PRESIDENT OBAMA SPEAKS AT THE KENNEDY CENTER HONORS RECEPTION

PERSPECTIVE OF GALAXY NGC 7914

FROM:  NASA 

Caption Credit:  NASA.  Galaxies can take many shapes and be oriented any way relative to us in the sky. This can make it hard to figure out their actual morphology, as a galaxy can look very different from different viewpoints. A special case is when we are lucky enough to observe a spiral galaxy directly from its edge, providing us with a spectacular view like the one seen in this picture of the week. This is NGC 7814, also known as the “Little Sombrero.” Its larger namesake, the Sombrero Galaxy, is another stunning example of an edge-on galaxy — in fact, the “Little Sombrero” is about the same size as its bright namesake at about 60,000 light-years across, but as it lies farther away, and so appears smaller in the sky. NGC 7814 has a bright central bulge and a bright halo of glowing gas extending outwards into space. The dusty spiral arms appear as dark streaks. They consist of dusty material that absorbs and blocks light from the galactic center behind it. The field of view of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image would be very impressive even without NGC 7814 in front; nearly all the objects seen in this image are galaxies as well. European Space Agency Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Acknowledgement: Josh Barrington.

Lagoon of tears

Lagoon of tears

ESA minisatellites to follow Europe’s solar eclipse

ESA minisatellites to follow Europe’s solar eclipse

Crossing the boundary from high to low on Mars

Crossing the boundary from high to low on Mars

Space as never seen before

Space as never seen before

Testing astronauts’ lungs in Space Station airlock

Testing astronauts’ lungs in Space Station airlock

Scanning Earth, saving lives

Scanning Earth, saving lives

DELTA II SMAP OBSERVATORY LAUNCH

FROM:  NASA 

Caption Credit:  NASA.  A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory onboard is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launches from Space Launch Complex 2, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. SMAP is NASA’s first Earth-observing satellite designed to collect global observations of surface soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. SMAP will provide high resolution global measurements of soil moisture from space. The data will be used to enhance scientists' understanding of the processes that link Earth's water, energy, and carbon cycles. )Photo Credit-NASA-Bill Ingalls.

Bolden testifies about budget on This Week @NASA

Week In Images

Week In Images

躍動する磁気圏 磁場から宇宙の謎にせまる

Scanning Earth, saving lives

Scanning Earth, saving lives

ESA experts assess risk from exploded satellite

ESA experts assess risk from exploded satellite

Space Station Crew Participates in First Lady’s “GimmeFive” Challenge