Planet Mars Images: Oct. 5-9, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Planet Mars Images: Oct. 5-9, 2025 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers

Mars 2020 - sol 1646

Mars 2020 - sol 1646

Mars 2020 - sol 1645

MSL - sol 4683

Mars 2020 - sol 1646

Mars 2020 - sol 1646

Mars 2020 - sol 1647

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Celebrating 13+ 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: Oct. 5-9, 2025

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

SpaceX Starship: Super Heavy Moved to Pad Pre-11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

 SpaceX Starship: Super Heavy Moved to Pad Pre-11th Flight Test | Starbase Texas

"Flight-proven Super Heavy booster moved to the pad at Starbase ahead of launch."

"The eleventh flight test of Starship is preparing to launch as soon as Monday, October 13, 2025. The launch window will open at 6:15 p.m. CT.

A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 30 minutes before liftoff. You can watch it here: 

https://t.co/YmvmGZTV8o

As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to check in here and stay tuned to our X account for updates.

The upcoming flight will build on the successful demonstrations from Starship’s tenth flight test with flight experiments gathering data for the next generation Super Heavy booster, stress-testing Starship’s heatshield, and demonstrating maneuvers that will mimic the upper stage’s final approach for a future return to launch site.

The booster on this flight test previously flew on Flight 8 and will launch with 24 flight-proven Raptor engines. Its primary test objective will be demonstrating a unique landing burn engine configuration planned to be used on the next generation Super Heavy. It will attempt this while on a trajectory to an offshore landing point in the Gulf of America and will not return to the launch site for catch.

Super Heavy will ignite 13 engines at the start of the landing burn and then transition to a new configuration with five engines running for the divert phase. Previously done with three engines, the planned baseline for V3 Super Heavy will use five engines during the section of the burn responsible for fine-tuning the booster’s path, adding additional redundancy for spontaneous engine shutdowns. The booster will then transition to its three center engines for the end of the landing burn, entering a full hover while still above the ocean surface, followed by shutdown and dropping into the Gulf of America. The primary goal on the flight test is to measure the real-world vehicle dynamics as engines shut down while transitioning between the different phases.

The Starship upper stage will target multiple in-space objectives, including the deployment of eight Starlink simulators, similar in size to next-generation Starlink satellites. The Starlink simulators will be on the same suborbital trajectory as Starship and are expected to demise upon entry. A relight of a single Raptor engine while in space is also planned.

The flight test includes several experiments and operational changes focused on enabling Starship’s upper stage to return to the launch site on future flights. For reentry, tiles have been removed from Starship to intentionally stress-test vulnerable areas across the vehicle. Several of the missing tiles are in areas where tiles are bonded to the vehicle and do not have a backup ablative layer. To mimic the path a ship will take on future flights returning to Starbase, the final phase of Starship’s trajectory on Flight 11 includes a dynamic banking maneuver and will test subsonic guidance algorithms prior to a landing burn and splashdown in the Indian Ocean."

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

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)
Release Date: Oct. 8, 2025

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #StarshipSpacecraft #Starship11 #StarshipTestFlight11 #SuperHeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #StarbaseTexas #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Speed of The New Simonyi Survey Telescope | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

The Speed of The New Simonyi Survey Telescope | Vera C. Rubin Observatory

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a Program of the National Science Foundation (NSF) NOIRLab jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science (DOE/SC), began collecting its first on-sky engineering data on April 15, 2025. In this long-exposure image, the Simonyi Survey Telescope, equipped with the LSST Camera, created a mesmerizing neon glow as it spun around scanning the sky.

The Rubin Observatory is packed with new technology. The Simonyi Survey Telescope’s drive system, rigid design, and compact shape give it incredible speed, forming the streaks of light showcased in this image. Thanks to these features, the telescope can be ready for its next image in only five seconds—faster than any other telescope of its size. The LSST Camera, constructed by DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is the world’s largest digital camera. The camera is roughly the size of a small car and weighs almost 6600 lbs (3000 kg). Its size and design allow it to view vast areas of the sky, capturing 45 times the area of the full Moon in the sky with each exposure. Together, the innovative technologies in the Simonyi Survey Telescope and the LSST Camera is expected to make many discoveries.

