Sunday, November 03, 2024

Air Search Team Ready for Shenzhou-18 Crew Return | China Space Station

Air Search Team Ready for Shenzhou-18 Crew Return | China Space Station

The air search and rescue team for the return of the three Shenzhou-18 astronauts is fully ready to welcome the trio back at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. They must navigate the complicated desert terrain with next to zero visibility during the wee hours to guarantee a safe return of the homecoming Shenzhou-18 crew.

The team is making final preparations and performing maintenance checks on its five helicopters: a command helicopter, a communications helicopter, a medical monitoring helicopter, and two for medical rescue.

The team, stationed approximately 40 kilometers from the anticipated landing point, has intensified its preparations for this nighttime rescue, led by members with extensive experiences in Shenzhou recovery missions.

Wang Wenjuan, an air search and rescue team member, said the two major challenges of this mission are next to zero visibility and sandy desert terrain.

Wang said the team stationed at the Dongfeng landing site in early October for comprehensive drills and site inspections, fully preparing themselves to handle the mission's challenges.

"In these training sessions, we enhanced our preparations in all aspects to tackle the mission's key challenges. For equipment, we installed high-power searchlights, infrared optical pods, and both binocular and quad-night vision goggles. As for personnel, each mission crew has two captains and two mechanics, with an additional navigator assigned. Our pilots each have over 3,100 hours of flight time, bringing extensive experience to the task. The navigator plays a crucial role in supporting the whole crew receiving navigation signals, planning search route, and providing real-time positioning data. They assist the pilots with precise calculations to approach the return capsule and ensure a smooth and accurate landing without deviating by a single meter or degree. Overall, our air search and rescue team is fully prepared with the highest level of expertise, safety, and reliability to bring our astronauts home," she said.


Shenzhou-18 Crew:

Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)

Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)

Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)


Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: Nov. 2, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #Shenzhou18 #神舟十八 #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #YeGuangfu #LiCong #LiGuangsu #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #LongDurationSpaceflight #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Orion Nebula | Kitt Peak National Observatory

The Orion Nebula Kitt Peak National Observatory

This picture shows the great nebula in the constellation of Orion the Hunter around 1,500 light years away. On a good clear night, from a dark site well away from the lights of modern civilization, this glowing cloud of gas and dust can be seen with the naked eye as a fuzzy patch surrounding the star Theta Orionis in the Hunter's Sword, below Orion's belt. It is probably the most spectacular of all the objects cataloged by Charles Messier and now called by their `M' numbers. M42 had been known since the beginnings of recorded astronomy as a star, but it is so outstanding that it was first noted as an extended nebula in 1610, only a year after Galileo's first use of the telescope. Detailed descriptions started appearing later in the seventeenth century, and it has been a popular target for anyone with a telescope ever since.

M42 is our closest example of an HII region, being composed mainly of ionized hydrogen. Deep photographs, such as this one, show that it is nearly a degree across, larger than the full Moon (although the Moon is so bright that it looks much larger). The energy to keep the nebula glowing comes from the very hot young stars in a formation called the Trapezium, embedded in the brightest part of the nebula and not visible in this photograph.

Stars are still being born in a dense cloud behind the nebula, but they are hidden from our view by a concentration of dust. This reduces their light to only a million-millionth of its original intensity. Fortunately, astronomers have developed special cameras and other detectors that are sensitive to infra-red radiation, more popularly known as heat. These can penetrate the dust and reveal this stellar nursery to us. 

Although M42 is mostly hydrogen, in both neutral and ionized states, with a fair quantity of dust, it does contain significant amounts of other elements, especially oxygen. The green glow of doubly-ionized oxygen is strongest near the intense ultraviolet starlight at the middle of the nebula. To the north-east (the upper left in this picture) is a feature called the Dark Bay. It is a thick cloud of neutral gas that has not yet been ionized. 

