Looking Up at Mars Rover Curiosity (@MarsCuriosity) in 'Buckskin' Selfie: This low-angle self-portrait of our Curiosity Mars rover shows the vehicle at the site from which it reached down to drill into a rock target called "Buckskin" on lower Mount Sharp. The selfie combines several component images taken by Curiosity's Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) on Aug. 5, 2015, during the 1,065th Martian day, or sol, of the rover's work on Mars. For scale, the rover's wheels are 20 inches (50 centimeters) in diameter and about 16 inches (40 centimeters) wide. A close look reveals a small rock stuck onto Curiosity's left middle wheel (on the right in this head-on view). MAHLI is mounted at the end of the rover's robotic arm. For this self-portrait, the rover team positioned the camera lower in relation to the rover body than for any previous full self-portrait of Curiosity. This yielded a view that includes the rover's "belly." Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS #nasa #mls #mars #marscuriosity #space #planet #nasabeyond #selfie #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 7,485

Here we see the spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427 - more commonly known as WR 124 - and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it. Both objects, captured here by the Hubble Space Telescope are found in the constellation of Sagittarius and lie 15,000 light-years away. The star Hen 2-427 shines brightly at the very center of this explosive image and around the hot clumps of surrounding gas that are being ejected into space at over 93,210 miles (150,000 km) per hour. Hen 2-427 is a Wolf-Rayet star, named after the astronomers Charles Wolf and Georges Rayet. Wolf-Rayet are super-hot stars characterized by a fierce ejection of mass. The nebula M1-67 is estimated to be no more than 10,000 years old - just a baby in astronomical terms - but what a beautiful and magnificent sight it makes. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt #nasa #astronomy #star #hubble #hst #hubble25 #nebula #nasabeyond #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 13,114

This view from our Cassini spacecraft looks toward Saturn's icy moon Dione, with giant Saturn and its rings in the background, just prior to the mission's final close approach to the moon on Aug. 17, 2015. At lower right is the large, multi-ringed impact basin named Evander, which is about 220 miles (350 kilometers) wide. The canyons of Padua Chasma, features that form part of Dione's bright, wispy terrain, reach into the darkness at left. Imaging scientists combined nine visible light (clear spectral filter) images to create this mosaic view: eight from the narrow-angle camera and one from the wide-angle camera, which fills in an area at lower left. The scene is an orthographic projection centered on terrain at 0.2 degrees north latitude, 179 degrees west longitude on Dione. An orthographic view is most like the view seen by a distant observer looking through a telescope. North on Dione is up. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute #nasa #saturn #moon #dione #nasabeyond #solarsystem #space #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 17,266

Aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly (@stationcdrkelly) shared this image today of Hurricane Danny, which is in the Atlantic. Kelly wrote, "#HurricaneDanny Keeping an eye on you from @ISS. Looks like you're 1st in Atlantic. Stay safe! #YearInSpace." Kelly is living and working off the Earth, for the Earth aboard the station for a yearlong mission. Traveling the world more than 220 miles above the Earth, and at 17,500 mph, he circumnavigates the globe more than a dozen times a day. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #iss #spacestation #space #isscrew #storm #hurricane #danny Instagram ดารา @nasa 47,262

It's National Aviation Day! In honor, here is an image of a glass cockpit from a flight simulator we use to continue developing new cockpit technologies and to make airliners safer and more efficient. We originally created and tested the concept of an advanced cockpit that replaced dials and gauges with flat panel digital displays. Glass cockpits are in use everywhere today on commercial, military and general aviation aircraft. National Aviation Day is in honor of Orville Wright's birthday, directing citizens to celebrate the day with activities that encourage an interest and appreciation for aviation. With heritage in aviation research going back more than 100 years, we've helped air travel become a safe, reliable form of transportation. Image Credit: NASA Langley/Sean Smith #nasa #nasaaero #cockpit #aeronautics #NationalAviationDay #flynasa Instagram ดารา @nasa 42,513

Aurora's Colorful Veil Over Earth: NASA astronaut Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) shared this photograph on social media, taken from the International Space Station on Aug. 15. Kelly wrote, "#Aurora trailing a colorful veil over Earth this morning. Good morning from @ISS! #YearInSpace" The dancing lights of the aurora provide spectacular views, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from the sun. Aurora are one effect of such energetic particles, which can speed out from the sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind and due to giant eruptions known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs. After a trip toward Earth that can last two to three days, the solar particles and magnetic fields cause the release of particles already trapped near Earth, which in turn trigger reactions in the upper atmosphere in which oxygen and nitrogen molecules release photons of light. The result: the Northern and Southern lights. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #aurora #space #earth #science #iss #spacestation #yearinspace Instagram ดารา @nasa 44,424

