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What was the fate of #Comet #ISON? Scientists are still unsure. There is no doubt that the comet shrank in size considerably as it rounded the sun and there's no doubt that something made it out on the other side to shoot back into space. The question remains as to whether the bright spot seen moving away from the sun was simply debris, or whether a small nucleus of the original ball of ice was still there. Regardless, it is likely that it is now only dust. By monitoring its changes in brightness over time, scientists can estimate whether there's a nucleus or not, but our best chance at knowing for sure will be if the Hubble Space Telescope makes observations later in December 2013. In this time-lapse image, Comet ISON comes in from the bottom right and moves out toward the upper right, getting fainter and fainter. This image is from the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. The image of the sun at the center is from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. Image Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO/SDO/GSFC #nasa #space #cometison #stars #astronomy #universe #solarsystem #hubble #sdo; -
Sunlit Edge of Saturn's Largest Moon, Titan: The sunlit edge of Titan's south polar vortex stands out distinctly against the darkness of the moon's unilluminated hazy atmosphere. The Cassini spacecraft images of the vortex led scientists to conclude that its clouds form at a much higher altitude -- where sunlight can still reach -- than the surrounding haze. Titan (3,200 miles, or 5,150 kilometers across) is Saturn's largest moon. This view looks toward the trailing hemisphere of Titan. North on Titan is up and rotated 32 degrees to the left. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 14, 2013 using a spectral filter sensitive to wavelengths of near-infrared light centered at 938 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 808,000 miles (1.3 million kilometers) from Titan and at a Sun-Titan-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 82 degrees. Image scale is 5 miles (8 kilometers) per pixel. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute #nasa #space #saturn #titan #moon #cassini #clouds; -
What does a volcanic eruption look like from the #ISS? When viewing conditions are favorable, astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) can take unusual and striking images of the Earth. This photograph provides a view of an eruption plume emanating from Kliuchevskoi, one of the many active volcanoes on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The nadir views—looking straight down—acquired by most satellites tend to flatten the landscape and reduce our sense of three-dimensional topography. In contrast, this photo was taken from the ISS with an oblique viewing angle that gives a strong sense of three dimensions, which are also accentuated by the shadows cast by the volcanic peaks. The result is a view similar to what you might see from a low-altitude airplane. The image was taken when the ISS was located over a ground position more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) to the southwest. The plume—likely a combination of steam, volcanic gases, and ash—stretched to the east-southeast due to prevailing winds. The dark region to the north-northwest is likely a product of shadows and of ash settling out. Several other volcanoes are visible in the image, including Ushkovsky, Tolbachik, Zimina, and Udina. To the south-southwest of Kliuchevskoi lies Bezymianny Volcano, which appears to be emitting a small steam plume (at image center). Image Credit: NASA #exp38 #iss #spacestation #nasa #earth #volcano #eruption #volcanic #russia #astropix #earthobs; -
Who is studying Earth's polar ice in Antarctica? We are during Operation IceBridge, an airborne science mission by NASA. IceBridge images Earth's polar ice in unprecedented detail to better understand processes that connect the polar regions with the global climate system. IceBridge utilizes a highly specialized fleet of research aircraft and the most sophisticated suite of innovative science instruments ever assembled to characterize annual changes in thickness of sea ice, glaciers, and ice sheets. In addition, IceBridge collects critical data used to predict the response of earth’s polar ice to climate change and resulting sea-level rise. IceBridge also helps bridge the gap in polar observations between NASA's ICESat satellite missions. Operation IceBridge is conducting its first field campaign directly from Antarctica this year. Seen here, NASA flight engineer Brian Yates directs the P-3 research aircraft during engine startup on the ramp at McMurdo Station's sea ice airfield before a Nov. 20 survey flight over Victoria Land in Antarctica. To the right in the background is the nearby volcano, Mount Erebus. Image Credit: NASA/George Hale #icebridge #operationicebridge #antarctica #p3airplane #airplane #airbornescience #science #polarice #antarcticice #ice #aircraft #plane; -
