Friday, May 18, 2018

Canadian Forces Snowbirds | NASA Kennedy

The Canadian Forces Snowbirds fly in Concorde formation over Launch Complex 39B and the Space Coast shoreline at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Snowbirds, Canada’s air demonstration team, carried out a practice flight over Kennedy and nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Wednesday, May 9, 2018, between their scheduled U.S. air shows.

The Snowbirds of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) fly CT-114 Tutors.

Learn more about the Canadian Forces Snowbirds:
www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/snowbirds/index.page

Credit: NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Release Date: May 8, 2018


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Earth Clouds | International Space Station

Original timelapse by Riccardo Rossi (ISAA) - Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License -

Music: "Snowflake" by Borrtex - Attribution-Non-Commercial International License -
www.jamendo.com/artist/500128/borrtex

Timelapse HD 1080p video
Credit: AstronautiCAST/JSC
Capture Date: January 6, 2018
Duration: 3 minutes, 50 seconds
Release Date: January 31, 2018


#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Earth #ISS #Planet #Atmosphere #Clouds #Spacecraft #Astronauts #Expedition54 #Photography #Art #Science #HD #Video #Timelapse #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect #AstronautiCAST

International Space Station Crew Spacewalk to Change Cooling Components | NASA

May 16, 2018: Outside the International Space Station, Expedition 55 NASA Flight Engineers Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold conducted a spacewalk May 16 to swap out a failed cooling system component called a pump flow control subassembly (PFCS) for a spare. The PFCS is one of several on the truss structure of the station designed to regulate the flow of ammonia coolant through the cooling loops on the station to maintain the proper temperature for critical systems. It was the 210th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades, the eighth in Feustel’s career and the fourth for Arnold.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Duration: 7 minutes, 54 seconds
Release Date: May 16, 2018


#NASA #ISS #Space #Earth #Science #Spacewalk #EVA50 #PFCS #Astronauts #RickyArnold #DrewFeustel #NorishigeKanai #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Expedition55 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #JSC #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Ricky Arnold's Spacewalk | International Space Station

Ricky: "An amazing view of our one and only planet."
NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold takes a brief moment for a picture.
Expedition 55 Flight Engineers Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold of NASA completed the fifth spacewalk of this year at 2:10 p.m. EDT, lasting 6 hours, 31 minutes. The two astronauts moved the Pump Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS) from a spare parts platform on the station’s truss to the Dextre robotic arm. The PFCS drives and controls the flow of ammonia through the exterior portions of the station’s cooling system. The team then removed and replaced a camera group and a degraded Space to Ground Transmitter Receiver Controller, and was also able to complete several get-ahead tasks.

Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 54 days, 16 hours and 40 minutes working outside the station in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory.

For more information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station.

Image Credit: U.S. Astronaut Ricky Arnold
Image Date: May 16, 2018


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #Astronaut #RickyArnold #Spacewalk #EVA50 #Expedition55 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Drew Feustel's Spacewalk | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Drew Feustel at work wearing a spacesuit bearing red stripes.
Expedition 55 Flight Engineers Drew Feustel and Ricky Arnold of NASA completed the fifth spacewalk of this year at 2:10 p.m. EDT, lasting 6 hours, 31 minutes. The two astronauts moved the Pump Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS) from a spare parts platform on the station’s truss to the Dextre robotic arm. The PFCS drives and controls the flow of ammonia through the exterior portions of the station’s cooling system. The team then removed and replaced a camera group and a degraded Space to Ground Transmitter Receiver Controller, and was also able to complete several get-ahead tasks.

Spacewalkers have now spent a total of 54 days, 16 hours and 40 minutes working outside the station in support of assembly and maintenance of the orbiting laboratory.

For more information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station.

Image Credit: Russian Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev
Image Date: May 16, 2018

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The Great Lakes | International Space Station

NASA Astronaut Ricky Arnold: "The Great Lakes looking grand on a clear spring day."

The Great Lakes, also called the Laurentian Great Lakes and the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of interconnected freshwater lakes located primarily in the upper mid-east region of North America, on the Canada–United States border, which connect to the Atlantic Ocean through the Saint Lawrence River. They consist of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron (or Michigan–Huron), Erie, and Ontario. The Great Lakes is the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total area, and second largest by total volume containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water by volume. (Source: Wikipedia)

For more information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station.

