Hubble Uncovers a Celestial Fossil

This densely populated group of stars is the globular cluster NGC 1841, which is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way galaxy that lies about 162,000 light-years away. Satellite galaxies are bound by gravity in orbits around a more massive host galaxy. We typically think of the Andromeda Galaxy as our galaxy’s nearest galactic companion, but it is more accurate to say that Andromeda is the nearest galaxy that is not in orbit around the Milky Way galaxy. In fact, dozens of satellite galaxies orbit our galaxy and they are far closer than Andromeda. The largest and brightest of these is the LMC, which is easily visible to the unaided eye from the southern hemisphere under dark sky conditions away from light pollution. via NASA https://ift.tt/pun109z

Odysseus Lands on the Moon

Following a launch on Feb. 15, Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander touched down in the Moon’s south polar region on Feb. 22 and has since transmitted valuable scientific data back to Earth. via NASA https://ift.tt/Y4wEba9

Atmospheric Science Branch Chief Dr. Charles Gatebe

"Anyone you see on the streets, their color or background doesn't matter; we all come into this world the same way. You're equipped with skills, so find your passion and go for it." – Dr. Charles Gatebe, Chief of Atmospheric Science Branch, NASA's Ames Research Center via NASA https://ift.tt/hDPKv0g

A Splash of Pink

A female (left) and a male roseate spoonbill get together near the tall grasses at the edge of a pond in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, northwest of Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Spoonbills inhabit areas of mangrove such as on the coasts of southern Florida and Texas. These birds feed on shrimps and fish in the shallow water, sweeping their bills from side to side. This and other wildlife abound throughout Kennedy as it shares a boundary with the Wildlife Refuge, home to some of the nation’s rarest and most unusual species of wildlife. The wildlife refuge is a habitat for more than 310 species of birds, 25 mammals, 117 fishes and 65 amphibians and reptiles. via NASA https://ift.tt/y14LpEX

NASA, Partners Test Artemis II Recovery Procedures

Members of NASA’s Exploration Ground System’s Landing and Recovery team and partners from the Department of Defense aboard the USS San Diego practice recovery procedures during Underway Recovery Test 11 (URT-11) off the coast of San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. The team works to secure the Crew Module Test Article and align it on its stand inside the ship’s well deck. URT-11 is the eleventh in a series of Artemis recovery tests, and the first time NASA and its partners put their Artemis II recovery procedures to the test with the astronauts. via NASA https://ift.tt/Q9HVa4F

Hubble Views an Active Star-Forming Galaxy

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features IC 3476, a dwarf galaxy that lies about 54 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Coma Berenices. While this image does not look very dramatic – we might say it looks almost serene – the actual physical events taking place in IC 3476 are highly energetic. In fact, the little galaxy is undergoing a process called ram pressure stripping that is driving unusually high levels of star formation in regions of the galaxy. via NASA https://ift.tt/FM1GgbK

Shanghai from Space

The city lights of Shanghai, the most populous city in China with a population of about 24.9 million, and the Huangpu River flowing through downtown, are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above the East China Sea. via NASA https://ift.tt/nH3hjbv