Moon Science: Jackson Crater's Central Peak | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Moon Science: Jackson Crater's Central Peak | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Central peak Jackson crater seen obliquely

Spectacular contrasts of gray scale in the central peak of Jackson crater signal variations in composition and maturity (degree of freshness of the surface). Image is 3100 meters wide, north is to the right, M1265842750LR

Jackson Crater east-to-west oblique (subsampled)

East-to-west view of Jackson crater (71 kilometers diameter). Image was acquired when LRO was at an altitude of 111 kilometers and the Sun was to the west of the crater (LROC was facing somewhat towards the Sun; phase angle 114 degrees). The central peak rises about 1800 meters above the crater floor and the top of the crater rim in the background has more than 4000 meters relief relative to the floor. Image width is about 64 kilometers and north is to the right, M1265842750LR

Jackson is a prominent lunar impact crater that is located in the northern hemisphere on the far side of the Moon. Less than one crater to the northeast is the crater Mineur, and to the south-southwest lies McMath. This crater created a large ray system. A skirt of higher-albedo material covers the surface within one crater diameter with a slightly darker band along the outer ramparts. Beyond that radius, the rays form wide sections that grow increasingly diffuse and wispy with distance. The largest sections lie in roughly 90° arcs to the northeast and southwest, while a narrower arc projects to the south-southeast. The rays continue for hundreds of kilometers across the surface.

The rim of the crater is well-defined and not significantly worn. The edge is somewhat polygonal in shape, with the southeastern rim being more rounded. The inner walls display some terracing. The interior floor is generally level with some irregularities in the northeastern part. Parts of the floor have a relatively high albedo. Jackson lies to the northwest of the Dirichlet-Jackson Basin.

What is the composition of the crust in Jackson Crater from top to bottom? It is relatively easy to measure the surface, but what lies beneath the surface? On the Earth geologists can dig and drill deep into the crust. We do not have that luxury on the Moon, at least not yet. However, we can take advantage of natural drill holes in the crust—impact craters. When impacts occur they dig into the crust and the central peaks expose the deepest material. Jackson Crater formed on what was rather uneven terrain—to the east of the crater the elevation is about +6000 meters and to the west about +3000 meters. The bottom of the crater sits at +1000 meters, and the material exposed in the central peak comes from more than 1000 meters deeper still. By studying the rocks exposed in the central peak, we can get a glimpse of materials that have come up from five or more kilometers below the surface (>3 miles).

This year, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) celebrates its 16th anniversary orbiting the Moon (2009-2026). This mission has given scientists the largest volume of data ever collected by a planetary science mission at NASA. Considering that success and the continuing functionality of the spacecraft and its instruments, NASA awarded the mission an extended mission phase to continue operations. LRO continues to be one of NASA's most valuable tools for advancing lunar science.

Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
Text Credits: Mark Robinson, Wikipedia
Release Date: July 19, 2019

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Geology #Geoscience #FarSide #NorthernHemisphere #ImpactCraters #JacksonCrater #CentralUplift #LRO #LunarOrbiter #LunarSpacecraft #LROC #SpaceRobotics #SpaceTechnology #GSFC #ASU #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education

Mind/Body Practices for Deep Space Exploration (RelaxPro) | NASA Research

Mind/Body Practices for Deep Space Exploration (RelaxPro) | NASA Research

NASA is conducting research examining the stress of human spaceflight on the body and the mind. There are many human factors to consider as humanity prepares to begin deep space exploration missions. What we learn from spaceflight medicine could transform lives here on Earth.

The psychological well-being of astronauts is becoming just as vital as their physical and technical readiness as space missions extend into deep space. Long-duration missions pose unique challenges, such as isolation, confinement, communication delays, and microgravity. These factors can significantly affect psycholgical health and cognitive performance. Ongoing research is aimed at ensuring astronauts are psychologically and emotionally prepared for the challenges of space.

The Mind/Body Practices for Deep Space Exploration (RelaxPro) investigation aims to test an astronaut relaxation training protocol designed for use in spaceflight. These mind and body practices have previously demonstrated effectiveness in reducing both stress and sleep issues on Earth. 

