Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Calendario de Ciencia de la NASA 2026 (PDF)

Calendario de Ciencia de la NASA 2026 (PDF)


¡Bienvenido al Calendario de Ciencia de la NASA 2026! Descarga nuestro más reciente calendario y fondos de escritorio para tu computadora o dispositivo móvil, y descubre la fascinante ciencia que hay detrás de las imágenes destacadas de cada mes.




Calendar cover design: This NASA Science 2026 artwork commemorates America's 250th Anniversary. The illustration uses blue tones with warm pastel accents showing humanity's space exploration journey. An open history book at the bottom emits light with Earth emerging above it. A pathway extends from the book past the Moon, Mars, and Saturn into deep space, featuring spacecraft including NISAR, ISS, Parker Solar Probe, LRO, MRO, Dragonfly, NEO Surveyor, Webb, and Roman Space Telescope. An Artemis astronaut and robotic rover appear on opposite pages of the book, with the astronaut stepping onto the cosmic path—symbolizing how scientific discovery leads the way for human exploration in our journey beyond Earth.

Purchase a hard copy calendar from the U.S. Government Bookstore website: 
https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/2026-nasa-science-calendar


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Release Date: Dec. 5, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planets #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #Stars #StarClusters #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #NASAenespañol #español #UnitedStates #AdobePDF #PDF #FreeCalendar #Calendar2026 #STEM #Education

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Monday, December 29, 2025

Dark Universe | NOIRLab

Dark Universe | NOIRLab


NSF NOIRLab, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), has played a central role in unraveling examples of the greatest mysteries in astronomy, but nothing more profound or unexpected than the discovery of the Dark Universe. This NOIRLab-produced film will take you on a journey of discovery as it showcases the breakthrough research on dark matter and dark energy taking place across multiple NSF NOIRLab Programs.

Dark Universe premiered on December 16, 2025 during the grand opening of the Windows on the Universe Center for Astronomy Outreach (Windows Center), a new public science center located inside the recently-retired McMath-Pierce Solar Telescope at NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) in Arizona. The McMath’s unique interior has been retrofitted with interactive exhibits and educational programs focused on astronomy funded by the NSF. To experience the film in person, visit the Windows Center's new theater, where Dark Universe is screened continuously throughout the day.

This film features the U.S. Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DECam), a high-performance, wide-field CCD imager mounted at the prime focus of the NSF Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile. DECam was designed to carry out the Dark Energy Survey (DES) with the goal of revealing the nature of the mysterious dark energy. The 570-megapixel camera was built and tested at DOE’s Fermilab, and was operated by the DOE and NSF between 2013 and 2019. At present, DECam is utilized for programs covering a wide range of science. The DECam science archive is curated by the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC). CSDC and CTIO are Programs of NSF NOIRLab. 

Dark Universe also showcases the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Survey, an international experiment with more than 900 researchers from over 70 institutions. DESI is managed by DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), with primary funding from the Department’s Office of Science. The instrument is mounted on the NSF Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at KPNO.

The next era of research into the Dark Universe will be brought about by NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a major new scientific facility jointly funded by the NSF and the DOE's Office of Science. Rubin Observatory is a joint program of NSF NOIRLab and DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, who will cooperatively operate Rubin. NOIRLab is managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).


Credits: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Acknowledgements: 
Produced & Edited by: Ron Proctor 
Directed by: Lars Lindberg Christensen 
Executive Producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen 
Written by: Jenny Shipway, Lars Lindberg Christensen, & Nicole Kuchta
Narration: BJ Whimpey
Colorist and Post-Production Processing: Mahdi Zamani & Maral Kosari
Duration: 15 minutes
Release Date: Dec. 24, 2025
 
#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Astrophysics #DarkMatter #DarkEnergy #Stars #Nebulae #MilkyWayGalaxy #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #Chile #NOIRLab #NSF #DOE #AURA #Arizona #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video
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Download Your Free 2026 NASA Science Calendar (English & Spanish PDF)

Download Your Free 2026 NASA Science Calendar (English & Spanish PDF)


Welcome to the 2026 NASA Science Calendar! Download our latest calendar and discover the fascinating science behind the images featured each month.



Calendar cover design: This NASA Science 2026 artwork commemorates America's 250th Anniversary. The illustration uses blue tones with warm pastel accents showing humanity's space exploration journey. An open history book at the bottom emits light with Earth emerging above it. A pathway extends from the book past the Moon, Mars, and Saturn into deep space, featuring spacecraft including NISAR, ISS, Parker Solar Probe, LRO, MRO, Dragonfly, NEO Surveyor, Webb, and Roman Space Telescope. An Artemis astronaut and robotic rover appear on opposite pages of the book, with the astronaut stepping onto the cosmic path—symbolizing how scientific discovery leads the way for human exploration in our journey beyond Earth.