So many details are visible in even a small telescope that M42 will more than repay the observer that makes it a frequent target, and who will find that it is hard to make a realistic sketch that can capture all of the finer features. This nebula is so impressive in astronomy, it is represented by multiple catalog numbers. M43/NGC1982 is the separated portion to the north-east (top left), surrounding an irregular variable star. Although Messier stopped at only two, other parts of the nebula in this region have received further New General Catalogue (NGC) numbers. 


Image Credit: Bill Schoening, KPNO 4m telescope; original Ektachrome color transparency

Image Date: October 1, 1973


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Nebula #M42 #M43 #NGC1976 #NGC1982 #OrionNebula #StellarNursery #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #KPNO #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Saturday, November 02, 2024

Download Free NASA Graphic Novels: Latest Features Europa Clipper Mission

Download Free NASA Graphic Novels: Newest Features Europa Clipper Mission

A new edition of Issue#4 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe has been released to include the NASA Europa Clipper mission

This wallpaper image, featuring NASA's Europa Clipper Mission, uses artwork from Issue#4 of the astrobiology graphic history series, Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe. The image of Jupiter in the background is adapted from imagery taken by NASA's Juno Mission.

Download free NASA astrobiology graphic novels here in PDF & ePub format in English, Spanish (Español), South Korean (대한민국/한글):

To celebrate the successful launch of NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, the agency’s Astrobiology Program has released a new edition of Issue #4—Missions to the Outer Solar System—of its graphic history series Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe.

Issue #4 tells the story of the outer solar system, from beyond the asteroid belt to the outer reaches of the Sun's magnetic influence. Gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn are not habitable, but many of their moons raise questions about life’s potential far, far away from the warmth of the Sun.

One such body is Jupiter’s moon Europa. It contains an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy surface. The Europa Clipper mission is designed to help scientists understand whether this ocean holds key ingredients that could support habitable environments for life as we know it. The spacecraft launched on Oct. 14, 2024, and will arrive at Jupiter in 2030.

Additional content in the fourth edition of Issue #4 also includes European Space Agency (ESA) Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) Mission. It will arrive in the Jovian system in 2031 and collect data on many of Jupiter’s moons, including Ganymede, Europa, Callisto, and Io. This will complement Europa Clipper’s investigation.

Read more about how astrobiologists study the potential for life on worlds like Europa and the exciting data that Europa Clipper will gather by visiting NASA’s Astrobiology website and downloading the new edition.

Digital wallpaper for phones, desktops, or meeting backgrounds that feature the new Europa Clipper artwork from Issue #4 are also available:

https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/resources/backgrounds/

'Dreaming of Europa' Posters and Wallpaper (phone and desktop)

Full-size downloads: https://go.nasa.gov/3ZIDxgu

Find more information about Europa Clipper and Europa here:

https://europa.nasa.gov/

For more information on NASA’s Astrobiology program, visit:

https://science.nasa.gov/astrobiology


Image Credits: NASA Astrobiology/Aaron Gronstal/Exotic Marble, 2019, NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Prateek Sarpal/©CCNCSA

Article Credit: Karen Fox/Molly Wasser

Release Date: Nov. 1, 2024


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Astrobiology #GraphicNovels #EuropaClipper #EuropaClipperSpacecraft #Jupiter #Europa #Moon #OceanWorlds #Biosignatures #Habitability #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #JPL #Caltech #NASAAmes #SETI #SwRI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #Wallpapers #Posters #Art #STEM #Education

'Space Art': Astronaut Don Pettit's Water Ice Wafers | International Space Station

'Space Art': Astronaut Don Pettit's Water Ice Wafers | International Space Station






NASA Astronaut, Artist & Flight Engineer Don Pettit at work

NASA Astronaut Don Pettit: "Science, or should I say Nature, has a way of presenting surprising beauty if one is willing to look."

"Science and Art, or Art and Science; related subjects where it really doesn’t matter which comes first. So I have access to a freezer kept at -95 degrees centigrade (-140 F). What would you do with such a freezer in space?"