Other telescopes can detect changes in a star’s brightness, but Rubin is the only one that can simultaneously catch multiple faint, steady pulses of RR Lyrae stars across huge swaths of the sky and also detect them very far away from Earth. Rubin's sensitive camera captures variations so subtle that our eyes can barely detect them when looking at the images. Rubin will collect nearly a thousand measurements for each variable star, ensuring that scientists focused on variable stars can amass huge samples to study. Rubin’s wide view and fast survey speed will give us data on far more of these stars than ever before—even those way out in the outskirts of the Milky Way—giving us a much clearer picture of what our Galaxy looks like. 

Simonyi Survey Telescope

https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/vera-c-rubin-observatory/simonyi-survey-telescope/

The LSST Camera (LSSTCam)

https://lsstcam.lsst.io/

An Introduction to Vera Rubin:

https://rubinobservatory.org/about/vera-rubin

Hernán Stockebrand, the photographer, is a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador.

Credit: NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory/NSF/DOE/NOIRLab/SLAC/AURA/H. Stockebrand 

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Cosmos #Universe #SimonyiSurveyTelescope #SST #LSSTCam #RubinObservatory #VeraRubin #CerroPachón #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Example of SpaceX Starlink "Trains" in Low-Earth Orbit | International Space Station

Example of SpaceX Starlink "Trains": Low-Earth Orbit | International Space Station

NASA astronaut Don Pettit: "My best sighting of a Starlink satellite 'train' from orbit!"

The “Starlink satellite train” is a series of SpaceX satellites launched together, appearing as a line of lights in the sky. These trains are most visible shortly after sunset or before sunrise when the satellites are lit by the sun but the ground is dark.

Starlink satellite dimensions and features:
Size and weight: Each Starlink satellite measures approximately 2.8 meters (9.2 feet) in length and 1.4 meters (4.6 feet) in width, with a thickness of about 0.2 meters (0.7 feet). The weight of each satellite is roughly 260 kilograms (573 pounds).

Solar panels: Each satellite is equipped with a single solar array that unfolds once in orbit. This solar panel measures approximately 8 meters (26 feet) in length, significantly extending the satellite’s total span.

Antenna and phased array: The satellites feature a phased array antenna system for communication with Earth stations and user terminals. These antennas are critical for maintaining high-speed data transmission and low latency.

Ion thrusters: For maneuvering in space, Starlink satellites use a krypton-powered ion thruster system. This propulsion technology allows the satellites to adjust their orbits, avoid collisions, and eventually deorbit at the end of their operational life.

This video from low-Earth orbit was captured by experienced NASA astronaut and former Expedition 71/72 flight engineer, Don Pettit. NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth on April 19, 2025, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station. Pettit spent 220 days in space, earning him a total of 590 days in space over the course of his four spaceflights. He orbited the Earth 3,520 times, traveling 93.3 million miles in low-Earth orbit.

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/D. Pettit
Text Credits: Starlinkinstallationpros[dot]com, TechAnnouncer[dot]com
Time: 11 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Sun #Planets #Earth #SpaceX #Starlink #Satellites #CommercialSpace #Astronauts #DonPettit #AstronautVideography #UnitedStates #Japan #JAXA #Cosmonauts #Russia #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition71 #Expedition72 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Pillars of Creation: A 3D Multiwavelength Exploration | STScI

The Pillars of Creation: A 3D Multiwavelength Exploration | STScI

This scientific visualization explores the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula using data from the Hubble and Webb Space Telescopes. 

Based on scientific results, astronomers and artists modeled this striking formation in three dimensions and created a movie that flies past and amongst the pillars. What looks like 3 pillars in a two-dimensional image separates into four dust clouds with ionized gas streaming away from each.