Image Credit: U.S. Astronaut Ricky Arnold/NASA/JSC
Release Date: May 16, 2018


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #GreatLakes #Chicago #Illinois #Detroit #Michigan #Toronto #Ontario #Canada #Astronaut #RickyArnold #Expedition55 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #International #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Dwarf Galaxy UGCA 281 | Hubble

UGCA 281 is a blue compact dwarf galaxy located in the constellation of Canes Venatici. Within it, two giant star clusters appear brilliant white and are swaddled by greenish hydrogen gas clouds. These clusters are responsible for most of the recent star formation in UGCA 281; the rest of the galaxy is comprised of older stars and appears redder in color. The reddish objects in the background are background galaxies that appear through the diffuse dwarf galaxy.

The image is a composite using both ultraviolet light and visible light, gathered with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the LEGUS team
Release Date: May 17, 2018


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #Dwarf #UGCA281 #CanesVenatici #Stars #Galaxies #Legus #Cosmos #Universe #Ultraviolet #Telescope #ESA #STScI #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #Education

Dwarf Galaxy DDO 68: Star formation | Hubble

The dwarf galaxy DDO 68, also known as UGC 5340, lies about 40 million light-years away from Earth. Due to its proximity it became one of the 50 targets of LEGUS.

In UGC 5340, a pocket of rapid star birth appears in the lower right corner. This region of star formation was probably triggered by a gravitational interaction with an unseen companion galaxy. But star formation is present across the entire body of UGC 5340, and the relatively young stars are responsible for the galaxy’s blue-white color.

An image of this galaxy was already released back in 2014. This newly-processed image now also shows ultraviolet radiation Hubble captured from the galaxy.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the LEGUS team
Release Date: May 17, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #Dwarf #DDO68 #UGC5340 #Stars #Galaxies #Legus #Cosmos #Universe #Ultraviolet #Telescope #ESA #STScI #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy Messier 106 | Hubble

Messier 106, also known as NGC 4258, is a relatively nearby spiral galaxy, a little over 20 million light-years away. This makes it one of the nearest spiral galaxies.
Despite carrying his name, Messier 106 was neither discovered nor cataloged by the renowned 18th-century astronomer Charles Messier. Discovered by his assistant, Pierre Méchain, the galaxy was never added to the Messier catalog in his lifetime. Along with six other objects discovered but not logged by the pair, Messier 106 was posthumously added to the catalog in the 20th century.

An image of this galaxy was already released back in 2013. This newly-processed image now also shows ultraviolet radiation Hubble captured from the galaxy.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the LEGUS team
Release Date: May 17, 2018


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #Messier106 #NGC4258 #Spiral #Stars #Galaxies #Legus #Cosmos #Universe #Ultraviolet #Telescope #ESA #STScI #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #Education

Galaxy Messier 66—member of the Leo Triplet | Hubble



The spiral galaxy Messier 66 is located at a distance of about 35 million light-years in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). Together with Messier 65 and NGC 3628, Messier 66 is a member of the Leo Triplet, a trio of interacting spiral galaxies.

Like all the galaxies in LEGUS, Messier 66 is undergoing vigorous star and star-cluster formation. One of the goals of LEGUS is to sample star-forming regions across each galaxy. Because the galaxies are relatively close to Earth, Hubble can resolve individual stars.

An image of this galaxy was already released back in 2010. This newly-processed image now also shows ultraviolet radiation Hubble captured from the galaxy.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the LEGUS team
Release Date: May 17, 2018

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #Messier66 #Spiral #Leo #Stars #Galaxies #Legus #Cosmos #Universe #Ultraviolet #Telescope #ESA #STScI #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #Education

Wave of star formation in Galaxy Messier 96 | Hubble

Messier 96, also known as NGC 3368, is a spiral galaxy about 35 million light-years away in the constellation of Leo (The Lion). It is of about the same mass and size as the Milky Way. It was first discovered by astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1781, and added to Charles Messier’s famous catalog of astronomical objects just four days later.

A wave of star formation is occurring along the dark filaments that make up the spiral arms. The fledgling stars illuminate the surrounding hydrogen gas, making the stars appear pink. Star birth begins at the inner spiral arms and moves outward. The milky white regions in the center of these galaxies represent the glow of countless stars.

An image of this galaxy was already released back in 2015. This newly-processed image now also shows ultraviolet radiation Hubble captured from the galaxy.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the LEGUS team
Release Date: May 17, 2018


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #NGC3368 #Spiral #Leo #Stars #Galaxies #Legus #Cosmos #Universe #Ultraviolet #Telescope #ESA #STScI #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #Education

The glowing spiral arms of Galaxy NGC 6744 | Hubble

This image shows the galaxy NGC 6744, about 30 million light-years away. It is one of 50 galaxies observed as part of the Hubble Space Telescope’s Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS), the sharpest, most comprehensive ultraviolet-light survey of star-forming galaxies in the nearby Universe, offering an extensive resource for understanding the complexities of star formation and galaxy evolution.

