โพสต์เมื่อ 10 พ.ค. 2558 | 01:42 น.
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Decades of satellite observations and astronaut photographs show that clouds dominate space-based views of Earth. One study based on nearly a decade of satellite data estimated that about 67 percent of Earth’s surface is typically covered by clouds. This is especially the case over the oceans, where other research shows less than 10 percent of the sky is completely clear of clouds at any one time. Over land, 30 percent of skies are completely cloud free. Earth’s cloudy nature is unmistakable in this global cloud fraction map, based on data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on our Aqua satellite. While MODIS collects enough data to make a new global map of cloudiness every day, this version of the map shows an average of all of the satellite’s cloud observations between July 2002 and April 2015. Colors range from dark blue (no clouds) to light blue (some clouds) to white (frequent clouds). Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Kevin Ward, using data provided by the MODIS Atmosphere Science Team, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center #nasa #space #earth #earthrightnow #clouds #oceans #science; -
We found evidence that a massive star exploded in a lopsided fashion, sending ejected material flying in one direction and the core of the star in the other. The findings offer the best proof yet that star explosions of this type, called Type II or core-collapse supernovae, are inherently asymmetrical, a phenomenon that had been difficult to prove before now. The still unraveling remains of supernova 1987A are shown here in this image taken by our Hubble Space Telescope. The bright ring consists of material ejected from the dying star before it detonated. The ring is being lit up by the explosion's shock wave. Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA @nasa #nasabeyond #nustar #supernova #star #hubble #science; -
Just how big was yesterday’s solar flare? Well, compare it to the size of Earth. The X2.7 class solar flare flashed on the edge of the sun on May 5, 2015. This image was captured by our Solar Dynamics Observatory and shows a blend of light from different wavelengths. The Earth is shown to scale. 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. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO #nasa #nasabeyond #space #sun #sdo #solarflare #science; -
We captured these images of a significant solar flare using our Solar Dynamics Observatory – as seen in the bright flash on the left – peaking at 6:11 p.m. EDT on May 5, 2015. Each image shows a different wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights a different temperature of material on the sun. By comparing different images, scientists can better understand the movement of solar matter and energy during a 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. Image Credit: NASA/SDO/Wiessinger #nasa #sun #solarflare #sdo #nasabeyond #science; -
Astronomers set a new galaxy distance record! This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the farthest spectroscopically confirmed galaxy observed to date (inset). It was identified in this Hubble image of a field of galaxies in the CANDELS survey (Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey). NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope also observed the unique galaxy. The W. M. Keck Observatory was used to obtain a spectroscopic redshift (z=7.7), extending the previous redshift record. Measurements of the stretching of light, or redshift, give the most reliable distances to other galaxies. This source is thus currently the most distant confirmed galaxy known, and it appears to also be one of the brightest and most massive sources at that time. The galaxy existed over 13 billion years ago. The near-infrared light image of the galaxy (inset) has been colored blue as suggestive of its young, and hence very blue, stars. The CANDELS field is a combination of visible-light and near-infrared exposures. Credits: NASA, ESA, P. Oesch (#Yale U.) #hst #nasa #hubble #esa #galaxy #astronomy #spitzer #keck #space #science;
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Flying by the "Death Star" Moon! In this view captured by our Cassini spacecraft on its closest-ever flyby of Saturn's moon Mimas, large Herschel Crater dominates Mimas, making the moon look like the Death Star in the movie "Star Wars." May the 4th Be With You! Image Credit: NASA #nasa #space #saturn #maythe4thbewithyou #happystarwarsday #moon; -
Tatooine? No, it's Kepler-16b, illustrated in this artist concept. The existence of a world with a double sunset, as portrayed in the film Star Wars more than 30 years ago, is now scientific fact. Our Kepler mission has made the first unambiguous detection of a circumbinary planet - a planet orbiting two stars - 200 light-years from Earth. Unlike Star Wars' Tatooine, the planet is cold, gaseous and not thought to harbor life, but its discovery demonstrates the diversity of planets in our galaxy. Previous research has hinted at the existence of circumbinary planets, but clear confirmation proved elusive. Kepler detected such a planet by observing transits, where the brightness of a parent star dims from the planet crossing in front of it. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #kepler #space #astronomy#maythe4thbewithyou #happystarwarsday #science; -
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... The unusual spiral galaxy, Messier 66, is located at a distance of about 35 million light-years in the constellation of Leo. Together with Messier 65 and NGC 3628, Messier 66 is the member of the Leo Triplet, a trio of interacting spiral galaxies, part of the larger Messier 66 group. Messier 66 wins in size over its fellow triplets - it is about 100 000 light-years across. Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgement: Davide De Martin and Robert Gendler #nasa #hubble #space #astronomy #maythe4thbewithyou#happystarwarsday #science #hst #galaxy; -
Aboard the International Space Station, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti posted this image at the end of the day Friday and wrote, "Good night from #space. Buona notte dallo spazio." Last week the station astronauts continued preparing for the next round of robotic refueling demonstrations while conducting various biomedical experiments and checkouts. Image Credit: NASA/ESA #iss #nasa #esa #spacestation #earth; -
