C De Caprichoso, C De Campeão! 🏆

NASA and Star Trek

Star Trek debuted in September 1966 and in its various incarnations, the series has been an inspiration to many, even some of us at NASA. The series allowed its fans to explore “strange new worlds” and to dream of what could be right in their living rooms. To celebrate the show’s 50th anniversary, we’ve collected some Trek-themed photos featuring Star Trek cast members and NASA astronauts. 

Serious Business

The STS-54 crew of the space shuttle Endeavour in their official “gag” photo are costumed as the bridge crew of the Enterprise as depicted in the movie “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.” The photo was taken on the Star Trek Adventure set of the Universal Studios California theme park in Los Angeles, California, while the crew was on a west coast training and public relations tour during the Summer of 1992. From left to right: 

Greg Harbaugh (Mission Specialist/Engineering Officer)

Mario "Spock” Runco Jr. (Mission Specialist/1st Officer/Science Officer) 

John Casper (Commander/Captain) 

Susan Helms (Mission Specialist/Communications Officer) 

Don McMonagle (Pilot/Navigation-Helm Officer) 

“I have been, and always shall be, your friend”

Astronaut John Creighton shows the on board Graphical Retrieval Information Display (GRID) computer, which displays a likeness of Mr. Spock aboard STS-051G, June 18, 1985.

“A Keyboard… How Quaint”

Actor James Doohan (who played engineering genius Montgomery Scott in Star Trek) sits in the commanders seat of the Full Fuselage Trainer while astronaut Mario Runco explains the control panel during a tour of Johnson Space Center on Jan. 18, 1991. 

“You Wanted Excitement, How’s Your Adrenaline?”

Actress Nichelle Nichols (Uhura in Star Trek) toured Johnson Space Center in Houston on March 4, 1977, while Apollo 12 lunar module pilot and Skylab II commander Alan Bean showed her what it felt like inside the Lower Body Negative Pressure Device and showed her how the Shuttle Procedures Simulator operated. 

Nichols paid us another visit in 2012 and 2015 with the Space Traveling Museum. 

Infinite Diversity, Infinite Combinations

European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti gave the Vulcan salute aboard the International Space Station shortly after the passing of Leonard Nimoy on Feb. 28, 2015. She commented on Tweeter: “ ‘Of all the souls I have encountered.. his was the most human.’ Thx @TheRealNimoy for bringing Spock to life for us”

Live Long And Prosper

While visiting Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, George Takei (Hikaru Sulu on the original series) had the chance to exchange Vulcan salutes with Robonaut on May 29, 2012. 

“Let’s See What’s Out There”

Scott Bakula, who played Captain Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise, stands with astronauts Terry Virts and Mike Fincke on set. The two astronauts made guest appearances on the series finale episode “These Are The Voyages …” March 2005.

Boldly Going For Real

Above is the crew of STS-134, the next to last shuttle mission, in their version of the 2009 Star Trek movie poster. 

The crew of Expedition 21 aboard the International Space Station also made a Trek-themed poster in 2009, wearing uniforms from Star Trek: The Next Generation with the Enterprise NX-01 silhouette in the background.

Learn more about Star Trek and NASA.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com 

26 de Abril de 2016 começa com Lua, planeta Saturno, planeta Marte, estrela Antares e chuva de meteoros Alfa-Escorpídeas. Um começo celeste bastante comemorativo! (em Parintins)

What’s Up - February 2018

What’s Up For February?

This month, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we’ll focus on celestial star pairs and constellation couples.

Let’s look at some celestial pairs!

The constellations Perseus and Andromeda are easy to see high overhead this month.

According to lore, the warrior Perseus spotted a beautiful woman–Andromeda–chained to a seaside rock. After battling a sea serpent, he rescued her. 

As a reward, her parents Cepheus and Cassiopeia allowed Perseus to marry Andromeda.

The great hunter Orion fell in love with seven sisters, the Pleiades, and pursued them for a long time. Eventually Zeus turned both Orion and the Pleiades into stars.

Orion is easy to find. Draw an imaginary line through his belt stars to the Pleiades, and watch him chase them across the sky forever.

A pair of star clusters is visible on February nights. The Perseus Double Cluster is high in the sky near Andromeda’s parents Cepheus and Cassiopeia.

Through binoculars you can see dozens of stars in each cluster. Actually, there are more than 300 blue-white supergiant stars in each of the clusters.

There are some colorful star pairs, some visible just by looking up and some requiring a telescope. Gemini’s twins, the brothers Pollux and Castor, are easy to see without aid.

Orion’s westernmost, or right, knee, Rigel, has a faint companion. The companion, Rigel B, is 500 times fainter than the super-giant Rigel and is visible only with a telescope. 

Orion’s westernmost belt star, Mintaka, has a pretty companion. You’ll need a telescope.

Finally, the moon pairs up with the Pleiades on the 22nd and with Pollux and Castor on the 26th.

Watch the full What’s Up for February Video: 

There are so many sights to see in the sky. To stay informed, subscribe to our What’s Up video series on Facebook.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.  

