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Milky Way Stars & Planet Earth Airglow | International Space Station
Expedition 73 flight engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Kimiya Yui: ". . . I’d like to introduce a time-lapse focusing on the starry sky. The views from the ISS are all spectacular, but the collaboration between Earth and the starry sky is simply the best. I’m busy, so I don’t have time to indulge in meditation, but it’s the kind of scenery that makes you crave such moments." —Kimiya Yui 油井 亀美也
You will also notice green and yellow airglow that occurs when atoms and molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light—called a photon—in order to relax again. Unlike episodic and fleeting auroras, airglow shines constantly throughout Earth’s atmosphere, and the result is a tenuous bubble of light that closely encases our entire planet.
NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke
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.
Aurora & Sunrise with Crew-10 Dragon Spacecraft | International Space Station
Expedition 73 flight engineer and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman: "I don’t know where to begin, so I’ll start here: my view from one Dragon to another. I don’t have words yet for the whole experience, so a picture will have to do. This was my first attempt at a time-lapse (thank you, Nichole Ayers, for many great tips). Aurora over the South Pacific, Orion rising, satellites in the distance, and my favorite planet, all from a wild new perspective."
"That Dragon undocked and returned to Earth a few days ago with Crew-10. It was a bittersweet farewell, but marked the start of a new chapter in what feels already like a great story."
NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke
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.
Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/Z. Cardman Duration: 42 seconds Release Date: Aug. 14, 2025
Mount Etna in Italy Erupts Again with Eyebrow Clouds | Earth Science
Featured above is yet another eruption of Mount Etna, Italy. Looking like an artist's rendition of an eruption, here Etna is surrounded by columns of clouds, not smoke. The lava flow seen on the left flank was about 0.75 mi (1.2 km) long and reached an elevation of approximately 8,600 ft (2,621 m). Note that the clouds at the top of the photo are eyebrow clouds that sometimes form on the leeside of mountainous terrain when strong winds are prevalent aloft.
Mount Etna, or simply Etna, is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina and Catania. It is located above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. Etna is one of the tallest active volcanoes in Europe and the tallest peak in Italy south of the Alps with a current height over 3000 meters.
Sicily, officially the Sicilian Region (Italian: Regione Siciliana), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy, situated south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe.
Image Details: Canon EOS R camera; sigma 150-600 mm lens; 100 ISO; 1/4 seconds exposure; f 5.6. Processed using Photoshop. Photo taken at 7:59 pm on April 18, 2025.
Image Credit: Giovanni Passalacqua Text Credit: Giovanni Passalacqua Location: Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy Coordinates: 37.7510, 14.9934 Image Date: April 18, 2025 Release Date: Aug. 13, 2025
Shenzhou-20 Crew Ready for Third Spacewalk | China Space Station
The Shenzhou-20 crew members aboard the Tiangong space station will conduct a third round of extravehicular activities within the next few days, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Aug 14, 2025.
Since the completion of their second spacewalk on June 26, the three astronauts—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie—have performed a wide range of tasks, including monitoring the station's environment, conducting equipment inspections and maintenance, and managing inventory and transfers.
The CMSA said that the crew members have made steady progress in experiments in the fields, such as space life sciences and human research, microgravity physics, and new space technology.
The space station complex is operating smoothly, and the three crew members are all in good health and fully prepared for the upcoming extravehicular activities, according to the agency.
China launched the Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft on April 24, 2025, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station for a six-month mission.
Shenzhou-20 Crew
Chen Dong (陈冬) - Commander - Third spaceflight
Chen Zhong Rui (陈中瑞) - Operator - First spaceflight
Wang Jie (王杰) - Flight Engineer - First spaceflight
Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 45 seconds Release Date: Aug. 14, 2025
Variable Star HP Tau Revisited | Hubble Space Telescope
Looking like a glittering cosmic geode, a trio of dazzling stars blaze from the hollowed-out cavity of a reflection nebula. The triple-star system is made up of the variable star HP Tau, HP Tau G2, and HP Tau G3. HP Tau is known as a T Tauri star, a type of young variable star that has not begun nuclear fusion yet but is beginning to evolve into a hydrogen-fueled star similar to our Sun. T Tauri stars tend to be younger than 10 million years old―in comparison, our Sun is around 4.6 billion years old―and are often found still swaddled in the clouds of dust and gas they were formed from.
As with all variable stars, HP Tau’s brightness changes over time. T Tauri stars are known to have periodic and random fluctuations in brightness. The random variations may be due to the chaotic nature of a developing young star, such as instabilities in the accretion disk of dust and gas around the star, material from that disk falling onto the star and being consumed, and flares on the star’s surface. The periodic changes may be due to giant sunspots rotating in and out of view.