As the virtual camera files through the model, the view shifts back and forth between the visible light and infrared light perspectives. Viewers gain an appreciation of the contrasting observations seen by Hubble and Webb, and how the telescopes complement each other by probing different scientific aspects of the clouds.

The Pillars of Creation nickname derives from the fact that stars are forming within these dust clouds. The visual tour highlights various stages of star formation including an embedded protostar at the top of the central pillar, bipolar jets from a unseen forming star in the upper part of the left pillar, and a newborn star in the middle of the left pillar.

This visualization is a product of the AstroViz Project of NASA's Universe of Learning. A longer and explanatory visualization, including narration detailing the structures and science, is available as "The Pillars of Creation and the Interplay of Stars and Dust".

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebulae #EagleNebula #PillarsOfCreation #SerpensCauda #Constellations #SpaceTelescopes #JWST #InfraredAstronomy #HST #OpticalAstronomy #Universe #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #Art #Visualization #HD #Video

Duration: Oct. 8, 2025

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon: View from New Mexico

Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon: View from New Mexico

Comet Lemmon is brightening and moving into morning northern skies. Besides Comet SWAN25B and Comet ATLAS, Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) is now the third comet currently visible with binoculars and on long camera exposures. Comet Lemmon was discovered early this year and is still headed into the inner Solar System. The comet will round the Sun on November 8, but first it will pass its nearest to the Earth—at about half the Earth-Sun distance—on October 21. 

Although the brightnesses of comets are notoriously hard to predict, optimistic estimates have Comet Lemmon then becoming visible to the unaided eye. The comet should be best seen in predawn skies until mid-October, when it also becomes visible in evening skies.

New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also borders the state of Texas to the east and southeast, Oklahoma to the northeast, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora to the south.

Image Credit: Rolando Ligustri

Image Details: Comet C/2025 A6 Lemmon, 08/10/2025 at 10:30 UT, from New Mexico USA, TelescopeNetwork.astrottica.it, with a NM 300/1140 (Astrottica) CCD ASI 2600 MM in bin2 RGB=3x30s L=20x30s field of view 44'x66', processed by Astroart Software and PS. The presence of the Moon is starting to be "heavy", causing a loss of contrast and an increase in gradients.

Location: Astrottica Observatory, New Mexico, USA

Rolando's website: 

https://www.facebook.com/astrottica

Capture Date: Oct. 8, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #CometC2025A6Lemmon #Coma #CometaryTails #SolarSystem #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotography #RolandoLigustri #Astrophotographers #NewMexico #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The Orion Nebula: Infrared View | Subaru Telescope

The Orion Nebula: Infrared View | Subaru Telescope

Located 1,500 light years away, the Orion Nebula (Messier 42) shows a host of treasures when viewed in infrared light. There are stars in the Trapezium, an open cluster of stars at the center, that are only visible in infrared light. The orange feature above center is called the Kleinman-Low Nebula, and appears greatly affected by the newly forming central star IRc2. The blue emission in this representative color photograph is caused by hot gas ionized by the Trapezium stars. This is one of the first photographs ever taken through Japan's Subaru Telescope.

At the center of the image is the Trapezium, a group of four bright stars. Many stars seen around the Trapezium are young stars embedded in the Orion molecular cloud located behind the Orion Nebula. Many of them are seen only at infrared wavelengths. Blue, faint, and diffuse emission extending over the entire region is due to hot gas ionized by strong ultraviolet radiation emitted by the Trapezium stars. The bright bar seen in the lower left part of the image is an ionization front.

Above the Trapezium, a butterfly-like red feature is seen in the image, containing the Kleinman-Low (KL) nebula. It is deeply embedded in the Orion molecular cloud. At the center of the KL nebula is a star called IRc2 that is in the process of forming. This star is believed to be thirty times more massive than the Sun, and its activities are the cause of the large butterfly feature.

