保护地球，探索宇宙，发现文明
这张海王星的照片是由旅行者2号（Voyager 2）在1989年8月25日探测器与该颗行星最近距离接触前的五天内拍摄的。照片显示了“大暗斑”（Great Dark Spot）- 海王星大气层的风暴，以及伴随风暴而来的明亮的淡蓝色云团。 版权：美国国家航空航天局（NASA）/加州理工学院喷气推进实验室（JPL-Caltech） 30年前的1989年8月25日，NASA的旅行者2号探测器近距离飞越海王星，这是人类首次近距离观察太阳系的第八颗行星。作为旅行者号对太阳系四大巨行星——木星、土星、天王星和海王星——造访之旅的最后一站，这也是旅行者号第一次也是最后一次造访海王星。 美国加州理工学院物理学教授埃德•斯通（Ed Stone）自1975年以来一直担任旅行者号任务的项目科学家，他表示：“旅行者号行星计划确实是一个向...
This atmospheric image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows a dark, gloomy scene in the constellation of Gemini (the Twins). The subject of this image confused astronomers when it was first studied — rather than being classified as a single object, it was instead recorded as two objects, owing to its symmetrical lobed structure (known as NGC ...
This natural-color image of smoke and fires in several states within Brazil including Amazonas, Mato Grosso, and Rondônia was collected by NOAA/NASA’s Suomi NPP using the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) instrument on August 20, 2019. It is not unusual to see fires in Brazil at this time of year due to high temperatures and low humidit...
2019 August 24 Millions of Stars in Omega Centauri Image Credit & Copyright: Michael Miller, Jimmy Walker Explanation: Globular star cluster Omega Centauri, also known as NGC 5139, is some 15,000 light-years away. The cluster is packed with about 10 million stars much older than the Sun within a volume about 150 light-years in diameter. It’s the la...
这幅艺术家笔下的插图描绘的是系外行星LHS3844b，其质量是地球的1.3倍，环绕着一颗M矮星运行。根据美国国家航空航天局（NASA）斯皮策太空望远镜的观测表明，该行星表面可能主要被黑暗的熔岩覆盖，没有明显的大气层。 版权：NASA /加州理工学院喷气推进实验室（JPL-Caltech）/R. Hurt（红外数据处理与分析中心，IPAC） 一项利用NASA斯皮策太空望远镜的数据进行的新研究提供了一个难得的机会，使我们得以一窥围绕太阳之外的恒星运行的岩质行星表面的情况。8月19日发表在《自然》（Nature）杂志上的这项研究表明，该行星的表面可能类似于地球的卫星月球或者水星：该行星可能几乎没有大气层，可能被在月球表面黑暗区域（mare）发现的同样的冷却火山物质所覆盖。 LHS 3844b行星于2018年由NASA...
2019 August 23 NGC 1499: The California Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Sara Wager Explanation: Drifting through the Orion Arm of the spiral Milky Way Galaxy, this cosmic cloud by chance echoes the outline of California on the west coast of the United States. Our own Sun also lies within the Milky Way’s Orion Arm, only about 1,500 light-years from...
2019 August 22 Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945 Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Pugh Explanation: Large spiral galaxy NGC 4945 is seen edge-on near the center of this cosmic galaxy portrait. In fact, it’s almost the size of our Milky Way Galaxy. NGC 4945’s own dusty disk, young blue star clusters, and pink star forming regions standout in the s...
A member of the audience takes a picture with their phone as Vice President Mike Pence is introduced during the sixth meeting of the National Space Council, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Chaired by the Vice President, the council’s role is to advise the Pre...
A quick moving storm passes as teams from NASA and SpaceX practice procedures for medical emergency evacuation onboard the GO Searcher ship, Friday, August 15, 2019, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX will use the GO Searcher ship during the Demo-2 mission to recover NASA astronauts returning from the International Space S...
2019 August 21 The Orion You Can Almost See Image Credit & Copyright: John Gleason & Rogelio Bernal Andreo Explanation: Do you recognize this constellation? Although it is one of the most recognizable star groupings on the sky, this is a more full Orion than you can see — an Orion only revealed with long exposure digital camera imaging and post...