Sometimes both heaven and Earth erupt. Colorful auroras erupted unexpectedly a few years ago, with green aurora appearing near the horizon and brilliant bands of red aurora blooming high overhead. A bright Moon lit the foreground of this picturesque scene, while familiar stars could be seen far in the distance. With planning, the careful astrophotographer shot this image mosaic in the field of White Dome Geyser in Yellowstone National Park in the western USA. Sure enough, just after midnight, White Dome erupted — spraying a stream of water and vapor many meters into the air. Geyser water is heated to steam by scalding magma several kilometers below, and rises through rock cracks to the surface. About half of all known geysers occur in Yellowstone National Park. Although the geomagnetic storm that caused the auroras subsided within a day, eruptions of White Dome Geyser continue about every 30 minutes. via NASA https://ift.tt/aHP4Fxl
Northrop Grumman Sends NASA Science, Cargo to International Space Station
A fresh supply of 8,300 pounds of scientific investigations and cargo launched from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 12:40 p.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 19, aboard a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft, and is now traveling to the International Space Station.
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Peculiar Galaxies of Arp 273
The spiky stars in the foreground of this backyard telescopic frame are well within our own Milky Way Galaxy. But the two eye-catching galaxies lie far beyond the Milky Way, at a distance of over 300 million light-years. Their distorted appearance is due to gravitational tides as the pair engage in close encounters. Cataloged as Arp 273 (also as UGC 1810), the galaxies do look peculiar, but interacting galaxies are now understood to be common in the universe. Nearby, the large spiral Andromeda Galaxy is known to be some 2 million light-years away and approaching the Milky Way. The peculiar galaxies of Arp 273 may offer an analog of their far future encounter. Repeated galaxy encounters on a cosmic timescale can ultimately result in a merger into a single galaxy of stars. From our perspective, the bright cores of the Arp 273 galaxies are separated by only a little over 100,000 light-years. via NASA https://ift.tt/BeX5bDd
NASA TV to Air NOAA’s GOES-T Launch, Prelaunch Activities
NASA will provide coverage of the prelaunch and launch activities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) next weather observing and environmental monitoring system satellite.
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Taking a Selfie on the Red Planet
NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover landed on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021, and took this selfie over a rock nicknamed “Rochette,” on Sept. 10, 2021. via NASA https://ift.tt/YHLINKE
Three Clusters in Puppis
Galactic or open star clusters are young. The swarms of stars are born together near the plane of the Milky Way, but their numbers steadily dwindle as cluster members are ejected by galactic tides and gravitational interactions. Caught in this telescopic frame over three degrees across are three good examples of galactic star clusters, seen toward the southern sky’s nautical constellation Puppis. Below and left, M46 is some 5,500 light-years in the distance. Right of center M47 is only 1,600 light-years away and NGC 2423 (top) is about 2500 light-years distant. Around 300 million years young M46 contains a few hundred stars in a region about 30 light-years across. Sharp eyes can spot a planetary nebula, NGC 2438, at about 11 o’clock against the M46 cluster stars. But that nebula’s central star is billions of years old, and NGC 2438 is likely a foreground object only by chance along the line of sight to youthful M46. Even younger, aged around 80 million years, M47 is a smaller and looser star cluster spanning about 10 light-years. Star cluster NGC 2423 is pushing about 750 million years in age though. NGC 2423 is known to harbor an extrasolar planet, detected orbiting one of its red giant stars. via NASA https://ift.tt/gQtBVkc
Chamaeleon I Molecular Cloud
Dark markings and bright nebulae in this telescopic southern sky view are telltale signs of young stars and active star formation. They lie a mere 650 light-years away, at the boundary of the local bubble and the Chamaeleon molecular cloud complex. Regions with young stars identified as dusty reflection nebulae from the 1946 Cederblad catalog include the C-shaped Ced 110 just above and left of center, and bluish Ced 111 below it. Also a standout in the frame, the orange tinted V-shape of the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula (Cha IRN) was carved by material streaming from a newly formed low-mass star. The well-composed image spans 1.5 degrees. That’s about 17 light-years at the estimated distance of the nearby Chamaeleon I molecular cloud. via NASA https://ift.tt/jo8yfiG
Colorado Students to Hear from NASA Astronauts Aboard Space Station
Students from Colorado will have an opportunity this week to hear from a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station.
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NASA Advisory Council Welcomes New Members, Sets 2022 Goals
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced Wednesday he appointed new members to the NASA Advisory Council (NAC), which provides leadership counsel and advice on a variety of important and complex agency programs and topics.
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NASA Offers Up to $200 Million to Help Push New Technologies to Market
Companies with technologies that may advance exploration but need a little extra push to finalize development have two new opportunities to partner with NASA to make it over the finish line.
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