Behold The Most Massive Young Galaxy Cluster Found In The Early Universe. How Do These Megastructures

This time in 2009, a bat hitched a ride on the space shuttle Discovery

Never forget the Batstronaut.

On 15 March 2009, when the space shuttle Discovery was about to launch into orbit, a wounded bat grabbed ahold of its fuel tank to become an officially recognised stowaway, despite safeguards that are supposed to keep such things from happening. He was a bat pioneer hell-bent on glory, or so we choose to believe.

So what exactly happened here? The story started on a mild Sunday evening at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, as crew members began prepping to launch the STS-119 mission. As the crew made their rounds checking for icy buildup on theDiscovery fuel tanks and whatnot, they were shocked to find a small free tail bat clinging to the tank’s foam insulation.

“Based on images and video, a wildlife expert who provides support to the centre said the small creature was a free tail bat that likely had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist,” NASA explained. Unfortunately, it did not appear to be wearing a tiny spacesuit at the time.

So i was carrying a chemical that was 12 on the pH scale and it fell

I guess you could say I dropped the base

Physicists Predict The Existence of New Particle in the “Material Universe”

Scientists are predicting the existence of the type-II Weyl fermion. This comes after they realized that a metallic crystal material, called tungsten ditelluride, was exhibiting a strange behavior. While most metals turn into insulators once subjected to a magnetic field, tungsten ditelluride becomes either an insulator or a conductor, which one it becomes ultimately depends on the direction of the subjected magnetic field.

After a team investigated the phenomenon, they predicted the presence of an unexpected particle—the previously mentioned type-II Weyl fermion—which caused the behavior.

Read more at: http://futurism.com/links/physicists-predict-the-existence-of-new-particle-in-the-material-universe/

Solar System: 2016 Preview

What do we have planned for 2016? A return to the king of planets. A survey of mysterious Ceres. More postcards from Pluto. Anyone who follows solar system exploration in 2016 is in for quite a ride. Last year was one for the record books – and now here are 10 things to look forward to in the new year. See also: what we have planned agency wide for 2016.

Juno Arrives at Jupiter

July 4, 2016 is arrival day for the Juno mission, the first sent expressly to study the largest planet in the solar system since our Galileo mission in the 1990s. Humans have been studying Jupiter for hundreds of years, yet many basic questions about the gas world remain: How did it form? What is its internal structure? Exactly how does it generate its vast magnetic field? What can it tell us about the formation of other planets inside and outside our solar system? Beginning in July, we’ll be a little closer to the answers.

OSIRIS-REx Takes Flight

The OSIRIS-REx mission, short for Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer, sets sail for an asteroid in September. The spacecraft will use a robotic arm to pluck samples from the asteroid Bennu to help better explain our solar system’s formation and even find clues to how life began.

Dawn Sees Ceres Up Close

After an odyssey of many years and millions of miles, in December the Dawn spacecraft entered its final, lowest mapping orbit around the dwarf planet Ceres. The intriguing world’s odd mountains, craters and salty deposits are ready for their close-ups. We can expect new images of the starkly beautiful surface for months.

Cassini Commences Its Grand Finale

In late 2016, the Cassini spacecraft will begin a daring set of orbits called the Grand Finale, which will be in some ways like a whole new mission. Beginning this year and extending into next, the spacecraft will repeatedly climb high above Saturn’s poles, flying just outside its narrow F ring 20 times. After a last targeted Titan flyby, the spacecraft will then dive between Saturn’s uppermost atmosphere and its innermost ring 22 times. As Cassini plunges past Saturn, the spacecraft will collect rich and valuable information far beyond the mission’s original plan.

New Horizons Sends More Postcards from Pluto

We have stared slack-jawed at the images and discoveries from last year’s Pluto flyby, but the fact is that most of the data that New Horizons collected remains on board the spacecraft. In 2016, we’ll see a steady release of new pictures — and very likely some expanded answers to longstanding questions.

Mars Missions March Forward

With five of our missions continuing their Martian quests, 2016 should be a good year for discoveries on the Red Planet.

Mars Odyssey

Mars Opportunity

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Mars Curiosity

MAVEN

Mercury Transits the Sun

A transit is a very rare astronomical event in which a planet passes across the face of the sun. In May, Mercury will transit the sun, on of only thirteen Mercury transits each century on average.

