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🌌 Your go-to source for the latest in space exploration, cosmic discoveries, and astronomy news. 🚀 Unlock the mysteries of the universe with stunning visuals and updates from beyond our world. 🌠 #SpaceFeed #CosmicWonders

Free-Air Gravity Map of the Moon. This still image features a free-air gravity map of the Moon's southern latitudes developed by S. Goossens et al. from data returned by the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. If the Moon were a perfectly smooth sphere of uniform density, the gravity map would be a single, featureless color, indicating that the force of gravity at a given elevation was the same everywhere. But like other rocky bodies in the solar system, including Earth, the Moon has both a bumpy surface
Kepler-90 System Compared to Our Solar System (Artist's Concept). Our solar system now is tied for most number of planets around a single star, with the recent discovery of an eighth planet circling Kepler-90, a Sun-like star 2,545 light years from Earth. The planet was discovered in data from NASA's Kepler Space Telescope. This artist's concept depicts the Kepler-90 system compared with our own solar system. The newly-discovered Kepler-90i -- a sizzling hot, rocky planet that orbits its star once every 14.4 days -- was found using machine learning from Googl
Apollo 11 oblique view of lunar farside. AS11-43-6422 (July 1969) --- An Apollo 11 oblique view of the lunar farside. These two odd-shaped craters are located midway between International Astronomical Union craters 218 and 220, and are centered at 155 degrees east longitude and 3 degrees north latitude. The craters total approximately 13.5 statute miles in length and 7.5 statute miles in width at their widest point.
ARC-2008-ACD08-0215-049. Singularity University First Meeting with Ames Center Director Pete Worden,
Jupiter Down Under. This image from NASA's Juno spacecraft provides a never-before-seen perspective on Jupiter's south pole. The JunoCam instrument acquired the view on August 27, 2016, when the spacecraft was about 58,700 miles (94,500 kilometers) above the polar region. At this point, the spacecraft was about an hour past its closest approach, and fine detail in the south polar region is clearly resolved. Unlike the equatorial region's familiar structure of belts and zones, the poles are mottled by clockwise an
History of Chandra X-Ray Observatory. This photograph captures the installation of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, formerly Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), Advanced Charged-Coupled Device (CCD) Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) into the Vacuum Chamber at the X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The AXAF was renamed Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO) in 1999. The CXO is the most sophisticated and the world's most powerful x-ray telescope ever built. It observes x-rays from high-energy regions o
OPALS Fit Check. An engineer from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory oversees a fit check during the integration & testing of the Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science OPALS.
View of crater Tsiolkovsky in highlands on lunar farside as seen by Apollo 15. AS15-97-13168 (31 July-2 Aug. 1971) --- A view of the flow structure on the rim and edge of the crater Tsiolkovsky in the highlands of the lunar farside, as photographed from lunar orbit by astronaut Alfred M. Worden in the Apollo 15 Command and Service Module (CSM). Note the scarp at the edge of the flow and elongated grooves on the flow surface. While astronauts David R. Scott and James B. Irwin descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Falcon" to explore the moon's Hadley-Apennine landing site, Wor
History of Chandra X-Ray Observatory. This is a photograph of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXO), formerly Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), High Resolution Mirror Assembly (HRMA) integration at the X-Ray Calibration Facility (XRCF) at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The AXAF was renamed CXO in 1999. The CXO is the most sophisticated and the world's most powerful x-ray telescope ever built. It observes x-rays from high-energy regions of the universe, such as hot gas in the remnants of exploded stars. The HRMA, t
Investigating Mars: Tithonium Chasma. In this VIS image of Tithonium Chasma both sides of the chasma are visible. In this narrow and deep part of the chasma exist both large, chaotic block landslide deposits with smaller lobate shaped landslide deposits on top. Tithonium Chasma has numerous large landslide deposits. The resistant material of the plateau surface forms the linear ridges of the canyon wall. Large landslides have changed the walls and floor of the canyon. A landslide is a failure of slope due to gravity. They initiate
Earth Observation. Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as: Himalayans (maybe Everest).
The aurora borealis blankets the Earth. iss072e159172 (Oct. 30, 2024) --- The aurora borealis blankets the Earth in this photograph from the International Space Station as it soared 257 miles above Canada's province of Manitoba.