Is #Comet #ISON back from the dead? Continuing a history of surprising behavior, material from ISON appeared on the other side of the sun on the evening on Nov. 28, 2013, despite not having been seen in observations during its closest approach to the sun. The question remains whether it is merely debris from the comet, or if some portion of the comet's nucleus survived, but late-night analysis from scientists with NASA's Comet ISON Observing Campaign suggest that there is at least a small nucleus intact. This image is a "timelapse" series of images of comet ISON as viewed by ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO. This image is a composite, with the sun imaged by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory in the center, and SOHO's two coronagraphs showing the solar atmosphere, the corona. The most recent image in this is from 5:30 p.m. EST on Nov. 29, 2013. Image Credit:ESA&NASA/SOHO/SDO #nasa #space #cometison #stars #astronomy #universe #solarsystem;
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Tired from #BlackFriday? Nap like this Sculptor Galaxy black hole did: Nearly a decade ago, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory caught signs of what appeared to be a black hole snacking on gas at the middle of the nearby Sculptor galaxy. Now, NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR), which sees higher-energy X-ray light, has taken a peek and found the black hole asleep. The slumbering black hole is about 5 million times the mass of our sun. It lies at the center of the Sculptor galaxy, also known as NGC 253, a so-called starburst galaxy actively giving birth to new stars. At 13 million light-years away, this is one of the closest starbursts to our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JHU #BlackHoleFriday; -
Monster deal this #BlackFriday - See a monster black hole artistic pic as part of our #BlackHoleFriday: This artist's concept illustrates a supermassive black hole with millions to billions times the mass of our sun. Supermassive black holes are enormously dense objects buried at the hearts of galaxies. (Smaller black holes also exist throughout galaxies.) In this illustration, the supermassive black hole at the center is surrounded by matter flowing onto the black hole in what is termed an accretion disk. This disk forms as the dust and gas in the galaxy falls onto the hole, attracted by its gravity. Also shown is an outflowing jet of energetic particles, believed to be powered by the black hole's spin. The regions near black holes contain compact sources of high energy X-ray radiation thought, in some scenarios, to originate from the base of these jets. This high energy X-radiation lights up the disk, which reflects it, making the disk a source of X-rays. The reflected light enables astronomers to see how fast matter is swirling in the inner region of the disk, and ultimately to measure the black hole's spin rate. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech; -
Hungry on #BlackFriday? For #BlackHoleFriday, did you know that both large & small black holes have simple feeding habits? At the center of spiral galaxy M81, pictured here, is a supermassive black hole about 70 million times more massive than our sun. A study using data from Chandra and ground-based telescopes, combined with detailed theoretical models, shows that the supermassive black hole in M81 feeds just like stellar mass black holes, with masses of only about ten times that of the sun. This discovery supports Einstein's relativity theory that states black holes of all sizes have similar properties. Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Wisconsin/D.Pooley & CfA/A.Zezas; Optical: NASA/ESA/CfA/A.Zezas; UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA/J.Huchra et al.; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech/CfA; -
Finding your size this #BlackFriday? For us, it's #BlackHoleFriday and black holes can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or "stuff," in an object. Another kind of black hole is called "stellar." Its mass can be up to 20 times more than the mass of the sun. There may be many, many stellar mass black holes in Earth's galaxy, the Milky Way. The largest black holes are called "supermassive." These black holes have masses that are more than 1 million suns together. Scientists have found proof that every large galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its center. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is called Sagittarius A. It has a mass equal to about 4 million suns and would fit inside a very large ball that could hold a few million Earths. This image of Sagittarius A and the surrounding region is from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and is based on data from a series of observations lasting a total of about one million seconds, or almost two weeks. Such a deep observation has given scientists an unprecedented view of the supernova remnant near Sagittarius A and the lobes of hot gas extending for a dozen light years on either side of the black hole. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/F. Baganoff, R. Shcherbakov et al.; -
For retail, it's #BlackFriday (EST). For us, it's #BlackHoleFriday. Today, we'll post info & images all about Black Holes. A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying. Because no light can get out, people can't see black holes. They are invisible. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes. The special tools can see how stars that are very close to black holes act differently than other stars. This image is an artist's drawing of a black hole named Cygnus X-1. It formed when a large star caved in. This black hole pulls matter from blue star beside it. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss #nasa #space #blackholes #xray #cygnus;
