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NGC 7000, also known as the North America Nebula, is a giant emission nebula in the constellation of Cygnus at a distance of about 1,800 light years. The reddish color is characteristic of hydrogen and it dominates. NGC 7000 is named for its resemblance to the North American continent here on Earth.In 1890, the pioneering German astrophotographer, Max Wolf, noticed this nebula's characteristic shape on a long-exposure photograph, and dubbed it the North America Nebula.
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Solar Panel Deployment Test | NASA Goddard
Technicians recently tested two major deployments for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope: the Deployable Aperture Cover (DAC) and the Solar Array Sun Shield (SASS).
The DAC will protect Roman’s instruments before launch, then swing open once the telescope is in space. To simulate weightlessness, engineers used a gravity offload system precisely counterbalanced to reduce drag during deployment.
The SASS unfurled in true flight-like fashion, with its solar panels swinging into place under powerful spring tension. Each release was marked by the sharp pop of a non-explosive actuator.
Both deployments were successful, bringing Roman one step closer to its mission to study dark energy, exoplanets, and the distant universe. To learn more, check out the link in our Roman highlight.
As NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy, the late Dr. Nancy Grace Roman paved the way for space telescopes and for women in the sciences. She is credited with making NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope a reality.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Sophia Roberts: Videographer / Producer Scott Weissinger: Videographer / Producer Videographers: Sophia Roberts (eMITS) and Scott Wiessinger (eMITS) Paul Morris: Editor Public Affairs Officer: Claire Andreoli (NASA/GSFC)
Duration: 1 minute, 18 seconds Release Date: Aug. 26, 2025
World's Largest Transparent Spherical Neutrino Detector Starts Operation in China
The world's largest transparent spherical detector on Tuesday completed the filling of 20,000 tonnes of liquid scintillator, officially starting operation and data collection.
After over a decade of preparation and construction, the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) has become the world's first operational ultra-large-scale and ultra-high-precision neutrino-specific scientific facility.
The initial data obtained during its trial operation showed that the key performance indicators of JUNO have fully met or exceeded design expectations.
The core of JUNO is a liquid scintillator detector immersed in a 44-meter-deep cylindrical pool in the underground hall buried deep in a granite layer of a hill in Jiangmen City, south China's Guangdong Province. The detector is supported by a stainless steel mesh shell with a diameter of 41.1 meters. It holds an acrylic sphere with a diameter of 35.4 meters that can be filled with 20,000 tons of liquid scintillator.
The detector is equipped with 20,000 photomultiplier tubes of 20 inches and 25,000 photomultiplier tubes of three inches, as well as cables, magnetic shielding coils, light baffles and other components.
Neutrinos, the smallest and lightest among the 12 elementary particles that make up the material world, are electrically neutral and travel at a speed close to light. Since the Big Bang, they have permeated the entire universe and generated a range of phenomena, such as nuclear reactions inside stars, supernova explosions, the operation of nuclear reactors, and the radioactive decay of substances in rocks.
Since neutrinos rarely interact with ordinary matter, they can easily zip through our bodies, buildings or the entire Earth without being felt, hence earning the nickname "ghost particles." Due to their elusive nature, neutrinos are the least understood fundamental particles, requiring massive detectors to capture their faintest traces.
JUNO aims to measure the neutrino mass hierarchy as its primary scientific goal and will conduct several other cutting-edge research projects. The JUNO team comprises more than 700 members from 17 countries and regions.
The Meteor and The Pleiades Star Cluster: View from Saudi Arabia
Sometimes even the sky surprises you. To see more stars and faint nebulosity in the Pleiades star cluster (M45), long exposures are made. Many times, other interesting items appear on the exposures that were not intended—but later edited out. These include stuck pixels, cosmic ray hits, frames with bright clouds or Earth's Moon, airplane trails, lens flares, faint satellite trails, and even insect trails. Sometimes, though, something really interesting is caught by chance. This was the case a few weeks ago in al-Ula, Saudi Arabia when a bright meteor streaked across during an hour-long exposure of the Pleiades. Along with the famous bright blue stars, less famous and less bright blue stars, and blue-reflecting dust surrounding the star cluster, the fast rock fragment created a distinctive green glow, likely due to vaporized metals.
This very bright open star cluster has a large angular extent, making it a great binocular object. If you viewed this object through a large telescope, you would only see a few stars, not the entire cluster. Perhaps the most famous open cluster, this is easily visible with the naked eye.
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the center of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula. It is the fifth-largest country in Asia, the largest in the Middle East, and the twelfth-largest in the world. It is bordered by the Red Sea to the west; Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the north; the Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the east; Oman to the southeast; and Yemen to the south.
