Surface features on Saturn's moon Rhea - mostly impact craters in this image - are thrown into sharp relief thanks to long shadows. Viewing this terrain near the day/night terminator makes it easier to appreciate just how violent Rhea's geological history has been. The craters on Rhea (949 miles, or 1,527 kilometers across) are the result of 4.6 billion years of bombardment by small bodies. With very little erosion, the scars and craters remain unless they are overwritten by other, newer impacts. This view looks toward the anti-Saturn hemisphere of Rhea. North on Rhea is up and rotated 11 degrees to the right. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on Feb. 10, 2015. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 47,000 miles (76,000 kilometers) from Rhea. Image scale is 1,500 feet (460 meters) per pixel. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute Instagram ดารา @nasa 26,848
Aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Terry Virts posted this image today and wrote, "Our interstellar home the Milky Way galaxy. With the long camera exposure it makes #Earth look like #Venus." 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 1.5 million photographs of the Earth. Today, the International Space Station continues our tradition of Earth observation from human-tended spacecraft. Operational since November 2000, the @ISS is well suited for documenting Earth features. The station maintains an altitude between 220 - 286 miles (354 - 460 km) above the Earth, and an orbital inclination of 51.6˚, providing an excellent stage for observing most populated areas of the world. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #space #iss #spacestation #milkyway #galaxy #earth Instagram ดารา @nasa 7,142
In the clouds of Jupiter, scientists have found evidence of a type of atmospheric wave that had long been proposed but had not been identified in images before now. Researchers consider this kind of wave, called a Kelvin wave, a fundamental part of a planetary atmosphere, so the absence of one on Jupiter has long been a mystery. Image: This is a montage of New Horizons images of Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io, taken during the spacecraft's Jupiter flyby in early 2007. Credit: NASA/JHU/APL #nasa #io #jupiter #planets #space #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 37,859
Young and Dynamic Elliptical Galaxy: This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows an elliptical galaxy called NGC 2865. It lies just over 100 million light-years away from us in the constellation of Hydra - The Sea Serpent - and was discovered in 1835 by astronomer John Herschel. Elliptical galaxies are usually filled with old, dying stars. NGC 2865, however, is relatively youthful and dynamic, with a rapidly rotating disk full of young stars and metal-rich gas. For an elliptical galaxy it contains an unusually high number of young stars - suggesting that a galaxy-wide starburst took place about one billion years ago. The starburst itself was induced by a merger between a spiral galaxy, similar to our galaxy, the Milky Way, and an elliptical galaxy some three times more massive - the progenitor galaxy of NGC 2865. The new gas from the spiral galaxy revitalized the dying population of old stars in the elliptical galaxy, and several new generations of stars were born. The faint halo surrounding the galaxy, visible in this image, is also a result of this merger. It consists of cold gas that was ripped away from the spiral galaxy during the merging process. The gas now forms an almost closed shell around its host galaxy. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA #nasa #space #galaxy #hubble #hst #galaxy #telescope #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 6,307
Death Star: The destruction of a planet may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but a team of astronomers has found evidence that this may have happened in an ancient cluster of stars at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. Using several telescopes, including our Chandra X-ray Observatory, researchers have found evidence that a white dwarf star - the dense core of a star like the sun that has run out of nuclear fuel - may have ripped apart a planet as it came too close. When a star reaches its white dwarf stage, nearly all of the material from the star is packed inside a radius one hundredth that of the original star. This means that, for close encounters, the gravitational pull of the star and the associated tides, caused by the difference in gravity's pull on the near and far side of the planet, are greatly enhanced. For example, the gravity at the surface of a white dwarf is over ten thousand times higher than the gravity at the surface of the Sun. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/IASF Palermo/M.Del Santo et al; NASA/STScI #nasa #space #astronomy #chandra #star #milkyway #galaxy #science Instagram ดารา @nasa 5,003
Aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Terry Virts posted this photo April 3 and simply wrote, Earth.' The space station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that enables us to demonstrate new technologies and make research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. It has been continuously occupied since November 2000 and, since then, has been visited by more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The @ISS remains the springboard to our next giant leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars. Credit: NASA #iss #nasa #space #space station #astronauts #moon #earth Instagram ดารา @nasa 28,929
Honoring Jackie Robinson: "Honoring #JackieRobinson today! #42" wrote NASA astronaut Terry Virts, wearing a replica Jackie Robinson jersey on orbit in the cupola of the International Space Station. April 15, which was baseball's opening day in 1947, has now come to commemorate Jackie Robinson's memorable career and his place in history as the first black major league baseball player in the modern era. He made history with the Brooklyn Dodgers (now the Los Angeles Dodgers) and he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #jackierobinson #jackie42 #JackieRobinsonDay #42 #space #iss #spacestation Instagram ดารา @nasa 27,370
