Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Supply Mission Recap | China Space Station

Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Supply Mission Recap | China Space Station

China's Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the orbiting Tiangong Space Station on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 2:32am Beijing time, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced. Tianzhou-8 completed a 3-hour rapid autonomous rendezvous and docking approach. This will mark the establishment of a standard docking mode for future missions that combines efficiency with reliability. The Shenzhou-19 crew, sent to the China Space Station on October 30, have entered the cargo spacecraft and begun to transfer items as scheduled.

China launched the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in its southern island province of Hainan using a Long March-7 Y9 carrier rocket on Friday night, November 15, 2024 at 11:32pm Beijing time. After about 10 minutes, the Tianzhou-8 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. Its solar panels then unfolded. Tianzhou-8 has delivered supplies for the orbiting Tiangong Space Station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). 

Alongside astronaut supplies and experimental equipment, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft carries bricks made of varying compositions from simulated lunar soil to the Tiangong Space Station. These bricks will undergo exposure tests to assess their durability in extreme conditions and their potential use in constructing lunar stations.

Compared to its predecessors, Tianzhou-6 and Tianzhou-7, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft boasts a larger cargo capacity—an increase of more than 200 more liters of space and more than 100 kilograms of cargo load.

Shenzhou-19 Crew:

Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)
Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽)
Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 1 minute, 47 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 16, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #LongMarch7Y9Rocket #Tianzhou8 #CargoSpacecraft #Docking #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #CLEP #WenchangSLS #Hainan #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Enter The Dragon | International Space Station

Enter The Dragon | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Don Pettit: "Floating down the dark tunnel leading to Crew-9 Dragon last month, when it was docked to the International Space Station. Node 2 forward."

The SpaceX Dragon Freedom crew spacecraft is assigned to NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 Mission.

Learn more about SpaceX's Dragon Spacecraft:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/dragon/

Enter the Dragon (Chinese: 龍爭虎鬥) is a 1973 martial arts film directed by Robert Clouse and written by Michael Allin. The film stars Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Ahna Capri, Bob Wall, Shih Kien and Jim Kelly. Enter the Dragon was Bruce Lee's final completed film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973, at the age of 32. An American-Hong Kong co-production, the film was premiered in Los Angeles on August 19, 1973, one month after Lee's death.

Expedition 72 Updates:

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

Expedition 72 Crew
Station Commander: Suni Williams
Roscosmos (Russia): Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov
NASA: 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.

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)/D. Pettit

Duration: 22 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #SpaceX #CrewDragonSpacecraft #SpaceXCrewDragonFreedom #Astronauts #DonPettit #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #LongDurationMissions #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #CommercialSpace #UnitedStates #Expedition72 #FilmHistory #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Wide-field View: Dark Nebula LDN 483 in Serpens (The Serpent)

Wide-field View: Dark Nebula LDN 483 in Serpens (The Serpent)

Wide-field view of the sky around dark nebula LDN 483. This visible-light wide-field image of the region around the dark nebula LDN 483 was created from photographs forming part of the Digitized Sky Survey 2. LDN 483 appears at the center.

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

Where did all the stars go? This dark cloud obscures hundreds of background stars. LDN 483 is a region of space clogged with gas and dust. These materials are dense enough to effectively eclipse the light of background stars. LDN 483 is located about 700 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent).

Particularly dense molecular clouds, like LDN 483, qualify as dark nebulae because of this obscuring property. The starless nature of LDN 483 and its ilk would suggest that they are sites where stars cannot take root and grow. However, the opposite is true. Dark nebulae offer the most fertile environments for eventual star formation.

Astronomers studying star formation in LDN 483 have discovered examples of the youngest observable kinds of baby stars buried in LDN 483’s shrouded interior. These gestating stars can be thought of as still being in the womb, having not yet been born as complete, albeit immature, stars.

In this first stage of stellar development, the star-to-be is just a ball of gas and dust contracting under the force of gravity within the surrounding molecular cloud. The protostar is still quite cool — about –250 degrees Celsius—and shines only in long-wavelength submillimeter light. Yet temperature and pressure are beginning to increase in the fledgling star’s core.