Image Credit & Copyright: Yousif Alqasimi & Essa Al Jasmi
Shenzhou-20 Crew to Return Life Science Experiments to Earth | China Space Station
Three life science experiments have been successfully conducted aboard China's orbiting Tiangong Space Station. Biological samples are being stored in a low-temperature freezer and are scheduled to be returned to Earth aboard a crewed spacecraft in the second half of this year for further analysis.
On July 15, 2025, the experimental materials were delivered to the China Space Station by the Tianzhou-9 cargo spacecraft.
The Shenzhou-20 crew, comprising astronauts Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, then installed the cell experiment units into the Biotechnology Experiment Cabinet's cell and tissue module.
Under remote control from the ground, the system automatically carried out a series of complex procedures, including cell culturing, microscopic imaging, and sample fixation. Then, the astronauts conducted in-orbit sampling and stored the specimens for return.
"These experimental projects involved five types of samples, including organ-on-a-chip and skeletal muscle progenitor cells, among others. All three life science experiments have been successfully completed. The samples are currently stored in a low-temperature freezer and will be returned to Earth aboard a crewed spacecraft for further research," said Jin Xuena, a researcher at the Beijing-based Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization of Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a recent interview with the China Central Television.
Chinese researchers have conducted a series of biological studies on the space station, including experiments on plants, cells, fruit flies, and zebrafish.
These studies will provide valuable scientific data that could advance fundamental biological research and support future efforts in disease treatment and drug development.
The Shenzhou-20 crew was launched into space in April this year and is scheduled to return to Earth in late October.
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: 1 minute Release Date: Aug. 25, 2025
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is currently the "world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed", capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.
Key Starship Parameters:
Height: 123m/403ft Diameter: 9m/29.5ft Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)
"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."
SpaceX CRS-33 Resupply Mission Docking | International Space Station
At 7:05 a.m. EDT, Monday, August 25, 2025, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the forward port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module.
The spacecraft carried over 5,000 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory on SpaceX’s 33rd commercial resupply services mission for NASA. The mission launched at 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 24 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
Research conducted aboard the International Space Station advances future space exploration—including Artemis missions to the Moon and astronaut missions Mars—that are intended to "provide benefits to humanity."
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: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)/NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 1 minute, 42 seconds Date: Aug. 25, 2025
At the Edge of Speed: NASA Armstrong’s Hypersonic Journey
At NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, pushing the edge of flight goes back to the center’s origins. From the roar of piloted rocket planes to cutting-edge hypersonic breakthroughs, NASA Armstrong has been at the heart of high-speed flight. Today, the center is ready to help write the next chapter in hypersonic research, advancing vehicles that travel at more than five times the speed of sound.
Learn more about NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC):
Mapping Stellar 'Polka Dots': The Search for Orbiting Planets | NASA Goddard
Scientists have devised a new method for mapping the spottiness of distant stars by using observations from NASA missions of orbiting planets crossing their stars’ faces. The model builds on a technique researchers have used for decades to study star spots.
By improving astronomers’ understanding of spotty stars, the new model—called StarryStarryProcess—can help discover more about planetary atmospheres and potential habitability using data from telescopes like NASA’s upcoming Pandora mission.
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and now-retired Kepler Space Telescope were designed to identify planets using transits, dips in stellar brightness caused when a planet passes in front of its star.
These measurements reveal how the star’s light varies with time during each transit, and astronomers can arrange them in a plot astronomers call a light curve. Typically, a transit light curve traces a smooth sweep down as the planet starts passing in front of the star’s face. It reaches a minimum brightness when the world is fully in front of the star and then rises smoothly as the planet exits and the transit ends.
By measuring the time between transits, scientists can determine how far the planet lies from its star and estimate its surface temperature. The amount of missing light from the star during a transit can reveal the planet’s size. This can hint at its composition.
Every now and then, though, a planet’s light curve appears more complicated, with smaller dips and peaks added to the main arc. Scientists think these represent dark surface features akin to sunspots seen on our own Sun—star spots.
The Sun’s total number of sunspots varies as it goes through its 11-year solar cycle. Scientists use them to determine and predict the progress of that cycle as well as outbreaks of solar activity that could affect us here on Earth.
Similarly, star spots are cool, dark, temporary patches on a stellar surface. Their sizes and numbers change over time. This variability impacts what astronomers can learn about transiting planets.
Scientists have previously analyzed transit light curves from exoplanets and their host stars to look at the smaller dips and peaks. This helps determine the host star’s properties, such as its overall level of spottiness, inclination angle of the planet’s orbit, the tilt of the star’s spin rotation axis compared to our line of sight, and other factors. The new model uses light curves that include not only transit information, but also the rotation of the star itself to provide even more detailed information about these stellar properties.
Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Producer: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS) Science Writer: Jeanette Kazmierczak (University of Maryland College Park) Animators: Scott Wiessinger (eMITS) Walt Feimer (eMITS) Jonathan North (eMITS) Duration: 1 minute, 27 seconds Release Date: Aug. 25, 2025
Galaxy Messier 96 in Leo: A New Look | Hubble Space Telescope
This NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture features a galaxy whose asymmetric appearance may be the result of a galactic tug of war. Located 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo, the spiral galaxy Messier 96 is the brightest of the galaxies in its group. The gravitational pull of its galactic neighbors may be responsible for Messier 96’s uneven distribution of gas and dust, asymmetric spiral arms, and off-center galactic core.
This galaxy's asymmetric appearance is on full display. This new Hubble image incorporates observations made in ultraviolet and optical light. Hubble images of Messier 96 have been released previously in 2015 and 2018. Each successive image has added new data, building up a beautiful and scientifically valuable view of the galaxy.
This third version gives an entirely new perspective on Messier 96’s star formation. The bubbles of pink gas in this image surround hot, young, massive stars, illuminating a ring of star formation in the outskirts of the galaxy. These young stars are still embedded within the clouds of gas where they were born. The new data included for the first time in this image will be used to study how stars are born within giant dusty gas clouds, how dust filters starlight, and how stars affect their environments.
Image Description: A spiral galaxy, tilted nearly face-on to us, with a slightly unusual shape. Its spiral arms form an oval-shaped ring around the galaxy’s disc, filled with blue light from stars, as well as pink glowing gas bubbles where new stars are forming. Threads of dark red dust swirl around the brightly glowing core, partly blocking its light. The dust lanes extend into and follow the spiral arms.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, D. Calzetti Release Date: Aug. 25, 2025
The X-59 aircraft builds on decades of supersonic flight research and is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission. The vast amount of data collected over the years has given designers the tools they needed to craft the shape of the X-59. The goal is to enable the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce a loud sonic boom to a quieter “sonic thump.” Follow the X-59 team as they take on the exciting journey of building the X-59 and working toward quiet supersonic flight.
Data gathered during X-59 research flights will be shared with the U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.
The X-59’s engine, a modified F414-GE-100, packs 22,000 pounds of thrust. This will enable the X-59 to achieve the desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet. It sits in a nontraditional spot–atop the aircraft—to aid in making the X-59 quieter.
The X-59's goal is to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land.
Interacting Galaxies NGC 169 & IC 1559 in Andromeda | Hubble
It is now widely accepted amongst astronomers that an important aspect of how galaxies evolve is the way they interact with one another. Galaxies can merge, collide, or brush past one another. Each event can have a significant impact on their shapes and structures. As common as these interactions are thought to be in the Universe, it is rare to capture an image of two galaxies interacting in such a visibly dynamic way. This image, from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, feels incredibly three-dimensional for a piece of deep-space imagery.
The subject of this image is named Arp 282, an interacting galaxy pair that is composed of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 169 (bottom) and the galaxy IC 1559 (top). Interestingly, both galaxies making up Arp 282 have monumentally energetic cores, known as active galactic nuclei (AGN), although it is difficult to tell that from this image. This is fortunate, because if the full emission of two AGNs was visible in this image, then it would probably obscure the beautifully detailed tidal interactions occurring between them. Tidal forces occur when an object’s gravity causes another object to distort or stretch. The direction of the tidal forces will be away from the lower-mass object and towards the higher mass object. When two galaxies interact, gas, dust and even entire solar systems will be drawn away from one galaxy towards the other by these tidal forces. This process can actually be seen in action in this image—delicate streams of matter have formed, visibly linking the two galaxies.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey, DOE, FNAL/DECam, CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, SDSS Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt Release Date: Feb. 7, 2022
Circles upon Circles above Gemini South Observatory in Chile | NOIRLab
Unlike this image suggests, the sky has not suddenly become bright—it is just a photographic trick. Atop Cerro Pachón in Chile, many exposures of the dark night capture the stars’ journey across the sky, along with the setting Sun (far right), the headlights of a car passing by on the road (left), and the lasers of the adaptive optics on both Gemini South (middle) and Andes Lidar Observatory (left). Gemini South is one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by the National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab, while the Andes Lidar Observatory is part of Cerro-Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab. To the right, in the distance, sits NSF–Department of Energy (DOE) Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a joint initiative of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. DOE Office of Science (DOE/SC), and operated jointly by NSF NOIRLab and DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
Nights on the mountain top are pristinely dark, so capturing the right amount of light is key for astronomers and photographers alike, and they both use different techniques to do just that. The photographer and NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador Petr Horálek captured multiple images over the course of the night and then stacked them on top of each other, finding the perfect balance of dark and light for us to see the thousands of mesmerizing star trails.
