Honoring NASA's Skylab: 50th Anniversary of America's First Space Station

Honoring NASA's Skylab: 50th Anniversary of America's First Space Station

America’s first space station and the first crewed research laboratory in space, Skylab, lifted off on May 14, 1973. 

Skylab helped pave the way for permanent operations in low-Earth orbit. Over the course of its human occupation from May 25, 1973, to Feb. 8, 1974, three crews visited Skylab, carrying out 270 scientific and technical investigations in astronauts’ physiological responses to long-duration space flight, Earth sciences, solar physics, and astronomy. 

The research conducted on Skylab helped prepare NASA for living and working in space on the International Space Station, and our journey to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. 

The civilian space program was operating at a time when U.S. budgets were fiscally constrained, so NASA's leaders searched for an affordable way to build a space station. They came up with the idea of turning part of a Saturn V rocket into a space station, and the Skylab concept was born.

Skylab fulfilled the dreams of Dr. Wernher von Braun who had long wanted to build an orbiting outpost where people learn could how to live and work in space for longer periods. Von Braun and his team came up with the idea of using parts of an existing Saturn V rocket to make an orbital laboratory. Turning a rocket into a laboratory was not easy, but it was an affordable way to build a space station because existing hardware could be used.

Unable to be re-boosted by the Space Shuttle, which was not ready until 1981, Skylab's orbit eventually decayed, and it disintegrated in the Earth's atmosphere on July 11, 1979, scattering debris across the Indian Ocean and Western Australia.

To learn more about Skylab, check out: https://www.nasa.gov/skylab

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/skylab

https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/skylab.htm

Credit: NASA

Video Producer: Haley Reed

Duration: 1 minute

Release Date: May 25, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #History #Skylab #Astronauts #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #SpaceStation #HumanSpaceflight #SaturnVRocket #Technology #Engineering #WernhervonBraun #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 69 & Axiom Space Ax-2 Crew Photos | International Space Station

Expedition 69 & Axiom Space Ax-2 Crew Photos | International Space Station

Axiom Mission-2 and Expedition 69 crew members. In the center front row, is Expedition 69 crew member and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi flanked by (from left) Axiom Mission-2 crew members Commander Peggy Whitson (USA), Mission Specialist Ali Alqarni (Saudi Arabia), Pilot John Shoffner (USA), and Mission Specialist Rayyanah Barnawi (Saudi Arabia). In the back (from left) are, Expedition 69 crew members Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin (Russia), NASA astronaut Stephen Bowen, Roscosmos cosmonauts Andrey Fedyaev (Russia) and Sergey Prokopyev (Russia), and NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg. Not pictured is NASA astronaut Frank Rubio.

United Arab Emirates astronaut Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi observes a free-flying Astrobee robotic assistant

NASA Astronaut Frank Rubio removes science hardware from Kibo's airlock

NASA Astronaut Woody Hoburg photographs Lake Nasser in Egypt

NASA Astronaut Hoburg photographs the Saudi Arabian coast

NASA spacesuits pictured inside the Quest airlock

SpaceX Freedom Dragon crew ship with Axiom Mission-2 crew

Axiom Space Ax-2 crew commander Peggy Whitson (USA), pilot John Shoffner (USA), and mission specialists Ali Alqarni (Saudi Arabia) and Rayyanah Barnawi (Saudi Arabia), were welcomed aboard the International Space Station by the Expedition 69 crew shortly after their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at 11 a.m. EDT Monday, May 22, 2023. 

The Ax-2 crew received their astronaut wings from America's most-experienced astronaut, Peggy Whitson, formerly of NASA.

Rayyanah Barnawi is making history as the first Arab woman aboard the International Space Station. She has become the 600th astronaut.

Expedition 69 Crew (May 2023)

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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Dates: May 24-25, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax2Mission #Ax2 #AX2Crew #Astronauts #PeggyWhitson #JohnShoffner #AliAlqarni #RayyanahBarnawi #SpaceX #CrewDragon #CommercialSpace #Science #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #SaudiArabia #SaudiSpaceCommission #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #History #HD #Video

Expedition 69 Crew Answers Student Questions | International Space Station

Expedition 69 Crew Answers Student Questions | International Space Station

Aboard the International Space Station, NASA Expedition 69 Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen, Woody Hoburg, and Frank Rubio answered pre-recorded questions about life and work on the orbiting laboratory during an in-flight event May 25, 2023, with students attending St. Mark’s Episcopal School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Bowen, Hoburg, and Rubio are in the midst of a science mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency’s Artemis missions, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

Expedition 69 Crew (May 2023)

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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 20 minutes

Release Date: May 25, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #ISS #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Students #PalmBeachGardens #Florida #ArtemisGeneration #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

New Mars Images: May 2023 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers | JPL

New Mars Images: May 2023 | NASA's Curiosity & Perseverance Rovers | JPL

Mars2020 - sol 801

Mars2020 - sol 801

Mars2020 - sol 800

MSL - sol 3834

MSL - sol 3837

MSL - sol 3837

MSL - sol 3834

MSL - sol 3836

Support FriendsofNASA.org

Celebrating 10 Years+ on Mars! (2012-2023)

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 2+ Years on Mars (2021-2023)

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 possible return to Earth.

Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity)

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/Arizona State University/Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS)

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: May 20-24, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #RedPlanet #Planet #Astrobiology #Geology #CuriosityRover #MSL #MountSharp #GaleCrater #PerseveranceRover #Mars2020 #IngenuityHelicopter #JezeroCrater #Robotics #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Caltech #ASU #MSSS #UnitedStates #MoonToMars #CitizenScience #KevinGill #STEM #Education

Very Large Telescope (VLT): Top 5 Science Results of Past 25 Years | ESO

Very Large Telescope (VLT): Top 5 Science Results of Past 25 Years | ESO

The first episode of Chasing Starlight brings you the top 5 science results made with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). The VLT is one of the most powerful optical telescopes on the planet and this year marks its 25th anniversary. Join ESO astronomer Suzanna Randall to learn about these results.

00:00 Introduction

01:47 Helping establish the accelerated expansion of the Universe

04:02 Observing first light from a gravitational-wave source

06:30 Studying interstellar objects

09:11 Taking the first image of an exoplanet

12:52 Confirming a supermassive compact object at the Milky Way's center

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Duration: 16 minutes

Release Date: May 25, 2023

#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Planets #Exoplanets #Comets #Galaxies #Cosmos #Universe #Astronomer #SuzannaRandall #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM #OpticalTelescope #VeryLargeTelescope #VLT #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education #History #ChasingStarlightSeries #HD #Video

Recap: Ax-2 Mission Launch to International Space Station Docking | Axiom Space

Recap: Ax-2 Mission Launch to International Space Station Docking  | Axiom Space

The crew of Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) launched from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station on Sunday, May 21st, 2023, at 5:37pm ET. Follow their journey from launch day to the start of their eight-day mission aboard the orbiting laboratory at axiomspace.com

Mission Commander Peggy Whitson  (United States) Axiom Space Biography

https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/peggy-whitson

Mission Specialist Ali Alqarni (Saudi Arabia) Axiom Space Biography

https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/ali-alqarni

Mission Specialist Rayyanah Barnawi (Saudi Arabia) Axiom Space Biography

https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/rayyanah-barnawi

Pilot John Shoffner (United States) Axiom Space Biography

https://www.axiomspace.com/astronaut/john-shoffner

"Axiom Space is guided by the vision of a thriving home in space that benefits every human, everywhere. The leader in providing space infrastructure as a service, Axiom offers end-to-end missions to the International Space Station today while privately developing its successor – a permanent commercial destination in Earth’s orbit that will sustain human growth off the planet and bring untold benefits back home."

Credit: Axiom Space

Duration: 2 minutes

Release Date: May 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Axiom #AxiomSpace #Ax2Mission #Ax2 #AX2Crew #Astronauts #PeggyWhitson #JohnShoffner #AliAlqarni #RayyanahBarnawi #SpaceX #CrewDragon #Falcon9Rocket #CommercialSpace #Science #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #SaudiArabia #SaudiSpaceCommission #UnitedStates #Art #MissionPatch #STEM #Education

NASA's Espacio A Tierra | Saltando en vuelo: 19 de mayo de 2023

NASA's Espacio A Tierra | Saltando en vuelo: 19 de mayo de 2023

Espacio a Tierra, la versión en español de las cápsulas Space to Ground de la NASA, te informa semanalmente de lo que está sucediendo en la Estación Espacial Internacional. 

