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ESOcast 98 Light: An image from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) gives a very detailed view of the edge-on galaxy NGC 1055. This ESOcast Light takes a quick look at this image and explains what it shows. This big galaxy is thought to be up to 15 percent larger in diameter than the Milky Way. NGC 1055 appears to lack the whirling arms characteristic of a spiral, as it is seen edge-on. However, it displays odd twists in its structure that were probably caused by an interaction with a neighboring galaxy.
The ESOcast Light is a series of short videos bringing you the wonders of the Universe in bite-sized pieces.
This video sequence takes the viewer deep into the faint constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster) and finishes on a new and very detailed view of the edge-on galaxy NGC 1055 from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in northern Chile.
This big galaxy is thought to be up to 15 percent larger in diameter than the Milky Way. NGC 1055 appears to lack the whirling arms characteristic of a spiral, as it is seen edge-on. However, it displays odd twists in its structure that were probably caused by an interaction with a neighboring galaxy.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/Digitized Sky Survey 2/A. Fujii
Panning across Edge-on Galaxy NGC 1055 in Cetus | ESO
This video pan shows a colorful image from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope of NGC 1055 in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). This big galaxy is thought to be up to 15 percent larger in diameter than the Milky Way. NGC 1055 appears to lack the whirling arms characteristic of a spiral, as it is seen edge-on. However, it displays odd twists in its structure that were probably caused by an interaction with a neighboring galaxy.
The Edge-on Galaxy NGC 1055 in Cetus | European Southern Observatory
This colorful image from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) shows NGC 1055 in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). This large galaxy is thought to be up to 15 percent larger in diameter than the Milky Way. NGC 1055 appears to lack the whirling arms characteristic of a spiral, as it is seen edge-on. However, it displays odd twists in its structure that were probably caused by an interaction with a large neighboring galaxy.
Cyclone Mocha Strikes Myanmar | NASA Aqua Earth Satellite
As Cyclone Mocha approached Myanmar on May 14, 2023, winds roared as fast as 175 miles (280 kilometers) per hour, enough to make it a category 5 storm. Although the storm weakened slightly during the final hours of its approach, Mocha still brought dangerous winds, downpours, and storm surge when it made landfall just north of Sittwe, Myanmar.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image of the cyclone at 07:15 Universal Time (1:45 p.m. local time) on May 14, 2023, as the storm neared landfall.
The storm underwent a period of rapid intensification on May 14 as it encountered warm water in the Bay of Bengal and little vertical wind shear—factors that can strengthen tropical cyclones. At their peak, Mocha’s powerful winds tied with Cyclone Fani for being the strongest on record in the North Indian Ocean basin, according to Jeff Masters with Yale Climate Connections. To estimate storm intensity, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center uses the Dvorak technique, which is based on an analysis of cloud patterns in visible and infrared imagery from geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites.
Early reports suggest the storm caused widespread damage in Sittwe, the state capital of Rakhine, with local news sources reporting flooded streets, downed trees and power lines, and roofs torn from homes. The evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from vulnerable areas in both Bangladesh and Myanmar in advance of the storm may have helped limit casualties, according to some news reports. The worst of the storm surge also missed low-lying refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar that many observers feared were vulnerable.
However, aid groups also report that telecommunication interruptions have made it difficult to assess the full impact of the storm. “Early reports suggest the damage is extensive and needs among already vulnerable communities, particularly displaced people, will be high,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted in an update on May 14.
Learn about NASA's Aqua Earth Satellite (launched in 2002):
Russian Spacewalkers Sergey & Dmitri | International Space Station
Expedition 69 Commander Sergey Prokopyev (left) and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin (right)
Cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin work outside the International Space Station on May 12, 2023, to deploy and activate a radiator on the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module during a five-hour and 14-minute spacewalk.
This was the sixth spacewalk in Prokopyev’s career, and the fourth for Petelin. It was the sixth spacewalk at the station in 2023 and the 263rd spacewalk for space station assembly, maintenance, and upgrades.
Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin & Andrey Fedyaev
Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg
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 ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Nomads of the solar system, small objects like asteroids and comets wander among the planets. Messengers from the distant past, many of these small bodies include debris from the formation of the solar system and carry clues about its origins and the rise of life on Earth. NASA has visited some of them, recently reaching and then touching the asteroid Bennu to collect samples of rock unchanged for nearly 5 billion years.
“Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony" is a groundbreaking collaboration between acclaimed composer Henry Dehlinger, NASA, and the National Philharmonic, featuring a unique fusion of music and video in seven multimedia works on the Sun, Earth, Moon, Planets, and Cosmos. This transformative project takes the audience on a captivating voyage through the universe, showcasing the beauty and power of the marriage between music and science.
Music Credit: “Travelers" from Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony by Henry Dehlinger. Courtesy of the composer.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Producer: James Tralie (ADNET)
Executive Producer: Wade Sisler (NASA/GSFC)
Music Composer: Henry Dehlinger (National Philharmonic)
Cosmic Cycles: Echoes of The Big Bang | NASA Goddard
NASA studies the makeup and workings of the universe, from the smallest particles of matter and energy to its large-scale structure and evolution. Scientists look far back in space and time to learn the full cosmic history of stars and galaxies. They tease out details of the environments around black holes and observe the most powerful explosions since the big bang. NASA is discovering numerous planets beyond our solar system, decoding how planetary systems form, and learning how environments hospitable for life develop.
“Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony" is a groundbreaking collaboration between acclaimed composer Henry Dehlinger, NASA, and the National Philharmonic, featuring a unique fusion of music and video in seven multimedia works on the Sun, Earth, Moon, Planets, and Cosmos. This transformative project takes the audience on a captivating voyage through the universe, showcasing the beauty and power of the marriage between music and science.
Music Credit: “Echoes of the Big Bang" from Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony by Henry Dehlinger. Courtesy of the composer.
Faces of NASA Technology & Research – Meet Emily Gargulinski | Earth Science
Meet Emily Gargulinski, a NASA Research Engineer at the National Institute of Aerospace. Emily watches fires from space. She uses geospatial data to evaluate what's happening with fires on the ground. As part of her work with NASA Health and Air Quality Applied Sciences Team, or HAQAST, Emily is looking at the impact of small agricultural and range fires.
Starting in 1972, nine Landsat satellites have orbited Earth, taking images of the surface. This unprecedented coverage has been tremendously useful to the scientific community, but it has also produced thousands of beautiful high-resolution images of the complex patterns of our world. From the fractal patterns of mountain ranges and river deltas to the precise geometry of agriculture, Landsat has rendered Earth as a work of art.
“Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony" is a groundbreaking collaboration between acclaimed composer Henry Dehlinger, NASA, and the National Philharmonic, featuring a unique fusion of music and video in seven multimedia works on the Sun, Earth, Moon, Planets, and Cosmos. This transformative project takes the audience on a captivating voyage through the universe, showcasing the beauty and power of the marriage between music and science.
Music Credit: “Earth as Art" from Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony by Henry Dehlinger
Courtesy of the composer
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)/United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Station Commander: Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos (Russia)
Roscosmos (Russia): Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin & Andrey Fedyaev
Flight Engineer Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
NASA: Flight Engineers Frank Rubio, Stephen Bowen, Warren Hoburg
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 ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.
Born from a swirling cloud of dust and gas some 4.6 billion years ago, our Sun seethes and boils like a living thing. It is the very center of our solar system, and large enough to encompass 1.3 million Earths. Explosions flash on its surface in colors of light beyond human vision and enormous loops of plasma stretch into space. The Sun’s influence extends out beyond the planets, creating a protective cocoon within the galaxy.
“Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony" is a groundbreaking collaboration between acclaimed composer Henry Dehlinger, NASA, and the National Philharmonic, featuring a unique fusion of music and video in seven multimedia works on the Sun, Earth, Moon, Planets, and Cosmos. This transformative project takes the audience on a captivating voyage through the universe, showcasing the beauty and power of the marriage between music and science.
