Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) over Chile & Arizona

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) over Chile & Arizona

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) graces the dawn sky over the U.S. National Science Foundation's Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab, just outside Tucson, Arizona in this image. It was captured in the morning hours before sunrise on September 28, 2024, by Rob Sparks from NOIRLab. In the foreground is the McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) graces the sky over the U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, a Program of the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab in Chile and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF NOIRLab, just outside Tucson, Arizona.

Image Credit: H. Stockebrand / NOIRLab / KPNO / Rob Sparks / NSF / AURA

Image Dates: Sept. 28, 2024-Oct. 3, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planet #Earth #Comets #CometTsuchinshanATLAS #C2023A3 #OortCloud #SolarSystem #Astrophotography #Astrophotographers #HStockebrand #RobSparks #CTIO #AtacamaDesert #Chile #SouthAmerica #KPNO #Tucson #Arizona #UnitedStates #China #中国 #SouthAfrica #STEM #Education

Hera Spacecraft's Journey to Didymos Asteroid System | European Space Agency

Hera Spacecraft's Journey to Didymos Asteroid System | European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) Hera Mission will soon be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The launch window opens on October 7, 2024. The liftoff of ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defense is only the start . . . Its launch will be followed by a two-year cruise to the Didymos binary asteroid system. Next will come a sequence of deep space maneuvers, including a swingby of Mars to acquire extra velocity to aid the rendezvous with Didymos.

There is a mystery out there in deep space—and solving it will make Earth safer. This is why the European Space Agency’s Hera Mission is taking shape—to go where one particular spacecraft has gone before.

On September 26, 2022, moving at 6.1 km/s, NASA’s DART spacecraft crashed into the Dimorphos asteroid. Part of our Solar System changed. The impact shrunk the orbit of the Great Pyramid-sized Dimorphos around its parent asteroid, the mountain-sized Didymos.

This grand experiment was performed to prove we could defend Earth against an incoming asteroid, by striking it with a spacecraft to deflect it. DART succeeded. However, it still leaves many things scientists do not know: What is the precise mass and makeup of Dimorphos? What did the impact do to the asteroid? How large is the crater left by DART’s collision? Or has Dimorphos completely cracked apart, to be held together only by its own weak gravity?

This is why we are going back with the European Space Agency’s Hera Mission. The spacecraft will revisit Dimorphos to gather vital close-up data about the deflected body, to turn DART’s grand-scale experiment into a well-understood and potentially repeatable planetary defence technique.

The mission will also perform the most detailed exploration yet of a binary asteroid system—although binaries make up 15% of all known asteroids, one has never been surveyed in detail.

Hera will also perform technology demonstration experiments, including the deployment of the European Space Agency’s first deep space ‘CubeSats’—shoebox-sized spacecraft to venture closer than the main mission then eventually land—and an ambitious test of 'self-driving' for the main spacecraft, based on vision-based navigation.

By the end of Hera’s observations, Dimorphos will become the best studied asteroid in history. This is vital, because if a body of this size ever struck Earth it could destroy an entire city. The dinosaurs had no defence against asteroids, because they "never had a space agency." However, through Hera, we are teaching ourselves what we can do to reduce this hazard and make our space environment safer.

Learn more about the Hera Mission:

https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera

Video Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: April 15, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #Mars #Asteroids #Dimorphos #Didymos #Asteroid #HeraMission #HeraSpacecraft #Trajectory #CubeSats #Earth #PlanetaryDefense #DeepSpace #SolarSystem #Europe #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

Europe's Hera Planetary Defense Asteroid Mission: Preparing for Launch

Europe's Hera Planetary Defense Asteroid Mission: Preparing for Launch

The European Space Agency's Hera asteroid mission encapsulated within its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fairing in preparation for it to be attached. The fairing features the patches of Hera and its CubeSats Milani and Juventas, plus the European Space Agency (ESA) logo.

Hera spacecraft being enclosed within the two halves of its 13-m-high launcher fairing that will safeguard the spacecraft during its initial ascent through the atmosphere aboard its Falcon 9 rocket.

The team from OHB and ESA preparing the Hera asteroid mission for launch pose in front of the spacecraft in launch configuration—note the lack of 'red tag' items on its surface. OHB System AG, a subsidiary of the space and technology group OHB SE, developed, built, and tested the asteroid probe on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA).

ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defense seen with one of its two solar wings added, during its continuing test campaign at the ESTEC Test Center in the Netherlands.

The Hera spacecraft inside the Maxwell chamber for electromagnetic compatibility testing, checking its systems can operate without harmful interference. Note its 1.13-m diameter High Gain Antenna, its primary means of communicating with Earth, and its red-tagged Reaction Control Thrusters on each corner of the spacecraft. On the left side of the spacecraft is its ‘Asteroid Deck’, where Hera’s instruments are hosted. 

Hera systems engineer Pedro Escorial prepares the Juventas CubeSat for electromagnetic compatibility testing alongside its Hera mothership in ESA’s Maxwell chamber, part of Hera’s pre-flight test campaign at ESA’s Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Members of Hera’s testing team prepare for electromagnetic compatibility testing during the mission’s pre-flight test campaign at ESA’s Test Center in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Hera Mission patch

The European Space Agency (ESA) Hera Mission will soon be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The launch window opens on October 7, 2024. There is a mystery out there in deep space—and solving it will make Earth safer. This is why ESA’s Hera Mission is taking shape—to go where one particular spacecraft has gone before.

On September 26, 2022, moving at 6.1 km/s, NASA’s DART spacecraft crashed into the Dimorphos asteroid. Part of our Solar System changed. The impact shrunk the orbit of the Great Pyramid-sized Dimorphos around its parent asteroid, the mountain-sized Didymos.

This grand experiment was performed to prove we could defend Earth against an incoming asteroid, by striking it with a spacecraft to deflect it. DART succeeded. However, it still leaves many things scientists do not know: What is the precise mass and makeup of Dimorphos? What did the impact do to the asteroid? How large is the crater left by DART’s collision? Or has Dimorphos completely cracked apart, to be held together only by its own weak gravity?

This is why we are going back with the European Space Agency’s Hera Mission. The spacecraft will revisit Dimorphos to gather vital close-up data about the deflected body, to turn DART’s grand-scale experiment into a well-understood and potentially repeatable planetary defence technique.

The mission will also perform the most detailed exploration yet of a binary asteroid system—although binaries make up 15% of all known asteroids, one has never been surveyed in detail.

Hera will also perform technology demonstration experiments, including the deployment of the European Space Agency’s first deep space ‘CubeSats’—shoebox-sized spacecraft to venture closer than the main mission then eventually land—and an ambitious test of 'self-driving' for the main spacecraft, based on vision-based navigation.

By the end of Hera’s observations, Dimorphos will become the best studied asteroid in history. This is vital, because if a body of this size ever struck Earth it could destroy an entire city. The dinosaurs had no defense against asteroids, because they "never had a space agency." However, through Hera, we are teaching ourselves what we can do to reduce this hazard and make our space environment safer.

The Hera mission has 18 participating ESA Member States plus Japan (supplying the TIRI instrument). Notably German industry is leading the mission while Italy is providing the propulsion and Spain and Romania developed Hera’s innovative guidance, navigation and control system. The Hera Science Team involves scientists from all ESA Member States, Japan, the US and other non-European countries.

OHB System AG, a subsidiary of the space and technology group OHB SE, developed, built, and tested the asteroid probe on behalf of the European Space Agency (ESA).

Learn more about the Hera Mission:

https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera

Image Credits: European Space Agency (ESA)/SpaceX

Release Dates: Nov. 30, 2023-Oct. 4, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Asteroids #Dimorphos #Didymos #Asteroid #Hera #HeraSpacecraft #CubeSats #Earth #PlanetaryDefense #DeepSpace #SolarSystem #Europe #STEM #Education

Solving Asteroid Mysteries | Europe's Hera Planetary Defense Mission

Solving Asteroid Mysteries | Europe's Hera Planetary Defense Mission

There is a mystery out there in deep space—and solving it will make Earth safer. This is why the European Space Agency’s Hera Mission is taking shape—to go where one particular spacecraft has gone before.

On September 26, 2022, moving at 6.1 km/s, NASA’s DART spacecraft crashed into the Dimorphos asteroid. Part of our Solar System changed. The impact shrunk the orbit of the Great Pyramid-sized Dimorphos around its parent asteroid, the mountain-sized Didymos.

