#nasa's

NASA’s NuSTAR Telescope Reveals Hidden Light Shows on the Sun by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Via Flickr: Even on a sunny day, human eyes can’t see all the light our nearest star gives off. A new image displays some of this hidden light, including the high-energy X-rays emitted by the hottest material in the Sun’s atmosphere, as observed by NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR). While the observatory typically studies objects outside our solar system – like massive black holes and collapsed stars – it has also provided astronomers with insights about our Sun. In this composite image, NuSTAR data is represented as blue and is overlaid with observations by the X-ray Telescope (XRT) on the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Hinode mission, represented as green, and the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), represented as red. NuSTAR’s relatively small field of view means it can’t see the entire Sun from its position in Earth orbit, so the observatory’s view of the Sun is actually a mosaic of 25 images, taken in June 2022. The high-energy X-rays observed by NuSTAR appear at only a few locations in the Sun’s atmosphere. By contrast, Hinode’s XRT detects low-energy X-rays, and SDO’s AIA detects ultraviolet light – wavelengths that are emitted across the entire face of the Sun. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JAXA #nasa #marshallspaceflightcenter #msfc #heliophysics #sun #space #solar #observation #star #astronomy #science #hinode #SDO #SolarDynamicsObservatory #NuSTAR Read More More about NuSTAR More about Solar Dynamics Observatory More about Hinode NASA Media Usage Guidelines

The Orion Nebula by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Via Flickr: Look just below the middle of the three stars of belt in the constellation of Orion to find the Orion Nebula, which can be seen without a telescope. With a telescope like Chandra, however, the view is much different. In this image, X-rays from Chandra (blue) reveal individual young stars, which are hot and energetic. When combined with radio emission from the NSF's Very Large Array (purple), a vista of this stellar nursery is created that the unaided human eye could never capture. Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/S.Wolk et al; Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA Read more More about the Chandra X-ray Observatory NASA Media Usage Guidelines

Saturn's Famous Hexagon May Tower Above the Clouds by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Via Flickr: A new long-term study using data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft has revealed a surprising feature emerging at Saturn's northern pole as it nears summertime: a warming, high-altitude vortex with a hexagonal shape, akin to the famous hexagon seen deeper down in Saturn's clouds. The finding, published Sept. 3 in Nature Communications, is intriguing, because it suggests that the lower-altitude hexagon may influence what happens above, and that it could be a towering structure hundreds of miles in height. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/Hampton University Read More Read more about Cassini NASA Media Usage Guidelines

The Hills are Colorful in Juventae Chasma by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Via Flickr: There are many hills about 1 kilometer high in Juventae Chasma, which is located north of the main Valles Marineris canyon system. The floor of the canyon is covered by a sea of sand, but the hills rise above the sand. A few adventuresome sand dunes have slowly climbed up on the hills, like that near the upper left of the enhanced-color cutout. The color diversity here is exceptional, due to varying mineral compositions and good exposures. Read more NASA Media Usage Guidelines

An Eclipse by Any Other Name: Doing Science with Transits and Occultations by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Via Flickr: On June 5, 2012, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory collected images of the rarest predictable solar event: the transit of Venus across the face of the sun. This event happens in pairs eight years apart that are separated from each other by 105 or 121 years. The previous transit was in 2004 and the next will not happen until 2117. Note that this animation is sped up from real-time: the transit itself occurred over the span of about six hours. On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe inspiring sights - a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun's tenuous atmosphere - the corona - can be seen, will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun's disk. NASA created this website to provide a guide to this amazing event. Here you will find activities, events, broadcasts, and resources from NASA and our partners across the nation. #Eclipse2017 Image credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO Read More Read More about 2017 Total Solar Eclipse NASA Media Usage Guidelines

#TBT: ATLAS-1 Launches to Conduct Space Science -- March 24, 1992 by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center Via Flickr: This week in 1992, space shuttle Atlantis and STS-45 launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The mission carried the first Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science on Spacelab pallets mounted in the orbiter's cargo bay. The non-deployable payload, equipped with 12 instruments, conducted studies in atmospheric chemistry, solar radiation, space plasma physics and ultraviolet astronomy. ATLAS-1 was part of a series of Spacelab missions managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Today, Marshall's Payload Operations Integration Center serves as "science central" for the International Space Station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory's scientific experiments. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage. Image credit: NASA NASA Media Usage Guidelines