NASA

NASA

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Blink and you’ll miss it 👀 The bright star taking center stage is a Wolf-Rayet star known as WR 31a, located about 30,000 light-years away in the constellation of Carina (The Keel). Wolf-Rayet stars, named after astronomers Charles Wolf and Georges Rayet who discovered the first of these stars, are extremely hot and massive. Some can be around 20 times as massive as the Sun! However, their lifecycle is only a few hundred thousand years. In cosmic terms, that’s like the blink of an eye. Wolf–Rayet stars typically lose half their mass in less than 100,000 years, and WR 31a is no exception. It will eventually end its life as a spectacular supernova, and the stellar material expelled from its explosion will later nourish a new generation of stars and planets. The blue bubble that looks like it’s surrounding WR 31a and its unnamed companion is a Wolf-Rayet nebula. These typically round or ring-shaped interstellar clouds of dust and gas are created when speedy winds interact with the outer layers of hydrogen ejected by Wolf–Rayet stars. Image description: A deep blue ring of dust circles around two bright stars with large diffraction spikes. Inside and outside the blue circle, stars of varying sizes dot the darkness of space. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt #NASA #Stars #Hubble #Telescope #Bubble #Nebula #Astronomy #Universe

09.25 03:22

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That’s not a giant bath bomb, it’s our Moon! We usually see Earth’s Moon in shades of gray, but here in this composite photo made from images captured by our Galileo spacecraft, it’s a riot of reds, oranges, and blues. And sure, it’s pretty, but that’s not the (only) reason we color images. The unusual colors in this photograph help scientists study what the Moon’s soil is made of. Areas appearing red generally correspond to the lunar highlands, while blue to orange shades indicate the ancient volcanic lava flow of a mare, or lunar sea. Bluer mare areas contain more titanium than the orange regions do. The deep blue patch on the right is Mare Tranquillitatis, and it’s richer in titanium than Mare Serenitatis, a slightly smaller circular area to the upper left of Mare Tranquillitatis. Finally, the small purple areas found near the center are deposits formed by explosive volcanic eruptions. The solid-state imaging system on Galileo captured 15 images of the Moon through three color filters while the spacecraft passed through the Earth-Moon system on Dec. 8, 1992. When this view was obtained, the spacecraft was 262,000 miles (425,000 kilometers) from the Moon and 43,000 miles (69,000 kilometers) from Earth. Galileo continued on to its main mission: studying Jupiter. It orbited the planet for almost eight years, made close passes by all of the planet's major moons, and ended its mission by intentionally crashing into Jupiter on Sept. 21, 2003. While this image won’t give you a luxurious bubble bath, meditating on all its colors can be just as relaxing. Image description: The Moon is awash in shades of red, blue, and orange. The top portion is orange, while the bottom is red, and the middle is blue. The edges of each area are jagged, and some colored portions surround others. There is a very vibrant blue area right of center. The very bottom part of the Moon is missing from this composite image. Credit: NASA/JPL #NASA #Moon #Color #Space #Mindfulness #Galileo #Astrophotography
We'll be back 🌎🚀🌕 You're looking at the terminator. No, not a futuristic cyborg: in astronomy, the terminator is the line that separates night and day on a moon or a planet — in this case, the Earth. This terminator was photographed by the astronauts of Apollo 11 on July 24, 1969, four days after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon. Armstrong, Aldrin, and Michael Collins splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, concluding their eight-day mission to the Moon and back. After living and working continuously in space for more than 20 years, we're preparing to return humans to the Moon—this time, to stay. Follow @NASAArtemis to stay in the loop on our plans to explore the Moon and Mars! Image description: A photo of a crescent Earth, as seen from space. Only the part of the Earth experiencing daytime is visible in this particular image, a thin slice that arcs down and right across the photo. White clouds, shining seas, and small bits of land can be seen. Credit: NASA #NASA #Space #Earth #Apollo #Apollo11 #Terminator #IllBeBack
Oh, hey there!⁣ ⁣ These epic selfies were taken by @NASAAstronauts as they stepped outside the International Space Station (@ISS) over the last few years to make improvements and updates to station hardware and its suite of scientific instruments.⁣ ⁣ Image descriptions:⁣ 1. NASA astronaut and spacewalker Andrew Morgan appears in a white spacesuit with a reflective visor as he prepares to take a photograph with a camera shielded from the hazards of microgravity, taken on Nov. 22, 2019.⁣ 2. NASA astronaut Christina Koch takes a selfie with the Earth behind her on Oct. 18, 2019. Her smiling face is partially visible through the clear front of her helmet. Earth’s clouds and ocean are reflected by the helmet.⁣ 3. NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold, his face obscured by the metallic visor on his helmet takes a space selfie during a spacewalk on June 14, 2018. His gloved hands, the camera and the Sun are seen reflected in the visor.⁣ ⁣ Credit: NASA⁣ ⁣ #NASA #Astronauts #Selfie #SayCheese #Space #Spacewalk #ISS #InternationalSpaceStation
Why does it take so long for pirates to learn the alphabet?⁣ They can spend years lost at C. 🏴‍☠️ This #TalkLikeAPirateDay, avast ye and cast an eye upon Neptune, a planet named after the Roman god of the sea. ⁣ ⁣ The ice giant Neptune was the first planet located through mathematical calculations. Using predictions made by a lad named Urbain Le Verrier, and another matey, Johann Galle, the planet was discovered in 1846.⁣ ⁣ Neptune does not have a solid surface. Its atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium with just a wee bit of methane, which extends to mighty depths, gradually merging into water and other melted ices over a heavier, solid core with about the same mass as Earth. Though, Neptune is about four times wider than Earth. If Earth were the size of a shillin’, Neptune would be about as big as a baseball.⁣ ⁣ Image description: Neptune’s surface takes up the center-right portion of the screen. It is an azure shade of blue, while white clouds span the center portion of the planet. At the north (top) is the Great Dark Spot, accompanied by bright, white clouds that undergo rapid changes in appearance. To the south of the Great Dark Spot is the bright feature that Voyager scientists have nicknamed “Scooter.” Still farther south is the feature called “Dark Spot 2,” which has a bright core.⁣ ⁣ Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech⁣ ⁣ #NASA #Space #SolarSystem #Neptune #Planet #Pirate #Voyager
