The Butterfly Nebula: NGC 6302 (labeled version) | Webb Telescope & ALMA

The Butterfly Nebula: NGC 6302 (labeled version) | Webb Telescope & ALMA

This annotated image takes the viewer on a deep dive into the heart of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302, as seen by the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope. The Butterfly Nebula, located about 3,400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, is one of the best-studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy.

Planetary nebulae are among the most beautiful and most elusive creatures in the cosmic zoo. These nebulae form when stars with masses between about 0.8 and 8 times the mass of the Sun shed most of their mass at the end of their lives. The planetary nebula phase is fleeting, lasting only about 20,000 years.

At the center of the Butterfly Nebula is the ancient core of a Sun-like star that energizes the surrounding nebula and causes it to glow. This scorching central star is hidden from view at optical wavelengths, but Webb’s infrared capabilities have revealed the star and its surroundings in great detail.

This image, combining infrared data from Webb with submillimeter observations from the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimeter Array (ALMA), shows the doughnut-shaped torus and interconnected bubbles of dusty gas that surround the nebula’s central star. The torus is oriented vertically and nearly edge-on from our perspective, and it intersects with bubbles of gas enclosing the star. The bubbles appear bright red in this image, illuminated by the light from helium and neon gas. Outside the bubbles, jets traced by emission from ionized iron shoot off in opposite directions.

Image Description: The complicated structure at the center of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. There is a bright source at the center of the image, labeled ‘dying star’. This is surrounded by greenish nebulosity and several looping lines in cream, orange and pink. One of these lines appears to form a ring oriented vertically and nearly edge-on around the bright source at the center. This ring is labeled in several places to indicate the near and far sides of a structure called the torus, a dust lane running along the torus and an area where the torus is ionized. Other lines trace out a figure eight shape. These lines are labeled to indicate the inner bubble as well as where the bubble intersects with the torus. Moving outward from these complex lines and green nebulosity, there is a section of red light on either side of the object, labeled ‘outer bubble’. The upper-right and lower-left corners of this image show a purple streak pointing out of the image. These purple streaks are labeled ‘jet’.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), N. Hirano, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)
Release Date: Aug. 27, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ButterflyNebula #NGC6302 #PlanetaryNebulae #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #ALMA #RadioAstronomy #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #Infographics #STEM #Education

Earth Aerosol Activity Model: Aug. 1-Sept. 14, 2024 | NASA Goddard

Earth Aerosol Activity Model: Aug. 1-Sept. 14, 2024 | NASA Goddard

This visualization demonstrates global aerosol activity as modeled by NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) for the period between August 1 to September 14, 2024. Aerosols are tiny solid or liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere that can travel vast distances, affecting air quality and visibility far from their original sources. This visualization shows how these particles moved through Earth's atmosphere from August 1-September 14, 2024. 

Each color represents a type of aerosol: sea salt (blue), dust (pink/magenta), smoke from fires (orange/red), and sulfates from pollution and volcanoes (green). This visualization is based on NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model. It provides realistic, high-resolution weather and aerosol data that enables customized environmental prediction and advances in artifical intelligence (AI) research.

NASA uses satellites, ground measurements, and powerful computer models to track tiny particles floating in our air called aerosols. These small solid or liquid particles can travel thousands of miles, affecting the air we breathe and how far we can see, even far from where they originated.

The visualization highlights several atmospheric  phenomena:

Hurricanes and Typhoons: Hurricane Ernesto in the Atlantic Ocean pulls in dust from Africa, while Typhoons Shanshan and Ampil near Japan draw pollution from mainland Asia. The storms' powerful winds churn up ocean water, creating sea salt particles visible as blue spirals.

Saharan Dust Journey: Desert dust from the Sahara travels all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, creating hazy skies in the Caribbean and affecting air quality as far away as Texas and Florida during summer 2024.