The image is a composite using both ultraviolet light and visible light, gathered with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and the LEGUS team
Release Date: May 17, 2018


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #NGC6744 #Spiral #Stars #Galaxies #Legus #Cosmos #Universe #Ultraviolet #Telescope #ESA #STScI #Goddard #GSFC #STEM #Education

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Hubble shows the local Universe in ultraviolet

Astronomers Release Most Complete Ultraviolet-Light Survey of Nearby Galaxies | NASA/ESA
May 17, 2018: Capitalizing on the unparalleled sharpness and spectral range of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, an international team of astronomers is releasing the most comprehensive, high-resolution ultraviolet-light survey of nearby star-forming galaxies.

Image Description:
These six images represent the variety of star-forming regions in nearby galaxies. The galaxies are part of the Hubble Space Telescope's Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS), the sharpest, most comprehensive ultraviolet-light survey of star-forming galaxies in the nearby universe. The LEGUS survey combines new Hubble observations with archival Hubble images for 50 nearby star-forming spiral and dwarf galaxies, offering a large and extensive resource for understanding the complexities of star formation and galaxy evolution. Astronomers are releasing the star catalogs for each of the LEGUS galaxies and cluster catalogs for 30 of the galaxies, as well as images of the galaxies themselves. The catalogs provide detailed information on young, massive stars and star clusters, and how their environment affects their development.

The six images consist of two dwarf galaxies (UGC 5340 and UGCA 281) and four large spiral galaxies (NGC 3368, NGC 3627, NGC 6744, and NGC 4258). The images are a blend of ultraviolet light and visible light from Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys.

All of the galaxies are undergoing vigorous star and star-cluster formation. One of the goals of LEGUS is to sample star-forming regions across each galaxy. Because the galaxies are relatively close to Earth, Hubble can resolve individual stars.

The most intense and most recent star birth in the dwarf galaxies is concentrated away from the center. In UGC 5340, a pocket of rapid star birth appears in the lower right corner, and may have been triggered by a gravitational interaction with an unseen companion galaxy. Star formation is present across the entire body of UGC 5340, and the relatively young stars are responsible for the galaxy's blue-white color.

In UGCA 281, two giant star clusters appear brilliant white and are swaddled by greenish hydrogen gas clouds. These clusters are responsible for most of the recent star formation in UGCA 281; the rest of the galaxy is comprised of older stars and appears redder in color than UGC 5340. The reddish objects in the images of the dwarf galaxies are background galaxies that appear through these diffuse objects.

In the spiral galaxies, a wave of star formation is occurring along the dark filaments that make up the spiral arms. The fledgling stars illuminate the surrounding hydrogen gas, making the stars appear pink. Star birth begins at the inner spiral arms and moves outward. The milky white regions in the center of these galaxies represent the glow of countless numbers of stars.

The star clusters in these galaxies range in age from 1 million to roughly 500 million years old. These stellar groupings are as much as 10 times more massive than the largest clusters seen in our Milky Way galaxy.

The galaxies' stars that can be detected in the images range from the size of our Sun to more than 100 times our Sun's mass. They are between 1 million and several billion years old.

The six galaxies are between 19 million and 42 million light-years from Earth.

They were observed between January 2014 and July 201

The Full Story
The researchers combined new Hubble observations with archival Hubble images for 50 star-forming spiral and dwarf galaxies in the local universe, offering a large and extensive resource for understanding the complexities of star formation and galaxy evolution. The project, called the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey (LEGUS), has amassed star catalogs for each of the LEGUS galaxies and cluster catalogs for 30 of the galaxies, as well as images of the galaxies themselves. The data provide detailed information on young, massive stars and star clusters, and how their environment affects their development.

"There has never before been a star cluster and a stellar catalog that included observations in ultraviolet light," explained survey leader Daniela Calzetti of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. "Ultraviolet light is a major tracer of the youngest and hottest star populations, which astronomers need to derive the ages of stars and get a complete stellar history. The synergy of the two catalogs combined offers an unprecedented potential for understanding star formation."

How stars form is still a vexing question in astronomy. "Much of the light we get from the universe comes from stars, and yet we still don't understand many aspects of how stars form," said team member Elena Sabbi of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. "This is even key to our existence—we know life wouldn't be here if we didn’t have a star around."

The research team carefully selected the LEGUS targets from among 500 galaxies, compiled in ground-based surveys, located between 11 million and 58 million light-years from Earth. Team members chose the galaxies based on their mass, star-formation rate, and abundances of elements that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. The catalog of ultraviolet objects collected by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) spacecraft also helped lay the path for the Hubble study.