This false-color image was synthesized from three images taken with J (1.25 micron), K' (2.15 micron), and H 2 -line (2.12 micron, narrow band) filters, assigning blue for J, green for K', and red for H 2 -line images. Nine images of contiguous fields were obtained with the Subaru Telescope's Cooled Infrared Spectrograph and Camera for OHS (CISCO). It has a 2 arcmin by 2 arcmin field of view, and were combined to make this image.  Ghost (false) images from very bright stars are also visible.

The Subaru Telescope is an astronomical observation facility operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). It is located at the summit of Mauna Kea at an altitude of 4,200 meters in the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Learn more about Japan's Subaru Telescope: 
https://subarutelescope.org/en/

Credit: CISCO, Subaru 8.3-m Telescope, NAOJ
Release Date: Jan. 29, 1999

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SubaruTelescope #すばる望遠鏡 #CISCO #InfraredAstronomy #NAOJ #国立天文台 #Stars #TrapeziumCluster #Nebulae #OrionNebula #Messier42 #M42 #NGC1976 #KleinmanLowNebula #Cosmos #Universe #Japan #日本 #MaunaKea #Hawaii #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Virgin Galactic: The Feather | "We Build SpaceShips"

Virgin Galactic: The Feather | "We Build SpaceShips"

Virgin Galactic’s spaceship adapts to its three phases of flight. It travels to space as a rocket. In space, it folds nearly in half, allowing it to steadily reenter the atmosphere. Then, it becomes a piloted glider, returning customers safely to their departure runway. A single one-of-a-kind system makes it all happen.

Welcome to Virgin Galactic - "The Spaceline for Earth".

Register for updates and learn more at: 
https://www.virgingalactic.com

Video Credit: Virgin Galactic
Duration: 6 minutes, 43 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 8, 2025

#NASA #Space #Earth #CommercialSpaceflight #VirginGalactic #Year2024 #DeltaSpaceship #SuborbitalFlights #Astronauts #SpaceTourism #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceportAmerica #NewMexico #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close up: The Orion Nebula (M42)—Visible Spectrum | Subaru Telescope

Close up: The Orion Nebula (M42)—Visible Spectrum | Subaru Telescope

The Orion Nebula (M42), located in the winter constellation Orion, is known as a star-forming region located relatively close to Earth, approximately 1,500 light-years away. Its large apparent size makes it easy to find with the naked eye, and a large number of stars can be seen through a telescope.

At the center of the red nebula seen in high-mass star-forming regions is the Trapezium, a cluster of newly formed stars. The ultraviolet rays from the Trapezium ionize hydrogen gas, causing it to glow red.

This image was created using a three-color composite, with the g-band (wavelength 470 nanometers), i-band (wavelength 760 nanometers), and y-band (wavelength 980 nanometers) assigned to blue, green, and red, respectively. It was taken with the Subaru Telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), an ultra-wide-field prime focus camera.

The Subaru Telescope is an astronomical observation facility operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). It is located at the summit of Mauna Kea at an altitude of 4,200 meters in the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Learn more about Japan's Subaru Telescope: 
https://subarutelescope.org/en/

Credits: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan; Image provided by Michitaro Koike and Masayuki Tanaka

Duration: 2 minutes
Release Date: June 17, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SubaruTelescope #すばる望遠鏡 #HSC #NAOJ #国立天文台 #Stars #TrapeziumCluster #Nebulae #OrionNebula #Messier42 #M42 #NGC1976 #Cosmos #Universe #Japan #日本 #MaunaKea #Hawaii #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Orion Nebula (M42): Visible Spectrum | Subaru Telescope

The Orion Nebula (M42): Visible Spectrum | Subaru Telescope

The Orion Nebula (M42), located in the winter constellation Orion, is known as a star-forming region located relatively close to Earth, approximately 1,500 light-years away. Its large apparent size makes it easy to find with the naked eye, and a large number of stars can be seen through a telescope.

At the center of the red nebula seen in high-mass star-forming regions is the Trapezium, a cluster of newly formed stars. The ultraviolet rays from the Trapezium ionize hydrogen gas, causing it to glow red.