Our Most “Liked” Instagram Posts of 2017

Our Instagram page has over 2,200 images and is lucky enough to be followed by more than 29 million fans.

What images and videos were your favorite from this past year? Great question, and one we asked ourselves too!

Here’s a look at our most liked Instagram posts* of 2017…Enjoy!

#10 Black Hole Collision

What happens when two supermassive black holes collide? Until last year, we weren’t quite sure. Gravitational waves!  With 834,169  likes, this image is our 10th most liked of 2017.

#9 Italy Through the Space Station Cupola Window

European astronaut Paolo Nespoli (@Astro_Paolo) shared this image on social media of “Southern #Italy and Sicily framed by one of our Cupola windows” aboard the International Space Station. This image ranks #9 for 2017 with 847,365 likes.

#8 Black Hole Friday

For our 5th annual #BlackHoleFriday we’ll share awesome images and facts about black holes! A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light cannot get out. With 916,247 likes, this picture ranks #8 for 2017.

#7 The Elements of Cassiopeia A

Did you know that stellar explosions and their remains–“supernova remnants”–are a source of chemical elements essential for life here on Earth? A new Chandra X-ray Observatory image captures the location of several vital elements like silicon (red), sulfur (yellow), calcium (green) and iron (purple), located on Cassiopeia A–a supernova remnant ~11,000 light years from Earth.  This image ranks #7 for 2017 with 943,806 likes.

#6 Jupiter Blues

Jupiter, you’re bluetiful 💙 ! Churning swirls of Jupiter’s clouds are seen in striking shades of blue in this new view taken by our Juno spacecraft. This image ranks as our sixth most liked Instagram post of 2017 with 990,944 likes.

#5 An Interstellar Visitor

An interstellar visitor…scientists have confirmed that an intriguing asteroid that zipped through our solar system in October is the first confirmed object from another star! Observations suggest that this unusual object had been wandering through the Milky Way, unattached to any star system, for hundreds of millions of years before its chance encounter with our star system. With 1,015,721 likes, this image ranks #5 for 2017.

#4 Space Station Lunar Transit

Space station supermoon. This composite image made from six frames shows the International Space Station, with a crew of six onboard, as it transits the Moon at roughly five miles per second on Dec. 2. This image ranks #4 for 2017 with 1,037,520 likes.

#3 The Space Between Us

A post shared by NASA (@nasa) on Dec 20, 2017 at 2:56pm PST

The beautiful space between Earth and the International Space Station was immortalized by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei while orbiting 250 miles above the planet we call home. This majestic image ranks #3 for 2017 with 1,042,403 likes.

#2 The Moon Swallows the Sun

A post shared by NASA (@nasa) on Aug 21, 2017 at 2:03pm PDT

Today, the Sun disappeared, seemingly swallowed by our Moon–at least for a while. The August 21 solar eclipse cut through a swath of North America from coast to coast and those along the path of totality, that is where the Moon completely covered the Sun, were faced with a sight unseen in the U.S. in 99 years. Which might have something to do with this image ranking #2 for 2017 with 1,144,503 likes.

#1 Solar Eclipse Over Cascade Lake

A post shared by NASA (@nasa) on Aug 21, 2017 at 3:57pm PDT

Behold! This progression of the partial solar eclipse took place over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. 

This photo was our #1 image of 2017 with 1,471,114 likes!

See them all here!

Do you want to get amazing images of Earth from space, see distant galaxies and more on Instagram? Of course you do! Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/nasa/

*Posts and rankings are were taken as of Dec. 28, 2017.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

Ainda estamos em 2015!! hahahah...

Terça, 36 de dezembro de 2015.

A pandemia do coronavírus (COVID-19) estará marcado na história mundial. Pois, além de ser capaz de paralisar as atividades econômicas no mundo inteiro, esta situação, para diversos economistas, poderá ocasionar uma recessão mundial bastante significativa. #FicaEmCasa

Halo (optical phenomenon)

Halo is the name for a family of optical phenomena produced by light interacting with ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere. Halos can have many forms, ranging from colored or white rings to arcs and spots in the sky. Many of these are near the Sun or Moon, but others occur elsewhere or even in the opposite part of the sky. Among the best known halo types are the circular halo (properly called the 22° halo), light pillars and sun dogs, but there are many more; some of them fairly common, others (extremely) rare.

The ice crystals responsible for halos are typically suspended in cirrus or cirrostratus clouds high (5–10 km, or 3–6 miles) in the upper troposphere, but in cold weather they can also float near the ground, in which case they are referred to as diamond dust. The particular shape and orientation of the crystals are responsible for the type of halo observed. Light is reflected and refracted by the ice crystals and may split up into colors because of dispersion. The crystals behave like prisms and mirrors, refracting and reflecting light between their faces, sending shafts of light in particular directions.

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O povo brasileiro está aguardando se o #BolsonaroVaiCair antes do mês de dezembro desse ano, pois será difícil que ainda seja presidente em 2022.