NASA has selected The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to provide development and operations support for the avionics software suite that will guide the agency's next generation of human rated spacecraft on missions beyond low-Earth orbit.
March 31, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1RAuaCd
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Thursday, March 31, 2016
NGC 6188 and NGC 6164
Fantastic shapes lurk in clouds of glowing gas in the giant star forming region NGC 6188. The emission nebula is found about 4,000 light years away near the edge of a large molecular cloud unseen at visible wavelengths, in the southern constellation Ara. Massive, young stars of the embedded Ara OB1 association were formed in that region only a few million years ago, sculpting the dark shapes and powering the nebular glow with stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation. The recent star formation itself was likely triggered by winds and supernova explosions, from previous generations of massive stars, that swept up and compressed the molecular gas. Joining NGC 6188 on this cosmic canvas, visible toward the lower right, is rare emission nebula NGC 6164, also created by one of the region's massive O-type stars. Similar in appearance to many planetary nebulae, NGC 6164's striking, symmetric gaseous shroud and faint halo surround its bright central star near the bottom edge. The impressively wide field of view spans over 3 degrees (six full Moons), corresponding to over 200 light years at the estimated distance of NGC 6188. Three image sets have been included in the featured composite. via NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1TjWRrQ
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
NASA’s Spitzer Maps Climate Patterns on a Super-Earth
Observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have led to the first temperature map of a super-Earth planet -- a rocky planet nearly two times as big as ours. The map reveals extreme temperature swings from one side of the planet to the other, and hints that a possible reason for this is the presence of lava flows.
March 30, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1qjRj5e
March 30, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1qjRj5e
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
NASA's 'Spaceport of the Future' Reaches Another Milestone
NASA has completed a major milestone on its journey to Mars and is ready to begin another phase of work on its spaceport of the future, where the next generation of astronauts will launch to Mars and other deep-space destinations.
March 29, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1LY45Af
March 29, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1LY45Af
NASA’s ‘Spaceport of the Future’ Reaches Another Milestone
NASA has completed a major milestone on its journey to Mars and is ready to begin another phase of work on its spaceport of the future, where the next generation of astronauts will launch to Mars and other deep-space destinations.
March 29, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1WVDBQq
March 29, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1WVDBQq
NASA Awards Contract for Atmospheric Science Research
NASA has awarded a contract to Science Systems and Applications, Inc. of Lanham, Maryland, to conduct atmospheric sciences support services for the Science Directorate at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, as well as for the broader Earth science community.
March 29, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/21RYMnG
March 29, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/21RYMnG
NASA Selects Instrument Team to Build Next-Gen Planet Hunter
NASA has selected a team to build a new, cutting-edge instrument that will detect planets outside our solar system by measuring the miniscule “wobbling” of stars. The instrument will be the centerpiece of a new partnership with the National Science Foundation called the NASA-NSF Exoplanet Observational Research program.
March 29, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1ojZ7Cb
March 29, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1ojZ7Cb
Orions Belt and Sword over Teides Peak
The southern part of Orion, the famous constellation and mythical hunter, appears quite picturesque posing here over a famous volcano. Located in the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa, the snow-peaked Teide is one of the largest volcanoes on Earth. Lights from a group planning to summit Teide before dawn are visible below the volcano's peak. In this composite of exposures taken from the same location one night last month, the three iconic belt stars of Orion are seen just above the peak, while the famous Orion Nebula and the rest of Orion's sword are visible beyond the volcano's left slope. Also visible in the long duration sky image are the Horsehead Nebula, seen as a dark indentation on the red emission nebula to the belt's left, and the Flame Nebula, evident just above and to the right of the Horsehead. via NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1PCkWTO
Monday, March 28, 2016
NASA Awards Information Technology Services Contract
NASA has awarded an Information Technology Services (ITS) contract to SaiTech, Inc. of Bethesda, Maryland, for provision of a wide range of IT services to be performed at the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
March 28, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1qc3xgc
March 28, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1qc3xgc
NGC 6357: Cathedral to Massive Stars
How massive can a normal star be? Estimates made from distance, brightness and standard solar models had given one star in the open cluster Pismis 24 over 200 times the mass of our Sun, making it one of the most massive stars known. This star is the brightest object located just above the gas front in the featured image. Close inspection of images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope, however, have shown that Pismis 24-1 derives its brilliant luminosity not from a single star but from three at least. Component stars would still remain near 100 solar masses, making them among the more massive stars currently on record. Toward the bottom of the image, stars are still forming in the associated emission nebula NGC 6357. Appearing perhaps like a Gothic cathedral, energetic stars near the center appear to be breaking out and illuminating a spectacular cocoon. via NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1PzILeX