Music credit: “The “Sun from Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony by Henry Dehlinger. Courtesy of the composer.
The Moon is on full display in this section of Cosmic Cycles. The lonely and bleak landscape, covered by creeping shadows, is full of mystery and wonder. At the same time, there is beauty in the rocky gray terrain, and the crowning achievment of being the only other celestial body in our solar system that humans have step foot on. In this video you will see visualizations of the terrain, created from data obtained by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), high resolution images of fascinating craters taken by its camera system, and archival footage from the Apollo 17 mission.
“Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony" is a groundbreaking collaboration between acclaimed composer Henry Dehlinger, NASA, and the National Philharmonic, featuring a unique fusion of music and video in seven multimedia works on the Sun, Earth, Moon, Planets, and Cosmos. This transformative project takes the audience on a captivating voyage through the universe, showcasing the beauty and power of the marriage between music and science.
Music credit: “The Moon" from Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony by Henry Dehlinger. Courtesy of the composer.
Earth’s siblings, the other planets were created at the birth of the solar system. They give us a glimpse of the variety possible in the universe and how rare Earth is. As we explore these other worlds, we fuel our adventurous spirit and discover new wonders at every turn: riverbeds on Mars, volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io, auroras on Saturn, and sulfuric-acid clouds on Venus.
“Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony" is a groundbreaking collaboration between acclaimed composer Henry Dehlinger, NASA, and the National Philharmonic, featuring a unique fusion of music and video in seven multimedia works on the Sun, Earth, Moon, Planets, and Cosmos. This transformative project takes the audience on a captivating voyage through the universe, showcasing the beauty and power of the marriage between music and science.
Music credit: “Planetary Fantasia" from Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony by Henry Dehlinger. Courtesy of the composer.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Producer: James Tralie (ADNET)
Executive Producer: Wade Sisler (NASA/GSFC)
Music Composer: Henry Dehlinger (National Philharmonic)
Join us for a tour of Earth, as NASA sees it from space. From photographs captured onboard the International Space Station, to stunning visualizations rendered from satellite data, we have a unique view of our home planet—a place perfect for life, billions of years in the making. From hundreds of miles up, we can see a hurricane gaining momentum over the Atlantic Ocean or generations of seabirds migrating to warmer climates. The data you are about to see represents decades of tireless work by thousands of scientists and engineers across NASA. And it continues—there is still so much to learn about our home world, with NASA at the forefront of many amazing discoveries from our vantage point in space.
This piece is divided into five chapters that represent the many facets of our planet. The composition begins with An Awakened Earth, in which views of the dark side of Earth reveal city lights that continue to burn brightly through the night. At dawn, the International Space Station captures footage of a bright, cloud-covered ocean.
Our world is alive and perpetually changing. A Violent Earth embodies this dynamic planet, characterized by giant dust storms, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and fire. When given the opportunity, Earth provides balance—as seen in A Giving Earth. Rain, food, animal migration, global forests and ocean currents are inextricably linked to the mercurial power of the planet.
Despite the resiliency of this wonderous world, it is still A Fragile Earth. For more than 60 years, NASA has documented the effects of climate change from space. Melting ice sheets and rising global temperatures are two of many dangerous trends tied to growing greenhouse gas emissions in our atmosphere.
There is much reason for concern over the health of our world. Yet despite the challenges we face, a planet as rich and beautiful as ours is worth every effort to protect it. A Spectacular Earth dives underneath the ocean's surface, emerging to reveal the fleet of Earth-observing satellites that provided the data and images you see in this movement. This piece concludes with several magnificent photographs taken by astronauts living and working on the ISS, followed by footage of nightfall over the ISS and a return to the dark side of Earth.
“Cosmic Cycles: A Space Symphony" is a groundbreaking collaboration between acclaimed composer Henry Dehlinger, NASA, and the National Philharmonic, featuring a unique fusion of music and video in seven multimedia works. This transformative project takes the audience on a captivating voyage through the universe, showcasing the beauty and power of the marriage between music and science.
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