Para obtener más información sobre la ciencia de la NASA, suscríbete al boletín semanal: https://www.nasa.gov/suscribete 

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 3 minutes, 44 seconds

Broadcast Date: May 19, 2023

Release Date: May 24, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #ISS #NASAenEspañol #Español #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #SpaceX #AxiomSpace #Ax2 #HumanSpaceflight #Technology #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #UAE #UAESA #MBRSC #Microgravity #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #InternationalCooperation #Expedition69 #JSC #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Surprisingly STEM: Thermal Blanket Technician Paula Cain | NASA Goddard

Surprisingly STEM: Thermal Blanket Technician Paula Cain | NASA Goddard

You will surely get wrapped-up in this episode of Surprisingly STEM featuring Paula Cain, a thermal blanket technician at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She covers why things sent into space need to be protected by a thermal blanket, and shares how two of her passions—fashion design and Star Trek—were interwoven into an exciting career at NASA!

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM)

We are launching STEM Engagement to new heights with learning resources that connect teachers, students, parents and caregivers to the inspiring work at NASA. Join us as we apply science, technology, engineering and mathematics to explore space, improve aeronautics, examine Earth and strive to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon with the Artemis program. 

Credit: NASA STEM

Duration: 6 minutes

Release Date: May 22, 2023

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Moon #Artemis #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisGeneration #ThermalBlankets #PaulaCain #Technician ##ThermalBlanketTechnician #Fashion #Women #Professionals #Careers #WomenInSTEM #Science #Technology #Engineering #GSFC #Maryland #Greenblet #Maryland #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 69 Crew NASA Astronauts Talks with Media | International Space Station

Expedition 69 Crew NASA Astronauts Talks with Media | International Space Station

Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 69 Flight Engineers Stephen Bowen, Frank Rubio, and Woody Hoburg of NASA discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview May 24, 2023 with the Associated Press and NBC6 Miami. Bowen, Rubio, and Hoburg are in the midst of a long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration missions. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency’s Artemis missions, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

Expedition 69 Crew (May 2023)

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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Duration: 25 minutes

Release Date: May 24, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #ISS #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #WoodyHoburg #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #UAE #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UNOOSA #InternationalCooperation #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Impact of NASA's DART Asteroid Mission: Altered Orbit | Johns Hopkins APL

The Impact of NASA's DART Asteroid Mission: Altered Orbit | Johns Hopkins APL

In this video, the DART team looks back on the success of the world's first Planetary Defense test mission. 

"If an asteroid one day is discovered heading for the Earth, what would you do?" The impetus for the DART mission was to answer that question, says Andy Cheng, DART investigation team lead.

Developed and led for NASA by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL), DART demonstrated the planetary defense technique known as kinetic impact on Sept. 26, 2022. The DART spacecraft slammed into the moon of an asteroid and shifted its orbit, taking a critical step in demonstrating ways to protect our planet from a potentially hazardous impact. DART used an autonomous targeting system to aim itself at Dimorphos. The spacecraft, roughly the size of a small car, struck the smaller body at about 4 miles per second. Telescopes on Earth observed the asteroid system and measured the change in Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos. A ride-along CubeSat named LICIACube, built by the Italian Space Agency, separated from DART before impact to observe the collision.

Prior to DART’s impact, it took Dimorphos 11 hours and 55 minutes to orbit its larger parent asteroid, Didymos. Since DART’s intentional collision with Dimorphos on Sept. 26, astronomers have been using telescopes on Earth to measure how much that time has changed. Now, the investigation team has confirmed the spacecraft’s impact altered Dimorphos’ orbit around Didymos by 32 minutes, shortening the 11 hour and 55-minute orbit to 11 hours and 23 minutes. This measurement has a margin of uncertainty of approximately plus or minus 2 minutes.

Before its encounter, NASA had defined a minimum successful orbit period change of Dimorphos as change of 73 seconds or more. This early data show DART surpassed this minimum benchmark by more than 25 times.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory manages the DART mission for NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office as a project of the agency’s Planetary Missions Program Office. 