This image was created using a three-color composite, with the g-band (wavelength 470 nanometers), i-band (wavelength 760 nanometers), and y-band (wavelength 980 nanometers) assigned to blue, green, and red, respectively. It was taken with the Subaru Telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), an ultra-wide-field prime focus camera.

The Subaru Telescope is an astronomical observation facility operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). It is located at the summit of Mauna Kea at an altitude of 4,200 meters in the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Learn more about Japan's Subaru Telescope: 
https://subarutelescope.org/en/

Credits: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan; Image provided by Michitaro Koike and Masayuki Tanaka
Release Date: May 1, 2024

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SubaruTelescope #すばる望遠鏡 #HSC #NAOJ #国立天文台 #Stars #TrapeziumCluster #Nebulae #OrionNebula #Messier42 #M42 #NGC1976 #Cosmos #Universe #Japan #日本 #MaunaKea #Hawaii #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

COSMOS Field of Galaxies Billions of Years Old: Deep Imaging | Subaru Telescope

COSMOS Field of Galaxies Billions of Years Old: Deep Imaging | Subaru Telescope

This COSMOS field image resembles a jewel box featuring colorful objects that reflect the 13.8 billion-year history of the Universe—from our present Universe to the distant past. The COSMOS field is renowned for its deep exploration of the distant Universe. This image was created using a long exposure of 10-20 hours and shows the vastness of our Universe—full of galaxies. It was taken with the Subaru Telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), an ultra-wide-field prime focus camera.

The Subaru Telescope is an astronomical observation facility operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). It is located at the summit of Mauna Kea at an altitude of 4,200 meters in the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Learn more about Japan's Subaru Telescope: 
https://subarutelescope.org/en/

Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)/Tanaka Masayuki

Duration: 1 minute, 21 seconds
Release Date: Feb. 19, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SubaruTelescope #すばる望遠鏡 #NAOJ #国立天文台 #Stars #Galaxies #COSMOSField #DeepImaging #Cosmos #Universe #Japan #日本 #MaunaKea #Hawaii #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

COSMOS Field of Galaxies Billions of Years Old: Deep Imaging | Subaru Telescope

COSMOS Field of Galaxies Billions of Years Old: Deep Imaging | Subaru Telescope

This COSMOS field image resembles a jewel box featuring colorful objects that reflect the 13.8 billion-year history of the Universe, from our present Universe to the distant past. The COSMOS field is renowned for its deep exploration of the distant Universe. This image was created using a long exposure of 10-20 hours and shows the vastness of our Universe—full of galaxies. It was taken with the Subaru Telescope's Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC), an ultra-wide-field prime focus camera.

The Subaru Telescope is an astronomical observation facility operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). It is located at the summit of Mauna Kea at an altitude of 4,200 meters in the U.S. state of Hawaii.

Learn more about Japan's Subaru Telescope: 
https://subarutelescope.org/en/

Credit: National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ)/Tanaka Masayuki
Release Date: Feb. 19, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #SubaruTelescope #すばる望遠鏡 #NAOJ #国立天文台 #Stars #Galaxies #COSMOSField #DeepImaging #Cosmos #Universe #Japan #日本 #MaunaKea #Hawaii #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Mauna Kea, Hawaii: Home of Japan's Subaru Telescope | International Space Station

Mauna Kea, Hawaii: Home of Japan's Subaru Telescope | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui: "Just earlier, I passed by the vicinity of Hawaii and took a photo of the Subaru Telescope at the National Astronomical Observatory."  

"I am proud of the Subaru Telescope that has continued to make remarkable observations for over 25 years!"

Learn more about Japan's Subaru Telescope: 
https://subarutelescope.org/en/

Mauna Kea is a dormant shield volcano on the island of Hawaiʻi. Its peak is 4,207.3 m (13,803 ft) above sea level, making it the highest point in Hawaii and the island with the second highest high point, behind New Guinea, the world's largest tropical island with multiple peaks that are higher. Mauna Kea is about 38 m (125 ft) higher than Mauna Loa, its more massive neighbor. Hawaiʻi, sometimes written as Hawaii, is the largest island in the United States, located in the state of Hawaii, the southernmost state in the union.

