Observatory

weyoume:

“A wide field meteor camera at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center recorded this spectacular meteor breaking up in Earth’s atmosphere on Sept. 30, 2011, 8:37 p.m. EDT.

“A wide field meteor camera at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center recorded this spectacular meteor breaking up in Earth’s atmosphere on Sept. 30, 2011, 8:37 p.m. EDT.

(Source: nasa.gov)

3 days ago 99,372 notes

weyoume:

Full Moon

3 days ago 17 notes View high resolution

future-physicist:

Opportunity, 8 years on Mars

The Opportunity rover landed on the Red Planet at 9:05 p.m. PST Jan. 24, 2004 (12:05 a.m. EST Jan. 25), three weeks after its twin, Spirit, touched down. While NASA declared Spirit dead last year, Opportunity continues to gather data in its dotage, helping scientists understand more and more about Mars’ wetter, warmer past.

“It is amazing. I have to remind myself — my God, this thing is still going!” said John Callas, Opportunity’s project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “But more importantly, it is still very productive on the surface.”

History of Opportunity and Spirit

(via likeaphysicist)

5 days ago 9 notes View high resolution

(Source: tomorrowandbeyond)

1 week ago 103 notes View high resolution

(Source: littleplasticthings, via motherfuckinscifi)

1 week ago 1,029 notes

superpunch2:

Moon model. Via.

1 week ago 16 notes View high resolution

the-star-stuff:

Moons with a view

1. In this view, the moon Rhea (1,530km wide) is on the far side of the rings. Much smaller Prometheus (86km wide) is on the nearside, orbiting between the main portion of the rings and the thin outer F ring. Camera distance to Rhea: approx. 1.6 million km. Camera distance to Prometheus: approx. 1 million km.

2. The cratered and cracked moon Dione (1,120km wide) seems to hang suspended in place in front of Titan (5,150km wide) in the background. Camera distance to Dione: approx 1.8 million km. Camera distance to Titan: approx. 2.7 million km.

3. Dione, in the foreground of this image, appears darker than the moon Tethys (1,070km wide). Tethys appears brighter because it has a higher albedo than Dione, meaning Tethys reflects more sunlight. Camera distance to Dione: approx. 1.2 million km. Camera distance to Tethys: 1.8 million km.

4. Saturn’s moon Epimetheus (86km wide) moves in front of the larger moon Janus (179km wide) as seen by the Cassini spacecraft. Camera distance to Epimetheus: approx. 2.1 million km. Camera distance to Janus: 2.2 million km.

5. In this image, Janus is on the far side of Saturn’s rings. Prometheus is on the nearside, orbiting in the gap between the main rings and the outer, thin F ring. Camera distance to Janus: approx. 1.1 million km. Camera distance to Prometheus: 1 million km.

Images courtesy of NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute.