It's eclipse season for our Sun-watching observatory. During this three-week period that comes twice a year near the equinoxes, Earth blocks the Solar Dynamic Observatory's view of the Sun for a short while each day. The eclipses are fairly short near the beginning and end of the season but ramp up to 72 minutes in the middle.
Seen here in extreme ultraviolet light is the eclipsed view on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2018 when Earth crossed the observatory's view of the Sun. Also known as a transit, Earth’s passage was brief, lasting from 2:10 a.m. to 2:41 a.m. EST and covering the entire face of the Sun. Most spacecraft observing the Sun from an orbit around Earth have to contend with such eclipses. The mission's orbit is designed to maximize the amount of data the spacecraft can send back to Earth. This year, the spring eclipse season began on Feb. 10 with a partial eclipse and concludes March 5, 2018.
Darker, cooler areas on the Sun – known as sunspots – have been mostly absent for almost two weeks, as of Feb. 1. A single, tiny one appeared on Jan. 31, but even that is hard to see in this rotating view from our Solar Dynamics Observatory. The video shows a rotating sun in filtered light for the past week, but it is even hard to tell the sun is rotating since there are just about no features.
This spotless period is a prelude to the approaching period of solar minimum next year, when the Sun’s activity will be at the low end of its 11-year cycle.
Credit: NASA/SDO
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On Feb. 1, we fired up one of the four RS-25 engines that will power our Space Launch System rocket to destinations like the Moon and Mars. Did you see that start up!? Fun Fact: Hot gases exit the nozzle at 13X the speed of sound!
The full-duration, 365-second test helped verify that the flight controller – the engine’s “brain” – can properly communicate with the rocket. This test also used a 3D-printed component on the engine as an ongoing effort to use advanced manufacturing techniques as a means of reducing engine construction costs.
Credit: NASA
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What’s up in the night sky for February?
In honor of Valentine's Day, we look at celestial star pairs and constellation couples. A pair of star clusters will be visible throughout the month after sunset. The Perseus Double Cluster will be high in the sky near Andromeda’s parents: Cepheus and Cassiopeia.
Watch to see what else you’ll be able to spot in February!
Credit: NASA
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Much of the western United States began the morning with the view of a super blue blood moon total lunar eclipse. In this silent time lapse video, the complete eclipse is seen over our Jet Propulsion Laboratory (@NASAJPL), located at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, California.
This Jan. 31 full moon was special for three reasons: it was the third in a series of “supermoons,” when the Moon is closer to Earth in its orbit – known as perigee – and about 14 percent brighter than usual. It was also the second full moon of the month, commonly known as a “blue moon.” The super blue moon will pass through Earth’s shadow to give viewers in the right location a total lunar eclipse. While the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow it will take on a reddish tint, known as a “blood moon.” Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
#superbluebloodmoon #supermoon #bluemoon #bloodmoon #moon #fullmoon #LunarEclipse #NASA #timelapse #video
How do space plants grow? This experiment on the International Space Station (@iss) hopes to find out. Space-grown plants look mostly normal, but have some distinct features compared to plants grown on Earth – most notably in the way their roots grow.
Roots evolved to grow “down” to search out nutrients and water, and on Earth, that response is predominantly governed by the force of gravity. But how does a plant know which way is down when there is no “down”? What determines the direction in which the plant’s roots should grow in space?
We are studying the molecular genetic signals that help guide plant growth in the novel environment of spaceflight, including how plants use new molecular “tools” to sense and respond to their environment when familiar signals are absent. What we learn could improve the way we grow plants in microgravity on future space missions, enabling crews to use plants for food and oxygen. This is just one of many petri plates filled with tiny plants from the Characterizing Arabidopsis Root Attractions-2 (CARA-2) that was recently harvest aboard the space station.
Credit: NASA
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Spread your solar wings! Our next mission to Mars – the InSight lander – extended the solar arrays that will power the spacecraft once it lands on the Red Planet this November during a test to confirm the solar cells were collecting power. The fan-like solar panels are specially designed for Mars' weak sunlight, caused by the planet's distance from the Sun and its dusty, thin atmosphere.
InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) is a terrestrial planet explorer that will study the Red Planet’s deep interior. This mission will also address one of the most fundamental issues of planetary and solar system science: understanding the processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system – including Earth – more than four billion years ago.
Credit: @lockheedmartin
#nasa #space #insight #mars #redplanet #planet #rockyplanet #explorer #terrestrial #interior #solarsystem #science #mission #lander #solar #solararrays #spacecraft #spread #wings #timelapse #gif
Bright and early this morning, a SpaceX #Dragon cargo vehicle departed its month-long home on the International Space Station (@iss). Astronauts Joe Acaba and Scott Tingle of NASA released the spacecraft from the station's robotic arm at 4:58 a.m. EST. Dragon, the only space station resupply spacecraft currently able to return to Earth intact, carried nearly 4,100 pounds of cargo and science experiments back to our home planet.
