The Cygnus Wall of Star Formation
Sometimes, stars form in walls—bright walls of interstellar gas. In this vivid skyscape, stars are forming in the W-shaped ridge of emission known as the Cygnus Wall. Part of a larger emission nebula with a distinctive outline popularly called The North America Nebula, the cosmic ridge spans about 20 light-years. Constructed using narrowband data to highlight the telltale reddish glow from ionized hydrogen atoms recombining with electrons, the image mosaic follows an ionization front with fine details of dark, dusty forms in silhouette. Sculpted by energetic radiation from the region's young, hot, massive stars, the dark shapes inhabiting the view are clouds of cool gas and dust with stars likely forming within. The North America Nebula itself, NGC 7000, is about 1,500 light-years away.

Image Credit & Copyright: Sara Wager
Release Date: October 11, 2016

+Astronomy Picture of the Day (APoD) 

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Nebula #NorthAmerica #NGC7000 #Cosmos #Universe #APoD #STEM #Education

#NASA #YoutubeLive 

Hearing: Are We Losing the Space Race to China? | U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology [Video]

The United States: Are We Losing the Space Race to China?

Witnesses
Hon. Dennis C. Shea
Chairman, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission

Mr. Mark Stokes
Executive Director, Project 2049 Institute

Mr. Dean Cheng
Senior Research Fellow, Asian Studies Center, Heritage Foundation

Dr. James Lewis
Senior Vice President and Director, Strategic Technologies Program, Center for Strategic & International Studies

https://science.house.gov/legislation/hearings/space-subcommittee-hearing-are-we-losing-space-race-china

Credit: U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Duration: 90 minutes
Release Date: Sept. 27, 2016

+Charles Bolden Jr. 
+NASA Johnson Space Center 
+The White House 
+Barack Obama 
+Science Democrats 
+Center for Strategic & International Studies 
+The Heritage Foundation 

#NASA #Space #ISS #Science #Technology #Leadership #Exploration #Mars #Moon #Europa #SolarSystem #Astronomy #Human #Spaceflight #UnitedStates #USA #America #Congress #China #中国 #Government #International #History #Future

#NASA’s Kennedy #Space Center suffers limited damage after brush with Hurricane Matthew AMTV

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida seems to have been spared the worst of #Hurricane #Matthew, after models predicted the area would receive a direct hit.

http://www.amtvmedia.com/nasas-kennedy-space-center-suffers-limited-damage-after-brush-with-hurricane-matthew/

Spiral Galaxy NGC 278: Cassiopeia’s unusual resident | Hubble
This image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, shows a spiral galaxy named NGC 278. This cosmic beauty lies some 38 million light-years away in the northern constellation of Cassiopeia (The Seated Queen).

While NGC 278 may look serene, it is anything but. The galaxy is currently undergoing an immense burst of star formation. This flurry of activity is shown by the unmistakable blue-hued knots speckling the galaxy’s spiral arms, each of which marks a clump of hot newborn stars.

However, NGC 278’s star formation is somewhat unusual; it does not extend to the galaxy’s outer edges, but is only taking place within an inner ring some 6500 light-years across. This two-tiered structure is visible in this image—while the galaxy’s center is bright, its extremities are much darker. This odd configuration is thought to have been caused by a merger with a smaller, gas-rich galaxy—while the turbulent event ignited the center of NGC 278, the dusty remains of the small snack then dispersed into the galaxy’s outer regions. Whatever the cause, such a ring of star formation, called a nuclear ring, is extremely unusual in galaxies without a bar at their center, making NGC 278 a very intriguing sight.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA and S. Smartt (Queen's University Belfast)
Release Date: October 10, 2016

+Hubble Space Telescope 
+European Space Agency, ESA 
+NASA Goddard 
+Space Telescope Science Institute 

#NASA #Hubble #Astronomy #Space #Galaxy #Spiral #NGC278 #Cassiopeia #Cosmos #Universe #STScI #ESA #STEM #Education

The James Webb Space Telescope Close-up | NASA Goddard
During the week of October 3rd, the James Webb Space Telescope was moved to a rotating stand close to the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window in preparation for center of curvature testing. Laser interferometry will be used to measure the alignment of the mirrors both before and after environmental testing. Stay tuned for more detailed information on these upcoming tests.

