Dyson Gazes at Earth as Sun Sets | International Space Station

Dyson Gazes at Earth as Sun Sets | International Space Station

The setting sun highlights Earth's horizon and reveals NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson's profile as she looks out the cupola, the International Space Station's "window to the world," while soaring 262 miles above the South Atlantic Ocean.

Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson Official NASA Biography:

https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/tracy-caldwell-dyson
https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/tracy-caldwell-dyson/biography

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.

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)
Release Date: Dec. 2, 2024
Image Date: Sept. 1, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #Astronauts #TracyDyson #Cupola #AtlanticOcean #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #LongDurationMissions #SpaceLaboratory #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Expedition71 #Expedition72 #STEM #Education

Williams & Dyson View Atlantic Ocean from Cupola | International Space Station

Williams & Dyson View Atlantic Ocean from Cupola | International Space Station

Expedition 71 Flight Engineers (from left) Suni Williams and Tracy C. Dyson look out the cupola, the International Space Station's "window to the world," while orbiting 264 miles above the Atlantic Ocean east of the Lesser Antilles group of islands.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams is currently the commander of the Expedition 72 crew aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams Official Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/people/sunita-l-williams/

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/williams-s.pdf

Astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson Official NASA Biography:
https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/tracy-caldwell-dyson
https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/tracy-caldwell-dyson/biography

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.

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)
Release Date: Dec. 2, 2024
Image Date: Sept. 1, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #Astronauts #SuniWilliams #TracyDyson #Cupola #AtlanticOcean #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #LongDurationMissions #SpaceLaboratory #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Expedition71 #Expedition72 #STEM #Education

Panoramic Earth Views via Robotic Arm Camera | China Space Station

Panoramic Earth Views via Robotic Arm Camera | China Space Station

What does the Earth look like in a panoramic view? The Tiangong Space Station's extraordinary photographer, the “Robotic Arm,” brings you scenes of Earth from low-Earth orbit (LEO).

China launched the Shenzhou-19 crewed spacecraft at the end of October 2024, sending three astronauts—including the country's first female space engineer—to its space station for a six-month mission.

Shenzhou-19 Crew:

Commander Cai Xuzhe (蔡旭哲)

Mission Specialist Wang Haoze (王浩泽)

Mission Specialist Song Lingdong (宋令东)

Video Credit: China Manned Space Agency (CMSA)/CCTV

Duration: 2 minutes, 38 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 3, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #EarthObservation #RoboticArm #Robotics #Shenzhou19 #神舟十九号 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #CSS #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #国家航天局 #LongDurationMissions #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New Mars Images: Fall 2024 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

New Mars Images: Fall 2024 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

MSL - sol 4379

Mars 2020 - sol 1342

Mars 2020 - sol 1343

Mars 2020 - sol 1343

MSL - sol 4380

Support FriendsofNASA.org

Celebrating 12+ Years on Mars (2012-2024)

Mission Name: Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

Rover Name: Curiosity

Main Job: To determine if Mars was ever habitable to microbial life. 

Launch: Nov. 6, 2011

Landing Date: Aug. 5, 2012, Gale Crater, Mars

Celebrating 3+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Date: Nov. 29-Dec. 2, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

Martian Ice Clouds | NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover

Martian Ice Clouds | NASA's Mars Perseverance Rover

If you could stand on Mars—what might you see? You might look out over a vast orange landscape covered with rocks under a dusty orange sky, with a blue-tinted Sun setting over the horizon, and odd-shaped water clouds hovering high overhead. This was just the view captured in March 2024 by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover. The orange coloring is caused by rusted iron in the Martian dirt. This dust can be swept up by winds into the atmosphere. The blue tint near the setting Sun is caused by blue light being preferentially scattered out from the Sun by the floating dust. The light-colored clouds on the right are likely composed of water-ice and appear high in the Martian atmosphere. The shapes of these clouds are unusual in comparison with Earth and remain a topic of research.

Celebrating 3+ Years on Mars

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for return to Earth.

