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Space Program - Blog Posts
V838 Monocerotis
V838 Monocerotis, often referred to as V838 Mon, is a red variable star located in the constellation Monoceros.
It gained significant attention in early 2002 when it underwent a dramatic outburst, increasing in brightness by several magnitudes. This event was unusual because it was not a typical nova or supernova; instead, it was classified as a "light echo" phenomenon.
Credits: NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)
Galaxy NGC 5584
The brilliant, blue glow of young stars traces the graceful spiral arms of galaxy NGC 5584. Thin, dark dust lanes appear to be flowing from the yellowish core, where older stars reside.
And congrats to Mercury for being Tumblr's least favorite planet!
This one was expected, I love Mercury but it just looks (and is tbh) a little boring. Still a cool planet, love the craters!!
Syd Mead, space station concept art, c. 1970s.
NGC 1999
NGC 1999 is a reflection nebula located in the constellation Orion.
It is notable for its striking appearance, which includes a dark patch that resembles a hole in the surrounding gas and dust.
This dark region is often referred to as the "hole" in NGC 1999, and it is thought to be a result of the absorption of light by the dust in the nebula.
Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, ESO, K. Noll
The celestial object of the day is TOI-1338b, unofficially known as Wolftopia!
This planet orbits around two stars, causing irregularities in its orbit, making it vary between 95 and 93 days. Although its orbit will keep being stable for another ten million years, its angle towards us will change, meaning that we can't see another transit until 2031.
Here's a rare mind blowing moment in the astronomy world. Clearest images ever taken of Equatorial Ridge on Saturn's moon 'Iapetus'.
The celestial object of the day is Phobos!
It's Mars's largest moon with 21 km (13 mi), it orbits Mars at only 6,000 km (3,700 mi) and it gets closer by 1.8 meters every year, at that rate is expected to collide with Mars or form a planetary ring in about 30-50 million years!
Stepping out on the front porch. Astronaut David Scott opens the hatch to check out the view during Apollo 9, March 1969. In this pic taken by fellow astronaut Rusty Schweickart, ‘Gumdrop’, the Command Service Module is docked with ‘Spider’, the Lunar Module. A9 was the 1st flight incorporating all Apollo spacecraft components. The 10 day mission was the 2nd launched by a Saturn V rocket.
James Webb Space Telescope image of Pillars of Creation
Visible vs Infrared These are the "Pillars of Creation" seen by Hubble, in visible light (on the left) and in infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope, on the right!
Beautiful super Moon from earlier in the year!
The James Webb Telescope has some new pictures of Jupiter!
Cosmic Keyhole" (NGC 1999) Scientists first believed that the conspicuous hole in the center of this nebula was a Bok globule - a dense, cold cloud of gas and dust that blocks out background light. But later observations suggest that the dark patch is actually an empty void in space
Butterfly Nebula
The Butterfly Nebula, also known as NGC 6302, is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Scorpius.
It is named for its striking appearance, which resembles the wings of a butterfly when viewed in certain images.
The nebula is approximately 3,800 light-years away from Earth.
Credits: NASA, ESA, and J. Kastner (RIT)
The Ghost Nebula
The Ghost Nebula, also known as LBN 762, is a dark nebula located in the constellation Cassiopeia.
It is named for its ghostly appearance in images taken in infrared light, where it appears as a dark silhouette against the backdrop of brighter stars and gas.
Credits: NASA, ESA, and STScI; Acknowledgment: H. Arab (University of Strasbourg)
Supernova 1987A
The remnant of Supernova 1987A, located in a neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud, appears at the center of this image. The red, gaseous clouds that surround it fuel a firestorm of new star formation.
Globular Cluster
NGC 1850 is a fascinating globular cluster located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
It is situated approximately 160,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Dorado.
NGC 1850 is notable for its rich population of stars and its complex structure, which includes multiple stellar populations.
Credits: NASA, ESA and P. Goudfrooij (Space Telescope Science Institute); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Planetary Nebula NGC 2440
Planetary nebula NGC 2440 is a relic of a star once like our Sun that has cast off its outer layers of gas, forming a colorful cocoon around the star's remaining core.
Clearest Image ever taken of Mars’ North Pole. Yes that’s water ice.
Stunning New Images of Jupiter From NASA’s Juno Spacecraft (read article here)
"I don't see any god up here. But from here the Earth is beautiful, without borders or divisions."
The first words of a human in space.
Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, April 12, 1961.
Thanks to Clara Statello
To be fair, a lot of goofy-sounding rocketry/aerospace terminology has a legitimate nomenclatural role beyond just being silly euphemisms.
"Unplanned rapid disassembly", for example, exists as the necessary counterpart to planned rapid disassembly: sometimes a rocket is legitimately supposed to fall apart or blow up, so you need a specific term to emphasise that it wasn't supposed to do that.
Similarly, "lithobraking" was coined by analogy with aerobraking (shedding velocity via atmospheric friction) and hydrobraking (shedding velocity by landing in water), and it does have some intentional applications; the Mars Pathfinder probe, for example, was deliberately crashed into the Martian surface while surrounded by giant airbags, and reportedly bounced at least 15 times before coming to rest.
(That said, aerospace engineers absolutely do use these terms humorously as well, because engineers are just Like That.)
Alpha Centauri: The Closest Star System Image Credit & Copyright: Telescope Live, Heaven's Mirror Observatory; Processing: Chris Cantrell
