CosmosPlasma

Posts tagged "NASA"

Lightning Eclipse from the Planet of the Goats

Thunderstorms almost spoiled this view of the spectacular June 15 total lunar eclipse. Instead, storm clouds parted for 10 minutes during the total eclipse phase and lightning bolts contributed to the dramatic sky. Captured with a 30 second exposure the scene also inspired what, in the 16 year history of Astronomy Picture of the Day, the editor considers may be the best title yet for a picture (title credit to Chris K.). Of course, the lightning reference clearly makes sense, and the shadow play of the dark lunar eclipse was widely viewed across planet Earth in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The picture itself, however, was shot from the Greek Ikaria island at Pezi. That area is known as “the planet of the goats” because of the rough terrain and strange looking rocks.

Credit & Copyright: Chris Kotsiopoulos (GreekSky)

apod NASA Space Cosmos Stars eclipse Pezi Planet of the Goats

2 years ago reblog like 20 notes

DOCK STEADY

Backdropped by a night time view of the Earth and the starry sky, the Space Shuttle Endeavour is photographed docked at the International Space Station on May 28, 2011. The STS-134 astronauts left the station the next day on May 29, after delivering the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and performing four spacewalks during Endeavour’s final mission. (Photo via NASA)
(via itsfullofstars)

Source nasa.gov

NASA Space Cosmos Space Shuttle Earth Stars Endeavour

2 years ago reblog like 259 notes

Transferring the AMS

In the grasp of the International Space Station’s Canadarm2, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) is transferred from space shuttle Endeavour’s payload bay for installation on the station’s starboard truss.

Copyright: NASA

Source kenobi-wan-obi

NASA Space Earth International Space Station ISS AMS Endeavour Shuttle

2 years ago reblog like 4 notes

Sharpless 171

Cosmic pillars of cold molecular gas and clouds of dark dust lie within Sharpless 171, a star-forming region some 3,000 light-years away in the royal constellation Cepheus. This tantalizing false-color skyscape spans about 20 light-years across the nebula’s bright central region. It also highlights the pervasive glow of emission from atomic gas using narrowband filters and a color palette made popular in Hubble Space Telescope images. Powering the nebular glow are the young, hot stars of a newly formed cluster, Berkeley 59. Of course, this star-forming region is entry number 171 in the famous 1959 catalog of emission nebulae compiled by astronomer Stewart Sharpless.
(via exploringtheuniverse)

Source bananaalama

Space Cosmos Stars Sharpless 171 Nebula Hubble NASA

2 years ago reblog like 32 notes

Arkhangelsky Crater Dunes

This observation shows dunes on the floor of the large, degraded Arkhangelsky Crater in the Southern hemisphere of Mars.

Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Source kenobi-wan-obi

NASA Arkhangelsky Crater Dunes Mars Space Cosmos Planet

2 years ago reblog like 18 notes

Mimas and The Blue Rings

Credit: Cassini/ NASA/JPL
(via kenobi-wan-obi)

Source kenobi-wan-obi

Space Cosmos Mimas Cassini NASA moon rings

2 years ago reblog like 139 notes

Light Echo

When the red supergiant V838 Monocerotis suddenly brightened for several weeks in early 2002, it showed it was cloaked in a never-before-seen cloud structure. The burst of light reflecting off the clouds, called a light echo, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Photograph courtesy NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Source cosmosscience

V838 Monocerotis Space Cosmos Hubble Stars NASA ESA

2 years ago reblog like 48 notes

The Southern Cliff in the Lagoon

Undulating bright ridges and dusty clouds cross this close-up of the nearby star forming region M8, also known as the Lagoon Nebula. A sharp, false-color composite of narrow band visible and broad band near-infrared data from the 8-meter Gemini South Telescope, the entire view spans about 20 light-years through a region of the nebula sometimes called the Southern Cliff. The highly detailed image explores the association of many newborn stars imbedded in the tips of the bright-rimmed clouds and Herbig-Haro objects. Abundant in star-forming regions, Herbig-Haro objects are produced as powerful jets emitted by young stars in the process of formation heat the surrounding clouds of gas and dust. The cosmic Lagoon is found some 5,000 light-years away toward constellation Sagittarius and the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.
(via spacetimecontinumm)

Source apod.nasa.gov

M8 Lagoon Space Cosmos Nebula stars apod NASA

2 years ago reblog like 10 notes

Dying Star

Ground-based telescopes make the nebula pictured here look rectangular in shape, hence its name: the Red Rectangle. But images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope revealed that it should more accurately be called the “Red X” nebula. The nebula’s unique shape comes from gas and dust emitted in cone-shaped bursts from the dying star at its center. This star, which began shedding its outer layers about 14,000 years ago, will slowly become smaller and hotter and begin to release a flood of ultraviolet light.

Photograph courtesy NASA/ESA/Hans Van Winckel (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium)/Martin Cohen (University of California, Berkeley)

Source cosmosscience

Star Dying NASA Nebula Hubble ESA Red X Cosmos

2 years ago reblog like 239 notes