Sunday, March 27, 2016
Sostice to Equinox Cubed
This 3 month long exposure packed the days from December 22, 2015 through March 20 into a box. Dubbed a solargraph, the unconventional, unfolded picture was recorded with a pinhole camera made from a cube-shaped container, its sides lined with photographic paper. Fixed to a single spot for the entire exposure, the simple camera recorded the Sun's path through Hungarian skies. Each day a glowing trail was burned into the photosensitive paper. From short and low, to long and high, the trails follow the progression from winter solstice to spring equinox. Of course, dark gaps in the daily sun trails are caused by cloud cover. Sunny days produce the more continuous bright tracks. via NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1Sny9Eq
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Close Comet and the Milky Way
Comet 252P/Linear's lovely greenish coma is easy to spot in this expansive southern skyscape. Visible to the naked eye from the dark site near Flinders, Victoria, Australia, the comet appears tailless. Still, its surprisingly bright coma spans about 1 degree, posed here below the nebulae, stars, and dark rifts of the Milky Way. The five panels used in the wide-field mosaic were captured after moonset and before morning twilight on March 21. That was less than 24 hours from the comet's closest approach, a mere 5.3 million kilometers from our fair planet. Sweeping quickly across the sky because it is so close to Earth, the comet should be spotted in the coming days by northern hemisphere comet watchers. In predawn but moonlit skies it will move through Sagittarius and Scorpius seen toward the southern horizon. That's near the triangle formed by bright, yellowish, Mars, Saturn, and Antares at the upper left of this frame. via NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1MqTy0b
Friday, March 25, 2016
Hickson 91 in Piscis Austrinus
Scanning the skies for galaxies, Canadian astronomer Paul Hickson and colleagues identified some 100 compact groups of galaxies, now appropriately called Hickson Compact Groups (HCGs). This sharp telescopic image captures one such galaxy group, HCG 91, in beautiful detail. The group's three colorful spiral galaxies at the center of the field of view are locked in a gravitational tug of war, their interactions producing faint but visible tidal tails over 100,000 light-years long. Their close encounters trigger furious star formation. On a cosmic timescale the result will be a merger into a large single galaxy, a process now understood to be a normal part of the evolution of galaxies, including our own Milky Way. HCG 91 lies about 320 million light-years away in the constellation Piscis Austrinus. But the impressively deep image also catches evidence of fainter tidal tails and galaxy interactions close to 2 billion light-years distant. via NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1XRGIJ8
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Media Invited to See NASA's Green Propulsion Spacecraft
Media are invited to see a NASA spacecraft that is safer on the ground and more efficient in space during a tour March 31 at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado, showcasing NASA's Green Propulsion Infusion Mission (GPIM).
March 24, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1pKqVl3
March 24, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1pKqVl3
Russian Space Station Cargo Ship Launch, Docking to Air on NASA TV
NASA Television will provide live coverage of the launch and docking of an unpiloted Russian cargo spacecraft, Progress 63P, to resupply the International Space Station.
March 24, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1RBNQLo
March 24, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1RBNQLo
NASA Highlights Array of Experiments Launching on Next SpaceX Cargo Mission
NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Monday, March 28, to discuss cutting edge science investigations launching aboard the upcoming SpaceX commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station.
March 24, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1pK0LPo
March 24, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1pK0LPo
The Great Nebula in Carina
In one of the brightest parts of Milky Way lies a nebula where some of the oddest things occur. NGC 3372, known as the Great Nebula in Carina, is home to massive stars and changing nebulas. The Keyhole Nebula (NGC 3324), the bright structure just above the image center, houses several of these massive stars and has itself changed its appearance. The entire Carina Nebula spans over 300 light years and lies about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Carina. Eta Carinae, the most energetic star in the nebula, was one of the brightest stars in the sky in the 1830s, but then faded dramatically. Eta Carinae is the brightest star near the image center, just left of the Keyhole Nebula. While Eta Carinae itself maybe on the verge of a supernova explosion, X-ray images indicate that much of the Great Carina Nebula has been a veritable supernova factory. via NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1UImZxB
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
NASA Gets Down to Earth This Year With Globe-Spanning Expeditions
NASA is sending scientists around the world in 2016 – from the edge of the Greenland ice sheet to the coral reefs of the South Pacific – to delve into challenging questions about how our planet is changing and what impacts humans are having on it.
March 23, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1RkG1q0
March 23, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1RkG1q0
NASA Announces Dates for One of World’s Largest Hackathons
NASA’s open innovation incubator, the International Space Apps Challenge, will take place April 22-24. The global main stage for this year’s event will be in Pasadena, California, with local events taking place simultaneously in 193 locations spanning 72 countries.