This grand experiment was performed to prove we could defend Earth against an incoming asteroid, by striking it with a spacecraft to deflect it. DART succeeded. However, it still leaves many things scientists do not know: What is the precise mass and makeup of Dimorphos? What did the impact do to the asteroid? How large is the crater left by DART’s collision? Or has Dimorphos completely cracked apart, to be held together only by its own weak gravity?

This is why we are going back with the European Space Agency’s Hera Mission. The spacecraft will revisit Dimorphos to gather vital close-up data about the deflected body, to turn DART’s grand-scale experiment into a well-understood and potentially repeatable planetary defence technique.

The mission will also perform the most detailed exploration yet of a binary asteroid system—although binaries make up 15% of all known asteroids, one has never been surveyed in detail.

Hera will also perform technology demonstration experiments, including the deployment of the European Space Agency’s first deep space ‘CubeSats’—shoebox-sized spacecraft to venture closer than the main mission then eventually land—and an ambitious test of 'self-driving' for the main spacecraft, based on vision-based navigation.

By the end of Hera’s observations, Dimorphos will become the best studied asteroid in history. This is vital, because if a body of this size ever struck Earth it could destroy an entire city. The dinosaurs had no defence against asteroids, because they "never had a space agency." However, through Hera, we are teaching ourselves what we can do to reduce this hazard and make our space environment safer.

Learn more about the Hera Mission:

https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera

Video Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 24, 2024 

#NASA #ESA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Asteroids #Dimorphos #Didymos #Asteroid #Hera #HeraSpacecraft #CubeSats #Earth #PlanetaryDefense #DeepSpace #SolarSystem #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Galaxy NGC 2903 in Leo | Hubble Space Telescop

Galaxy NGC 2903 in Leo | Hubble Space Telescope

Few of the Universe’s residents are as iconic as the spiral galaxy. These limelight-hogging celestial objects combine whirling, pinwheeling arms with scatterings of sparkling stars, glowing bursts of gas, and dark, weaving lanes of cosmic dust, creating truly awesome scenes—especially when viewed through a telescope, such as the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. In fact, this image from Hubble frames a perfect spiral specimen: the stunning NGC 2903.

NGC 2903 is located about 30 million light-years away in the constellation of Leo (The Lion), and was studied as part of a Hubble survey of the central regions of roughly 145 nearby disc galaxies. This study aimed to help astronomers better understand the relationship between the black holes that lurk at the cores of galaxies like these, and the rugby-ball-shaped bulge of stars, gas, and dust at the galaxy’s center—such as that seen in this image.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, L. Ho et al.

Release Date: April 29, 2019

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC2903 #SpiralGalaxy #Leo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Star Cluster Westerlund 1 in Ara: Wide-field view | James Webb Space Telescope

 Star Cluster Westerlund 1 in Ara: Wide-field view | James Webb Space Telescope

The open cluster Westerlund 1 is located roughly 12,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Ara (the Altar) where it resides behind a huge interstellar cloud of gas and dust. It was discovered in 1961 from Australia by Swedish astronomer Bengt Westerlund. Westerlund 1 is an incomparable natural laboratory for the study of extreme stellar physics, helping astronomers to find out how the most massive stars in our Galaxy live and die.

The unique draw of Westerlund 1 is its large, dense, and diverse population of massive stars, which has no counterpart in other known Milky Way galaxy clusters in terms of the number of stars and the richness of spectral types and evolutionary phases. All stars identified in this cluster are evolved and very massive, spanning the full range of stellar classifications including Wolf-Rayet stars, OB supergiants, yellow hypergiants (nearly as bright as a million Suns) and luminous blue variables. Because such stars have a rather short life, Westerlund 1 is very young, astronomically speaking. Astronomers estimate the cluster’s age to be somewhere between 3.5 and 5 million years (its exact age is still a matter of debate), making it a newborn cluster in our galaxy. In the future, it is believed that it will likely evolve from an open cluster into a globular cluster. These are roughly spherical, tightly packed collections of old stars bound together by gravity.

