NASA News

2022-06-22 16:19:29 #NewPhoto from #Nasa: "A Sea of Stars Like Sequins" Near the center of the Milky Way lies this star-studded globular cluster, called Terzan 9 in the constellation Sagittarius. [June 22, 2022] http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/hubble_terzan_9_potw2224a.jpg Open / Comment

2022-06-22 07:21:53 #NewImage from #Nasa: "Supernova Remnant: The Veil Nebula " Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light would have suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was from a supernova, or exploding star, and record the expanding debris cloud as the Veil Nebula, a supernova remnant. Imaged with color filters featuring light emitted by sulfur (red), hydrogen (green), and oxygen (blue), this deep wide-angle view was processed to remove the stars and so better capture the impressive glowing filaments of the Veil. Also known as the Cygnus Loop, the Veil Nebula is roughly circular in shape and covers nearly 3 degrees on the sky toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). Famous nebular sections include the Bat Nebula, the Witch's Broom Nebula, and Fleming's Triangular Wisp. The complete supernova remnant lies about 1,400 light-years away. [June 22, 2022] https://apod.nasa.gov/image/2206/Veil_Stocks_1080.jpg Open / Comment

2022-06-21 18:21:10 #BreakingNews from #Nasa: "NASA Announces Artemis Concept Awards for Nuclear Power on Moon" NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are working together to advance space nuclear technologies. [June 21, 2022] Read more here: http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-artemis-concept-awards-for-nuclear-power-on-moon Open / Comment

2022-06-21 17:49:58 #NewPhoto from #Nasa: "Viewing the Color of Space" Attendees try on Oculus headsets and experience the space station using virtual reality prior to the screening of “The Color of Space”. [June 21, 2022] http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/52156600646_b659692869_o.jpeg Open / Comment

2022-06-21 07:16:46 #NewImage from #Nasa: "Analemma over Taipei " Does the Sun return to the same spot on the sky every day? No. A better and more visual answer to that question is an analemma, a composite of images taken at the same time and from the same place over the course of a year. The featured analemma was compiled at 4:30 pm many afternoons from Taiwan during 2021, with the city skyline of Taipei in the foreground, including tall Taipei 101. The Sun's location in December -- at the December solstice -- is shown on the far left, while its location at the June solstice is captured on the far right. Also shown are the positions of the Sun throughout the rest of the day on the solstices and equinoxes. Today is the June solstice of 2022, the day in Earth's northern hemisphere when the Sun spends the longest time in the sky. In many countries, today marks the official beginning of a new season, for example winter in Earth's southern hemisphere. [June 21, 2022] https://apod.nasa.gov/image/2206/AnalemmaTaipei_Lee_1080.jpg Open / Comment

2022-06-20 07:21:09 #NewImage from #Nasa: "Rock Fingers on Mars " There, just right of center, what is that? The surface of Mars keeps revealing new surprises with the recent discovery of finger-like rock spires. The small nearly-vertical rock outcrops were imaged last month by the robotic Curiosity rover on Mars. Although similar in size and shape to small snakes, the leading explanation for their origin is as conglomerations of small minerals left by water flowing through rock crevices. After these relatively dense minerals filled the crevices, they were left behind when the surrounding rock eroded away. Famous rock outcrops on Earth with a similar origin are called hoodoos. NASA's Curiosity Rover continues to search for new signs of ancient water in Gale Crater on Mars, while also providing a geologic background important for future human exploration. [June 20, 2022] https://apod.nasa.gov/image/2206/MarsFingers_Curiosity_960.jpg Open / Comment

2022-06-18 07:21:43 #NewImage from #Nasa: "The Gamma Cygni Nebula" Supergiant star Gamma Cygni is at the center of the Northern Cross. Near the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, that famous asterism flies high in northern summer night skies in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. Known by the proper name Sadr, Gamma Cygni also lies just below center in this telescopic skyscape, with colors mapped from both broadband and narrowband image data. The field of view spans about 3 degrees (six Full Moons) on the sky and includes emission nebula IC 1318 and open star cluster NGC 6910. Filling the upper part of the frame and shaped like two glowing cosmic wings divided by a long dark dust lane, IC 1318's popular name is understandably the Butterfly Nebula. Right of Gamma Cygni, are the young, still tightly grouped stars of NGC 6910. The distance to Gamma Cygni is around 560 parsecs or 1,800 light-years. Estimates for IC 1318 and NGC 6910 range from 2,000 to 5,000 light-years. [June 18, 2022] https://apod.nasa.gov/image/2206/gamma-cygni-nebula-and-sadr1024.jpg Open / Comment

2022-06-18 06:31:29 #BreakingNews from #Nasa: "VP Hosts NASA for Family STEM Event, Disney Pixar’s Lightyear Viewing" Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff hosted an evening of NASA STEM activities Friday at the Naval Observatory for military families and local students and their families, which included a special screening of Disney Pixar’s Lightyear. [June 18, 2022] Read more here: http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/vp-hosts-nasa-for-family-stem-event-disney-pixar-s-lightyear-viewing Open / Comment

2022-06-17 18:55:21 #NewPhoto from #Nasa: "Galveston and the Beginning of Juneteenth" General Order No. 3 by Union troops on June 19, 1865, marked the official end of slavery in Texas and the U.S. [June 17, 2022] http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/iss060e054125.jpg Open / Comment

2022-06-17 07:11:11 #NewImage from #Nasa: "Good Morning Planets from Chile" On June 15, innermost planet Mercury had wandered about as far from the Sun as it ever gets in planet Earth's sky. Near the eastern horizon just before sunrise it stands over distant Andes mountain peaks in this predawn snapshot from the valley of Rio Hurtado in Chile. June's other morning planets are arrayed above it, as all the naked-eye planets of the Solar System stretch in a line along the ecliptic in the single wide-field view. Tilted toward the north, the Solar System's ecliptic plane arcs steeply through southern hemisphere skies. Northern hemisphere early morning risers will see the lineup of planets along the ecliptic at a shallower angle tilting toward the south. From both hemispheres June's beautiful morning planetary display finds the visible planets in order of their increasing distance from the Sun. [June 17, 2022] https://apod.nasa.gov/image/2206/PlanetsfromChile__labelled_E-Schulz.jpg Open / Comment