Volcanic Plumes: Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano released a narrow stream of sulfate particles moving westward, while Italy's Mount Etna created similar streams over southern Europe.

Wildfire Smoke:

In southern Africa, seasonal agricultural burning created smoke that drifted over the Atlantic Ocean

South America faced record-breaking wildfires in 2024, creating a river-like flow of smoke particles that affected major Brazilian cities

Canada experienced its second-worst wildfire season on record, with smoke traveling as far as northern Europe

The swirling blue patterns over oceans show sea salt kicked up by strong winds.

This visualization helps us understand how our atmosphere connects distant parts of the world. What happens in one region—whether natural events or human activities—can affect weather patterns and air quality thousands of miles away. By tracking these movements, NASA helps communities prepare for changes in air quality and visibility while advancing our understanding of Earth's complex atmospheric system.

The visualization was developed using NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS), a complex modeling and data assimilation system that creates global analyses of the Earth System. GEOS integrates satellite observations, in situ measurements, and approximately one million weather observations collected hourly to inform its models. Through the GEOS Forward Processing (FP) product, the system generates both analyses and forecasts in near real-time. Images for this visualization were created by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO).

This version includes annotations and a color scale. It is provided in 6480×3240 resolution (2:1 aspect ratio).

Video Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Visualizations: Joseph V. Ardizzone, Helen-Nicole Kostis
Scientific consulting: Lesley Ott
Duration: 1 minute, 13 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 8, 2025

#NASA #Space #Satellites #Science #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #AirQuality #Aerosols #WildfireSmoke #Dust #Volcanoes #AirPollution #ClimateModels #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #Climate #Environment #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #GEOS #AI #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Visualization #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship Launch: 10th Test Flight | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship Launch: 10th Test Flight | Starbase Texas

A SpaceX Starship successfully lifted off from Starbase Texas at 6:30pm Central Time (CT) on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. 

→ Watch here: https://t.co/UIwbeGoo2B 

After about 10 minutes, Starship’s Super Heavy Booster stage softly landed in the Gulf of Mexico as had been planned. Next, Starship performed an orbital payload demonstration test with eight Starlink simulators being deployed. The Starship spacecraft then continued on a suborbital flight before a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean at the intended landing site, where a Starlink-equipped camera buoy captured the Starship's arrival in real-time. Of course, SpaceX purposefully stressed the Starship during reentry to better understand how the spacecraft responds to extreme conditions. The above are significant improvements in comparison with the last few test flights.

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."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Release Dates: Aug. 25-27, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship10 #StarshipTestFlight10 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Journey to The Butterfly Nebula | Hubble/Webb/ALMA Views

Journey to The Butterfly Nebula | Hubble/Webb/ALMA Views

This video takes the viewer on a journey through space to the Butterfly Nebula, also called NGC 6302. The Butterfly Nebula, located about 3400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, is one of the best-studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy.

The first image that is revealed in this video highlights the bipolar nature of the Butterfly Nebula in optical and near-infrared light captured by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. Then, the new Webb image is overlayed on the center of the Butterfly Nebula and the viewer is shown a close-up view of this part of the object, providing an unprecedented view of its complex structure. The Webb data are supplemented with data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, a powerful network of radio dishes.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, J. Kastner, K. Noll, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), N. Hirano, J. Kastner, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb), ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R. Gendler, A. Hornstrup and J.-E. Ovaldsen, Digitized Sky Survey 2, KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Adam Block
Duration: 1 minute, 30 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 27, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ButterflyNebula #NGC6302 #PlanetaryNebulae #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #ALMA #RadioAstronomy #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up: The Butterfly Nebula | Webb Telescope (infrared) & ALMA (radio) View

Close-up: The Butterfly Nebula | Webb Telescope (infrared) & ALMA (radio) View

This image takes the viewer on a deep dive into the heart of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. The Butterfly Nebula, located about 3400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, is one of the best-studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy.