Currently, only a handful of stars form in our galaxy each year, but in the past the situation was different. The Milky Way galaxy used to produce many more stars, likely hitting its peak of churning out dozens or hundreds of stars per year about 10 billion years ago and then gradually declining ever since. Astronomers think that most of this star formation took place in massive clusters of stars, known as “super star clusters”. These are young clusters of stars that contain more than 10,000 times the mass of the Sun, packed into an unbelievably small volume. They represent the most extreme environments in which stars and planets can form. Only a few super star clusters still exist in our galaxy—Westerlund 1 is one—but they offer important clues about this earlier era when most of our galaxy’s stars formed.

Westerlund 1 is an impressive example of a super star cluster: it contains hundreds of very massive stars, a number shining with a brilliance of almost one million Suns and others two thousand times larger than the Sun (as large as the orbit of Saturn). Indeed, if the Solar System was located at the heart of this remarkable cluster, our sky would be full of hundreds of stars as bright as the full Moon. It appears to be the most massive compact young cluster yet identified in the Milky Way galaxy: astronomers believe that this extreme cluster contains between 50,000 and 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, yet all of its stars are located within a region less than six light-years across. Even so, it is the biggest of these remaining super star clusters in the Milky Way galaxy, and the closest super star cluster to Earth. These qualities make Westerlund 1 an excellent target for studying the impact of a super star cluster’s environment on the formation process of stars and planets, as well as the evolution of stars over a broad range of masses.

The huge population of massive stars in Westerlund 1 suggests that it will have a very significant impact on its surroundings. The cluster contains so many massive stars that in a time span of less than 40 million years, it will be the site of more than 1,500 supernovae. This super star cluster now provides astronomers with a unique perspective towards one of the most extreme environments in the Universe. Westerlund 1 will certainly provide new opportunities in the long-standing quest for more and finer details about how stars, and especially massive stars, form.

This image was captured as part of the The Extended Westerlund 1 and 2 Open Clusters Survey (EWOCS) with Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). This survey is a dedicated Webb program (GO 1905, PI: M. G. Guarcello) that aims to study star and planet formation and stellar evolution in starburst regions in Westerlund 1 and Westerlund 2, two of the closest super star clusters to the Sun.

With its unparalleled performance in the infrared, Webb offers astronomers the opportunity to unveil the population of low-mass stars in local super star clusters for the first time, and to study the environments around these clusters’ most massive stars. Webb observations of the massive stars in super star clusters can shed light on how feedback (stellar winds, supernovae and other ejected material) from these stars impacts their surrounding environments and the overall star formation process within their parental clouds. 

Image Description: A dense cluster of bright stars, each with six large and two small diffraction spikes, due to the telescope’s optics. They have a variety of sizes depending on their brightness and distance from us in the cluster, and different colors reflecting different types of star. Patches of billowing red gas can be seen in and around the cluster, lit up by the stars. Small stars in the cluster blend into a background of distant stars and galaxies on black.

Credit: European Space Agency/Webb, NASA & Canadian Space Agency, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), M. G. Guarcello (INAF-OAPA) and the EWOCS team

Release Date: Oct. 4, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #StarClusters #Westerlund1 #StarCluster #Stars #HypergiantStars #RedSupergiants #Ara #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #JWST #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education

Pan of Star Cluster Westerlund 1 in Ara | James Webb Space Telescope

Pan of Star Cluster Westerlund 1 in Ara | James Webb Space Telescope

The open cluster Westerlund 1 is located roughly 12,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Ara (the Altar) where it resides behind a huge interstellar cloud of gas and dust. It was discovered in 1961 from Australia by Swedish astronomer Bengt Westerlund. Westerlund 1 is an incomparable natural laboratory for the study of extreme stellar physics, helping astronomers to find out how the most massive stars in our Galaxy live and die.

The unique draw of Westerlund 1 is its large, dense, and diverse population of massive stars, which has no counterpart in other known Milky Way galaxy clusters in terms of the number of stars and the richness of spectral types and evolutionary phases. All stars identified in this cluster are evolved and very massive, spanning the full range of stellar classifications including Wolf-Rayet stars, OB supergiants, yellow hypergiants (nearly as bright as a million Suns) and luminous blue variables. Because such stars have a rather short life, Westerlund 1 is very young, astronomically speaking. Astronomers estimate the cluster’s age to be somewhere between 3.5 and 5 million years (its exact age is still a matter of debate), making it a newborn cluster in our galaxy. In the future, it is believed that it will likely evolve from an open cluster into a globular cluster. These are roughly spherical, tightly packed collections of old stars bound together by gravity.

