NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

August 22, 2024

The Dark Tower in Scorpius

In silhouette against a crowded star field along the tail of the arachnological constellation Scorpius, this dusty cosmic cloud evokes for some the image of an ominous dark tower. In fact, monstrous clumps of dust and molecular gas collapsing to form stars may well lurk within the dark nebula, a structure that spans almost 40 light-years across this gorgeous telescopic portrait. A cometary globule, the swept-back cloud is shaped by intense ultraviolet radiation from the OB association of very hot stars in NGC 6231, off the upper right corner of the scene. That energetic ultraviolet light also powers the globule's bordering reddish glow of hydrogen gas. Hot stars embedded in the dust can be seen as bluish reflection nebulae. This dark tower and associated nebulae are about 5,000 light-years away.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

The Marshall Star for August 21, 2024

Contents

Hundreds Honored at Marshall, NASA Awards Ceremony

FAQ: NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Return Status

NASA Awards $1.25 Million to 3 Teams at Deep Space Food Finale

Roger Baird Named Associate Director of Marshall

NASA SPoRT Using Science Data to Better Understand Hurricanes

NASA Telescopes Work Out Black Hole’s Snack Schedule

Europa Clipper Solar Array Alignment, Installation

Danish Instrument Helps NASA’s Juno Spacecraft See Radiation

https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/the-marshall-star-for-august-21-2024/

Hubble Peers Into the Center of a Star-forming Powerhouse

Aug 21, 2024

This view from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope plunges into the center of spiral galaxy Messier 33 (M33), also known as the Triangulum Galaxy.

Located within the triangle-shaped constellation Triangulum and about half the size of our Milky Way galaxy, M33 is the third-largest member of our Local Group of galaxies after the Andromeda galaxy (M31) and the Milky Way.

M33 is known to be a hotbed of starbirth, forming stars at a rate 10 times higher than the average of its neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy.

Interestingly, M33’s neat, organized spiral arms indicate little interaction with other galaxies, so its rapid starbirth is not fueled by galactic collision, as in many other galaxies.

The galaxy contains plenty of dust and gas for churning out stars, and numerous ionized hydrogen clouds, also called H-II regions, that give rise to tremendous star formation.

Researchers have offered evidence that high-mass stars are forming in collisions between massive molecular clouds within M33.

This image captures reddish clouds of ionized hydrogen interspersed with dark lanes of dust.

The apparent graininess of the image is actually swarms of countless stars.

M33 is one of less than 100 galaxies close enough for telescopes like Hubble to resolve individual stars, as evident here.

M33 is known to lack a central bulge, and there is no evidence of a supermassive black hole at its core ― strange since most spirals have a central bulge made up of densely concentrated stars and most large galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centers.

Galaxies with this type of structure are called “pure disk galaxies,” and studies suggest they make up around 15-18 percent of galaxies in the universe.

M33 may lose its streamlined appearance and undisturbed status in a dramatic fashion ― it’s on a possible collision course with both the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way.

This image was taken as part of a survey of M33 in an effort to help refine theories about such topics as the physics of the interstellar medium, star-formation processes, and stellar evolution.

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-peers-into-the-center-of-a-star-forming-powerhouse/

>>21458872 LB

>RFK Jr. Running Mate Goes Scorched Earth on Democrats

Hubble Finds Structure in an Unstructured Galaxy

Aug 22, 2024

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image features the nearby dwarf irregular galaxy Leo A, located some 2.6 million light-years away.

The relatively open distribution of stars in this diminutive galaxy allows light from distant background galaxies to shine through.

Astronomers study dwarf galaxies like Leo A because they are numerous and may offer clues to how galaxies grow and evolve.

Dwarf galaxies are small and dim making the most distant members of this galaxy type difficult to study.

As a result, astronomers point their telescopes toward those that are relatively near to our own Milky Way galaxy, like Leo A.

Leo A is one of the most isolated galaxies in our Local Group of galaxies.

Its form appears as a roughly spherical, sparsely populated mass of stars with no obvious structural features like spiral arms.

The data that created this image come from four Hubble observing programs.

Three of these looked at star formation histories of relatively nearby dwarf galaxies.

The fourth sought to better determine the mass of our Local Group by looking at the motions of dwarf galaxies just outside of the Local Group.

The Hubble observations that looked at star formation found distinct structural differences in the age and distribution of stars in the galaxy.

Most of the younger stars are located in the middle of the galaxy, while the number of older stars increases as you move outward from the center.

Hubble observations also suggest that the galaxy’s halo of stars is about one-third larger than previous estimates.

This distribution suggests that star formation in Leo A occurred from the outside-in, or that older stars efficiently migrated to the outskirts of Leo A in the early stages of its evolution.

https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-finds-structure-in-an-unstructured-galaxy/

Gateway: Energizing Exploration

Aug 22, 2024

Discover the cutting-edge technology powering Gateway, humanity's first lunar space station.

Technicians work diligently to assemble a key power element of Gateway, the lunar space station that will become the most powerful solar electric spacecraft ever flown.

Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element will use the largest roll-out solar arrays ever built – together about the size of an American football field endzone – to harness the Sun’s energy for deep space exploration.

The module is built by Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California, and managed at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

That includes energizing xenon gas to produce the thrust needed to send Gateway from Earth to lunar orbit and keep it there for the Artemis IV, V, and VI missions.

On those missions and beyond, international teams of astronauts will expand Gateway with additional living and working space, and will journey to the lunar South Pole region from Gateway.

The Power and Propulsion Element will power Gateway’s subsystems and enable telecommunications between the lunar surface, the space station, Earth, and back again.

Building on technology advancements from past successful electric propulsion missions like Psyche and DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test), the module will help NASA expand the boundaries of what’s possible in deep space.

NASA and its international partners will explore the scientific mysteries of deep space with Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the Moon.

The international teams of astronauts living and conducting science on Gateway will be the first humans to make their home in deep space.

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/gateway/gateway-energizing-exploration/

>>21460432

LIVE: President Trump in Montezuma Pass, AZ

August 22 at 11:30 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZIC2VT-6GQ

https://rumble.com/v5by1cy-live-president-trump-in-montezuma-pass-az.html