Get pulled in… This image of a pair of galaxies – one elliptical (left) and the other spiral (right) – reveals something special: the supermassive black hole at the center of the large spiral galaxy. As the black hole gobbles up surrounding gas and dust, that material heats up and lets out a tremendous amount of energy, making the galaxy’s core shine brightly. The black hole also displays @NASAWebb’s characteristic diffraction spikes, caused by the light emitted interacting with the structure of the telescope itself. Webb observed this galactic pair collectively known as Arp 107 with two instruments, MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), that observe different light wavelengths. Each wavelength offers unique insights into the structure of Arp 107. This image comes from MIRI. Image description: A pair of interacting galaxies. The larger of the two galaxies is slightly right of center, and is composed of a bright, white center and a ring of blue, gaseous filaments. The center of this galaxy shows Webb’s eight-pronged diffraction pattern. There are three filaments of gas and dust moving from the ring toward the center. At the top left of the ring is a noticeable gap, bordered by two large, blue pockets of dust and gas. The smaller galaxy is made of hazy, light blue gas and dust. Many red, green, blue, and yellow galaxies are spread throughout, with some being hazier in composition and others having more defined spiral patterns. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI #NASA #Galaxy #Astronomy #Telescope #Webb #BlackHole
Harvest Moon: abundance, appreciation, closing of cycles. ⁣ ⁣ The Harvest Moon will be a partial lunar eclipse and the second of four consecutive supermoons. The Moon will appear full for about three days on the evenings from Monday, Sept. 16 - Wednesday, Sept. 18. ⁣ ⁣ Where will you be watching the Harvest Moon? Let us know in the comments below!⁣ ⁣ Video description: In a video taken from the International Space Station, Earth’s surface moves below as the camera pans over to the Moon rising above Earth’s horizon in the distance. In a following clip, the Moon lowers below Earth’s horizon, as clouds stream past on Earth’s surface. ⁣ ⁣ #NASA #FullMoon #SuperMoon #Harvest #PartialLunarEclipse #SkyWatching
You’re gonna hear me roar Have no fear: what might look like a nightmarish beast throwing its head back in an angry red sea is just a pillar of gas and dust. The Cone Nebula is 2,500 light-years away in the constellation Monoceros. This image, captured by @NASAHubble, shows the upper 2.5 light-years of the nebula; the entire nebula is 7 light-years long. Monstrous pillars of cold gas like the Cone are common in large regions of star birth. Astronomers believe the pillars are incubators for developing stars. Over millions of years, radiation from hot, young stars (located beyond the top of the image) has slowly eroded the nebula. This process causes the hydrogen gas to glow, which produces the red halo of light seen around the pillar. A similar process occurs on a much smaller scale to gas surrounding a single star, forming the bow-shaped arc seen near the upper left side of the Cone. Eventually, only the densest regions of the Cone will be left. Inside these regions, stars and planets may form. Image description: Against a dramatic red backdrop, a dark pillar of gas and dust stretches upward, its top illuminated by the reflected light of nearby stars. Some stars are sprinkled across the top of the image. There are also a few stars dotting the bottom of the pillar. Credit: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (USCS/LO), M. Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA #NASA #Nebula #Stars #Universe #Astronomy
Look up at the Moon with NASA this weekend! Saturday, Sept. 14 is International Observe the Moon Night, and we're inviting you to join us as we celebrate our lunar neighbor. We're holding Moon parties—in person and online—sharing fun Moon facts, and talking about how our @NASAArtemis astronauts are preparing to return to the Moon. Whether you're looking with a telescope, a pair of binoculars, or your own two eyes, come out and Moonwatch with us! Visit moon.nasa.gov for the details. Image description: A glowing full moon rises above the Washington Monument. The top quarter of the monument, covered in scaffolding, is visible, with its triangular tip appearing to point to the pale Moon above, which appears in this photo to be roughly twice as wide as the monument. The Moon is wreathed in thin clouds which give it a hazy appearance. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls #NASA #Space #Moon #ObserveTheMoon
If you got it, flaunt it 🔥 This stylish sphere, spotted by @NASAHubble, is known as the Bubble Nebula. Residing 7,100 light-years from Earth, the Bubble Nebula itself is a whopping 7 light-years across. The seething star that forms this nebula is 45 times more massive than our Sun! Gas on the star gets so hot that it escapes away into space as a stellar wind moving at over four million miles per hour (6.4 million kph). The gases, heated to varying temperatures, emit different colors: blue for oxygen, green for hydrogen, and red for nitrogen. The Bubble Nebula formed about four million years ago—and in 10 to 20 million years, the star at its core will likely detonate as a supernova. Image description: A light-blue-colored bubble, with a small pink star on the upper-left side of the bubble, floats in space. Dense pillars of cool hydrogen gas laced with dust appear at the upper-left of the image, and more "fingers" can be seen nearly face-on, behind the translucent bubble. Gas and sparsely-spread stars fill the background against the darkness of space.⁣ Credit: NASA, @EuropeanSpaceAgency, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) #NASA #Space #Universe #Hubble #BubbleNebula #HubbleSpaceTelescope #Astronomy
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