TODAY IN HISTORY: On July 31, 1971, Moonwalker Jim Irwin Works At The Lunar Rover The First EVA Of The

New view of the Pillars of Creation

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Just so you know, you can always watch the Earth live from the ISS. Its really relaxing to me

The Department of Awesome Natural Phenomena has features amazing auroras before, but never an aurora on another planet! This extraordinary sight, brought to us by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is an incredibly colossal aurora taking place on Jupiter:

“At the gas giant’s north pole, the most powerful and luminous northern lights in the solar system shimmer and glow in an endless geomagnetic storm that’s larger than our entire planet.”

That’s right, Jupiter itself is already so awesomely huge that its auroras are larger than the planet Earth.

Watch this time-lapse video of the Jupiter auroras and then visit the Hubble website to learn more about this amazing phenomena.

[via Twisted Sifter and Gizmodo]

The Milky Way was so very alive this weekend in the backcountry.. Hope you all had a chance to look up and watch the cosmos whiz by.. #stars #nightphotography #nightsky #darksky #adventure

Hubbles Variable Nebula

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Wings of a butterfly nebula.

Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA - Processing: Judy Schmidt

Nebula NGC 3603

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Philae found!

Less than a month before the end of the mission, Rosetta’s high-resolution camera has revealed the Philae lander wedged into a dark crack on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.  The images were taken on 2 September by the OSIRIS narrow-angle camera as the orbiter came within 2.7 km of the surface and clearly show the main body of the lander, along with two of its three legs.  The images also provide proof of Philae’s orientation, making it clear why establishing communications was so difficult following its landing on 12 November 2014. Philae was last seen when it first touched down at Agilkia, bounced and then flew for another two hours before ending up at a location later named Abydos, on the comet’s smaller lobe.After three days, Philae’s primary battery was exhausted and the lander went into hibernation, only to wake up again and communicate briefly with Rosetta in June and July 2015 as the comet came closer to the Sun and more power was available.  The discovery comes less than a month before Rosetta descends to the comet’s surface. On 30 September, the orbiter will be sent on a final one-way mission to investigate the comet from close up, including the open pits in the Ma’at region, where it is hoped that critical observations will help to reveal secrets of the body’s interior structure. 

Credit: ESA

Another Station Upgrade:

Spacewalkers Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins to install new TV cameras 

On Thursday, Sept. 1, U.S. astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins will conduct the station’s 195th American spacewalk. As part of their activities, the pair will install the first of several enhanced high-definition television cameras that will monitor activities outside the station, including the comings and goings of visiting cargo and crew vehicles

Working on the station’s backbone, or truss, Williams and Rubins will retract a thermal radiator that is part of the station’s cooling system. 

As was the case for their first spacewalk together on Aug. 19, Williams will be designated as extravehicular crew member 1 (EV1), wearing a spacesuit with a red stripe, while Rubins will be EV2, wearing a suit with no stripes.

Watch LIVE!

Coverage of the spacewalk begins at 6:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Sept. 1; with the spacewalk scheduled to begin at 8:05 a.m. EDT. Stream live online HERE.

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