Currently, only a handful of stars form in our galaxy each year, but in the past the situation was different. The Milky Way galaxy used to produce many more stars, likely hitting its peak of churning out dozens or hundreds of stars per year about 10 billion years ago and then gradually declining ever since. Astronomers think that most of this star formation took place in massive clusters of stars, known as “super star clusters”. These are young clusters of stars that contain more than 10,000 times the mass of the Sun, packed into an unbelievably small volume. They represent the most extreme environments in which stars and planets can form. Only a few super star clusters still exist in our galaxy—Westerlund 1 is one—but they offer important clues about this earlier era when most of our galaxy’s stars formed.

Westerlund 1 is an impressive example of a super star cluster: it contains hundreds of very massive stars, a number shining with a brilliance of almost one million Suns and others two thousand times larger than the Sun (as large as the orbit of Saturn). Indeed, if the Solar System was located at the heart of this remarkable cluster, our sky would be full of hundreds of stars as bright as the full Moon. It appears to be the most massive compact young cluster yet identified in the Milky Way galaxy: astronomers believe that this extreme cluster contains between 50,000 and 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, yet all of its stars are located within a region less than six light-years across. Even so, it is the biggest of these remaining super star clusters in the Milky Way galaxy, and the closest super star cluster to Earth. These qualities make Westerlund 1 an excellent target for studying the impact of a super star cluster’s environment on the formation process of stars and planets, as well as the evolution of stars over a broad range of masses.

The huge population of massive stars in Westerlund 1 suggests that it will have a very significant impact on its surroundings. The cluster contains so many massive stars that in a time span of less than 40 million years, it will be the site of more than 1,500 supernovae. This super star cluster now provides astronomers with a unique perspective towards one of the most extreme environments in the Universe. Westerlund 1 will certainly provide new opportunities in the long-standing quest for more and finer details about how stars, and especially massive stars, form.

This image was captured as part of the The Extended Westerlund 1 and 2 Open Clusters Survey (EWOCS) with Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). This survey is a dedicated Webb program (GO 1905, PI: M. G. Guarcello) that aims to study star and planet formation and stellar evolution in starburst regions in Westerlund 1 and Westerlund 2, two of the closest super star clusters to the Sun.

With its unparalleled performance in the infrared, Webb offers astronomers the opportunity to unveil the population of low-mass stars in local super star clusters for the first time, and to study the environments around these clusters’ most massive stars. Webb observations of the massive stars in super star clusters can shed light on how feedback (stellar winds, supernovae and other ejected material) from these stars impacts their surrounding environments and the overall star formation process within their parental clouds. 

Image Description: A dense cluster of bright stars, each with six large and two small diffraction spikes, due to the telescope’s optics. They have a variety of sizes depending on their brightness and distance from us in the cluster, and different colors reflecting different types of star. Patches of billowing red gas can be seen in and around the cluster, lit up by the stars. Small stars in the cluster blend into a background of distant stars and galaxies on black.

Video Credit: European Space Agency/Webb, NASA & Canadian Space Agency, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), M. G. Guarcello (INAF-OAPA) and the EWOCS team, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)

Duration: 45 seconds

Release Date: Oct. 4, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #StarClusters #Westerlund1 #StarCluster #Stars #HypergiantStars #RedSupergiants #Ara #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #JWST #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Star Cluster Westerlund 1 in Ara | James Webb Space Telescope

Star Cluster Westerlund 1 in Ara | James Webb Space Telescope

The open cluster Westerlund 1 is located roughly 12,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Ara (the Altar) where it resides behind a huge interstellar cloud of gas and dust. It was discovered in 1961 from Australia by Swedish astronomer Bengt Westerlund. Westerlund 1 is an incomparable natural laboratory for the study of extreme stellar physics, helping astronomers to find out how the most massive stars in our Galaxy live and die.

