Aurora Over Alaska (by HB Mertz)

The First Real Photo Of Entire Earth From Apollo 8 In 1968.

the fact that stars even exist and we can look at them every night for free just makes me go !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5 Facts About Earth's Radiation Donuts 🍩

Did you know that our planet is surrounded by giant, donut-shaped clouds of radiation?

Here’s what you need to know.

1. The radiation belts are a side effect of Earth’s magnetic field

The Van Allen radiation belts exist because fast-moving charged particles get trapped inside Earth’s natural magnetic field, forming two concentric donut-shaped clouds of radiation. Other planets with global magnetic fields, like Jupiter, also have radiation belts.

2. The radiation belts were one of our first Space Age discoveries

Earth’s radiation belts were first identified in 1958 by Explorer 1, the first U.S. satellite. The inner belt, composed predominantly of protons, and the outer belt, mostly electrons, would come to be named the Van Allen Belts, after James Van Allen, the scientist who led the charge designing the instruments and studying the radiation data from Explorer 1.

3. The Van Allen Probes have spent six years exploring the radiation belts

In 2012, we launched the twin Van Allen Probes to study the radiation belts. Over the past six years, these spacecraft have orbited in and out of the belts, providing brand-new data about how the radiation belts shift and change in response to solar activity and other factors.

4. Surprise! Sometimes there are three radiation belts

Shortly after launch, the Van Allen Probes detected a previously-unknown third radiation belt, created by a bout of strong solar activity. All the extra energy directed towards Earth meant that some particles trapped in our planet’s magnetic field were swept out into the usually relatively empty region between the two Van Allen Belts, creating an additional radiation belt.

5. Swan song for the Van Allen Probes

Originally designed for a two-year mission, the Van Allen Probes have spent more than six years collecting data in the harsh radiation environment of the Van Allen Belts. In spring 2019, we’re changing their orbit to bring the perigee — the part of the orbit where the spacecraft are closest to Earth — about 190 miles lower. This ensures that the spacecraft will eventually burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, instead of orbiting forever and becoming space junk.

Because the Van Allen Probes have proven to be so hardy, they’ll continue collecting data throughout the final months of the mission until they run out of fuel. As they skim through the outer reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, scientists and engineers will also learn more about how atmospheric oxygen can degrade satellite measurements — information that can help build better satellites in the future.

Keep up with the latest on the mission on Twitter, Facebook or nasa.gov/vanallenprobes.

Chang'E-4: The Yutu-2 rover isn’t wasting any time, & has driven away from the lander toward (but not into) a nearby crater. Reminder that all photos from the far side of the moon are being relayed to earth by the Queqiao spacecraft, which is parked in a halo orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 point, about 61,500km behind the moon. “Halo orbit” means it’s about that far behind the moon, but always off to one side or the other from the actual L2 point so it has a line of sight to the Earth. Wouldn’t be much of a relay otherwise.

Omega Centauri.

Credit: Maicon Germiniani

Two Weeks in the Life of a Sunspot

On July 5, 2017, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory watched AR26665, an active region – an area of intense and complex magnetic fields – rotate into view on the sun. The satellite continued to track the region as it grew and eventually rotated across the sun and out of view on July 17.

Full story

Glass of Supervicious Fluid

this morning NASA abandoned their mars rover Opportunity (aka Oppy) because it (she) got hit by a storm on Mars and it knocked her camera and wheels out and her last words to the team were “my battery is low and it is getting cold”. I know she’s a machine but I’m devastated. Oppy is the one who discovered water on Mars. RIP oppy ily space baby

Lunar Eclipse 2019

Image Credit: Zachary Wells