Homebound: NASA Crew-9's Plane Lands in Houston | Johnson Space Center
Capture Date: March 18, 2025
Release Date: March 21, 2025
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Homebound: NASA Crew-9's Plane Lands in Houston | Johnson Space Center
NASA's Space to Ground: Shift Change | Week of March 21, 2025
NASA's Space to Ground is your weekly update on what's happening aboard the International Space Station. The Expedition 72 crew with its four newest members is returning to science operations following a busy period of crew swap activities.
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
Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Duration: 4 minutes
Release Date: March 21, 2025
Lunar Eclipse Night Auroras in Alaska
"That was the best lunar eclipse I’ve ever seen, and I felt extremely fortunate to experience Alaskan auroras in Denali National Park at the same exact time! Photo 1 titled “TOTALITY” was on March 13, 2025 just after 11:30 pm AKDT, right at the end of totality (little dot on the right is the blood moon which changed the whole mood and color scheme for one brief & sublime hour of time). [The other photo] . . . was taken earlier around 10 pm AKDT when the auroras first came out during the partial eclipse phase while the moon was still emitting a lot of bright white light."
Stars Alshain, Altair & Tarazed in Aquila
This two-frame mosaic image is another Greg Parker/George Roberts collaboration. It was photographed at the New Forest Observatory in the U.K., in October 2024.
Image Details: Taken with the 200mm lenses and the ASI 2600MC Pro OSC CMOS cameras on the MiniWASP array at the New Forest Observatory. Each frame was 4-hours, using 10-minute subs.
Four Lasers, Four Layers of The Cosmos | ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile
The Chakana is a recurrent symbol within Andean cultures. Shaped like a square stepped cross, it represents four stairs or bridges to the upper levels of the Andean cosmovision.
For the Mapuche people in south-central Chile, the sky is the Wenu mapu, a land of goodness and order inhabited by deities, ancestors and benign spirits. The Wenu mapu is ordered into four layers where holy beings like the four gods of the stars (Meli wanlén) and the four gods of the Moon (Meli Kiyén) oppose the forces of evil below. These opposite forces then clash on Earth, a natural world divided into four cardinal directions, each linked to different levels of goodness and evil.
The names and details of this vision of the Cosmos may change across Andean traditions, but one thing remains constant: a belief that four is more than just a number. Four represents a measure of perfection, as only two opposite things can bring balance. The four lasers of ESO’s VLT are currently sharpening our view of the Cosmos, but, in a sense, they also continue this ancient pattern, giving us a small connection to the beliefs of the Mapuche community.
#NASA #FoN #ESO #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #ZodiacalLight #LaserGuideStar #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #ParanalObservatory #AtacamaDesert #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education
Planet Mars Images: March 17-19, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers
Journey to The Most Distant Galaxy to Date JADES-GS-z14-0: Oxygen Detected | ESO
This video zooms into the galaxy JADES-GS-z14-0, the most distant galaxy confirmed to date. Thanks to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a telescope operated by the European Southern Observatory and its international partners, astronomers have now uncovered the presence of a surprising element after examining its light spectrum: oxygen. The presence of heavy elements like oxygen suggests that the formation of these early galaxies happened much faster than we thought. It must have had multiple generations of stars being born and dying.
The various images shown here, blended together to create this zoom, come from telescopes at distinct time intervals, ending with close-up of the galaxy as seen by ALMA, together with the spectrum recovered by two independent research teams.
Oxygen Discovered in Most Distant Galaxy | European Southern Observatory
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have detected oxygen in JADES-GS-z14-0, the most distant galaxy known so far. This is the earliest detection of oxygen yet, and it is very intriguing. How did galaxies evolve fast enough to get enriched with heavy elements like oxygen so early on?
In this Chasing Starlight episode, we will show you everything behind this incredible achievement, and explain how it is changing what we knew about the conditions of the early Universe.
NASA Astronaut Suni Williams Watching Indian Ocean | International Space Station
NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Suni Williams peers at the Earth below from inside the International Space Station's cupola. The orbital outpost was soaring 260 miles above the Indian Ocean at the time of this photograph.
Welcome home, Suni!
Crew-9's 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 returned from a long-duration science expedition aboard the International Space Station.
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.
A plane carrying NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 later touched down at Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston, Texas at 11:19 pm CDT, March 18, 2025.
A Deep Field Collection of Galaxies | Euclid Space Telescope | ESA
This image shows examples of galaxies in a variety of shapes, all captured by the European Space Agency's Euclid space telescope during its first observations of the Deep Field areas.
Deep field refers to a composite image of far distant objects in space, compiled from multiple exposures.
As part of the data release, a detailed catalog of more than 380,000 galaxies was published. They have been classified according to features, such as spiral arms, central bars, and tidal tails that infer merging galaxies.
Image Description: A collage of nine by five squares containing galaxies of numerous shapes and viewed in a range of orientations. For example, the first column shows five edge-on galaxies that appear thin like a pencil. The galaxies in the second column have a more fuzzy, diffuse appearance. The middle columns showcase face-on spiral galaxies with many shapes and densities of stars. The last two columns include interacting galaxies or galaxies with an unusual spiral arm or tidal tail.
#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #DeepField #GalacticSurvey #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education
Deep Field Collection of Strong Gravitational Lenses | Euclid Space Telescope | ESA
#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #GravitationalLenses #EinsteinRings #GalaxyClusters #DeepFields #GalacticSurvey #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education
NASA Cameras on Blue Ghost Lander Capture Effects of Lunar Sunset
This is a view of light changes from a lunar sunset on the Moon's surface from NASA's SCALPSS cameras on Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 1 lander. A compressed, resolution-limited Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file shows the view of lunar sunset from one of the six Stereo Cameras for Lunar-Plume Surface Studies (SCALPSS) 1.1 cameras on Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander. It operated on the Moon’s surface for a little more than 14 days and stopped, as anticipated, a few hours into lunar night. SCALPSS was taking images every 10 minutes during the sunset. The bright, swirly light moving across the surface on the top right of the image is sunlight reflecting off the lander. Images taken by SCALPSS 1.1 during Blue Ghost’s descent and landing, as well as images from the surface during the long lunar day, will help researchers better understand the effects of a lander’s engine plumes on the lunar soil, or regolith.
The SCALPSS instrument collected almost 9,000 images and returned 10 GB of data. This data is important as trips to the Moon increase and the number of payloads touching down in proximity to one another grows. The SCALPSS 1.1 project is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development program. SCALPSS was developed at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, with support from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
This work was part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (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 CLPS: https://www.nasa.gov/clps
NASA Crew-9 Homecoming in Houston | Johnson Space Center
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.
Cat’s Eye Nebula: Ultra close-up views | Euclid Space Telescope | ESA
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.
#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
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.
#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #ClusterJ041110984819393 #DeepFieldNorth #GalacticSurvey #GravitationalLensing #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education
Cat’s Eye Nebula: Close-up & Wide-field 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 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.
#NASA #ESA #ESAEuclid #Astronomy #Space #Science #CatsEyeNebula #Nebula #PlanetaryNebula #NGC6543 #Caldwell6 #Draco #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #DeepFieldNorth #GalacticSurvey #Cosmos #Universe #EST #EuclidSpaceTelescope #SpaceTelescope #Europe #STEM #Education