TSA: *perplexed, talking to another agent*

TSA: “….it’s not a threat” *tilts head*

me: “is that my bag?”

TSA: “yeah, what is that?”

me: “it’s a telescope”

TSA: “a telescope, ohh, it’s the whole thing…”

me: “yeah, just without the tripod”

TSA: “how powerful is that telescope?”

me: *laughs* “it’s only a few mirrors, ma’m”

(via wildlydistorted)

New Insights on How Spiral Galaxies Get Their Arms

Spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Our own Milky Way is a spiral. Our solar system and Earth reside somewhere near one of its filamentous arms. And nearly 70 percent of the galaxies closest to the Milky Way are spirals.

But despite their common shape, how galaxies like ours get and maintain their characteristic arms has proved to be an enduring puzzle in astrophysics. How do the arms of spiral galaxies arise? Do they change or come and go over time?

Read More.

(Source: christinetheastrophysicist)

ScienceCasts: Collision Course? A Comet Heads for Mars
A comet is heading for Mars, and there is a chance that it might hit the Red Planet in October 2014. An impact wouldn’t necessarily mean the end of NASA’s Mars program. But it would transform the program along with Mars itself.

via ScienceAtNASA

“A sense of wonder is not our only starting point. It can also be our destination.”

Sharman Apt Russell | Anatomy of A Rose: Exploring the Secret Life of Flowers

Must Watch: Neil deGrasse Tyson Moderates a Debate on Nothingness

Its been said that something cannot come from nothing, but is “nothing” even conceivable?

If you’ve got two hours to kill on nothing, this is the video for you.

(Source: divineirony, via fyeah-degrasse-tyson)

Skylab: America’s Humanity’s First Home in Space Launched 40 Years Ago Today

With all the futuristic talk today about missions to Mars, lunar bases and asteroid mining, it’s easy to forget that man has already been living off of the planet on and off for decades. Forty years ago today, Skylab — America’s Humanity’s first outpost in space — was launched. The three-man orbiting laboratory was designed to conduct scientific experiments in space, such as studies of the effects of weightlessness on man and other living organisms, and observations of the sun.

Here’s a look back at the pioneering Skylab mission, including mechanical failures, an aborted rescue mission, a crew mutiny and an unplanned crash landing on Earth.

View Wired Skylab Gallery

video: NASA, space.com
article: wired.com

In honor of Skylab’s anniversary, here is a documentary worth every second of your time. Educate yourself on the space race and private industry as it concerns us today.

Orphans of Apollo is (description provided by mirforpeace) …the extraordinary true story of a rebel group of entrepreneurs who seized command of the Russian Mir Space Station. It was the pioneering efforts of these brave, free marketeer buinessmen who launched the New Space Revolution, and kick-started the privatization of outer space as we know it today. This is the greatest story never told, and one film you are not supposed to see…

“Orphans of Apollo” is the award winning documentary that has been called the “greatest space story never told.” The film tells the extraordinary true story of a small group of entrepreneurs who felt, ‘orphaned’ by President Nixon’s decision to end the NASA Apollo Moon program and the subsequent years of nominal space activity. This band of brothers took matters into their own hands, and commandeered the Russian Mir Space Station, behind the backs of NASA and the US government. The rebellious, yet pioneering efforts has been credited with launching the new commercial Space Revolution. This is the remarkable untold story of the greatest secret in the new space race.

This dramatic tale chronicles the adventure of the boldest business plan the Earth has ever seen. ‘MirCorp’, the entrepreneurial company ’s vision to transform the Russian space station into an outpost for what was intended to be the first phase of a trillion dollar business. The project was to include mining of asteroids, gravity free laboratories, a space ‘hotel’, and a research facility. MirCorp was the ultimate start-up company, and unlike anything the universe had ever seen.

Join this band of rebels out to change the course of history in space, as they board a private jet, fly to Russia, negotiate one of the most remarkable business deals of the final frontier. Follow this diverse group as they pioneer their way through this new business of space. Listen to the management team as they struggle with issues of branding, finance, technology, and engage in the ultimate slugfest with the most powerful governments and bureaucrats.

Orphans of Apollo is an intimate and compelling epic which eloquently communicates the real origins of the private commercial new space revolution. Now for the first, and possibly the last, time, “Orphans of Apollo” combines archival material from original NASA film footage, Russian archival footage, personal footage, IMAX footage, with interviews and or footage with key players including Tom Clancy, Elon Musk, Richard Branson, Rick Tumlinson, Walt Anderson, Gus Gardellini, Jeff Manber, and others. Available via Google, Amazon, Amazon Instant Video

website | blog

(Source: facebook.com)

Galaxy Collisions: Simulation vs Observations

The folks over at NASA apod just put up an awesome galaxy collisions, simulations and observations video for the public. I made a little gif set to go along with the video which can be found here.

What happens when two galaxies collide? Although it may take over a billion years, such titanic clashes are quite common.

Images Credit: NASA, ESA; Visualization: Frank Summers (STScI);

Simulation: Chris Mihos (CWRU) & Lars Hernquist (Harvard).

Since galaxies are mostly empty space, no internal stars are likely to themselves collide. Rather the gravitation of each galaxy will distort or destroy the other galaxy, and the galaxies may eventually merge to form a single larger galaxy.

