Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Images capture the sun as it approaches its peak of solar activity.
In 2010, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) began capturing incredible images of the sun as it ascends toward "solar maximum," the peak of solar activity in the sun's 11-year cycle. The SDO has been photographing the sun every 12 seconds, in 10 different light wavelengths, then "stitches" the frames together to produce amazing composite images, which it released to the public. Let us know in comments what you think of these images and video!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Bethesda residents can catch a glimpse of the rare "naked-eye" comet, which should be visible in the southwestern sky through the end of the month.
Comet 2011 L4, better known as PANSTARRS, is a true astrological rarity because it is visible to the naked eye--something that occurs only once every 5 to 10 years, according to NASA. According to Amy Mainzer, the principal investigator of NASA’s NEOWISE mission, “There is a catch to viewing comet PANSTARRS…a relatively unobstructed view to the southwest at twilight and, of course, some good comet-watching weather.” Viewers captured some stunning photos of the comet over the Lincoln Memorial in Washington this week, with its passage coinciding with a crescent moon. NASA says that PANSTARRS should still be visible through the end of the month but it will be tougher to see (even with binoculars or most home telescopes) as March ends. While…
Monday, March 4, 2013
This image of the capital region at night was taken from the International Space Station.
NASA is known for supplying some of the most engaging images of planets, asteroids, galaxies, stars and other celestial bodies. Now, Canada’s space agency is enthralling us with images of our planet. Chris Hadfield, who later this month is to become the first Canadian to take command of the International Space Station, released a stunning image Feb. 25 via Twitter of the Washington area from a height of 230 miles. In the image, you can clearly make out the convergence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, as well as some details of the infamous street layout of the city. The image is among the latest in a series of Earth-focused images from space. In November, 2012, NASA released a book, “Earth as Art,” a series of 75 images that feature …
Sunday, March 3, 2013
This image of the capital region at night was taken from the International Space Station.
NASA is known for supplying us with some of the most engaging images of planets, asteroids, galaxies, stars and other celestial bodies. Now, Canada’s space agency is enthralling us with images of our planet. Chris Hadfield, who later this month is to become the first Canadian to take command of the International Space Station, released a stunning image on Feb. 25 via Twitter of the Washington, DC, area from a height of 230 miles. In the image, one may clearly make out the convergence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, as well as some details of the infamous street layout of the city. The image is among the latest in a series of Earth-focused images from space. In November 2012, NASA released Earth as Art, a book with 75 images featuring…
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Planetary nebula called NGC 5189 that looks a lot like a glass-blown holiday ornament.
Do they celebrate the holidays in space? Looks like it. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a nearby planetary nebula called NGC 5189 that looks a lot like a glass-blown holiday ornament with a glowing ribbon entwined.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Planetary nebula called NGC 5189 that looks a lot like a glass-blown holiday ornament.
Do they celebrate the holidays in space? Looks like it. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a nearby planetary nebula called NGC 5189 that looks a lot like a glass-blown holiday ornament with a glowing ribbon entwined.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
NASA is hosting several public viewings of the Curiosity Mars Rover as it touches down on the Red Planet.
Want to land on Mars? Well, you can't. Not yet. But early Monday uou can get a feel for what it might look like to land on the Red Planet when NASA broadcasts the landing of the Curiosity Mars Rover across the country. A lot of people are holding their breath. Curiosity has been on its way to Mars since Nov. 26, 2011, when it launched from Cape Canaveral. It will descend into the thin Martian atmosphere, using a new landing method consisting of rocket guided entry, parachute descent, more rockets and a “sky crane,” which is as fantastic as it sounds. The shell of the rover will use its rockets to hover above the surface as the science lab is lowered down the surface by an “umbilical cord.” There’s a lot going on here. “On a scale of one…
Monday, July 23, 2012
The first American woman in space died today after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Best known for being the first American woman in space, Sally Ride died today in her home in La Jolla, CA after a 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer, according to her company, Sally Ride Science. She was 61-years-old. Ride became a role model for girls all around the country when she rode the space shuttle Challenger into space on June 18, 1983 as a mission specialist, reported La Jolla Patch. Locally, a school and a learning center in Germantown are named after Ride. "Sally Ride broke barriers with grace and professionalism, and literally changed the face of America's space program," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "The nation has lost one of its finest leaders, teachers and explorers. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sally…
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Does the Discovery trip end one chapter, or start another?
The Space Shuttle Discovery made its retirement voyage from Florida to Virginia, dazzling spectators who stopped to watch the final flight. Here's a great gallery of photos and videos submitted by Patch readers. For those of us who remember the moon walks and the Challenger and Columbia disasters, this was a bittersweet moment. The United States has accomplished so much in space—it seems sad we have to hitch a ride from the Russians to send our scientists to the International Space Station. In his coverage yesterday from Reagan National Airport, Falls Church Patch Editor Andre Taylor met up with Terry Springer, NASA’s lead for communications and education. Springer said NASA is looking into different spacecraft to replace the shuttles but …
Monday, April 16, 2012
Have you ever seen a shuttle fly in the sky?
Have you ever seen a spaceship fly through the sky? It's not an entirely hypothetical question. On Tuesday morning, April 17, the space shuttle Discovery is slated to circle the Washington, D.C., region as it makes its final trip—riding piggy-back on a 747 airplane—from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to the shuttle's "retirement home," the Smithsonian Institution’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, according to The Washington Post. See a photograph of how the shuttle will attach to the plane on the Air and Space Museum's website. Before it makes its final landing, the space shuttle, which has made 39 trips into space since 1984 and is NASA's oldest surviving shuttle, will make "a spectacular flyover visible to much of the [DC] region," The…
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2:32 pm on Sunday, August 5, 2012
The Planetarium on Fenton Street at the Montgomery College Takoma Park campus will be showing the Curiosity landing. From their website: "Free Public Planetarium SHOWS and Occasional Celestial Spectacle WHEN: Sunday, 5 August 2012 at 11PM through 3AM, Monday, 6 August 2012. Be with us to watch Curiosity land on Mars or crash! See the video 7 Minutes of Terror in 5 minutes and 8 seconds now. Be in… more ›