Curving around the stars, a cloud of gas and dust shines with their reflected light. Reflection nebulae do not emit visible light of their own, but shine as the light from nearby stars bounces off the gas and dust, like fog illuminated by the glow of a car’s headlights.
HP Tau is located approximately 550 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Hubble studied HP Tau as part of an investigation into protoplanetary disks, the disks of material around stars that coalesce into planets over millions of years.
Image Processor Judy Schmidt: "I was looking at this image at the nasa.gov website and wondering why it turned out like it did. It's a low signal image firstly, but secondly, when trying to bring out that low signal, the fringe pattern (Figure 5.4) in the F814W data becomes a big problem. I did away with the fringe pattern by using the F606W data for luminance in all the low signal areas. If you're into graphic design you might be more familiar with fringe patterns by the name of Moiré."
"Other things of note: The chip gap is filled with cloned data. There are some old WFPC2 data in the archive that could have filled some of it, but it didn't seem worth it. I did use some rather heavy noise reduction, or at least I personally consider it heavy, but the image is still pretty noisy. That's just how it is. I don't think a better image results from trying to make it any smoother."
Image Credit: ESA/NASA/Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)/Judy Schmidt Release Date: Aug. 13, 2025
Ariane 6 Rocket Liftoff: MetOp-SG-A1/Sentinel-5 Earth Satellite | ESA
Europe’s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite—hosting the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission—has launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on August 13, 2025, at 02:37 CEST (August 12 21:37 Kourou time).
MetOp-SG-A1 is the first in a series of three successive pairs of satellites. The mission helps to ensure the continued delivery of global observations from polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate analysis for the next 20 years plus. It also offers improved accuracy and resolution compared to the original MetOp mission—along with new measurement capabilities to expand its scientific reach.
Furthermore, this new weather satellite carries the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Mission to deliver daily global data on air pollutants and atmospheric trace gases as well as aerosols and ultraviolet radiation. The Sentinel-5 mission is the result of close cooperation between the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Commission and Eumetsat. It was developed under the responsibility of ESA, by a consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space in Ottobrunn, Germany.
Ariane 6 is Europe’s heavy launcher. It has three stages: two or four boosters, and a main and upper stage. For this flight, VA264, the rocket was used in its two-booster configuration.
Credit: ESA - S.Corvaja Release Date: Aug. 13, 2025
Ariane 6 Rocket Launch Highlights: MetOp-SG-A1/Sentinel-5 Earth Satellite | ESA
Europe’s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1, weather satellite—hosting the Copernicus Sentinel-5 mission—has launched aboard an Ariane 6 rocket from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. The rocket lifted off on August 13, 2025, at 02:37 CEST (August 12 21:37 Kourou time).
MetOp-SG-A1 is the first in a series of three successive pairs of satellites. The mission helps to ensure the continued delivery of global observations from polar orbit for weather forecasting and climate analysis for the next 20 years plus. It also offers improved accuracy and resolution compared to the original MetOp mission—along with new measurement capabilities to expand its scientific reach.
Furthermore, this new weather satellite carries the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Mission to deliver daily global data on air pollutants and atmospheric trace gases as well as aerosols and ultraviolet radiation. The Sentinel-5 mission is the result of close cooperation between the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Commission and Eumetsat. It was developed under the responsibility of ESA, by a consortium led by Airbus Defence and Space in Ottobrunn, Germany.
NASA's Space Crew-11 Dragon Spacecraft Incoming | International Space Station
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying four members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 mission is pictured approaching the International Space Station 259 miles above central Pakistan.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying four members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 mission is pictured approaching the International Space Station 260 miles above southern Pakistan.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA's Crew-11 mission approaches the International Space Station while orbiting 260 miles above the Indian Ocean coast of Tanzania on the African continent.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA's Crew-11 mission approaches the International Space Station while orbiting 260 miles above the Indian Ocean coast of Tanzania on the African continent.
On Aug. 2, 2025, the Crew-11 quartet joined the seven-member Expedition 73 crew. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia are now on their seven-month research mission in low Earth orbit.
Crew-11 is conducting scientific research to prepare for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and benefit humanity on Earth. Participating crew members will simulate lunar landings, test strategies to safeguard vision, and advance other human spaceflight studies led by NASA’s Human Research Program. The crew also will study plant cell division and microgravity’s effects on bacteria-killing viruses, as well as perform experiments to produce a higher volume of human stem cells and generate on-demand nutrients.
NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke
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.
Science on NASA's SpaceX 33rd Cargo Mission | International Space Station
Later this August, SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station, carrying science experiments and other cargo to the orbiting laboratory.