Credit: NASA/Maggie Masetti
Image Date: October 3, 2016

+James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) 
+European Space Agency, ESA 
+Canadian Space Agency 
+NASA Goddard 
+Space Telescope Science Institute 

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Telescope #JamesWebb
#JWST #Spacecraft #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #Goddard #USA #UnitedStates #NorthropGrumman #Greenbelt #Maryland #STScI #Technology #Engineering #Cosmos #Universe #STEM #Education

Lights of Western Europe | International Space Station
Earth observation taken during a night pass by the Expedition 49 crew aboard the International Space Station. Framed by the docked Soyuz and Progress spacecraft is Western Europe. The bright, dense lights in the East are the Netherlands, Belgium. The dark strip is the Alps

Credit: NASA/JSC
Image Date: September 24, 2016

+European Space Agency, ESA 
+DLR, German Aerospace Center 
+CNES 
+NASA Johnson Space Center 

#NASA #Space #ISS #Earth #Netherlands #Nederland #Belgium #Belgique #Europe #Alps #Planet #Astronauts #Research #Experiments #Science #Spacecraft #Technology #Engineering #UnitedStates #Microgravity #Laboratory #Expedition49 #OrbitalPerspective #OverviewEffect #STEM #Education 

Testing the James Webb Space Telescope | NASA Goddard
During the week of October 3rd, the James Webb Space Telescope was moved to a rotating stand close to the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window in preparation for center of curvature testing. Laser interferometry will be used to measure the alignment of the mirrors both before and after environmental testing. Stay tuned for more detailed information on these upcoming tests.

Here the telescope was lowered backwards to enable work on the back of it.

Credit: NASA/Maggie Masetti
Image Date: October 3, 2016

+James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) 
+European Space Agency, ESA 
+Canadian Space Agency 
+NASA Goddard 
+Space Telescope Science Institute 

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Telescope #JamesWebb
#JWST #Spacecraft #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #Goddard #USA #UnitedStates #NorthropGrumman #Greenbelt #Maryland #STScI #Technology #Engineering #Cosmos #Universe #STEM #Education

NASA's Kennedy Spaceport Magazine for October 2016
KSC October 2016 Spaceport Magazine (Free 17-Page PDF)
www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/spaceport-magazine.html
Direct Download: www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/oct2016.pdf

In the October 2016 issue:

· Student finds inspiration in NASA educational programs

· OSIRIS-Rex launches toward asteroid encounter

· Orion heat shield for next test flight arrives

· Space Launch System launch procedures developed

· Kennedy team welcomes report of Juno’s progress

· Farming in ‘Martian Gardens’ is the future

· Pioneering space requires living off the land

Spaceport Magazine is a monthly NASA publication that serves Kennedy Space Center employees and the American public. The magazine’s wide topic variety mirrors Kennedy's diverse spaceport operations. From launch processing to center development and employee stories, Spaceport Magazine covers it all.

Credit: NASA/Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Release Date: October 4, 2016

+NASA Orion 
+NASA's Kennedy Space Center 
+NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

#NASA #Space #Science #Mars #Orion #SLS #OSIRISREx #Asteroid #Juno #Jupiter #Spacecraft #SolarSystem #Technology #Spaceport #Kennedy #Florida #KSC #USA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education 

NYC from space
Photo via Doug Wheelock

#ISS   #space   #science   #NASA   #astrophotography  

Saturn: In Daylight on the Night Side | NASA Cassini Mission | JPL
Oct. 10, 2016: NASA's Cassini spacecraft looks down at the rings of Saturn from above the planet's nightside. The darkened globe of Saturn is seen here at lower right, along with the shadow it casts across the rings.

The image shows that even on the planet's night side, the rings remain in sunlight, apart from the portion that lies within Saturn's shadow. The rings also reflect sunlight back onto the night side of the planet, making it appear brighter than it would otherwise appear.

Saturn's small moon Prometheus (53 miles or 86 kilometers across) is faintly visible as a speck near upper left. The shadow of Saturn was once long enough to stretch to the orbit of Prometheus. But as northern summer solstice approaches, Saturn's shadow no longer reaches that far. So Prometheus will not move into the darkness of the planet's shadow until the march of the seasons again causes the shadow to lengthen.

This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 41 degrees above the ring plane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Aug. 14, 2016.

The view was obtained at a distance of approximately 870,000 miles (1.4 million kilometers) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 87 degrees. Image scale is 53 miles (86 kilometers) per pixel. Prometheus has been brightened by a factor of two to enhance its visibility.

The Cassini mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (the European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and www.nasa.gov/cassini. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute
Image Date: August 14, 2016
Release Date: October 10, 2016

+NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory 
+NASA Solar System Exploration 
+European Space Agency, ESA 
+Carolyn Porco Fan Page 

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Saturn #Rings #Planet
#Moon #Prometheus #Cassini #Orbiter #Spacecraft #Robotic #JPL #Caltech #ASI #ESA #STEM #Education 

Global-Scale Dust Storm Could Hit #Mars within Months, Warn #NASA Researchers

http://www.sci-news.com/space/planetaryscience/global-scale-dust-storm-mars-04263.html

#space #planetaryscience #science


NASA MinXSS CubeSat Brings New Data to Study of Solar Flares
Along with the visible light and warmth constantly emitted by our sun comes a whole spectrum of X-ray and ultraviolet radiation that streams toward Earth. A new CubeSat—a miniature satellite that provides a low-cost platform for missions—is now in space observing a particular class of X-ray light that has rarely been studied.