For more information about DART, visit:

https://dart.jhuapl.edu/

https://www.nasa.gov/dartmission

Credit: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL)

Duration: 6 minutes

Release Date: May 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #DART #DARTMission #LICIACube #CubeSat #Spacecraft #Asteroids #Dimorphos #Didymos #Earth #PlanetaryDefense #Test #SolarSystem #JHUAPL #UnitedStates #ASI #Italy #Italia #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Russian Progress MS-23 Cargo Spacecraft Launch | International Space Station

Russian Progress MS-23 Cargo Spacecraft Launch | International Space Station

A Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket launched the Progress MS-23 spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station (ISS Progress 84 mission) on May 24, 2023, at 8:56am ET from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Progress MS-23 will deliver about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 69 crew aboard the International Space Station.

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

Expedition 69 Crew (March 2023)

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.

Credit: Roscosmos/NASA TV

Acknowledgement: SciNews

Duration: 6 minutes

Release Date: May 24, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Science #ISS #ISSProgress84 #ProgressMS23Spacecraft #SoyuzMS23  #SoyuzRocket #CrewSpacecraft #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Kazakhstan #UAE #MicrogravityResearch #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UNOOSA #InternationalCooperation #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Expedition 69 Station, Crew & Earth Photos: May 2023 | International Space Station

Expedition 69 Station, Crew & Earth Photos: May 2023 | International Space Station

The SpaceX Freedom Dragon crew ship with four Axiom Mission-2 private astronauts aboard approaches the International Space Station. Freedom, commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, with Pilot John Shoffner (USA) and Mission Specialists Ala Alqarni (Saudi Arabia) and Rayyanah Barnawi (Saudi Arabia).

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates inside the seven window cupola

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates observes a free-flying Astrobee robotic assistant

Astronauts Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of the United Arab Emirates

Astronaut Stephen Bowen of NASA installs student-made hardware

Astronaut Stephen Bowen of NASA works on life support hardware

Dry river valleys in Yemen

Dry river valleys in Yemen

Follow Expedition 69 updates here:

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

Expedition 69 Crew (May 2023)

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.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Dates: May 18-23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Earth #Yemen #WesternAsia #Science #ISS #Astronauts #StephenBowen #FrankRubio #SultanAlneyadi #UAE #UAESA #MBRSC #HumanSpaceflight #Technology #Russia #Россия #Роскосмос #Microgravity #SpaceResearch #SpaceLaboratory #UNOOSA #UnitedStates #InternationalCooperation #Expedition69 #STEM #Education #الجمهورية اليمنية

Mighty Planet Jupiter & Third-largest Moon Io | NASA's Juno Mission | JPL

Mighty Planet Jupiter & Third-largest Moon Io | NASA's Juno Mission | JPL

Fifth in line from the Sun, Jupiter is, by far, the largest planet in the solar system—more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined. Jupiter has more than 75 moons.

Jupiter has a long history of surprising scientists—all the way back to 1610 when Galileo Galilei found the first moons beyond Earth. This discovery changed the way we see the universe. Jupiter's familiar stripes and swirls are actually cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water, floating in an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium.

Jupiter's moon Io is the most volcanically active world in the solar system, with hundreds of volcanoes, some erupting lava fountains dozens of miles (or kilometers) high. Io is caught in a tug-of-war between Jupiter's massive gravity and the smaller but precisely timed pulls from two neighboring moons that orbit farther from Jupiter—Europa and Ganymede.

Juno Mission Profile

Launched: Aug. 5, 2011

Arrival at Jupiter: July 4, 2016

Goal: Understand origin and evolution of Jupiter, look for solid planetary core, map magnetic field, measure water and ammonia in deep atmosphere, observe auroras.

Learn more about the Juno mission at: www.nasa.gov/juno

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the Juno mission for NASA. The mission's principal investigator is Scott Bolton of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The mission is part of NASA's New Frontiers Program, managed at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)/Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS)

Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Release Date: May 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Jupiter #Moon #Io #Planet #Atmosphere #Weather #Meteorology #JunoSpacecraft #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #Technology #Engineering #JPL #Caltech #MSFC #SwRI #MSSS #LockheedMartin #UnitedStates #CitizenScience #STEM #Education

The Pillars of Creation | NASA Chandra & Webb (X-ray & Infrared View)

The Pillars of Creation | NASA Chandra & Webb (X-ray & Infrared View)

Messier 16, also known as the Eagle Nebula, is a famous region of the sky often referred to as the “Pillars of Creation.” The Webb image shows the dark columns of gas and dust shrouding the few remaining fledgling stars just being formed. The Chandra sources, which look like dots, are young stars that give off copious amounts of X-rays. (X-ray: red, blue; infrared: red, green, blue)

