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Journey to Planetary Nebula NGC 2899 in Vela | Hubble
This video takes the viewer through space to reveal a new NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope image that captures the beauty of the moth-like planetary nebula NGC 2899. This object has a diagonal, bipolar, cylindrical outflow of gas. This is propelled by radiation and stellar winds from a nearly 22,000 degree Celsius white dwarf at the center. In fact, there may be two companion stars that are interacting and sculpting the nebula, which is pinched in the middle by a fragmented ring or torus—looking like a half-eaten donut. It has a forest of gaseous “pillars” that point back to the source of radiation and stellar winds. The colors are from glowing hydrogen and oxygen. The nebula lies approximately 4,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Vela.
Image Description: The planetary nebula NGC 2899 is shaped like a single macaroni noodle with its edges pointed up, but its edge-on central torus is semi-transparent in the middle. The top and bottom edges are thick and orange. The center is semi-transparent blue and green. The wider central region looks roughly like a moth, also filled with semi-transparent blue and green. There are two pinpoint-like white stars with diffraction spikes toward the center. Immediately below them, slightly toward the right, is a smaller blue orb, a central star. The next layer of gas and dust is whiter, with thicker pillars that look like they are rising up at bottom center. The color fades into reds and purples, and then to orange.
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)
Close-up: Planetary Nebula NGC 2899 in Vela | Hubble
This Hubble Space Telescope image captures the beauty of the moth-like planetary nebula NGC 2899. This object has a diagonal, bipolar, cylindrical outflow of gas. This is propelled by radiation and stellar winds from a nearly 22,000 degree Celsius white dwarf at the center. In fact, there may be two companion stars that are interacting and sculpting the nebula, which is pinched in the middle by a fragmented ring or torus—looking like a half-eaten donut. It has a forest of gaseous “pillars” that point back to the source of radiation and stellar winds. The colors are from glowing hydrogen and oxygen. The nebula lies approximately 4,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Vela.
Image Description: The planetary nebula NGC 2899 is shaped like a single macaroni noodle with its edges pointed up, but its edge-on central torus is semi-transparent in the middle. The top and bottom edges are thick and orange. The center is semi-transparent blue and green. The wider central region looks roughly like a moth, also filled with semi-transparent blue and green. There are two pinpoint-like white stars with diffraction spikes toward the center. Immediately below them, slightly toward the right, is a smaller blue orb, a central star. The next layer of gas and dust is whiter, with thicker pillars that look like they are rising up at bottom center. The color fades into reds and purples, and then to orange.
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)
Planetary Nebula NGC 2899 in Vela | Hubble Space Telescope
This Hubble Space Telescope image captures the beauty of the moth-like planetary nebula NGC 2899. This object has a diagonal, bipolar, cylindrical outflow of gas. This is propelled by radiation and stellar winds from a nearly 22,000 degree Celsius white dwarf at the center. In fact, there may be two companion stars that are interacting and sculpting the nebula, which is pinched in the middle by a fragmented ring or torus—looking like a half-eaten donut. It has a forest of gaseous “pillars” that point back to the source of radiation and stellar winds. The colors are from glowing hydrogen and oxygen. The nebula lies approximately 4,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Vela.
Image Description: The planetary nebula NGC 2899 is shaped like a single macaroni noodle with its edges pointed up, but its edge-on central torus is semi-transparent in the middle. The top and bottom edges are thick and orange. The center is semi-transparent blue and green. The wider central region looks roughly like a moth, also filled with semi-transparent blue and green. There are two pinpoint-like white stars with diffraction spikes toward the center. Immediately below them, slightly toward the right, is a smaller blue orb, a central star. The next layer of gas and dust is whiter, with thicker pillars that look like they are rising up at bottom center. The color fades into reds and purples, and then to orange.
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI Release Date: April 23, 2025
4 Brand New Hubble Images Released: Dr. Jennifer Wiseman | NASA Goddard
NASA is celebrating Hubble’s 35th birthday (1990-2025) with an assortment of breathtaking images recently taken by the space telescope!
Stretching from the planet Mars, to spectacular star forming regions, to a magnificent neighboring galaxy, Hubble never ceases to amaze with its views of the universe.
Sit back and relax as Hubble’s Senior Project Scientist, Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, takes you on a tour of all four of these incredible images.
Hubble Space Telescope Celebrates 35th Anniversary (1990-2025)
In celebration of the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope’s 35 years in Earth orbit, an assortment of compelling images have been released today that were recently taken by Hubble. This stretches from the planet Mars, to dramatic images of stellar birth, and death (top right), to a magnificent neighboring galaxy (bottom right). After over three decades of perusing the restless universe, Hubble remains a household word as the most well-recognized telescope in scientific history.
Mars: These are a combination of Hubble Space Telescope images of Mars taken from December 28th to 30th, 2024. At the midpoint of the observations, Mars was approximately 98 million kilometres from Earth. Thin water-ice clouds that are apparent in ultraviolet light give the Red Planet a frosty appearance. The icy northern polar cap was experiencing the start of Martian spring.