Research traveling to the station aboard NASA's SpaceX 33rd commercial resupply mission includes testing 3D bioprinting of an implantable medical device, observing the behavior of engineered liver tissues, examining microgravity’s effects on bone-forming cells, and additional 3D printing of metal in space.
NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke
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.
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Duration: 46 seconds Release Date: Aug. 13, 2025
A White Dwarf Star’s Unusual Atmosphere Uncovered | Hubble Space Telescope
Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have found a rare ultra massive white dwarf formed from a stellar merger. The discovery was made possible by Hubble’s sensitive ultraviolet observations and suggests these unusual white dwarfs may be more common than once thought.
The white dwarf is 128 light-years away and 20 percent more massive than the Sun. In visible light it looked like a typical white dwarf, but Hubble’s ultraviolet data revealed something unusual . . .
SpaceX Crew-10 in Dragon Pressure Suits: Pre-departure | International Space Station
The four members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission pose for a portrait in their Dragon pressure suits aboard the International Space Station's Harmony module. The Commercial Crew members were testing their suits' components and ensuring a proper fit before their departure on Aug. 8, 2025, aboard Dragon ending their five-month space research mission inside the orbital outpost. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia, NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi.
NASA Flight Engineers: Jonny Kim, Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke
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's Johnson Space Center Image Date: July 29, 2025
European Weather Satellite Launch: EUMETSAT METOP-SGA1 | Ariane 6 Rocket
On August 12, 2025 at 9:37 p.m. local time in Kourou, French Guiana (00:37 a.m. UTC, 2:37 a.m. CEST, on August 13, 2025), Ariane 6 lifted off from Europe's Spaceport carrying EUMETSAT's Metop-SGA1 satellite.
With this second commercial flight, Ariane 6, the new European heavy-lift launcher operated by Arianespace, successfully placed Metop-SGA1 into Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 800 km. Spacecraft separation occurred 1 hour and 4 minutes after lift-off.
A few minutes after separation, EUMETSAT successfully acquired signals from the satellite.
David Cavaillolès, CEO of Arianespace, declared: “Tonight, Arianespace has successfully launched EUMETSAT's Metop-SGA1 satellite, on board Ariane 6. The first of the next generation of European polar-orbiting weather satellites, Metop-SGA1 notably hosts the Copernicus programme Sentinel-5 atmospheric monitoring mission. This success pinpoints our dedication to ensuring Europe's autonomous and reliable access to space while also supporting an ambitious environmental mission that will provide cutting-edge data for weather and climate monitoring . . ."
Phil Evans, Director-General of EUMETSAT, commented: “Extreme weather has cost Europe hundreds of billions of euros and tens of thousands of lives over the past 40 years—storms like Boris, Daniel and Hans, record heatwaves and fierce wildfires are just the latest reminders. The launch of Metop-SGA1 is a major step forward in giving national weather services in our member states sharper tools to save lives, protect property, and build resilience against the climate crisis. These positive impacts will be felt even beyond that and over the Atlantic, as Metop-SGA1 is Europe's first contribution to the Joint Polar System with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) . . . ”
Ariane 6 is a program developed within the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA).
The Metop-SGA1 (Second Generation A1) satellite will be the first of the next generation of European polar-orbiting weather satellites. Metop-SGA1 will host a total of six atmospheric sounding and imaging instrument missions that will provide optical, infrared, and microwave observations essential data for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and a wide range of other services and applications. Amongst its hosts, Metop-SGA1 will carry the new Sentinel-5 atmospheric monitoring mission, part of the European Commission's Copernicus programme. The spacecraft was built by Airbus Defence and Space, under a contract with the European Space Agency, and will be operated throughout its lifetime by EUMETSAT, that will also distribute its data to users.
China Distributes 125.42 Grams of Lunar Samples for Global Scientific Research
China has distributed 125.42 grams of lunar samples for scientific research, including 2.18 grams of Chang'e-5 specimens shared with seven institutions from six countries, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced.
To date, domestic and international scientists have produced over 150 published research findings utilizing samples from the Chang'e-5 (near side) and Chang'e-6 (far side/south pole) lunar missions.
The lunar sample allocation follows a rigorous two-stage approval process combining online applications with expert peer review. Qualified research institutions may access the dedicated online platform to review sample catalogs and submit formal research proposals.
"This page displays all the available samples for application as well as those currently on loan. Look here—it shows 'lent' status, which means this sample has been borrowed," said Hou Jun, deputy director of Science and Technology Engineering Department of the China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the CNSA.