Purchase a hard copy calendar from the U.S. Government Bookstore website: 
https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/2026-nasa-science-calendar


Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Release Date: Dec. 5, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Planets #Earth #Moon #ArtemisProgram #Stars #StarClusters #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #NASAenespañol #español #UnitedStates #AdobePDF #PDF #FreeCalendar #Calendar2026 #STEM #Education

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Research Highlights of 2025 | International Space Station

Research Highlights of 2025 | International Space Station

International Space Station Update: 12 months, 365 days, and more than a million photos later! 📸
Here's to another year of groundbreaking research aboard the International Space Station, from human research to space science and everything in between!
Relax and rewind with imagery highlights from 2025. ⬅️ 
Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/3YGDm3p


Follow Expedition 74:

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Mike Fincke (NASA)
JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Oleg Platonov, Sergey-Kud Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev
NASA Flight Engineers: Zena Cardman, Chris Williams

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: Dec. 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planets #Earth #Astronauts #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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Asia Nightflight with Small & Magellanic Cloud Galaxies | International Space Station

Asia Nightflight with Small & Magellanic Cloud Galaxies | International Space Station

Expedition 74 flight engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kim Yui: "You can enjoy the night views of various Asian countries after the Southern Cross and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. And finally, Orion!"

International Space Station - 25 Years in Orbit (2000-2025)
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.

The station was designed between 1984 and 1993. Elements of the station were under construction throughout the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe beginning in the late 1980s.

The International Space Station Program brings together international flight crews, multiple launch vehicles, globally distributed launch and flight operations, training, engineering, and development facilities, communications networks, and the international scientific research community.


Follow Expedition 74:

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Mike Fincke (NASA)
JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Oleg Platonov, Sergey-Kud Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev
NASA Flight Engineers: Zena Cardman, Chris Williams

Video Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/K. Yui
Duration: 34 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planets #Earth #Asia #Galaxies #LMC #SMC #Orion #SouthernCross #Constellations #Astronauts #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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Expedition 74 Mid-December 2025 Crew Portrait | International Space Station

Expedition 74 Mid-December 2025 Crew Portrait | International Space Station

The seven-member Expedition 74 crew gathers for a portrait inside the International Space Station's Kibo laboratory module. In the front row, from left, are Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Mikaev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Russia, along with NASA astronaut Chris Williams. In the back row are Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov of Russia, and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman. Kud-Sverchkov (center) was celebrating 200 cumulative days in space with a slice of cake.

International Space Station - 25 Years in Orbit (2000-2025)
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.

The station was designed between 1984 and 1993. Elements of the station were under construction throughout the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe beginning in the late 1980s.

The International Space Station Program brings together international flight crews, multiple launch vehicles, globally distributed launch and flight operations, training, engineering, and development facilities, communications networks, and the international scientific research community.


Follow Expedition 74:

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Mike Fincke (NASA)
JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Oleg Platonov, Sergey-Kud Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev
NASA Flight Engineers: Zena Cardman, Chris Williams

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center
Image Date: Dec. 12, 2025
Release Date: Dec. 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planets #Earth #Astronauts #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education 

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How a New Gamma-ray Observatory will See the High-energy Universe | ESO

How a New Gamma-ray Observatory will See the High-energy Universe | ESO

The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) will be the world’s largest and most powerful gamma-ray observatory. It will detect high energy radiation from some of the most powerful events in the Universe, from supernova explosions to hungry black holes. However, our atmosphere protects us from gamma rays, so how will the CTAO achieve this? By doing something seemingly impossible: observing particles that move faster than light, without breaking the laws of physics.

