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Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Cat’s Eye Nebula: Ultra close-up views | Euclid Space Telescope | ESA

Cat’s Eye Nebula: Ultra close-up views | Euclid Space Telescope | ESA

These are zoom-ins of the European Space Agency Euclid space telescope’s Deep Field North, showing the Cat’s Eye Nebula in the center of the images, around 3,000 light-years away in the constellation Draco. Also known as NGC 6543, this nebula is a visual ‘fossil record’ of the dynamics and late evolution of a dying star. This dying star is shedding its outer colorful shells.

Wide-field (Final) Image Description: The Cat’s Eye Nebula takes center stage in a sparkling sea of stars and galaxies. A dot lies at the center of the nebula, the sight of the dying star. Around it are a series of complex and colorful layers and loops of gas and dust that have been ejected by the star over time. Further away are tendrils and patches of gas and dust in various shapes and sizes that give the impression of fragments of a burst balloon frozen around the point of explosion. Millions of galaxies lie in the background. Numerous bright stars with distinct diffraction spikes are also clearly visible.

Image Credit: ESA / Euclid / Euclid Consortium / NASA

Image Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi
Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence
Release Date: March 19, 2025

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #CatsEyeNebula #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #NGC6543 #Caldwell6 #Draco #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #DeepFieldNorth #GalacticSurvey #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education

Deep Field South Galaxy Cluster Survey: 70x Zoom | Euclid Space Telescope | ESA

Deep Field South Galaxy Cluster Survey: 70x Zoom | Euclid Space Telescope | ESA

This image shows an area of the European Space Agency Euclid space telescope’s Deep Field South survey. The area is zoomed in 70 times compared to its larger mosaic.

Various huge galaxy clusters are visible in this image, as well as intra-cluster light, and gravitational lenses. The cluster near the center is called J041110.98-481939.3, and is located almost 6 billion light-years away.

Image Description: A sea of galaxies of many shapes and sizes, oriented in all directions and many with spiral arms visible. A large, nearby face-on spiral galaxy draws attention at the bottom center of the image. Two bright stars in the center and to the left are seen with prominent diffraction spikes. In between the two stars lie a lensed galaxy cluster, with arc-like smears surrounding the central bright galaxy cluster.

Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA Image Processing: J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi
Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence
Release Date: March 19, 2025

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #ClusterJ041110984819393 #DeepFieldNorth #GalacticSurvey #GravitationalLensing #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education

Cat’s Eye Nebula: Wide-field view | Euclid Space Telescope | ESA

Cat’s Eye Nebula: Close-up & Wide-field views | Euclid Space Telescope | ESA

Wide-field Image Description: The Cat’s Eye Nebula takes center stage in a sparkling sea of stars and galaxies. A dot lies at the center of the nebula, the sight of the dying star. Around it are a series of complex and colorful layers and loops of gas and dust that have been ejected by the star over time. Further away are tendrils and patches of gas and dust in various shapes and sizes that give the impression of fragments of a burst balloon frozen around the point of explosion. Millions of galaxies lie in the background. Numerous bright stars with distinct diffraction spikes are also clearly visible.

Image Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi
Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence
Release Date: March 19, 2025

New Views: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon Splashdown | International Space Station

New Views: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon Splashdown | International Space Station

The helicopter carrying NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia takes off from the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, Tuesday, March 18, 2025.

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft landed off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia aboard. Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore are returning from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station.

Crew-9 were later lifted onto the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN while inside their Dragon crew spacecraft shortly after landing.

Hague and Gorbunov have been at the International Space Station since Sept. 29, 2024, while Williams and Wilmore arrived on June 6. This completes a stay in space of 171 days for Hague and Gorbunov and 286 days for Williams and Wilmore.

On the main deck of the recovery ship, the crew exited the spacecraft. They underwent medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

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.

