Slytherin-grin-blog - Quite Unpleasant

MY HEART.

the single most important sound to ever grace my existence 

Petition for a Dan and Dodie collab where Dan plays Implicit demand for proof on his piano and Dodie sings

Am I asking for too much ;_;

Solar System: Things to Know this Week

On May 22 Mars will be at opposition. That’s when Mars, Earth and the sun all line up, with Earth directly in the middle. A few days later, Mars and Earth will reach the points in their orbits around the sun where they are nearest to each other. The closer Mars comes to Earth in its orbit, the larger and brighter it appears in the sky.

It’s an opportunity for backyard skywatchers—and a good time to catch up on all the exploration now underway at the Red Planet. Here are a few things to know this week about Mars:

1. Red Star Rising

The best time to see Mars at its brightest is when it’s highest in the sky, which is around midnight during May. Look toward the south in the constellation Scorpius (where right now you can also catch the planet Saturn). If you have a telescope, you may be able to pick out some of the features on its surface. But don’t fall for Internet rumors claiming that Mars will appear as big as the full moon. Instead, it will look like a bright, reddish or orange star. Get Mars viewing tips HERE.

2. Roving Weather Reporter

Our Mars Curiosity mission has now been roving across the floor of Gale Crater for two full Martian years—that’s four Earth years. This robotic geologist is a meteorologist, too, and its long journey has allowed it to observe the local weather for two full seasonal cycles. During that time, the rover’s instruments have recorded temperatures ranging from 60.5 degrees Fahrenheit (15.9 degrees Celsius) on a summer afternoon, to minus 148 F (minus 100 C) on a winter night. They also detected an intriguing spike in methane gas—but it hasn’t happened since.

3. Increasing Clouds, with a Chance of Dust Storms

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter keeps an eye on Martian weather, too, but on a global scale. Every week, you can see the latest weather report, including an animation showing storms and clouds across the face of Mars.

4. Walking the Ancient Shoreline

Mars explorers have studied evidence for years that the early history of the planet included times where liquid water flowed and pooled freely. But just how deep those ancient lakes were, and how long they lasted, remains a topic of debate. A new study offers a more detailed picture of the rise and fall of standing bodies of water.

5. Wish Upon a Star

It’s true that Mars will be especially bright in the sky this week. But did you ever consider that Earth often shines for Mars as well? This image from the Curiosity rover shows our whole world as a single point of light. When people finally do stand on Mars, they’ll be able to look at the twilight sky—and see home. Left: the Earth and the Moon in the evening sky of Mars, as seen by the Curiosity rover. Right: Mars rising over Salt Lake City. Mars credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/TAMU. Earth credit: Bill Dunford.

Want to learn more? Read our full list of the 10 things to know this week about the solar system HERE.

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

OMG 😂😂💀

I expect you’re tired of hearing this, but…

He had never fallen in love before.

“Mom Calling” is a form of entertainment at the Iowa State Fair.

Scott Kelly Was the First To…

Astronaut Scott Kelly returned home from his year in space mission on March 1. Spending that much time in space allowed him to rack up some pretty cool milestones. Here are some of his awesome “firsts”:

Firsts on Social Media

While in space, Scott Kelly had the opportunity to host the first NASA TweetChat from space.

The first ever Tumblr AnswerTime from space was hosted by Scott Kelly during his One Year Mission.

Scott Kelly hosted the first NASA Reddit AMA from space.

Before leaving for his year in space, President Obama asked him to Instagram his time on orbit…a Presidential request to Instagram is a first!

Firsts for Scott

During his year in space, Scott conducted his first spacewalk. He hadn’t spacewalked on any of his previous missions, but did so three times during the One Year Mission.

Firsts for an American Astronaut

Most notably, Scott Kelly is the first U.S. astronaut to spend a year in space. His time on orbit also allowed us to conduct the first ever Twins Study on the space station. While Scott was in space, his twin brother Mark Kelly was on Earth. Since their genetic makeup is as close to identical as we can get, this allows a unique research perspective. We can now compare all of the results from Scott in space to his brother Mark on Earth.

During his year in space, Scott had the opportunity to be one of the first astronauts to harvest and eat lettuce grown in the space station’s VEGGIE facility. 

Space flowers! Scott was also one of the firsts to help grow and harvest zinnia flowers in the VEGGIE facility. Growing flowering plants in space will help scientists learn more about growing crops for deep-space missions and our journey to Mars.

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