Learn more about Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) 
https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/paranal-observatory/ctao/

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Directed by: L. Calçada, M. Kornmesser
Hosted by: S. Randall
Written by: S. Randall
Editing: M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada
Videography: A. Tsaousis
Animations & footage: ESO, M. Kornmesser, L. Calçada, ECTAO, polar media, CERN, NASA, ESA, M.J. Jee and H. Ford, ISS, C. Malin
Web and technical support: R. Y. Shida
Fact-checking: CTAO Communications Office
Promotion: J. C. Muñoz Mateoss, O. Sandu
Filming Locations: ESO Supernova
Produced by ESO, the European Southern Observatory
Duration: 7 minutes
Release Date: Dec. 18, 2025

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Supernovae #BlackHoles #Galaxies #Astrophysics #Physics #Universe #CherenkovTelescopeArrayObservatory #CTAO #GammaRayAstronomy #ParanalObservatory #Chile #LaPalma #Spain #Europe #STEM #Education #ChasingStarlight #HD #Video
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Close-up: Star Cluster N159—A Neighboring Galaxy's Stellar Birthplace | Hubble

Close-up: Star Cluster N159—A Neighboring Galaxy's Stellar Birthplace | Hubble


This Hubble picture highlights another view of a distant stellar birthplace. Captured in a parallel field to a recently released image, this scene reveals a neighboring region of the N159 star-forming complex in the Large Magellanic Cloud, approximately 160,000 light-years away.

Thick clouds of cold hydrogen gas dominate the scene, forming a complex network of ridges, cavities, and glowing filaments. Embedded within these dense clouds, newly formed stars begin to shine, their intense radiation causing the surrounding hydrogen to glow in deep red tones.

The brightest regions mark the presence of hot, massive young stars whose powerful stellar winds and energetic light reshape their environment. These forces carve out bubble-like structures and hollowed cavities in the gas, clear signatures of stellar feedback in action. Dark clouds in the foreground are lit from behind by new stars. Together, the glowing clouds and sculpted bubbles reveal a dynamic interplay between star formation and the material from which stars are born, capturing the ongoing cycle of creation and transformation within this neighbouring galactic system.

N159 is one of the most massive star-forming clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is the largest of the small galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. This image shows just a portion of this expansive star-forming complex, as the entire complex stretches over 150 light-years across.

Image Description: A field filled with stars and covered by clouds of gas and dust. In the center, a thick column of dark black dust blocks light from stars that light it up from behind. More clouds behind those stars are illuminated in pale colors. Complex, layered filaments of red dust lie to the left and right. Blue, white and gold stars in various sizes can be seen around, within and through the colorful layers of dust.


Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Indebetouw, N. Bartmann (ESA/Hubble)
Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 29, 2025


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #LMCN159 #StellarNursery #LargeMagellanicCloud #LMC #DwarfGalaxy #Dorado #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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Star Cluster N159: A Neighboring Galaxy's Stellar Birthplace | Hubble

Star Cluster N159: A Neighboring Galaxy's Stellar Birthplace | Hubble

This Hubble picture highlights another view of a distant stellar birthplace. Captured in a parallel field to a recently released image, this scene reveals a neighboring region of the N159 star-forming complex in the Large Magellanic Cloud, approximately 160,000 light-years away.

Thick clouds of cold hydrogen gas dominate the scene, forming a complex network of ridges, cavities, and glowing filaments. Embedded within these dense clouds, newly formed stars begin to shine, their intense radiation causing the surrounding hydrogen to glow in deep red tones.

The brightest regions mark the presence of hot, massive young stars whose powerful stellar winds and energetic light reshape their environment. These forces carve out bubble-like structures and hollowed cavities in the gas, clear signatures of stellar feedback in action. Dark clouds in the foreground are lit from behind by new stars. Together, the glowing clouds and sculpted bubbles reveal a dynamic interplay between star formation and the material from which stars are born, capturing the ongoing cycle of creation and transformation within this neighbouring galactic system.

N159 is one of the most massive star-forming clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is the largest of the small galaxies that orbit the Milky Way. This image shows just a portion of this expansive star-forming complex, as the entire complex stretches over 150 light-years across.

Image Description: A field filled with stars and covered by clouds of gas and dust. In the center, a thick column of dark black dust blocks light from stars that light it up from behind. More clouds behind those stars are illuminated in pale colors. Complex, layered filaments of red dust lie to the left and right. Blue, white and gold stars in various sizes can be seen around, within and through the colorful layers of dust.


Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Indebetouw
Release Date: Dec. 29, 2025


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #LMCN159 #StellarNursery #LargeMagellanicCloud #LMC #DwarfGalaxy #Dorado #Constellations #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

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Sunday, December 28, 2025

Mouse Births Pups after Space Mission, Assisting New Research | China Space Station

Mouse Births Pups after Space Mission, Assisting New Research | China Space Station

Of the four mice involved in a recent mission aboard the Tiangong Space Station in orbit, one female has now successfully given birth to healthy offspring on the Earth, the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization (CSU) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has announced.