Image Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/Kimiya Yui
Image Date: Oct. 5, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #MaunaKea #Hawaii #SubaruTelescope #ISS #AstronautPhotography #Astronauts #KimiyaYui #油井亀美也 #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education

Melting Moonbeams? Atmospheric Refraction at Moonset | International Space Station

Melting Moonbeams? Atmospheric Refraction at Moonset | International Space Station

Expedition 73 flight engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui: 

". . . This is a video of the Moon taken at the time when you all were probably gazing at it. If you couldn't see the Mid-Autumn full Moon due to bad weather, please watch this one; if you did see it, try comparing it with the ground!"

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.

Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/Kimiya Yui

Duration: 50 seconds 

Release Date: Oct. 6, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #Earth #ISS #Moon #Moonset #AstronautVideography #Astronauts #KimiyaYui #油井亀美也 #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition73 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

How to Eat Mooncakes in Microgravity: Mid-Autumn Festival | China Space Station

How to Eat Mooncakes in Microgravity: Mid-Autumn Festival | China Space Station

Shenzhou-20 astronauts aboard China's Tiangong Space Station indulged in Mooncake unboxing and eating activities for the Mid-Autumn Festival. 

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! 🥮🥮🥮!  Enjoy!

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full Moon at night, corresponding to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. On this day, the Chinese believe that the Moon is at its fullest and brightest, coinciding with the time of harvest in the middle of autumn.

The Shenzhou-20 crew has stayed in orbit for more than 150 days, carrying out a large number of scientific experiments and technological tests.

The Shenzhou-20 astronauts entered the space station on April 25, 2025, for a mission expected to last around 6 months.

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: 37 seconds
Release Date: Oct. 7, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Mooncakes #MidAutumnFestival #中秋节 #Shenzhou20Mission #神舟二十号 #Shenzhou20Crew #Taikonauts #ChenDong #ChenZhongrui #WangJie #Astronauts #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Auroras over Tromsø, Norway

Auroras over Tromsø, Norway

Photographer Eva Kristiansen: "Queen Aurora didn't just dance—she reigned with all her colors and power. This was nature performing unforgettable dramas. And it's true, the autumn nights hold their own kind of magic."

Auroras are produced when the Earth's magnetosphere is sufficiently disturbed by the solar wind that the trajectories of charged particles in solar wind and magnetospheric plasma, mainly in the form of electrons and protons, precipitate them into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere) due to Earth's magnetic field, where their energy is lost. The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emits light of varying color and complexity. [Wikipedia]

Solid Colored Aurora

Green is common at the upper latitudes, while red is rare. On the other hand, aurora viewed from lower latitudes tend to be red.

Element Emission Colors

Oxygen: The big player in the aurora is oxygen. Oxygen is responsible for the vivid green (wavelength of 557.7 nm) and also for a deep brownish-red (wavelength of 630.0 nm). Pure green and greenish-yellow aurorae result from the excitation of oxygen.

Nitrogen: Nitrogen emits blue (multiple wavelengths) and red light.

Other Gases: Other gases in the atmosphere become excited and emit light, although the wavelengths may be outside of the range of human vision or else too faint to see. Hydrogen and helium, for example, emit blue and purple. Although our eyes cannot see all of these colors, photographic film and digital cameras often record a broader range of hues.

Aurora Colors According to Altitude

Above 150 miles: red, oxygen

Up to 150 miles: green, oxygen

Above 60 miles: purple or violet, nitrogen

Up to 60 miles: blue, nitrogen

The Colors of the Aurora (National Park Service)

https://www.nps.gov/articles/-articles-aps-v8-i1-c9.htm

Image Credit: Eva Kristiansen 

Image Details: Nikon D850 Nikkor 14-24mm Iso 1600, f/2.8, 2.5 sec.
Eva's website: https://www.instagram.com/xevitak/
Image Date: Oct. 1, 2025

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