Enjoy mesmerizing views of our sun: Over a six-hour period on April 21, 2015, our Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed a wing-like prominence eruption from our sun. SDO views the sun in various wavelengths of the extreme ultraviolet, including 171 (shown in gold) and 304 (shown in orange) angstroms. Credit: NASA/SDO #sun #solar #nasa #space #sdo #eruption #uv;
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Hubble Eyes Galactic Refurbishment: The smudge of stars at the center of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is a galaxy known as UGC 5797. UGC 5797 is an emission line galaxy, meaning that it is currently undergoing active star formation. The result is a stellar population that is constantly being refurbished as massive bright blue stars form. Galaxies with prolific star formation are not only veiled in a blue tint, but are key to the continuation of a stellar cycle. In this image UGC 5797 appears in front of a background of spiral galaxies. Spiral galaxies have copious amounts of dust and gas - the main ingredient for stars - and therefore often also belong to the class of emission line galaxies. Spiral galaxies have disk-like shapes that drastically vary in appearance depending on the angle at which they are observed. The collection of spiral galaxies in this frame exhibits this attribute acutely: Some are viewed face-on, revealing the structure of the spiral arms, while the two in the bottom left are seen edge-on, appearing as plain streaks in the sky. There are many spiral galaxies, with varying colors and at different angles, sprinkled across this image - just take a look. European Space Agency Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Luca Limatola #hubble #nasa #space #science; -
Today at 3:26 p.m. EDT, a new crater was created on this region of Mercury's surface when our MESSENGER spacecraft slammed into the planet at about 8,750 mph! Among its many accomplishments, the MESSENGER mission determined Mercury's surface composition, revealed its geological history, discovered its internal magnetic field is offset from the planet's center, and verified its polar deposits are dominantly water ice. The large, 400-kilometer-diameter (250-mile-diameter), impact basin "Shakespeare" occupies the bottom left quarter of this image, acquired by the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS) and Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA) instruments aboard the spacecraft. The image is coded by topography. The tallest regions are colored red and are roughly 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) higher than low-lying areas such as the floors of impact craters, colored blue. The large crater on the left side of the image is "Janacek," with a diameter of 48 kilometers (30 miles). The Shakespeare impact basin is filled with smooth plains material, likely due to extensive lava flooding in the past. As of 24 hours before the impact, the current best estimates predict that the spacecraft will strike a ridge slightly to the northeast of Shakespeare. View this image to see more details of the predicted impact site and time. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington #nasa #mercury #messenger #nasabeyond #space #science; -
We captured possible 'screams' from zombie stars! Peering into the heart of the Milky Way galaxy, our Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) has spotted a mysterious glow of high-energy X-rays that, according to scientists, could be the "howls" of dead stars as they feed on stellar companions. The center of our Milky Way galaxy is bustling with young and old stars, smaller black holes and other varieties of stellar corpses - all swarming around a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*. Astronomers have four potential theories to explain the baffling X-ray glow, three of which involve different classes of stellar corpses. When stars die, they don't always go quietly into the night. Unlike stars like our sun, collapsed dead stars that belong to stellar pairs, or binaries, can siphon matter from their companions. This zombie-like "feeding" process differs depending on the nature of the normal star, but the result may be an eruption of X-rays. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech #nasa #nustar #galaxy #astronomy #milkyway #blackhole #science; -
Unmasking the Secrets of Mercury Scientists have worked to learn more about the minerals and surface processes on Mercury using instruments on the MESSENGER spacecraft to diligently collect single tracks of spectral surface measurements since entering Mercury orbit on March 17, 2011. The track coverage is now extensive enough that the spectral properties of both broad terrains and small, distinct features such as pyroclastic vents and fresh craters can be studied. The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the solar system's innermost planet. In the mission's more than four years of orbital operations, MESSENGER has acquired over 250,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER's highly successful orbital mission is about to come to an end, as the spacecraft runs out of propellant and the force of solar gravity causes it to impact the surface of Mercury near the end of April 2015. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington #Mercury #MESSENGER #NASA #space #Planets #SolarSystem #Planet; -
This galaxy goes by the name of ESO 162-17 and is located about 40 million light-years away in the constellation of Carina. At first glance this image seems like a fairly standard picture of a galaxy with dark patches of dust and bright patches of young, blue stars. However, a closer look reveals several peculiar features. Firstly, ESO 162-17 is what is known as a peculiar galaxy — a galaxy that has gone through interactions with its cosmic neighbors, resulting in an unusual amount of dust and gas, an irregular shape, or a strange composition. Secondly, on February 23, 2010 astronomers observed the supernova known as SN 2010ae nestled within this galaxy. The supernova belongs to a recently discovered class of supernovae called Type Iax supernovae. This class of objects is related to the better known Type-Ia supernovae. Type Ia supernovae result when a white dwarf accumulates enough mass either from a companion or, rarely, through collision with another white dwarf, to initiate a catastrophic collapse followed by a spectacular explosion as a supernova. Type Iax supernovae also involve a white dwarf as the central star, but in this case it may survive the event. Type Iax supernovae are much fainter and rarer than Type Ia supernovae, and their exact mechanism is still a matter of open debate. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA #Hubble #Telescope #NASA #space #HST #stars;
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