Galactic Pyrotechnics From 23 Million Light Years Away

NGC 4258, a galaxy about 23 million light years away, is the site of impressive, ongoing fireworks. via NASA https://ift.tt/36jMD4U

Exploring the Night Sky with Hubble’s Caldwell Catalog

This loose collections of stars, known as an open star cluster, is image 100 of the Caldwell catalog. via NASA https://ift.tt/2tZEcx6

Astronaut Christina Koch Poised to Make History Again

NASA astronaut Christina Koch makes observations from the International space Station's cupola. via NASA https://ift.tt/39bcL3w

Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Yellow fever – Mali

From 3 November through 8 December 2019, three laboratory confirmed cases of yellow fever including two deaths (case fatality rate = 67%) were detected through the national surveillance system in Mali. The first case-patient was a 15-year-old girl from a village in Kati district, Koulikoro region, Mali. The second and third case were in 17 and 25-year-old men, nationals from Cote d'Ivoire, living in the district of Bouguimi, Sikasso region, Mali. All three cases tested positive for yellow fever by Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on 3 December 2019 at Institute Pasteur Dakar (IPD). The first case was not vaccinated against yellow fever and had no travel history outside of Kati District. Meanwhile, the vaccination status for the other two cases was unknown.

Additionally, there were nine suspected and three probable cases reported from the Bouguimi district, including three deaths among the probable cases.

Published on December 26, 2019
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Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Qatar

On 5 December 2019, the National IHR Focal Point for Qatar reported three laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) infection to WHO.

The first case-patient (case #1) is a 67-year-old female from Doha, Qatar. She developed fever, cough, shortness of breath and headache on 23 November 2019, and presented to a hospital on 25 November. On 27 November, she went to the same hospital for follow up. However, on 28 November, her condition worsened and she was admitted to the hospital. A nasopharyngeal swab was collected on 28 November and tested positive for MERS-CoV by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on 29 November. The patient had underlying medical conditions, and passed away on 12 December 2019. The source of her infection is under investigation. The patient had neither a history of contact with dromedary camels nor recent travel. Follow up and screening of seven household contacts and 40 healthcare worker contacts is ongoing and two asymptomatic secondary cases have been identified so far.

Published on December 26, 2019
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Morocco's Anti-Atlas Mountains

The Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco formed as a result of the collision of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates about 80 million years ago. via NASA https://ift.tt/2ZoF0qU

Stellar Snowflake Cluster

The newly revealed infant stars appear as pink and red specks toward the center and appear to have formed in regularly spaced intervals along linear structures. via NASA https://ift.tt/35QZqLP

Hubble’s Close-Up of Spiral’s Disk, Bulge

​This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows IC 2051, a galaxy in the southern constellation of Mensa (the Table Mountain) lying about 85 million light-years away. It is a spiral galaxy, as evidenced by its characteristic whirling, pinwheeling arms, and it has a bar of stars slicing through its center. via NASA https://ift.tt/2PI3F6T

Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Eleven new confirmed cases were reported from 11 to 17 December in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

Published on December 19, 2019
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This Week in NASA History: 3rd Hubble Servicing Mission – Dec. 19, 1999

This week in 1999, space shuttle Discovery, mission STS-103, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on the third Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. via NASA https://ift.tt/38QQgRl

Galaxy Gathering Brings Warmth

As the holiday season approaches, people in the northern hemisphere will gather indoors to stay warm. In keeping with the season, astronomers have studied two groups of galaxies that are rushing together and producing their own warmth. via NASA https://ift.tt/35vY0WF

Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

From 1 through 30 November 2019, the National IHR Focal Point of Saudi Arabia reported 10 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) infection and one associated deaths. The cases were reported from Riyadh (4), Madinah (2), Al-Qassim (1), Assir (1), Taif (1), and Makkah (1) regions.

The link below provides details of the 10 reported cases:

Published on December 18, 2019
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Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Yellow fever – Nigeria

Nigeria is responding to successive yellow fever outbreaks, with nearly a three-fold increase in number of confirmed cases in 2019 compared to 2018, suggesting intensification of yellow fever virus transmission. Additionally, there have been cases reported in parts of the country that have confirmed cases for the first time since the outbreak started in September 2017. From 1 January through 10 December 2019, a total of 4,189 suspected yellow fever cases were reported from 604 of 774 Local Government Area (LGAs) across all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria.

Of the total 3,547 samples taken, 207 tested positive for yellow fever by Immunoglobulin M (IgM) in Nigerian network laboratories. In addition, 197 samples from 19 states were confirmed positive using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The case fatality rate for all cases (including suspected, probable and confirmed) is 5.1%, and 12.2% for confirmed cases.

Published on December 17, 2019
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Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Measles – Pacific Island Countries and Areas

Pacific Island Countries and Areas (PICs) are responding to outbreaks of measles with cases being reported for the first time since 2014 ¹.

