Latest Posts by elvaltal - Page 2
Very nice!
Earth from SPACE
What a sweet baby kitten. :)
waiting for springtime Source: http://ift.tt/2jD6eIN
This will be COOL! Wish I lived closer to the totality area!
Solar System: Things to Know the August Eclipse
We’re counting down until the August 21 total solar eclipse that will be visible across most of North America. Here are some things you can do to prepare.
1. Find A Spot
The eclipse should be visible to some extent across the continental U.S. Here’s map of its path.
Our eclipse page can help you find the best viewing locations by longitude and latitude: eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2017Aug21Tgoogle.html
2. Citizen Science
Want to know more about citizen science projects? Find a list of citizen science projects for the eclipse: https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/citizen-science
3. Never look directly at the sun! Even during the early phases of the eclipse!
Get your eclipse viewing safety glasses beforehand: eclipse2017.nasa.gov/safety
4. Get Our Interactive Eclipse Module App
In this interactive, 3D simulation of the total eclipse on August 21, 2017, you can see a view of the eclipse from anywhere on the planet:
http://eyes.jpl.nasa.gov/eyes-on-eclipse.html
5. Got questions?
Join the conversation on social media. Tag your posts: #Eclipse2017.
Twitter: @NASASolarSystem, @NASA, @NASASunEarth Facebook: NASA Solar System
Discover the full list of 10 things to know about our solar system this week HERE.
Follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
You've got that right!! When thunder roars go indoors!
Talk about a wakeup call! I live near a camping area so I hope this never happens. Wow
WOW! Gorgeous!
Aurora Borealis /Northern Lights by grynetvalp
Excellent!! Can’t wait to see more!! ;)
#GOES-R #GOES16 #weather #satellite
GOES-16 showcases improved capabilities.
NOAA has created much hype over the instruments on the new GOES-16 satellite, which launched November 19 as GOES-R. The spacecraft is the most sophisticated weather monitoring satellite ever launched, with instruments over four times as powerful as the current generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites.
For comparison, both the next generation GOES-16 and current generation GOES-13 satellite, which launched in 2006, took a picture of the Western hemisphere at 1:07pm EDT January 15, which are shown above. Weather forecasters will use the higher resolution on GOES-16 and future satellites to make more precise forecasts and weather monitoring.
For a larger resolution, click here.
New satellite technology in action!!! Woo hoo!
One of the first images from NOAA’s new satellite, the GOES 16. Spectacular!
So cool! WOW!
WOW! Great chapter!
“He likes this side of her, a side he’s never seen, the soft, vulnerable, slightly clingy Kate. It’s such a stark contrast to who he sees on a daily basis, different even from the glimpses of vulnerability she’s allowed him to see, and he really likes it.” A post-2x18 AU.
Rated: M
Looking forward to seeing the data from these satellites! The more data, the better!
CYGNSS rockets into orbit atop Pegasus
The first Cygnus launch from Cape Canaveral in nearly 10 years successfully placed NASA’s eight CYGNSS satellite into orbits Thursday, December 15. Pegasus, attached to the belly of Orbital ATK’s L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Skid Strip runway at 7:38am EDT. After reaching an altitude of 39,000 feet and within the 10 by 40 mile launch box, Pegasus was commanded for release, falling away from the mothership at 8:37am. Less than five seconds later, the first stage ignited, beginning a 14-minute climb to orbit for Pegasus and the eight CYGNSS satellites.
CYGNSS, short for Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System, will use high-fidelity GPS signals to help forecasters better measure and predict hurricanes. In honor of the storm recently affecting the space coast, the Pegasus rocket launching CYGNSS was named Matthew. This was the 43rd launch of the Pegasus rocket, which made history in 1990 as the world’s first successfully-launched commercially-developed rocket vehicle. It remains the only air-launched rocket system in operation. CYGNSS was originally scheduled for launch Monday, but a faulty hydraulic pump in the rocket’s release mechanism promoted a delay into today. P/C: NASA.
Launch was delayed. Tentatively scheduled for Thursday 12/15 at 826 AM EST. Lots more information available through www.nasa.gov/cygnss . More great satellite info upcoming!
Eight Small Satellites Will Give Us a New Look Inside Hurricanes
The same GPS technology that helps people get where they’re going in a car will soon be used in space in an effort to improve hurricane forecasting. The technology is a key capability in a NASA mission called the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS).
The CYGNSS mission, led by the University of Michigan, will use eight micro-satellite observatories to measure wind speeds over Earth’s oceans, increasing the ability of scientists to understand and predict hurricanes. Each microsatellite observatory will make observations based on the signals from four GPS satellites.