"I decided to grow thin wafers of water ice for no more reason than I’m in space and I can. Plus, I wanted to see how the freezing front behaves in 0g (without gravitational buoyancy, how does the freezing front push the tiny bubbles around). Here is one frame from a whole series. I photographed the ice . . . between crossed polarizers where I used a white (blank) laptop display as the illuminator/polarizer in conjunction with an analyzer (polarizing filter) I strategically packed in my bag of personal effects."

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. 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)


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

Release Date: Oct. 26, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #Astronauts #DonPettit #MicrogravityExperiments #WaterIceWafers #WaterIceScience #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #LongDurationMission #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #Florida #UnitedStates #Expedition72 #Art #Nature #STEM #Education

MACE Gamma-Ray Telescope on India's Highest Plateau in Ladakh

MACE Gamma-Ray Telescope on India's Highest Plateau in Ladakh

India's first Dark Sky Reserve is in Hanle. Hanle is a small village in the north of India in the union territory of Ladakh. At an altitude of nearly 15,000 feet, it is a cold desert in a rain shadow area and conditions are harsh. Temperatures drop below -25° Celsius and winds gust up to 50km per hour. 

Domestically-developed by India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) is "Asia's largest and the world's highest gamma-ray telescope. This groundbreaking achievement places India at the forefront of global astrophysics. By capturing high-energy cosmic phenomena, MACE opens new frontiers in our understanding of the universe."

Although the Earth’s atmosphere prevents gamma rays from reaching the surface, their interactions with the atmosphere create ultra-high energy particles. These particles travel faster than the speed of light in air and as a result they emit a flash of eerie blue Cherenkov radiation—similar to a sonic boom created by an aircraft exceeding the speed of sound. 

Gamma rays have the smallest wavelengths and the most energy of any wave in the electromagnetic spectrum. They are produced by the hottest and most energetic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars and pulsars, supernova explosions, and regions around black holes. On Earth, gamma waves are generated by nuclear explosions, lightning, and the less dramatic activity of radioactive decay.

As a part of the Platinum Jubilee year of DAE, Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary, DAE & Chairman, AEC, inaugurated the MACE Observatory on October 4, 2024, at Hanle, Ladakh.
Image Details:
Camera = Sony A7s3
Lens = Sony 20mm F1.8G
Tracker = iOptron Skyguider Pro
Sky Exposure = 240secs, F4, iso 800
Ground Exposure = 20 secs, F2, iso 6400
Software = LR & PS

Learn more about MACE: https://dae.gov.in/dae-inaugurates-mace-asias-largest-and-worlds-highest-imaging-cherenkov-observatory-at-hanle-ladakh/


Image Credit: Vikas Chander

Vikas' website: https://www.vikaschander.com

Release Date: Dec. 25, 2022


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Asia #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #Hanle #Ladakh #DAE #CherenkovObservatory #CherenkovRadiation #CosmicRays #GammaRays #GammaRayBursts #GRB #Stars #Pulsars #Supernovae #BlackHoles #Cosmos #Universe #Physics #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #Astrophotographer #VikasChander #STEM #Education

MACE – A Pioneering Gamma-Ray Telescope on India's Highest Plateau

MACE – A Pioneering Gamma-Ray Telescope on India's Highest Plateau

  

Domestically-developed by India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), the Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) is "Asia's largest and the world's highest gamma-ray telescope. This groundbreaking achievement places India at the forefront of global astrophysics. By capturing high-energy cosmic phenomena, MACE opens new frontiers in our understanding of the universe."

Although the Earth’s atmosphere prevents gamma rays from reaching the surface, their interactions with the atmosphere create ultra-high energy particles. These particles travel faster than the speed of light in air and as a result they emit a flash of eerie blue Cherenkov radiation—similar to a sonic boom created by an aircraft exceeding the speed of sound. 

Gamma rays have the smallest wavelengths and the most energy of any wave in the electromagnetic spectrum. They are produced by the hottest and most energetic objects in the universe, such as neutron stars and pulsars, supernova explosions, and regions around black holes. On Earth, gamma waves are generated by nuclear explosions, lightning, and the less dramatic activity of radioactive decay.

