NASA Image of the Day

Cluster in the Cloud (Fr, 08 Dez 2023)
This striking image shows the densely packed globular cluster known as NGC 2210, which is situated in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The LMC lies about 157 000 light-years from Earth, and is a so-called satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, meaning that the two galaxies are gravitationally bound. Globular clusters are very stable, tightly bound clusters of thousands or even millions of stars. Their stability means that they can last a long time, and therefore globular clusters are often studied in order to investigate potentially very old stellar populations.
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Artemis II Crew’s SLS Visit (Thu, 07 Dec 2023)
Artemis II NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman (left) and Christina Koch (middle) of NASA and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen (second from left) view the core stage for the Space Launch System rocket at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans on Nov. 16. The three astronauts, along with NASA’s Victor Glover, will launch atop the rocket stage to venture around the Moon on Artemis II, the first crewed flight for Artemis.
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25 Years Ago: The First Pieces of the International Space Station (Wed, 06 Dec 2023)
The mated Russian-built Zarya (left) and U.S.-built Unity modules are backdropped against the blackness of space and Earth's horizon shortly after leaving Endeavour's cargo bay. The photo was taken with an electronic still camera at 21:20:21 GMT, Dec. 13.
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Saturn and Jupiter Conjunction (Tue, 05 Dec 2023)
The Moon, left, Saturn, upper right, and Jupiter, lower right, are seen after sunset from Washington, DC, Thurs. Dec. 17, 2020. The two planets drew closer to each other in the sky as they headed towards a “great conjunction” on Dec. 21, where the two giant planets appeared a tenth of a degree apart.
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Pioneer 10 Crosses the Asteroid Belt (Illustration) (Mon, 04 Dec 2023)
If spacecraft are to visit the outer solar system, they must cross the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The Pioneer mission was faced with the question of just how dangerous this asteroid belt would be to a spacecraft passing through it.
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NASA Research Pilot David Zahn (Fri, 01 Dec 2023)
"Everyone needs an anchor from their community to motivate and inspire them to move forward. I want to be a motivational anchor for the next generation of minorities." – David Zahn, NASA Research Pilot, Ames Research Center
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Globular Cluster Omega Centauri Looks Radiant in Infrared (Thu, 30 Nov 2023)
A cluster brimming with millions of stars glistens like an iridescent opal in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called Omega Centauri, the sparkling orb of stars is like a miniature galaxy. It is the biggest and brightest of the 150 or so similar objects, called globular clusters, that orbit around the outside of our Milky Way galaxy. Stargazers at southern latitudes can spot the stellar gem with the naked eye in the constellation Centaurus. Globular clusters are some of the oldest objects in our universe. Their stars are over 12 billion years old, and, in most cases, formed all at once when the universe was just a toddler. Omega Centauri is unusual in that its stars are of different ages and possess varying levels of metals, or elements heavier than boron. Astronomers say this points to a different origin for Omega Centauri than other globular clusters: they think it might be the core of a dwarf galaxy that was ripped apart and absorbed by our Milky Way long ago. In this new view of Omega Centauri, Spitzer's infrared observations have been combined with visible-light data from the National Science Foundation's Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Visible-light data with a wavelength of .55 microns is colored blue, 3.6-micron infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera is colored green and 24-micron infrared light taken by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer is colored red. Where green and red overlap, the color yellow appears. Thus, the yellow and red dots are stars revealed by Spitzer. These stars, called red giants, are more evolved, larger and dustier. The stars that appear blue were spotted in both visible and 3.6-micron-, or near-, infrared light. They are less evolved, like our own sun. Some of the red spots in the picture are distant galaxies beyond our own.
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The Beginnings of a Sunrise (Wed, 29 Nov 2023)
The sun's first rays begin illuminating Earth's atmosphere in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above the central United States. At far left, the city lights of Chicago, Illinois, are outlined by Lake Michigan. At far right, the city lights of the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area shine through the clouds.