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, Kevin M. Gill
Processing: Rogelio Bernal Andreo
Release Date: Dec. 3, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Atmosphere #Clouds #IceClouds #Astrobiology #Geology #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #JezeroCrater #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #KevinGill #RogelioBernalAndreo #CitizenScientists #STEM #Education

Long March-12 Liftoff: Close-up Views | Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site

Long March-12 Liftoff: Close-up Views | Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site

Four state-of-the-art 130-ton-thrust liquid oxygen-kerosene engines have powered the successful flight of China's new carrier rocket, the Long March-12, marking the first launch mission for this advanced engine.

The new engine represents a significant advancement, incorporating new materials, processes, and technologies. It is expected to play a key role in China's next generation of launch vehicles.

"This engine is an improved version based on our original 120-ton engine. It features a pump-backswing design with a supplementary combustion cycle. Compared to the previous 120-ton engine, we have reduced the weight by 20 percent, increased the thrust by 5 percent, and enhanced the overall performance," said Li Bin, vice president in charge of the Sixth Academy of the Sixth Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) and chief engineer of the liquid oxygen kerosene engine.

The standout feature of this engine, as explained by Li, is its "pump backswing" design. This enables a more compact engine structure by minimizing the space required for adjusting the engine's attitude and other reasons through nozzle swinging.

"The pump-backswing engine operates like a person swinging only their legs while keeping the upper body still. In other words, the engine's nozzle is the only part that moves. This limited movement reduces the engine's profile and the area it sweeps, allowing the rocket to be designed more compactly," said Li.

China launched the Long March-12 into space on Saturday night, November 30, 2024, from the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch (HICAL) site on the southern island province of Hainan.

The Long March-12 carrier rocket sent two experimental satellites, for private company GalaxySpace, into their planned orbits.

Long March-12 Rocket Data
3.8m wide & 62m tall, D5.2m fairings
430t liftoff mass
4 YF-100K kerolox engines provide 5000kN thrust at liftoff
2 YF-115 2nd stage engines are able to reignite for the first time
12t LEO capacity, 6t SSO

Video Credit: CNSA Watcher
Duration: 20 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 2, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #CNSA #中国国家航天局 #LongMarch12 #长征十二号运载火箭 #Rocket #RocketEngine #LOXKerosene #RocketLaunch #CarrierRocket #MediumLift #CASC #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #CommercialSpace #Spaceflight #HICAL #WSLS #Wenchang #Hainan #STEM #Education #HD #Video

What's in the Night Sky for December 2024? | BBC Sky at Night

What's in the Night Sky for December 2024? | BBC Sky at Night

Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal their pick of the best things to see in the night sky this month.

Video Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine
Duration: 31 minutes, 37 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 2, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Meteors #Aurora #Planets #Venus #Jupiter #SolarSystem #Stars #StarClusters #Constellations #Nebulae #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Universe #Skywatching #BBC #UK #Britain #Europe #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #Podcast #HD #Video

Success of China's Long March-12 Rocket Powered by Upgraded Engine

Success of China's Long March-12 Rocket Powered by Upgraded Engine

Four state-of-the-art 130-ton-thrust liquid oxygen-kerosene engines have powered the successful flight of China's new carrier rocket, the Long March-12, marking the first launch mission for this advanced engine.

The new engine represents a significant advancement, incorporating new materials, processes, and technologies. It is expected to play a key role in China's next generation of launch vehicles.

"This engine is an improved version based on our original 120-ton engine. It features a pump-backswing design with a supplementary combustion cycle. Compared to the previous 120-ton engine, we have reduced the weight by 20 percent, increased the thrust by 5 percent, and enhanced the overall performance," said Li Bin, vice president in charge of the Sixth Academy of the Sixth Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) and chief engineer of the liquid oxygen kerosene engine.

The standout feature of this engine, as explained by Li, is its "pump backswing" design. This enables a more compact engine structure by minimizing the space required for adjusting the engine's attitude and other reasons through nozzle swinging.

"The pump-backswing engine operates like a person swinging only their legs while keeping the upper body still. In other words, the engine's nozzle is the only part that moves. This limited movement reduces the engine's profile and the area it sweeps, allowing the rocket to be designed more compactly," said Li.