Learn more:
"Supporting the Mind in Space: Psychological Tools for Long-Duration Missions" by Professor Francesco Pagnini, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11499714/

Image Credit: F. Pagnini, Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Text Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Release Date: July 16, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #ArtemisProgram #Moon #Mars #HumanSpaceflight #Astronauts #AstronautHealth #PhysicalExercise #Relaxation #SpaceMedicine #SpacePsychology #PsychologicalIsolation #LongDurationSpaceflight #DeepSpaceMissions #SpaceLaboratories #NASAJohnson #JSC #UnitedStates #Illustration #STEM #Education

Lightning over Pacific Ocean: Hurricane Erick | International Space Station

Lightning over Pacific Ocean: Hurricane Erick | International Space Station

Lightning illuminates the cloud tops of Category 1 Hurricane Erick as it stormed across the Pacific Ocean south of the Mexican state of Chiapas at approximately 3:42 a.m. local time on June 20, 2025, as the International Space Station orbited 258 miles above. Erick later became the first major hurricane–Category 3 or greater–on record to hit Mexico before July.

Follow Expedition 73:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: JAXA Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

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 
Capture Date: June 20, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Atmosphere #PacificOcean #HurricaneErick #LightningStorms #Lightning #Mexico #Chiapas #ClimateHeating #GlobalWarming #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

The Apep Nebula & Triple Star System | James Webb Space Telescope

The Apep Nebula & Triple Star System | James Webb Space Telescope

The Apep Nebula, also known as the Apep star system, is a triple star system located in the constellation of Norma. It consists of a Wolf-Rayet binary and a hot supergiant star. The nebula is surrounded by a vast complex of stellar wind and cosmic dust. This has formed a "pinwheel" shape by the secondary star's influence. The nebula's appearance resembles a giant serpent, named Apep, in Egyptian mythology. It is often depicted as a serpent devouring its own tail. The Apep nebula is significant in the study of stellar winds and dust formation, as it is a known progenitor of gamma-ray bursts. The nebula's structure and behavior are closely monitored by astronomers to understand the dynamics of massive stars and the processes that lead to their eventual supernova. 

Image Processor Judy Schmidt: "Apep is another star system producing a very interestingly shaped nebula around it. These data just came out today, and I spent much of the day processing them. It was certainly challenging, requiring going down to the level 1 data to get the details at the bright center to not be saturated (overexposed)."

"Anyway, the texture seen in the two outer shells reminds me of a sherpa blanket. I don't think there's anything else quite like it. I really wanted that texture to pop, and it was most pronounced on the F1500W data, so I used that for luminosity to give it extra visibility, along with some typical sharpening, clarity, and texture adjustments from the Photoshop camera raw tool. Again, the resolution is not high for this image. Just how it is."

Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Image Processing: Judy Schmidt

Text Credit: Phys.org

Release Date: July 24, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #NASAWebb #Nebula #ApepNebula #TripleStarSystem #Norma #Constellation #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #JWST #NIRCam #InfraredAstronomy #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #JudySchmidt #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Close-up: Globular Cluster Liller 1 Surrounded by Blue Stars | Hubble

Close-up: Globular Cluster Liller 1 Surrounded by Blue Stars | Hubble

The muted red tones of the globular cluster Liller 1 are partially obscured in this image by a dense scattering of piercingly blue stars. In fact, it is thanks to Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) that we are able to see Liller 1 so clearly in this image, because the WFC3 is sensitive to wavelengths of light that the human eye cannot detect. Liller 1 is only 30,000 light-years from Earth—relatively neighborly in astronomical terms—but it lies within the Milky Way’s ‘bulge’, the dense and dusty region at our galaxy’s center. Because of that, Liller 1 is heavily obscured from view by interstellar dust, which scatters visible light (particularly blue light) very effectively.

Fortunately, some infrared and red visible light are able to pass through these dusty regions. WFC3 is sensitive to both visible and near-infrared (infrared that is close to the visible) wavelengths, allowing us to see through the obscuring clouds of dust, and providing this spectacular view of Liller 1. 

Liller 1 is a particularly interesting globular cluster, because unlike most of its kind, it contains a mix of very young and very old stars. Globular clusters typically house only old stars, some nearly as old as the Universe itself. Liller 1 instead contains at least two distinct stellar populations with remarkably different ages: the oldest one is 12 billion years old and the youngest component is just 1-2 billion years old. This led astronomers to conclude that this stellar system was able to form stars over an extraordinary long period of time. 