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Mariner-C Spacecraft Model (Tue, 28 Nov 2023)
A model of the Mariner-C spacecraft at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Lewis Research Center for a June 1964 Conference on New Technology. Mariner-C and Mariner-D were identical spacecraft designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to flyby Mars and photograph the Martian surface. Mariner-C was launched on November 4, 1964, but the payload shroud did not jettison properly and the spacecraft’s battery power did not function. The mission ended unsuccessfully two days later. Mariner-D was launched as designed on November 28, 1964 and became the first successful mission to Mars. It was the first time a planet was photographed from space. Mariner-D’s 21 photographs revealed an inhospitable and barren landscape. The two Mariner spacecraft were launched by Atlas-Agena-D rockets. Lewis had taken over management of the Agena Program in October 1962. There had been five failures and two partial failures in the 17 Agena launches before being taken over by NASA Lewis. Lewis, however, oversaw 28 successful Agena missions between 1962 and 1968, including several Rangers and the Mariner Venus '67.
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Festive Northern Lights (Mon, 27 Nov 2023)
The spectacular aurora borealis, or the “northern lights,” over Canada is sighted from the space station near the highest point of its orbital path. The station’s main solar arrays are seen in the left foreground.
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A Black Hole Gobbles Up a Star (Fri, 24 Nov 2023)
A disk of hot gas swirls around a black hole in this illustration from Dec. 20, 2022. A long stream of hot gas on the right, coming from a star that was pulled apart by the black hole, feeds into the disk.
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A Space Station Thanksgiving (Wed, 22 Nov 2023)
NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins (left) and Rick Mastracchio, both Expedition 38 flight engineers, pose for a photo with a Thanksgiving meal in the Unity node of the International Space Station.
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Astronaut Nicole Mann Prepares for Spacewalk (Tue, 21 Nov 2023)
NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 flight engineer Nicole Mann is pictured during a fit check of her spacesuit ahead of a planned spacewalk to upgrade the International Space Station's power generation system.
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Seeing Sagittarius C in a New Light (Mon, 20 Nov 2023)
The NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s reveals a portion of the Milky Way’s dense core in a new light. An estimated 500,000 stars shine in this image of the Sagittarius C (Sgr C) region, along with some as-yet unidentified features. A large region of ionized hydrogen, shown in cyan, contains intriguing needle-like structures that lack any uniform orientation.
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Celebrating Astronaut Alan Shepard's 100th Birthday (Fri, 17 Nov 2023)
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., attired in his Mercury pressure suit, poses for a photo on May 5, 1961, prior to his launch in a Mercury-Redstone 3 spacecraft from Cape Canaveral on a suborbital mission – the first U.S. manned spaceflight.
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On This Day: Artemis I Liftoff (Thu, 16 Nov 2023)
NASA’s Space Launch System carrying the Orion spacecraft lifts off the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:47 a.m. EST on Nov. 16, 2022.
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A View Through Skylab (Wed, 15 Nov 2023)
A 35mm camera, operated by astronaut William R. Pogue, Skylab 4 pilot, recorded this wide scene of his Skylab 4 crewmates on the other end of the orbital workshop. Astronauts Jerry P. Carr (right), commander, and Edward G. Gibson, science pilot, pose for the snapshot. Also in the frame are parts of three Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits, used on several EVA sessions during the third manning of the Skylab space station.
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NASA's C-130 Delivers GUSTO Payload to Antarctica (Tue, 14 Nov 2023)
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility C-130 aircraft delivered the agency’s Galactic/Extragalactic ULDB Spectroscopic Terahertz Observatory (GUSTO) payload to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, on Oct. 28, 2023. The GUSTO mission will launch on a scientific balloon in December 2023.
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Dragon Lights Up the Night (Mon, 13 Nov 2023)
In this photo from Nov. 9, 2023, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket illuminates the water as it launches at night from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 29th commercial resupply mission of the Cargo Dragon spacecraft brought new scientific research, technology demonstrations, crew supplies, and hardware to the International Space Station, including NASA’s Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) and Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE).
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NASA Sounding Rocket Launches into Alaskan Aurora (Thu, 09 Nov 2023)
A sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska, Nov. 8, 2023, carrying the DISSIPATION mission. The rocket launched into aurora and successfully captured data to understand how auroras heat the atmosphere and cause high-altitude winds.
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Tribal Students Make Robots with NASA Aerospace Engineer Casey Denham (Wed, 08 Nov 2023)
Casey Denham, aerospace engineer with the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, works with tribal students during a STEM activity at the American Indian Engineering Sciences (AISES) National Conference in Spokane, Washington, Oct. 19-21, 2023.
