Parker Solar Probe Is Go For Launch

How Big is Our Galaxy, the Milky Way?

When we talk about the enormity of the cosmos, it’s easy to toss out big numbers – but far harder to wrap our minds around just how large, how far and how numerous celestial bodies like exoplanets – planets beyond our solar system – really are.

So. How big is our Milky Way Galaxy?

We use light-time to measure the vast distances of space.

It’s the distance that light travels in a specific period of time. Also: LIGHT IS FAST, nothing travels faster than light.

How far can light travel in one second? 186,000 miles. It might look even faster in metric: 300,000 kilometers in one second. See? FAST.

How far can light travel in one minute? 11,160,000 miles. We’re moving now! Light could go around the Earth a bit more than 448 times in one minute.

Speaking of Earth, how long does it take light from the Sun to reach our planet? 8.3 minutes. (It takes 43.2 minutes for sunlight to reach Jupiter, about 484 million miles away.) Light is fast, but the distances are VAST.

In an hour, light can travel 671 million miles. We’re still light-years from the nearest exoplanet, by the way. Proxima Centauri b is 4.2 light-years away. So… how far is a light-year? 5.8 TRILLION MILES.

A trip at light speed to the very edge of our solar system – the farthest reaches of the Oort Cloud, a collection of dormant comets way, WAY out there – would take about 1.87 years.

Our galaxy contains 100 to 400 billion stars and is about 100,000 light-years across!

One of the most distant exoplanets known to us in the Milky Way is Kepler-443b. Traveling at light speed, it would take 3,000 years to get there. Or 28 billion years, going 60 mph. So, you know, far.

SPACE IS BIG.

Read more here: go.nasa.gov/2FTyhgH

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Our Favorite Valentines Throughout the Universe

Today is Valentine’s Day. What better way to express that you love someone than with an intergalactic love gram? Check out some of our favorites and send them to all of your cosmic companions:

Your love is galactic

The Hubble Space Telescope revolutionized nearly all areas of astronomical research — and captured some truly lovely images. Here, a pair of intersecting galaxies swirl into the shape of a rose as a result of gravitational tidal pull. What type of roses are you getting for your love — red or galactic?

I think you’re n{ice}

IceBridge is the largest airborne survey of Earth’s polar ice ever flown. It captures 3-D views of Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets, ice shelves and sea ice. This lovely heart-shaped glacier feature was discovered in northwest Greenland during an IceBridge flight in 2017. Which of your lover’s features would you say are the coolest?

You’re absolutely magnetic

Even though we can’t see them, magnetic fields are all around us. One of the solar system’s largest magnetospheres belongs to Jupiter. Right now, our Juno spacecraft is providing scientists with their first glimpses of this unseen force. Is your attraction to your loved one magnetic?

You’re MARS-velous

This heart-shaped feature on the Martian landscape was captured by our Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It was created by a small impact crater that blew darker material on the surface away. What impact has your loved one had on you?

I <3 you

From three billion miles away, Pluto sent a “love note” back to Earth, via our New Horizons spacecraft. This stunning image of Pluto’s “heart” shows one of the world’s most dominant features, estimated to be 1,000 miles (1,600 km) across at its widest point. Will you pass this love note on to someone special in your life?

Light of my life

Our Solar Dynamics Observatory keeps an eye on our closest star that brings energy to you and your love. The observatory helps us understand where the Sun’s energy comes from, how the inside of the Sun works, how energy is stored and released in the Sun’s atmosphere and much more. Who would you say is your ray of sunshine?

Do any of these cosmic phenomena remind you of someone in your universe? Download these cards here to send to all the stars in your sky.

Want something from the Red Planet to match your bouquet of red roses? Here is our collection of Martian Valentines.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

World Teacher Appreciation Day!

On #WorldTeachersDay, we are recognizing our two current astronauts who are former classroom teachers, Joe Acaba and Ricky Arnold, as well as honoring teachers everywhere. What better way to celebrate than by learning from teachers who are literally out-of-this-world!

During the past Year of Education on Station, astronauts connected with more than 175,000 students and 40,000 teachers during live Q & A sessions. 

Let’s take a look at some of the questions those students asked:

The view from space is supposed to be amazing. Is it really that great and could you explain? 

Taking a look at our home planet from the International Space Station is one of the most fascinating things to see! The views and vistas are unforgettable, and you want to take everyone you know to the Cupola (window) to experience this. Want to see what the view is like? Check out earthkam to learn more.

What kind of experiments do you do in space?

There are several experiments that take place on a continuous basis aboard the orbiting laboratory - anything from combustion to life sciences to horticulture. Several organizations around the world have had the opportunity to test their experiments 250 miles off the surface of the Earth. 

What is the most overlooked attribute of an astronaut?

If you are a good listener and follower, you can be successful on the space station. As you work with your team, you can rely on each other’s strengths to achieve a common goal. Each astronaut needs to have expeditionary skills to be successful. Check out some of those skills here. 

Are you able to grow any plants on the International Space Station?