The four mice were sent into space aboard China's Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship on Oct. 31, 2025, and were housed in a specialized habitat on the space station before returning to the Earth on Nov. 14.

After their return, one female mated with a male and conceived, and later delivered nine pups on Dec. 10. Six of the newborns have survived—a rate considered normal. Researchers have noted that the mother mouse is nursing normally and the pups appear active and healthy.

"Their offspring all appear normal, so preliminary evidence suggests the space environment may have a very limited impact on the fertility of mice. This lays an important foundation for enabling mice to mate in space in the future, as well as to become pregnant, give birth, and produce offspring there," said Wang Hongmei, deputy director of the Institute of Zoology of the CAS.

According to the CSU, throughout the space mission, an AI-powered monitoring system tracked the behavior of the mice, including movement, feeding and sleep patterns, providing critical data to support real-time decision-making.

The CSU stated that this achievement signifies China's first full-cycle realization of a mammalian space experiment, covering pre-launch preparations, in-orbit operations aboard the Chinese space station, and sample recovery.

This milestone lays a solid foundation for larger-scale mammalian space science experiments in the future, the CSU added.

The monitoring by researchers also revealed that the mother mouse that had been to space showed a parenting style drastically different from that of the ground group. She would seek out a special, hidden and secure corner within her "home" to give birth and would deliberately block the entrance with cotton, appearing exceptionally cautious.

In contrast, the mother mouse from the ground group seemed much more "carefree" with most of her offspring born in cotton nests in open areas.

Scientists will continue to study the postnatal development of the mouse pups, monitoring their growth and physiological changes. Further research may also examine whether these offspring can reproduce normally, helping reveal potential multigenerational effects of space exposure on mammals.

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Zhang Lu (张陆) - Commander & Pilot - 2nd spaceflight
Wu Fei (武飞)  Flight Engineer - 1st spaceflight
Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) - Payload Specialist - 1st spaceflight

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 41 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 28, 2025


#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Mice #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video
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Russian Soyuz Rocket Launch: Multi-Satellite Mission | Vostochny Cosmodrome

Russian Soyuz Rocket Launch: Multi-Satellite Mission | Vostochny Cosmodrome


A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a number of satellites launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome facility outside the city of Uglegorsk, in Russia's far eastern region of Amur on Dec. 28, 2025.

A Russian Soyuz-2-1b/Fregat rocket delivered a pair of Aist-2T Earth Observation satellites and 50 ridesharing payloads, including a trio of Iranian-made satellites.

The dual-purpose Aist-2T satellite with a mass of 670 kilograms, was developed at RKTs Progress in Samara under a 2019 contract with the Roskosmos State Corporation that ordered a two-spacecraft system producing stereo-imaging of the Earth surface from a Sun-synchronous orbit. The Aist-2T satellite was reported to be capable of capturing images with a resolution as high as 1.6 meters, when photographing in nadir (directly below its flight path) in pan-chromatic mode. In the same imaging mode, it could also produce stereo images with a resolution up to 1.9 meters. Multi-spectral and color imagery was reported to be possible with a resolution of 4.8 meters when pointing in nadir or up to 5.9 meters for stereo sets of photos.

The Aist-2T variant also featured a built-in propulsion system for the first time, while the satellite's downlink channel for sending imaging data back to Earth was expanded from 150 megabits per second on Aist-2D to 1,600 megabits per second on the 2T version.

Iranian media identified the satellites as Paya, also known as Tolou-3, Zafar-2, and a prototype satellite called Kowsar-1.5. 

Paya (Tolou-3), built by the Iranian Space Agency, is Iran’s heaviest Earth-observation satellite to date, weighing about 150 kilograms.

Iranian officials say it is capable of producing black-and-white images with a resolution of about five meters and color images with a resolution of around 10 meters, and is intended for applications including agriculture, water management, environmental monitoring and disaster assessment.

Zafar-2, developed by Iran University of Science and Technology, is also an Earth-observation satellite designed for mapping, environmental monitoring and tracking natural hazards.

Kowsar-1.5 combines imaging and internet-of-things capabilities and is aimed primarily at agricultural and farm-monitoring uses, Iranian officials say.

The Vostochny Cosmodrome is a Russian space launch facility in the Amur Oblast, located above the 51st parallel north in the Russian Far East. It was built to help reduce Russia’s reliance on the Baikonur Cosmodrome located on land the Russian government leases from Kazakhstan. The civilian launch facility is operated by Roscosmos, the state corporation responsible for space flights. The facility was established in August 2011 and saw its first launch on April 28, 2016.


