In this image taken in 1985, four members of the Challenger STS-51L crew train on the flight deck of the shuttle crew compartment. via NASA https://ift.tt/3rVIMqt

The Mare Orientale, Latin for Eastern Sea, is one of the most striking large scale lunar features. The youngest of the large lunar impact basins it’s very difficult to see from an earthbound perspective. Still, taken during a period of favorable tilt, or libration of the lunar nearside, the Eastern Sea can be found near […]

On Jan. 27, 1967, tragedy struck on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy during a preflight test for Apollo 204 (AS-204). via NASA https://ift.tt/3KLPVlT

South of the large star-forming region known as the Orion Nebula, lies bright blue reflection nebula NGC 1999. At the edge of the Orion molecular cloud complex some 1,500 light-years distant, NGC 1999’s illumination is provided by the embedded variable star V380 Orionis. The nebula is marked with a dark sideways T-shape at center right […]

Much like the sky, rivers are rarely painted one color. via NASA https://ift.tt/3rWd3FT

Why is the sky near Antares and Rho Ophiuchi so dusty yet colorful? The colors result from a mixture of objects and processes. Fine dust — illuminated from the front by starlight — produces blue reflection nebulae. Gaseous clouds whose atoms are excited by ultraviolet starlight produce reddish emission nebulae. Backlit dust clouds block starlight […]

This colorized schlieren image is of a small-scale model of NASA’s X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology airplane. via NASA https://ift.tt/3nXMajw

Which direction is this comet heading? Judging by the tail, one might imagine that Comet Leonard is traveling towards the bottom right, but a full 3D analysis shows it traveling almost directly away from the camera. With this perspective, the dust tail is trailed towards the camera and can only be seen as a short […]

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is designing mission concepts to survive the planet’s extreme temperatures and atmospheric pressure. via NASA https://ift.tt/3r4ZXXH

By starlight this eerie visage shines in the dark, a crooked profile evoking its popular name, the Witch Head Nebula. In fact, this entrancing telescopic portrait gives the impression that the witch has fixed her gaze on Orion’s bright supergiant star Rigel. More formally known as IC 2118, the Witch Head Nebula spans about 50 […]