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, F. Ferraro
Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: May 23, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #GlobularCluster #Liller1 #Stars #StarCluster #Scorpius #Constellations #Science #Astrophysics #Cosmos #Universe #WFC3 #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The N79 Star Cluster in Nearby LMC Galaxy | NASA Webb & Chandra

The N79 Star Cluster in Nearby LMC Galaxy | NASA Webb & Chandra

✨What you’re seeing is a 98-light-year-wide chunk of star factory. This new image of N79, a giant region of star formation located about 160,000 light-years from Earth, combines observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency Webb Space Telescope.

This image features an H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. The N79 nebula is a region of interstellar atomic hydrogen that is ionized.

N79 is a massive star-forming complex spanning roughly 1,630 light-years in the generally unexplored southwest region of the LMC. N79 is typically regarded as a younger version of 30 Doradus (also known as the Tarantula Nebula), another of Webb’s recent targets. Research suggests that N79 has a star formation efficiency exceeding that of 30 Doradus by a factor of two over the past 500,000 years. 

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe science budget cuts at NASA: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request

https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

Star-forming regions such as this are of interest to astronomers because their chemical composition is similar to that of the gigantic star-forming regions observed when the Universe was only a few billion years old and star formation was at its peak. Star-forming regions in our Milky Way galaxy are not producing stars at the same furious rate as N79, and have a different chemical composition. Webb is now providing astronomers the opportunity to compare and contrast observations of star formation in N79 with the telescope’s deep observations of distant galaxies in the early Universe.

Image Description: Shafts of golden light bursting out of a central glowing orb cut through misty clouds in shades of purples, pinks, yellows, and blues.

Image Credits:

X-ray, Chandra: NASA/CXC/Ohio State Univ/T. Webb et al.

Infrared, Webb: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI

Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Major

Release Date: July 23, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Stars #StarClusters #Nebulae #Nebula #N79 #Galaxy #LMC #LargeMagellanicCloud #Doradus #Constellation #Universe #Astrophysics #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #NASAChandra #XrayAstronomy #ESA #CSA #NASAGoddard #NASAMarshall #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Ride Along with NASA Leadership and The Lunar Outpost Team

Ride Along with NASA Leadership and The Lunar Outpost Team

NASA awarded Lunar Outpost a contract to develop the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) for Artemis astronauts. Lunar Dawn is a "crewed and cargo transport for the Moon, Mars, and beyond."

"Ride along with NASA leadership and the Lunar Outpost team at our 1,000-acre testing facility, where they saw first-hand the innovation and engineering behind our Eagle LTV. This is Artemis in motion."

"Not just returning to the Moon, but going to stay."

"Not just building machines, but building humanity’s future beyond Earth."

"Moments like these remind us that space exploration isn’t distant. It’s deeply human. It’s about curiosity, courage, and the drive to go farther—for all humankind."

Lunar Outpost is "proudly partnered" with GM, MDA Space, Goodyear, and Leidos.

Learn more about Lunar Terrain Vehicles (LTVs):
https://www.lunaroutpost.com/ltv

Video Credit: Lunar Outpost
Duration: 1 minute, 34 seconds
Release Date: July 22, 2025 

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #SpaceTechnology #Engineering #Moon #ArtemisProgram #LunarOutpost #EagleLTV #DrivingArtemis #Astronauts #LunarTerrainVehicles #LTV #GM #Goodyear #MDASpace #Leidos #Colorado #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Mars Images: July 20-24, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: July 20-24, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

MSL - Sol 4608

MSL - Sol 4608

MSL - Sol 4608

MSL - Sol 4605

MSL - Sol 4605

Mars 2020 - Sol 1572

Mars 2020 - Sol 1573

Mars 2020 - Sol 1572

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 4+ 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 Dates: July 20-24, 2025

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

Animation: Intermediate-mass Black Hole Gravitationally Shredding a Star | NASA

Animation: Intermediate-mass Black Hole Gravitationally Shredding a Star | NASA

This video is an illustration of an intermediate-mass black hole capturing and gravitationally shredding a star. It begins by zooming into a pair of galaxies. The galaxy at lower left, NGC 6099, contains a dense star cluster at center. The video then zooms into the heart of the cluster, showing a close-up of the black hole. A star wanders near the black hole and is gravitationally torn apart in a burst of radiation.