On June 9, 2016, the NASA-funded, bread loaf-sized Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer, or MinXSS, CubeSat began science operations, collecting data on soft X-rays. Watch the video to see a low-intensity solar eruption—a solar flare—from July 21, 2016. The flare imagery was captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory; the MinXSS data shown on the right shows the soft X-rays observed in near-Earth space by the CubeSat before and during the flare.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/cNf9fjEnjEo

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/LASP/MinXSS/SDO/Joy Ng, producer

Music credit: "Sagacity" by Christian Telford [ASCAP], David Travis Edwards [ASCAP], Robert Anthony Navarro [ASCAP], from the KillerTracks catalog

Duration: 28 seconds
Release Date: October 7, 2016

+NASA Goddard 
+NASA Goddard Space Weather Research Center 

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Sun #Solar #Flares
#CubeSat #Satellite #MinXSS #XRay #Spectrometer #STEM #Education #HD #Video

#Nasa #space #

James Webb Space Telescope: Ready for Testing | NASA Goddard
During the week of October 3rd, the James Webb Space Telescope was moved to a rotating stand close to the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window in preparation for center of curvature testing. Laser interferometry will be used to measure the alignment of the mirrors both before and after environmental testing. Stay tuned for more detailed information on these upcoming tests.

Here the telescope reflects the NASA Goddard sign behind it.

Credit: NASA/Maggie Masetti
Image Date: October 3, 2016

+James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) 
+European Space Agency, ESA 
+Canadian Space Agency 
+Space Telescope Science Institute 

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Telescope #JamesWebb
#JWST #Spacecraft #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #Goddard #USA #UnitedStates #NorthropGrumman #Greenbelt #Maryland #STScI #Technology #Engineering #Cosmos #Universe #STEM #Education

The James Webb Space Telescope Face On | NASA Goddard
During the week of October 3rd, the James Webb Space Telescope was moved to a rotating stand close to the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window in preparation for center of curvature testing. Laser interferometry will be used to measure the alignment of the mirrors both before and after environmental testing. Stay tuned for more detailed information on these upcoming tests.

Credit: NASA/Maggie Masetti
Image Date: October 3, 2016

+James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) 
+European Space Agency, ESA 
+Canadian Space Agency 
+NASA Goddard 
+Space Telescope Science Institute 

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Telescope #JamesWebb
#JWST #Spacecraft #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #Goddard #USA #UnitedStates #NorthropGrumman #Greenbelt #Maryland #STScI #Technology #Engineering #Cosmos #Universe #STEM #Education

161009

#NASA #APOD - http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161009.html
Style - Goodbye, On The Mersey by James Tissot (https://www.wikiart.org/en/james-tissot/goodbye-on-the-mersey)

http://deepdreamgenerator.com/ddream/064d1a205b
Settings:
Depth: Normal
Resolution: Medium
Style Scale: 0.6
Style Weight: 6
Preserve Original Color: No

#JamesTissot
#DeepDream 

Hurricane Matthew off South Carolina | NASA Aqua Satellite
At 2:20 p.m. local time (18:20 Universal Time) on October 8, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this natural-color image of Hurricane Matthew as the weakening storm churned along the coast of South Carolina.
References and Related Reading

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using data from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE).
Caption Credit: Adam Voiland
Instrument: Aqua - MODIS
Release Date: October 8, 2016

+NOAA Weather 
+NASA's Earth Observatory 
+NASA Goddard 

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Science #Earth #Satellite #Hurricane #Matthew #Florida #Atlantic #Ocean #Tropical #Storm #Weather #Aqua #MODIS #Goddard #GSFC #USA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education 

Hurricane Matthew off South Carolina | NASA Aqua Satellite
At 2:20 p.m. local time (18:20 Universal Time) on October 8, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this natural-color image of Hurricane Matthew as the weakening storm churned along the coast of South Carolina.
References and Related Reading

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using data from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE).
Caption Credit: Adam Voiland
Instrument: Aqua - MODIS
Release Date: October 8, 2016

+NOAA Weather 
+NASA's Earth Observatory 
+NASA Goddard 

#NASA #NOAA #Space #Science #Earth #Satellite #Hurricane #Matthew #Florida #Atlantic #Ocean #Tropical #Storm #Weather #Aqua #MODIS #Goddard #GSFC #USA #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

The James Webb Space Telescope Face On | NASA Goddard
During the week of October 3rd, the James Webb Space Telescope was moved to a rotating stand close to the NASA Goddard cleanroom observation window in preparation for center of curvature testing. Laser interferometry will be used to measure the alignment of the mirrors both before and after environmental testing. Stay tuned for more detailed information on these upcoming tests. The telescope was rotated several times to put into the right orientation for the work being done on the back of it. Goddard employees had the opportunity to see themselves reflected briefly in the mirror.

Credit: NASA/Maggie Masetti
Image Date: October 3, 2016

+James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) 
+European Space Agency, ESA 
+Canadian Space Agency 
+NASA Goddard 
+Space Telescope Science Institute 

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Telescope #JamesWebb
#JWST #Spacecraft #ESA #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #Goddard #USA #UnitedStates #NorthropGrumman #Greenbelt #Maryland #STScI #Technology #Engineering #Cosmos #Universe #STEM #Education