Planetary nebula NGC 2899: This object has a diagonal, bipolar, cylindrical outflow of gas. This is propelled by radiation and stellar winds from a nearly 22 000 degree Celsius white dwarf at the center. In fact, there may be two companion stars that are interacting and sculpting the nebula, which is pinched in the middle by a fragmented ring or torus – looking like a half-eaten donut. It has a forest of gaseous “pillars” that point back to the source of radiation and stellar winds. The colors are from glowing hydrogen and oxygen. The nebula lies approximately 4,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Vela.
Rosette Nebula: This is a Hubble Space Telescope photo of a small portion of the Rosette Nebula, a huge star-forming region spanning 100 light-years across and located 5,200 light-years away. Hubble zooms into a small portion of the nebula that is only 4 light-years across (the approximate distance between our Sun and the neighbouring Alpha Centauri star system.) Dark clouds of hydrogen gas laced with dust are silhouetted across the image. The clouds are being eroded and shaped by the seething radiation from the cluster of larger stars in the center of the nebula (NGC 2440). An embedded star seen at the tip of a dark cloud in the upper right portion of the image is launching jets of plasma that are crashing into the cold cloud around it. The resulting shock wave is causing a red glow. The colors come from the presence of hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 5335: This object is categorized as a flocculent spiral galaxy with patchy streamers of star formation across its disk. There is a striking lack of well-defined spiral arms that are commonly found among galaxies, including our Milky Way. A notable bar structure slices across the center of the galaxy. The bar channels gas inwards toward the galactic center, fueling star formation. Such bars are dynamic in galaxies and may come and go over two-billion-year intervals. They appear in about 30 percent of observed galaxies, including our Milky Way.
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble) Duration: 2 minutes Release Date: April 23, 2025
Shenzhou-20 Astronauts Meet the Press | China Space Station
China's Shenzhou-20 astronauts, Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, met the press on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. The Shenzhou-20 crewed mission is currently scheduled for lift off at 5:17 p.m. Beijing Time on April 24—coinciding with China's Space Day in 2025.
The three astronauts will take over command of China's Tiangong Space Station from the Shenzhou-19 crew currently in orbit, and will spend about six months in space.
Chen Dong participated in the Shenzhou-11 and Shenzhou-14 space missions. He served as the commander of the Shenzhou-14 crew and will take on the mantle once again after a two-year interval. He will also become the first among China's second batch of astronauts to carry out three spaceflight missions.
Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie come from the third batch of astronauts and will embark on their first spaceflight mission. Before being selected, Chen Zhongrui was an air force pilot, while Wang Jie was an engineer at the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Shenzhou-20 is the 35th flight mission of China's manned space program, and the fifth crewed mission during the application and development stage of China's space station.
The crew is scheduled to return to the Dongfeng landing site in north China in late October this year.
Video Credit: CGTN Duration: 4 minutes Release Date: April 23, 2025
Intuitive Machines: This image from the IM-2 Mission lunar lander, Athena is "from our last visit to the Moon. Today, we celebrate the planet that keeps pushing us to dream bigger and do more—here and beyond!"
On March 6, 2025, the IM-2 Mission lunar lander, Athena, landed in the Mons Mouton region of the lunar south pole.
Massive Core Stage for NASA Artemis II Moon Rocket Moved | Kennedy Space Center
Technicians use massive cranes inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA Kennedy’s Space Center in Florida to lift the fully assembled Space Launch System (SLS) core stage vertically 225-feet above the ground from High Bay 2 to a horizontal position in the facility’s transfer aisle. In the transfer aisle, technicians conducted final preparations of the core stage before it was integrated with the completed twin solid rocket booster segments. NASA is implementing a more efficient stacking process to support future missions to the Moon beginning with the Artemis II test flight.
The Artemis II test flight will be sending NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, as well as Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a ten-day journey around the Moon and back.
Artemis II will launch no earlier than April 2026.
Learn more about NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket: nasa.gov/sls
Shenzhou-20 Crewed Spacecraft Ready for Launch | China Space Station
The Shenzhou-20 crewed space mission carried out its final pre-launch drill on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, with all systems thoroughly checked and ready for liftoff.
At 08:00 Tuesday, under the unified coordination of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Xi'an Satellite Control Center, and various tracking and control stations across the country conducted a comprehensive simulation of the entire launch process. This covered preparation, liftoff, and various technical attitudes and operational procedures during flight. Throughout the drill, the mission teams performed good teamwork, and all procedures were executed in a well-organized manner.
During the joint practice, the Xi'an Satellite Control Center coordinated with tracking and control stations in Weinan and Kashgar in northwestern China, and Qingdao and Xiamen in eastern China to perform relay tracking and control, providing crucial support to ground researchers assessing the spacecraft's real-time status.
