One Night One Telescope One Camera

Taken on the same night, from the same place, with the same telescope and camera, these postcards from our Solar System are shown at the same scale to provide an interesting comparison of apparent sizes. Spanning about half a degree in planet Earth’s sky, the Moon is a stitched mosaic of six images. The others are the result of digitally stacked frames or simple single exposures, with the real distances to the objects indicated along the bottom of each insert. Most of the Solar System’s planets with their brighter moons, and Pluto were captured during the telescopic expedition, but elusive Mercury was missed because of clouds near the horizon. The International Space Station was successfully hunted, though. The night was July 21st. Telescope and camera were located at the Centro Astronomico de Tiedra Observatory in Spain. via NASA https://ift.tt/2LSze9G

Mars Opposition

Look opposite the Sun in the sky tonight and you’ll see Mars at its brightest. Also within days of its closest approach Mars rises at sunset, near its brightest and best for telescopic observers too, except for the dust storm still blanketing the Red Planet. These two Hubble Space Telescope images compare Mars‘ appearance near its 2016 and 2018 oppositions. In 2016 the martian atmosphere was clear. Captured just days ago, the 2018 image shows almost the same face of Mars. Surface features obscured by dust, the planet’s cloud enshrouded south pole is tilted more toward the Sun. Increased heat in the southern hemisphere spring and summer likely triggers planet wide dust storms. Of course, if you look opposite the Sun in the sky tonight, you’ll also see a Full Moon near Mars. Skygazers NOT located in North America could see the Red Planet near a Red Moon during a Total Lunar Eclipse. via NASA https://ift.tt/2v8fnMj

From Interns to Astronauts

July 26 is National Intern Day. See how far these two former interns at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have come! via NASA https://ift.tt/2mJYRhJ

Flown Orion Spacecraft Visits Washington, DC, for Made in America Showcase

NASA’s Orion spacecraft that flew Exploration Flight Test-1 on Dec. 5, 2014, is seen after being uncovered in preparation for being moved onto the White House complex, Saturday, July 21, 2018, in Washington, DC. More than 1,000 companies across the country manufactured or contributed elements to the spacecraft. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Lz15P8