Hubble Sees an Ancient Globular Cluster. This image captures the stunning NGC 6535, a globular cluster 22,000 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent) that measures one light-year across. Globular clusters are tightly bound groups of stars which orbit galaxies. The large mass in the rich stellar centre of the globular cluster pulls the stars inward to form a ball of stars. The word globulus, from which these clusters take their name, is Latin for small sphere. Globular clusters are generally very ancient objects
KSC-07pd0052. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- At Astrotech Space Operations, technicians weigh one of the THEMIS probes. Next the probe will be installed on a probe carrier, along with is four mates, and then undergo spin-balance testing. THEMIS consists of five identical probes, the largest number of scientific satellites ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. This unique constellation of satellites will resolve the tantalizing mystery of what causes the spectacular sudden brightening of the aurora
Skylab. This chart describes the Skylab student experiment Ultraviolet (UV) from Quasars, proposed by John C. Hamilton of Aiea, Hawaii. This experiment utilized Skylab's Ultraviolet Stellar Astronomy equipment to photograph quasars in the UV spectrum and compare those images to existing radio and visible data. In March 1972 NASA and the National Science Teachers Association selected 25 experiment proposals for flight on Skylab. Science advisors from the Marshall Space Flight Center aided and assisted th
Melas, Candor, and Ophir: Valleys of Mariner. First imaged by the Mariner 9 spacecraft, Valles Marineris, the grand canyon of Mars, is a system of enormous depressions or chasmas that stretch some 4,000 kilometers along the Martian equator. Looking north over the canyon's central regions, dark Melas Chasma lies in the foreground of this spectacular perspective view. Behind it are Candor Chasma and the steep walls of Ophir Chasma near the horizon. Faulting, surface collapse and landslides are seen to be part of the complex geologic history o
KSC-02PD-1163. The International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 6 crew patch depicts the station orbiting the Earth on its mission of international cooperation and scientific research. The Earth is placed in the center of the patch to emphasize that work conducted aboard this orbiting laboratory is intended to improve life on our home planet. The shape of the Space Station’s orbit symbolizes the role that experience gained from ISS will have on future exploration of our solar system and beyond. The American an
Saturn Apollo Program. Sitting on the lunar surface, this Solar Wind Spectrometer is measuring the energies of the particles that make up the solar wind. This was one of the instruments used during the Apollo 12 mission. The second manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 12 launched from launch pad 39-A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 14, 1969 via a Saturn V launch vehicle. The Saturn V vehicle was developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun. Aboard Apo
KSC-2014-3246. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, a former space shuttle astronaut, at front right, finds a moment to talk to Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell during a tour for Apollo astronauts and their families of the Vehicle Assembly Building, the facility in which Apollo's Saturn V rockets were processed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The visit followed a ceremony renaming Kennedy's refurbished Operations and Checkout Building for Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong
Dead Star Creates Celestial Havoc. A star's spectacular death in the constellation Taurus was observed on Earth as the supernova of 1054 A.D. Now, almost a thousand years later, a superdense neutron star left behind by the stellar death is spewing out a blizzard of extremely high-energy particles into the expanding debris field known as the Crab Nebula. This composite image uses data from three of NASA's Great Observatories. The Chandra X-ray image is shown in light blue, the Hubble Space Telescope optical images are in gree
Hardy Objects in Saturn F Ring. As NASA's Cassini spacecraft continues its weekly ring-grazing orbits, diving just past the outside of Saturn F ring, it is tracking several small, persistent objects there. These images show two such objects that Cassini originally detected in spring 2016, as the spacecraft transitioned from more equatorial orbits to orbits at increasingly high inclination about the planet's equator. Imaging team members studying these objects gave them the informal designations F16QA (right image) and F16QB
Mimas...and Titan Beyond. Titan, Saturn largest moon and Mimas in the foreground are seen together in this view from Cassini. Titan gravity is weaker than Earth, so the moon atmosphere is quite extended -- a quality hinted at in this view
Ganymede G1 & G2 Encounters - Interior of Ganymede. NASA's Voyager images are used to create a global view of Ganymede. The cut-out reveals the interior structure of this icy moon. This structure consists of four layers based on measurements of Ganymede's gravity field and theoretical analyses using Ganymede's known mass, size and density. Ganymede's surface is rich in water ice and Voyager and Galileo images show features which are evidence of geological and tectonic disruption of the surface in the past. As with the Earth, these geological feat
Views of the Chandra telescope take with HDTV on STS-93. 99-E-10028 (23 July 1999) --- The Chandra X-Ray observatory and its upper stage were captured during separation from the Space Shuttle Columbia with the STS-93 HDTV Camcorder inside the crew cabin.
Ten Cool Things Seen in the First Year of LRO. Mountains on the Moon On the Earth, we are taught that mountains form over millions of years, the result of gradual shifting and colliding plates. On the moon however, the situation is quite different. Even the largest lunar mountains were formed in minutes or less as asteroids and comets slammed into the surface at tremendous velocities, displacing and uplifting enough crust to create peaks that easily rival those found on Earth. On a few occasions in the past year, NASA has tilted the angle o
Earth Observation. Earth observation taken during a day pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS).