Planetary nebulae are among the most beautiful and most elusive creatures in the cosmic zoo. These nebulae form when stars with masses between about 0.8 and 8 times the mass of the Sun shed most of their mass at the end of their lives. The planetary nebula phase is fleeting, lasting only about 20 000 years.

At the center of the Butterfly Nebula is the ancient core of a Sun-like star that energizes the surrounding nebula and causes it to glow. This scorching central star is hidden from view at optical wavelengths, but Webb’s infrared capabilities have revealed the star and its surroundings in great detail.

This image, combining infrared data from the NASA/European Space Agency/Canadian Space Agency James Webb Space Telescope with submillimeter observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), shows the doughnut-shaped torus and interconnected bubbles of dusty gas that surround the nebula’s central star. The torus is oriented vertically and nearly edge-on from our perspective, and it intersects with bubbles of gas enclosing the star. The bubbles appear bright red in this image, illuminated by the light from helium and neon gas. Outside the bubbles, jets traced by emission from ionized iron shoot off in opposite directions.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), N. Hirano, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb), N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb)
Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 27, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ButterflyNebula #NGC6302 #PlanetaryNebulae #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #ALMA #RadioAstronomy #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Butterfly Nebula: NGC 6302 (Near-infrared view) | Hubble Space Telescope

The Butterfly Nebula: NGC 6302 (Near-infrared view) | Hubble Space Telescope

This view of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302, comes from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. Compared to its appearance in visible light, the Butterfly Nebula looks gauzy at near-infrared wavelengths. The red color that is most prevalent in this view shows light from hydrogen, while green and blue come from iron that has been ionized.

This Hubble image highlights the Butterfly Nebula’s bipolar shape, showing how its two lobes spread in opposite directions, forming the ‘wings’ of the butterfly. A dark band of dusty gas poses as the butterfly’s ‘body’. This band is actually a doughnut-shaped torus that is being viewed from the side, hiding the nebula’s central star—the ancient core of a Sun-like star that energizes the nebula and causes it to glow. The dusty doughnut may be responsible for the nebula’s insectoid shape by preventing gas from flowing outward from the star equally in all directions. 

Image Description: A planetary nebula called NGC 6302 or the Butterfly Nebula. A dark dust lane runs through the center of the nebula and two broad clouds emerge from either side of the dust lane like the outstretched wings of a butterfly. The nebula appears cream colored and most opaque near the center, then becomes reddish with purple streaks and more translucent out toward the wings of the nebula. There are hundreds of background stars in the image. Many are visible through the nebula.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. Kastner, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)
Release Date: Aug. 27, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ButterflyNebula #NGC6302 #PlanetaryNebulae #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #STEM #Education

The Butterfly Nebula: NGC 6302 in Scorpius | Hubble, Webb & ALMA Views

The Butterfly Nebula: NGC 6302 in Scorpius | Hubble, Webb & ALMA Views

This image set showcases three views of the Butterfly Nebula, also called NGC 6302. The Butterfly Nebula, located about 3,400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius, is one of the best-studied planetary nebulae in our galaxy.

Planetary nebulae are among the most beautiful and most elusive creatures in the cosmic zoo. These nebulae form when stars with masses between about 0.8 and 8 times the mass of the Sun shed most of their mass at the end of their lives. The planetary nebula phase is fleeting, lasting only about 20 000 years.

The Butterfly Nebula is a bipolar nebula, meaning that it has two lobes that spread in opposite directions, forming the ‘wings’ of the butterfly. A dark band of dusty gas poses as the butterfly’s ‘body’. This band is actually a doughnut-shaped torus that’s being viewed from the side, hiding the nebula’s central star—the ancient core of a Sun-like star that energises the nebula and causes it to glow. The dusty doughnut may be responsible for the nebula’s insectoid shape by preventing gas from flowing outward from the star equally in all directions. 

