was previously detected by Hubble, are being magnified and distorted in an unusual way. It requires a particular, rare alignment between the distant galaxies, the lens, and the observer—something astronomers call a hyperbolic umbilic gravitational lens. This accounts for the five images of the galaxy pair seen in Webb’s image, four of which trace the top of the question mark. The dot of the question mark is an unrelated galaxy that happens to be in the right place and space-time, from our perspective.

The Webb images and spectra in this research came from the Canadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS). The research paper is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/532/1/577/7686125

Image Description: Amid a field of galaxies, a repeated, elongated red galaxy forms a shape like the top of a question mark, with another galaxy positioned like the question mark’s dot. In each occurrence, another white, clumpy galaxy with an overall circular shape appears perched on top of the red galaxy. A very bright foreground galaxy appears to the right of the bottom curve of the question  mark shape. To the lower right, among other galaxies, another occurrence of the galaxy pair appears, unaffiliated with the question mark shape.

Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA), STScI, Vicente Estrada-Carpenter (Saint Mary's University)

Release Date: Sept. 4, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #Galaxies #InteractingGalaxies #QuestionMarkPair #GravitationalLensing #GalaxyClusters #GalaxyclusterMACSJ041751154 #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #JWST #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #CSA #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Tour of Cygnus X-1 | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

A Tour of Cygnus X-1 | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

Over three decades ago, Stephen Hawking placed, and eventually lost, a bet against the existence of a black hole in Cygnus X-1. Cygnus X-1 is a black hole about 15 times the mass of the Sun in orbit with a massive blue companion star. Astronomers used several telescopes, including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, to study Cygnus X-1. The combined data have revealed the spin, mass, and distance of this black hole more precisely than ever before. 

Stephen William Hawking (1942–2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. He was the director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge.

Cygnus X-1 is a so-called stellar-mass black hole, a class of black holes that comes from the collapse of a massive star. The black hole pulls material from a massive, blue companion star toward it. This material forms a disk that rotates around the black hole before falling into it or being redirected away from the black hole in the form of powerful jets.

Astrophysics, scientists have determined the spin of Cygnus X-1 with unprecedented accuracy, showing that the black hole is spinning at very close to its maximum rate. Its event horizon—the point of no return for material falling towards a black hole—is spinning around more than 800 times a second.

Video Credit: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

Duration: 1 minute, 37 seconds 

Release Date: Nov. 28, 2011

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #CygnusX1 #BinaryStars #BlackHoles #Cygnus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #XrayObservatory #DSS #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #StephenHawking #Astrophysics #Art #Illustration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Cygnus X-1 Star System & Black Hole: Wide-field & Artist views

Cygnus X-1 Star System & Black Hole: Wide-field & Artist views

Wide-field view of binary star system Cygnus X-1

Illustration of Cygnus X-1

Artist's impression of Cygnus X-1

Wide-field view of binary star system Cygnus X-1: This ground-based image showing the visible light component of Cygnus X-1 (center), a rich source of X-rays in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan.

Cygnus X-1 is a black hole about 15 times the mass of the Sun in orbit with a massive blue companion star. Using optical observations of the companion star and its motion around its unseen companion, the team made the most precise determination ever for the mass of Cygnus X-1, of 14.8 times the mass of the Sun. It was likely to have been almost this massive at birth, because of lack of time for it to grow appreciably.

Cygnus X-1 is located near large active regions of star formation in the Milky Way galaxy. Cygnus X-1 is a so-called stellar-mass black hole, a class of black holes that comes from the collapse of a massive star. The black hole pulls material from a massive, blue companion star toward it. This material forms a disk that rotates around the black hole before falling into it or being redirected away from the black hole in the form of powerful jets.

Distance: 6,070 light years

Image 1 Credit: Digital Sky Survey (DSS)/Release Date: Nov. 17, 2011

Image 2 Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss/Release Date: Nov. 17, 2011

Image 3 Credit: NASA, ESA, Martin Kornmesser (ESA/Hubble)/Release Date: Jan. 1, 2002

Image 4 Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)/Release Date: Jan. 1, 2002

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #CygnusX1 #BinaryStars #BlackHoles #Nebula #Sh2101 #Cygnus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #XrayObservatory #DSS #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #Art #Illustration #STEM #Education

Cygnus X-1 Binary Star System | Mayall Telescope

Cygnus X-1 Binary Star System | Mayall Telescope

This image was obtained with the wide-field view of the Mosaic camera on the Mayall 4-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Cygnus X-1 is a binary star system that contains a black hole. The Cygnus X-1 system looks like a single star in this image. It is the brighter (bottom) of the two stars near the center of the image. Gas from the companion star is being pulled into the black hole. Before it falls in the gas becomes incredibly hot, so hot that it emits X-rays (which is how it was discovered). A portion of that gas does not fall into the black hole but instead is shot out as 'jets' of hot gas. The jet itself is not visible in this image but you can see the bowshock—the bluish umbrella-like shape at the top center of the image, that is produced when gas in the jet collides with other gas in the nebula. 