Saturn's Moon Dione: Our Cassini spacecraft zipped past Saturn's moon Dione today -- the final close flyby of this icy satellite during the spacecraft's long mission. While not bursting with activity like its system sister Enceladus, the surface of Dione is definitely not boring. Some parts of the surface are covered by linear features, called chasmata, which provide dramatic contrast to the round impact craters that typically cover moons. The bright network of fractures on Dione (698 miles or 1123 kilometers across) was seen originally at poor resolution in Voyager images and was labeled as "wispy terrain." The nature of this terrain was unclear until Cassini showed that they weren't surface deposits of frost, as some had suspected, but rather a pattern of bright icy cliffs among myriad fractures. One possibility is that this stress pattern may be related to Dione's orbital evolution and the effect of tidal stresses over time. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute #nasa #space #cassini #saturn #dione #moon #astronomy #science #nasabeyond Instagram ดารา @nasa 49,242

Hubble Sees a "Mess of Stars" - Bursts of pink and red, dark lanes of mottled cosmic dust, and a bright scattering of stars - this Hubble Space Telescope image shows part of a messy barred spiral galaxy known as NGC 428. It lies approximately 48 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Cetus (The Sea Monster). Overall NGC 428's spiral structure appears to be quite distorted and warped, thought to be a result of a collision between two galaxies. Image credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA and S. Smartt (Queen's University Belfast) #nasa #hubble #hubble25 #hst #nasabeyond #galaxy #space #stars #astronomy #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 26,890

The Landsat 8 satellite captured images of algal blooms around the Great Lakes, visible as swirls of green in this image of Lake St. Clair and in western Lake Erie. Earlier in July, NOAA scientists predicted that the 2015 season for harmful algal blooms would be severe in western Lake Erie. Algae in this basin thrive when there is an abundance of nutrients (many from agricultural runoff) and sunlight, as well as warm water temperatures. The season runs through summer and peaks in September. Harmful algal blooms can lead to fish kills. They also can affect the safety of water for recreation and for consumption (as was the case in Toledo, Ohio, and southeast Michigan during a 2014 bloom). As of July 30, 2015, drinking water was reported to be safe in these areas. Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey #nasa #earth #earthrightnow #greatlakes #lakeerie #landsat #noaa #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 11,606

At 5 p.m. EDT an RS-25 engine roared to life during a 535-second test in which it reached 109% power and burned 150,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and 60,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen. The RS-25 developmental engine reached temperatures of 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit during the firing on the historic A-1 test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Operators are conducting the test series to qualify an all-new engine controller and put the upgraded former space shuttle main engines through the rigorous temperature and pressure conditions they will experience during a SLS mission. One final test of this RS-25 developmental engine is planned in this series; testing of flight engines begins later this fall. SLS will launch astronauts in the Orion spacecraft on missions to deep space and eventually on the journey to Mars. An initial 70-metric-ton (77-ton) SLS configuration will use four RS-25 engines for the core stage, along with two five-segment solid rocket boosters, providing more lift to orbit than any current launch vehicle. Video credit: NASA #nasa #journeytomars #rs-25 #sls #spacelaunchsystem #mars #space Instagram ดารา @nasa 13,467

The Perseid meteor shower is caused by debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle as it swings through the inner solar system and ejects a trail of dust and gravel along its orbit. When the Earth passes through the debris, specs of comet-stuff hit the atmosphere at 140,000 mph and disintegrate in flashes of light. Meteors from this comet are called Perseids because they seem to fly out of the constellation Perseus. Last year, this meteor shower peaked during a bright “supermoon”, so visibility was reduced. Luckily, this year, the show was especially awesome because the Moon is nearly new when the shower peaked on Aug. 12-13, 2015. In this 30 second exposure, a meteor streaks across the sky during the annual Perseid meteor shower Aug. 13, 2015, in Spruce Knob, West Virginia. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls #perseids #meteorshower #nasa #space #sky #nightsky #perseid #meteors #stars Instagram ดารา @nasa 67,268

NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly shared this incredible video last night, August 11, showing “our galactic home” with the stars of the Milky Way. Kelly is living and working off the Earth, for the Earth aboard the station for a yearlong mission. Traveling the world more than 220 miles above the Earth, and at 17,500 mph, he circumnavigates the globe more than a dozen times a day conducting research about how the body adapts and changes to living in space for a long duration. Video credit: NASA #nasa #spacestation @iss #iss #milkyway #space #stars #nightsky #sky Instagram ดารา @nasa 57,224