Currently, six humans are living and working on the space station, which orbits our planet at 17,500 mph. Located 250 miles above Earth, the crew conducts important science and research that will help send us deeper into the solar system than ever before.
Credit: NASA
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Looking for planets outside our solar system, also known as exoplanets, just got a little more complicated. Scientists typically search for patterns like rings, arcs and spirals in disks of dust and gas around young stars because those patterns are often considered a sign that an unseen planet orbits a star. But this new simulation shows that planets aren’t the only explanation — the dust and gas in the disk can interact to make those patterns, too.
The light from the star strips the dust of electrons, which heats up the gas, which traps more dust, creating a cycle. Lumps of dust grow into spirals, rings and arcs. No planets necessary. Of course, planets could still be the cause, but the new study cautions against jumping to conclusions!
What’s up in the night sky for the rest of January? On the morning of Jan. 6, look in the south-southeast sky 45 minutes before sunrise to see Jupiter and fainter Mars. Mars is only one-sixth the apparent diameter of Jupiter, but the two offer a great binocular and telescopic view with a pretty color contrast. They remain in each other’s neighborhood from Jan. 5-8.
Also, to end the month, a great total lunar eclipse! It favors the western U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii and British Columbia on Jan. 31. Australia and the Pacific Ocean are well placed to see a major portion of the eclipse–if not all of it.
Watch to find out when and where to look up!
Credit: NASA
#nasa #nasagif #meteors #eclipse #astronomy #science #moon #lunareclipse #upinthesky #january #nightsky #constellations #jupiter #mars #january #whatsup
Do you see the❓rotate into view in this video of the Sun? This question mark shaped feature that was seen Dec. 21 – 22 is an elongated coronal hole, which are areas of open magnetic field that appear darker in extreme ultraviolet light.
These holes are the source of streaming plasma that we call solar wind. While this exercise is akin to seeing shapes in clouds, it is fun to consider what the sun might be asking? Perhaps what the new year will bring?
Credit: NASA
#nasa #space #sun #solar #question #questionmark #curious #coronal #solarwind #plasma #streaming #ultraviolet #light #earth #solarsystem #science #video
What’s up in the night sky this January? A meteor shower! The Quadrantid meteor shower lasts for just a few hours on Jan. 4, coinciding with a very bright, nearly full moon that will sadly wash out most of the meteors.
ProTip: You can look in any direction to see all meteor showers. When you see one of these meteors, hold a shoestring along the path it followed. The shoestring will lead you back to the constellation containing the meteor's origin.
Watch to find out when and where to look up!
Credit: NASA
#nasa #nasagif #meteors #eclipse# moon #orionids #leonids #quadrantids# lunareclipse #upinthesky #january #nightsky #constellations# jupiter #mars #january #whatsup
We posted more than 360 images and videos to our Instagram account in 2017. This video showcases the 10 most liked posts from the year. From images of our beautiful planet Earth to the 2017 total solar eclipse, we shared the universe with our more than 29 million followers on Instagram. Which one is your favorite?
We successfully captured a 🐉 Dragon! SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft was successfully captured and installed at the International Space Station (@ISS) on Sunday, Dec. 17. The commercial spacecraft launched on Dec. 15 carrying around 4,800 pounds of supplies and research to the orbiting laboratory. Including experiments that will study muscle atrophy, the Sun’s energy output, orbital debris and plant biology.
Station crew members Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba used the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture Dragon, then handed command over to ground controllers to attach Dragon to the station, seen here.
Dragon is scheduled to depart the station in Jan. 2018 and return to Earth with more than 3,600 pounds of research, hardware and crew supplies.
Credit: NASA
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Liftoff of science and supplies! This morning at 10:36 a.m. EST, a SpaceX #Dragon cargo spacecraft left Earth carrying more than 4,800 pounds of research equipment, cargo and supplies that will support dozens of the more than 250 investigations aboard the International Space Station (@iss). This super science-heavy flight will deliver experiments and equipment that will study phenomena on the Sun, materials in microgravity, space junk and more.
NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba will use the space station’s robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives at the station early Sunday morning.
Heads-up, Earthlings! The annual Geminid meteor shower has arrived, peaking overnight Dec. 13-14. It's a good time to bundle up! Then, go outside and let the universe blow your mind!
The Geminids are active every December, when Earth passes through a massive trail of dusty debris shed by a weird, rocky object named 3200 Phaethon. The dust and grit burn up when they run into Earth's atmosphere in a flurry of "shooting stars." The Geminids can be seen with the naked eye under clear, dark skies over most of the world, though the best view is from the Northern Hemisphere. Observers will see fewer Geminids in the Southern Hemisphere, where the radiant doesn't climb very high over the horizon.
Skywatching is easy. Just get away from bright lights and look up in any direction! Give your eyes time to adjust to the dark. Meteors appear all over the sky.
Video credit: NASA
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