Romanian mosaic

Romanian mosaic

European astronomers spot faint asteroid

European astronomers spot faint asteroid

On solid ground

On solid ground

Europe’s 3D printer set for Space Station

Europe’s 3D printer set for Space Station

SUN SPOTS IN THE ULTRA EXTREME

FROM:  NASA

The sun emitted a significant solar flare on Oct. 19, 2014, peaking at 1:01 a.m. EDT. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which is always observing the sun, captured this image of the event in extreme ultraviolet wavelength of 131 Angstroms – a wavelength that can see the intense heat of a flare and that is typically colorized in teal. This flare is classified as an X1.1-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 flare is twice as intense as an X1, and an X3 is three times as intense. 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. > More: NASA's SDO Observes an X-class Solar Flare.  Image Credit-NASA-Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Thanksgiving Message from the International Space Station

SOYUZ ROCKET ROLLS OUT

FROM:  NASA

Caption Credit:  NASA.  Expedition 42 Soyuz Rocket Rolls Out.  The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft is rolled out to the launch pad by train on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.  Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Nov. 24 and will carry Expedition 42 Soyuz Commander Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA , and Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station.  Image Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani.

Cosmic lighthouse

Cosmic lighthouse

SUPERNOVA EXPLOSION FROM CHANDRA'S X-RAY OBSERVATORY AND ESA'S XMM-NEWTON

FROM:  NASA

 The destructive results of a powerful supernova explosion reveal themselves in a delicate tapestry of X-ray light, as seen in this image from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton. The image shows the remains of a supernova that would have been witnessed on Earth about 3,700 years ago. The remnant is called Puppis A, and is around 7,000 light years away and about 10 light years across. This image provides the most complete and detailed X-ray view of Puppis A ever obtained, made by combining a mosaic of different Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. Low-energy X-rays are shown in red, medium-energy X-rays are in green and high energy X-rays are colored blue. These observations act as a probe of the gas surrounding Puppis A, known as the interstellar medium. The complex appearance of the remnant shows that Puppis A is expanding into an interstellar medium that probably has a knotty structure. Supernova explosions forge the heavy elements that can provide the raw material from which future generations of stars and planets will form. Studying how supernova remnants expand into the galaxy and interact with other material provides critical clues into our own origins. A paper describing these results was published in the July 2013 issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics and is available online. The first author is Gloria Dubner from the Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio in Buenos Aires in Argentina. Image credit: NASA/CXC/IAFE/G.Dubner et al & ESA/XMM-Newton.

Week In Images

Week In Images

Megacity

Megacity

Game Changing Development Demonstration Video 2014

Sea Ice Thickness Comparison: 1979 vs 2013

Secrets of space success

Secrets of space success

Secrets of space success

Secrets of space success