Expansive das and dust clouds collide and trigger waves of star formation that complete even during the interaction process. Pictured above is a computer simulation of two large spiral galaxies colliding, interspersed with real still images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Our own Milky Way Galaxy has absorbed several smaller galaxies during its existence and is even projected to merge with the larger neighboring Andromeda galaxy in a few billion years.

(Source: ikenbot)

Skylab: America’s First Home in Space Launched 40 Years Ago Today

With all the futuristic talk today about missions to Mars, lunar bases and asteroid mining, it’s easy to forget that man has already been living off of the planet on and off for decades. Forty years ago today, Skylab — America’s first outpost in space — was launched. The three-man orbiting laboratory was designed to conduct scientific experiments in space, such as studies of the effects of weightlessness on man and other living organisms, and observations of the sun.

Full Article

(Source: spaceplasma, via spaceplasma)

The winners and notable photos of the 4th International Earth and Sky Photo Contest, a program by The World at Night (TWAN) in collaboration with the Global Astronomy Month and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO). The contest theme is Dark Skies Importance. Similar to TWAN itself, the contest also aims to reclaim the natural beauty of starry sky and to help preserving the dark skies which are not yet dominated by artificial lights.

The images in this video are copyrighted by the photographers. Feel free to share the video (embedding or sharing the link) to promote the contest in non-commercial way. Permission is needed from TWAN (info@twanight.org) for any other use. The music is by sound artist Thomas Nordwest (thomasnordwest.com). Winner photos and more information on the contest page: twanight.org/contest

via Babak Tafreshi and Astronomers Without Borders

Solar prominence in CaK light (Calcium II K)

I present more awesome solarphotography and calcium filters from my friend Kokehtz / Álvaro for you to marvel at :)

Light from singly-ionized calcium ions in the Sun’s upper photosphere and chromosphere (up to 2000 km altitude). Because the blue Calcium K Line (393.3 nm) is sensitive to magnetic fields, magnetically active structures show up in high contrast against the surrounding chromosphere. Places where moderate magnetic fields exist show up bright whereas images of high magnetic fields are dark.

Image Copyright: Álvaro Ibáñez Pérez

In this CaK image, you typically see brightness along the edges of large convection cells called supergranules and in areas called plages. Dark sunspots are also visible.

Spots on the sun are areas of high magnetic field which appear dark to their surroundings (5,800K) due to their cooler temperature of around 3000-3500K. Spots consist of a dark central region (umbra) and are surrounded by an annular region of dark and bright filaments called the penumbra. Within a developing active region (sunspot group) tiny spots form initially without a developed penumbra and are called pores. These are usually relatively short lived or can develop a penumbra and become a fully developed spot.

The chromosphere is a place of high solar activity. In the course of a few minutes we can observe changes in the ejecta and prominences, in the path of the filaments, and as matter flows following very characteristic arches. Chromosphere is also visible in the light emitted by the ionized calcium, in the violet part of the solar spectrum in a wavelength of 393.4 nm. This light comes from calcium atoms that have lost an electron.

(Source: ikenbot)

On June 18, 2009, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket took off from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying with it the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The LRO’s initial goal was simple exploration of the moon, though after one year it switched to a science phase under the Science Mission Directorate of NASA. On the orbiter are a variety of instruments designed to help NASA better understand the Earth’s moon, including tools for creating day-night temperature maps, detecting UV radiation, and creating high resolution color images of its surface. Although the LRO is capable of collecting a wide range of data about our satellite, there’s an emphasis on learning more about the moon’s polar regions, where constant exposure to sunlight is possible and a chance exists for liquid water to be found in the permanently shadowed regions.

It is hoped that exploration data from the LRO can be used to find better landing sites, paving the way for the return of manned trips to the moon and, ultimately, lunar outposts. As such, the LRO marks the first effort to create a complete map of all of the moon’s resources and geography. Because an outpost would also imply humans spending prolonged periods of time on the surface of the moon, the LRO is being used to identify resources on the moon and determine how the moon’s radiation-filled environment will affect us.

Read more about the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in our latest blog post at http://www.penny4nasa.org/2013/05/13/mapping-the-moon-the-lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter-mission/

(Source: pennyfournasa)

Moon Shares Water Source With Earth

The Moon and the Earth share a common water source — primitive meteorites — according to research findings from Brown University.

The predominant theory on how the Moon was formed is that it was the result of a giant object hitting the Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. A chunk of the debris from the impact then became the Moon.

However, researchers assumed that the heat generated by that process would have removed all the water from the Moon leaving it completely dry. Analysis of water found on and beneath the Moon’s surface shows that it has the same source as that found on Earth meaning the process behind the Moon’s formation is not as simple as was previously thought.

“The simplest explanation for what we found is that there was water on the proto-Earth at the time of the giant impact,” said lead author, Alberto Saal, associate professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University. “Some of that water survived the impact, and that’s what we see in the Moon.”

Previous research established that volcanic glass found in samples taken during the Apollo missions contained water. Saal’s paper was looking to work out the water’s origins by analysing the isotopic composition of hydrogen, particularly looking at the amount of deuterium present.

The scientists found that the water’s chemical profile matched that of meteorites from the asteroid belt near Jupiter. The fact that Earth’s own water largely comes from these kinds of meteorites implies that the two share a common water source.

“The impact somehow didn’t cause all the water to be lost,” said Saal. “But we don’t know what that process would be.”