And liftoff! A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the Dragon resupply spacecraft on the sixth commercial resupply services mission to @ISS. Liftoff was at 4:10 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, April 14. Research that will help prepare our astronauts and robotic explorers for future missions to Mars is among the two tons of cargo on its way to the International Space Station aboard Dragon. Dragon's cargo will support approximately 40 of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will be performed during Expeditions 43 and 44, including numerous human research investigations for NASA astronaut Scott Kelly's one-year mission in space. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett #nasa #space #spacex #iss #spacestation #isscargo #launchamerica #falcon9 #dragon #yearinspace Instagram ดารา @nasa 16,836
It's launch day for our International Space Station (@ISS) cargo resupply flight. The weather forecast continue to predict a 60 percent of favorable conditions for today's launch. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is targeted for 4:33 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Dragon spacecraft will be filled with more than 4,300 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support about 40 of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 43 and 44. Science payloads will study new ways to possibly counteract the microgravity-induced cell damage seen during spaceflight, the effects of microgravity on the most common cells in bones, gather new insight that could lead to treatments for osteoporosis and muscle wasting conditions, continue studies into astronaut vision changes and test a new material that could one day be used as a synthetic muscle for robotics explorers of the future. Also making the trip will be a new espresso machine for space station crews. After five weeks at the space station, the spacecraft will return with more than 3,000 pounds of cargo, including crew supplies, hardware and computer resources, science experiments, space station hardware, and trash. Image Credit: NASA #nasa #iss #isscargo #space #spacestation #spacex #launch #science #technology Instagram ดารา @nasa 12,611
Many of Hubble's most iconic images reveal majestic nebulae in the nearby universe. These observations advance our understanding of how gas and dust come together to form nebulae, and how these nebulae become the sites for newborn star and planetary systems. Ken Carpenter, Hubble Operations Project Scientist, talks about his favorite Hubble image of the Carina Nebula. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 9,312
From supermassive black holes at galactic centers to giant bursts of star formation to titanic collisions between galaxies, Hubble Space Telescope discoveries allow astronomers to probe the current properties of galaxies as well as examine how they formed and developed. Jennifer Wiseman, Senior Project Scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope, talks about her favorite Hubble image of the NGC 1309 spiral galaxy. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 11,819
The keen eye of the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed intricate details of the shapes, structures and histories of galaxies — whether alone, as part of small groups or within vast clusters. Jane Rigby, Astrophysicist at Goddard Space Flight Center, talks about her favorite Hubble image, galaxy cluster RCS2 032727-132623. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 15,345
The Hubble Space Telescope has a major impact in every realm of astronomy, from the solar system to the edge of the universe. Andrea Razzaghi, NASA HQ Astrophysics division deputy director, on why Hubble’s images are important. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 3,181
One of the Hubble Space Telescope’s greatest triumphs has been the clear view it has given of very distant galaxies. Is going to space worth the trouble? Paul Hertz, NASA HQ Astrophysics division director, talks about how Hubble completely changed his mind. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 9,753
Over the last 25 years, Hubble has revealed properties of space and time that for most of human history were only probed in the imaginations of scientists and philosophers alike. Today, Hubble continues to provide views of cosmic wonders never before seen and is at the forefront of many new discoveries. Mike Garcia, NASA Headquarters Hubble Project Scientist, talks about the significance of Hubble. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 15,292
Since launching in 1990, Hubble has far exceeded its original science goals and unveiled an even more complex and mysterious universe than once envisioned. It has inspired the world and sparked humanity’s natural curiosity. “We are the Hubble generation, and our world is bigger than our planet.” Debra Wallace, NASA HQ Deputy Project Scientist. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 15,830
The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most powerful scientific instruments ever conceived. Hubble’s most important discoveries have provided answers to questions that astronomers did not yet know how to ask, and found objects that were not yet imagined. Kate Whitaker, NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, talks about one of Hubble’s greatest achievements. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 5,958
Since launching 25 years ago this month, Hubble has reinvigorated and reshaped our perception of the cosmos and uncovered a universe where almost anything seems possible within the laws of physics. Amber Straughn, Astrophysicist at Goddard Space Flight Center, talks about her favorite Hubble image. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 9,148
Hubble celebrates its 25th Anniversary on April 24! Dr. John Grunsfeld, Astronaut and Assistant Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, speaks on Hubble’s success, thanks to teamwork. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 23,651
Happy Birthday Hubble! This weekend, we’re celebrating some of the stories behind 25 years of the Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope is credited with discovering many distant galaxies, confirming the existence of supermassive black holes in galactic centers, and discovering birthplaces of stars, relaying images almost too mind-boggling to comprehend. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden piloted the space shuttle Discovery that brought Hubble into orbit 25 years ago. #Hubble25 Instagram ดารา @nasa 4,534