Video Credit: Rocosmos
Duration: 7 minutes
Release Date: Dec. 28, 2025


#NASA #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #Space #Science #Earth #Satellites #EarthObservation #Aist2T1 #Aist2T2 #SoyuzRockets #Soyuz21bRocket #VostochnyCosmodrome #КосмодромВосточный #AmurOblast #Russia #Россия #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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Italy by Moonlight | International Space Station

Italy by Moonlight | International Space Station


International Space Station - 25 Years in Orbit (2000-2025)
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.

The station was designed between 1984 and 1993. Elements of the station were under construction throughout the US, Canada, Japan, and Europe beginning in the late 1980s.

The International Space Station Program brings together international flight crews, multiple launch vehicles, globally distributed launch and flight operations, training, engineering, and development facilities, communications networks, and the international scientific research community.


Follow Expedition 74:

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Mike Fincke (NASA)
JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Oleg Platonov, Sergey-Kud Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev
NASA Flight Engineers: Zena Cardman, Chris Williams

Video Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/K. Yui
Duration: 15 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 27, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planets #Moon #Moonlight #Earth #Italy #Europe #Astronauts #UnitedStates #Japan #日本 #JAXA #宇宙航空研究開発機構 #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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Young stars blow bubbles? Binary Protostellar System SVS 13 in Perseus | ESO

Young stars blow bubbles? Binary Protostellar System SVS 13 in Perseus | ESO

We know that a star’s childhood is turbulent—growing via a disc of gas and dust, the same disc from where planets form. Young stars also experience outbursts, expelling material via fast jets that regulate how much material is left to feed the young stars and form planets around it. This picture shows one of those jets interacting with the surrounding material. 

The background image, taken with the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope, shows the young star SVS 13, located in the star-forming region NGC 1333 about 1,000 light-years away. This star is expelling gas in the form of clumps known as “molecular bullets”. The insets show observations of one of those “bullets” taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), where the European Southern Observatory is a partner. Each frame displays gas moving at different speeds, ranging from 35 km/s (red) to 97 km/s (blue).

This series of images is similar to a medical tomography, and allows astronomers to reconstruct the 3D shape of the rings and shells of gas that the jet creates as it interacts with its environment. “This is the first time such a degree of fine detail has been reached, thanks to the exquisite sensitivity achieved in our study with ALMA,” said Guillermo Blazquez-Calero, lead author of the study recently published in Nature Astronomy. This will help astronomers understand the not-so-peaceful infancy of stars and how planets form around them. 


Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/G. Blázquez-Calero, M. Osorio, G. Anglada
Background Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA/Karl Stapelfeldt
Release Date: Dec. 19, 2025

#NASA #ESO #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Stars #Protostars #SVS13 #CircumstellarMaterial #StellarNurseries #NGC1333 #Nebulae #ReflectionNebulae #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #ALMA #RadioAstronomy #NRAO #UnitedStates #Europe #NAOJ #Japan #STEM #Education

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Solar System Orbit Visualization | NOIRLab

Solar System Orbit Visualization | NOIRLab

A visualization of the orbits of the planets in our Solar System. The Solar System is the gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the masses that orbit it, most prominently its "eight planets" acccording to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), of these, Earth is one. The system formed about 4.6 billion years ago when a dense region of a molecular cloud collapsed, creating the Sun and a protoplanetary disc where the orbiting bodies assembled. Inside the Sun's core, hydrogen has been fused into helium for billions of years, releasing energy over even longer periods of time emitted through the Sun's outer layer, the photosphere. This created the heliosphere and a decreasing temperature gradient across the Solar System.

The mass of the Solar System is by 99.86% almost completely made up of the Sun's mass. The next most massive objects of the system are the eight planets that by definition dominate the orbits they occupy. Closest to the Sun in order of increasing distance are the four terrestrial planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. These are the planets of the inner Solar System. Earth and Mars are the only planets in the Solar System that orbit within the Sun's habitable zone, where sunlight can make surface water under atmospheric pressure a liquid. Beyond the frost line at about five astronomical units (AU), are two gas giants—Jupiter and Saturn—and two ice giants—Uranus and Neptune. These are the planets of the outer Solar System. Jupiter and Saturn possess nearly 90% of the non-stellar mass of the Solar System.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) established on July 28, 1919, in Brussels, Belgium. Its headquarters is located in Paris, France. The IAU aims to "promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects, including research, education, and outreach, through global collaboration."

