Comet 24P Schaumasse: View from New Mexico

Comet 24P Schaumasse: View from New Mexico

Astrophotographer Rolando Ligustri: "Comet 24P between the galaxy M100 and the galaxy NGC 4312."

Comet Schaumasse is a Jupiter-family comet with an 8.2-year orbit around the Sun. On October 25, 2025, it passed about a degree from Jupiter. It next comes to perihelion (closest to the Sun) on January 8, 2026, with a solar elongation of 94 degrees and is expected to brighten to about magnitude 9. It is the first of three comets discovered by French astronomer, Alexandre Schaumasse. He found this comet in the year 1911.

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/New Mexico, Telescope Network

Image Details: Newtonian telescope 300/1140 CCD ASI2600MM in bin2 RGB=3x60s L=15x60s
Rolando's Website: https://www.facebook.com/astrottica
Image Date: Dec. 26, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Comets #Comet24PSchaumasse #SolarSystem #Galaxies #M100 #NGC4312 #MilkyWayGalaxy #Universe #Astrophotography #DanBartlett #Astrophotographers #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

NASA's X-59 Supersonic Research Team Reflects on Completing First Flight

NASA's X-59 Supersonic Research Team Reflects on Completing First Flight

After years of design, development, and testing, NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft took to the skies for the first time on Oct. 28, 2025, marking a historic moment for the field of aeronautics research and the agency’s Quesst mission. Now, hear from the team who helped make it happen, including test pilot Nils Larson, as they reflect on the accomplishment. 

For this initial flight, the aircraft flew at about 12,000 feet and slower than the speed of sound. These conditions allowed the team to conduct in-flight system and performance checks. Next, the X-59 will undergo a series of test flights where the plane will operate at higher altitudes and supersonic speeds to ensure it meets performance and safety expectations.

Read more about this first flight: 
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/nasas-quesst-mission-marks-x-59s-historic-first-flight/

The X-59 aircraft builds on decades of supersonic flight research and is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission. The vast amount of data collected over the years has given designers the tools they needed to craft the shape of the X-59. The goal is to enable the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds and reduce a loud sonic boom to a quieter “sonic thump.” Follow the X-59 team as they take on the exciting journey of building the X-59 and working toward quiet supersonic flight.

Data gathered during X-59 research flights will be shared with the U.S. and international regulators to inform the establishment of new, data-driven acceptable noise thresholds related to supersonic commercial flight over land.

The X-59’s engine, a modified F414-GE-100, packs 22,000 pounds of thrust. This will enable the X-59 to achieve the desired cruising speed of Mach 1.4 (925 miles per hour) at an altitude of approximately 55,000 feet. It sits in a nontraditional spot–atop the aircraft—to aid in making the X-59 quieter.

The X-59's goal is to help change existing national and international aviation rules that ban commercial supersonic flight over land.

For more information about the X-59 and NASA's Quesst mission, visit www.nasa.gov/quesst

Credit: NASA
Duration: 1 minute, 19 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 31, 2025

#NASA #Aerospace #SupersonicFlight #SupersonicAircraft #X59 #Sonicboom #QuietAviation #Aviation #QuesstMission #CommercialAviation #Science #Physics #Engineering #AerospaceResearch #AeronauticalResearch #FlightTests #LockheedMartin #SkunkWorks #NASAArmstrong #AFRC #Palmdale #Edwards #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory Rings in New Year with Champagne Cluster

NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory Rings in New Year with Champagne Cluster

Have a Happy New Year! Celebrate the New Year with the “Champagne Cluster,” a recently discovered galaxy cluster seen in this new image from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical telescopes.

Astronomers discovered this galaxy cluster on December 31st, 2020. This date, combined with the bubble-like appearance of the galaxies and of the superheated gas seen with Chandra data, inspired the scientists to nickname the galaxy cluster the Champagne Cluster, a much easier-to-remember name than its official designation of RM J130558.9+263048.4.

The new composite image shows that the Champagne Cluster is actually two galaxy clusters in the process of merging to form an even larger cluster. Multimillion-degree gas in galaxy clusters is usually shaped approximately like a circle in images, but in the Champagne Cluster it is more widely spread from left to right, revealing the presence of the two colliding clusters. There are also two clumps of galaxies towards the left and right of center, making up the two colliding clusters.

The hot gas outweighs the combined mass in all the hundred-plus individual galaxies in the newly forming cluster. There are also large amounts of unseen dark matter, the mysterious substance that pervades the universe, within the cluster.