A resurgence of measles cases has been seen in all WHO Regions since 2017. In the Asia Pacific Region, outbreaks of measles have been reported from countries where measles has previously been eliminated (including Australia, Cambodia, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea) and in endemic countries with high incidence rates (including Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam).

Published on December 15, 2019
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Hubble Views Galaxy’s Dazzling Display

​NGC 3175 is located around 50 million light-years away in the constellation of Antlia (the Air Pump). The galaxy can be seen slicing across the frame in this Hubble image, with its mix of bright patches of glowing gas, dark lanes of dust, bright core, and whirling, pinwheeling arms coming together to paint a beautiful celestial scene. via NASA https://ift.tt/38upyOl

Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Dengue fever – Afghanistan

On 1 May 2019, in response to increasing numbers of dengue fever cases in Pakistan and India, health authorities in Afghanistan heightened monitoring for the disease. As part of this increased vigilance, the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL) in Kabul began to broaden its investigation for possible cases of the disease, such as reviewing samples that tested negative for Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) to see if they were positive for dengue.

The laboratory performed differential diagnosis and tests on 40 samples that had tested negative for Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF). Between 1 October to 4 December 2019, 14 out of the 40 samples tested positive for dengue fever by the CPHL (13 by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and one by Immunoglobulin M (IgM)). Of the 14 confirmed cases of dengue fever, seven were presumably autochthonous as the persons had no travel history to dengue endemic countries. One of the seven autochthonous cases died due to hemorrhagic fever. Six other cases had traveled to dengue endemic countries, including four people to Pakistan and two people to India. One case had an unknown travel history. Out of the 14 cases, 12 (86%) were males, between the age of 21 to 55 years old.

Published on December 13, 2019
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Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Twenty-seven new confirmed cases were reported from 4 to 10 December in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

Published on December 12, 2019
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A Treat for the International Space Station's First Crew

In this image from December 2000, the Expedition One crew--the first to permanently inhabit the International Space Station--are about to eat a treat of fresh oranges. via NASA https://ift.tt/2EbVPMg

Brilliance at Night: The Americas in Darkness

This image of North and South America at night is a composite assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite in April and October 2012. via NASA https://ift.tt/2t0s3rd

Earth's Changing Ice

Meltwater lakes form on the surface of Greenland’s Petermann Glacier. via NASA https://ift.tt/35jfLJ3

Progress 73 Cargo Craft Departs the Station

To make room for the latest cargo craft on Nov. 29, Progress 73 departed the station after undocking from the Pirs docking compartment. via NASA https://ift.tt/36cII9k

Hubble Spots Galaxy’s Dramatic Details

Some of the most dramatic events in the universe occur when certain stars die — and explode catastrophically in the process. When these star deaths, or supernovae, occur, their brightness can rival the light of a whole galaxy. The galaxy NGC 5468, shown in this Hubble image, has hosted a number of these supernovae the past 20 years. via NASA https://ift.tt/2Lrf1JW

Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Nine new confirmed cases were reported from 27 November to 3 December in the ongoing Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. The confirmed cases in this week were reported from Mandima (56%, n=5) and Mabalako (44%, n=4) Health Zones.

In the past two weeks, violence, widespread civil unrest, and targeted attacks have severely disrupted the Ebola response and restricted access to affected communities in multiple locations. As a result, several key activities of the response experienced diminished performance, including the volume of reported and investigated alerts and the number of contacts registered and followed (Figure 1, Figure 2). The volume of alerts from health zones affected by insecurity is lower than usual, and this has led to an overall reduction in the average number of alerts reported in the last seven days. Of the 3346 alerts reported, 96% were investigated within 24 hours.

Published on December 05, 2019
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Luca Parmitano Works to Upgrade a Cosmic Particle Detector

European Space Agency astronaut and current International Space Station Commander Luca Parmitano and ​crewmate Andrew Morgan (out of frame) performed the third spacewalk to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. via NASA https://ift.tt/2DQfO2M

Disease outbreak news from the WHO: Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

From 1 through 31 October 2019, the National IHR Focal Point of Saudi Arabia reported 15 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) infection and six associated deaths. The cases were reported from Assir (5 cases), Al-Qassim (3 cases), Riyadh (6 cases), and Taif (1 case) regions. Of the 15 cases reported, four were linked to two separate clusters. Cluster 1 involved a patient (case #1) and a health care worker (case #5) in Assir region. Cluster 2 involved a patient (case #12) and a health care worker (case #15) in Riyadh region.

The link below provides details of the 15 reported cases:

Published on December 05, 2019
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Carina Nebula's 'Mystic Mountain'

Within the tempestuous Carina Nebula lies “Mystic Mountain.” via NASA https://ift.tt/2OO0V7c

‘Robot Hotel’ Launching to the International Space Station

Robots need a place to stay in space, too. NASA is attaching a “robot hotel” to the outside of the International Space Station with the upcoming launch of the Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS). via NASA https://ift.tt/35VjJaz