This earliest period of star growth lasts a mere thousands of years, an astonishingly short amount of time in astronomical terms, given that stars typically live for millions or billions of years. In the following stages, over the course of several million years, the protostar will grow warmer and denser. Its emission will increase in energy along the way, graduating from mainly cold, far-infrared light to near-infrared and finally to visible light. The once-dim protostar will have then become a fully luminous star.

As more and more stars emerge from the inky depths of LDN 483, the dark nebula will disperse further and lose its opacity. The missing background stars that are currently hidden will then come into view—but only after the passage of millions of years, and they will be outshone by the bright young-born stars in the cloud.

Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae (abbreviation: LDN) is an astronomical catalogue of dark nebulae. Objects listed in the catalog are numbered with the prefix LDN. Beverly Turner Lynds (August 19, 1929 – October 5, 2024) was best known for compiling two astronomical catalogues in the 1960s, Lynds' Catalogue of Bright Nebulae and Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae. We honor her many lasting contributions to astronomical science.

Credit: European Southern Observatory and Digitized Sky Survey 2
Release Date: Jan. 7, 2015

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #DarkNebula #LDN483 #SerpensCauda #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Chile #Europe #DSS2 #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Journey to Dark Nebula LDN 483 in Serpens (The Serpent)

Journey to Dark Nebula LDN 483 in Serpens (The Serpent)

Where did all the stars go? This dark cloud obscures hundreds of background stars. The Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile snapped this image of the dark nebula LDN 483. The object is a region of space clogged with gas and dust. These materials are dense enough to effectively eclipse the light of background stars. LDN 483 is located about 700 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent).

Particularly dense molecular clouds, like LDN 483, qualify as dark nebulae because of this obscuring property. The starless nature of LDN 483 and its ilk would suggest that they are sites where stars cannot take root and grow. However, the opposite is true. Dark nebulae offer the most fertile environments for eventual star formation.

Astronomers studying star formation in LDN 483 have discovered examples of the youngest observable kinds of baby stars buried in LDN 483’s shrouded interior. These gestating stars can be thought of as still being in the womb, having not yet been born as complete, albeit immature, stars.

In this first stage of stellar development, the star-to-be is just a ball of gas and dust contracting under the force of gravity within the surrounding molecular cloud. The protostar is still quite cool—about –250 degrees Celsius—and shines only in long-wavelength submillimeter light. Yet temperature and pressure are beginning to increase in the fledgling star’s core.

This earliest period of star growth lasts a mere thousands of years, an astonishingly short amount of time in astronomical terms, given that stars typically live for millions or billions of years. In the following stages, over the course of several million years, the protostar will grow warmer and denser. Its emission will increase in energy along the way, graduating from mainly cold, far-infrared light to near-infrared and finally to visible light. The once-dim protostar will have then become a fully luminous star.

As more and more stars emerge from the inky depths of LDN 483, the dark nebula will disperse further and lose its opacity. The missing background stars that are currently hidden will then come into view—but only after the passage of millions of years, and they will be outshone by the bright young-born stars in the cloud.

Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae (abbreviation: LDN) is an astronomical catalogue of dark nebulae. Objects listed in the catalog are numbered with the prefix LDN. Beverly Turner Lynds (August 19, 1929 – October 5, 2024) was best known for compiling two astronomical catalogues in the 1960s, Lynds' Catalogue of Bright Nebulae and Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae. We honor her many lasting contributions to astronomical science.

Learn about the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/

Credit: European Southern Observatory

Duration: 50 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 7, 2015

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #DarkNebula #LDN483 #SerpensCauda #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MPGESOTelescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up: Dark Nebula LDN 483 in Serpens (The Serpent) | MPG/ESO Telescope

Close-up: Dark Nebula LDN 483 in Serpens (The Serpent) | MPG/ESO Telescope

Where did all the stars go? This dark cloud obscures hundreds of background stars. The Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile snapped this image of the dark nebula LDN 483. The object is a region of space clogged with gas and dust. These materials are dense enough to effectively eclipse the light of background stars. LDN 483 is located about 700 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent).