The bright orange gas to the left is the western edge of an emission nebula called Sharpless 101 (Sh2-101). The image was generated with observations in Hydrogen alpha (red) and Sulphur [S II] (blue) filters. In this image, North is up, East is to the left.

Distance: 6,070 light years 

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.

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

Release Date: June 30, 2020

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #CygnusX1 #BinaryStars #BlackHoles #Nebula #Sh2101 #Cygnus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #MayallTelescope #KPNO #Arizona #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Daring Mighty Things Together!

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Daring Mighty Things Together!

"The Jet Propulsion Laboratory holds a unique place in the universe. Here’s why."

"Located in Southern California, JPL is NASA’s leader in robotic exploration. We’ve sent rovers to Mars, probes into the farthest reaches of the solar system, and satellites to advance understanding of our home planet."

"Founded in 1936 as a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, JPL built and helped launch America’s first satellite, Explorer 1, in 1958. By the end of that year, Congress established NASA, and JPL became a part of the agency. Since then, JPL has continued to push the boundaries of what's possible, pioneering groundbreaking missions that expand our knowledge of the cosmos and inspire the next generation of explorers."

"We dare mighty things, together." 

Learn more about JPL: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Duration: 1 minute, 22 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 3, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Satellites #Explorer1 #Planets #Earth #Mars #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #RoboticExploration #Rovers #JPL #Caltech #Pasadena #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #History #HD #Video

Star Cluster & Nebula NGC 371 in The Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy | ESO

Star Cluster & Nebula NGC 371 in The Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy | ESO

This picture of the star cluster and surrounding nebula NGC 371 was taken using the FORS1 instrument on European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, at the Paranal Observatory in Chile. NGC 371 lies in the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way.

Distance: 200,000 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO) / Manu Mejias

Release Date: March 30, 2011

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #StarClusters #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC371 #Tucana #Constellation #SmallMagellanicCloud #SmallMagellanicCloud #SMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #Telescope #FORS1 #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

What's Up for September 2024? | Skywatching Tips from NASA

What's Up for September 2024? | Skywatching Tips from NASA

Examples of skywatching highlights in the northern hemisphere for September 2024:

Five planets each make appearances, the Harvest supermoon shows us a partial eclipse, then slices through the Pleiades. Plus International Observe the Moon Night and solar sail sightings!

0:00 Intro 

0:18 Sept. planets visibility

1:06 Moon & planet highlights

2:58 Solar sail visibility

3:38 International Observe the Moon Night

4:34 August photo highlights

4:48 September Moon phases

Video Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Duration: 5 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 3, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Skywatching #Earth #Moon #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #Pleiades #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #JPL #Caltech #Skywatching #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA Team Completes Artemis Emergency Egress System Demo at Launchpad

NASA Team Completes Artemis Emergency Egress System Demo at Launchpad

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center completed an emergency egress system demonstration throughout the course of several days at Launch Complex 39B ahead of the Artemis II test flight that will carry four astronauts around the Moon.

The EGS team practiced emergency procedures during day and nighttime launch scenarios with the closeout crew, the team responsible for helping the astronauts get inside the Orion spacecraft, and the Pad Rescue team that would aid personnel away from the launch pad in an emergency.

While the crew and other personnel will ride the emergency egress baskets in a real emergency, no one rode the baskets for this test. Instead, teams tested the baskets during separate occasions by using water tanks filled to different levels to simulate the weight of passengers. 

Learn more about the test: go.nasa.gov/4fW4vHc

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:

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

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

https://www.nasa.gov/sls

Credit: NASA 

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: Sept. 3, 2024  

#NASA #ESA #CSA #Space #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIIMission #ArtemisII #SLS #DeepSpace #Astronauts #EmergencyTraining #Egress #MoonToMars #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #NASAKennedy #LaunchComplex39B #MobileLauncher #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #Canada #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Chinese Astronauts Talk with African Youths: Forging Closer Relations

Chinese Astronauts Talk with African Youths: Forging Closer Relations

In 2022, a groundbreaking dialogue was held to forge closer ties between Chinese astronauts and African teenagers. China's Shenzhou-14 crew members Chen Dong, Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe, for the first time, had a direct dialogue with African teenagers via video link to share their space experience with eager students.

Adi, an 18-year-old boy from Ethiopia was among the attending students from eight African countries. They were learning the Chinese language and had long been interested in space.

"Today we are going to attend a long awaited event. Hurry up, let's go!" Abdi was so excited on his way to the African Union headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa—the venue for this event.

Abdi had questions for the astronauts that were sent into orbit in June 2022 to help assemble China's space station.

"What is the difference between living in space and living on Earth? How do you eat, sleep, and take baths in a weightless environment?" Abdi asked.

"In the space station, we have separate sleeping areas, but weightlessness always gives us the feeling of standing while sleeping," astronaut Liu Yang responded. Liu Yang became China's first woman in space in 2012 during the Shenzhou-9 Mission and had returned for her second mission to Tiangong Space Station.