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Euclid Spots a Spiral Galaxy (Tue, 07 Nov 2023)
The spiral galaxy IC 342, located about 11 million light-years from Earth, lies behind the crowded plane of the Milky Way: Dust, gas, and stars obscure it from our view. Euclid used its near-infrared instrument to peer through the dust and study it.
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NASA’s Worm Logo (Mon, 06 Nov 2023)
The NASA Worm Logo sign is unveiled before the ribbon cutting ceremony to open NASA’s Earth Information Center, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, at NASA Headquarters building in Washington.
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Jupiter in Ultraviolet (Fri, 03 Nov 2023)
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals an ultraviolet view of Jupiter.
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Details from Webb’s Cameras Reveal Crabby Composition (Thu, 02 Nov 2023)
6,500 light-years away lies the Crab Nebula, the remains of an exploded star. While this target has been well-studied by multiple observatories, including the Hubble Space Telescope, Webb’s infrared sensitivity and resolution offer new clues into the makeup and origins of this scene.
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Nighttime on the East Coast (Wed, 01 Nov 2023)
This nighttime view from the International Space Station shows the city lights of the northeastern United States and major urban areas including Long Island, New York; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C. The orbital lab was soaring 262 miles above the Pine Tree State of Maine at the time of this photograph.
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Just in Time for Halloween, NASA’s Juno Mission Spots Eerie “Face” on Jupiter (Tue, 31 Oct 2023)
On Sept. 7, 2023, during its 54th close flyby of Jupiter, NASA’s Juno mission captured this view of an area in the giant planet’s far northern regions called Jet N7. The image shows turbulent clouds and storms along Jupiter’s terminator, the dividing line between the day and night sides of the planet. The low angle of sunlight highlights the complex topography of features in this region, which scientists have studied to better understand the processes playing out in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
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Rusty Red Waters in Madagascar (Mon, 30 Oct 2023)
This image, taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station, shows the reddish-brown waters of the Betsiboka River Delta in Madagascar. The color is caused by the transport of iron-rich sediment.
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NASA’s Modern History Makers: Maricela Lizcano (Fri, 27 Oct 2023)
Maricela Lizcano poses inside NASA Glenn Research Center’s Aerospace Communications Facility.
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Artemis II Water Deluge Test (Thu, 26 Oct 2023)
NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems conducts a water flow test with the mobile launcher at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B in Florida on Oct. 24, 2023. It is the third in a series of tests to verify the overpressure protection and sound suppression system is ready for launch of the Artemis II mission. During liftoff, 400,000 gallons of water will rush onto the pad to help protect NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, Orion spacecraft, mobile launcher, and launch pad from any over pressurization and extreme sound produced during ignition and liftoff.
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CADRE Rover Getting Prepped for Testing (Wed, 25 Oct 2023)
An engineer prepares a small rover – part of NASA's CADRE (Cooperative Autonomous Distributed Robotic Exploration) technology demonstration that's headed to the Moon – for testing in a thermal vacuum chamber at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California in October 2023.
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A Storm in the Arabian Sea (Tue, 24 Oct 2023)
A storm is pictured in the Arabian Sea less than 700 miles off the coast of Oman as the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above.
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NASA Test Piloting Legends Reunite (Mon, 23 Oct 2023)
More than 37,000 people registered to attend the NASA Langley open house. Nils Larson, X59 pilot and Astronaut Victor Glover reunited at Langley’s hangar and hosted by Center Director Clayton Turner.
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2021 Astronaut Candidates with NASA Senior Leadership (Fri, 20 Oct 2023)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, second from right, NASA associate administrator Bob Cabana, far right, and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (back to camera) speak with the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington. Upon completion of two years of training they could be assigned to missions that involve performing research aboard the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, as well as deep space missions to destinations including the Moon on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.
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Darkened by the Moon's Shadow (Thu, 19 Oct 2023)
On October 14, 2023, the Moon aligned with the Sun and Earth to produce an annular solar eclipse. The spectacle bathed millions of Americans in a lunar shadow as the Moon blocked the Sun’s rays. The above image was acquired during the eclipse by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera imager aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory, a joint NASA, NOAA, and U.S. Air Force satellite.
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