Particularly dense molecular clouds, like LDN 483, qualify as dark nebulae because of this obscuring property. The starless nature of LDN 483 and its ilk would suggest that they are sites where stars cannot take root and grow. However, the opposite is true. Dark nebulae offer the most fertile environments for eventual star formation.

Astronomers studying star formation in LDN 483 have discovered examples of the youngest observable kinds of baby stars buried in LDN 483’s shrouded interior. These gestating stars can be thought of as still being in the womb, having not yet been born as complete, albeit immature, stars.

In this first stage of stellar development, the star-to-be is just a ball of gas and dust contracting under the force of gravity within the surrounding molecular cloud. The protostar is still quite cool—about –250 degrees Celsius—and shines only in long-wavelength submillimeter light. Yet temperature and pressure are beginning to increase in the fledgling star’s core.

This earliest period of star growth lasts a mere thousands of years, an astonishingly short amount of time in astronomical terms, given that stars typically live for millions or billions of years. In the following stages, over the course of several million years, the protostar will grow warmer and denser. Its emission will increase in energy along the way, graduating from mainly cold, far-infrared light to near-infrared and finally to visible light. The once-dim protostar will have then become a fully luminous star.

As more and more stars emerge from the inky depths of LDN 483, the dark nebula will disperse further and lose its opacity. The missing background stars that are currently hidden will then come into view—but only after the passage of millions of years, and they will be outshone by the bright young-born stars in the cloud.

Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae (abbreviation: LDN) is an astronomical catalogue of dark nebulae. Objects listed in the catalog are numbered with the prefix LDN. Beverly Turner Lynds (August 19, 1929 – October 5, 2024) was best known for compiling two astronomical catalogues in the 1960s, Lynds' Catalogue of Bright Nebulae and Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae. We honor her many lasting contributions to astronomical science.

Learn about the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/

Credit: European Southern Observatory

Duration: 50 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 7, 2015

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #DarkNebula #LDN483 #SerpensCauda #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MPGESOTelescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Dark Nebula LDN 483 in Serpens (The Serpent) | MPG/ESO Telescope

Dark Nebula LDN 483 in Serpens (The Serpent) | MPG/ESO Telescope

Where did all the stars go? This dark cloud obscures hundreds of background stars. The Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile snapped this image of the dark nebula LDN 483. The object is a region of space clogged with gas and dust. These materials are dense enough to effectively eclipse the light of background stars. LDN 483 is located about 700 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent).

Particularly dense molecular clouds, like LDN 483, qualify as dark nebulae because of this obscuring property. The starless nature of LDN 483 and its ilk would suggest that they are sites where stars cannot take root and grow. However, the opposite is true. Dark nebulae offer the most fertile environments for eventual star formation.

Astronomers studying star formation in LDN 483 have discovered examples of the youngest observable kinds of baby stars buried in LDN 483’s shrouded interior. These gestating stars can be thought of as still being in the womb, having not yet been born as complete, albeit immature, stars.

In this first stage of stellar development, the star-to-be is just a ball of gas and dust contracting under the force of gravity within the surrounding molecular cloud. The protostar is still quite cool — about –250 degrees Celsius—and shines only in long-wavelength submillimeter light. Yet temperature and pressure are beginning to increase in the fledgling star’s core.

This earliest period of star growth lasts a mere thousands of years, an astonishingly short amount of time in astronomical terms, given that stars typically live for millions or billions of years. In the following stages, over the course of several million years, the protostar will grow warmer and denser. Its emission will increase in energy along the way, graduating from mainly cold, far-infrared light to near-infrared and finally to visible light. The once-dim protostar will have then become a fully luminous star.

As more and more stars emerge from the inky depths of LDN 483, the dark nebula will disperse further and lose its opacity. The missing background stars that are currently hidden will then come into view—but only after the passage of millions of years, and they will be outshone by the bright young-born stars in the cloud.

Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae (abbreviation: LDN) is an astronomical catalogue of dark nebulae. Objects listed in the catalog are numbered with the prefix LDN. Beverly Turner Lynds (August 19, 1929 – October 5, 2024) was best known for compiling two astronomical catalogues in the 1960s, Lynds' Catalogue of Bright Nebulae and Lynds' Catalogue of Dark Nebulae. We honor her many lasting contributions to astronomical science.

Learn about the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope:

https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/

Credit: European Southern Observatory
Release Date: Jan. 7, 2015

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #DarkNebula #LDN483 #SerpensCauda #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MPGESOTelescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Timelapse Star Trails & Starlinks with Earth Airglow | International Space Station

Timelapse Star Trails & Starlinks with Earth Airglow | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Don Pettit: "Wonky streaks: Starlinks flashing ISS. Compared to the well-defined streaks from star trails, this time exposure shows wonky streaks flashing ISS. These are Starlink satellites reflecting pre-dusk or pre-dawn sunlight off their solar panels. They are only seen from 5 to 18 degrees preceding or trailing the Sun."

"They create bright flashes, perhaps lasting for a few seconds each due to the orientation of their outward pointing solar panels. Starlink satellites look like a miniature version of the monolith from “2001: A Space Odyssey”, where the large flat face of the monolith points towards Earth and the solar panel protrudes outward like the fin on the back of a Dimetrodon. These bright flashes are not directed towards Earth and are strikingly bright from orbit. The second photo shows the whole frame of this star trail photograph."

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to over 100 countries and territories.

Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light—called a photon—in order to relax again. The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind, airglow is energized by ordinary, day-to-day solar radiation.

Unlike auroras, which are episodic and fleeting, airglow constantly shines throughout Earth’s atmosphere, and the result is a tenuous bubble of light that closely encases our entire planet. (Auroras, on the other hand, are usually constrained to Earth’s poles.) Just a tenth as bright as all the stars in the night sky, airglow is far more subdued than auroras, too dim to observe easily except in orbit or on the ground with clear, dark skies and a sensitive camera. However, it is a marker nevertheless of the dynamic region where Earth meets space . . .

Image details: Nikon Z9, Arri-Zeiss 15mm T1.8 master prime lens, 30 second exposures compiled into an effective 30 minute exposure, T1.8, ISO 200, assembled with Photoshop (levels, color, some spot tool).

Expedition 72 Updates:

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

Expedition 72 Crew
Station Commander: Suni Williams
Roscosmos (Russia): Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov
NASA: 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.

Image Date: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Stars #Earth #Airglow #Satellites #SpaceX #Starlink #Astronauts #DonPettit #AstronautPhotography #StarTrails #Timelapse #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #LongDurationMissions #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #UnitedStates #Expedition72 #STEM #Education

China Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Launch: Multiple Views/Extended Coverage

China Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Launch: Multiple Views/Extended Coverage

China's Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the orbiting Tiangong Space Station on Saturday, November 16, 2024, at 2:32am Beijing time, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced. Tianzhou-8 completed a 3-hour rapid autonomous rendezvous and docking approach. This will mark the establishment of a standard docking mode for future missions that combines efficiency with reliability. The Shenzhou-19 crew, sent to the China Space Station on October 30, have entered the cargo spacecraft and begun to transfer items as scheduled.

China launched the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in its southern island province of Hainan using a Long March-7 Y9 carrier rocket on Friday night, November 15, 2024 at 11:32pm Beijing time. After about 10 minutes, the Tianzhou-8 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. Its solar panels then unfolded. Tianzhou-8 has delivered supplies for the orbiting Tiangong Space Station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). 

Alongside astronaut supplies and experimental equipment, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft carries bricks made of varying compositions from simulated lunar soil to the Tiangong Space Station. These bricks will undergo exposure tests to assess their durability in extreme conditions and their potential use in constructing lunar stations.

Compared to its predecessors, Tianzhou-6 and Tianzhou-7, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft boasts a larger cargo capacity—an increase of more than 200 more liters of space and more than 100 kilograms of cargo load.