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#Comet #ISON Streams Toward the Sun: In this picture, called a coronagraph, the bright light of the sun itself is blocked so the structures around it are visible. The comet is seen in the lower right; a giant cloud of solar material, called a coronal mass ejection or CME, is seen billowing out under the sun. ISON entered the field of view in the early hours of Nov. 27, 2013, of the European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Comet ISON, which began its trip from the Oort cloud region of our solar system, will reach its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day, skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun's surface. Image Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO #nasa #space #cometison #stars #astronomy #universe #solarsystem; -
Comet ISON Approaching the Sun: This movie from NASA’s STEREO spacecraft's Heliospheric Imager shows Comet ISON, Mercury, Comet Encke and Earth over a five-day period from Nov. 20 to Nov. 25, 2013. The sun sits right of the field of view of this camera. Comet ISON, which will round the sun on Nov. 28, is what's known as a sungrazing comet, due to its close approach. A comet’s journey through the solar system is perilous and violent. A giant ejection of solar material from the sun could rip its tail off. Before it reaches Mars -- at some 230 million miles away from the sun -- the radiation of the sun begins to boil its water, the first step toward breaking apart. And, if it survives all this, the intense radiation and pressure as it flies near the surface of the sun could destroy it altogether. Even if the comet does not survive, tracking its journey will help scientists understand what the comet is made of, how it reacts to its environment, and what this explains about the origins of the solar system. Closer to the sun, watching how the comet and its tail interact with the vast solar atmosphere can teach scientists more about the sun itself. Image Credit: NASA/STEREO #nasa #space #ison #cometison #comet #stars #astronomy #universe #solarsystem; -
Traveling for #Thanksgiving? It’s a time when the nation’s transportation network is clogged with travelers. According to the American Automobile Association, an estimated 43.4 million Americans will travel 50 miles (80 kilometers) or more during Thanksgiving week, with the average round trip being 600 miles (1,000 kilometers). More than 90 percent of them will use cars or trucks, while the rest will ride planes or trains. The imprint of the transportation web becomes easier to see at night. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite acquired two nighttime images early on Oct. 1, 2013, for this natural-light, mosaic view of the continental United States. The VIIRS instrument uses a “day-night band” of wavelengths that is sensitive to low light levels and manmade light sources. The images were collected just three days before the new moon, so reflected light from space and the atmosphere was relatively low. It was also a rare night when most of the nation was cloud-free. Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS and DMSP OLS data provided courtesy of Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center) Caption: Mike Carlowicz #nasa #space #traffic #transportation #map #viirs #npp #satellite #night #infrared; -
Coils of Magnetic Field Lines on the Sun: NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory zoomed in for a close-up of tight packs of coils around one active region on the sun on Nov. 18-19, 2013. The bundles of coils are actually charged particles swirling along magnetic field lines. Other field lines heading off to the left are more elongated and tapered. The images were taken in extreme ultraviolet light. Credit: NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory #solar #sdo #nasa #space #sunpix #sun; -
310 million light years away is spiral galaxy NGC 4921, visible from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Seen in this image are, from the center, a bright nucleus, a bright central bar, a prominent ring of dark dust, blue clusters of recently formed stars, several smaller companion galaxies, unrelated galaxies in the far distant universe, and unrelated stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. A more precise determination of distance could be coupled with its known recession speed to help humanity better calibrate the expansion rate of the entire visible universe. Toward this goal, several images were taken by Hubble in order to help identify key stellar distance markers known as Cepheid variable stars. Since NGC 4921 is a member of the Coma Cluster of Galaxies, refining its distance would also allow a better distance determination to one of the largest nearby clusters in the local universe. The magnificent spiral NGC 4921 has been informally dubbed anemic because of its low rate of star formation and low surface brightness. Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA #nasa #hubble #space #astronomy #galaxy #stars #milkyway #hst #universe;
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