NASA astronaut Drew Feustel seemingly hangs off the International Space Station while conducting a spacewalk on March 29, 2018. via NASA https://ift.tt/2J8uJXz
Hangout in Space
Twilight in a Western Sky
A slender crescent Moon and inner planets Venus and Mercury never wander far from the Sun in planet Earth’s skies. In the fading evening twilight of March 18, they line up near the western horizon in this atmospheric skyscape. While the celestial scene was enjoyed around the world, this photo captures the trio, with fainter Mercury at the far right, above the crags of Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas. Tonight the Moon will be full though, and rise opposite the Sun. Look for it high in the sky at midnight, near bright star Spica. via NASA https://ift.tt/2uAl3ls
NASA Invests in Shapeshifters, Biobots, Other Visionary Technology
NASA is investing in technology concepts that includes meteoroid impact detection, space telescope swarms and small orbital debris mapping technologies that may one day be used for future space exploration missions.
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Technology Then and Now
Before there were computers and software that could stitch together digital images, they were printed on photo paper, trimmed by hand, and taped in place on a large black board. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Gqyvtz
NGC 247 and Friends
About 70,000 light-years across, NGC 247 is a spiral galaxy smaller than our Milky Way. Measured to be only 11 million light-years distant it is nearby though. Tilted nearly edge-on as seen from our perspective, it dominates this telescopic field of view toward the southern constellation Cetus. The pronounced void on one side of the galaxy’s disk recalls for some its popular name, the Needle’s Eye galaxy. Many background galaxies are visible in this sharp galaxy portrait, including the remarkable string of four galaxies just below and left of NGC 247 known as Burbidge’s Chain. Burbidge’s Chain galaxies are about 300 million light-years distant. The deep image even reveals that the two leftmost galaxies in the chain are apparently interacting, joined by a faint bridge of material. NGC 247 itself is part of the Sculptor Group of galaxies along with the shiny spiral NGC 253. via NASA https://ift.tt/2uwp3Dp
NASA Ready to Study Heart of Mars
NASA is about to go on a journey to study the interior of Mars. The space agency held a news conference today at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, detailing the next mission to the Red Planet.
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NASA to Host News Conference Announcing New Supersonic Test Aircraft
NASA will host a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April 3, to announce the agency’s plans for its next experimental aircraft, or X-plane, called the Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator (LBFD).
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Getting InSight on the Interior of Mars
Inside the Astrotech processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, or InSight, Mars lander is tested ahead of its scheduled launch on May 5, 2018. via NASA https://ift.tt/2urTvyE
NGC 2023 in the Horsehead s Shadow
Carved by a bright young star in Orion’s dusty molecular clouds, NGC 2023 is often overlooked in favor of the nearby dramatic silhouette of the Horsehead Nebula. In its own right it is seen as a beautiful star forming emission and reflection nebula though, a mere 1500 light-years distant. Surprisingly colorful and complex filaments are detailed in this rare NGC 2023 portrait. Scattered points of emission are also from the region’s Herbig-Haro objects, associated with the energetic jets from newborn stars. The sharp telescopic view spans about 10 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 2023. Off the right edge of the frame lies the more familiar cosmic Horsehead. via NASA https://ift.tt/2GREmZP
NASA Prepares to Launch Next Mission to Search Sky for New Worlds
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is undergoing final preparations in Florida for its April 16 launch to find undiscovered worlds around nearby stars, providing targets where future studies will assess their capacity to harbor life.
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