The CYGNSS microsatellite observatories will only receive signals broadcast directly to them from GPS satellites already orbiting the Earth and the reflection of the same satellite’s signal reflected from the Earth’s surface. The CYGNSS satellites themselves will not broadcast.
The use of eight microsatellite observatories will decrease the revisit time as compared with current individual weather satellites. The spacecraft will be deployed separately around the planet, with successive satellites passing over the same region every 12 minutes.
This will be the first time that satellites can peer through heavy tropical rainfall into the middle of hurricanes and predict how intense they are before and during landfall.
As the CYGNSS and GPS constellations orbit around the Earth, the interaction of the two systems will result in a new image of wind speed over the entire tropics every few hours, compared to every few days for a single satellite.
Another advantage of CYGNSS is that its orbit is designed to measure only in the tropics…where hurricanes develop and are most often located. The focus on tropical activity means that the instruments will be able to gather much more useful data on weather systems exclusively found in the tropics. This data will ultimately be used to help forecasters and emergency managers make lifesaving decisions.
Watch Launch!
Launch of CYGNSS is scheduled for 8:24 a.m. EST on Monday, Dec. 12 from our Kennedy Space Center in Florida. CYGNSS will launch aboard an Orbital ATK Pegasus XL rocket, which will be deployed from Orbital’s “Stargazer” L-1011 carrier aircraft.
Pegasus is a winged, three-stage solid propellant rocket that can launch a satellite into low Earth orbit. How does it work? Great question!
After takeoff, the aircraft (which looks like a commercial airplane..but with some special quirks) flies to about 39,000 feet over the ocean and releases the rocket.
After a five-second free fall in a horizontal position, the Pegasus first stage ignites. The aerodynamic lift, generated by the rocket’s triangle-shaped wing, delivers the payload into orbit in about 10 minutes.
Pegasus is used to deploy small satellites weighing up to 1,000 pounds into low Earth orbit.
Watch live coverage HERE.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
These new type of satellites are revolutionizing how scientists will keep an eye on the Earth for years to come! Check out the CYGNSS one! :)
6 Tiny Satellites That Are Changing How We See Earth
HARP: Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter
What’s better than taking a picture of a cloud to figure out its size and shape? Taking a bunch of pictures all around it. That way you get a three-dimensional view without having to worry about missing something. The HARP CubeSat is going to do just that: make observations of cloud droplets and tiny airborne particles like soot and dust with a modified camera lens from multiple angles. This will give us a full rendering of what’s going on inside the clouds, specifically, how those airborne particles act as “seeds” for water vapor to condense on and form cloud droplets. Since so many of those particles are in the air as a result of man-made pollution, we want to understand how they may be affecting clouds, weather and climate.
RAVAN: Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes
Anyone who’s worn a black shirt on a summer day knows how much sunlight and heat it absorbs. The RAVAN 3-unit CubeSat, however, carries “blacker than black” technology – carbon nanotubes set up like a bundle of drinking straws that suck up nearly all the sunlight and energy that reach them to the point that your black shirt seems merely dark grey in comparison. Flying in low Earth orbit, RAVAN’s super sensitive instrument will detect tiny changes in the amount of sunlight and energy passing into and out of the top of the atmosphere. The amount of energy passing through the top of the atmosphere is where the net accounting of Earth’s energy budget happens – one of the major measurements we need in order to understand the effects of greenhouse gases on global warming and climate change.
MiRaTA: Microwave Radiometer Technology Acceleration
That long skinny piece coming out of the bottom right side under the solar panel? That’s a measuring tape. It’s doubling as a communications antenna on the MiRaTA CubeSat that will be a mini-weather station in space. This 3-unit, shoe box-sized satellite is testing out new, miniaturized technology to measure temperature, water vapor, and cloud ice in the atmosphere. They’ll be tracking major storms, including hurricanes, as well as everyday weather. If this test flight is successful, the new, smaller technology will likely be incorporated into major – large – weather satellite missions in the future that are part of our national infrastructure.
IceCube
The aptly named IceCube will measure – you guessed it – ice in our atmosphere. Unlike the droplets that make up rain, ice is one of the harder things to measure from space. IceCube is a 3-unit CubeSat about the size of a loaf of bread outfitted with a new high-frequency microwave radiometer, an instrument that measures naturally occurring radiation emitted by stuff in the atmosphere – cloud droplets, rain, and the ice particles at the tops of clouds. This will be the first space test of the new microwave radiometer that has to balance its tiny size and low power with being sensitive enough to detect cloud ice.
