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Cloud Bands Over the Western Sahara Desert, Mauritania: This photograph of cloud bands over southern Mauritania was taken from the International Space Station with an oblique angle such that the cloud shadows are a prominent part of the view. Beneath the clouds, the plateau of dark sedimentary rocks appears as a ragged, near-vertical escarpment (image top right). Isolated remnants of the plateau appear as dark mesas (flat-topped hills) across the top and near the center of the image. The escarpment is about 250 meters high, with a field of orange-colored dunes at the base (image upper right). Prevailing winds in this part of the Sahara Desert blow from the northeast. (Note that north is to the right.) The wavy dunes are aligned transverse (roughly right angles) to these winds. The sand that makes the dunes is blown in from a zone immediately upwind (just out of the bottom of the image), where dry river beds and dry lakes provide large quantities of mobile sand. This pattern is typical in the western Sahara Desert, where plateau surfaces are mostly dune free and dune fields are located in the surrounding lowlands. Larger rivers deposit sandy sediment on the few occasions when they flow, sometimes only once in decades. Astronaut photograph ISS038-E-26862 was acquired on Jan. 8, 2014, with a Nikon D3S digital camera using a 180 millimeter lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by the Expedition 38 crew. It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. Image Credit: NASA. Caption: M. Justin Wilkinson, Jacobs at NASA-JSC. #iss #astropix #exp38 #astronautpics #earth #desert #mauritania #clouds #earthpics #earthasart #spacestation; -
In its first 25 days of operations, the newly reactivated NEOWISE mission has detected 857 minor bodies in our solar system, including 22 near-Earth objects (NEOs) and four comets. Three of the NEOs are new discoveries; all three are hundreds of meters in diameter and dark as coal. More than 100 asteroids were captured in this view from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, during its primary all-sky survey before it was put into hibernation in 2011. The mission was revived to hunt more asteroids, and renamed NEOWISE. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA #nasa #space #neowise #neo #asteroid #stars #sky #astronomy; -
NASA Spacecraft Take Aim At Nearby Supernova - An exceptionally close stellar explosion discovered on Jan. 21 has become the focus of observatories around and above the globe, including several NASA spacecraft. The blast, designated SN 2014J, occurred in the galaxy M82 and lies only about 12 million light-years away. This makes it the nearest optical supernova in two decades and potentially the closest type Ia supernova to occur during the life of currently operating space missions. Image Credit: NASA/Swift/P. Brown, TAMU #nasa #space #science #supernova #spacecraft #swift #galaxy #astronomy #stars; -
Station Crew Wrapping Up Preps for Monday's Spacewalk - The Expedition 38 astronauts wrapped up the workweek Friday aboard the International Space Station with biomedical research and robotics, while their Russian colleagues entered the homestretch of preparations for a spacewalk they will conduct Monday. Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy donned their Russian Orlan spacesuits for a "dry run" dress rehearsal to test the suits in advance of Monday's spacewalk to reinstall a pair of cameras as part of a commercial endeavor between a Canadian firm and the Russian Federal Space Agency. The cameras will be used to downlink Earth imagery to Internet-based subscribers. The two cosmonauts also plan to retrieve an experiment package housed on the Zvezda service module's hull. Monday's excursion will be the 178th spacewalk in support of station assembly and maintenance, the sixth for Kotov and the third for Ryazanskiy. The Caribbean country of Cuba appears at the top of this high oblique image, photographed by one of the Expedition 38 crew members aboard the International Space Station. Image Credit: NASA #spacestation #iss #exp38 #station #space #nasa #astronaut #astropics #astropix #orbit #orbitingearth #lowearthorbit #leo #science; -
Hubble, Hubble, Seeing Double! In this new Hubble image two objects are clearly visible, shining brightly. When they were first discovered in 1979, they were thought to be separate objects — however, astronomers soon realized that these twins are a little too identical! They are close together, lie at the same distance from us, and have surprisingly similar properties. The reason they are so similar is not some bizarre coincidence; they are in fact the same object. These cosmic doppelgangers make up a double quasar known as QSO 0957+561, also known as the "Twin Quasar," which lies just under 14 billion light-years from Earth. Quasars are the intensely powerful centers of distant galaxies. So, why are we seeing this quasar twice? Some 4 billion light-years from Earth — and directly in our line of sight — is the huge galaxy YGKOW G1. This galaxy was the first ever observed gravitational lens, an object with a mass so great that it can bend the light from objects lying behind it. This phenomenon not only allows us to see objects that would otherwise be too remote, in cases like this it also allows us to see them twice over. Credit: ESA/NASA #hubble #hubblespacetelescope #science #galaxy #hst #telescope #universe #space #nasa #quasar;
