SpaceX Demo-2发射

2020 June 12

NGC 2359: Thor’s Helmet
Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh

Explanation: NGC 2359 is a helmet-shaped cosmic cloud with wing-like appendages popularly called Thor’s Helmet. Heroically sized even for a Norse god, Thor’s Helmet is about 30 light-years across. In fact, the helmet is more like an interstellar bubble, blown as a fast wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble’s center inflates a region within the surrounding molecular cloud. Known as a Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an extremely hot giant thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova stage of evolution. NGC 2359 is located about 15,000 light-years away in the constellation of the Great Overdog. The remarkably sharp image is a mixed cocktail of data from broadband and narrowband filters using three different telescopes. It captures natural looking stars and the details of the nebula’s filamentary structures. The predominant bluish hue is strong emission from doubly ionized oxygen atoms in the glowing gas.

Tomorrow’s picture: light-weekend

SpaceX Demo-2发射
影像提供: NASA/Joel Kowsky

说明: 在这幅以甘迺迪发射中心第39A发射设施为主题的照片里，云白而天黑。这片白画天空之所如此引人注目，部分的原因是数位相机使用黑白拍照模式，在近红外光波段取像。而在5月30日美东时间星期六下午3:22拍照时，猎鹰九号火箭推送载人飞龙号太空船升空，前往低地球轨道的景象也是非常吸睛。当时上头搭载着太空人边肯和赫利，而他们更是自太空梭计画在2011年结束以来，从美国本土的太空港出发的首批人员。在发射的数分钟之后，猎鹰九号火箭的第一节返回，并降落在停泊于佛罗里达州近海的无人驾驶空港船 “当然我仍然爱你“号上。在这二位太空人的引导一，太空船在5月31日美东时间星期天上午10:16，成功停泊在国际太空站的和协号模组舱。

明日的图片: the happy dance