Currently, lunar sample applications are accepted twice yearly, with each submission window open for approximately one month. Following submission, an expert committee conducts a thorough review before final approval and issuance by the CNSA. The entire process—from application to sample distribution—typically takes about five months.
"Applications for one or two grams are exceptionally rare; most allocated samples are measured in milligrams. We centrally manage these samples and perform customized processing in our laboratory based on researchers' specific requirements," said Yang Wei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Geology and Geophysics.
China's Chang'e-6 mission collected 1,935.3 grams of samples from the far side of the Moon—the first in human history. Meanwhile, the Chang'e-5 mission retrieved about 1,731 grams of lunar samples.
In July 2021, China delivered the first batch of lunar samples to research institutions. So far, the country has lent nine batches of lunar samples to institutions for research purposes.
The Chang'e-5 mission made China the third country to return samples from the Moon after the United States and the Soviet Union.
The Chang'e-5 lander/ascender arrived on the Moon December 1, 2020. The Chang'e 5 landing site is at 43.1°N (in latitude), 51.8°W (in longitude) in the Northern Oceanus Procellarum near a huge volcanic complex, Mons Rümker, located in the northwest lunar near side. The area is mapped as 'Eratosthenian Mare' by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The Chang'e 5 landing site, named Statio Tianchuan, is within the Procellarum KREEP Terrain, with elevated heat-producing elements, thin crust, and prolonged volcanism. This area is characterized by examples of the youngest mare basalts on the Moon (~1.21 billion years old) with elevated titanium, thorium, and olivine abundances. These were never sampled by the U.S. Apollo or Soviet Luna programs.
Video Credit: CCTV Duration: 1 minute, 17 seconds Release Date: Aug. 10, 2025
X "Marks the Spot" above Cerro Tololo, Chile | NOIRLab
Celestial beams of light formed from the Milky Way galaxy and zodiacal light crisscrossing above the telescopes of the U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab. The US Naval Observatory Deep South Telescope sits on the far left of this image. Moving towards the right, there is also the DIMM1 Seeing Monitor, the CHilean Automatic Supernova sEarch dome (CHASE), the UBC Southern Observatory, and the Planetary Defense 1.0-meter Telescope. These represent only a subset of the nearly 40 telescopes at CTIO, so this celestial X truly marks the spot of a treasure trove of discovery!
The zodiacal light is a faint, diffuse band of light in the night sky, reaching up from the horizon. It follows the direction of the ecliptic—the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun. This plane is rich in tiny particles of dust. It scatters sunlight and creates this phenomenon. The glow is so faint that light pollution or even moonlight can outshine it.
Many of the telescopes pictured here have specialized purposes on behalf of their sponsors. For example, the UBC Southern Observatory 0.35-meter (1.15-foot) telescope was made specifically for the site-testing campaign of the Thirty Meter Telescope. Today, it is used by the University of British Columbia in Canada for research on transiting exoplanets and space debris. Another specialized telescope at CTIO is the Planetary Defense 1.0-meter Telescope, operated by the University of North Carolina and the Astronomical Research Institute. This telescope conducts southern-sky astrometric follow-up observations of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs).
Close-up: Galaxy NGC 45 in Cetus | Hubble Space Telescope
This NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture zooms in on the feathery spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 45. It lies just 22 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale).
The data used to create this portrait were drawn from two complementary observing programs. The first took a broad view of 50 nearby galaxies, leveraging Hubble’s ability to observe light from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared in order to study star formation in these galaxies. The second program examined many of the same nearby galaxies as the first, narrowing in on a particular wavelength of red light called H-alpha. Star-forming nebulae are powerful producers of H-alpha light, and several of these regions can be identified across NGC 45 by their bright pink-red color.
These observing programs aimed to study star formation in galaxies of various sizes, structures, and degrees of isolation. NGC 45 is a particularly interesting target. Alhough it may appear to be a regular spiral galaxy, NGC 45 is actually a remarkable type called a low surface brightness galaxy.
Low surface brightness galaxies are fainter than the night sky itself, making them incredibly difficult to detect. They appear unexpectedly faint because they have relatively few stars for the amount of gas and dark matter they carry. In the decades since the first low surface brightness galaxy was serendipitously discovered in 1986, researchers have learned that 30–60% of all galaxies may fall into this category. Studying these hard-to-detect galaxies is key to understanding how galaxies form and evolve, and Hubble’s sensitive instruments are equal to the task.
Image Description: This Hubble image features a close-up view of the outer arms of the spiral galaxy NGC 45. These spiral arms are filled with tiny blue dots—stars—and glowing pink clouds—star-forming nebulae. This is shown against a dark background.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Calzetti, R. Chandar, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble) Acknowledgement: M. H. Özsaraç
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