Star trails are caused by the Earth’s rotation. It makes stars appear to move in arcs and circles around the Earth’s celestial poles (the celestial south pole is seen to the left in this image). The distance of each star to the pole star helps us define that stars are circumpolar or seasonal. Circumpolar stars do not rise or set like the Sun—they would even be continuously visible during the day at any time of the year if not for the Sun’s light. Meanwhile, seasonal stars rise in the east and set in the west, changing with the seasons due to their proximity to the celestial equator. These pathways are an effect of the geometry of Earth’s orbit, and the latitude you observe the sky from will change what stars appear circumpolar.
The Gemini South Telescope, half of the International Gemini Observatory, shines a low power laser into the sky to create a laser guide star. This laser guide star serves as a reference for the telescope's adaptive optics system so that it can 'cancel out' the effect of atmospheric turbulence on the images of its actual targets. The Gemini South telescope is located on a mountain in the Chilean Andes called Cerro Pachón, where very dry air and negligible cloud cover make this another prime telescope location.
SpaceX Starship Prepared for 10th Test Flight Launch | Starbase Texas
Starship moved to launch pad at Starbase Texas
Starship's Super Heavy Booster moved to launch pad at Starbase Texas
The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy Booster have been moved to the launch pad at Starbase Texas ahead of the tenth test flight. Starship will launch as soon as Sunday, August 24, 2025. The 60-minute launch window opens at 6:30 p.m. Central Time (CT) with weather 45% favorable for liftoff based on the last report received.
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is currently the "world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed", capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.
Key Starship Parameters:
Height: 123m/403ft Diameter: 9m/29.5ft Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)
"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."
Shenzhou-20 Commander Chen Dong Sets Spacewalk Record | China Space Station
Shenzhou-20 Commander Chen Dong (red spacesuit stripes) set a new record for the most spacewalks by a Chinese astronaut during a recent extravehicular activity (EVA). Take a look back at the entire event. Watch as space debris protection devices are installed.
Shenzhou-20 crew commander and astronaut Chen Dong: "Exiting the cabin, embracing the vastness of space! Looking out from the cabin door, the continuous sea of clouds is like a flowing scroll. The robotic arm outside the cabin rotates steadily, capturing the magnificent scene of the intertwining land and ocean, preserving this deep sense of tranquility and gentleness."
During a 6.5-hour spacewalk on Friday, August 15, 2025, Shenzhou-20 astronauts completed vital inspections and installed protective equipment on China's space station, demonstrating improved efficiency in extravehicular operations and collecting crucial thermal data.
This spacewalk represented the Shenzhou-20 crew's third series of extravehicular activities (EVAs) since they boarded the Tiangong Space Station.
According to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), crew members Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie worked for approximately six-and-a-half hours and completed all related tasks at 22:47 Beijing time, assisted by the space station's robotic arm and a ground control team.
At around 16:00 on Friday, astronaut Chen Dong opened the airlock and stepped out of the Wentian lab module, marking his sixth extravehicular mission and making him the Chinese astronaut with the most spacewalks to date.
Chen was positioned at the end of the station's robotic arm using a newly-installed automated foot restraint, while astronaut Wang Jie remained inside and passed equipment to him. According to space engineers, the restraint made a significant impact on the operations.
"Last time we installed the automated foot restraint for the first time, and this spacewalk was the first time we used it to carry out tasks. It has clearly increased our operational efficiency," said Liang Xiaofeng, an engineer with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
With the robotic arm in motion, Chen was able to inspect external parts of the station with a camera and thermal imager.
At around 16:50, astronaut Wang Jie joined Chen Dong in space. It was Wang's first spacewalk, making him the second Chinese aerospace flight engineer to perform an extravehicular mission. Inside the Tianhe core module, Chen Zhongrui provided vital support.
On the ground, Liang emphasized that the spacewalk has played a role in advancing China's ambitious plans for future space exploration.
"The main goal of this spacewalk was to identify thermal characteristics of key external equipment and critical components. This allows us to better understand their operational conditions and collect detailed data, which also supports future spacecraft design and advancing our thermal control technologies," the space engineer said.
After completing installations of debris protection measures and auxiliary structural components, as well as inspection of external equipment and systems on the station's exterior, Chen Dong and Wang Jie safely returned to the Tianhe core module by 22:47 Beijing time.
The Shenzhou-20 astronauts entered the Tiangong space station on April 25 this year and have now completed half of their spaceflight journey.
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: China Manned Space Agency (CMSA)
Duration: 3 minutes, 49 seconds Release Date: Aug. 17, 2025
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