The first and second of the three images shown here highlight the bipolar nature of the Butterfly Nebula in optical and near-infrared light captured by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. The new Webb image on the right zooms in on the center of the Butterfly Nebula and its dusty torus, providing an unprecedented view of its complex structure. The Webb data are supplemented with data from the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimeter Array, a powerful network of radio dishes. 

While the nebula’s central star is blanketed with thick, dusty gas at optical wavelengths, Webb’s infrared capabilities reveal the central star and show the doughnut-shaped torus and interconnected bubbles of dusty gas that surround it.

Image Description: Three views of the same nebula, presented side by side. The left and middle images,  labeled ‘Hubble Optical’ and ‘Hubble Near IR’, show the nebula at roughly the same scale. These two images show some similar features, including a dark dust lane that runs through the center of the nebula and two broad clouds that emerge from either side of the dust lane like the outstretched wings of a butterfly. A diamond-shaped region centered on the dust lane is outlined in each of these images. In the optical Hubble image, the nebula appears clumpy and nearly opaque with few background stars showing through the cloudy material. The nebula appears in different shades of cream, yellow and orange with the lightest colors appearing closest to the center. The background of space is black with a handful of stars that are tinged pink. In the near-infrared Hubble image, the nebula appears cream colored and most opaque near the center, then becomes reddish with purple streaks and more translucent out toward the wings of the nebula. There are hundreds of background stars in the image, many are visible through the nebula. The third and final image zooms in on the diamond-shaped region near the center of the other two images. This image is labeled ‘Webb & ALMA, Mid-IR & Sub-mm’. This image shows a bright source at the center that is surrounded by greenish nebulosity and several looping lines in cream, orange and pink. The upper-right and lower-left corners of this image show a purple streak pointing out of the image.

Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, M. Matsuura, J. Kastner, K. Noll, ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), N. Hirano, J. Kastner, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)
Release Date: Aug. 27, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #ButterflyNebula #NGC6302 #PlanetaryNebulae #Scorpius #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #HST #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #ALMA #RadioAstronomy #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #Infographics #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starship Atmospheric Reentry: 10th Test Flight

SpaceX Starship Atmospheric Reentry: 10th Test Flight

A SpaceX Starship successfully lifted off from Starbase Texas around 6:32pm Central Time (CT) on Tuesday, August 26, 2025 and later splashdowned in the Indian Ocean in a controlled manner at the intended landing site, where a Starlink-equipped camera buoy captured the Starship's arrival in real-time. SpaceX purposefully stressed the Starship during reentry to better understand how the spacecraft responds to extreme conditions.

→ Re-watch the 10th test flight: https://t.co/UIwbeGoo2B

About ten minutes after launch, Starship’s Super Heavy Booster softly landed in the Gulf of Mexico as intended, and the Starship spacecraft continued on a suborbital flight traveling toward a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Completion of the above objectives represents a significant improvement in comparison with the last few Starship test flights.

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."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 47 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 26, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship10 #StarshipTestFlight10 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship Splashdown in Indian Ocean: 10th Test Flight

SpaceX Starship Splashdown in Indian Ocean: 10th Test Flight

A SpaceX Starship successfully lifted off from Starbase Texas around 6:32pm Central Time (CT) on Tuesday, August 26, 2025 and later splashdowned in the Indian Ocean in a controlled manner at the intended landing site, where a Starlink-equipped camera buoy captured the Starship's arrival in real-time.

→ Re-watch it here: https://t.co/UIwbeGoo2B 

About 10 minutes after launch, Starship’s Super Heavy Booster softly landed in the Gulf of Mexico as intended, and the Starship spacecraft continued on a suborbital flight traveling toward a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Completion of the above objectives represents a significant improvement in comparison with the last few Starship test flights.

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."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 47 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 26, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship10 #StarshipTestFlight10 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

SpaceX Starship Liftoff: 10th Test Flight | Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship Liftoff: 10th Test Flight | Starbase Texas

A SpaceX Starship successfully lifted off from Starbase Texas around 6:32pm Central Time (CT) on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. 

