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Twinkle, Twinkle Little Nova

Recently those in the Southern Hemisphere were treated to a new sight in the sky – a nova that was so bright it could be seen with the naked eye. Indeed, Nova Centauri 2013 was one of the brightest in years. Image credit: NASA/MSFC/ESSSA/Aaron Kingery What is a nova? It … Continue Reading →


James Webb Space Telescope 101… in one minute!

  • By Sara Mitchell
  • December 23, 2013
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One of the things that was filmed during Coma Niddy’s visit last week was a special episode of his “SCI CODE” web series. He asked us if there was someone who could tell him the basics about the James Webb Space Telescope (no problem!)… in less than a minute (much … Continue Reading →


A visit from Coma Niddy and PBS Digital Studios!

  • By Sara Mitchell
  • December 17, 2013
  • Comments Off on A visit from Coma Niddy and PBS Digital Studios!

Yesterday and today, we’ve been hosting a few special guests who have come to see what’s going on at NASA Goddard and… shoot a music video! We’ve been talking to science educator/rapper Coma Niddy about a collaboration for nearly a year now, and everything finally came together to schedule a … Continue Reading →


How do you get to Stockholm?

Nobel Laureate, and James Webb Space Telescope project scientist, John Mather gave an interesting talk (to a packed room) at NASA Goddard recently. It focused on where he grew up and how he got to where he is today. Did you know, for example, that a failed thesis project led … Continue Reading →


Thanksgiving in Space

We wanted to wish all those celebrating a safe and happy Thanksgiving from NASA Blueshift. Ever wonder what the astronauts on the International Space Station will be doing for the holidays? The six crew members will actually be having a Thanksgiving dinner together. What’s on the menu? According to NASA, … Continue Reading →


Bringing Astrophysics to YouTube: An Interview with Jessica Few

  • By Sara Mitchell
  • November 22, 2013
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Earlier this year, Blueshift contributor Koji Mukai sent us a link to a series of astronomy videos produced by Jessica Few, a student at Durham University in the UK. We loved the videos, and knew we wanted to share them… and find out a bit more about Jessica and her … Continue Reading →


Want to be a Beta-tester for NASA?

The James Webb Space Telescope public website is undergoing an update. We’ve incorporated some new widgets to allow the viewer to explore the content on the website right on the homepage. But we also want to see how easy it is to locate specific information from these widgets. We’re looking … Continue Reading →


Reminder: Show Us Your Space Costumes!

  • By Maggie Masetti
  • November 12, 2013
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Just a reminder now that we’re past Halloween… if you dressed up in a space or astronomy-themed costume, please share your photos with us! To get you inspired, here is how Dirk Schoellner’s kids, Brian and Eric, looked on Halloween, all dressed up for Trick-or-treating, as Dr. Von Braun and … Continue Reading →


Giant Space Bubbles

There’s a lot of things we know now about the Milky Way that we didn’t know even a few years ago. When I was in college, for example, there was debate over whether our galaxy was a barred spiral or not. Now we know that our galaxy does indeed have … Continue Reading →


Spooky Astronomy, part 4

It’s one of my favorites times of year – the Halloween season! And with Halloween comes our annual Spooky Astronomy post. This time I’ve been saving images up all year, so hopefully you’ll see something new! A grinning one-eyed skull? Actually a complex planetary nebula around a dying star. Credit: … Continue Reading →


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