China launched the Long March-12 into space on Saturday night, November 30, 2024, from the Hainan International Commercial Aerospace Launch (HICAL) site on the southern island province of Hainan.

The Long March-12 carrier rocket sent two experimental satellites, for private company GalaxySpace, into their planned orbits.

Long March-12 Rocket Data
3.8m wide & 62m tall, D5.2m fairings
430t liftoff mass
4 YF-100K kerolox engines provide 5000kN thrust at liftoff
2 YF-115 2nd stage engines are able to reignite for the first time
12t LEO capacity, 6t SSO

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 19 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 1, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #CNSA #中国国家航天局 #LongMarch12 #长征十二号运载火箭 #Rocket #RocketEngine #LOXKerosene #RocketLaunch #CarrierRocket #MediumLift #CASC #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #CommercialSpace #Spaceflight #HICAL #WSLS #Wenchang #Hainan #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Spiral Galaxy NGC 300 in Sculptor: Wide-field View | Digitized Sky Survey 2

Spiral Galaxy NGC 300 in Sculptor: Wide-field view | Digitized Sky Survey 2

This wide field image, from the Digitized Sky Survey 2, shows the area around the spiral galaxy, NGC 300, six million light-years from Earth. NGC 300 is a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of a nearby group of galaxies known as the Sculptor group, named for the southern constellation where the group can be found. NGC 300 is one of the Milky Way's closer neighbors.

The field of view is about 2.92x2.94 degrees.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2

Release Date: Jan. 27, 2010

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC300 #IRAS005253757 #SpiralGalaxy #Sculptor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #DSS2 #STScI #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 300 in Sculptor | MPG/ESO Telescope

Spiral Galaxy NGC 300 in Sculptor | MPG/ESO Telescope

NGC 300 is a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of a nearby group of galaxies known as the Sculptor group, named for the southern constellation where the group can be found. The distance to NGC 300 is 6.5 million light-years, making it one of the Milky Way's closer neighbors.

This is a color-composite image of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 300 and the surrounding sky field, obtained in 1999 and 2000 with the Wide-Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Learn about the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope:
https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: Aug. 7, 2002

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC300 #IRAS005253757 #SpiralGalaxy #Sculptor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #MPGESOTelescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

A Nearby Galaxy of Stars: NGC 300 in Sculptor

A Nearby Galaxy of Stars: NGC 300 in Sculptor

A classic spiral galaxy is shown with blue spiral arms. The center is yellow-red. Many star clusters are easily visible. This galaxy is unusual for how many stars it seems that you can see. Stars are so abundantly evident in this deep exposure of the spiral galaxy NGC 300 because so many of these stars are bright blue and grouped into resolvable bright star clusters. Additionally, NGC 300 is so clear because it is one of the closest spiral galaxies to Earth, as light takes only about 6 million years to get here. Of course, galaxies are composed of many more faint stars than bright, and even more of a galaxy's mass is attributed to unseen dark matter. 

NGC 300 spans nearly the same amount of sky as the full moon and is visible with a small telescope toward the southern constellation of the Sculptor. This image was captured in October from Rio Hurtado, Chile, and is a composite of over 20 hours of exposure.

Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Stern
Daniel's Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/messierchaser/
Release Date: Dec. 2, 2024

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC300 #IRAS005253757 #SpiralGalaxy #Sculptor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #DanielStern #RioHurtado #Chile #STEM #Education #APoD

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

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

Here are examples of skywatching highlights for the northern hemisphere in December 2024:

This month, enjoy dazzling views of Venus as the "Evening Star," Jupiter at its brightest during opposition, and Mars doubling in brightness, and look for the Winter Triangle. The Geminid meteor shower peaks under challenging moonlight conditions, but you might get lucky and catch a shooting star that week before sunrise!

0:00 Intro
0:14 December planet highlights
1:31 The Winter Stars  
1:57 The Winter Triangle 
2:42 Geminid Meteor Shower
3:14 December Moon phases

The Geminids meteor shower peaks during mid-December each year. It is considered to be one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers. 

During its peak, 120 Geminid meteors can be seen per hour under perfect conditions. The Geminids are bright and fast meteors and tend to be yellow in color.