As a part of the Platinum Jubilee year of DAE, Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary, DAE & Chairman, AEC, inaugurated the MACE Observatory on October 4, 2024, at Hanle, Ladakh.

Learn more about MACE: https://dae.gov.in/dae-inaugurates-mace-asias-largest-and-worlds-highest-imaging-cherenkov-observatory-at-hanle-ladakh/


Video Credit: India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)

Duration: 7 minutes

Release Date: Oct. 20, 2024


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Asia #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #Hanle #Ladakh #DAE #CherenkovObservatory #CherenkovRadiation #CosmicRays #GammaRays #GammaRayBursts #GRB #Stars #Pulsars #Supernovae #BlackHoles #Cosmos #Universe #Physics #Astrophysics #Heliophysics #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Irregular Galaxy IC 3583 in Virgo | Hubble Space Telescope

Irregular Galaxy IC 3583 in Virgo | Hubble Space Telescope

This delicate blue group of stars—actually an irregular galaxy named IC 3583—sits some 30 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin).

It may seem to have no discernable structure, but IC 3583 has been found to have a bar of stars running through its center. These structures are common throughout the Universe, and are found within the majority of spiral, many irregular, and in lenticular galaxies. Two of our closest cosmic neighbors, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, are barred, indicating that they may have once been barred spiral galaxies that were disrupted or torn apart by the gravitational pull of the Milky Way.

This might be happening with IC 3583. It is thought to be gravitationally interacting with one of its neighbors, spiral galaxy Messier 90. Together, the duo form a pairing known as Arp 76. It is unclear whether these effects are the cause of IC 3583’s irregular appearance—but whatever the cause, the galaxy makes for a strikingly delicate sight in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image, glimmering in the blackness of space.


Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Release Date: Nov. 28, 2016


#NASA #ESA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #Galaxy #IC3583 #IrregularGalaxy #InteractingGalaxies #Messier90 #Arp76 #Virgo #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HST #HubbleSpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Thor’s Helmet: NGC 2359 in Canis Major | PROMPT-1 Telescope

Thor’s Helmet: NGC 2359 in Canis Major | PROMPT-1 Telescope


Thor’s Helmet in Canis Major is about 15,000 light years distant. A large bright star near the helmet’s center has created this interstellar bubble by the force of its “stellar wind”. However, this star, known as a Wolf-Rayet star, may go supernova in the relatively near astronomical future. In the meantime, we can continue to enjoy images of NGC 2359. 

This image was created by first assembling a simple RGB from the 2 hours/channel RGB data. The H-alpha data was layered over the red in Photoshop’s lighten mode; the same with the OIII data for the green and blue channels. This allowed us to create an image with RGB stars but enhanced nebula detail from the H-alpha and OIII data. Then a composite (H-alpha+OIII) layer was pasted over the (R+Ha)(G+OIII)(B+OIII) image. The opacity of the composite layer was reduced somewhat to allow the RGB stars to shine through. The star appearance was kept relatively subdued, so as not to detract from the nebula.

PROMPT, an acronym for Panchromatic Robotic Optical Monitoring and Polarimetry Telescopes, was built by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile. 

Credit: SSRO/PROMPT/CTIO

Release Date: June 8, 2010


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Nebula #ThorsHelmetNebula #NGC2359 #WolfRayetStar #CanisMajor #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #PROMPT1Telescope #CTIO #CerroTololo #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

What's Up for November 2024? | Skywatching Tips from NASA

What's Up for November 2024? | Skywatching Tips from NASA

Examples of skywatching highlights in the Northern Hemisphere for November 2024:

This month, catch planetary views of Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, witness a close pass of the Parker Solar Probe by Venus, and get ready for an occultation of the bright star Spica by the Moon.