KSC-2011-7033. VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In a clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians complete a second fillet and wing fit check on the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus rocket will launch the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) into space. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on the Orbital Sciences’ L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the P
Tarantula Nebula Spitzer 2-Color Image. This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Tarantula Nebula in two wavelengths of infrared light, each represented by a different color. The red color at the heart of the nebula shows the presence of particularly hot gas emitting infrared light at a wavelength of 4.5 micrometers. The blue regions are dust composed of molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are also found in ash from coal, wood and oil fires on Earth. Regions emitting both wavelengths appear
The Color of Space Documentary Screening. NASA astronaut Stephanie Wilson talks with 7-year old Tre Rahaman, left, and 4-year old Amira Rahaman, along with their mother Nadia Rahaman of Silver Sping, Maryland prior to the screening of the NASA produced documentary “The Color of Space” at Howard University’s Cramton Auditorium in Washington, Saturday, June 18, 2022. Premiering on Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, “The Color of Space” is an inspirational documentary that tells the stori
Little Galaxy Explored. This infrared portrait of the Small Magellanic Cloud, taken by NASA Spitzer Space Telescope, reveals the stars and dust in this galaxy as never seen before. This nearby satellite galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy is some 200,000 light-years away.
KSC-2009-3740. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, are ready to roll out to the launch pad atop the Atlas V/Centaur rocket. LRO and LCROSS are the first missions in NASA's plan to return humans to the moon and begin establishing a lunar outpost by 2020. The LRO also includes seven instruments that will help NASA characterize the moon
KSC-08pd0765. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - In the Astrotech payload processing facility, one of twin solar arrays is positioned on NASA's Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST. The telescope will launch aboard a Delta II rocket May 16 from Launch Pad 17-B on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A powerful space observatory, the GLAST will explore the most extreme environments in the universe, and answer questions about supermassive black hole systems, pulsars and the origin of cosmic rays. It also w
Earth Observation. Earth observation taken during day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Earth Observation. Earth Observation taken during a night pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as: Approaching San Francisco at night.
Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 16 Crew. ISS016-E-012047 (22 Nov. 2007) --- Tyndall Glacier, located in the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 16 crewmember on the International Space Station. This glacier, which has a measured total area of 331 square kilometers and length of 32 kilometers (1996 measurements), begins in the Patagonian Andes Mountains to the west and terminates in Lago Geikie. A medial moraine is visible in the center of the glacier, extending along its leng
Scarp Retreat Model and Exposure History of Yellowknife Bay. NASA Curiosity Mars rover has made measurements indicating that the Cumberland rock target the rover drilled in May 2013 has been exposed at the surface for about 80 million years.
KSC-99pp0753. STS-93 crew members eagerly head for the bus outside the Operations and Checkout Building for the trip to Launch Pad 39B. From rear left are Mission Specialists Michel Tognini of France, who represents the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Catherine G. Coleman (Ph.D.), and Steven A. Hawley (Ph.D.), Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Commander Eileen M. Collins. Collins is the first woman to serve as a Shuttle commander. The crew members have been taking part in a Terminal Countdown Demonstrati
Earth Observation. Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as: the Middle East, Israel.
ESO 2.2-m WFI Image of the Tarantula Nebula. NASA image release May 11, 2010 Hubble Catches Heavyweight Runaway Star Speeding from 30 Doradus Image: ESO 2.2-m WFI Image of the Tarantula Nebula A blue-hot star, 90 times more massive than our Sun, is hurtling across space fast enough to make a round trip from Earth to the Moon in merely two hours. Though the speed is not a record-breaker, it is unique to find a homeless star that has traveled so far from its nest. The only way the star could have been ejected from the star cluster where i
KSC-99pp0861. The Rotating Service Structure is rolled back from Space Shuttle Columbia on Launch Pad 39-B, in preparation for launch of mission STS-93 July 20 at 12:36 a.m. EDT. The primary payload of STS-93 is the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The new telescope is 20 to 50 times more sensitive than any previous X-ray telescope and is expected unlock the secrets of supernovae, quasa
Universal Matter. Matter lying between Earth and the edge of the observable universe is shown in this all-sky map from Planck, a European Space Agency mission with important NASA contributions.
Sizzling Remains of a Dead Star. This new view of the historical supernova remnant Cassiopeia A, located 11,000 light-years away, was taken by NASA Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR. While the star is long dead, its remains are still bursting with action.
Uranus - Discrete Cloud. This false-color picture of Uranus, obtained by NASA Voyager on Jan. 14, 1986, shows a discrete cloud seen as a bright streak near the planet limb. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00370
Earth Observation. Earth obsevation taken by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Sunrise over Earth limb. Some Window reflections visible.
