Brightest
- By Alexe Helmke
- October 16, 2012
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Welcome back to the -EST Blog! This is where we explore some of the astronomical superlatives that go the extra distance to make our universe so interesting. This time, I’ll be trying to tackle one of the brightest objects that we can see. We’re going to talk about Active Galactic … Continue Reading →
Podcast: NuStar: NASA’s Newest X-Ray Eyes
- By Sara Mitchell
- October 12, 2012
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Click to listen! (7.5MB MP3, right-click to save) Transcript (Text, PDF) It’s an exciting experience for any space geek to watch a new satellite launch into orbit. Even through an online video feed, it’s thrilling to see something that Earthlings worked for years to create headed for its new home, … Continue Reading →
Awesomeness Round-Up – 6/11/2012
- By Alexe Helmke
- June 11, 2012
- 5 Comments
On Tuesday, June 5, Venus passed in front of the Sun – an event that was visible on seven continents for those that were fortunate enough to have clear weather. These “transits” of Venus are very rare, coming in pairs separated by more than a hundred years. This June’s transit, … Continue Reading →
Awesomeness Round-Up – 5/8/2012
- By Maggie Masetti
- May 8, 2012
- 1 Comment
We posted once about NuSTAR, a new X-ray telescope. It was due to be launched in March, but that launch date is now scheduled for June. Below is a great new image of NuSTAR in the nose cone of the Pegasus rocket it will be launched on. Credit: NASA Using … Continue Reading →
Awesomeness Round-Up – 3/5/2012
- By Maggie Masetti
- March 5, 2012
- 2 Comments
Credit: NASA, ESA, CFHT, CXO, M.J. Jee (University of California, Davis), and A. Mahdavi (San Francisco State University) Astronomers have observed what appears to be a clump of dark matter left behind from a wreck between massive clusters of galaxies. The result could challenge current theories about dark matter. The … Continue Reading →
Awesomeness Round-Up – 2/13/2012
- By Maggie Masetti
- February 13, 2012
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Credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS/SPIRE/Hill, Motte, HOBYS Key Programme Consortium This beautiful, infrared image shows a new view of the Eagle nebula captured by the European Herschel Space Observatory. In 1995, Hubble famously captured a visble-light image of the “Pillars of Creation,” a region of star-formation. That image is below – in the … Continue Reading →
Awesomeness Round-Up – 12/22/2011
- By Maggie Masetti
- December 22, 2011
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Credit: NASA/ESA/HubbleSite Looking for a space-themed way to say “Happy Holidays!” to your family and friends? How about some printable holiday cards with Hubble images? Every card features fabulous astronomical objects… and when you go to download a card, you’ll find links to articles about related Hubble discoveries! The ornaments … Continue Reading →
Awesomeness Round-Up – 11/22/2011
- By Maggie Masetti
- November 22, 2011
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One of the newest additions to NASA Goddard is this giant structural steel frame that will be used to assemble the mirrors and instruments of the James Webb Space Telescope. “This milestone is important as it marks the transition to the integration and testing phase for the Webb telescope’s optical … Continue Reading →
Awesomeness Round-Up – 10/3/2011
- By Maggie Masetti
- October 3, 2011
- 1 Comment
There are gorgeous new shots of a full-scale test version of one layer of the James Webb Space Telescope’s tennis court-sized sunshield: Credit: NGAS Credit: NGAS There are two more on their Flickr.
Awesomeness Round-Up – 9/26/2011
- By Sara Mitchell
- September 23, 2011
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Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle In the hunt for extrasolar planets, we’re interested in finding Earth-like planets… but how about Tatooine-like planets? NASA’s Kepler satellite has discovered a planet that might look a little familiar to Star Wars fans. It’s the first planet scientists have seen that orbits two stars! The … Continue Reading →