0:00 Intro

0:20 November planet highlights

1:38 Venus & Parker Solar Probe's flyby

3:03 Occultation of Spica

4:25 October photo highlights

4:38 November Moon phases


Video Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Duration: 5 minutes

Release Date: Nov. 1, 2024


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Skywatching #SUn #ParkerSolarProbe #Earth #Moon #Planets #Venus #Mars #Jupiter #Saturn #SolarSystem #Stars #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #JPL #Caltech #Skywatching #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Friday, November 01, 2024

The Bubble Nebula & Star Cluster M52 | Burrell Schmidt Telescope

The Bubble Nebula & Star Cluster M52 | Burrell Schmidt Telescope

Open star cluster Messier 52 (NGC 7654) [upper-left] and the Bubble emission nebula (NGC 7635) [lower-right]. This combination of CCD images from the Kitt Peak Burrell Schmidt Telescope extends more than a degree across the sky (twice the diameter of the full moon).

What created this huge space bubble? Blown by the wind from a star, this tantalizing, head-like apparition is cataloged as NGC 7635, but known simply as the Bubble Nebula. The featured striking view utilizes a long exposure to reveal the intricate details of this cosmic bubble and its environment.

Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. Seen here above and right of the Bubble's center, a bright hot star is embedded in the nebula's reflecting dust. A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from the star (that likely has a mass 10 to 20 times that of the Sun) has blasted out the structure of glowing gas against denser material in a surrounding molecular cloud. 

Learn more about the Burrell Schmidt Telescope in Arizona:

https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/kitt-peak-national-observatory/burrell-schmidt-telescope/


Credit: N.A.Sharp, REU Program / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA

Release Date: June 30, 2020


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #StarCluster #Messier52 #NGC7654 #Nebulae #Nebula #BubbleNebula #NGC7635 #Star #BD602522 #StellarRadiation #Cassiopeia #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KPNO #NSF #AURA #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Wide-field View of The Bubble Nebula: NGC 7635 in Cassiopeia | Mayall Telescope

Wide-field View of The Bubble Nebula: NGC 7635 in Cassiopeia Mayall Telescope

The Bubble Nebula (NGC 7635) is one of three shells of gas surrounding the massive star BD+602522, the bright star near the center of the bubble. Energetic radiation from the star ionizes the shell, causing it to glow. About six light-years in diameter, the Bubble Nebula is located in the direction of the constellation Cassiopeia. 

The magenta wisps near the bottom-right of the image are an unexpected bonus—the wisps are the remnants of a supernova that exploded thousands of years ago. This was the first optical image of the supernova remnant. It was discovered at radio wavelengths by the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey in 2005.

The Bubble Nebula lies a mere 11,000 light-years away. This mysterious ball of gas is about half a degree from Messier 52, an open star cluster.

What created this huge space bubble? Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. A bright hot star is embedded in the nebula's reflecting dust. A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from the star (that likely has a mass 10 to 20 times that of the Sun) has blasted out the structure of glowing gas against denser material in a surrounding molecular cloud. 

The Nicholas U. Mayall Telescope is a four-meter (158 inches) reflector telescope in Arizona named after the American observational astronomer of the same name. The telescope saw first light on February 27, 1973, and was the second-largest in the world at that time.

Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Brad Ehrhorn/Adam Block

Release Date: June 12, 2014


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #BubbleNebula #NGC7635 #Star #BD602522 #StellarRadiation #Cassiopeia #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MayallTelescope #KPNO #NSF #AURA #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Return of The Bubble Nebula: NGC 7635 in Cassiopeia | NOIRLab

Return of The Bubble Nebula: NGC 7635 in Cassiopeia | NOIRLab


The Bubble Nebula lies a mere 11,000 light-years away toward the constellation Cassiopeia. This mysterious ball of gas is about half a degree from Messier 52, an open star cluster.

This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.

What created this huge space bubble? Blown by the wind from a star, this tantalizing, head-like apparition is cataloged as NGC 7635, but known simply as the Bubble Nebula. The featured striking view utilizes a long exposure to reveal the intricate details of this cosmic bubble and its environment. Although it looks delicate, the 10 light-year diameter bubble offers evidence of violent processes at work. Seen here above and right of the Bubble's center, a bright hot star is embedded in the nebula's reflecting dust. A fierce stellar wind and intense radiation from the star (that likely has a mass 10 to 20 times that of the Sun) has blasted out the structure of glowing gas against denser material in a surrounding molecular cloud. 

Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Brad Ehrhorn/Adam Block

Release Date: June 12, 2014


#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #Nebula #BubbleNebula #NGC7635 #Star #StellarRadiation #Cassiopeia #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #KPNO #NSF #AURA #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Planet Earth's Ozone Hole Continues Healing in 2024 | NASA Goddard

Planet Earth's Ozone Hole Continues Healing in 2024 | NASA Goddard  

This year, the ozone hole over Antarctica reached its annual maximum extent on September 28th, 2024, with an area of 8.5 million square miles (22.4 square million kilometers.) The hole, a region of depleted ozone, was the 20th smallest since scientists began recording the ozone hole in 1979. The average size of the ozone hole between September and October this year was the 7th-smallest since the Montreal Protocol began to take effect. Scientists with NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) project the ozone layer could fully recover by 2066.

At almost 20 million square kilometers (8 million square miles), the monthly average ozone-depleted region in the Antarctic this year was nearly three times the size of the contiguous U.S. The hole reached its greatest one-day extent for the year on September 28 at 22.4 million square kilometers (8.5 million square miles).

The improvement is due to a combination of continuing declines in harmful chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) chemicals, along with an unexpected infusion of ozone carried by air currents from north of the Antarctic, scientists said.

The ozone-rich layer high in the atmosphere acts as a planetary sunscreen that helps shield us from harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the Sun. Areas with depleted ozone allow more UV radiation to reach Earth's surface, resulting in increased cases of skin cancer and cataracts. Excessive exposure to UV light can also reduce agricultural yields as well as damage aquatic plants and animals in vital ecosystems.

Scientists were alarmed in the 1970s at the prospect that CFCs could eat away at atmospheric ozone. By the mid-1980s, the ozone layer had been depleted so much that a broad swath of the Antarctic stratosphere was essentially devoid of ozone by early October each year. Sources of damaging CFCs included coolants in refrigerators and air conditioners, as well as aerosols in hairspray, antiperspirant, and spray paint. Harmful chemicals were also released in the manufacture of insulating foams and as components of industrial fire suppression systems.

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on September 16, 1987, and entered into force on January 1, 1989. Since then, it has undergone nine revisions, in 1990 (London), 1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen), 1993 (Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), 1999 (Beijing) and 2016 (Kigali).

Countries worldwide agreed to replace the chemicals with more environmentally friendly alternatives by 2010. The release of CFC compounds has dramatically decreased following the Montreal Protocol. However, CFCs already in the air will take many decades to break down. As existing CFC levels gradually decline, ozone in the upper atmosphere will rebound globally, and ozone holes will shrink. 

As a result of the international agreement, the ozone hole in Antarctica is slowly recovering. Due to its widespread adoption and implementation, it has been hailed as an example of successful international co-operation. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that "perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date has been the Montreal Protocol".


Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Kathleen Gaeta (GSFC AMA): Lead Producer

Paul Newman (NASA GSFC): Lead Scientist

Amy Moran (NASA GSFC): Lead Visualizer

James Riordon (NASA GSFC): Writer

Duration: 1 minute 

Release Date: Oct. 30, 2024


#NASA #ESA #Space #Science #Sun #UltravioletRadiation #Earth #Planet #Atmosphere #AtmosphericScience #OzoneLayer #OzoneHole #Ozone #Arctic #Antarctica #EarthScience #Pollution #Chlorofluorocarbons #Physics #Chemistry #Satellites #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #InternationalCooperation #MontrealProtocol #History #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Shenzhou-18 & Shenzhou-19 Crews Hold Handover Ceremony | China Space Station

Shenzhou-18 & Shenzhou-19 Crews Hold Handover Ceremony | China Space Station

The Shenzhou-18 and Shenzhou-19 crews held a formal handover ceremony on Friday, November 1, 2024, transferring the symbolic key inside the China Space Station. This seamless transition marks another milestone in China's ongoing space exploration efforts.

The six astronauts will live and work together for a few more days to complete planned tasks and handover work before the Shenzhou-18 crew returns to Earth on November 4, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The Shenzhou-19 spacecraft, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 04:27 on Wednesday, October 30 (Beijing Time).

Shenzhou-19 is the 33rd flight mission of China's crewed space program and the fourth crewed mission during the application and development stage of China's space station.

During the mission, the Shenzhou-19 crew will witness the arrival of the Tianzhou-8 cargo craft and Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft.

The new crew will have numerous tasks to complete, including conducting 86 space science research and technology experiments, performing extravehicular activities, installing protective devices against space debris, and installing and recycling extravehicular payloads and equipment. They will also engage in science education, public welfare activities, and other payload tests.

Shenzhou-19 Crew:

Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲, commander)

Wang Haoze (王浩泽, mission specialist)

Song Lingdong (宋令东, mission specialist)

Shenzhou-18 Crew:

Ye Guangfu (叶光富, commander)

Li Cong (李聪, mission specialist)

Li Guangsu (李广苏, mission specialist)


Video Credit: CGTN

Duration: 38 seconds  

Release Date: Nov. 1, 2024


#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #Shenzhou18 #神舟十八 #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CaiXuzhe #WangHaoze #SongLingdong #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #LongDurationSpaceflight #CMSA #国家航天局 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Artemis III Moon Rocket Hydrogen Fuel Tank Assembly | NASA Michoud

Artemis III Moon Rocket Hydrogen Fuel Tank Assembly | NASA Michoud










This is an example of impressive NASA photos for 2024. This flight hardware will be used for Artemis III—one of the first crewed Artemis Moon missions. The liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 432 degrees Fahrenheit and is the largest of the five elements that make up the rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage. The liquid hydrogen tank is situated between the core stage’s intertank and engine section. The liquid hydrogen hardware, along with the liquid oxygen tank, will provide propellant to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the core stage to produce more than two million pounds of thrust to launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. 

Together with its four RS-25 engines, the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage—the largest stage NASA has ever built—and its twin solid rocket boosters produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit to the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. 

Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space, the SLS rocket, along with NASA’s Gateway in lunar orbit, the Human Landing System, and Orion spacecraft, is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration and the Artemis lunar program. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Follow updates on the Artemis blog: 

https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS)

https://www.nasa.gov/sls

NASA's Artemis III Mission:

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

Read the Artemis Plan (74-page PDF Free Download): 

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/artemis_plan-20200921.pdf

NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF)

https://www.nasa.gov/michoud-assembly-facility/


Image Credit: Steven B. Seipel

Capture Date: May 20, 2024


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The Challenges of Studying Exoplanets | James Webb Space Telescope

The Challenges of Studying Exoplanets | James Webb Space Telescope

Thousands of exoplanets have been discovered so far, prompting an abundance of questions about these distant worlds that orbit stars outside our solar system. This video explores how the James Webb Space Telescope is advancing our understanding of exoplanets, and the current challenges astronomers encounter when studying these planetary bodies.

Within its first few years, Webb has studied a variety of exoplanets, including gas giant exoplanet WASP-39 b and rocky exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 b. With each exoplanet observation, the telescope is broadening astronomers’ knowledge about the universe.

Since exoplanets are distant and faint worlds, astronomers have developed scientific tools and innovative techniques to overcome certain observational obstacles. Although limitations still exist, even with current telescope technology, Webb is just getting started and scientists continue to learn more about exoplanets every day!


Video Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, STScI, Leah Hustak (STScI), Danielle Kirshenblat (STScI).

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: Nov. 1, 2024


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Exoplanets #Planets #TRAPPIST1b #WASP39b #Atmosphere #WebbTelescope #JWST #InfraredTelescope #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education