"We've just completed a trouble-shooting drill of the Shenzhou-20 mission's tracking and control telecommunication system, focusing on potential anomalies during data forwarding and primary-backup machine switching, to verify each emergency plan. The entire process went smoothly, and we will continue reviewing the mission and anticipating all kinds of possible happenings to ensure the mission carried out perfectly," said Zhao Dan, an engineer at the Xi'an Satellite Control Center.
This joint drill, the final comprehensive exercise before the Shenzhou-20 launch, simulated all critical factors in a manner most similar to the actual launch. With its completion, the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft and Long March-2F carrier rocket stand in a launch-ready state.
Currently, all facilities at the launch site are in good shape, with fueling and final preparations for liftoff scheduled to proceed as planned.
"We've made modifications to the layout inside the module to accommodate 20 percent more payload capacity in line with the spacecraft's upward payload requirements. We've checked the spacecraft's functionality, and its compatibility with other major systems, all the functions were tested normal. The spacecraft is now ready for launch," said Diao Weihe, a staff member with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
Given the seasonal high winds and sandstorms, the meteorological team has closely monitored the weather conditions for the launch window, increased the frequency of meteorological consultations and conducted in-depth studies on factors that could impact the launch.
"The meteorological team checked and trouble-shot the ambient equipment at the launch site a month ago. Forecasters have made specialized technical preparations for potential challenges, such as strong winds, dust storms, and thunderstorms in April. So far, the window weather conditions are up to the request of the launch," said Zhang Fang, a scientist at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
Under the coordination of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, China's Space Station has entered the designated orbit for rendezvous and docking, and the Shenzhou-19 crew conducted manual rendezvous and docking drills in preparation for the arrival of the Shenzhou-20 spacecraft.
Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 2 minutes Release Date: April 22, 2025
Observando la Tierra como solo la NASA puede hacerlo
Las misiones de la NASA llevan más de 60 años compartiendo vistas únicas de nuestro planeta. Durante ese tiempo, la ciencia y la tecnología aeroespacial han revolucionado nuestra comprensión del sistema terrestre.
Seguimos adentrándonos en el espacio para documentar el universo que nos rodea. Es cuando devolvemos la mirada a nuestro hogar cuando recordamos la importancia de la Tierra.
With NASA’s “Your Name in Landsat” online tool, users can type in their name, then view and export the graphic of that name spelled out in Earth features found in Landsat images.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites have been monitoring Earth’s weather and environment since 1970. This also happened to be the year the first official Earth Day took place! Building upon early pioneering efforts by NASA and others, today’s advanced satellites provide critical information that feeds forecast models and warns us of severe weather and environmental hazards. NOAA operates two types of satellites that monitor the Earth: polar-orbiting and geostationary.
As we celebrate Earth Day, let us marvel at the wonders of our planet and reflect on our responsibility to cherish and protect it. Together, let us ensure that the view from space remains a symbol of hope and inspiration for generations to come.
NASA Earth Science Missions Share Unique Views of Our Home Planet
NASA missions have shared unique views of our home planet for more than 60 years. In that time, science and technology in air and space revolutionized our understanding of the Earth system.
We continue to move farther into space, documenting the universe around us. It is when we turn our gaze back home that we are reminded of the significance of Earth.
To learn more about the NASA missions included in the video, visit:
At 4:15 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), April 21, 2025, about 6,700 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo launched to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for the company’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission for NASA. The spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Dragon will arrive at the orbiting outpost at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, April 22, and dock autonomously to the zenith, space-facing port of the space station’s Harmony module.
Experiments focused on vision-based navigation, spacecraft air quality, materials for drug and product manufacturing, and advancing plant growth with less reliance on photosynthesis are bound for the International Space Station via the NASA and SpaceX 32nd commercial resupply services mission.
Along with food and essential equipment for the crew, Dragon is delivering a variety of science experiments, including a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots. Dragon also carries an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could protect crew members on exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and two atomic clocks to examine fundamental physics concepts, such as relativity, and test worldwide synchronization of precision timepieces.
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the International Space Station until May, when it will depart and return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.
Video Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
At 4:15 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), April 21, 2025, about 6,700 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo launched to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for the company’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission for NASA. The spacecraft lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Dragon will arrive at the orbiting outpost at 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, April 22, and dock autonomously to the zenith, space-facing port of the space station’s Harmony module.
Experiments focused on vision-based navigation, spacecraft air quality, materials for drug and product manufacturing, and advancing plant growth with less reliance on photosynthesis are bound for the International Space Station via the NASA and SpaceX 32nd commercial resupply services mission.
Along with food and essential equipment for the crew, Dragon is delivering a variety of science experiments, including a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots. Dragon also carries an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could protect crew members on exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and two atomic clocks to examine fundamental physics concepts, such as relativity, and test worldwide synchronization of precision timepieces.
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the International Space Station until May, when it will depart and return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.
Video Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
