Stunning NASA Images

2019-07-19T11:47:00.001-07:00

Here you go everyone. This a slow motion video of the Saturn V firing up on July 16, 1969....

Here you go folks this is a slow motion view of the Saturn V rockets firing. The Saturn V took us to the moon and was ironically designed by Wernher von braun who also designed the V2 rocket of World War 2. Von braun came to America under Project Paperclip and was exceedingly instrumental in our ability to land on the moon

Barnard 3/IRAS Ring G159.6-18.5

2011-12-28T08:02:00.000-08:00

This stunning image was captured by WISE, NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. It is a view of the Barnard 3, or IRAS Ring G159.6-18.5, awash with bright green and dark red dust clouds and is another stellar nursery where baby stars are born.

The colors used in this image represent specific wavelengths of infrared light. Blue and cyan (blue-green) represent light emitted at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, which is predominantly from stars. Green and red represent light from 12 and 22 microns, respectively, which is mostly emitted by dust.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

New Map Of The Moon

2011-11-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

This high resolution image of the Moon was taken by NASA's Reconnaissance Orbiter science team. This new topographical map shows its surface shape and features. The image resolution features a pixel scale close to 328 feet.

Due to the limitations of previous missions, a global map of the moon’s topography at high resolution has not existed until now. With LRO's Wide Angle Camera and the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument, scientists can now accurately portray the shape of the entire moon at high resolution.

Image Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/DLR/ASU

The First Man In Space

2011-08-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

U.S. Air Force Colonel and Navy Seal, Joseph Kittinger is surely one of the most overlooked figures in the early history of space exploration. Born July 27, 1928, Kittinger was a career military officer and Command Pilot and happens to be the first man ever to go into space.

On August 16, 1960, a full eight months before the first manned space flight, Colonel Kittinger soared in a gondola, suspended from a balloon to an astonishing altitude of 103,000 feet and into history. The image below was taken as he jumped from his gondola and plummeted to earth.

Click on the image to read my full write up about Joseph Kittinger.

360 Degree Panorama of Space Shuttle Discovery Flight Deck

2011-08-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

Click this image for total immersion in the Space Shuttle Discovery's flight deck while being decommissioned (June 2011)in the Orbiter Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. It Feels as though you are really there! You can zoom in or out and rotate to see the entire interior.

Image and Panorama Credit: Jook Leung for THELASTSHUTTLE.COM

Hurricane Irene 2

2011-08-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

This image, taken by NASA yesterday, shows just how big this storm system is. It shows Irene making landfall in North Carolina and covers nearly the entire eastern seaboard. While posting this, I just heard there have already been four reported fatalities and there are over 300,000 homes currently without power. This storm is now reported to be the size of Europe!

This photograph was taken from the GOES-13 satellite.

Image Credit: NASA

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

This image, taken aboard the International Space Station, by Astronaut Ron Garan shows Hurricane Irene as it passed over the Caribbean on Aug. 22, 2011.

Image Credit: NASA/Ron Garan

Animation Video of Assembly of ISS

2011-08-05T11:04:00.000-07:00

Great video with annotations.

ISS Crew Member View of Final Shuttle Landing

2011-07-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

This unprecedented view of the space shuttle Atlantis, appearing like a bean sprout against clouds and city lights, on its way home, was photographed by the Expedition 28 crew of the International Space Station. Airglow over Earth can be seen in the background.

Click on the image to see the full size version of 4,256px × 2,832px (scaled to 1,295px × 862px)

Survival of the Elements

2011-07-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

This close-up image shows the 'Materials on International Space Station Experiment-8.' Taken during the spacewalk on July 12, 2011, the small circles pictured are test beds for materials and computing elements attached to the outside of the International Space Station. These elements are being evaluated for the effects of atomic oxygen, ultraviolet, direct sunlight, radiation, and the extremes of heat and cold. Researchers hope the results will provide a better understanding of the durability of various materials and computing elements when they are exposed to the rigors of space environments and hope to incorporate what is learned into the design of future spacecraft.