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Tracking and Data Relay Satellite Launch Lights Up the Night Sky - A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket lights up the night sky over Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as it carries NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS-L, to Earth orbit. Launch was at 9:33 p.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 23 during a 40-minute launch window. The TDRS-L spacecraft is the second of three new satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) fleet, which consists of eight satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft provide tracking, telemetry, command and high-bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. These include NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the International Space Station. TDRS-L has a high-performance solar panel designed for more spacecraft power to meet the growing S-band communications requirements. TDRSS is one of three NASA Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) networks providing space communications to NASA’s missions. Image Credit: NASA/Dan Casper #nasa #space #tdrs #rocket #rocketlaunch #nasa #launch #ksc #kennedy #ula #atlasv #hst #hubble #countdown#321launch #centaur #iss #mars; -
LIFTOFF! Our Tracking and Data Relay Satellite L launched atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 9:33 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41 in Florida. The TDRS-L spacecraft is the second of three new satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) fleet, which consists of eight satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft provide tracking, telemetry, command and high bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #space #tdrs #rocket #rocketlaunch #nasa #launch #ksc #kennedy #ula #atlasv #hst #hubble #countdown#321launch #centaur #iss #mars; -
Live from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, watch NASA Television launch coverage for our NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv. Liftoff is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. EST, the opening of a 40-minute launch window. Live coverage on NASA TV begins at 6:30 p.m. Launch teams are currently working no technical issues, and the weather forecast is 90 percent “go.” The TDRS-L spacecraft is the second of three new satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) fleet, which consists of eight satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft provide tracking, telemetry, command and high bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #space #tdrs #rocket #rocketlaunch #nasa #launch #ksc #kennedy #ula #atlasv #hst #hubble #countdown #321launch #centaur #iss #mars; -
Extreme Power of Black Hole Revealed - Astronomers have used NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and a suite of other telescopes to reveal one of the most powerful black holes known. The black hole has created enormous structures in the hot gas surrounding it and prevented trillions of stars from forming. The black hole is in a galaxy cluster named RX J1532.9+3021 (RX J1532 for short), located about 3.9 billion light years from Earth. The image here is a composite of X-ray data from Chandra revealing hot gas in the cluster in purple and optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope showing galaxies in yellow. The cluster is very bright in X-rays implying that it is extremely massive, with a mass about a quadrillion - a thousand trillion - times that of the sun. At the center of the cluster is a large elliptical galaxy containing the supermassive black hole. The large amount of hot gas near the center of the cluster presents a puzzle. Hot gas glowing with X-rays should cool, and the dense gas in the center of the cluster should cool the fastest. The pressure in this cool central gas is then expected to drop, causing gas further out to sink in towards the galaxy, forming trillions of stars along the way. However, astronomers have found no such evidence for this burst of stars forming at the center of this cluster. Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Stanford/J.Hlavacek-Larrondo et al, Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/M.Postman & CLASH team #nasa #chandra #hst #hubble #space #science #xray #blackhole; -
It’s Launch Day! NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite is ready for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41. Liftoff is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. EST, the opening of a 40-minute launch window. Live coverage on NASA TV begins at 6:30 p.m. The TDRS-L spacecraft is the second of three new satellites designed to ensure vital operational continuity for NASA by expanding the lifespan of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) fleet, which consists of eight satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The spacecraft provide tracking, telemetry, command and high bandwidth data return services for numerous science and human exploration missions orbiting Earth. Image Credit: NASA/Daniel Casper #nasa #space #tdrs #rocket #rocketlaunch #nasa #launch #ksc #kennedy #ula #atlasv #hst #hubble #countdown #321launch #centaur #iss #mars;