Learn more about the Geminid Meteor Shower:

https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/geminids/

Video Credit: NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Narration: Preston Dyches

Duration: 3 minutes, 38 seconds

Release Date: Dec. 2, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Skywatching #Earth #Planets #Venus #Mars #Jupiter #Geminids #GeminidMeteorShower #Meteors #MeteorShowers #SolarSystem #Stars #Constellations #MilkyWayGalaxy #JPL #California #Skywatching #UnitedStates #Canada #Mexico #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Nearby Galaxy NGC 300 in Sculptor: Stars Like Grains of Sand | Hubble

Nearby Galaxy NGC 300 in Sculptor: Stars Like Grains of Sand | Hubble

In this view of the spiral galaxy NGC 300, young, blue stars are concentrated in spiral arms that sweep diagonally through the image. The yellow blobs are glowing hot gas that has been heated by radiation from the nearest young, blue stars. 

Hot, young blue stars appear in clusters that form in the galaxy's spiral arms. Ribbons of deep red stars mark the location of gauzy curtains of dust that partially hide the light of the stars behind them. Near the center of the image is the bright and compact nucleus of the galaxy where even the ACS loses the ability to separate the densely packed stars.

In this image, a dense swarm of stars, patches of dust, and a bright star cluster are visible, all located near the nucleus of the galaxy. Similar clusters are thought to be related to the formation of supermassive black holes.

What appear as individual grains of sand on a beach in this image obtained with the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope are actually myriads of stars embedded deep in the heart of the nearby galaxy NGC 300. The Hubble telescope's exquisite resolution enables it to see the stars as individual points of light, despite the fact that the galaxy is millions of light-years away. A ground-based Digitized Sky Survey image of the full field of NGC 300 is shown in the top left frame. An outline of a Hubble Heritage Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) image is marked and shown in the top right frame. A detailed blowup of this image (in the bottom frame) shows individual stars in the galaxy. A background spiral galaxy is visible in the lower right corner.

Ribbons of deep red stars mark the location of gauzy curtains of dust that partially hide the light of the stars behind them. Near the center of the image is the bright and compact nucleus of the galaxy where Hubble's instruments lose their ability to separate the densely packed stars.

Myriads of stars embedded in the heart of the nearby galaxy NGC 300 can be singled out like grains of sand on a beach in these Hubble Space Telescope images. The Hubble telescope's exquisite resolution enables it to see the stars as individual points of light, despite the fact that the galaxy is millions of light-years away. NGC 300 is a spiral galaxy similar to our own Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of a nearby group of galaxies known as the Sculptor group, named for the southern constellation where the group can be found. The distance to NGC 300 is 6.5 million light-years, making it one of the Milky Way's closer neighbors. At this distance, only the brightest stars can be picked out from ground-based images. With a resolution around ten times better than ground-based telescopes, Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) resolves many more stars in this galaxy than can be detected from the ground.

Among luminous blue specks in this image are young and massive stars called blue supergiants. They are among the brightest stars seen in spiral galaxies like NGC 300. By combining the stellar brightness with other information, such as the stellar temperature, surface gravity and mass outflow, astronomers are defining a new technique to measure distances to galaxies located millions of light-years away.

Image Credits: NASA, European Space Agency, and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)
Release Dates: April 8, 2004-Sept. 30, 2008

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC300 #IRAS005253757 #SpiralGalaxy #Sculptor #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #ESA #Europe #GSFC #DSS #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

China's First Long March-12 Launch | Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site

China's First Long March-12 Launch | Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site

The launch of the Long March-12 carrier rocket on Saturday, November 30, 2024, marks the beginning of operations at China's first-ever commercial launch site and signifies a major milestone for the nation, according to experts.

The Long March-12 carrier rocket blasted off at 22:25 (Beijing Time) from the site's No. 2 launch pad, successfully sending two experimental satellites for private company GalaxySpace into their planned orbits.

The launch mission achieved complete success at 22:48, according to Hainan provincial authorities.

Developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the Long March-12 is currently the country's largest single-core carrier rocket in payload capacity. It features a two-stage configuration propelled by six liquid oxygen/kerosene engines with a length of about 62 meters and a diameter of 3.8 meters.

The rocket is designed with a carrying capacity of no less than 12 tonnes in low Earth orbit and no less than six tonnes in 700-km sun-synchronous orbit.

Construction work on the Hainan commercial space launch site began in July 2022, and it is now the country's first launch site dedicated to commercial missions.The site currently features two launch pads for liquid-propellant rockets. The No. 1 pad is designed for the Long March-8, China's new-generation medium-lift carrier rocket, while the No. 2 pad can accommodate multiple rocket types with varying diameters from commercial rocket companies. Each pad has an annual launch capacity of 16 launches.

Saturday's launch was the 548th flight mission of the Long March rocket series.

Long March-12 Rocket Data

3.8m wide & 62m tall, D5.2m fairings

430t liftoff mass

4 YF-100K kerolox engines provide 5000kN thrust at liftoff

2 YF-115 2nd stage engines are able to reignite for the first time

12t LEO capacity, 6t SSO

Image Credits: CCTV/China Daily/Xinhua
Image Dates: Nov. 29-30, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #Earth #China #中国 #CNSA #中国国家航天局 #LongMarch12 #长征十二号运载火箭 #Rocket #RocketLaunch #CarrierRocket #MediumLift #CASC #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #CommercialSpace #Spaceflight #WSLS #Wenchang #Hainan #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1637 in Eridanus : Signs of the Stellar Lifecycle | Hubble

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1637 in Eridanus : Signs of the Stellar Lifecycle | Hubble

The subject of this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture is NGC 1637, a spiral galaxy located 38 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus.

This image comes from an observing program dedicated to studying star formation in nearby galaxies. Stars form in cold, dusty gas clouds that collapse under their own gravity. As young stars grow, they heat their nurseries through starlight, winds, and powerful outflows. Together, these factors play a role in controlling the rate at which future generations of stars form. 

Evidence of star formation is scattered all around NGC 1637, if you know where to look. The galaxy’s spiral arms are dotted with what appear to be pink clouds, many of which are accompanied by bright blue stars. The pinkish color comes from hydrogen atoms that have been excited by ultraviolet light from young, massive stars. This contrasts with the warm yellow glow of the galaxy’s center that is home to a densely packed collection of older, redder stars. 

The stars that set their birthplaces aglow are comparatively short-lived, and many of these stars will explode as supernovae just a few million years after they are born. In 1999, NGC 1637 played host to a supernova, pithily named SN 1999EM, that was lauded as the brightest supernova seen that year. When a massive star expires as a supernova, the explosion outshines its entire home galaxy for a short time. While a supernova marks the end of a star’s life, it can also jump start the formation of new stars by compressing nearby clouds of gas, beginning the stellar lifecycle anew.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy filling the view. Its disc is filled with bright red spots where stars are forming, dark reddish threads of dust that obscure light, and bluish glowing areas where older stars are concentrated. It has a large, glowing yellow oval area at the center, along with two spiral arms that wind through the galaxy’s disc. The bottom side of the disc is rounded while the top side is squared-off to a degree.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker
Release Date: Dec. 2, 2024

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC1637 #SpiralGalaxy #Eridanus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Jupiter makes closest approach to Earth: December 2-8, 2024 | BBC Star Diary

Jupiter makes closest approach to Earth: December 2-8, 2024 | BBC Star Diary

Jupiter and Venus are due to shine brightly in the sky this week. Find out how to see them along with many more stargazing highlights in this week’s Star Diary podcast, from the makers of BBC Sky at Night Magazine. 

What’s next for Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)? https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/comet-c-2023-a3-tsuchinshan-atlas

Video Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine

Caption Credit: NASA Goddard/BBC
Duration: 17 minutes
Release Date: Dec. 1, 2024

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Meteors #Aurora #Planets #Venus #Jupiter #SolarSystem #Stars #StarClusters #Constellations #Nebulae #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Universe #Skywatching #BBC #UK #Britain #Europe #UnitedStates #Canada #NorthernHemisphere #STEM #Education #Podcast #HD #Video