Darkness descending... Saturn's unusual appearance in this picture is a result of the planet being imaged via an infrared filter. Infrared images can help scientists determine the location of clouds in the planet's atmosphere. In this image, Cassini's wide-angle camera used a filter which is especially sensitive to infrared wavelengths that are absorbed by methane. Methane is not a major component of Saturn's atmosphere, but enough of it is present to make a difference in how much light is reflected by different clouds. The darker areas reveal clouds that are lower in the atmosphere, therefore under more methane. Bright areas on Saturn are higher altitude clouds. Scientists think that these lower-altitude clouds are in regions where "air" is descending while the higher-altitude clouds are in regions where air is rising. Thus, images like this one can help us map the vertical air movements on Saturn. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute #nasa #nasabeyond #cassini #space #solarsystem #saturn #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 32,790

That’s one small bite for a man, one giant leaf for mankind: Today, astronauts Scott Kelly, Kjell Lindgren and Kimiya Yui of Japan sample the fruits of their labor after harvesting a crop of “Outredgeous” red romaine lettuce from the Veggie plant growth system on the International Space Station. They are the first people to eat food grown in space. We’re maturing Veggie technology aboard the space station to provide future pioneers with a sustainable food supplement – a critical part of our Journey to Mars. As we move toward long-duration exploration missions farther into the solar system, Veggie will be a resource for crew food growth and consumption. It also could be used by astronauts for recreational gardening activities during deep space missions. Credit: NASA #iss space spacestation nasa journeytomars yearinspace Instagram ดารา @nasa 34,016

Before drifting off to sleep tonight aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly (@stationcdrkelly) posted this image and wrote, "Day 135. #MilkyWay. You're old, dusty, gassy and warped. But beautiful. Good night from @ISS! #YearInSpace" Kelly is living and working off the Earth, for the Earth aboard the station for a yearlong mission. Traveling the world more than 220 miles above the Earth, and at 17,500 mph, he circumnavigates the globe more than a dozen times a day. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #iss #spacestation #space #isscrew Instagram ดารา @nasa 33,841

Hubble Finds a Little Gem: This colorful bubble is a planetary nebula called NGC 6818, also known as the Little Gem Nebula. It is located in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer), roughly 6,000 light-years away from us. The rich glow of the cloud is just over half a light-year across - humongous compared to its tiny central star - but still a little gem on a cosmic scale. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt #nasa #hubble #hst #hubble25 #nasabeyond #space #nebula #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 64,838

Aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly (@stationcdrkelly) posted this image and wrote, "The view out my window this morning. #Typhoon #Soudelor still looking ominous from @ISS. #YearInSpace." Clouds in Typhoon Soudelor's western quadrant were already spreading over Taiwan early on Aug. 7. Soudelor is expected to make landfall and cross central Taiwan today and make a second landfall in eastern China. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #iss #spacestation #space #storm Instagram ดารา @nasa 47,922

Stormy Seas in Sagittarius: Some of the most breathtaking views in the Universe are created by nebulae - hot, glowing clouds of gas. This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the center of the Lagoon Nebula, an object with a deceptively tranquil name, in the constellation of Sagittarius. The region is filled with intense winds from hot stars, churning funnels of gas, and energetic star formation, all embedded within an intricate haze of gas and pitch-dark dust. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Trauger (Jet Propulson Laboratory) #nasa #hubble #hst #hubble25 #nasabeyond #space #nebula #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 35,276

The far side of the moon, illuminated by the sun, is seen as it crosses between our 'EPIC' camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite, and the Earth - one million miles away. This image was captured by NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope on the DSCOVR satellite orbiting 1 million miles from Earth. From its position between the sun and Earth, DSCOVR conducts its primary mission of real-time solar wind monitoring for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Image credit: NASA/NOAA #nasa #dscovr #satellite #moon #earth #millionmiles #space @NOAA #epic #lunar Instagram ดารา @nasa 36,895

The largest and most powerful hurricanes ever recorded on Earth spanned over 1,000 miles across with winds gusting up to around 200 mph. That's wide enough to stretch across nearly all U.S. states east of Texas. But even that kind of storm is dwarfed by the Great Red Spot, a gigantic storm in Jupiter. There, gigantic means twice as wide as Earth. With tumultuous winds peaking at about 400 mph, the Great Red Spot has been swirling wildly over Jupiter's skies for the past 150 years-maybe even much longer than that. While people saw a big spot in Jupiter as early as they started stargazing through telescopes in the 1600s, it is still unclear whether they were looking at a different storm. Today, scientists know the Great Red Spot is there and it's been there for a while, but they still struggle to learn what causes its swirl of reddish hues. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #space #jupiter #earth #nasabeyond #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 37,672