Shenzhou-19 Crew:

Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)
Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽)
Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 3 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #LongMarch7Y9Rocket #Tianzhou8 #CargoSpacecraft #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #LongDurationSpaceflight #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #CLEP #WenchangSLS #Hainan #STEM #Education #HD #Video

China Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Launch on Long March-7 Y9 Rocket in Hainan

China Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Launch on Long March-7 Y9 Rocket in Hainan

China's Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the orbiting Tiangong Space Station on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 2:32am Beijing time, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced. Tianzhou-8 completed a 3-hour rapid autonomous rendezvous and docking approach. This will mark the establishment of a standard docking mode for future missions that combines efficiency with reliability.

China launched the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in its southern island province of Hainan using a Long March-7 Y9 carrier rocket on Friday night, November 15, 2024 at 11:32pm Beijing time. Tianzhou-8 has delivered supplies for the orbiting Tiangong Space Station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). 

Alongside astronaut supplies and experimental equipment, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft carries bricks made of varying compositions from simulated lunar soil to the Tiangong Space Station. These bricks will undergo exposure tests to assess their durability in extreme conditions and their potential use in constructing lunar stations.

Compared to its predecessors, Tianzhou-6 and Tianzhou-7, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft boasts a larger cargo capacity—an increase of more than 200 more liters of space and more than 100 kilograms of cargo load.

Shenzhou-19 Crew:

Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)
Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽)
Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)

Image Credit: Xinhua/CGTN
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #LongMarch7Y9Rocket #Tianzhou8 #CargoSpacecraft #Docking #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #LongDurationSpaceflight #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #CLEP #WenchangSLS #Hainan #STEM #Education

The Rosette & Cone Nebulae in Monoceros: Wide-field view | ESO

The Rosette & Cone Nebulae in Monoceros: Wide-field view | ESO

Wide field image taken with a 200mm lens from the Paranal Observatory in Chile, showing the region of the sky with the NGC 2247 star forming complex and containing the Herbig Ae/Be object MWC 147. Visible in this image are the rich, colorful Cone Nebula region (at the centre-left of the image) and the Rosette Nebula (at the top right). They are both located in the Monoceros constellation, very close to the better known Orion constellation. The star MWC 147 is close to a dark nebula, in the top left part of the image, and belongs to an association of massive stars, the Monoceros OB1 association.

Rosette is an emission nebula, composed of clouds of gas that are made to glow by the radiation emanating from stars within. Nebulae are among the most beautiful celestial objects out there. They frequently show up spectacularly in images.

In nebulae such as this, gas and dust are combining to produce a new generation of stars. Initially, these newly-formed stars are shrouded in the dusty clouds that gave them birth, and cannot be seen in visible light. However, after a while they blow away the denser material and their powerful radiation pours out to ionize the surrounding gas, causing it to glow brightly. These elements are all present in this image—the mixture of glowing gas and dark dust has been sculpted into complex patterns on the sky by the stellar radiation, like smoke around a fire.

This image is a color-composite based on exposures through R, V, B, and H-alpha filters, for a total exposure time of more than 16 hours.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/S. Guisard

Release Date: Jan. 29, 2008

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #ConeNebula #DarkNebula #RosetteNebula #NGC2247 #Caldwell49 #EmissionNebula #HerbigAeBeObject #Star #MWC147 #StellarNursery #Monoceros #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

The Rosette Nebula Close-up in Monoceros | European Southern Observatory

The Rosette Nebula Close-up in Monoceros | European Southern Observatory

This colorful image shows a part of the Rosette Nebula in the constellation of Monoceros (The Unicorn). It is an emission nebula, composed of clouds of gas that are made to glow by the radiation emanating from stars within. Nebulae are among the most beautiful celestial objects out there. They frequently show up spectacularly in images.

In nebulae such as this, gas and dust are combining to produce a new generation of stars. Initially, these newly-formed stars are shrouded in the dusty clouds that gave them birth, and cannot be seen in visible light. However, after a while they blow away the denser material and their powerful radiation pours out to ionize the surrounding gas, causing it to glow brightly. These elements are all present in this image—the mixture of glowing gas and dark dust has been sculpted into complex patterns on the sky by the stellar radiation, like smoke around a fire.