"We have been provided with over 100 kinds of space food. Look, here's delicious purple rice porridge," astronaut Cai Xuzhe told Abdi.

Students from Algeria, Egypt, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, and South Africa also watched the dialogue via video link to learn about space from the astronauts.

Abdi wishes for more events like this. He also hopes that in the future, he can be the one to share knowledge of space with children.

Video Credit: CCTV Video Agency

Duration: 1 minute, 40 seconds

Release Date: Sept. 3, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Africa #Youth #Students #Ethiopia #China #中国 #Shenzhou14 #神舟十四号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ChenDong#LiuYang #CaiXuzhe #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #Microgravity #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Dark Horse & Blue Horsehead Nebulae

The Dark Horse & Blue Horsehead Nebulae

Astrophotographer Ian Inverarity: "I finally managed to get the data to finish this shot! An 8 panel mosaic (2 x 4) shot with a Nikon D810A, Sigma Art 135mm, mounted to a ZWO AM5 mount, controlled by an ASIAIR mini, focusing with a ZWO focuser. Stitching and initial processing in APP, final processing in PS. Around 45 hours of shooting for this shot, and this is half resolution!"

The Dark Horse Nebula or Great Dark Horse (sometimes called the Prancing Horse) is a large dark nebula that, from Earth's perspective, obscures part of the upper central bulge of the Milky Way. The Dark Horse lies in the equatorial constellation Ophiuchus (the Serpent Bearer), near its borders with the more famous constellations Scorpius and Sagittarius. 

The Blue Horsehead Nebula (IC 4592) is a reflection nebula in the Scorpius constellation that is lit by the Nu Scorpii star system.

Image Credit: Ian Inverarity

Release Date: Sept. 2, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #DarkHorseNebula #BlueHorseheadNebula #IC4592 #ReflectionNebula #Ophiuchus #Scorpius #Sagittarius #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotographer #IanInverarity #Astrophotography #Australia #STEM #Education

Supernova Remnant E0102 in Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy | Hubble

Supernova Remnant E0102 in Small Magellanic Cloud Galaxy | Hubble

In the nearby galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, a massive star exploded as a supernova, and has begun to dissipate its interior into a spectacular display of colorful filaments. The supernova remnant (SNR), known as "E0102" for short, is the greenish-blue shell of debris. Its name is derived from its cataloged placement (or coordinates) in the celestial sphere. More formally known as 1E0102.2-7219, it is located almost 50 light-years (15 parsecs) away from of the edge of the massive star-forming region, N 76, also known as Henize 1956, in the Small Magellanic Cloud.

The Small Magellanic Cloud is a dwarf galaxy close to our own Milky Way. It is visible in the Southern Hemisphere, in the direction of the constellation Tucana, and lies roughly 210,000 light-years distant.

The composition and thus, the coloring, of the diffuse remnant in comparison to its star-forming neighbor is due to the presence of very large quantities of oxygen compared to hydrogen. E0102 is a member of the oxygen-rich class of SNRs showing strong oxygen and other more metal-like abundances in its optical and X-ray spectra, and an absence of hydrogen and helium. N 76 in contrast is made up primarily of glowing hydrogen emission. One explanation for the abundance of oxygen in the SNR is that the parent star was very large and old, and had blown away most its hydrogen as stellar wind before it exploded. It is surmised that the progenitor star that caused the supernova explosion may have been a Wolf-Rayet.

These stars can be upward of 20 times the mass of the sun and tens of thousands times more luminous. They are famous for having a strong stellar wind throughout their lifetime. This stellar wind carried off material from the outer-most shells of the star (the hydrogen and helium shells), leaving the next most abundant element, oxygen, as a visible signature after the star exploded as a supernova. Determined to be only about 2,000 years old, E0102 is relatively young on astronomical scales and is just beginning its interactions with the nearby interstellar medium. Young supernova remnants like E0102 allow astronomers to examine material from the cores of massive stars directly. This in turn gives insight on how stars form, their composition, and the chemical enrichment of the surrounding area. As well, young remnants are a great learning tool to better understand the physics of supernova explosions.

Image Credits: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Image Dates: April 5, 2018 & Jan. 15, 2021

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #SmallMagellanicCloud #SMC #DwarfGalaxy #Stars #SupernovaRemnant #SNR #Henize1956 #N76 #Tucana #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Aurora Borealis over Scotland

Aurora Borealis over Scotland

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 which 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.

Learn more:
The Colors of the Aurora (National Park Service)
https://www.nps.gov/articles/-articles-aps-v8-i1-c9.htm

Image Credit & Copyright: Alan Tough
Location: Northeast Scotland, United Kingdom
Image Dates: Aug. 13-31, 2024 

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #Planet #Aurora #AuroraBorealis #NorthernLights #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #SolarWind #Sun #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #AlanTough #Bishopmill #Scotland #UK #UnitedKingdom #STEM #Education