The unique draw of Westerlund 1 is its large, dense, and diverse population of massive stars, which has no counterpart in other known Milky Way galaxy clusters in terms of the number of stars and the richness of spectral types and evolutionary phases. All stars identified in this cluster are evolved and very massive, spanning the full range of stellar classifications including Wolf-Rayet stars, OB supergiants, yellow hypergiants (nearly as bright as a million Suns) and luminous blue variables. Because such stars have a rather short life, Westerlund 1 is very young, astronomically speaking. Astronomers estimate the cluster’s age to be somewhere between 3.5 and 5 million years (its exact age is still a matter of debate), making it a newborn cluster in our galaxy. In the future, it is believed that it will likely evolve from an open cluster into a globular cluster. These are roughly spherical, tightly packed collections of old stars bound together by gravity.

Currently, only a handful of stars form in our galaxy each year, but in the past the situation was different. The Milky Way galaxy used to produce many more stars, likely hitting its peak of churning out dozens or hundreds of stars per year about 10 billion years ago and then gradually declining ever since. Astronomers think that most of this star formation took place in massive clusters of stars, known as “super star clusters”. These are young clusters of stars that contain more than 10,000 times the mass of the Sun, packed into an unbelievably small volume. They represent the most extreme environments in which stars and planets can form. Only a few super star clusters still exist in our galaxy—Westerlund 1 is one—but they offer important clues about this earlier era when most of our galaxy’s stars formed.

Westerlund 1 is an impressive example of a super star cluster: it contains hundreds of very massive stars, a number shining with a brilliance of almost one million Suns and others two thousand times larger than the Sun (as large as the orbit of Saturn). Indeed, if the Solar System was located at the heart of this remarkable cluster, our sky would be full of hundreds of stars as bright as the full Moon. It appears to be the most massive compact young cluster yet identified in the Milky Way galaxy: astronomers believe that this extreme cluster contains between 50,000 and 100,000 times the mass of the Sun, yet all of its stars are located within a region less than six light-years across. Even so, it is the biggest of these remaining super star clusters in the Milky Way galaxy, and the closest super star cluster to Earth. These qualities make Westerlund 1 an excellent target for studying the impact of a super star cluster’s environment on the formation process of stars and planets, as well as the evolution of stars over a broad range of masses.

The huge population of massive stars in Westerlund 1 suggests that it will have a very significant impact on its surroundings. The cluster contains so many massive stars that in a time span of less than 40 million years, it will be the site of more than 1,500 supernovae. This super star cluster now provides astronomers with a unique perspective towards one of the most extreme environments in the Universe. Westerlund 1 will certainly provide new opportunities in the long-standing quest for more and finer details about how stars, and especially massive stars, form.

This image was captured as part of the The Extended Westerlund 1 and 2 Open Clusters Survey (EWOCS) with Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam). This survey is a dedicated Webb program (GO 1905, PI: M. G. Guarcello) that aims to study star and planet formation and stellar evolution in starburst regions in Westerlund 1 and Westerlund 2, two of the closest super star clusters to the Sun.

With its unparalleled performance in the infrared, Webb offers astronomers the opportunity to unveil the population of low-mass stars in local super star clusters for the first time, and to study the environments around these clusters’ most massive stars. Webb observations of the massive stars in super star clusters can shed light on how feedback (stellar winds, supernovae and other ejected material) from these stars impacts their surrounding environments and the overall star formation process within their parental clouds. 

Image Description: A dense cluster of bright stars, each with six large and two small diffraction spikes, due to the telescope’s optics. They have a variety of sizes depending on their brightness and distance from us in the cluster, and different colors reflecting different types of star. Patches of billowing red gas can be seen in and around the cluster, lit up by the stars. Small stars in the cluster blend into a background of distant stars and galaxies on black.

Credit: European Space Agency/Webb, NASA & Canadian Space Agency, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), M. G. Guarcello (INAF-OAPA) and the EWOCS team

Release Date: Oct. 4, 2024

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #StarClusters #Westerlund1 #StarCluster #Stars #HypergiantStars #RedSupergiants #Ara #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #JWST #SpaceTelescope #STScI #GSFC #UnitedStates #Europe #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education

NASA's SpaceX Crew-8: Science & Technology Work | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-8: Science & Technology Work | International Space Station

NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin are returning to Earth after several months aboard the International Space Station conducting scientific experiments and technology demonstrations for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission. 

