Comprising photos taken from the ISS on December 30, 2019 during a nighttime pass over Africa, this quick timelapse shows lightning, airglow, many stars, and even a few satellites in motion—at least six, by my count! (You may need to full-screen the video and then make sure the quality is set to high to make…
Tag: Earth
NASA Satellite Data Show “Greening” of the Arctic as Sea Ice Levels Remain Low
NASA’s Landsat program—which will see its newest satellite launched in 2021—has given us a view from space of forests, farms, fresh water resources, and cities across our planet since the early 1970s — the longest scientific record of its kind. Now, researchers have used high-resolution Landsat data acquired since 1985 to show how the Arctic…
NASA Rocket Trails Trace Twisting Waves at the Border of Space
Glowing vapor clouds released from NASA research rockets launched in Alaska in January 2018 trace curling waves high in Earth’s atmosphere, at the very boundary of space, revealing fluid flow structures known as Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.
Fun Fact: All the Planets in the Solar System Could Fit Between Earth and the Moon
It might seem a bit far-fetched but yes, it’s true: if you could line up all of the other planets in our Solar System in a row edge-to-edge (or more geometrically accurately, limb-to-limb) and for good measure even include Pluto, the entire queue would easily fit within the space between Earth and the Moon. (Not…
This is the Shadow of a Solar Eclipse Seen from Behind the Moon
During a total eclipse event on July 2, 2019 the shadow of the Moon passed across the southern Pacific Ocean and parts of Chile and Argentina. For viewers on Earth the event briefly turned the daytime sky to night as the Moon completely blocked the Sun, but for one spacecraft orbiting far beyond the Moon…
Haunting Images from NASA of a Space Suit Drifting in Orbit
You might want to file this under “nightmare fuel.” Yes this is a thing that actually happened on the International Space Station in 2006. But if you’re not already familiar with what’s going on here, it’s probably not what you think…
Earth and Moon as Seen from Mars
This is an image of Earth and the Moon captured from Mars by the Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) aboard NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor on May 8, 2003. It was the first time an image had been captured from another planet—i.e., by a spacecraft in orbit—showing both bodies as discernible planetary disks, in phases. At that time Mars…
Nine Reasons to be Grateful to Live on Earth
(Via NASA) Earth can sometimes feel like the last place you want to be. Many forward thinkers and sci-fi authors have devised inventive ways we could move civilization off this planet. Sure, the promise of a better life in the mysterious beyond can be seductive. But the fact is the more we learn about “out there,”…
This is Earth and the Moon from 40 Million Miles Away
That’s here; that’s home; that’s us—the two bright objects in this picture are Earth and the Moon, imaged by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on January 17, 2018 from a distance of 39.5 million miles (63.5 million km). This is about the distance between Earth and Mars at their closest points to each other (give or take…
Apollo 8: Humanity’s First Earthrise—and First Christmas—from the Moon
“We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” – William Anders, Apollo 8 Commander On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1968, the Apollo 8 CSM entered orbit around the Moon and, after completing 4 full orbits, provided the three astronauts on board with an…
Flying Free: Iconic NASA Astronaut McCandless Has Died
On Feb. 7, 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless II became the first “human satellite” when he performed the first test flight of NASA’s Manned Maneuvering Unit during STS-41B. Propelled by 24 small nitrogen-powered thrusters, the chair-like MMU allowed McCandless (who helped engineer the Unit at Lockheed Martin) to travel freely through space without any tethers or cords connecting…
OSIRIS-REx Sees the Moon Like We Can’t
On September 22 NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft made a “slingshot” gravity-assist pass by Earth in order to adjust the angle of its flight toward Bennu. Mission scientists took the opportunity to test out the spacecraft’s cameras with planned observations of Earth and the Moon, and I’m happy to report that everything worked out perfectly! Some of…
Lights in the Dark 