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‘Twas the night before launch… The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA's TDRS-L satellite on board is seen on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014, at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. With the rocket in place, engineers and technicians made numerous connections of propellant, coolant and data lines that will allow ground controllers to monitor the rocket and satellite conditions throughout the countdown. Liftoff of the TDRS-L mission is scheduled for Thursday at 9:05 p.m. EST at the opening of a 40-minute window. Once operational in orbit 22,300 miles above Earth, TDRS-L will work with NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System constellation to provide vital communications between ground stations and spacecraft including the International Space Station, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the agency's fleet of scientific observatories orbiting Earth. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #space #tdrs #rocket #rocketlaunch #nasa #launch #ksc #kennedy #ula #atlasv #hst #hubble #countdown #321launch #centaur #iss #mars; -
1 Day until the launch of the next element in the communications network that links NASA's ground controllers to orbiting spacecraft. TDRS-L will become the 11th member of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System orbiting Earth following its launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Liftoff is scheduled for Jan. 23 during a launch window that opens at 9:05 p.m. EST. The constellation of satellites orbiting Earth at 22,300 miles revolutionized communications for the nation's space agency by allowing nearly continuous transmission of information during a mission. Before the TDRS network was established, NASA relied on a patchwork of ground stations based around the world to stitch together coverage zones. Astronauts and Earth-orbiting scientific spacecraft would relay messages only when they passed over or near one of the ground stations. The TDRS-L will ride into space on an Atlas V booster and Centaur upper stage, a combination that has become a workhorse for the agency's recent missions. The Centaur, which takes over after the Atlas V booster's stage has exhausted its fuel, will place the TDRS on a path to reach its 22,300-mi Image credit: NASA #roadsign #countdown #321launch #launch #tdrs #nasa #nasakennedy #centaur #atlasv #mars #sign #streetsign #ula #space; -
Dwarf Planet Ceres (Artist's Impression)- Ceres is located in the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, as illustrated in this artist's conception. Observations by the Herschel space observatory between 2011 and 2013 find that the dwarf planet has a thin water vapor atmosphere. This is the first unambiguous detection of water vapor around an object in the asteroid belt. Herschel is a European Space Agency mission, with science instruments provided by consortia of European institutes and with important participation by NASA. While the observatory stopped making science observations in April 2013, after running out of liquid coolant, as expected, scientists continue to analyze its data. Credits: ESA/ATG medialab #nasa #space #science #water @h2o #planet #herschel #esa #asteroid #atmosphere; -
Volcanic Smog and Sunglint in the Vanuatu Archipelago- The archipelago is a collection of volcanic islands about 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) northeast of Australia. Two of the islands, Gaua and Ambrym, frequently vent sulfurous gases. On Jan. 7, 2014 NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Vanuatu, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard to capture this true-color image. A broad plume of volcanic vog and ash rises from Ambrym and spreads across the South Pacific. Vog is a combination of “volcanic” and “smog”, and is formed when gases from a volcano react with sunlight, oxygen and moisture. The vog appears as a light blue-gray plume which arcs from the volcanic island both to the northwest and to the northeast. In the northeast, the vog crosses a mirror-like swath of silver-gray which runs from north to south. That swath is not volcanic in origin, but is an artifact called “sunglint” – the reflection of the sun off the ocean in a satellite image. Image Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Rapid Response Team #nasa #earth #satellite #aqua @smog #volvano #island #truecolor; -
A fresh apple floating freely near a window in the Cupola of the International Space Station is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 38 crew member. Attached to the Harmony node, the Orbital Sciences Corp. Cygnus commercial cargo craft, which brought the fresh fruit, is visible at center. The bright sun, Earth's horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene. The expansive International Space Station is a working laboratory orbiting 260 miles above the Earth, traveling at 17,500 mph, and is home to an international crew. It is the most complex scientific and technological endeavor ever undertaken. As a research outpost, the station is a test bed for future technologies and a research laboratory for new, advanced industrial materials, communications technology, medical research and much more. Image credit: NASA #nasa #iss #spacestation #fruit #space #science #earth #research #cygnus #orbital #exp38;
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