Here’s a look at some scientific milestones accomplished during their mission: https://go.nasa.gov/3Bmlkv2

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Producer: Nicole Rose

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceXCrew8 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #MikeBarratt #JeanetteEpps #MatthewDominick #AlexanderGrebenkin #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #CCP #Expedition72 #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Space to Ground: Crew-9 Arrival | Week of Oct. 4, 2024

NASA's Space to Ground: Crew-9 Arrival | Week of Oct. 4, 2024

NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 mission that began with a launch to the orbital outpost on March 3, 2024, is coming to an end and its four crew members will share their farewell message at 9:55 a.m. EDT on Sunday, October 6. 

NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin will return to Earth aboard SpaceX Dragon Endeavour next week on a date soon to be announced by NASA and SpaceX officials.

Expedition 72 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 72 Crew

Station Commander: Suni Williams

Roscosmos (Russia): Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov

NASA: Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, Nick Hague

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)

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

Duration: 3 minutes, 20 seconds

Release Date: Oct. 4, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceXCrew8 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #CCP #Expedition72 #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tras la nave espacial Europa Clipper, con la ingeniera de sistemas Valeria Salazar

Tras la nave espacial Europa Clipper, con la ingeniera de sistemas Valeria Salazar

Conoce a Valeria Salazar, una ingeniera de sistemas de la NASA que ayudó a integrar y ensamblar los cientos de componentes que conforman Europa Clipper, una nave espacial diseñada para explorar Europa, una luna de Júpiter que probablemente alberga un vasto océano de agua líquida bajo su superficie helada.

De niña en México, Valeria soñaba con trabajar para la NASA y ahora forma parte de un equipo que intenta responder a la pregunta: ¿tiene Europa las condiciones adecuadas para albergar vida más allá de la Tierra?

Europa Clipper se lanzará en octubre de 2024 desde el Centro Espacial Kennedy de la NASA en Florida. Llegará a Júpiter en 2030. La misión está gestionada por el Laboratorio de Propulsión a Chorro de la NASA, en el sur de California, y cuenta con la colaboración del Laboratorio de Física Aplicada Johns Hopkins, en Laurel, Maryland.

Para más información sobre la misión, visita: https://ciencia.nasa.gov/mission/europaclipper/

Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: Oct. 3, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #Ocean #Astrobiology #Biosignatures #Habitability #SystemsEngineer #Radiation #EuropaClipper #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #APL #MSFC #GSFC #JPL #KSC #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

Assembling The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope | NASA

Assembling The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope | NASA

As NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy, the late Dr. Nancy Grace Roman paved the way for space telescopes and for women in the sciences. She is credited with making NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope a reality. In September 2024, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope passed a key milestone and was approved for the next stage of construction. Work on the main systems that will make up the final spacecraft is finishing, and the team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center is ready to begin integration, the process of connecting them together. 

This video celebrates the effort to reach the final stages of assembly.

Learn more about Dr. Nancy Grace Roman: https://science.nasa.gov/people/nancy-roman/

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope:

https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov

https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/interactive/

Launching no later than May 2027, Roman is NASA’s next flagship mission.  An infrared survey telescope with the same resolution as Hubble, but 100 times the field of view, Roman is being built and tested at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Partners from across the country are contributing to this effort.  

Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Producer: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)

Videographers: Sophia Roberts (eMITS)

Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)

Jolearra Tshiteya (ASRC Federal)

Public affairs officer: Claire Andreoli (NASA/GSFC)

Editor: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS)

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: Oct. 2, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Women #Leaders #Pioneers #NancyGraceRoman #Astronomer #History #RomanSpaceTelescope #Exoplanets #Planets #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Stars #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #JPL #GSFC #STScI #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Arrival of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon Spacecraft | International Space Station

Arrival of NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon Spacecraft | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit: "Here Be Dragons! The approach and docking sequence naturally draws our crew to a window; in this case, about five of us were crowded in Dragon Crew-8 to watch Dragon Crew-9 dock. With everyone bouncing around for a peek out the window, this photo was a quick handheld snap, complete with window reflections and streaky stars. This Dragon snorts fire! Welcome aboard Crew-9!"

Technical details: Nikon Z9, 85mm f1.4, 1/3 sec, ISO 12800

The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov approaches the International Space Station as it orbited 259 miles above Oregon.

The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov approaches the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Ontario, Canada, near James Bay.

The SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov approaches the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Ontario, Canada, near James Bay.