Reflections

2011-07-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

Today marks the final launch in the NASA Shuttle program. This image of space shuttle Atlantis was taken shortly after the service structure was rolled back in preparation for lift off today. NASA is quoted as saying "This is the beginning of a new era in space exploration where we will build the capabilities to send humans deeper into space than ever before."

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

The official press release went on to say "We will use the International Space Station as a test bed and stepping stone for the challenging journey ahead. We are changing the way we do business, fostering a commercial industry that will safely service low Earth orbit so we can focus our energy and resources on sending astronauts to an asteroid and eventually to Mars. The road ahead is challenging but this approach and space exploration architecture puts us in a position to go where no human has gone before."

Glowing Emerald Nebula

2011-07-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Named RCW 120, this region of hot gas and glowing dust can be found in the murky clouds encircled by the tail of the constellation Scorpius. The ring of dust actually is glowing in infrared colors that our eyes cannot see, but come to life when viewed by Spitzer's infrared detectors. At the center of this ring are two giant stars whose intense ultraviolet light created a bubble, though they blend in with other stars when viewed in infrared.

Spitzer has found that such bubbles are common and can be found around O stars throughout our Milky Way galaxy. The small objects at the lower right area of the image may themselves be similar regions seen at much greater distances across the galaxy.

Rings like this are so common in Spitzer's observations that astronomers have even enlisted the help of the public to help them find and catalog them all. Anyone interested in joining the search as a citizen scientist can visit "The Milky Way Project," part of the "Zooniverse" of public astronomy projects, at The Milky Way Project.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Aurora Borealis From Space

2011-06-30T19:39:00.001-07:00

This image was aquired on May 29, 2010 from the International Space Station using a Nikon D3 digital camera during Expedition 23. Located above the Indian Ocean, the curvature of the Earth's horizon (the limb) is clearly visible with the faint blue line of the upper atmosphere directly above it.

Seaside Sunrise

2011-06-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

Taken June 23, 2011, this image features the sun rising over the Atlantic Ocean behind with the space shuttle Atlantis' external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Aflame

2011-06-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

NASA aerospace engineer Sandra Olsen demonstrates how fire acts in space with this composite of multiple overlays featuring three separate microgravity flame images. Each image is of flame spread over cellulose paper in a spacecraft ventilation flow in microgravity. Each color represents different chemical reactions within the flame. The blue areas are caused by chemiluminescence (light produced by a chemical reaction.) The white, yellow and orange regions are due to glowing soot within the flame zone.

Microgravity combustion research at Glenn not only provides insights into spacecraft fire safety, but it has also been used to create award-winning art images. This image won first place in the 2011 Combustion Art Competition, held at the 7th U.S. National Combustion Meeting.

The Art of Making Stars

2011-06-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

Rho Ophiuchi is a busy star-forming complex. WISE (NASA's Wide-field Infrared Explorer) captured this image of the region, which is one of the closest star-forming complexes to Earth.

The amazing variety of colors seen in this image represents different wavelengths of infrared light. The bright white nebula in the center of the image is glowing due to heating from nearby stars, resulting in what is called an emission nebula. The same is true for most of the multi-hued gas prevalent throughout the entire image, including the bluish, bow-shaped feature near the bottom right. The bright red area in the bottom right is light from the star in the center--Sigma Scorpii--that is reflected off of the dust surrounding it, creating what is called a reflection nebula. And the much darker areas scattered throughout the image are pockets of cool, dense gas that block out the background light, resulting in absorption (or 'dark') nebulae. WISE's longer wavelength detectors can typically see through dark nebulae, but these are exceptionally opaque.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

The bright pink objects just left of center are young stellar objects--baby stars just beginning to form. Many of them are still enveloped in their own tiny compact nebulae. In visible light, these baby stars are completely hidden in the dark nebula that surrounds them. Some of the oldest stars in the Milky Way galaxy can also be seen in this image. One cluster,, the M80, is can be seen near the top and to the far right edge of the image. Another one called NGC 6144, is found close to the bottom edge near the center. Both are small densely compacted groups of blue stars. Globular clusters such as these are some of the oldest stars known. Some are as old as 13 billion years, making them as almost as old as the universe itself.

