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sneakystratus: NGC 1999 is a dust filled bright nebula with a vast hole of empty space represented by a black patch of sky, as can be seen in the photograph. It is a reflection nebula, and shines from the light of the variable star V380 Orionis. It was previously believed that the black patch was a dense cloud of dust and gas which blocked light that would normally pass through, called a dark nebula. Analysis of this patch by the infrared telescopeHerschel (October 9, 2009), which has the capability of penetrating such dense cloud material, resulted in continued black space. This led to the belief that either the cloud material was immensely dense or that an unexplained phenomenon had been detected.
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Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s Reflection - July 20, 1969
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jtotheizzoe: Hurricane Irene approaching the East Coast, image from NASA/GOES. (via Discover Magazine)
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chibdm: Closeup of Jupiter’s “Great Red Spot. ” It’s actually a giant storm that has been raging for thousands of years…
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Earth from the Moon
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life: On Aug. 23, 1966, humanity welcomed its first view of Earth taken by a spacecraft from the vicinity of the Moon. The photo was transmitted to Earth by NASA’s unmanned Lunar Orbiter I — a robotic surveyor sent into orbit to map possible lunar landing sites years before the Apollo program — and was received at a NASA tracking station near Madrid, Spain. In celebration of the 45th anniversary of the landmark transmission, LIFE.com presents other remarkable, moving, humbling photos of our lonely blue and green planet taken from the depths of space. Out of this world, literally: Earth Seen From Space
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Colliding Galaxies
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