Sept. 29, 2024: International Space Station Configuration. Six spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragons Endeavour and Freedom, the Northrop Grumman resupply ship, the Soyuz MS-26 crew ship, and the Progress 88 and 89 resupply ships.

Crew-9 Mission Commander & Pilot: NASA Astronaut Nick Hague

Crew-9 Mission Specialist & Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia

NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 Mission Emblem

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. Their Crew-9 SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft docked to the orbiting complex at 5:30 p.m. EDT while the station was 260 statute miles over Botswana.

Hague and Gorbunov were then welcomed by the space station’s Expedition 72 crew, including NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps, Don Petitt, Butch Wilmore, and Suni Williams, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner of Russia.

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.

Expedition 72 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 72 Crew

Station Commander: Suni Williams

Roscosmos (Russia): Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov

NASA: Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, Nick Hague

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

Capture Date: Sept. 29, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #SpaceXCrew9 #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #SpacecraftDocking #Astronaut #NickHague #Cosmonaut #AleksandrGorbunov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #CCP #Expedition72 #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Sun Releases Strongest Solar Flare (X9.0) of Solar Cycle 25 So Far | NASA SDO

Sun Releases Strongest Solar Flare (X9.0) of Solar Cycle 25 So Far | NASA SDO

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a X9.0 solar flare—seen as the bright flash in the center—on Oct. 3, 2024. The image shows subsets of extreme ultraviolet light that highlight the extremely hot material in flares, colorized in red and gold. The Sun, shown in red and yellow, with several darker red and bright yellow spots. In the middle is a very bright white and yellow burst of energy with lines going in multiple directions, like a star.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an X9.0 solar flare—as seen in the bright flash in the center—on Oct. 03, 2024. The image shows a blend of 171 Angstrom, and 131 Angstrom light, subsets of extreme ultraviolet light.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this imagery of an X9.0 solar flare—as seen in the bright flash in the center—on Oct. 03, 2024. The imagery shows a blend of 171 Angstrom, and 131 Angstrom light, subsets of extreme ultraviolet light.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an X9.0 solar flare—as seen in the bright flash in the center—on Oct. 03, 2024. The image shows 193 Angstrom extreme ultraviolet light.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of an X9.0 solar flare—as seen in the bright flash in the center—on Oct. 03, 2024. The image shows 131 Angstrom extreme ultraviolet light. It highlights the extremely hot plasma of the flare.

The Sun emitted a strong solar flare in Active Region 3842, peaking at 8:18 a.m. ET on Oct. 3, 2024. The was the largest flare so far since the start of Solar Cycle 25 in 2019. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) watches the Sun constantly and captured imagery of the event.

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.

This flare is classified as an X9.0 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. 

To see how such space weather may affect Earth, please visit NOAA’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 Credit: NASA/SDO

Release Date: Oct. 3, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Earth #Moon #SpaceWeather #Sun #Star #Solar #SolarFlares #Sunspots #SolarCycle25 #Ultraviolet #Plasma #MagneticField #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Physics #Spacecraft #Satellites #ElectricalGrids #SDO #SolarSystem #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA Espacio a Tierra | Viaje de negocios: 27 de septiembre de 2024

NASA Espacio a Tierra | Viaje de negocios: 27 de septiembre de 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/

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

Duration: 4 minutes, 21 seconds

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #NASAenespañol #español #SpaceXCrew9 #Kazakhstan #SoyuzSpacecraft #SoyuzMS25 #Astronaut #TracyDyson #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #OlegKononenko #NikolaiChub #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition71 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

How Do Astronauts Drink Coffee in Space? | International Space Station

How Do Astronauts Drink Coffee in Space? | International Space Station

"Sometimes coffee IS out of this world! Whether it’s sipping from the space cup or through a drink bag, learn how astronauts enjoy a cup of joe aboard the International Space Station."

Expedition 72 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 72 Crew

Station Commander: Suni Williams

Roscosmos (Russia): Alexander Grebenkin, Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov

NASA: Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps, Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, Nick Hague

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 (JSC)

Duration: 1 minute, 32 seconds

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2024

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Drinks #Beverages #Coffee #SpaceTechnology #Astronauts #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #Expedition72 #HumanSpaceflight #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video