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has revealed that most galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centers, but there is a mysterious middle category that has been challenging to find—intermediate mass black holes. These elusive objects only are incredibly difficult to detect.

Hubble and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory teamed up to study one of these rare items in galaxy NGC 6099. Chandra detected scorching X-rays at three million degrees while Hubble revealed an incredibly dense cluster of stars packed together, creating the perfect feeding ground for a hungry black hole.

This discovery shows how different space telescopes working together across wavelengths can unveil the complete story of these cosmic phenomena, helping us understand the full spectrum of black holes shaping our universe.

NGC 6099 is a elliptical galaxy in the Hercules constellation. It is located close to the celestial equator and is partly visible from Earth's southern and northern hemispheres at certain times of year.

Credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: July 24, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #BlackHoles #IntermediateBlackHoles #HLX1 #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC6099 #Hercules #Constellation #Universe #OpticalAstronomy #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #NASAChandra #XrayAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Animation #Visualization #HD #Video

Intermediate-sized Black Hole Detected: Galaxy NGC 6099 in Hercules | Hubble

Intermediate-sized Black Hole Detected: Galaxy NGC 6099 in Hercules | Hubble

The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has revealed that most galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centers, but there is a mysterious middle category that has been challenging to find—intermediate mass black holes. These elusive objects only are incredibly difficult to detect.

Hubble and NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory teamed up to study one of these rare items in galaxy NGC 6099. Chandra detected scorching X-rays at three million degrees while Hubble revealed an incredibly dense cluster of stars packed together, creating the perfect feeding ground for a hungry black hole.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe science budget cuts at NASA: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request

 https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

This discovery shows how different space telescopes working together across wavelengths can unveil the complete story of these cosmic phenomena, helping us understand the full spectrum of black holes shaping our universe.

NGC 6099 is a elliptical galaxy in the Hercules constellation. It is located close to the celestial equator and is partly visible from Earth's southern and northern hemispheres at certain times of year.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center 
Paul Morris: Lead Producer
Duration: 2 minutes, 32 seconds
Release Date: July 24, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #BlackHoles #IntermediateBlackHoles #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC6099 #Hercules #Constellation #Universe #OpticalAstronomy #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #NASAChandra #XrayAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Earth Aurora | International Space Station

Planet Earth Aurora | International Space Station

The aurora australis swirls over a cloudy Pacific Ocean in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 270 miles above and southeast of New Zealand.

A bright green aurora australis streams above Earth's horizon blanketing the atmospheric glow in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 269 miles above a cloudy southern Indian Ocean midway between South Africa and Antarctica.

The aurora australis arcs back and forth above a partly cloudy Indian Ocean in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 270 miles above in between Australia and Antarctica. At center top, is the Rassvet module, at lower right, is the Soyuz MS-27 crew ship docked to the Prichal module.

An aurora streams across Earth's horizon in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 266 miles above the Bass Strait off the coast of southeast Australia. At left, a set of the orbital outpost's main solar arrays extend across the frame. At bottom, a portion of the station's U.S. segment is illuminated including the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft docked to the Harmony module's forward port in this photograph taken from the cupola at approximately 6:56 p.m. local time.

The aurora australis arcs above a partly cloudy Indian Ocean in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 269 miles above in between Australia and Antarctica.

On Earth, auroras are mainly created by particles originally emitted by the Sun in the form of solar wind. When this stream of electrically charged particles gets close to our planet, it interacts with the magnetic field, which acts as a gigantic shield. While it protects Earth’s environment from solar wind particles, it can also trap a small fraction of them. Particles trapped within the magnetosphere—the region of space surrounding Earth in which charged particles are affected by its magnetic field—can be energized and then follow the magnetic field lines down to the magnetic poles. There, they interact with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the upper layers of the atmosphere, creating the flickering, colorful lights visible in the polar regions here on Earth.

Earth auroras have different names depending on the pole where they occur. Aurora Borealis, or the northern lights, is the name given to auroras around the north pole and Aurora Australis, or the southern lights, is the name given for auroras around the south pole.