This particular image was obtained with the FORS 2 instrument on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), sited in the harsh environment of Chile’s Atacama Desert. FORS 2 is an extremely versatile instrument that can produce very high-quality images (like this one!). It is also a spectrograph that can split the light it collects into a rainbow of colors, giving astronomers information about the chemical composition of objects across the Universe.

This image was created as part of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Cosmic Gems program, an outreach initiative to produce images of interesting, intriguing or visually attractive objects using ESO telescopes, for the purposes of education and public outreach. The program makes use of telescope time that cannot be used for science observations.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Release Date: Nov. 19, 2018

#NASA #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #RosetteNebula #NGC2247 #Caldwell49 #EmissionNebula #StellarNursery #Monoceros #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #FORS2 #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

Star Cluster IC 348 and Dark Nebula Barnard 3 in Perseus

Star Cluster IC 348 and Dark Nebula Barnard 3 in Perseus

A great nebulous region near bright star omicron Persei offers this study in cosmic contrasts. Captured in the telescopic frame is a colorful complex of dust, gas, and stars spanning about 3 degrees on the sky along the edge of the Perseus molecular cloud, about 1,000 light-years away. Surrounded by a bluish halo of dust-reflected starlight, omicron Persei itself is just left of center. Immediately below it lies the intriguing young star cluster IC 348 recently explored at infrared wavelengths by the James Webb Space Telescope.

In silhouette against the diffuse reddish glow of hydrogen gas, dark and obscuring interstellar dust cloud Barnard 3 is at upper right. Of course, the cosmic dust also tends to hide newly formed stars and young stellar objects or protostars from prying optical telescopes. At the Perseus molecular cloud's estimated distance, this field of view would span about 50 light-years.

This image was captured by Ashraf Abu Sara, self-described as an "interventional cardiologist during the day" and a "stargazer/astrophotographer" at night.

Image Credit & Copyright: Ashraf Abu Sara
Ashraf's website: 
https://www.astrobin.com/users/aabosarah/

Caption Credit: NASA Goddard
Release Date: Nov. 14, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #ReflectionNebula #PerseusMolecularCloud #Star #OmicronPersei #Stars #StarClusters #StarCluster #IC348 #Perseus #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotographer #AshrafAbuSara #Astrophotography #CitizenScience #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD

Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Docking 3-hours after Launch | China Space Station

Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Docking 3-hours after Launch | China Space Station

China's Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft successfully docked with the orbiting Tiangong Space Station on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at 2:32am Beijing time, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced. Tianzhou-8 completed a 3-hour rapid autonomous rendezvous and docking approach. This will mark the establishment of a standard docking mode for future missions that combines efficiency with reliability.

China launched the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in its southern island province of Hainan using a Long March-7 Y9 carrier rocket on Friday night, November 15, 2024 at 11:32pm Beijing time. Tianzhou-8 has delivered supplies for the orbiting Tiangong Space Station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). 

Alongside astronaut supplies and experimental equipment, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft carries bricks made of varying compositions from simulated lunar soil to the Tiangong Space Station. These bricks will undergo exposure tests to assess their durability in extreme conditions and their potential use in constructing lunar stations.

Compared to its predecessors, Tianzhou-6 and Tianzhou-7, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft boasts a larger cargo capacity—an increase of more than 200 more liters of space and more than 100 kilograms of cargo load.

Shenzhou-19 Crew:

Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)
Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽)
Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)

Video Credit: Xinhua
Duration: 36 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #LongMarch7Y9Rocket #Tianzhou8 #CargoSpacecraft #Docking #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #LongDurationSpaceflight #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #CLEP #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New Mars Images: Nov. 10-15, 2024 | NASA's Mars Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

New Mars Images: Nov. 10-15, 2024 | NASA's Mars Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - sol 1327

Mars 2020 - sol 1327

Mars 2020 - sol 1327

Mars 2020 - sol 1326

Mars 2020 - sol 1324

Mars 2020 - sol 1326

MSL - sol 4362

Mars 2020 - sol 1325

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Celebrating 12+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life. 