→ Watch here: https://t.co/UIwbeGoo2B 

After about 10 minutes, Starship’s Super Heavy Booster stage softly landed in the Gulf of Mexico as had been planned, and the Starship spacecraft continued on a suborbital flight traveling toward a splashdown in the Indian Ocean. These represent significant improvements in comparison with the last few test flights.

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."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Duration: 44 seconds

Release Date: Aug. 26, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship10 #StarshipTestFlight10 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New Expedition 73 Crew & Guest Photos | International Space Station

New Expedition 73 Crew & Guest Photos | International Space Station

NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 members pose inside the vestibule between their SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft and the International Space Station's forward port on the Harmony module. Clockwise from bottom are, NASA astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov of Russia. The walls of the vestibule are lined with mission stickers and crew signatures left by previous visitors who docked at Harmony’s forward port.

Axiom Mission 4 Commander Peggy Whitson is flanked by Expedition 73 Flight Engineers Nichole Ayers (left) and Anne McClain, both from NASA, in this portrait taken inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.

Axiom Mission 4 Commander Peggy Whitson and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim from NASA pose together for portrait taken inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module.

Four astronauts representing Expedition 73 and the four-member Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew gather for a fun portrait clasping hands and surrounding the Kibo laboratory module's airlock. Clockwise from bottom left are, Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim of NASA, Ax-4 Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of the European Space Agency (ESA), Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers of NASA, Ax-4 Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu from Hungary, Expedition 73 Commander Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Ax-4 Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Anne McClain of NASA, and Ax-4 Commander Peggy Whitson of Axiom Space.

The seven-member Expedtion 73 crew gathers together for a dinnertime portrait inside the galley of the International Space Station's Unity module. In the front from left are, Flight Engineers Zena Cardman of NASA, Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Jonny Kim of NASA. In the back are, Flight Engineers Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos and Mike Fincke of NASA, and station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, both from Roscosmos.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 Pilot Mike Fincke is welcomed aboard the International Space Station by Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers of NASA after the Dragon crew spaceraft docked to the Harmony module's space-facing port.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos (Russia) is welcomed aboard the International Space Station by Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers of NASA after the Dragon crew spaceraft docked to the Harmony module's space-facing port.

NASA astronauts Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman, both Expedition 73 Flight Engineers, pose for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Unity module during a break in weekend housecleaning and maintenance activities. Kim and Cardman are both part of NASA Astronaut Group 22 selected in June 2017 with 12 other astronauts, including two Canadian Space Agency astronauts, and affectionately nicknamed "The Turtles."

 

Updates: Expedition 73 opened the hatch to the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after its arrival on Monday, August 25, 2025. The crew has begun unloading advanced science experiments that can benefit humans living on and off the Earth. The International Space Station residents also prepared for next month’s Dragon reboost and continued lab maintenance and Earth observations.

Follow Expedition 73:

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

Expedition 73 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey Ryzhikov (Roscosmos)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Zubritskiy, Oleg Platonov

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

Date: Aug. 26, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Science #AxiomSpace #Ax4Crew #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceTechnology #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Japan #ESA #Europe #ISRO #India #BhāratGaṇarājya  #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Rocket Lab Hot Fire Tests of Archimedes Engine for Neutron Rocket | NASA Stennis

Rocket Lab Hot Fire Tests of Archimedes Engine for Neutron Rocket | NASA Stennis

🔥Enjoy! Rocket Lab is continuing to perform hot-fire tests of its Archimedes engine through its rocket test stand at NASA’s historic Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Rocket Lab’s new Neutron medium-lift reusable launch vehicle will use Archimedes engines to provide government and commercial customers with an alternative launch service capable of deploying 13,000 kg to low Earth orbit (LEO). Significant progress continues to be made at the rocket’s launch pad on Wallops Island, Virginia. Production, infrastructure scaling, and Archimedes engine and full-scale components testing is continuing across Rocket Lab’s production and test facilities in the United States. Neutron’s debut remains on track for first launch in the second half of 2025.