Nothing excites Serena Auñón-Chancellor more than seeing a living, green plant on the International Space Station. She can’t wait to use some of the lettuce harvest to top her next burger! Learn more about the plants that Serena sees on station here. 

What food are you growing on the ISS and which tastes the best? 

While aboard the International Space Station, taste buds may not react the same way as they do on earth but the astronauts have access to a variety of snacks and meals. They have also grown 12 variants of lettuce that they have had the opportunity to taste.

Learn more about Joe Acaba, Ricky Arnold, and the Year of Education on Station.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

The Kepler space telescope has shown us our galaxy is teeming with planets — and other surprises

The Kepler space telescope has taught us there are so many planets out there, they outnumber even the stars. Here is a sample of these wondrous, weird and unexpected worlds (and other spectacular objects in space) that Kepler has spotted with its “eye” opened to the heavens.

Kepler has found that double sunsets really do exist.

Yes, Star Wars fans, the double sunset on Tatooine could really exist. Kepler discovered the first known planet around a double-star system, though Kepler-16b is probably a gas giant without a solid surface.

Kepler has gotten us closer to finding planets like Earth.

Nope. Kepler hasn’t found Earth 2.0, and that wasn’t the job it set out to do. But in its survey of hundreds of thousands of stars, Kepler found planets near in size to Earth orbiting at a distance where liquid water could pool on the surface. One of them, Kepler-62f, is about 40 percent bigger than Earth and is likely rocky. Is there life on any of them? We still have a lot more to learn.

This sizzling world is so hot iron would melt!

One of Kepler’s early discoveries was the small, scorched world of Kepler-10b. With a year that lasts less than an Earth day and density high enough to imply it’s probably made of iron and rock, this “lava world” gave us the first solid evidence of a rocky planet outside our solar system. 

If it’s not an alien megastructure, what is this oddly fluctuating star?

When Kepler detected the oddly fluctuating light from “Tabby’s Star,” the internet lit up with speculation of an alien megastructure. Astronomers have concluded it’s probably an orbiting dust cloud.  

Kepler caught this dead star cannibalizing its planet.

What happens when a solar system dies? Kepler discovered a white dwarf, the compact corpse of a star in the process of vaporizing a planet.

These Kepler planets are more than twice the age of our Sun!

The five small planets in Kepler-444 were born 11 billion years ago when our galaxy was in its youth. Imagine what these ancient planets look like after all that time?

Kepler found a supernova exploding at breakneck speed.

This premier planet hunter has also been watching stars explode. Kepler recorded a sped-up version of a supernova called a “fast-evolving luminescent transit” that reached its peak brightness at breakneck speed. It was caused by a star spewing out a dense shell of gas that lit up when hit with the shockwave from the blast. 

* All images are artist illustrations.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

It’s International Asteroid Day!

(Large Asteroid Impact Simulation)

Asteroid Day (also known as International Asteroid Day) is an annual global event that aims to raise awareness about asteroids and what can be done to protect the Earth, its families, communities, and future generations. Asteroid Day is held on the anniversary of the June 30, 1908 Siberian Tunguska event, the most harmful known asteroid-related event on Earth in recent history.

Learn more here 

Animation

Take me back to California 🌴❤️

Esmeralda finding the King of Fools.

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Scientists push back against Harvard 'alien spacecraft' theory

This photo released by the European Southern Observatory on November 20, 2017 shows an artist’s impression of the first interstellar object known to enter our solar system: ‘Oumuamua

A scientific paper led by two researchers at Harvard University made a splash this week by claiming that a cigar-shaped rock zooming through our solar system may have been sent by aliens.

The researchers noted in a pre-print of the article that it was an “exotic scenario,” but that “Oumuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilization.”

Oumuamua, the first interstellar object known to enter our solar system, accelerated faster away from the Sun than expected, hence the notion that some kind of artificial sail that runs on sunlight—known as a light sail—may have helped push it through space.

“Currently there is an unexplained phenomena, namely, the excess acceleration of Oumuamua, which we show may be explained by the force of radiation pressure from the sun,” co-author and Harvard astrophysicist Shmuel Bialy told AFP via email Tuesday.

“However this requires the body to have a very large surface and be very thin, which is not encountered in nature.”

Their suggestion of an alien force at work went viral.

But other astronomy experts aren’t buying it.

“Like most scientists, I would love there to be convincing evidence of alien life, but this isn’t it,” said Alan Fitzsimmons, an astrophysicist at Queens University, Belfast.

“It has already been shown that its observed characteristics are consistent with a comet-like body ejected from another star system,” he told AFP.

“And some of the arguments in this study are based on numbers with large uncertainties.”

Read more ~ phys.org

A photo released by the European Space Agency on June 27, 2018 shows an artist’s impression of ‘Oumuamua Editor’s note: Any cometary outgassing required to provide acceleration would have been detectable. None detected. What kills the alien probe theory for me is it’s velocity. Fast enough to buzz through the solar system without being snared by the sun but WAY too slow for practical interstellar travel although it’s trajectory put it on a nice path for exploration.

Credit : NASA - https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/small-asteroid-or-comet-visits-from-beyond-the-solar-system, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64030370

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