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

Celebrating 3+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: Nov. 10-15, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

Artemis Moon Rocket Mobile Launcher 1 Update | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Artemis Moon Rocket Mobile Launcher 1 Update | NASA's Kennedy Space Center

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program transported the 380-foot-tall Mobile Launcher 1 along a 4.2-mile stretch to the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. The crawler transporter recently reached 2,500 miles traveling to the launch pad since its construction in 1965. Mobile Launcher 1 has been at Launch Complex 39B since August 2023 undergoing upgrades and tests in preparation for NASA’s Artemis II mission.

Mobile Launcher 1 is the ground structure that is used to assemble, process, and launch NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for missions to deep space destinations, such as the Moon, Mars, and beyond. 

During preparations for launch, the crawler-transporter picks up and moves the mobile launcher into High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The launcher is secured atop support posts and the crawler moves out. The Orion spacecraft is stacked atop the SLS rocket and processed on the mobile launcher. 

The mobile launcher consists of a two-story base that is the platform for the rocket and a tower equipped with a number of connection lines, called umbilicals, and launch accessories that provide SLS and Orion with power, communications, coolant, fuel, and stabilization prior to launch. The tower also contains a walkway for personnel and equipment entering the crew module during launch preparations. 

The launcher rolls out to the pad for launch on top of the crawler-transporter, carrying SLS and Orion. After the crawler-transporter makes its eight-hour trek to the pad just over four miles away, engineers lower the launcher onto the pad and remove the crawler-transporter. During launch, each umbilical and launch accessory releases from its connection point, allowing the rocket and spacecraft to lift off safely from the launch pad. 

Fun Facts:

Total height above ground: 380 feet

Tower: 40 feet square, about 355 feet tall, 662 steps

Tower floor levels: every 20 feet for personnel access to vehicle and ground support equipment

Approximate weight: 10.5 million pounds

Mobile Launch 1 Fact Sheet:

https://www3.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/final_-_mobile_launcher_1_fact_sheet.pdf

Check the NASA Artemis II Mission page for updates:

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

For more information about SLS, visit: 

https://www.nasa.gov/sls

Credit: NASA
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2024

#NASA #Space #Moon #MobileLauncher1 #MB1 #ArtemisProgram #LaunchComplex39B #ArtemisIIMission #ArtemisII #SLS #SLSRocket #Boeing #DeepSpace #Astronauts #MoonToMars #SpaceExploration #HumanSpaceflight #NASAKennedy #KSC #EGS #Spaceport #Florida #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Successfully Launched in Hainan | China Space Station

Tianzhou-8 Cargo Spacecraft Successfully Launched in Hainan | China Space Station

China successfully launched the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center in its southern island province of Hainan using a Long March-7 Y9 carrier rocket on Friday night, November 15, 2024. Tianzhou-8 will deliver supplies for the orbiting Tiangong space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). Tianzhou-8 will use a 3-hour rapid autonomous rendezvous and docking approach. This will mark the establishment of a standard docking mode for future missions that combines efficiency with reliability.

Alongside astronaut supplies and experimental equipment, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft will carry bricks made of varying compositions from simulated lunar soil to the Tiangong space station. These bricks will undergo exposure tests to assess their durability in extreme conditions and their potential use in constructing lunar bases.

Compared to its predecessors, Tianzhou-6 and Tianzhou-7, the Tianzhou-8 cargo spacecraft boasts a larger cargo capacity—an increase of more than 200 more liters of space and more than 100 kilograms of cargo load.

Shenzhou-19 Crew:

Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)
Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽)
Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)

Video Credit: CMG
Duration: 36 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 15, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #LongMarch7Y9Rocket #Tianzhou8 #CargoSpacecraft #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #LongDurationSpaceflight #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #WenchangSLS #Hainan #CLEP #STEM #Education #HD #Video