N90.Name

2008 July 15 Gas and Dust of the Lagoon Nebula Fred VanderhavenThis beautiful cosmic cloud is a popular stop on telescopic tours ofthe constellationSagittarius.Eighteenth century cosmic touristCharles Messier cataloged the brightnebula as M8, whilemodern day astronomers recognize the Lagoon Nebulaas an active stellar nursery about 5,000 light-years distant, in the directionof the center of our Milky Way Galaxy.Striking details can be traced through this remarkable picture,processed to remove stars and hence better reveal the Lagoon’s range offilaments of glowing hydrogen gas, dark dust clouds, and the bright, turbulent hourglass region near the image center.This color composite view was recorded under dark skies near SydneyAustralia.At the Lagoon’s estimated distance, the picturespansabout 50 light-years.orbs aligned

More: continued here

Earth observation satellites have provided vital information to relief workers in Myanmar throughout a particularly long crisis response window following the devastating Cyclone Nargis that hit the country on 2 and 3 May 2008.

More: continued here

2008 July 18 Jupiter over Ephesus Tunç Tezel(TWAN)A brilliant Jupiter shares the sky with the Full Moon tonight.SinceJupiter is nearopposition,literally oppositethe Sun in planet Earth’s sky, Jupiter will rise near sunsetjustlike the Full Moon.Of course, opposition is also the point of closest approach, withJupiter shining at its brightest and offering the bestviews for skygazers.Recorded late last month, this moving skyscape featuresJupiterabove the southeastern horizon and the marbled streets of theancient port city ofEphesus,located in modern day Turkey.At the left isa templededicatedto the Roman emperorHadrian.The beautiful night sky also includes the arc ofthe northern summer Milky Way.Lights on the horizon are from the nearby town of Selçuk.Clicking on the image will download the scene as a panorama.pixels in space

More: continued here

2008 July 20 Crescent Rhea Occults Crescent Saturn Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA,NASASoft hues, partially lit orbs, a thin trace of the ring, and slight shadows highlight this understated view of the majestic surroundings of the giant planet Saturn. Looking nearly back toward the Sun, the robot Cassini spacecraft now orbiting Saturn captured crescent phases of Saturn and its moon Rhea in color a few years ago.As striking as the above image is, it is but a single frame from a recently released 60-frame silent movie where Rhea can be seen gliding in front of its parent world. Since Cassini was nearly in the plane of Saturn’s rings, the normally impressive rings are visible here only as a thin line across the image center.Although Cassini has now concluded its primary mission, its past successes and opportunistic location have prompted NASA to start a two-year Equinox Mission, further exploring not only Saturn’s enigmatic moons Titan and Enceladus, but Saturn herself as her grand rings tilt right at the Sun in August 2009.spiral dancing

More: continued here

AP – The space station’s two Russian astronauts stepped outside for the second time in less than a week Tuesday, taking a spacewalk that proved to be tame compared to last week’s work with explosives.

More: continued here

Scientists and engineers are preparing ESA’s Mars Express for several close fly-bys of the Martian moon Phobos. Passing within 100 km of the surface, Mars Express will conduct some of the most detailed investigations of the moon to date.

More: continued here

A careful look at the full field of view for

More: continued here

2008 July 22
Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth Credit: Matt Harding& Melissa NixonWhat are these humans doing? Dancing.Many humans on Earth exhibit periods of happiness, and one method of displaying happiness is dancing. Happiness and dancing transcend political boundaries and occur in practically every human society. Above, Matt Hardingtraveled through many nations on Earth, started dancing, and filmed the result. The videois perhaps a dramatic example that humans from all over planet Earthfeel a common bondas part of a single species.Happinessis frequently contagious — few people are able to watch the above video without smiling. open space

More: continued here

Reuters – The commander and lead engineer aboard the International Space Station completed a six-hour spacewalk on Tuesday to prepare another parking spot for when the outpost’s crew doubles to six.

More: continued here

Spacecraft controllers have just awoken Rosetta from hibernation to prepare for its encounter with asteroid (2867) Steins on 5 September. ESA’s comet chaser will study the relatively rare asteroid as it flies by on its way to comet 67/P Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

More: continued here