Follow Expedition 73:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: JAXA Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov, Alexey Zubritskiy

NASA Flight Engineers: Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Jonny Kim

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 
Capture Dates: July 22, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planet #Earth #Aurora #PacificOcean #IndianOcean #AuroraAustralis #Astronauts #AstronautPhotography #UnitedStates #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Liftoff: NASA TRACERS Earth Science Mission | SpaceX Falcon 9 in California

Liftoff: NASA TRACERS Earth Science Mission | SpaceX Falcon 9 in California

Technicians encapsulate the black twin satellites of NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission within a payload fairing atop a shiny metallic stack of several other rideshare payloads at the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The TRACERS mission is a pair of twin satellites that will study how Earth’s magnetic shield—the magnetosphere—protects our planet from the supersonic stream of material from the Sun called solar wind.

TRACERS Emblem

NASA's TRACERS mission, or the Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, successfully lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg in California on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT). 

Three additional NASA-funded payloads were also launched: the Athena Economical Payload Integration Cost (EPIC) SmallSat, the Polylingual Experimental Terminal (PExT) technology demonstration, and the Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss (REAL) CubeSat. 

TRACERS will fly in low Earth orbit through the polar cusps, funnel-shaped holes in the magnetic field, to study magnetic reconnection and its effects in Earth's atmosphere. 

Magnetic reconnection is a mysterious process that happens when the solar wind, made of electrically charged particles and magnetic fields from the Sun, collides with Earth's magnetic shield, causing magnetic field lines to violently snap and explosively fling away particles at high speeds. This process has huge impacts on Earth, from causing breathtaking auroras to disrupting communications and power grids on Earth. 

Find out more about the TRACERS mission and how it will help us better understand the ways space weather affects us on Earth: 
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/tracers/

https://tracers.physics.uiowa.edu/

Image Credit: SpaceX
Release Date: July 23, 2025

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Astronomy #Sun #Heliophysics #SolarSystem #SolarWind #SpaceWeather #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #TRACERSMission #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #EPICSmallSat #PExT #REALCubeSat #GSFC #UIowa #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #Vandenberg #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

A Glittering Gathering of Stars | Hubble Space Telescope

A Glittering Gathering of Stars | Hubble Space Telescope

This glittering gathering of stars is the globular cluster NGC 6558, and it was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. NGC 6558 is closer to the center of the Milky Way than Earth is, and lies about 23,000 light years away in the constellation Sagittarius.

Globular clusters like NGC 6558 are tightly bound collections of tens of thousands to millions of stars, and they can be found in a wide range of galaxies. As this observation shows, the stars in globular clusters can be densely packed; this image is thronged with stars in a rich variety of hues. Some of the brightest inhabitants of this globular cluster are surrounded by prominent diffraction spikes, which are imaging artefacts caused by starlight interacting with the inner workings of Hubble.

Globular clusters equip astronomers with interesting natural laboratories in which to test their theories, as all the stars in a globular cluster formed at approximately the same time with similar initial composition. These stellar clusters therefore provide unique insights into how different stars evolve under similar conditions. This image comes from a set of observations investigating globular clusters in the inner Milky Way. Astronomers were interested in studying these globular clusters to gain greater insight into how globular clusters in the inner Milky Way form and evolve.

Credit: European Space Agency (ESA)/Hubble & NASA, R. Cohen
Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: May 16, 2022

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Science #GlobularCluster #NGC6558 #Stars #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #ESA #Europe #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Multiwavelength Milky Way Center Views - Part 2 | NASA Space Telescopes

Multiwavelength Milky Way Center Views - Part 2 | NASA Space Telescopes

The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is located in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, approximately 27,000 light-years from Earth. The densely packed starfields at our galaxy's center are hidden behind dust clouds and only become visible in infrared light. In the near-infrared they begin to appear, but are reddened for much the same reason that sunlight turns red when filtered through a smoky cloud. The dense dust clouds begin to stand out at longer infrared wavelengths, taking on changing rainbows of color depending on which parts of the spectrum contribute to the image. The very coldest, densest dust will only start to glow at the very longest wavelengths of light, rendered in red in the far-infrared image in this sequence.

Far-infrared: At these long infrared wavelengths, the hottest dust glows blue, while the coldest is red.

Credit: ESA, NASA, JPL-Caltech

Mid-infrared: Some of the hottest dust clouds begin to glow as one looks deeper into the infrared spectrum.

Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech

Near-infrared: The myriad stars and shadows caused by dust clouds are more vivid at shorter wavelengths of light.

Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy (Hershel)

The human eye can only see visible light, but objects give off a variety of wavelengths of light. To see an object as it truly exists, we would ideally look at its appearance through the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Telescopes show us objects as they appear emitting different energies of light, with each wavelength conveying unique information about the object. The Webb Space Telescope will study infrared light from celestial objects with much greater clarity and sensitivity than ever before.

Video Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Greg Bacon (STScI)

Duration: 18 seconds
Release Date: July 23, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #MilkyWayGalaxy #Sagittarius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #OpticalAstronomy #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #NASASpitzer #InfraredAstronomy #NASAChandra #XrayAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #JPL #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Multiwavelength Milky Way Center Views - Part 1 | NASA Space Telescopes

Multiwavelength Milky Way Center Views - Part 1 | NASA Space Telescopes

The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is located in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, approximately 27,000 light-years from Earth. Observations using infrared light and X-ray light see through the obscuring dust and reveal the intense activity near the galactic core. The densely packed starfields at our galaxy's center are hidden behind dust clouds and only become visible in infrared light. The center of the galaxy, located in the lower right part of the image, becomes more apparent as you go to shorter, more high energy wavelengths. The entire image width covers about one-half a degree, about the same angular width as the full moon.

Infrared: Dusty clouds near young stars glow in infrared light and reveal their often-dramatic shapes.

Credit: NASA, ESA, Q.D. Wang (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), STScI

Near-Infrared: The galactic center is marked by the bright patch in the lower right. Along the left side are large arcs of warm gas that have been heated by clusters of bright massive stars.

Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin), SSC, STScI

X-ray: X-rays detected by Chandra expose a wealth of exotic objects and high-energy features. A supermassive black hole – some four million times more massive than the Sun – resides within the bright region in the lower right.

Credit: NASA, ESA, SSC, CXC, STScI

The human eye can only see visible light, but objects give off a variety of wavelengths of light. To see an object as it truly exists, we would ideally look at its appearance through the full range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Telescopes show us objects as they appear emitting distinct energies of light, with each wavelength conveying unique information about the object. The Webb Space Telescope will study infrared light from celestial objects with much greater clarity and sensitivity than ever before.

Video Credit: NASA, European Space Agency (ESA), Greg Bacon (STScI)

Duration: 24 seconds
Release Date: July 23, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #MilkyWayGalaxy #Sagittarius #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #OpticalAstronomy #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #NASASpitzer #InfraredAstronomy #NASAChandra #XrayAstronomy #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #JPL #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA TRACERS Earth Science Mission: SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch in California

NASA TRACERS Earth Science Mission: SpaceX Falcon 9 Launch in California

Technicians encapsulate the black twin satellites of NASA’s Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission within a payload fairing atop a shiny metallic stack of several other rideshare payloads at the Astrotech Space Operations facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The TRACERS mission is a pair of twin satellites that will study how Earth’s magnetic shield—the magnetosphere—protects our planet from the supersonic stream of material from the Sun called solar wind.

TRACERS Emblem

NASA's TRACERS mission, or the Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, successfully lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg in California on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 at 11:13 a.m. PDT (2:13 p.m. EDT). 

Three additional NASA-funded payloads were also launched: the Athena Economical Payload Integration Cost (EPIC) SmallSat, the Polylingual Experimental Terminal (PExT) technology demonstration, and the Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss (REAL) CubeSat. 

TRACERS will fly in low Earth orbit through the polar cusps, funnel-shaped holes in the magnetic field, to study magnetic reconnection and its effects in Earth's atmosphere. 

Magnetic reconnection is a mysterious process that happens when the solar wind, made of electrically charged particles and magnetic fields from the Sun, collides with Earth's magnetic shield, causing magnetic field lines to violently snap and explosively fling away particles at high speeds. This process has huge impacts on Earth, from causing breathtaking auroras to disrupting communications and power grids on Earth. 

Find out more about the TRACERS mission and how it will help us better understand the ways space weather affects us on Earth: 
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/tracers/

https://tracers.physics.uiowa.edu/

Image Credit: SpaceX
Release Date: July 23, 2025

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Astronomy #Sun #Heliophysics #SolarSystem #SolarWind #SpaceWeather #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #TRACERSMission #MagneticField #Magnetosphere #EPICSmallSat #PExT #REALCubeSat #GSFC #UIowa #SpaceX #Falcon9Rocket #Vandenberg #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education