The Eagle Nebula, also called M16, and often referred to as the "Pillars of Creation." Here, tall columns of gray gas and dust emerge from the bottom edge of the image, stretching toward our upper right. Backed by dark orange mist, the cloudy gray columns are surrounded by dozens of soft, glowing, pink and purple dots; massive stars emitting enormous amounts of X-rays. The shapes, hints of movement, and colors in this composite rendering create a dream-like image. The misty orange background suggests a dusky sky, and the glowing pink and purple stars resemble fireflies. Churning with turbulent gas and dust, the columns lean to our right with small offshoots pointing in the same direction. These details evoke an image of yearning cloud creatures at dusk, pointing at something just out of frame.

Credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand

Release Date: May 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Nebulae #EagleNebula #M16 #Messier16 #PillarsOfCreation #Serpens #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #Xray #MSFC #JWST #SpitzerSpaceTelescope #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #JPL #Caltech #UnitedStates #ESA #CSA #STEM #Education

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1672 | NASA Chandra & Webb (X-ray & Infrared View)

Spiral Galaxy NGC 1672 | NASA Chandra & Webb (X-ray & Infrared View)

NGC 1672 is a spiral galaxy, but one that astronomers categorize as a “barred” spiral. In regions close to their centers, the arms of barred spiral galaxies are mostly in a straight band of stars across the center that encloses the core, as opposed to other spirals that have arms that twist all the way to their core. The Chandra data reveals compact objects like neutron stars or black holes pulling material from companion stars as well as the remnants of exploded stars. Additional data from Hubble (optical light) helps fill out the spiral arms with dust and gas, while Webb data shows dust and gas in the galaxy’s spiral arms. (X-ray: purple; optical: red, green, blue; infrared: red, green, blue)

Image Description: Shown face on, this spiral galaxy has two major arms curving away from the bright swirling light at its core. One arm extends to our lower left with a gentle upward curve. The other extends to our upper right with a curve reminiscent of a question mark. Both arms have a cloudy, silver blue quality, and are dotted with bright white and purple stars of varying sizes. In this galaxy, categorized as a "barred" spiral, the arms do not appear to reach the bright core. The space around the bright pinkish core is a swirl of murky, pale silver cloud.

Credits: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO

Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand

Release Date: May 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Galaxy #NGC1672 #Barred #Spiral #Dorado #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #Xray #MSFC #JWST #Infrared #Hubble #HST #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #CSA #STEM #Education

Star Cluster NGC 346 | NASA Chandra & Webb (X-ray & Infrared View)

Star Cluster NGC 346 | NASA Chandra & Webb (X-ray & Infrared View)

NGC 346 is a star cluster in a nearby galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), about 200,000 light-years from Earth. Webb shows plumes and arcs of gas and dust that stars and planets use as source material during their formation. The purple cloud on the left seen with Chandra is the remains of a supernova explosion from a massive star. The Chandra data also reveals young, hot, and massive stars that send powerful winds outward from their surfaces. Additional data from Hubble and Spitzer is included, along with supporting data from XMM-Newton and the European Southern Observatory’s New Technology Telescope. (X-ray: purple and blue; infrared/optical: red, green, blue)

Image Description: Here, thousands of specks of light blanket the blackness of space. A ribbon of thick orange cloud runs along the bottom edge of the image, rounds our lower right corner, and streaks up the right side. A similar patch of roiling orange cloud can be found near our upper left. Between these gas plumes, centered near the top of the image, the star cluster is densely packed with specks of white, blue, and purple light. At our left, a large, bright white, gleaming dot is surrounded by purple mist. This is a hot, young, massive star, sending powerful winds outward from its surface. A patch of smaller dots, other young stars, can be found inside a faint purple mist near the center of the image.

Credit: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/SAO, XMM: ESA/XMM-Newton; IR: JWST: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI, Spitzer: NASA/JPL/CalTech; Optical: Hubble: NASA/ESA/STScI, ESO; Image Processing: L. Frattare, J. Major, and K. Arcand

Release Date: May 23, 2023

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #StarCluster #NGC346 #SMC #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #NASAChandra #ChandraObservatory #Xray #MSFC #JWST #SpitzerSpaceTelescope #Infrared #SpaceTelescopes #ESA #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #ESA #CSA #STEM #Education