Ares 1 Rocket First Stage Motor Unveiled

2011-06-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

The DM-1 (first stage development motor) for the newly designed Ares 1 rocket is unveiled. The Ares 1 rocket is one of as two part system that is being built and tested by NASA as part of the Constellation Program which is replacing the soon to be defunct Shuttle Program.

The stationary firing of the five-segment solid rocket motor will be conducted by ATK Space Systems, a division of Alliant Techsystems of Brigham City, Utah, the prime contractor for the Ares I first stage. The motor will provide the backbone for the Ares I, generating up to 3.6 million pounds of thrust, or lifting power, at launch. DM-1 is managed by the Ares Projects at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Credit: NASA/ATK

Robonaut 2

2011-06-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

Developed by a joint technology partnership between NASA and General Motors, Robonaut 2 is a humanoid robot that will be helping astronauts in space with construction projects, repetitive tasks and much more. Robonaut arrived at the International Space Station in February, 2011, it is the latest generation of astronaut helpers. Called R2, it will be be installed permanently on the Unity node.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Robonaut 2 on the official NASA site.

Credit: NASA

Lightning Over Brazil

2011-06-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

European Space Agency Astronaut, Paolo Nespoli, took this image of lightning over Brazil as seen from the International Space Station in January 2011.

Nespoli, a member of the Expedition 27 crew, first visited the station in 2007 as a member of the STS-120 crew aboard space shuttle Discovery to deliver the Italian-built Harmony node.

Credit: ESA/NASA

Through The Looking Glass

2011-06-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

The NASA logo on Bldg. 703 at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., is reflected in the 2.5-meter primary mirror of the SOFIA observatory's telescope.

SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy) is an airborne observatory, built to complement the Hubble, Spitzer and Herschel space telescopes, as well as major Earth-based telescopes.

SOFIA features a German-built 100-inch (2.5 meter) diameter far-infrared telescope weighing 20 tons mounted in the rear fuselage of a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft. It is one of the premier space science programs of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

SOFIA is a joint program between NASA and the German Aerospace Center.

Credit: NASA/Tom Tschida

Lift Off of Soyuz TMA-02M

2011-06-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

This image was taken of the Soyuz TMA-02M spacecraft as it launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Wednesday, June 8, 2011, (4:12 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, June 7). Its crew included:

Expedition 28 Soyuz Commander Sergei Volkov of Russia,
NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fossum
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa

They are on the way to the International Space Station. Kazakhstan is a nation located between Russia and China.

Credit: NASA /Carla Cioffi

Preparing to Launch The Soyuz TMA-02M

2011-06-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

Launch pad engineers at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the nation of Kazakhstan work on the giant mechanisms at the base of the Soyuz TMA-02M rocket following its rollout to the pad on Sunday, June 5, 2011. The rocket was being prepared for launch June 8 to carry the crew of Expedition 28 to the International Space Station.

Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

Working Towards The Future

2011-06-11T09:21:00.000-07:00

Work on the heat shield and thermal protection backshell of the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle ground test article, or GTA, was completed in preparation for environmental testing. This image is of the crew vehicle at the Lockheed Martin Vertical Test Facility in Colorado. The crew vehicle will undergo rigorous testing to confirm its ability to safely fly astronauts through all the harsh environments of deep space exploration missions.

Image Credit: NASA/Lockheed Martin

Portrait of Shuttle and Space Station

2011-06-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

On May 23, the Soyuz was carrying Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev, NASA astronaut Cady Coleman and European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli back to Earth. Once their vehicle was about 600 feet from the station, Mission Control Moscow, outside the Russian capital, commanded the orbiting laboratory to rotate 130 degrees. This move allowed Nespoli to capture digital photographs and high definition video of shuttle Endeavour docked to the station.

Click here to view wallpaper sized image

Credit: NASA

Amazing Video of Apollo 11 Launch

2011-06-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

This amazing video of the Apollo 11 launching was filmed at an incredible 500 frames per second. It was then slowed down for this video, which includes a technical narrative of what you are watching! The flames become so bright about half way through the video, that it is in a white out state, however, keep watching as it will pass and you will enjoy some great footage and information about the processes behind launches.