Robotic Mining Competition - Opening Ceremony. Team members and their advisor, far right, from Montana Tech of the University of Montana, prepare their robot miner on the second day of NASA's 9th Robotic Mining Competition, May 15, in the RobotPits in the Educator Resource Center at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. More than 40 student teams from colleges and universities around the U.S. will use their mining robots to dig in a supersized sandbox filled with BP-1, or simulated Lunar soil, gravel and rocks, and participate in
KSC-99pp0865. STS-93 Commander Eileen M. Collins waves to her family nearby, a last meeting before launch of mission STS-93 on July 20. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:36 a.m. EDT. The primary mission of STS-93 is the release of the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which will allow scientists from around the world to study some of the most distant, powerful and dynamic objects in the universe. The new telescope is 20 to 50 times more sensitive than any previous X-ray telescope and is expected to unlock the secrets of s
The Inner Rings. The Cassini spacecraft looks toward the innermost region of Saturn rings, capturing from right to left the C and B rings. The dark, inner edge of the Cassini Division is just visible in the lower left corner
New Horizons Ultima Thule Flyby. New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Boulder, CO, right, along with other mission team members and guest watch as Brian May, lead guitarist of the rock band Queen and astrophysicist shows a video with a new song he wrote for the New Horizons mission, Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019 at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
KSC-2011-7031. VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – In a clean room at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, technicians complete a second fillet and wing fit check on the Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus rocket will launch the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) into space. After the rocket and spacecraft are processed at Vandenberg, they will be flown on the Orbital Sciences’ L-1011 carrier aircraft to the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site at the P
The Adventure Ahead. Saturn shadow stretches across the rings in this image captured by NASA Cassini spacecraft.
KSC-2009-1635. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Technicians begin checkout and processing of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, in the high bay at the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The spacecraft was built by engineers at Goddard Space Flight Center, where it recently completed two months of tests in a thermal vacuum chamber. The orbiter will carry seven instruments to provide scientists with detailed maps of the lunar surface and enhance our understanding of the moon's topography, lightin
Shadow and Spokes. A moon shadow strikes Saturn rings near bright spokes on the B ring near the center of this image taken by NASA Cassini spacecraft about one month after the planet August 2009 equinox.
Map of Mimas - February 2010. This global map of Saturn moon Mimas was created using images taken during NASA Cassini spacecraft flybys, with NASA Voyager images filling in the gaps in Cassini coverage.
Jovian Stormy Weather. NASA's Juno spacecraft soared directly over Jupiter's south pole when JunoCam acquired this image on February 2, 2017 at 6:06 a.m. PT (9:06 a.m. ET), from an altitude of about 62,800 miles (101,000 kilometers) above the cloud tops. From this unique vantage point we see the terminator (where day meets night) cutting across the Jovian south polar region's restless, marbled atmosphere with the south pole itself approximately in the center of that border. The terminator is offset a bit because it's
Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Celebration. A visitor poses for a photo in the NASA spacesuit at the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary celebration on the National Mall, Thursday, July 18, 2019 in Washington. Apollo 11 was the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon and launched on July 16, 1969 with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
ARC-1989-A89-7042. P-34578 BW One of two new ring arcs, or partial rings, discovered by Voyager 2, is faintly visible just outside the orbit of the Neptunian moon 1989N4.The 155-second exposure taken by the spacecraft's narrow-angle camera shows the glare of an overexposed Neptune to the right of the moon and ring arc. The two bright streaks below the moon and ring arc are stars. The ring arc is approximately 50,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) long. The second ring arc, not apparent here, is about 10,000 kilometers
KSC-07pd0213. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- In the high bay at Astrotech Space Operations, workers secure the upper cylindrical canister to the lower panels already in place around the THEMIS spacecraft and upper stage booster. When completely enclosed, THEMIS will be transported to Launch Complex 17-B for mating with its launch vehicle. THEMIS consists of five identical probes, the largest number of scientific satellites ever launched into orbit aboard a single rocket. This unique constellation of satell
Earth Observation. Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as: Tropical Storm Arthur.
Jets from a Distance. Enceladus' intriguing south-polar jets are viewed from afar, backlit by sunlight while the moon itself glows softly in reflected Saturn-shine. Observations of the jets taken from various viewing geometries provide different insights into these remarkable features. Cassini has gathered a wealth of information in the hopes of unraveling the mysteries of the subsurface ocean that lurks beneath the moon's icy crust. This view looks toward the Saturn-facing hemisphere of Enceladus (313 miles or 504
NASA, Industry Advance High Performance Spaceflight Computing. NASA, Industry Advance High Performance Spaceflight Computing