Image Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
Capture Date: March 18, 2025
Release Date: March 19, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Planet #Earth #Crew9 #DragonSpacecraft #Splashdown #Astronauts #SuniWilliams #NickHague #ButchWilmore #Cosmonaut #AleksandrGorbunov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #InternationalCooperation #Expedition72 #STEM #Education

A First Deep Dive into The Universe | Euclid Space Telescope | European Space Agency

A First Deep Dive into The Universe | Euclid Space Telescope | European Space Agency

The European Space Agency’s Euclid Space Telescope mission has scouted out the three areas in the sky where it will eventually provide the deepest observations of its mission.

In just one week of observations, with one scan of each region so far, Euclid already spotted 26 million galaxies. The farthest of those are up to 10.5 billion light-years away.

In the coming years, Euclid will pass over these three regions tens of times, capturing many more faraway galaxies, making these fields truly ‘deep’ by the end of the nominal mission in 2030.

The first glimpse of 63 square degrees of the sky, the equivalent area of more than 300 times the full Moon, already gives an impressive preview of the scale of Euclid’s grand cosmic atlas when the mission is complete. This atlas will cover one-third of the entire sky—14,000 square degrees—in this high-quality detail.

Video Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Duration: 7 minutes
Release Date: March 19, 2025

#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #GalacticSurvey #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Flight Home Highlights | International Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Flight Home Highlights | International Space Station

NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia returned to Earth for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida at 5:57 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 18, completing their long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.

Hague and Gorbunov have been at the International Space Station since  Sept. 29, 2024, while Williams and Wilmore arrived on June 6. This completes a stay in space of 171 days for Hague and Gorbunov and 286 days for Williams and Wilmore.

On the main deck of the recovery ship, MEGAN, the crew exited their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. They will undergo medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Video Credit: NASA/JSC
Duration: 36 minutes
Release Date: March 18, 2025

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon Splashdown | International Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon Splashdown | International Space Station

Support teams work around a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia aboard in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore are returning from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station.

Crew-9 were later lifted onto the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN while inside their Dragon crew spacecraft shortly after having landed. Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore are returning from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station. Crew-9 successfully splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. EDT.

Hague and Gorbunov have been at the International Space Station since  Sept. 29, 2024, while Williams and Wilmore arrived on June 6. This completes a stay in space of 171 days for Hague and Gorbunov and 286 days for Williams and Wilmore.

On the main deck of the recovery ship, the crew exited the spacecraft. They will undergo medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Image Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
Release Date: March 18, 2025

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Splashdown | International Space Station

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Splashdown | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Suni Williams is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN

Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN

NASA astronaut Nick Hague is helped out of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia, second from left, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague, second from right, and Suni Williams, right are seen inside a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia, and NASA astronauts Nick Hague, as well as Suni Williams boarded the SpaceX recovery ship MEGAN shortly after having landed in the water off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore are returning from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station. Crew-9 successfully splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. EDT.

Hague and Gorbunov have been at the International Space Station since  Sept. 29, 2024, while Williams and Wilmore arrived on June 6. This completes a stay in space of 171 days for Hague and Gorbunov and 286 days for Williams and Wilmore.

On the main deck of the recovery ship, the crew exited the spacecraft. They will undergo medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Image Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
Release Date: March 18, 2025

NASA Crew-9 Dragon Spacecraft Splashdown | International Space Station

NASA Crew-9 Dragon Spacecraft Splashdown | International Space Station

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is seen as it lands with NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia aboard in the waters off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Hague, Gorbunov, Williams, and Wilmore are returning from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station.

Crew-9 successfully splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. EDT, March 18, 2025.

Hague and Gorbunov have been at the International Space Station since  Sept. 29, 2024, while Williams and Wilmore arrived on June 6. This completes a stay in space of 171 days for Hague and Gorbunov and 286 days for Williams and Wilmore.