LRO Keeps an Eagle Eye On the Moon

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) will extend its run in 2016, scanning the moon’s surface with its sharp-eyed instruments, investigating everything from lava tube skylights to changes at the Apollo landing sites.

Spacecraft Fly Under Many Flags

Our partner agencies around the world will be flying several new or continuing planetary missions to destinations across the solar system:

Akatsuki at Venus

ExoMars

Mars Express

Mars Orbiter Mission

Rosetta at Comet 67/P

Technology Demonstration Missions Push the Envelope

We’re always looking for new frontiers on distant worlds, as well as the technology that will take us there. This year, several missions are planned to take new ideas for a spin in space:

Deep Space Atomic Clock

NODES

LDSD

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

China and the US create a ‘space hotline’ to avoid conflicts

NASA just released more awesome space tourism posters

Pack your bags, we're moving to Jupiter.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how incredible our Solar System is? Sure, pretty much everywhere other than our own planet is a deathtrap, with acid rain pouring down on Venus and storms three times the size of Earth swirling around Jupiter, but you don’t have to look too hard to find the unique beauty in our neighbouring planets and moons.

And with unique beauty comes… tourism! From the diamond-inspired cloud observatory of Venus to Jupiter’s aurorae-backed balloon ride, the design team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have taken us back to the future with this new batch of retro space tourism posters.

The “Visions of the Future” series features seven original posters released this week, plus seven “Exoplanet Travel Bureau” posters that were published around this time last year. And these haven’t just been dreamt up by anyone - the designers behind the posters have been consulting with JPL scientists and engineers to come up with tourism scenarios that are as realistic as they are fantastical.

These are the Most Incredible Photos Shot by NASA’s Cassini Probe

The Cassini space probe has captured its fair share of eye-popping photos since launching in 1997 and arriving in Saturn’s orbit in 2004. Here’s a collection of some of Cassini’s most remarkable photographs. Many of them were compiled by Reddit user I_Say_I_Say, and others were featured here before or obtained from NASA’s website: You can find a massive collection of Cassini’s photos in the mission gallery on NASA’s website.Thanks Petapixel

1.A massive storm stretching across the surface of the planet. 2.Saturn’s gradation and rings. 3.Three of Saturn’s moons (Titan, Mimas, and Rhea) captured in a single photo. 4.Saturn casting a shadow on its rings. 5.Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus. 6.Saturn, its rings, and its moon Dione. 7. Earth seen as a pale blue dot under Saturn’s rings. 8.Saturn’s moon Rhea hovering in front of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. 9.Saturn casting its shadow on its rings. 10.Saturn and its moon Titan

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Solar System: From TED Talks to Data Releases

Let us lead you on a journey of our solar system. Here are some things to know this week:

1. NASA-Funded Research

It’s all just a click way with the launch of a new public access site, which reflects our ongoing commitment to provide public access to science data.

Start Exploring!

2.  Red Planet Reconnaissance 

One of the top places in our solar system to look for signs of past or current life is Mars. Through our robotic missions, we have been on and around Mars for 40 years. These orbiters, landers and rovers are paving the way for human exploration.

Meet the Mars robots

3. Three Moons and a Planet that Could Have Alien Life

In a presentation at TED Talks Live, our director of planetary science, Jim Green, discusses the best places to look for alien life in our solar system.

Watch the talk

4. Setting Free a Dragon

Tune in to NASA TV on Friday, Aug. 26 at 5:45 a.m. EDT for coverage of the release of the SpaceX Dragon CRS-9 cargo ship from the International Space Station.

Watch live

5. Anniversary Ring(s)

Aug. 26 marks 35 years since Voyager probe flew by Saturn, delighting scientists with rich data and images. Today, thanks to our Cassini spacecraft, we know much more about the ringed planet.

Learn more about Cassini’s mission to Saturn

Learn more about Voyager 2

Discover the full list of 10 things to know about our solar system this week HERE.

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You can grab and fold this drone without hurting yourself

British astronaut Tim Peake made this timelapse of lightning storms from the International Space Station. He says it was recorded as he flew from North Africa over Turkey towards Russia.