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Galactic holiday lightshow

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Chandra, Hubble and Spitzer telescopes capture NGC 2207 and IC 2163 in a wicked lightshow
Chandra, Hubble and Spitzer telescopes capture NGC 2207 and IC 2163 in a wicked lightshow

A perfect picture in time for the holidays. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Festivus (or something else or nothing), this time of the year has a festive vibe in many places across our world and maybe even out of this world. This composite image from constellation Canis Major shows spiral galaxies in a one of a kind light show. NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are about 130 million light years away from Earth and were captured by three NASA missions. The x-ray spectrum data was provided by Chandra X-Ray observatory; visible spectrum by Hubble Space Telescope and infrared spectrum data by the Spitzer space telescope.

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Martian rock formation created by water currents

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This rock formation on Mars looks like it was created by moving water
This rock formation on Mars looks like it was created by moving water

Curiosity rover captured this rock formation at an area called “Whale Rock” near the base of Mount Sharp. We see similar rocks formed by moving water here on Earth. NASA scientists believe that the cross-bedding seen in the above picture from Mars also points to a time in the planet’s past when water was present and waves may have loosened sediment and created this type of rock formation. This picture was taken by Curiosity’s Mast Camera (Mastcam).

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Enceladus: the tiny dot

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Tiny Enceladus captured with Saturn in the background
Tiny Enceladus captured with Saturn in the background

The one thing that never really gets old is a visual representation of the size of Saturn, especially when compared to some of its moons. This is one such case where the Cassini-Huygens mission, which is a joint US-Europe venture, continues to do yeoman’s works by providing us amazing pictures of Saturn and its neighborhood. We have circled the small Enceladus (only 504 kilometers across) as it was photographed by the wide angle camera on the Cassini spacecraft, from a distance of approximately 948,000 kilometers from Saturn.

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Getting up close and personal with a comet

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Philae lander took this picture just 130 feet from the comet
Philae lander took this picture just 130 feet from the comet

Before its eventual landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, this would have been the closet view that we had seen of a comet. ESA’s Philae lander took this picture of the comet while it was descending towards it, from a distance of just 130 feet (40 meters). This picture was taken using the Rosetta Lander Imaging System (ROLIS) which is mounted on the bottom of Philae. We can clearly see that this comet is covered by dust and debris ranging from fine-grain particles to rocks of varying size. The slight depressions and elevations across the surface of this comet are also discernible from this picture.

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Mighty Orion’s first space launch

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Marvelous setting in Cape Canaveral as the Orion rocket lifts off
Marvelous setting in Cape Canaveral as the Orion rocket lifts off

After being delayed by a day, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully launched from the US Air Force’s space complex at Cape Canaveral. The powerful rocket system helped the unmanned spacecraft conduct its maiden voyage which included traveling 3,600 miles (5,800 kilometers) from Earth before Orion’s 4.5 hour journey ended with a splashdown and successful recovery in the Pacific Ocean. This inaugural test was used to validate the  Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle’s (MPCV) all important heat shield and some of the avionics for a spacecraft that NASA hopes will one day allow manned missions to Mars, asteroids and possibly deeper into space. Continue reading →

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