….and here’s the first high-res image of Pluto
// July 15th, 2015 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
In the NASA press conference running right now, they released the first high-res image of Pluto. So without further ado…
Posts Tagged ‘nasa’
North Korea’s new space agency logo says a lot – NADA
// April 2nd, 2014 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
It’s one year old and to celebrate the milestone, North Korea has rolled out a new logo for their space program called, and we’re not kidding here – NADA (as in Spanish for “nothing”). Not surprisingly, the logo is almost a direct copy of NASA’s iconic emblem (see below).
The Fireworks Galaxy (NGC 6946) – unusual number of supernovas exploding for no apparent reason
// November 11th, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
NGC 6946 (also known as the Fireworks Galaxy, Arp 29, and Caldwell 12) is a medium-sized, face-on spiral galaxy about 22.5 million light years away from Earth located in the constellations Cepheus and Cygnus. At about 20,000 light years wide, it’s one of about a dozen nearby neighbors to the Milky Way. Since its discovery […]
Pirate Party offers birthday gift for NASA – you can use our servers while U.S. funding gets worked out
// October 6th, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News, Hacking and Security
The Pirate Party of Russia (Russian: Пиратская Партия России, ППР), a grassroots effort to promote e-democracy, freedom of information, and protection of personal privacy, has offered NASA a birthday gift as the space institution marks its 55th birthday this week. While the space agency’s website has been shut down “due to the lapse in federal […]
New photo of giant star, Eta Carinae, one of the most massive stars in our galaxy
// October 6th, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
The bright star at the center of this nebula, the object responsible for the nebula’s distorted form, is Eta Carinae, one of the most massive stars in the galaxy. Eta Carinae is around 100 times the mass of our sun and 1 million times brighter. Scientists think it could explode as a supernova at any […]
Here is NASA’s home page after the United States government shutdown
// October 2nd, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
How sad. Here is NASA’s primary home page after the United States government shutdown on October 1, 2013. It reads: “Due to the lapse in federal government funding, this website is not available.”
Voyager 1 becomes first spacecraft to leave our solar system
// September 13th, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
Voyager 1, launched in 1977, is more than 11.66 billion miles from the sun and is now recognized as the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space. Solar storm aftershocks at the edge of our solar system provided confirmation that Voyager 1 made the passage on August 25, 2012.
Uh, is anyone else creeped out by this odd, rectangle-shaped nebula found in our galaxy?
// May 31st, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
Aren’t nebulae supposed to be, well, round. And blood-red in color to cap off the creepiness factor. What gives? Astronomers think they *may* be able explain away the Red Rectangle Nebula’s odd shape as an optical illusion but its crimson color still has them scratching their heads.
Boulder-size object hit moon creating explosion 10 times brighter than anything NASA has seen before
// May 17th, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
On March 17, 2013, an object the size of a large boulder, crashed into the surface of the moon. The resulting flash of light was 10 times greater than any recorded direct-moon hit to date and in fact was so bright, it was visible by the naked eye from Earth. Scientists at NASA explained that […]
NASA tweets nearby floating “debris” photos from ISS which clearly shows saucer-shaped UFO
// April 1st, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
NASA and ISS may be slowly loosening their tight lips with regards to the normally hush-hush UFO phenomenon. Today, Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut and the commander of Expedition 35 on the International Space Station, tweeted pictures of a huge piece of debris that he captured on film floating near ISS. Upon closer inspection, the object […]
Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket engines recovered from floor of Atlantic
// March 31st, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
Two of the five Saturn V rocket engines that powered NASA’s July 19, 1969 Apollo 11 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, has been recovered from the Atlantic ocean floor in an expedition sponsored by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. The rockets, which had a shelf life of only 165 seconds, were jettisoned into the waters […]
Mars Curiosity rover drills hole in Mars for the first time – powder samples collected for testing
// February 8th, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
The Mars Curiosity Rover has drilled a hole in Mars for the first time yesterday. Curiosity used the drill at the tip of its robotic arm to drill a small .8 inch (2 centimeter) hole into the Martian rock affectionately named “John Klein”. The so-called “mini-drill test” marked the first time Curiosity used both the […]
NASA says incoming Feb 15 asteroid will be a “record-setting close approach”
// February 1st, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
On February 15, 2013 an asteroid about half the size of a football field will pass by the Earth with only 17,200 miles to spare. The asteroid, named 2012 DA14, will pass Earth closer than many man-made satellites. Don Yeomans of NASA’s Near Earth Object Program at JPL told reporters that this is a record-setting […]
NASA’s NEXT ion thruster engine sets new world record
// January 30th, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
NASA Glenn has been developing the next generation of ion thrusters for future missions. NASA’s Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) Project has developed a 7-kilowatt ion thruster that can provide the capabilities needed in the future. The ion propulsion system’s efficient use of fuel and electrical power enable modern spacecraft to travel farther, faster, and cheaper […]
Amazing video of pulsar spinning and jetting out X-ray particles [VIDEO]
// January 18th, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has captured a movie of a collapsed star that’s spinning faster than a helicopter rotor and unleashing ultra-fast particles that move at 70 percent of the speed of light. The video gives us a spell-bounding view of the ultra-dense star, named Vela (or PSR B0833-45 or PSR J0835-4510), which is just […]
Cornerstone of Mars Curiosity Rover mission, drilling Martian surface, is about to begin
// January 16th, 2013 // No Comments » // Astronomy and Space News
No spacecraft has ever penetrated the rocky surface of Mars, or any planet for that matter, but that is about to change. In the past few weeks, Curiosity Rover has been stationed in a region called Yellowknife Bay, which features fractured ground with different temperature swings compared to other nearby terrain – and plenty of […]
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