Snowflakes that cover mountains or linger under tree canopies are a vital freshwater resource for over a billion people around the world. via NASA https://ift.tt/2YaNZL0

Sometimes it’s night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises up from the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still shines on clouds above. Under usual circumstances, a pretty sunset might be visible, but unusual noctilucent clouds float so high up they can be seen well after dark. Normally too dim to be seen, they may become visible just after sunset during the summer when illuminated by sunlight from below. Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds known and thought to be part of polar mesospheric clouds. Featured Read more »

NASA Television will broadcast launch and prelaunch activities for the Ascent Abort-2 flight test of the launch abort system for NASA’s Orion spacecraft’s, which will help pave the way for Artemis missions with astronauts to the Moon and then Mars. from NASA https://ift.tt/2FuyIO0 via IFTTT

NASA has selected Bechtel National, Inc., of Reston, Virginia, to design and build a second mobile launch platform, known as Mobile Launcher 2 or ML2, for Exploration Ground Systems at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. from NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2ILRdzy via IFTTT

The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 59 crew members. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2X2EITM

NASA technology demonstrations, which one day could help the agency get astronauts to Mars, and science missions, which will look at the space environment around Earth and how it affects us, have launched into space on a Falcon Heavy rocket. from NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2X1gR77 via IFTTT

Do you know the names of some of the brightest stars? It’s likely that you do, even though some bright stars have names so old they date back to near the beginning of written language. Many world cultures have their own names for the brightest stars, and it is culturally and historically important to remember them. In the interest of clear global communication, however, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has begun to designate standardized star names. Featured above in true color are the 25 brightest stars in the night sky, currently as seen by humans, coupled with their IAU-recognized names. Read more »

NASA astronaut Anne McClain and two of her Expedition 59 crewmates returned to Earth from the International Space Station Monday, landing safely in Kazakhstan at 10:47 p.m. EDT (8:47 a.m. Tuesday, June 25, local time) after months of science and four spacewalks aboard the microgravity laboratory. from NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2X575pp via IFTTT

NASA astronaut and Astronaut Office Representative Joe Acaba is seen along with other NASA, Canadian Space Agency and Roscosmos teams as they deploy from Karaganda for the Expedition 59 landing. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2ZHnOMh

Satellites love hydrazine – a type of space propellant – but it’s toxic to people and extremely difficult to handle. A non-toxic alternative will be put to the test with NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM), set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. via NASA https://go.nasa.gov/2N69GuQ