CYGNSS: Cyclone, Global Navigation Satellite System
What do GPS signals do when they’re not talking to your phone? A lot of them are just bouncing harmlessly off the planet’s surface – a fact that the CYGNSS mission is taking advantage of to measure wind speed over the ocean. Eight identical small satellites, each about the size of a microwave oven, flying in formation carry custom modified GPS receivers pointed at the oceans. When the water is smooth – not windy – the GPS signals reflect back uniformly, like the moon on a pond reflected as if in a mirror. When the water is choppy – windy – the signals reflect back in in the same direction but distorted, like the moon reflection on a choppy pond being distorted by ripples. Flying eight satellites in formation means the CYGNSS mission can measure wind speed across more of the ocean at once, which will help with understanding tropical storms and hurricanes.
TROPICS: Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats
An important way to improve forecasts of hurricane and tropical cyclone intensity is to see what’s going on inside and around them while they’re happening. That’s the goal of the TROPICS mission, 12 CubeSats that will fly in formation to track the temperature and humidity of storm environments. The TROPICS CubeSats will get very frequent measurements, similar to X-rays, that cut through the overall cloud-cover so we can see the storm’s underlying structure. The storm structures known as the eyewall – tall clouds, wind and rain around the eye – and rainbands – the rainy parts of the spiral arms – give us clues about whether a storm is primed to intensify into a category 4 or 5 storm, something everyone in their path needs to know.
Learn more the world of small satellites at: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
Yes, hugs are very good, especially when one is sad. This makes me feel better. <hugs>
“Hugs are actually so underrated especially those hugs that are so tight you can literally feel the other person’s heartbeat and for a moment everything feels so calm and safe like nothing can hurt you.” (x)
Gorgeous CB!!!
Solar System: Things to Know This Week
This week, we’re looking at MAVEN’s exploration of Mars, the Orionid meteor showers, Mercury’s “great valley” and more.
1. Celebrating MAVEN
MAVEN, the Mars Atmospheric and Volatile Evolution, was the second mission selected for our Mars Scout program and the first to explore the planet’s upper atmosphere . It launched on November 18, 2013 and entered orbit around Mars on September 21, 2014.
+ MAVEN Quick Facts
2. Jupiter Moon Dance
This time-lapse sequence of Hubble Space Telescope images shows Jupiter’s moon Europa as it moved across the planet’s face over the course of 19 minutes. Europa is at the bottom center on Jupiter’s disk, the Great Red Spot to the left and Europa’s shadow to its right. The video was created by combining six snapshots taken in ultraviolet light with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3.
+ Learn more
3. The Orionid Meteor Shower
Orionid shower peaks November 28. Look for the constellation Orion in the Southeast sky by 9 p.m. Using binoculars, look for the Orion Nebula.
4. Comet Warming Up!!
Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdu áková will brighten to expected stunning binocular visibility in mid to late December, but is near Venus on November 23rd.
+ Track the Comet
5. Mercury’s “Great Valley”
A newly discovered “great valley” in the southern hemisphere of Mercury provides more evidence that the planet closest to the sun is shrinking. Using stereo images from our MESSENGER spacecraft to create a high-resolution map, scientists have discovered that revealed the broad valley – more than 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) long – extending into the Rembrandt basin, one of the largest and youngest impact basins on Mercury. About 250 miles (400 kilometers) wide and 2 miles (3 kilometers) deep, Mercury’s great valley is smaller than Mars’ Valles Marineris, but larger than North America’s Grand Canyon and wider and deeper than the Great Rift Valley in East Africa.
+ Learn more
Discover the full list of 10 things to know about our solar system this week HERE.
Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com
So exciting!! GOES-R scheduled for launch today (11/19) at 542 PM EST. Great new technology, improved imagery, MORE imagery, NEW total lightning detection, and much more. Learn more about GOES-R by visiting www.goes-r.gov .
You can watch the launch on NASA TV. Check your local cable/satellite provider or you can watch online through USTREAM or via nasa.gov ‘s NASA TV website. Enjoy!
READY FOR LAUNCH: CU BOULDER INSTRUMENT SUITE TO ASSESS SPACE WEATHER
A multimillion dollar University of Colorado Boulder instrument package expected to help scientists better understand potentially damaging space weather is now slated to launch aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite on Saturday, Nov. 19.
Designed and built by CU Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP), the instrument suite known as the Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) is the first of four identical packages that will fly on four NOAA weather satellites in the coming decade. EXIS will measure energy output from the Sun that can affect satellite operations, telecommunications, GPS navigation and power grids on Earth as part of NOAA’s next-generation Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R Series (GOES-R).
“We are ready for launch and are looking forward to a successful mission,” said LASP Senior Research Scientist Frank Eparvier, principal investigator on the EXIS project. “These extremely sensitive instruments will help scientists better understand solar events and help to mitigate the effects of space weather on Earth.”