The team used Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys over a one-year period to snap visible- and ultraviolet-light images of the galaxies and their most massive young stars and star clusters. The researchers also added archival visible-light images to provide a complete picture.

The star cluster catalogs contain about 8,000 young clusters whose ages range from 1 million to roughly 500 million years old. These stellar groupings are as much as 10 times more massive than the largest clusters seen in our Milky Way galaxy.

The star catalogs comprise about 39 million stars that are at least five times more massive than our Sun. Stars in the visible-light images are between 1 million and several billion years old; the youngest stars, those between 1 million and 100 million years old, shine prominently in ultraviolet light.

The Hubble data provide all of the information to analyze these galaxies, the researchers explained. "We also are offering computer models to help astronomers interpret the data in the star and cluster catalogs," Sabbi said. "Researchers, for example, can investigate how star formation occurred in one specific galaxy or a set of galaxies. They can correlate the properties of the galaxies with their star formation. They can derive the star-formation history of the galaxies. The ultraviolet-light images may also help astronomers identify the progenitor stars of supernovas found in the data."

One of the key questions the survey may help astronomers answer is the connection between star formation and the major structures, such as spiral arms, that make up a galaxy.

"When we look at a spiral galaxy, we usually don't just see a random distribution of stars," Calzetti said. “It's a very orderly structure, whether it's spiral arms or rings, and that's particularly true with the youngest stellar populations. On the other hand, there are multiple competing theories to connect the individual stars in individual star clusters to these ordered structures.

"By seeing galaxies in very fine detail—the star clusters—while also showing the connection to the larger structures, we are trying to identify the physical parameters underlying this ordering of stellar populations within galaxies. Getting the final link between gas and star formation is key for understanding galaxy evolution."

Team member Linda Smith of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Space Telescope Science Institute, added: "We're looking at the effects of the environment, particularly with star clusters, and how their survival is linked to the environment around them."

The LEGUS survey will also help astronomers interpret views of galaxies in the distant universe, where the ultraviolet glow from young stars is stretched to infrared wavelengths due to the expansion of space. "The data in the star and cluster catalogs of these nearby galaxies will help pave the way for what we see with NASA's upcoming infrared observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, developed in partnership with ESA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA)," Sabbi said.

Webb observations would be complementary to the LEGUS views. The space observatory will penetrate dusty stellar cocoons to reveal the infrared glow of infant stars, which cannot be seen in visible- and ultraviolet-light images. "Webb will be able to see how star formation propagates over a galaxy," Sabbi continued. "If you have information on the gas properties, you can really connect the points and see where, when, and how star formation happens."

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington, D.C.

Credit:
NASA, ESA, and D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts) and the LEGUS team
Release Date: May 17, 2018


#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Science #Space #Galaxy #Stars #Galaxies #Legus #Dwarf #Spiral #Cosmos #Universe #Ultraviolet #Telescope #ESA #STScI #STEM #Education

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Coastal South America | International Space Station

The Rio de la Plata and the Atlantic coasts of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil are pictured from the International Space Station.

Rio de la Plata is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay and the Paraná rivers. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean, forming a funnel-shaped indentation on the southeastern coastline of South America. Depending on the geographer, the Río de la Plata may be considered a river, an estuary, a gulf or a marginal sea. For those who consider it a river—as is the case mostly in Argentina—it is the widest river in the world, with a maximum width of about 220 kilometers (140 mi). (Source: Wikipedia)

Credit: NASA/JSC
Release Date: May 12, 2018


#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Earth #SouthAmerica #RioDeLaPlata #Uruguay #Paraná #Rivers #Argentina #Brazil #Brasil #Astronauts #Expedition55 #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect

Astronauts Spacewalk Ready | International Space Station

Watch Today's Spacewalk on NASA TV: http://nasa.gov/nasatv
NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold (top) and Drew Feustel (bottom) are pictured inside U.S. spacesuits for a fit check verification ahead of a pair of spacewalks.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: May 7, 2018


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Spacewalk Prep | International Space Station


Watch Today's Spacewalk on NASA TV: http://nasa.gov/nasatv
NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold (left) and Drew Feustel are pictured inside their U.S. spacesuits for a fit check verification ahead of a pair of spacewalks. Norishige Kanai (center), from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, assisted the duo in and out of the spacesuits during the sizing process.

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: May 7, 2018


#NASA #ISS #Space #Earth #Science #Spacewalk #EVA #Spacesuits #Astronauts #RickyArnold #DrewFeustel #NorishigeKanai #Japan #日本 #JAXA #Expedition55 #Human #Spaceflight #Spacecraft #JSC #UnitedStates #International #STEM #Education