NSF NOIRLab (formally named the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory) is the United States' national center for ground-based, nighttime optical astronomy. Through NOIRLab's programs, it is responsible for the following facilities: NSF Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), the Community Science and Data Center (CSDC), the International Gemini Observatory, NSF Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) and the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA) operates these facilities and NSF NOIRLab under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).


Video Credit: NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Duration: 33 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 17, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Sun #SolarSystem #Planets #Astrophysics #Gravity #Orbits #Earth #NOIRLab #NSF #AURA #UnitedStates #Chile #STEM #Education #Visualization #HD #Video
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Starlink Satellites, Star Trails & Earth Airglow | International Space Station

Starlink Satellites, Star Trails & Earth Airglow | International Space Station


NASA astronaut and former International Space Station flight engineer Don Pettit: "Starlink satellites flashing white streaks into the time history of my orbital star trails. Bright flashes contrast against red-orange bands of atmospheric airglow."

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.

You will notice red-orange airglow in this image. Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light—called a photon—in order to relax again. The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind, airglow is energized by ordinary, day-to-day solar radiation. 

Unlike episodic and fleeting auroras, airglow shines constantly throughout Earth’s atmosphere, and the result is a tenuous bubble of light that closely encases our entire planet. (Auroras, on the other hand, are usually constrained to Earth’s poles.) Just a tenth as bright as all the stars in the night sky, airglow is far more subdued than auroras, too dim to observe easily except in orbit or on the ground with clear, dark skies and a sensitive camera.

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, an international telecommunications provider that is a wholly owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to around 150 countries and territories.

Follow Expedition 74:

Expedition 74 Crew
Station Commander: Mike Fincke (NASA)
JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Oleg Platonov, Sergey-Kud Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev
NASA Flight Engineers: Zena Cardman, Chris Williams

Image Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center/D. Pettit
Release Date: Dec. 28, 2025

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Shenzhou-21 Crew Work on Experiments in Multiple Fields | China Space Station

Shenzhou-21 Crew Work on Experiments in Multiple Fields | China Space Station

Almost two months into their mission, the Shenzhou-21 crew have been smoothly pushing for experiments in multiple domains aboard China's Tiangong Space Station.

China launched the Shenzhou-21 crewed spaceship on November 1, 2025, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station on a six-month mission.

The Shenzhou-21 crew consists of mission commander Zhang Lu, and astronauts Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang. These three astronauts serve as pilot, flight engineer, and payload specialist, respectively, representing all three categories of Chinese astronauts currently being applied in the country's space endeavors.

In the field of aerospace medicine experiments, the three astronauts used electroencephalogram (EEG) equipment to acquire data needed for experimental projects such as metacognitive monitoring research and group brain cognition-emotion analysis and regulation, assisting the ground-based researchers in their ongoing research.

In Wentian lab module, the trio used the science glove box to collect samples of Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant that will help in research on the molecular network regulation of plant stem cells.

In the field of microgravity physics, the crew completed the disassembly and assembly of the complex fluid experiment module in the fluid physics experimental cabinet and replaced the experimental samples according to the experimental plan.

The crew members replaced the sampling cover of the plug-in gas experiment in the combustion experimental cabinet, and carried out the cleaning and replacement of the sample in the containerless cabinet experimental chamber and the maintenance of the electrodes of the axial mechanism.

The mission crew also launched the project in-situ electrochemical optical research of lithium-ion batteries for space applications. This will give full play to the professional advantages of payload expert Zhang to acquire images of the entire process of lithium dendrite growth.

Furthermore, the three astronauts underwent medical examinations, such as bone density measurement, electrocardiogram and blood pressure checks, and visual function measurement to comprehensively understand their on-orbit health status.

Shenzhou-21 Crew
Zhang Lu (张陆) - Commander & Pilot - 2nd spaceflight
Wu Fei (武飞)  Flight Engineer - 1st spaceflight
Zhang Hong Zhang (张洪章) - Payload Specialist - 1st spaceflight

Video Credit: CCTV
Duration: 1 minute, 41 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 28, 2025


#NASA #Space #Science #China #中国 #Shenzhou21Mission #神舟二十一号 #Shenzhou21 #Taikonauts #Astronauts #ZhangLu #WuFei #ZhangHongzhang #ChinaSpaceStation #中国空间站 #TiangongSpaceStation #SpaceLaboratory #MicrogravityExperiments #CMSA #中国载人航天工程办公室 #HumanSpaceflight #STEM #Education #HD #Video
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