In addition to the Chandra data, this new image contains optical data from the Legacy Surveys, which consists of three individual and complementary surveys from telescopes in Arizona and Chile.

The Champagne Cluster is a member of a rare class of merging clusters. This includes the well-known Bullet Cluster, where the hot gas in each cluster has collided and slowed down. As in the Bullet Cluster, there is a separation from the hot gas and the most massive galaxy in each cluster, which suggests that the collision between the two clusters was almost head on.

Researchers think by studying the Champagne Cluster further, they can potentially learn more about how dark matter reacts in a high-speed collision.

More info: 
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/chandra/nasas-chandra-rings-in-new-year-with-champagne-cluster/

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%. NASA's total budget will become the lowest since 1961, after accounting for inflation.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe budget cuts at NASA:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (PDF): https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

Video Credit: NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
Duration: 2 minutes, 36 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 30, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxies #GalaxyClusters #ChampagneCluster #RMJ13055892630484 #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #SpaceTelescopes #XrayAstronomy #MSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Himalayas: India & China | International Space Station

The Himalayas: India & China | International Space Station

The Himalayas—separating the moisture-laden portion of the Indian subcontinent from the arid geography of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China—are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 261 miles above Nepal. At upper right is one of two UltraFlex solar arrays that power the Cygnus XL cargo craft from Northrop Grumman.

The Himalayas or Himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. This range has examples of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 peaks exceeding elevations of 7,200 m (23,600 ft) above sea level lie in the Himalayas.

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.

Follow Expedition 74:

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

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 Details: Nikon Z 9, 14-24mm f/2.8G
Image Date: Dec. 13, 2025

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Planets #Earth #SouthAsia #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #China #中国 #TheHimalayas #AstronautPhotography #Astronauts #Japan #JAXA #UnitedStates #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #HumanSpaceflight #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition74 #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Zodiacal Light & Milky Way Galaxy: View from Death Valley, California

Zodiacal Light & Milky Way Galaxy: View from Death Valley, California

Astrophotographer Chris Cook: "Gazing at the western night sky on December evenings from a Bortle 1-2 location, you can see the setting summer Milky Way and the zodiacal light make a large letter ‘V’. The zodiacal light is the faint wedged shape glow of dust particles along the ecliptic that are being illuminated by the Sun."

What's that strange light? 
Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System appears prominently just after sunset—or just before sunrise—and is called zodiacal light. Although the origin of this dust is still being researched, a leading hypothesis holds that zodiacal dust originates mostly from faint Jupiter-family comets and that it slowly spirals into the Sun.

Image Credit: Chris Cook

Image Details: Modified Canon 6D, Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 lens
Chris' website: https://www.cookphoto.com
Location: Death Valley, California, United States
Release Date: Dec. 11, 2025

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Sun #Planets #Earth #Sunlight #CosmicDust #ZodiacalLight #SolarSystem #DarkSkies #LightPollution #MilkyWayGalaxies #Galaxies #Astrophotographer #ChrisCook #Astrophotography #DeathValley #California #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

New Amateur Astronomer High-res Moon View from France: December 29, 2025

New Amateur Astronomer High-res Moon View from France: December 29, 2025

French amateur astronomer Philippe Tosi: "The seeing was very good." His 9-inch telescope revealed towering mountains, lava plains and impact craters—and hundreds of sunrise shadows marching along the rugged terminator. With this kind of clarity, you might even spot a meteor crashing.

Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, amateur astronomers can make contributions in citizen science, such as by monitoring variable stars, double stars, sunspots, or occultations of stars by the Moon or asteroids, or by discovering transient astronomical events, such as comets, galactic novae or supernovae in other galaxies.

Amateur astronomers do not use the field of astronomy as their primary source of income or support, and usually have no professional degree in astrophysics or advanced academic training in the subject. Most amateurs are hobbyists, while others have a high degree of experience in astronomy and may often assist and work alongside professional astronomers.

Join NASA's Night Sky Network
https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/night-sky-network/

About French amateur astronomer Philippe Tosi

Born in March 1969, I began in astronomy at the age of 10. At 14 years old, I already began the construction of a telescope of 200 mm . . . Since then, I realized about fifty instruments of diameters, focal and of different optical configurations. Fascinated by photography, I was known by means of exhibitions and conferences. Regularly published in Ciel et Espace magazines, Astrosurf magazine, I also write numerous articles on the techniques of recording and on the construction of instruments.