March 23, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1ShwlNn
March 23, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1ShwlNn
NASA Sends Fire, Meteor Experiments to International Space Station on Commercial Cargo Spacecraft
Scientific investigations of fire in microgravity and grippers inspired by geckos are among the nearly 7,500 pounds of cargo headed to the International Space Station aboard an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft, along with equipment to support some 250 other experiments and studies aboard the world’s only orbital laboratory.ry.
March 23, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1LFQ2PB
March 23, 2016
from NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1LFQ2PB
Rainbow Airglow over the Azores
Why would the sky glow like a giant repeating rainbow? Airglow. Now air glows all of the time, but it is usually hard to see. A disturbance however -- like an approaching storm -- may cause noticeable rippling in the Earth's atmosphere. These gravity waves are oscillations in air analogous to those created when a rock is thrown in calm water. The long-duration exposure nearly along the vertical walls of airglow likely made the undulating structure particularly visible. OK, but where do the colors originate? The deep red glow likely originates from OH molecules about 87-kilometers high, excited by ultraviolet light from the Sun. The orange and green airglow is likely caused by sodium and oxygen atoms slightly higher up. The featured image was captured during a climb up Mount Pico in the Azores of Portugal. Ground lights originate from the island of Faial in the Atlantic Ocean. A spectacular sky is visible through this banded airglow, with the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy running up the image center, and M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, visible near the top left. via NASA http://go.nasa.gov/1RiXnDP
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Monday, March 21, 2016
Turning Off the Lights: Earth Hour 2016 (14 photos)
via The Atlantic Photo http://theatln.tc/1RvcrBB
Apollo 12 - Pete Conrad standing next to Surveyor III and the LM far in the background [2340x2370]
http://go.nasa.gov/1WCGxRB via /r/spaceporn http://bit.ly/25fLINs
Lunar Antoniadi crater wall (13,000ft tall), imaged by sideways looking LRO [952×952]
http://bit.ly/1ScYNQp via /r/spaceporn http://bit.ly/25fBU5Y
View of south America from space [1000 × 1000].
http://bit.ly/1pF6sOo via /r/spaceporn http://bit.ly/1XHeDUZ
Star trails in Penfield, NY [OC] [6000x4000]
http://bit.ly/1o1xCNC via /r/spaceporn http://bit.ly/1pXbGVJ
Distant storm, taken in Souther Zambia. [OC] [3358x1889]
http://bit.ly/1U1cV2u via /r/SkyPorn http://bit.ly/1Mx8THe
Heavy clouded sunset at Turnagain Arm Alaska. By Cheyzan Rivas [1684x947]
http://bit.ly/1ZjRkC6 via /r/SkyPorn http://bit.ly/1VuFVzi
TIL the white sand is actually crab poop, but it felt amazing on my feet. Cooks Beach, Tasmania, Australia [OC][5760 × 3840]
http://bit.ly/25f0Lqt via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/1RZS7m2
[5008 × 2518]Discovered a hidden lake 40 min from my house, no access down to water only bush hiking, need atv to get down the road even near the lake. BC, Canada
http://bit.ly/1PlQa1g via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/1R9tV4p
Took a few hour drive into the Santa Ana Mountains. Worth it. [OC] [5731x3821]
http://bit.ly/1ZirX3o via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/1Vtc7mC
Picture I took on the way to Trolltunga, Norway [2592 × 1944]
http://bit.ly/21CJbIm via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/1Ru9dht
Elowah Falls. I took this today on the first day of Spring in the Columbia Gorge, Oregon. [3264X1836]
http://bit.ly/1WBuzaU via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/1Uw60yp
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Sweeping Views of Yosemite National Park [OC] [6166x1946]
http://bit.ly/1WBoSdd via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/1VsUJ1k
On 11,814 foot Ophir Pass, southwest Colorado USA looking down to the town of Ophir [850x566] Photo by Blaine Harrington
http://bit.ly/1o0qhhj via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/25elvig
Supermoon Bikers - single exposure shot [1920 x 1350] [OC]
http://bit.ly/1LzTKKp via /r/spaceporn http://bit.ly/1RZ1KBp
Los Alamos, New Mexico [OC] [1200 x 900]
http://bit.ly/1o0nQvh via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/1VsI7XS
A Beautiful Frozen Lake. Lake Serene, WA [3686x1347][OC]
http://bit.ly/1o0nQvg via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/1VsIamL
NGC2506, Open Cluster in Monoceros [2684x1860][OS][OC]
http://bit.ly/1pDBNkv via /r/spaceporn http://bit.ly/22xjf3b
Red Rocks with a Spring snow. Morrison, CO [2048×1152]
http://bit.ly/1Uvu1FI via /r/EarthPorn http://bit.ly/1o0eOOX
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