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The sun emitted a mid-level flare on Dec. 18, 2014, at 4:58 p.m. EST. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured this image showing the bright spot near the center of the sun. SDO observes light in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths that can highlight the intense heat present in a solar flare. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This flare is classified as an M6.9-class flare. M-class flares are a tenth the size of the most intense flares, the X-class flares. The number provides more information about its strength. An M2 is twice as intense as an M1, an M3 is three times as intense, etc. Image Credit: NASA/SDO; -
Sweeping a Messy Star Factory: This sprinkle of cosmic glitter is a blue compact dwarf galaxy known as Markarian 209. Galaxies of this type are blue-hued, compact in size, gas-rich, and low in heavy elements. They are often used by astronomers to study star formation, as their conditions are similar to those thought to exist in the early Universe. Markarian 209 in particular has been studied extensively. It is filled with diffuse gas and peppered with star-forming regions towards its core. This image captures it undergoing a particularly dramatic burst of star formation, visible as the lighter blue cloudy region towards the top right of the galaxy. This clump is filled with very young and hot newborn stars. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Acknowledgement: Nick Rose #nasa #hst #hubble #space #astronomy #galaxy #science; -
A Pioneer: Richard T. Whitcomb, an aerodynamicist at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, is most famous for his development of the "area rule." Shown here in the Langley 8 foot High-Speed Wind Tunnel in April 1955, he revolutionized how engineers looked at high-speed drag and impacted the design of virtually every transonic and supersonic aircraft ever built. Just 11 years after graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, he was presented the prestigious Collier Trophy on Dec.18, 1954, in recognition of the far-reaching impact of his "area rule" work. Whitcomb had an incredibly prolific career at NACA and NASA; designing the supercritical airfoil in the 1960s and creating winglets in the 1970s. #ThrowbackThursday #nasa #tbt #history #aeronautics #nasaaero #langley; -
Massive Galaxy Cluster in Distant Universe: A newly discovered galaxy cluster is the most massive one ever detected with an age of 800 million years or younger. Using data from our Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have accurately determined the mass and other properties of this cluster. This is an important step in understanding how galaxy clusters, the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity, have evolved over time. This Chandra composite image shows the distant and massive galaxy cluster that is officially known as XDCP J0044.0-2033. Researchers, however, have nicknamed it "Gioiello", which is Italian for "jewel". Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/INAF/P. Tozzi, et al; Optical: NAOJ/Subaru a #nasa #space #astronomy #chandra #xray #galaxy #universe #science; -
Aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Terry Virts posted this image and wrote, "One of the most amazing sites on Earth #AmazonRiver delta." The station crew has been working on a variety of robotics activities this week. On Wednesday, they tested a humanoid robot and explored how bowling ball-sized satellites, known as SPHERES, can navigate around objects. Crew members trained earlier in the week for the planned Sunday capture of the Dragon spacecraft using the 57.7 foot Canadarm2. Image Credit: NASA #iss #isscargo #space #nasa #exp41 #earth #astronauts #spacestation;
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City Lights Shine Brighter During the Holidays: City lights shine brighter during the holidays when compared with the rest of the year, as shown using a new analysis of daily data from the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite. Dark green pixels are areas where lights are 50 percent brighter, or more, during December. This new analysis of holiday lights uses an advanced algorithm that filters out moonlight, clouds and airborne particles in order to isolate city lights on a daily basis. The data from this algorithm provide high-quality satellite information on light output across the globe, allowing scientists to track when - and how brightly - people illuminate the night. A daily global dynamic dataset of nighttime lights is a new way for researchers to understand the broad societal forces impacting energy decisions and to look at how people use cities, from an energy perspective. Image Credit: NASA's Earth Observatory/Jesse Allen #nasa #space #satellite #holiday #holidaylights #earth #earthrightnow #science; -
NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has measured a tenfold spike in methane, an organic chemical, in the atmosphere around it and detected other organic molecules in a rock-powder sample collected by the robotic laboratory’s drill. Researchers used Curiosity’s onboard Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) laboratory a dozen times in a 20-month period to sniff methane in the atmosphere. During two of those months, in late 2013 and early 2014, four measurements averaged seven parts per billion. Before and after that, readings averaged only one-tenth that level. Curiosity also detected different Martian organic chemicals in powder drilled from a rock dubbed Cumberland, the first definitive detection of organics in surface materials of Mars. These Martian organics could either have formed on Mars or been delivered to Mars by meteorites. Organic molecules, which contain carbon and usually hydrogen, are chemical building blocks of life, although they can exist without the presence of life. Curiosity's findings from analyzing samples of atmosphere and rock powder do not reveal whether Mars has ever harbored living microbes, but the findings do shed light on a chemically active modern Mars and on favorable conditions for life on ancient Mars. Pictured here is the drilling into Curiosity's rock target, "Cumberland," during the 279th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars (May 19, 2013). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS; -