The advanced design of the Neutron rocket includes carbon composite for all of the rocket’s major structures and an upper stage that enables high-performance for complex satellite deployments, including the deployment of satellite mega-constellations.

The Archimedes engine is an oxidizer rich staged combustion cycle engine that will power the reusable first stage of Neutron and the new rocket’s second stage that is designed to carry up to 13,000 kilograms of payload to space. Capable of producing up to 165,000 (733 kilonewtons) pounds of thrust per engine, Archimedes operates at lower stress levels than other rocket engines to enable rapid and reliable reusability. The combined thrust of nine Archimedes engines for Neutron’s first stage is designed to reach 1,450,000 lbf total. Archimedes uses a cryogenic propellant mix of liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to enable higher reusability and performance. Furthermore, many of its critical components are 3D printed including Archimedes’ turbo pump housings, pre-burner and main chamber components, valve housings, and engine structural components. Production of the Archimedes engines takes place at Rocket Lab’s Engine Development Complex at its headquarters in Long Beach, California.

Rocket Lab's new Neutron rocket will feature the new Archimedes Engine.

First Stage

9 Archimedes Engines

Lox/Methane Oxidizer Rich Closed Cycle

Total Lift-off Thrust: 1,485,000 lbf

Second Stage

Single Vacuum Archimedes Engine

Lox/Methane Oxidizer Rich Closed Cycle

Vacuum Thrust: 890 kN (200,000 lbf)

Learn more: 

https://rocketlabcorp.com/launch/neutron/

Video Credit: Rocket Lab
Duration: 1 minute, 32 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 26, 2025

#NASA #Space #Aerospace #Earth #LEO #Satellites #SatelliteConstellations #Spacecraft #RocketLab #NeutronRocket #MediumLiftRockets #ArchimedesEngines #EngineTesting #CommercialSpace #PeterBeck #NASAStennis #StennisSpaceCenter #Mississippi #UnitedStates #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The North America Nebula in Cygnus

The North America Nebula in Cygnus

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.

Image Credit: Gianni Lacroce

Release Date: June 25, 2025   

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #Nebula #NGC7000 #Caldwell20 #NorthAmericaNebula #EmissionNebula #Cygnus #Constellation #Star #Deneb #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #GianniLacroce #Astrophotographer #STEM #Education

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Solar Panel Deployment Test | NASA Goddard

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.

To learn more about all these systems and where they fit into Roman, visit:  
https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/interactive/

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

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #NASARoman #RomanSpaceTelescope #NancyGraceRoman #Exoplanets #Planets #SolarSystem #Stars #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescopes #STScI #GSFC #Greenbelt #Marland #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

World's Largest Transparent Spherical Neutrino Detector Starts Operation in China

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.

Learn more about the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory: http://juno.ihep.cas.cn

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 17 seconds
Release Date: Aug. 26, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Astrophysics #Physics #Neutrinos #Earth #China #中国  #GuangdongProvince #江门 #Jiangmen #JUNO #UndergroundNeutrinoObservatory #SolarSystem #Stars #Galaxies #BlackHoles #Blazars #Universe #SpaceResearch #InternationalScience #Technology #Engineering #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Meteor and The Pleiades Star Cluster: View from Saudi Arabia

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

Yousif Alqasimi's website:

https://www.instagram.com/eaqj

Essa Al Jasmi's website:

https://www.instagram.com/alqasmyi/

Release Date: Aug. 25, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Meteors #Stars #StarClusters #ThePleiades #SevenSisters #Messier45 #M45 #OpenStarCluster #BrownDwarfStars #Taurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #YousifAlqasimi #EssaAlJasmi #Astrophotographers #alUla #SaudiArabia #WestAsia #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #APoD