On the main deck of the recovery ship, the crew will exit the spacecraft and undergo medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Image Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber
Capture Date: March 18, 2025

NASA Crew-9 Dragon Spacecraft Splashdown | International Space Station

NASA Crew-9 Dragon Spacecraft Splashdown | International Space Station

NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia have successfully splashed down in the Gulf, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, at 5:57 p.m. EDT, March 18, 2025.

Hague and Gorbunov have been at the International Space Station since  Sept. 29, 2024, while Williams and Wilmore arrived on June 6. This completes a stay in space of 171 days for Hague and Gorbunov and 286 days for Williams and Wilmore.

Teams on the SpaceX recovery ship, including two fast boats, are securing Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for recovery. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Dragon onto the main deck with the Crew-9 crew members inside. Once on the main deck, the crew will exit the spacecraft and undergo medical checks before a short helicopter ride to board a plane for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 35 seconds
Release Date: March 18, 2025

Lunar Sunsets: Timelapse Views | Blue Ghost Mission 1 | Firefly Aerospace

Lunar Sunsets: Timelapse Views | Blue Ghost Mission 1 | Firefly Aerospace

Firefly Aerospace: "Sunsets hit differently on the Moon! . . . [notice] the horizon glow that comes to life just above the Moon’s surface as the sun goes down. This milestone embodies all the achievements from this historic Firefly mission. Thank you Blue Ghost for the final goodbye. Until next time!"

Firefly captured imagery of the lunar sunset on March 16, 2025, providing NASA with data on whether lunar dust levitates due to solar influences and creates a lunar horizon glow that was hypothesized and observed by astronaut Eugene Cernan on Apollo 17. Following the sunset, Blue Ghost operated for 5 hours into the lunar night and continued to capture imagery that measures how dust behavior changes after sunset.

The Blue Ghost lander arrived on the Moon March 2, 2025. The Blue Ghost Mission 1 ended on March 16. The lander operated, near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, for approximately 14 Earth days, or roughly one lunar day. Mare Crisium is a lunar mare located in the Moon's Crisium basin, just northeast of Mare Tranquillitatis. It was formed by the flooding of basaltic lava that filled an ancient asteroid impact.

This work was part of NASA’s CLPS initiative and Artemis campaign to establish a long-term lunar presence. Blue Ghost Mission 1 performed science and technology demonstrations, including lunar subsurface drilling, sample collection, and X-ray imaging of Earth’s magnetic field to advance research for future human missions on the Moon, as well as to provide insights into space weather effects.

Learn more about the mission:

https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-1/

Learn more about CLPS: https://www.nasa.gov/clps

Video Credit: Firefly Aerospace

Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: March 18, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #Sunsets #Planet #Earth #SolarEclipse #ArtemisProgram #Moon #LunarDust #LunarLanders #FireflyAerospace #BlueGhostLunarLander #BlueGhostMission1 #BGM1 #UnitedStates #Robotics #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Four SpaceX Crew-9 Members: Preparing to Leave | International Space Station

Four SpaceX Crew-9 Members: Preparing to Leave | International Space Station

At 1:05 a.m. EDT Tuesday, March 18, 2025, NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia undocked from the space-facing port of International Space Station’s Harmony module aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Dragon is expected to splash down at approximately 5:57 p.m. today off the coast of Florida, where the crew members will be safely recovered.

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 2 minutes, 11 seconds
Release Date: March 18, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Planet #Earth #Crew9 #DragonSpacecraft #Undocking #Astronauts #SuniWilliams #NickHague #ButchWilmore #Cosmonaut #AleksandrGorbunov #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #SpaceLaboratory #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #InternationalCooperation #Expedition72 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Lunar Sunset Collection | Blue Ghost Mission 1 | Firefly Aerospace

Lunar Sunset Collection | Blue Ghost Mission 1 | Firefly Aerospace

Learn more about the mission:

https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-1/

Learn more about CLPS: https://www.nasa.gov/clps

Image Credit: Firefly Aerospace
Release Date: March 18, 2025

Four SpaceX Crew-9 Members Before Departure | International Space Station

Four SpaceX Crew-9 Members Before Departure | International Space Station

The four SpaceX Crew-9 members are suited up in their Dragon pressure suits testing them for a fit check one week before their departure aboard the Dragon crew spacecraft. Clockwise from top left are, NASA astronauts Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Nick Hague, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia. The Commercial Crew quartet is pictured inside the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module.

