Tag: nasa
Milky Way and Planets Near Opposition
In this early May night skyscape, a mountain road near Bursa, Turkey seems to lead toward bright planets Mars and Saturn and the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, a direction nearly opposite the Sun in planet Earth’s sky. The...
The Surface of Europa
An enhanced-color view, this image covers a 350 by 750 kilometer swath across the surface of Jupiter’s tantalizing moon Europa. The close-up combines high-resolution image data with lower resolution colour data from observations made in 1998 by the Galileo spacecraft....
The Orion Nebula in Visible and Infrared
The Great Nebula in Orion is a colorful place. Visible to the unaided eye, it appears as a small fuzzy patch in the constellation of Orion. Long exposure, multi-wavelength images like this, however, show the Orion Nebula to be a...
Clouds of the Carina Nebula
What forms lurk in the mists of the Carina Nebula? The dark ominous figures are actually molecular clouds, knots of molecular gas and dust so thick they have become opaque. In comparison, however, these clouds are typically much less dense...
Milky Way Over Quiver Tree Forest
In front of a famous background of stars and galaxies lies some of Earth’s more unusual trees. Known as quiver trees, they are actually succulentaloe plants that can grow to tree-like proportions. The quiver tree name is derived from the...
ISS and Mercury Too
Transits of Mercury are relatively rare. Monday’s leisurely 7.5 hour long event was only the 2nd of 14 Mercury transits in the 21st century. If you’re willing to travel, transits of the International Space Station can be more frequent though,...
Saturn and Mars visit Milky Way Star Clouds
After recently getting a telescope for my birthday I’m awaiting a clear night in the UK to gaze upon Mars and Saturn late at night. While I’m not sure my entry level scope can gather such amazing images, I’m excited...
Auroras and the Magnetosphere of Jupiter
Jupiter has auroras. Like near the Earth, the magnetic field of our Solar System‘s largest planet compresses when impacted by a gust of charged particles from the Sun. This magnetic compression funnels charged particles towards Jupiter‘s poles and down into...
Big Dipper to Southern Cross
Welcome to an equatorial night. This remarkable 24 frame night skyscape was captured from Maba Beach on the Indonesian island of Halmahera during the evening of March 4. Seen from a mere 0.7 degrees northern latitude, both famous northern and...
Orions Belt and Sword over Teides Peak
I love the southern part of Orion, mainly because I’m from the Southern Hemisphere and for the first 27 years of my life I saw Orion standing proudly upside down. The southern part of Orion, the famous constellation and mythical...