Astronaut Terry Virts shared this image from the vantage point of the International Space Station on Sunday, Dec. 14. He tweeted that it shows "#sunset over the Gulf of Mexico and American gulf coast." Astronauts have used hand-held cameras to photograph the Earth for more than 40 years. Beginning with the Mercury missions in the early 1960s, astronauts have taken more than 700,000 photographs of the Earth. Today, the International Space Station continues the NASA tradition of Earth observation from human-tended spacecraft. Image credit: NASA #iss @iss; -
Opportunity Pausing at a Bright Outcrop on Endeavour Rim, Sol 3854 NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is continuing its traverse southward on the western rim of Endeavour Crater during the fall of 2014, stopping to investigate targets of scientific interest along way. This view is from Opportunity's front hazard avoidance camera on Nov. 26, 2014, during the 3,854th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars. This camera is mounted low on the rover and has a wide-angle lens. The scene includes Opportunity's robotic arm, called the "instrument deployment device," at upper left. Portions of the pale bedrock exposed on the ground in front of the rover are within the arm's reach. Researchers used instruments on the arm to examine a target called "Calera" on this patch of bedrock. The wheel tracks in the scene are from the drive -- in reverse -- to this location, a drive of 32.5 feet (9.9 meters) on Sol 3846 (Nov. 18, 2014). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech; -
A series of elliptical loops seemed to droop down out of an active region on the Sun that was rotating into view (Dec. 7-9, 2014). The loops are actually particles spiraling along magnetic field lines when viewed in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light. Above this group other loops above another active region are tighter and less elongated, but always changing as well. The video covers two days of activity. Video credit: NASA/SDO;
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Although solid-looking in many images, Saturn's rings are actually translucent. In this picture, we can glimpse the shadow of the rings on the planet through (and below) the A and C rings themselves, towards the lower right hand corner. For centuries people have studied Saturn's rings, but questions about the structure and composition of the rings lingered. It was only in 1857 when the physicist James Clerk Maxwell demonstrated that the rings must be composed of many small particles and not solid rings around the planet, and not until the 1970s that spectroscopic evidence definitively showed that the rings are composed mostly of water ice. This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 17 degrees above the ringplane. The image was taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 12, 2014 in near-infrared light centered at 752 nanometers. The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 1.4 million miles (2.3 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 24 degrees. Image scale is 85 miles (136 kilometers) per pixel. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute; -
LOOK UP TONIGHT! The 2014 Geminid meteor shower is forecast to be a lively meteor shower with great views in the skies over Earth, and tonight is the anticipated peak. Best viewing will be in dark sky locations, away from city lights. Cloudy? We're hosting an overnight web chat from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. EST and will broadcast the shower live on Ustream. Details: http://go.nasa.gov/1yUCCWP #geminids #meteor #meteorshower #skywatch #science #nasa #space; -
View of All That Glitters: This striking Hubble Space Telescope image shows a glittering bauble named Messier 92. Located in the northern constellation of Hercules, this globular cluster — a ball of stars that orbits a galactic core like a satellite — was first discovered by astronomer Johann Elert Bode in 1777. Messier 92 is one of the brightest globular clusters in the Milky Way, and is visible to the naked eye under good observing conditions. It is very tightly packed with stars, containing some 330,000 stars in total. As is characteristic of globular clusters, the predominant elements within Messier 92 are hydrogen and helium, with only traces of others. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Acknowledgement: Gilles Chapdelaine #nasa #esa #hst #hubble #astronomy #astrophysics #space #science #galaxy #milkyway; -
Super Guppy Spends a Restful Night in the NASA Langley Hangar: A representative test article of a futuristic hybrid wing body aircraft will be unloaded from our Super Guppy aircraft on Friday, Dec. 12, at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.. The large test article, representing the uniquely shaped fuselage cross-section, is made out of a low-weight, damage-tolerant, stitched composite structural concept called Pultruded Rod Stitched Efficient Unitized Structure, or PRSEUS. Langley's Combined Loads Test System will subject the revolutionary carbon-fiber architecture test article to conditions that simulate loads typically encountered in flight. Our Super Guppy aircraft, designed to transport extremely large cargo, rests after making the special delivery to the Langley. The aircraft measures more than 48 feet to the top of its tail and has a wingspan of more than 156 feet with a 25-foot diameter cargo bay - the aircraft features a hinged nose that opens 110 degrees. Image Credit: NASA #nasaaero #aeronautics #nasa #langley #superguppy #aircraft; -
Galactic Get-Together Has Impressive Light Display: At this time of year, there are lots of gatherings often decorated with festive lights. When galaxies get together, there is the chance of a spectacular light show as is the case with NGC 2207 and IC 2163. Located about 130 million light years from Earth, in the constellation of Canis Major, this pair of spiral galaxies has been caught in a grazing encounter. Chandra image of "ultraluminous X-ray sources" (ULXs) found using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/S.Mineo et al, Optical: NASA/STScI, Infr #nasa #space #galaxy #astronomy #science;
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