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Image Date: March 11, 2025
Release Date: March 18, 2025

Watch NASA Instrument Deployment on Lunar Surface to Study Moon’s Interior

Watch NASA Instrument Deployment on Lunar Surface to Study Moon’s Interior

A science instrument aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 represents the first extraterrestrial application of a Lunar Magnetotelluric Sounder (LMS). The instrument is one of ten NASA payloads aboard Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 lander as part of the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. After landing on the Moon March 2, 2025, the Blue Ghost lander deployed four tethered LMS electrodes and a 2-meter mast to commence the instruments' lunar operations to shed light on the differentiation and thermal history of the Moon. The Blue Ghost Mission 1 ended on March 16.

The beginning of this video shows the moment the magnetometer is deployed via an extendable mast. The LMS instrument ejects one of its cable-trailing electrodes onto the lunar surface, reaching a distance up to 60 feet. The instrument measured voltages across opposite pairs of electrodes, much like the probes of a conventional voltmeter. The magnetotelluric method reveals a vertical profile of the electrical conductivity, providing insight into the temperature and composition of the penetrated materials in the lunar interior. These instruments allow NASA and its partners to study the deep interior of the Moon to depths of up to 700 miles, two-thirds of the way to the lunar center.

LMS and its companion NASA science and technology instruments aboard the lander operated on the Moon, near a volcanic feature called Mons Latreille within Mare Crisium, for approximately 14 Earth days, or roughly one lunar day. Mare Crisium is a lunar mare located in the Moon's Crisium basin, just northeast of Mare Tranquillitatis. It was formed by the flooding of basaltic lava that filled an ancient asteroid impact.

Southwest Research Institute based in San Antonio built the central electronics for LMS and leads the science investigation. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provided the LMS magnetometer to measure the magnetic fields, and Heliospace Corp. provided the electrodes used to measure the electrical fields, as well as the magnetometer mast and electrode launchers. The Planetary Missions Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the development for seven of the ten CLPS payloads aboard Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander, including LMS.

Learn more about the mission:

https://fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-1/

For more information about CLPS, visit https://www.nasa.gov/clps

Video Credit: Firefly Aerospace/NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

Duration: 31 seconds
Release Date: March 17, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #ArtemisProgram #Moon #Geology #LMSInstrument #LunarLanders #FireflyAerospace #BlueGhostLunarLander #BlueGhostMission1 #BGM1 #UnitedStates #Robotics #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Lunar Eclipse and Bloodmoon 2025 | NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio

Lunar Eclipse and Bloodmoon 2025 | NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio

A composite photo made from 17 images of the lunar eclipse. These photographs were taken at NASA’s Glenn Research Center at Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, during the early hours of March 14, 2025.

This can occur only when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are exactly or very closely aligned with Earth between the other two. During these rare events, the full Moon rapidly darkens and then glows red as it enters the Earth's shadow. A small amount of indirect sunlight is still reaching the Moon, passing through Earth's atmosphere, resulting in a reddish hue. This light appears reddish due to the Rayleigh scattering of blue light—the same reason sunrises and sunsets are more orange than during the day.

Learn more about NASA's Glenn Research Center:
https://www.nasa.gov/glenn/

Image Credit: NASA/Sara Lowthian-Hanna
Release Date: March 14, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #Earth #Moon #BloodMoon #LunarEclipse #LunarEclipse2025 #Astrophotography #SaraLowthianHanna #Astrophotographer #NASAGlenn #Sandusky #Cleveland #Ohio #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

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