I am at present scientific presenter in the Planetarium of Nîmes.

Image Credit: Philippe Tosi

Philippe's website: https://www.photoastro.com
Image Date: Dec. 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Moon #LunarNearSide #AmateurAstronomy #Geology #Geoscience #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #Astrophotography #Astrophotographer #PhilippeTosi #CitizenScience #CitizenScientists #Hobbyists #France #STEM #Education

NASA: Year 2025 Review & 2026 Preview

NASA: Year 2025 Review & 2026 Preview

 

Our Best Wishes for 2026! "In 2025, we stacked the Artemis II rocket, certified next-generation lunar spacesuits, celebrated 25 years on the International Space Station, and snapped the closest pictures ever taken of the Sun."

"We’re not just going back to the Moon in 2026—we’re paving the way to Mars, exploring the stars, and dominating the skies, setting the stage for a historic year ahead."

Video Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 2 minutes, 41 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 30, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Sun #Earth #Year2025 #Moon #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisII #OrionSpacecraft #Astronauts #SLSRocket #CrewedMissions #DeepSpace #MoonToMars #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #CSA #Canada #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Our Alien Earth: Lava Tubes of Mauna Loa, Hawai’i | NASA

Our Alien Earth: Lava Tubes of Mauna Loa, Hawai’i | NASA

🌋 Could lava tubes hide signs of life on Mars? 

To find out, NASA researchers went deep beneath Hawai‘i’s volcanoes to study Earth’s own lava tubes—extreme places where life survives. 

Watch this new documentary, streaming now on NASA+: https://go.nasa.gov/3MPm9lV

Delve deep beneath the volcanoes of Hawai’i with four teams of NASA astrobiologists as they investigate how life might survive in the subsurface of other worlds. Inside cavernous lava tubes, these scientists search for microbial life in volcanic rock, analyze subsurface gases, and build an augmented reality model of the field site – all to help advance NASA’s future exploration of Mars and beyond.

Our Alien Earth Series | Episode 4
Program Length: 20 minutes
Release Date: Dec. 15, 2025
Topic: Solar System

Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Duration: 53 seconds
Release Date: Dec. 29, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Planets #Earth #Hawaii #Scientists #PlanetaryScience #Geology #Volcanoes #LavaTubes #Astrobiology #Mars #Moon #Robotics #SpaceTechnology #SpaceEngineering #NASAGoddard #GSFC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

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.

Calendario 2026 (baja resolución, cumple con la norma 508) (15 MB)
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/ciencia/multimedia/2026/2026%20NASA%20Science%20Planning%20Guide%20(low%20resolution,%20508%20compliant)%20-%20Spanish.pdf

Calendario 2026 (resolución para impresión) (95 MB)
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/ciencia/multimedia/2026/2026%20NASA%20Science%20Planning%20Guide%20(print%20resolution)%20-%20Spanish.pdf

Download Low Resolution 2026 Science Calendar - 28 pages (15 MB) - English version
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/creative/calendars/2026/2026%20NASA%20Science%20Planning%20Guide%20(low%20resolution,%20508%20compliant).pdf

Download Print Resolution 2026 Science Calendar - 28 pages (95 MB) - English version
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/creative/calendars/2026/2026%20NASA%20Science%20Planning%20Guide%20(print%20resolution).pdf

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

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

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.

Download Low Resolution 2026 Science Calendar - 28 pages (15 MB)
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/creative/calendars/2026/2026%20NASA%20Science%20Planning%20Guide%20(low%20resolution,%20508%20compliant).pdf

Download Print Resolution 2026 Science Calendar - 28 pages (95 MB)
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/creative/calendars/2026/2026%20NASA%20Science%20Planning%20Guide%20(print%20resolution).pdf

Calendario 2026 (baja resolución, cumple con la norma 508) (15 MB)
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/ciencia/multimedia/2026/2026%20NASA%20Science%20Planning%20Guide%20(low%20resolution,%20508%20compliant)%20-%20Spanish.pdf

Calendario 2026 (resolución para impresión) (95 MB)
https://assets.science.nasa.gov/content/dam/science/cds/ciencia/multimedia/2026/2026%20NASA%20Science%20Planning%20Guide%20(print%20resolution)%20-%20Spanish.pdf

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

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:

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

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

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.

Learn more about the International Space Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-facts-and-figures/

Follow Expedition 74:

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

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

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.

Learn more about the International Space Station:

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/

https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-facts-and-figures/

Follow Expedition 74:

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

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 

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

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

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