NASA’s contract with CU Boulder on behalf of NOAA to design, build, test, deliver and scientifically support the four instrument packages is for roughly $105 million. The GOES-R satellite was built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Littleton, Colorado and will be launched on an Atlas V rocket built by United Launch Alliance, headquartered in Centennial, Colorado.
EXIS consists of two LASP instruments, including XRS, an X-ray sensor that can determine the strength of solar flares and provide rapid alerts to scientists, said Eparvier. Large solar flares, equivalent to the explosion of millions of atomic bombs, can trigger “proton events” that send charged atomic particles flying off the Sun and into Earth’s atmosphere in just minutes. They can damage satellites, trigger radio blackouts and even threaten the health of astronauts by penetrating spacecraft shielding, he said.
“The XRS gives the first alert that a solar flare is occurring, providing NOAA with details on its timing, magnitude and direction within seconds,” said Eparvier.
The second EXIS instrument, EUVS, will monitor solar output in the extreme ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is completely absorbed by Earth’s upper atmosphere, said Eparvier. When the extreme UV light wavelengths penetrate the upper atmosphere during active periods on the Sun, they can break apart, ionize and change the properties of the atmosphere through which satellites fly and radio waves propagate.
Fluctuations in extreme UV wavelengths from the Sun ionize the upper atmosphere and interfere with communications like cell phones and GPS signals, said Eparvier. In addition, such fluctuations can create satellite drag, causing spacecraft to slowly fall out of orbit and burn up months or years before such events are anticipated.
“Modern technology has made us vulnerable to extreme variations in space weather that can have significant effects on Earth communications,” Eparvier said. “Extreme solar activity can cause problems for power companies all around the world, for example, in part because they all are interconnected.”
NOAA’s GOES satellites are a series of weather satellites that help scientists make timely and accurate weather forecasts. Two GOES satellites are now in geostationary orbit at a height of about 22,000 miles, with one focusing on the east part of the Americas overlapping with another focusing on the west. Satellites in geostationary orbits complete one revolution in the same amount of time it takes for the Earth to rotate once on its polar axis, allowing them to “stare” at a portion of Earth, said Eparvier.
LASP also built key solar instruments for NASA’s Van Allen Probes mission launched in 2012 to study Earth’s radiation belts, and designed and built a $32 million instrument package for NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory that launched in 2010.
More than 100 LASP personnel ranging from scientists and engineers to technicians, programmers and students have worked on the EXIS program since 2006. CU Boulder’s LASP will support EXIS on the four NOAA GOES satellite missions through spacecraft integration, testing, launch and commissioning, said Eparvier.
Each instrument package, roughly the size of a large microwave oven and weighing 66 pounds, is three times heavier than normal due to extra shielding that protects them from high-energy particle penetration. LASP’s Mike Anfinson is the EXIS project manager.
Updated Launch date/time: Saturday, November 19th at 542 PM EST from Cape Canaveral.
First of advanced environment satellites arrives at Kennedy.
The United State’s latest and most technologically advanced weather satellite was transported from its assembly facility in Colorado to Kennedy Space Center today, August 22. A joint endeavour between NASA and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, the GOES-R satellite weighs in at more than 6,200 pounds. Orbiting more than 22,300 miles above the Earth in Geostationary Transfer Orbit, GOES-R will provide the western hemisphere advanced weather and environmental forecasting technology. GOES-R, which stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, is the first of four third-generation GOES satellites built by Lockheed Martin.
Lofting such a heavy and sensitive satellite across the country required the use of a U.S. Air Force C-5 cargoplane.A t 3:16pm EDT the plane touched down at Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility. Later this evening, the satellite will be transported 17 miles to a clean room facility in nearby Titusville. There, it will undergo unpacking and inspection before prelaunch operations commence. Liftoff is scheduled for 5:40pm EDT on November 4. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will fly in the 541 configuration with a five meter diameter payload fairing, four strap on AJ-60A solid rocket motors, and a single-RL-10 engine on the Centaur upper stage. P/c: NASA, NOAA, Lockheed Martin, Gary Napier.
Supermoon!
WOW! It’s Supermoon night, and yep, it’s ‘big,’ well, relatively speaking. Have to watch out for big high tides along the southern New England coast from 11/14-17 with any onshore wind flow. We’re watching it!
Found this photo on my Twitter feed. It’s, well, SUPER! With proper credit, of course.
Credit: @brandonsmith_wx , photo taken 11/13/16 in State College, PA USA
Enjoying life, and loving #Castle, plus other stuff...
Will always love #Castle, even in its end, living on through FanFiction. Also love weather (my career, too!), my hub and our lovely cats. Southern New England USA.